V » ^q. O > •* ,Q J ,^V V *«' V-* -w ./ \. % : ^ ** ' 1 A °o. V c\ "oV c rf • • 5 ^ > 4 .0* y *u <* 4-°^ -o* °o \ ■•> . V ^ A «5 °^ 5> O <^- <5> ^ 4° ,* v ■\ CENTENNIAL Portrait and Biographical Record . . . OK THE CITY OF DAYTON AND OK • MONTGOMERY COUNTY, OHIO, CONTAINING . Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, . . TOGETHER WITH . THE BIOGRAPHIES AND PORTRAITS OP THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES AND BIOGRAPHIES OF THE GOVERNORS OF OHIO. Edited by FRANK CONOVER. of Dayton, Ohio. A. W. BOWEN & CO. 18©7. FEOM THE PRESS OP WILSON. HUMPHREYS * CO., TOCKTH ST., LOGAN6PORT, IND. PREFACE. k*/^\ IOGRAPHY is the fountain head of history, as only the deeds of men \y\ form the true basis for a study of the rise and fall of nations. The achievements of the individual are beneath all historical events deserv- ing of record, and it therefore follows that the personal histories of the more active and prominent inhabitants of a county, such as are presented in this vol- ume, will give the best view of the growth and progress of that community, unbiased and veracious, and altogether devoid of false coloring. While portraits and biographical notices of some of the worthy settlers and a few of the prominent living residents of the county will be missed from these pages, the fault is not due to the publishers. Of the former many have passed away, of whom their descendants have no reliable information; while a number of the latter, not having a proper conception of the character of the work, failed to give the necessary data for the compilation of a sketch. In placing before the reader the Centennial Portrait and Biographical Record of the City of Dayton and Montgomery county, the publishers can con- scientiously claim that they have faithfully fulfilled every promise made in their prospectus, and they are confident that their efforts deserve and will receive the approbation of their patrons. A. W. BO WEN & CO., Publishers. August, 1897. & ■%•, INDEX. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. Adams, J 29 Adams, J. Q 45 Arthur, C. A 117 Buchanan, ] 80 Cleveland, S. G 121 Fillmore, M 72 Garfield, J. A 113 Grant, U. S 102 Harrison, B 125 Harrison, W. H 57 Hayes, R. B 106 Jackson, A 49 Jefferson, T 33 Johnson, A 98 Lincoln, A 84 McKinley, W 127 Madison, J 37 Monroe, J 41 Pierce, F 76 Polk, J. K 64 Taylor, Z 68 Tyler, J 60 Van Buren, M 53 Washington, G 25 PRESIDENTIAL PORTRAITS. Adams, J 28 Adams, J. Q 44 Arthur, C. A 116 Buchanan, J 81 Cleveland, S. G 120 Fillmore, M 73 Garfield, J. A 112 Grant, U." S 103 Harrison, B 124 Harrison, W. H 56 Hayes, R. B 107 Jackson, A 48 Jefferson, T 32 Johnson, A 99 Lincoln, A 85 McKinley, W 127 Madison, J 35 Monroe, J 40 Pierce, F 77 Polk, J. K 66 Taylor, Z 69 Tyler, J 62 Van Buren, M 51 Washington, G 24 GOVERNORS OF OHIO. Allen, W 156 Anderson, C 152 Bartley, M 143 Bartley, T. W 142 Bebb, W 143 Bishop, R 157 Brough, J 150 Brown, E. A 136 Bushnell, A. S 163 Byrd, C. W 131 Campbell, J. E 162 Chase, S. P 147 Corwin, T 141 Cox, J. B 153 Dennison, W. J 148 Foraker, J. B 160 Ford, S 145 Foster, C 159 Hayes, R. B 154 Hoadly, G 160 Huntingdon, S 133 Kirker, T 133 Looker, 135 Lucas, R 139 McArthur, D 138 McKinley, W 162 Medill, W 146 Meigs, R.J 134 Morrow, J 138 Noyes, E. F 154 Shannon, W 140 St. Clair, A 131 Tiffin, E 132 Tod, D 150 Trumbull, A 138 Vance, J 140 Wood, R 146 Worthington, T 136 Young, T. L 156 INDEX. DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES. Ackeret, P. M 929 Acton, E. L 355 Adelberger, A 368 Adkins, T. G 366 Alhrecht, C 928 Allaback, J 371 Allaback, [. N 371 Allaman, t> 295 Allaman, D. W 295 Allen, C. R 927 Allen, D. H 927 Allen, E 929 Allen, G. V 873 Allen, J 373-1276 Allen,}. F '.131-1275 Allen, J. M 373 Allen, R 372 Allen, R. N 372 Allen, S. | 1276 Allison, D. K 376 Allison, J. C 375 Allison, [. W 375 Althoff, H 374 Althoff, H. F 375 Althoff, T. P 374 Ambrose, W. J :;',', Ambrose. \V. M ;!77 Anion, J 376 Anderson, B 361 Anderson, B. D ::sl Anderson, C. F 381 Anderson. F 361 Anderson, R. M 817 Anderson, \Y. B 814 Anderton.C, Sr 378 Anspach, G 1177 Anspach, J 1177 Apple, H.. 1109 Appleton, |. M 250 Arnold, B. F 383 Arnold, I) L303 Arnold Family 1300 Arnold, E., Miss 1301 Arnold, H. H 1301 Arnold, J 1176-1300 Arnold, J. W 383 Arnold, S 1300 Aughe, C, Mrs 383 Aughe, S. S 382 Aughe, \V 382 Aull Bro. Paper and Box Co 384 Aull, F. N 385 Aull, J. W 386 Aull, W. J 385 Bad us, T.J 386 us, \v 386 Baggott, |. H 391 ott, W 391 Bailey, II 1093 Bailey, | 1093 . N. B 1093 Ba r, \. H I I m Baker. A. M Baker, B 1178-1279 Baker, D 1111 Baker, E. R 393 Baker, G. P 1280 Baker. 1 393 Baker, |. L 393 Baker, L 1279 Baker, M 1178-127!) Baker, N 1178 Baker, S 1173 Banker, G. C 1044 Banker, S 1044 Barker, F. D 394 Barker, L. D 394 Barney, B 183 Barney, E. E 183 Barney, E. J 240 Basore, D 941 Basore, G 941 Bates, D. L 395 Bates, H 395 Bates, 1 892 Bates, i. 11 387 Bates, L. C 398 Bat< s, Ns D 398 Bates, O. E 387 Bates, R 892 Bates, R. H 396 Bates, \Y. 1 892 Baum, C 930 Baum, P 930 Baumann, R. O MHO Beachler, G. W 931 Beachler, H 932 Beachler, J 931 Bear, H 1285 Bear, S. D 243 Beardshear, ('■ 1230 Beardshear, 1 1267 Beardshear,). F 1230 Beardshear, W. M...1268 Beaver, F. P.. - . 500 Beck, C 396 Bei k, H 1110 Beck, J 285 Beck, J. S 285 Beck, S lllo Bei k, S., Sr lllo Beck, W 396 Becker, H 933 Becker, H. J 402 Becker. 1 933 Beeghly.W. E 500 Bell, |.'X 397 Berlin, C 368 Beyl, 1 1281 Bevl, S 1281 Bickham, W. D 403 Billings, F. M 404 Billings, T 404 Billington, A. A 725 Binkley, J 934 Binklev, J. A 934 Binkley, N 937 Binkley, S 935 Binkley, S. H.... 935-936 Birch, J 512 Bittinger, F. D 494 Bixler, G 1229 Bixler, S 1229 Black, G. A 938 Black, W. A 938 Blakeny, VV. J 280 Blocher. W. L 910 Blum, J 406 Blum, J. F 400 Blumenschein, W. L. 300 Bohlender, E. E.... 413 Bohlender, P 413 Bonner, C. A 518 Bonner, J. N 518 Booher, D. L 1202 Booher, J 892 1202 Booher, S 892-1202 Bookwalter, B. F.... 939 Bookwalter, I) 940 Bookwalter, 1 940 Bookwalter, W. S... 939 Boomershine, A 1288 Boomershine, C. L. .1289 Boomershine, D 1287 Boomershine, H.. . . 1287 Boone, D 411 Boren, J. W ........ . 412 Boren, W 412 Bothast, J 414 Bouck, O. L S7:l Bowersox, A. L 287 Bowersox, G. A 288 Bowles, F. K 942 Bowman, J 1107 Bowser, P" 1131 Bradford, E., Mrs... 1291 Bradford, G.G 1289 Bradford, T 1290 Bradford, J. 1 1291 Bradford, S. J 1289 Brandt, 1„ Jr 943 Brandt, J., Sr 943 Breene.F. S 418 Brehm, H 944 Brehm, H. P 944 Breidenbach, C. H.. 415 Breidenbach, D. G.. 415 Brenner. F 899 Brenner, M 899-1222 Bridgman, F 1094 Bridgman, T. ..1083-1094 Bridgman, W. H. H..1083 Brookins, X. H 874 Brookins.R. R 874 Brown, E. F 261 Brown. J. A 944 Brown, M. C, Mrs... 945 Brown, O. B 261 Br. mil, O. G 945 Brownell, F 388 Browned. ]. R 388 Brubaker, J. T 1296 Bruestle, C 1113 Bruestle, H. C 1113 Bruestle, J Ill:: Brumbaugh, C 1230 Brumbaugh, b L210 Brumbaugh, G 1231 Brumbaugh, H 1-51 Brumbaugh, J 040 Brumbaugh, J. H.. ..1210 Brumbaugh, J. K... . 946 Brumbaugh, J. R....1251 Brumbaugh, S..1230-1252 Bruner, b 1240 Bryant, L. M 410 Bryant, W 416 Buechler, J 1113 Buehner, C 948 Buehner, J 947 Buehner, J. F 948 Buehner, J. M 948 Buehner, 949 Bunker, 1 418 Bunker, X. R 418 Burkert, E. F 417 Burkhardt, F. J 422 Burkhardt, J. A 224 Burkhardt, R. P 224 Burns. R. W 950 Burtner, A. K 950 Burtner, J 950 Butler, J.'J 425 Butt, ]. W 423 Butt, R 423 Butt, R. R 423 Butz, C. A 301 Butz, L 300 Butz, L. C, Miss 360 Butz, L. M., Miss.... 360 Butz, V. M., Miss.... 360 Buvinger, E. E 318 Buvinger, G. W 315 Buvinger, H 321 Byron, J. W 425 Callahan, W. A 330 Callahan, W. P 190 Carmony, J 1269 Carney, A. C 443 Carr, S. H 278 Carroll, J 920 Carson, 1. L L297 Carson. R 1296 Caten.F 231 Caten, \V. L 230 Catrow. G.C 952 Catrow, X. 1 952 Catrow. P 952 Cellarius, H 524 Cellarius, H. F. E... 524 Chamberlin, S 288 Chamberlin, W. B... 287 Childs, B. B 201 Chrisman, C. N 433 Clagett, S. M 1112 Clagett, S.G 1112 Clay, A 951 INDEX. DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES. Clay, A. K 951 Clemmens, A 427 Clemmens, F. C 437 Clemmens, F. N 432 Clemmens, H 432 Clemmens, J 42? Clemmens, W.T.... 432 Clemmer, J 1084 Clemmer.W 1084 Cline, J. C 310 Coblentz, E 434 Coe, A 530 Coe, E. H 530 Coffman, C. J 438 Coffman.J 438 Coler, C. A 1282 Coler, J 1282 Collins, C 4:!7 Collins, J 4:;t Compton.F. M 457 Conover, O. B 428 Conover, F 4: 14 Cbnover, \V 428 Cook, H 548 Cook, 1 his;.- lira Cook.W 1085 Cooper, C. A 444 Cooper, I) 444 ( oover, A. 1 1180 Coover. E., Mrs 1181 Coover, J 1181 Coover, J. M 1267 Coover, J. Q.A 1267 Coover, M. J 1181 Corbin, L 899 Corns, C. F 439 Cotterman, W .... 1132 Cowden, R 445 Cox, J. M 1146 Coy, L 1191 Craig-, Z. A 467 Craighead, |. B 273 Craighead, S 909 Craighead, \V 273 Crandall, H. A 284 Crandall, 1 284 Crauder, H 953 Crauder, J 953 Crawford, A 536 Crawford, C. H 536 Crawford, W. H 466 Crawford, Z 536 Creager, J 1085 Creager, J. C 1085 Creager, J. P. .. 1085-1308 Creager, W 1308 Crider, P 1146 Cripe. D 1114 Cripe, 1., |r 1114 Crist, 1 1302 Crook, C 922 Crook, G 923 Crook, T 922 Crook, W 923 Crooks, J. C 44? Crooks, T.J 447 Crosbv, J..' 111-". Crosby, R 1115 Crosby, W. A 1115 Crull, H 1261 Crume, J. C 222 Crume, W. E 222 Culbert, E 954 Cummin, R. 1 238 Cummin, W 239 Cuppy, H 1252 Cuppy.J 1252 Cusick.'T. M 1179 Dale, C. W 449 Dancyger, 1 449 Dancyger, L 449 Dancyger, S 44*.< Darrow, | 875 Darrow, P. Mrs 876 Darrow, \Y. L 875 David, 1 1091 Davidson, J 229-1183 Davidson, ]., Mrs ...lis:; Davidson, O. E 165 Davidson, O. G. H... 465 Davis, C. M 454 Davis, L. N 453 Davisson, O. F 229 Davisson, H., Mrs . . 230 Davisson, J 230 Daw. 1 455 Davy, W 155 Dayton (."dirge of Music 360 Dean, D. A 157 Deardorf, J 1161 DeBra.D 458 DeBra, J. F 458 Degger, J 464 Degger, J. J 459 1 *egger, J. L 464 Delawter, J 1131 Denise, J. S 463 Denise, W 463 Denlinger, A. A 1086 Denlmger, I . . . .705- Hiss Dennick, Bros 554 Dennick, H 559 Dennick, J 554 Denn ck, W 554 Dennis, H. W 881 Dennis, M.J 881 Densmore, A 468 Densmore, W.....V . 468 Detrick, A 955 Detrick, J. J 955 Detwiler, J 1209 Dhein, A 465 Dickev, A 252 Dickey, R. R 252 Diehl, E 956 Diehl, 1 956 Diers, A. J. F 468 Disher, C. 1309 Disher, M 1309 Disher, P 1309 Ditzel.F 562 Ditzel, J. F 562 Dodds, C. W 958 Dodds, L 959 Dodds, W 958 Dohner, A. D., Miss.. 999 Dohner, 1 999 Doren, J. G 47(1 Drayer, G 1141 Drill, G. W 1298 Drill, J. W 1297 Drury, M. R 488 Drurv, M. S 4SS Duckwall, H 1244 Duckwall, W 1244 Dupuv, T 4S5 Dustin, C. W 239 Dustin, M 239 Eagle, P 959 Eagle, P. W '.'.v.i Earlv, 1 960 Early, J 960 Earnshaw, L. P 466 Earnshaw, M. A., Mrs. 232 Earnshaw, W. . . .231^466 Earnst, M. F 1089 Earnst, S 1089 Ebert, J. M 469 Ebling, G. M 961 Ebling, J 961 Eby, A..' 965 Ebv, C 1090 Eby, G 962 Ebv, J.. 962-963-965-1 1 mo Ebv, T. P 962 Ebv, W 1090 Eby, W. S 96:; Eckhardt, G 1116 Eckhardt, H. L 1116 Ecki, F 492 Ecki, W. H.H 492 Eckstine, C 474 Edgar, M. Miss 588 Edwards, G. W 474 Eichelberger, D 832 Eichelberger, T. D.. 832 Elder, T 346 Elliff, C. W 475 Elliott, H 1?:-; Elliott, W 173 Emert, A 964 Emert, D 964 Eminger, A. J 966 Eminger, C. F 966 Ensev, D 884 Ensey, J 884 Ensley, G 1117 Enslev, J 111? Enslev, J. L 1117 Erbaugh.A 1096 Erbaugh, G 1095 Erbaugh.1 1091 Erbaugh, J 1091 lour. Erbaugh, S 1095 Epplev, C. S 476 Eppley, H. C 176 Euchenhofer, E. E. . 338 Euchenhofer, F. H 339 Evans, J 1299 Evans, M 1298 Evans, R 1299 Evans, T. P 460 Ewry, B 967 Ewry, 1 967 Ewry, W 967 Fabing, M 968 Fair, C 322 Fair, E. S 322 Falkner.L 968 Falkner, L., Sr 96s Falknor, C. W 1120 Falknor.L 1120 Fansher, L. M 486 Fansher, W 486 Fansher, \V. 1 187 Farrell, T. J 888 Easold, E.. 440 Fay, A 497 Fay, W. E 497 Feight, A. G 571 Feight, F Feight, H. E 278 Feight, 1. G 568 Ferneding, H. 1 482 Fiorini, PI 481 Flack, P 187 Flack, W.H 487 Fleck, C. M 193 Fleck, E. L 193 Fleming, Z. D 499 Fletcher, J. R 500 Flory, A.". 1119 Florv, H 1119 Florv, J. B 1119 Flotron, J. R •- Foos. J.. 229 Forney, A 11.18 Forney, C 1118 Forrer, S 309 Fowler, A 866 Fox, D. B 970 Fox, D. C, Jr 970 Fox, 1 969 Fox. L 969 Fox, T.S 969 Francis, A 911 Francis, O. E 911 Frank, A 971 Frank, J 503 Frank, J. L. H 257 Frank, L 971 Frantz. A 1121 Frantz, D 1097-1121 Frantz, H 1097-1121 Frantz, 1 1097 Frantz, M 1300 INDEX DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES. Freigau, C 321 French, G. W 1121 French, S. L 1120 Freudenberger, M . . . 504 Frohmiller, J. B 512 Fromm, C 505 Fromm, C, Sr 505 Fry, E.A 511 Fry, H. A 511 Gaddis, M.P 218 Gaddis, T. P 218 Galbraith, A. S 343 Galbraith, N 344 Galloway, | 509 Galloway, "I. G 509 Ganger, G 1215 Garber, 1 972-1088 Gardiner, H 1122 Gardiner, H.E. ... 1122 Garlaugh, A 1124 Garlaugh, H 1124 Garlaugh, H. A 1123 Garrett, F. C 578 Garrett, J 578 Garrison, D 1098 Garrison. 1 1098 Gebhart, A 1124 Gebhart, G. A 516 Gebhart, G. H 516 Gebhart, G. S 975 Gebhart, H 1125 Geiger, G. H 517 linger, J 973 Geiger, L 517 Gem City Stove Co.. 522 George, L 584 George, S. F 584 Gephart, E. A 974 Gephart, G. S 975 Gephart, J 973 Gephart, J. M 973 Gephart, M. 975 Gerlaugh, A 518 Gerlaugh, J. A 518 Gerlaugh, J. H 517 Getter, A. T 1126 Getter, G 1125 Geyer, J 528 Gilbert, A 1232 Gilbert, J 1231 Gilbert, P. E 352 Gilbert, T 1232 Ginn, C 528 Gish, A 1182 Gish, C 1182 Gish, M 1182 Goetz, F. J 523 ( '. lhue, G 264 1. A 540 Gottschall, J 296 Gottschall, O. M. ... 296 Graf, 11. P, 975 Grausei , C 529 Grauser, CO 529 Green Family 345 Grim. A. H..' 533 Groby, D 976 Groby, H 977 Groby. S 977 Grove, G. A 977 Gruver, A 978 Gruver, 1 978 Gummer, A. M 522 Gummer, CM 522 Gummer, H. R 522 Gunckel, L. B 195 Gussler, J. L 534 Gussler.S. B 534 i '.winner, F 979 Haas, W. E 546 Haas, W. F 535 Hackney, J. D 545 Hacknev. W. W.... 545 Haeseler, E 590 Haeseler, E. C 590 Haeussler, J 542 Haeussler, W. G 541 Hagedorn, H 547 Hagedorn, L. P 547 Hahne, C [ 211 Hahne, J. A 548 Hahne, J. F 212-551 Haines, A 1237 Haines, D. A 177 Haines, I. C 1237 Hale, W. A 551 Hall. C.J 559 Hall, C. S 552 Hall, 1 552 560 980 Hall, J. A 980 Hall, J. F 571 Hall, J.N 553 Hall, V. E 571 Hall, W 552 Halteman, C 567 Halteman, E. C 567 Hamilton, E 561 Ha mm, D 566 Hamm, E. F 566 Hammel, J 980 Hammel, S 1126 Hammel, W 1126 Hand, J 566 Hand, J. M 565 Hanley, E. W 482 Hansbarger.A 1099 Hargrave, B. F 572 Harker, H. K 572 Harley, A 981 Harley, R 981 Harley, R., lr 982 Harries, J. W 573 Harter, M. G 620 Harter, S. K 620 Hartranft, U.C 574 Hartshorn, J. 575 Hartzell, A 1126 Hartzell, J 1126 Hassler.C M 421 Hathaway, B. F 576 Hathaway, F... 576 Hawker, F 576 Hawker, W. S 576 Hawthorn, J 577 Hawthorn, W. S 577 Heathman, E 240 Heathman, G. W.. .. 240 Heck, D 1128 Heck, D. L 1128 Hecker. I. H 581 Hecker.L.E 581 Heckman.D 983 Heckman, W 984 Heeter, E., Mrs 1259 Heeter.S 1258 Heidi nger, [. C 1188 Heikes.R. O 582 Hendrix, 1 1254 Hendrix, J. M 1254 Hendrix, W 1254 Henkel.G.C 1129 Henkel, P 1129 Hepner.H 1239 Hepner, J 1239 Hepner, J. A 1238 Herbruck, E 897 Herby, C 588 Herman, H 984 Herman, H. M 984 Herr, H 987 Herr, S 986-987 Herr, S. L 986 Herrman, E. A 589 Herrman, T. B 588 Hershev, B. F 332 Hershey, J. ..332-987 988 Hickev, I" 590 Hickev, P 589 Hikes,' J 463-963 Hiller, J 600 Himes, B 594 Himes, J. E 594 Hoban, J 583 Hoch, J 1070 Hochw'alt, A. F 595 Hochwalt, G 595 900 Hochwalt, G. A 900 Hoffman, G 1286 Hoffman. J 985-1286 Hoffman, L. F 1286 Hoffman, W. H 985 Holbrook, J. H., Miss 360 Holderman, J. G.... 989 Holderman, J. W.... 989 Hollencamp, H 609 Hollencamp, H. H.. 609 Hollenkamp, T 595 Holy Trinity Congre- gation 523 Hook, J 1192 Hoops, D 1130 Hoops, E 1130 Hooven, J 596 Hooven, W. E 596 Hoover, J 887 Hoover. <). P 887 Hoover, S. W 885 Hoover, \V. I. T.... 887 Horner, E. L 272 Horner, G 1210 Horner, 1 272 Horner, W 1211 Horning, J 272 1131 Horning, S 1234 Horning, W 1234 Hosier, R 1298 Houk.G 1132 Houk, G. W 894-1132 Hous, A 990 Hous, G 990 Hous. G. W 990 Hous, 1 1099 Howell. |. M 1133 Howell, L 1133 Howell, W. F 1133 Hubler, G. W 991 Hubler, M 991 Huddle. D 936-1162 Huffman, D. C 612 Huffman, W 598 Huffman, W. P 507 Hughes, J. R 204 Hughes, T. E 294 Humerickhouse, J .. .1137 Hunt, E 992 Hunt, H. C 992 Hunter, C 1134 Hunter, 1 1134 Hunter, J. B 330 Huston, M 1099 Huston, W 1099 Hutchins, O. P 600 Hvre, A 1100 Hyre, M 1100 Ridings, A. H 599 Irvin.^A 289 Irvin, H. A 289 Irvin, J. B 289 Irvin. O. \V 895 Israel, B 604 Israel, H 604 Izor, D 1134 Izor, J 1134 Jackson, I. L 1212 Jackson, S 1212 James, F. E 604 James, \V 604 Jenner, A 605 Jenner, A. E 606 Jenner, H. G 606 Jennings, E. 258 John, A 1094 John, J 876-1136 Johns, J 1200 Johns, L. W 1135 Johnson, R. T 609 INDEX. DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES. Johnston, J. R 340 Jones, D 611 Jones, E (ill Jones, W. D 616 Jones. W.J 615 Jordan, N. W 1090 Judy, C 993 Judy, J 993 Judy, S 993 Kaiser, H, \Y 354 Kamrath, C. F 612 Kaufmann, J 616 Kauffman, F 995 Kauffman, J 994 Kauffman, T.J 995 Kauffman, W. 1 996 Kayler, B 1187 Keener, 1) 1136 Keener. J 1136 Keener, S. B L136 Kellner, C 621 Kellner.C.G 621 Kellner, J 621 Kemp, D 618-1139 Kemp, G. W 1137 Kemp, J 618-1138 Kemp, L... tils 1138 1139 Kemp, W. H 1139 Kemper, C. S 378 Kemper, P. A 315 Kemper, W. H 619 Kennedy, G 1140 Kennedy, G. C 334 Kennedy, J 334, 1140 Kennedy, J. W 299 Kennedy, W 921 Keplinger, D. K 1277 Kersting, F 995 Ketrow, J 1141 Ketrovv, R 1141 Ketrow, R. J 1141 Keyser, D 324 Kevser, L. S :!'_'4 Kidder, \V. S 619 Kimmel, A 1255 Kimmel, A. B 911 Kimmel, C 354 Kimmel, C. F 911 Kimmel, D 626-1255 Kimmel, E. F 354 Kimmel, H. S 625 Kimmel, J. P 1101 Kimmel, L 1101 Kimmel, M 626-1255 Kinder, C. E 997 Kinder, J. E 997 King, C. S 026 King, J 1155 King, W 1176 King, W. B 626 Kinnard, W. M 622 Kinsey, D 1272 Kinsey, J 1257-1272 Kinsey, S 1257 Kinsey, W. N 1256 Kissinger, H 631 Kittredge, A. M 277 Klepinger, F 997 Klepinger, G 114:'. Klepinger, H... .627-1143 Klepinger, | 998 Klepinger, P. M.. . 640 Kline, J. H 633 Kline, R. E 633 Knecht, I L142 Knee, [. 1184 Koeppel, 1 999 Krauss, L 1000 Krauss, L. S 1000 Kreitzer, |. W 639 Kreitzer, P 1258 Kreitzer, W 1258 King, B lool Krug, G 638 King, G. F 638 Krug, H 1001 Kuhnle, F. | 261 Kuhnle, P. A lom; Kuhnle, T 1006 Kumler, A. W 299 Kumler, D 1309 Kumler, H 1309 Kunkle, F.J 261 Kunnike, C 1185 Kunnike, L 1185 Kunnike, T 1185 Kuntz, J K37 Kuntz, \V 637 Kurtz, C. S 1001 Kurtz, L. S 1001 Kurtz, P 1001 Lalon, J 1151 Landis, A. 1002-1122 1186 Landis, A. M 100'.' Landis. C. W 1186 Landis, D 1144 Landis, J 1040 Landis, J. M... 1186 Larkin, D. C 221 Laughlin, C.W 1145 Laughlin, J 1146 Laughlin, S 1145 Lautenschlager, G. C 634 Leasher, B 995 Lefevre, I ; 1004 Lefevre, J 1005 Lefevre, J. N 1003 Lefevre, W. H 1004 Leis, H 1242 Leis.J.P 1006 Leis, P 1242 Leis, W 1006 Leisenhoff, E 1009 Leisenhoff, F 1009 Lenz, J. P 641 Leopold, C. W 628 Leopold, G. M 628 Lewis, J. K 362 Lewis, I. K., Mrs 362 Lewis, H.W 641 Lewis, T. M 362 Lewis, W. D 362. Lienesch, T. H 642 Light, E.. 644 Light. G 450 Light, J 450, 644 Lindsey, T. C 643 Lindsey.W 643 Lindermuth, S 1005 Lindermuth, T 1006 Lingle, IJ 1101 Linxweiler, I.. Jr. . . 263 Linxweiler, J., Sr. . . . 263 Loesch, H 1013 Logan, J. M 649 Logan, S. M 649 Long, D 1260 Long, H 1102 Long, I L260 Lorenz, E 351 Lorenz, E. S 896 Loucks, M 047 Loucks, S. C, Mrs.. . 648 Lounsbury, O.W., |r. 639 Lounsbury.O. \V.,'Sr. 639 Loury, F 268 Loury, E. R. M.,Mrs. -'71 Lucius, C. A 251 Lucius, C. A.. Si ... . 251 Lyon, E. B 650 Lyons, H. B 1011 Lyons, T.V., ]r 1011 Lyons, T. V., Sr ....1010 McCally, A 634 McCally, 1. R 034 McCann, B 875 McCarter, J 1012 McCarter, j. J loll' McCarty, R. J 640 McClellan, W 653 McCov, 1 796 McCoy, M 796 McCray, A 1014 McCray, O 1014 McCray.S lol4 McDermont, D 655 McDermont, S. B.. .. 654 MacGregor, C 655 MacGregor, R 655 McGregor, f 331 McGregor, T 331 Mclntire, ]. K 208 Mclntire, S 208 McKee, C. J 308 McKemy, W 656 McKemy, W. D 656 McKeown, J. VV 659 McMahon, J. A 193 Macy, A 920-1019 Macy, D 910 Macv Family 915 Macy.G 918 Macy, I '.117 Macv, J OKi Macv, P 915 Macy, S 919 Macy, T 916, 1019 Marshall. E., Mrs.... 661 Marshall, | 660 Marshall, J. W 662 Marsh, ill, YV. C 660 Martin, D. M 663 Martin, E 227 Martin, U. S 663 Martin, YV. H L"_'7 Martindale Family. .1304 Martmdale, [ '...1305 Martindale, J. A 1304 Martindale, S...1292 1304 Martindale, W.L.. 1292 Mathews, (',. M 301 Mathews, J 301 Mathias, | 664 Mathias, |. F 664 Matthews, A. G 665 Matthews. E. P 323 Matthews, YV. G ... 665 Mays, S 1015 Mays, S. H 1016 Mays,W. A mi:, Mease, L. 1019 Mease, L. W 1019 Mecklev, B 1187 Meckley, C 1187 Meckley, H 1147 Mehlbert, B 669 Mehlbert, L 669 Meienberg, A 1016 Mellinger, G. W... .1021 Mendenhall, A. L.. .. or,.", Merkle, C 666 Merkle, F.C 666 Merkle, J. C 670 Mescher, B 908 Mescher, J 908 Metzger, B 1147 Metzger, H 1147 Metzger, ] 1147 Meyer, C 1022 Meyer, C, Sr 1022 Meyer, H. C 070 Meyer, H.W 671 Meyer, J 070 Meyer, J. J 1148 Meyer, L 747 Meyer, M 1148 Meyer, P 670 Meyers, H. W 675 Mevers, J 1024 Meyers, J. R 675 Michael, J 1216 Michelon, C 349 Miller, A 1271 Miller, B 1144 Miller, D 1144-1271 Miller, D. R 683 Miller, 1). W 672 10 INDEX. DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES. Miller, G. C 677 Miller.G. W 677 Miller, 1 1240 Miller, I., Sr 1240 Miller, [....305 072 1271 Miller, J. C 077 1271 Miller, J. A 305 Miller, W. H 684 Mills, I. I. T 205 Mills, J. V 1023 Mills, W 102:; Mills. \V. M 205 Minnich, I 682 Minnich, S. A 682 Mitchell, L 1024 Moist, 1 1025 Moist, "1. F 102:. Mooney, W 688 Moone'y, W. T 688 Moore, 1. K„ Mrs... . 876 Moran, M 685 Morgan, J. M 684 Morrison, 1 271 Morrison, W 268 Mull. J 685 Mull. R 685 Mumma, H 1140 Mumma, 11. C .... 1141) Mumma, J. H 1140 Mundhenk, D. G....1192 Mundhenk, F 1192 Mundhenk. W. S 1192 Mundorff, A 877 Mundorff, |. W 877 Munger, E 1213 Munger, S. S., Miss. .1213 Munger, W 1213 Murphy, B. S 694 Murphy, F. W 687 Myers, C 1150 Myers, E 1150 Myers, G. C 691 Myers, 1 1024 1214 Myers, M 1150-1214 Nat , T 1259 Ni der, G 687 Neff, A 1236 Neff, 1 1236 Neff, M 1236 Negley, I. C 201 Negley, W. H 207 Neiffer, C 693 \. iffer, |. G 692 Nelhs, A. S. B 901 Nelson, F. S 1026 Kevin, K 242 Ni \ in, R. M 242 h, L 1027 Ni m -in, E 1102 Newcom, E. F 1102 New o i 1 . \\ .... 317 Newcomer, j 311 Newsalt, A. 312 Nil r, II. G 69] Nu-r, N. S... 691 Niswonger, G 1076 Niswonger, J. D. ...1028 Niswonger, O. P 1028 Nixon, A. H 693 Nixon, 1 693 Nolan, H. F 678 Nolan, M. P 078 Nonas, S 1212 North, 1) 1305 North, G 1306 North, S. F 1305 Nutt, J. M 697 Oates. A. K 0,07 Oblinger, D. L 1020 Oblinger, E. C 1029 Oblinger, G 1029 O'Connor, 1 888 O'Donohue, R 698 Oehlschlager, F 705 Oehlschlager, J. F... 705 Oldfather, S.. .' 1135 Oldt, G 1102 Oldwine, W 1113 Olinger, ). K 1272 O'Neill, C 703 O'Neill, J. P 699 O'Neill, W 703 i fWill. W. S 703 I Hikst, D. A 704 Onkst, W 704 Ortman, B 1150 Ortman, H 1150 i Isness. A. M 713 ( isnoss, M 713 Otter, 1. 706 ( >tter, "F. J 706 Owens, G. B L030 Owens, I. S 1030 Ozias. G. W 7oo Pansing, B. J 1028 Pansing, |. H 1028 Pansing, W. H 1032 Pardonner, J. A 311 Pardonner, J. H Mil Pardonner, W. S.... 312 Parrott, H. W 708 Parrott, \\\, Jr 708 Parrott, W., Sr 708 Patrick, A 1007 Patterson, C. L 707 Patterson, J. C 353 Patterson, "1. H 171s Patterson, R 913 Patterson, T. N 714 Patterson, W. J... 707 71s Pattison, T. N 714 Pattv. 1 560 Paullus, J 456 Pease, C. E 290 Pease, G 1032 Pease, H 290 Pease, P 7no Pease, P. R 709 Peiffer, J. R 1241 Pierce, H. F - 309 Peirce, I 309 Peirce, J. E 305 Pence, j. H 305 Peirson, J 1151 Peirson, P. W 1151 Pettit, A 717 Philipps, C 715 Piatt, J 1034 1195 Piatt, J. B 1033 Piatt, \V 1104 Pierson, A 918 Pine, C 1104 Pine, S 1105 Plander.G. A 1104 Plander, f. H 1104 Plocher, A 716 Plocher, 1 716-1034 Pond,G.F 724 Poock, A. H 41S Poock, F.L 408 Poock, L. H 408 Porter, Mary, Mrs. . . 237 Pote, A....: 1101 Pote, [. C 1191 Pote, M 1191 Powell, C. F 1152 Powell, 1 720 Powell, J. C 1152 Powell, W. G 720 Powers, A. B 725 Powers, 1 725 Price, [.. 1234 Prinz, 1 891 Prinz. J. H 891 Priser, J. W 1106 Priser, M 1106 Priser, P 1106 Pritz, I. A 72.". Prugh, C 1036 Prugh, 1 726-1035 Prugh, J. W 720 Prugh, T. 1 1035 1'rvor, E. 727 Puis, J 1153 i Oiance, A 1193 Quance, S. S 1194 Ouinn, J. F 72S Quinn, M. E 728 Ralston, J. H 1026 Ramsey, N. P 7H7 Randall, H. E 736 Rasor, D 1215- 1217 Rasor, H 1218 Rasor, 1 1215 1217 Rasor, P 1215 Ratcliffe, J 720 Raymond, C. W. . . . 868 Raymond, G. M 868 Reed, H. N 1154 Reed. 1 1264 Reed, P 1154 Reel, J 1155 Reel, P 1155 Reeve, J. C 195 Regan, E. D 734 Regan, T 734 Reiche, G. 1 7:;:. Reillv, D. G 736 Reiter, I. H 1037 Reiter, W. L 1036 Renner, J 7MS Requarth, H. W 738 Reynolds, W. H 1216 Rhoades.J 1158 Rhoades, W 1158 Rice, C, Mrs 1038 Rice, F 1037 Rice, 1 1038-1156 Rice, J. A 74M 1156 Rice, N. H 743 Rice, W 1038 Richman, D 1107 Richman, \V 1107 Riegal, D 1242 Riegel, F.J 1156 Riegel, J 1242 Rilev, H 744 Rison, J 1039 Kison.P 1039 Ritchie, A. T 744 Ritchie, J. B 744 Rittenhouse, J 1209 Ritty, B ' 748 Ritty, 1 748 Robertson, 1 1042 Robertson, J. S 1042 Robinson, E. P 710 Robinson, J. A 740 Robinson, W 710 Robinson, \V. A. ... 740 Rock, J 740 Rock, W. S 740 Rogers, ] 1040 Rogers, J. J lo4o Rogers, R 1040 Rogge, H 318 Rohrer.C 1041 1157 Rohrer.D 1042 Rohrer, J 1202 Rohrer, J. H 1041 Rohrer, M 1 151 Rowe, C. E 328 Rowe, W.H 328 Rouzer, J 470 Rouzer, M. J.. Mrs.. . 470 Rubsam. H. 1281 Sage, H. H 720 St. Mary's Institute. . 747 Salisbury, C. \V 752 Salisbury, J. A 7. r >'> Salisbury, 'I. N 752 Sandridge, P 750 Savler, J 1219 Sayler, R 1219 INDEX. 11 DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES. Schaefer, F 753 Schaeffer, J 1043 Schaeffer, J. C 1044 Schaeffer, J. H 1043 Schaeffer, M. B 1043 Schaeffer, W. H....1044 Schath, A. J 360 Schell, A. C 1045 Schell, D. P 1159 Schell, H 1045,1159 Schell, J 1045, 1150 Si lirllhaus, L 1047 Schenck, J. F 219 Schenck, R. C. . .171-277 Schenck. W. C 171 Schlosser.M 1197 Schlosser.S.... 1194-1197 Schneider. J 11147 Schoenfeld, H 1046 Schreiber, P 1047 Schuberth, H. C 1048 Schuberth, W 1048 Schwind, C 755 Schwind, E. J 755 Sears, F. H S44 S< ars, J.G 842 Sears, P 842 Sears, S 842 Sears, S., Mrs 843 Selz, C 74n Sri/. T. A 74(1 Seybold, I L206 Seybold.J.G 1206 Shank, A 1040 Shank, H 1049 Shank, J 1050 Shank, J. A 1040 Shank, J. W 1049 Shank, N 1050 Shank, P 1148 Shauck, E 200 Shauck, J. A 200 Sheets, D 1130 Shepherd, G 750 Shepherd, G. E... . 756 Shepherd, S.Nellie.. 398 Sheer. C.J 482 Sheverling, A., Miss.. 1186 Shiveley, C, [r 1160 Shiveley, O.G 1160 Shoe, B. F 1196 Shoe, J 1196 Shoemaker, 1 762 Shoemaker, W. W . . 762 Shriver, 1. W 1180 Shroyer, B. D 765 Shroyer, E 765 Shroyer, G. W 757 Shroyer, J 757 Shrover, W 705 Shry, A 761 Shry, A. H 761 Shuey, A 188 Shuey, F 1051 Shuey, J 1052 Shuey, L 1051 Shuey, W. J 188 Shuler, H 1052 Shuler, W 1052 Shultz, E 1053 Simonds, A. A 206 Simonton, A 1054 Simonton, C. A 1054 Sinclair, D. A 176 Sloan, J 921 Smart. A. F 307 Smart, A. M 307 Smith, A 1055 Smith, A.J 772 Smith, D. L 700 Smith, H 023-1101 Smith, H. A 773 Smith, J 700 772 923 956 1055 L170 1203 Smith, I. A 765 Smith, J. \V 1101 Smith, L. R 1199 Smith, P 1199 Smith, R 705 Smith, S. B 270 Smith, T. J- S 270 Snead, J. A 771 Snead, R. C 771 Sneller. A 1056 Snepp, D. J 1056 Snepp, J L056 Snepp, J. T 1057 Snyder, C. F 249 Snyder, E. N 774 Snyder, F 249 Snyder, G 506 Sollenberger, D. P.. 1251 Sortman, G 730 Sortman, H. B 775 Sortman, J. W 73o Souders. J 1307 Sunders. S 1 .' !< >7 Sparks, E 770 Sparks. W. E 770, Spatz, J.J 913 Spatz, S 913 Spear, D ",',': Spear, M. L 777 Spinning, D. C 181 Spitler, D 1021 Spitler. E.W 1278 Spitler, J 1261 1277 Spitler, J. M 1061 Spitler, N. E 1061 Spitler, S 1061-1261 Sproule, R 1122 Stainrook, C. A 781 Stainrook, D 7 y l Stalev, H. J 783 Staley, J. C 782 Stamm, J. H 1062 Stark & Weckesser.. 826 Starr, C. A 768 Starr, G. B 768 Steel, J 175 Steel, R. W 175 Stein, L 783 Stein, R 783 Stetson, C. W 786 Stetson, F. A 786 Stettler, D 1062 Stettler, J. J 1002 Stewart, J. R 785 Stewart, T. L 783 Stiver,"J. C 1063 Stiver, S., Jr 1003 Stiver, S., Sr 1063 Stiver, W 1064 Stockslager, 1 1274 Stockslager, J 1275 Stoddard, E. F 788 Stoddard, H 787 Stoddard, J. \V 202 Stomps, G 758 Stoppelman, J. H.... 7 V 'J Stoppelman, P. H.. .. 789 Straub, J 791 Straub, J., Sr 791 Strong, J.. Sr 1292 Sunderland, A . . . . 792 Sunderland, J 1198 Sunderland, R 1263 Sunderland, W 1263 Sunderland, W. P... 792 Sutter, A.. Mrs 704 Sutter, F.I 794 Sutter, L 794 Swank, 1 1162 Swank, N 1162 Swadener, S 1309 Swartzel, A 1243 Swartzel, J 124:; Swartzel, M 124:; Swartzel, P 1205 Tanner, M. L 853 Tanner. \Y. (', 853 Teeter, A 1164 Teeter, S 1164 Teetor, 1 1238 Terwilhger, C. 1 792 Theobald, H., Jr.... 801 Theobald, H., Sr.... 801 Thomas, A 804 Thomas, C 1163 Thomas, C. R 807 Thomas, E. 802 Thomas, H. E 803 Thomas, [..283 1163 127:; Thomas, J. B 283 Thomas,]. H 796 Thomas, N 795 Thompson, C, Mrs. .1277 Thompson, E Thompson, H. A.... 805 Thompson, J „ 805 Thompson, J. F 878 Thompson, J. R 808 Tobias, D 1212 Tomlinson, W. H... 806 Tomlinson, W. R... 806 Treon, C 1004 Treon, H. P 1064 Treon, 1 1065 Trone, J 809 Trone, S. D 808 Troxel, P 1007 Troxel, P. H 1066 Troxel, R 1067 Tucker, T 810 Tucker, T. E 810 Turner, D 1201 Turner, F. L 810 Turner, J. C 811 Turner, L H 1200 Turner. W 811 Turpin, J 812 Ullery, S 1115 Ulm.'D 1067 Ulm, H. B 1067 Umbenhaur, \V 1165 Underwood, 1 1268 Underw 1. J. W. . . .1268 Vaile, 1 302 Vaile.J. H 302 Van Ausdal, C... 184-188 VanAusdal, 1 184 Van Cleve, B 176 Van Clevc W 170. Vaniman, J 972-1231 Van Riper. W. H.... 818 Vaughan, H 813 nan. L.H 813 Wagner, C 1068 Wagner, P 1166 \\ agner, T. M loos Wagner, W 1166 Waitman, S 1167 Waitman, 1 1167 Wallace, W 1256 Walter, M 350 Walters, E 217 Walters, J. A 217 Wampler, D 1255 Wampler, 1 1220 Want], lei', W 1255 Warlord, C. H 819 Warner, G 11 OS Warner, J 110,8 Warner, J. 1168 Warrington, G. O.. .. 333 Watrous, E. R Ma Watrous, W 819 Watson, E 820 Watson. E. E 820 Watson, I. W 820 Waymire, I) 1069 Wavmire, J 1069 Weakley, E. T 356 Weakley, H. H 356 Weaver, D 1169 Weaver, F. C 214 12 INDEX. DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES. Weaver, F. T. G.... 82] Weaver. G 1070 Weaver, G. W 1071 Weaver, H 1070 Weaver, f., 821 902 '. 1069-1170 Weaver, J.I 1156 Weaver, ]. | 1170 Weaver, J. M 213 Weaver, }. S 213 Weaver, P 1236 Weaver, S. H 1169 \\ r.n er, W 1072 Weaver, W. P 1072 Webber, C 1073 Webber, L. H 345 Webber, T 345 Wehb.rt, H 322 Webbert, M :i22 Webster, E 267 Webster, F 268 \\ i bster, 1 267 Webster, T 267 Webster, W 265 Weckesser, A. A.... 826 Weglage, F. W 823 W< glage, H 823 Wehner. A S-J4 Wehner, M 824 Weidner, P 824 Weinman, C. F 825 Weinman, C. H 825 Weinman, C.J 829 Weinreich, D 836 Weinreich, E 836 Wells, E. T 827 Wells, S 1203-1264 Wells, W 1203 Wells, W. J 827 Welsh, J 1171 Welsh, "W. 1) 1H7:I Welsh, W. S 1171 Wenger, A 1077 Wenger, C In;:, Wenger, J 1075 Wenger, J., Sr 1074 Wenger, 'L 1077 Wenger, S 1074 Wenger, W 1172 Werkmeister, F .... 830 Werthimer, M 350 W.rts. D 1078-1 'J 10 Wert/, 1 1H7S Wessel, B 1173 Wessel, H 117:1 West, J 1201 Weston, E. B 337 Weston, J. G :!:i7 Wet/el, I) 901 Whalev, A 835 Whaley, J. C 335 Whealen, C 333 Whitcomb, R s:',l White, A. C 844 White, J. R s:!7 White. X 840 White, P. W 840 White, W.J 837 Wiggim, A 1174 Wiggim, S 1174 Wiihelm, D 1223 Wilhelm, F 1222 Wiihelm, J 1222 Will, J. G 841 Will, J. G., Sr 841 Will.T 845 Will. T., Sr 845 Williamson, A.M... 846 Williamson, 1 846 Williamson, M. E... 847 Wilson, B 1221 Wilson, 1 1221-1222 Wilson, I. B S47 Wilson, | 1070 Wilson, j.R 1079 Wilson, M.E 233 Wilson, T. B 233 Wilson, W. C 1070 Wilt, A. D 274 Wilt, 1 274 Winchell, W. 1 848 Winder, J. H 849 Wine, D. D 854 \\ me, J. M 853 Winter, T S-"»4 Winter, W.J 854 Winters, J. C 855 Winters, L. W 855 Wolf, J. W 835 Wolfe, M 856 Wollenhaupt, H.A.. 857 Wollenhaupt, W.F.. 857 Wolpers, C. O 1081 Wolpers, H 1081 W 1. E. M 199 Wood, G. H 857 Woodhull, J 241 Woodhull, M 241 Work, A 859 Work, E. W 255 Work, F. M 858 Work, J 256 Work, |. W 256 Wormon, D 1224 Wormon, H 1223 Wormon, S . 1223 Wortman, J. A 860 Wright, J. A 863 WrigmvM 861 W right, R 863-1127 Wunderlich, F 863 Wunderlich, H 863 \\ ysong, C Hoc, 1175 W \song, S 1175 Yenny, T 864 Vike.'D 1108 Young, A. T 866 Young, D 1080 Young, D. W 1080 Young, E. S 234 Young, G.M 234 Young, G. R 244 Young, II 866 Young, J. F 866 Young, W. H L'44 Yount, C 1240 Yount, J 1 251 I Yount, G 1240 Yount, J 1125-1250 Yount, S 1200 Zehring, A 1082 1204 Zehring, B 1204 Zehring, C 1204 Zehring, J 1309 Zehring, L 1082 Zehring, L. H 1082 Zehring, P 1082 Zeil, O. 867 Zeil, O., Jr 867 Zeller, A. 1058 Zeller. J 1058 Zeller, W. S 1058 Zimmerman, A. J ... . 1092 Zimmerman, B 865 Zizert, C 871 Zizert, J 871 Zwick, E 542 Zwick, H 324 Zwick, W.G 343 Zwiesler, A 867 Zwiesler, C 867 Zwissler, J. E 872 PORTRAITS AND VIEWS. Allen, C. R 926 Anderson, W. B 815 Bates, NsD 399 Beaver, F. P 507 er, H 933 Beeghly.W. E Mil Berlin, C 369 Birch, J 513 Bittenger, F. D 405 Bixler, G L226 Bixler, Mrs. G 1227 Bonner, i A .",10 Brown. O. B 915 Brownell, J. R 389 Burkhardt, R. P 225 Callahan, W. P 191 Cellarius, H 525 Coe, E. H 531 Coler, C. A 1283 Conover, F 435 Conover, W 429 Cook, H 549 Coover, J. Q. A 1266 Crawford, C. H 537 Crawford, W. H 466 Davisson, O. F 228 Dennick, H 555 Dennick, W 556 Dickey, R. R 253 Ditzel, J. F 563 Doren, J. G 477 Drurv, M. R 489 Duckwall, W 1240 Duckwall, W., Mrs.. 1247 Dustin, C. W 915 Eichelberger, T. D.. 833 Elder.T 347 Evans, T. P 461 Farrell, T. J 889 Fasold, E 441 Feight, I. G 569 Frank, j. L. H 257 Garrett, F. C 579 George, S. F 585 Gottschall, O. M . . . 297 Haeseler, E. C 591 Hanlev, E. W 483 Heidinger, J. C 1189 Hiller, J 601 Hollencamp, H 608 INDEX. PORTKAITS AND VIEWS. 18 Houk, G. W 895 Huffman, D. C 613 Irvin, 0. W 915 Jennings, E.. . . Johnston, J. R.. 259 341 Kemper, C. S 379 Kennedy, G. C 335 Kinnard, W. M 623 Kuhnle, T 1007 Kumler, A. W 915 Lautenschlager.G. C. 635 Leopold, G. M 629 Lewis, J. K 363 Light, E 645 Light, J 451 Loury, F 269 Lyon, E.B 651 McCarty, R.J 640 McCoy, M 797 Mclntire, J. K 209 McKemv, W. D 657 Martin, \V. H 226 Martindale, W. L...1293 Mease, L. W 1018 Merkle, F. C 667 Merkle, |. C 670 Miller, D.W 673 Mooney, W. T 689 Murphy, B. S 695 Newcom, G 788 Newsalt, A 313 Nolan, M. P 679 Ozias, G. \V. 701 Patterson, J. H 179 Patterson, R HI;; Pease, C. E 291 Poock.A. H 419 Poock, L. H 409 Raymond, C. W 869 Robinson, E. P 711 Rogge, H 319 Rouzer, J 471 Sage, H. H 721 Schenck, R. C 170 Schenck, R. C 276 Sears, S , . 843 Sears, S., Mrs 843 Selz, T. A 741 Seybold, J 1207 Shauck, J. A 915 Sortman, J. W 731 Starr, C. A 769 Steele, R. \V 17.", Stoddard, J. W 203 Stomps, G 759 Thomas, J. B 282 Thompson, E 879 Tanner, W. G 852 VaileJ. H 303 Van Ausdal, 1 185 Van Cleve, B.. .'. . . . 177 Walters, J. A 216 Weakley, H. H :::,7 Weaver, J no:; Young, E. S 235 Young, G. R 246 Young, W. H 247 /el lei. W. S 1059 Zwick, E 543 Zwick, H 325 Dayton Public Library 824 Newcom's First Log Cabin 789 Newcom's Tavern 789 Steele High School Building 806 PRESIDENTS OK THE UNITED STATES. GEORGE WASHINGTON. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. ^"^EORGE WASHINGTON was born ■ ^\ in Westmoreland county, Va. , Febru- ^Lj ary 22, 1732. His parents were Augustine and Mary (Ball) Washing- ton. His great-grandfather, John Washing- ton, came from England to Virginia about 1657, and became a prosperous planter. He had two sons, Lawrence and John. The former married Mildred Warner and had three children, John, Augustine and Mildred. Augustine, the father of George, first married Jane Butler, who bore him four children, two of whom, Lawrence and Augustine, reached maturity. Of six children by his second marriage, George was the eldest, the others being Betty, Sam- uel, John Augustine, Charles and Mildred. Augustine Washington, the father of George, died in 1743, leaving a large landed property. To his eldest son, Lawrence, he bequeathed an estate on the Potomac, afterward known as Mount Vernon, and to George he left the parental residence. George received only such education as the neighborhood schools afforded, save for a short time after he left school, when he received private instructions in mathematics. He was an acknowledged leader among his companions, and was early noted for that nobleness of character, fairness and veracity which characterized his whole life. When George was fourteen years old he had a desire to go to sea, and a midshipman's warrant was secured for him, but through the opposi- tion of his mother the idea was abandoned. Two years later he was appointed surveyor to the estate of Lord Fairfax. In this business he spent three years. In 175 1, though only nineteen years of age, he was appointed ad- jutant with the rank of major in the Virginia militia, then being trained for active service against the French and Indians. Soon after this he sailed to the West Indies with his brother Lawrence, who went there to restore his health. They soon returned, and in the summer of 1752 Lawrence died, leaving a large fortune to an infant daughter, who did not long survive him. On her demise the estate of Mount Vernon was given to George. Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddie, as lieutenant-governor of Virginia, in 1752, the militia was reorganized, and the province divided into four military districts, of which the northern was assigned to Washington as adjutant-general. Shortly after this a very perilous mission was assigned him. This was to proceed to the French post near Lake Erie in northwestern Pennsylvania. The distance to be traversed was between 500 and 600 miles. Winter was at hand, and the journey was to be made without military escort, through a territory occupied by Indians. The trip was a perilous one, and several times he came near 26 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. losing his life, yet he returned in safety and furnished a full and useful report of his expe- dition. A regiment of 300 men was raised in Virginia and put in command of Col. Joshua Fry, and Major Washington was commissioned lieutenant-colonel. Active war was then begun against the French and Indians, in which Washington took a most important part. In the memorable event of July 9, 1755, known as Braddock's defeat, Washington was almost the only officer of distinction who escaped from the calamities of the day with life and honor. The other aids of Braddock were dis- abled early in the action, and Washington alone was left in that capacity on the field. In a letter to his brother he says: "I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet I escaped unhurt, though death was leveling my companions on every side." \n Indian sharpshooter said he was not born to be killed by a bullet, for he had taken direct aim at him several times, and failed to hit him. After having been five years in the military service, he took advantage of the fall of Fort Duquesne and the expulsion of the French from the valley of the Ohio, to resign his commission. Soon after he entered the legislacure, where, although not a leader, he took an active and important part. January J 7. 1759. he married Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Custis, the wealthy widow of John Parke Custis. When the British parliament had closed the port of Boston, the cry went up through- out the provinces that "The cause of Boston is the cause of us all." It was then, at the suggestion of Virginia, that a congress of all the colonies was called to meet at Philadel- phia, September 5, 1774, to secure their com- mon liberties, peaceably if possible. To this congress Col. Washington was sent as a dele- gate. On May 10, 1775, the congress re- assembled, when the hostile intentions of Eng- land were plainly apparent. The battles of Concord and Lexington had been fought. Among the first acts of this congress was the election of a commander-in-chief of the colo- nial forces. This high and responsible office was conferred upon Washington, who was still a member of the congress. He accepted it on June 19, but upon the express condition that he receive no salary. He would keep an exact account of expenses and expect congress to pay them and nothing more. The war was conducted by him under every possible disad- vantage, and while his forces often met with reverses, yet he overcame every obstacle, and after seven years of heroic devotion and match- less skill, he gained liberty for the greatest nation of earth. On December 23, 1783, Washington resigned his commission as com- mander-in-chief of the army to the continental congress sitting at Annapolis, and retired im- mediately to Mount Vernon. In February, 1789, Washington was unani- mously elected president. In his presidential career he was subject to the peculiar trials in- cidental to a new government; trials from lack of confidence on the part of other govern- ments; trials for the want of harmony between the different sections of our own country; trials from the impoverished condition of the coun- try, owing to the war and want of credit ; trial from the beginnings of party strife. At the expiration of his first term he was unanimously re-elected. At the end of this term many were anxious that he be re-elected, but he absolutely refused a third nomination. On the fourth of March, 1797, he returned to his home, hoping to pass there his few remain- ing years free from the annoyance of public life. Later in the year, however, his repose seemed likely to be interrupted by war with France. At the prospect of such a war he was again urged to take command of the armies. He chose his subordinate officers and left to JOHN ADAMS. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 29 them the charge of matters in the field, which he superintended from his home. In accepting the command he made the reservation that he was not to be in the field until it was neces- sary. In the midst of these preparations his life was suddenly cut off. December 12, he took a severe cold from a ride in the rain, which, settling in his throat, produced inflam- mation, and terminated fatally on the night of the 14th. On the 18th his body was borne with military honors to its final resting place, and interred in the family vault at Mount Vernon. The person of Washington was unusually tall, erect and well proportioned. His features were of a beautiful symmetry. He commanded respect without any appearance of haughtiness, and was ever serious without being dull. >yOHN ADAMS, the second president J and the first vice-president of the /• 1 United States, was born in Braintree, now Quincy, Mass., and about ten miles from Boston, October 19, 1735. His great-grandfather, Henry Adams, emigrated from England about 1640, with a family of eight sons, and settled at Braintree. The parents of John were John and Susannah (Boylston) Adams. His father was a farmer of limited means, to which he added the busi- ness of shoemaking. He gave his eldest son, John, a classical education at Harvard college. John graduated in 1755, and at once took charge of the school in Worcester, Mass. This he found but a "school of affliction," from which he endeavored to gain relief by devot- ing himself, in addition, to the study of law. For this purpose he placed himself under the tuition of the only lawyer in the town. He was well fitted for the legal profession, pos- sessing a clear, sonorous voice, being ready and fluent of speech, and having quick perceptive powers. In 1764 he married Abigail Smith, a daughter of a minister, and a lady of superior intelligence. Shortly after his marriage ( 1 765) the attempt of parliamentary taxation turned him from law to politics. He took initial steps toward holding a town meeting, and the resolu- tions he offered on the subject became very popular throughout the province, and were adopted word for word by over forty different towns. He moved to Boston in 1768, and became one of the most courageous and prom- inent advocates of the popular cause, and was chosen a member of the general court (the legislature) in 1770. Mr. Adams was chosen one of the first dele- gates from Massachusetts to the first conti- nental congress, which met in 1774. Here he distinguished himself by his capacity for busi- ness and for debate, and advocated the move- ment for independence against the majority of the members. In May, 1776, he moved and carried a resolution in congress that the colo- nies should assume the duties of self-govern- ment. He was a prominent member of the committee of five appointed June 11, to pre- pare a declaration of independence. This article was drawn by Jefferson, but on Adams devolved the task of battling it through con- gress in a three days' debate. On the day after the Declaration of Inde- pendence was passed, he wrote a letter to his wife which, as we read it now, seems to have been dictated by the spirit of prophecy. "Yesterday," he says, "the greatest question was decided that ever was debated in America; and greater, perhaps, never was or will be decided among men. A resolution was passed without one dissenting colony, 'that these United States are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states.' The 4th of July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated by succeeding generations, 30 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty God. It ought to be solemnized with pomp, shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illu- minations from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward for ever. You will think me transported with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil, and blood and treasure, that it will cost to main- tain this declaration, and support and defend these states; yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of light and glory. I can see that the end is worth more than all the means; and that posterity will triumph, although you and I may rue, which I hope we shall not." In November, 1777, Mr. Adams was ap- pointed a delegate to France to co-operate with Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee, who were then in Paris, in the endeavor to obtain assistance in arms and money from the French government. He left France June 17, 1779. In September of the same year he was again chosen to go to Paris, and there hold himself in readiness to negotiate a treaty of peace and of commerce with Great Britain, as soon as the British cabinet might be found willing to listen to such proposals. He sailed for France in November, from there he went to Holland, where he negotiated important loans and formed important commercial treaties. Finally a treaty of peace with England was signed January 2 1 , 1783. The re-action from the excitement, toil and anxiety through which Mr. Adams had passed threw him into a fever. After suffering from a continued fever and becoming feeble and emaciated he was advised to go to England to drink the waters of Bath. While in England, still drooping and desponding, he received dis- patches from his own government urging the necessity of his going to Amsterdam to nego- tiate another loan. It was winter, his health was delicate, yet he immediately set out, and through storm, on sea, on horseback and foot, he made the trip. February 24, 1785, congress appointed Mr. Adams envoy to the court of St. James. Here he met face to face the king of England, who had so long regarded him as a traitor. As England did not condescend to appoint a minister to the United States, and as Mr. Adams felt that he was accomplishing but lit- tle, he sought permission to return to his own country, where he arrived in June 1788. When Washington was first chosen presi- dent, John Adams, rendered illustrious by his signal services at home and abroad, was chosen vice president. Again at the second election of Washington as president, Adams was chosen vice president. In 1 796, Wash- ington retired from public life, and Mr Adams was elected president, though not without much opposition. Serving in this office four years, he was succeeded by Mr. Jefferson, his opponent in politics. While Mr. Adams was vice president the great French revolution shook the continent of Europe, and it was upon this point which he was at issue with the majority of his countrymen led by Mr. Jeffarson. Mr. Adams felt no sympathy with the French people in their struggle, for he had no confidence in their power of self-government, and he utterly abhorred the class of atheist philosophers who he claimed caused it. On the other hand Jefferson's sympathies were strongly enlisted in behalf of the French people. Hence origi- nated the alieniation between these distin- guished men, and two powerful parties were thus soon organized, Adams at the head of the one whose sympathies were with England, and Jefferson led the other in sympathy with France. In 1824, his cup of happiness was filled to the brim, by seeing his son elevated to the highest station in the gift of the people. THOMAS JEFFERSON. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 33 The 4th of July, 1826, which completed the half century since the signing of the Dec- laration of Independence, arrived, and there were but three of the signers of that immortal instrument left upon the earth to hail its morning light. And, as it is well known, on that day two of these finished their earthly pilgrimage, a coincidence so remarkable as to seem miraculous. For a few days before Mr. Adams had been rapidly failing, and, on the 4th, he found himself too weak to rise from his bed. On being requested to name a toast for the customary celebration oi the day, he ex- claimed "Independence forever." When the day was ushered in, by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons, he was asked by one of his attendants if he knew what day it was? He replied, " Oh, yes; it is the glorious Fourth of July — God bless it — God bless you all." In the course of the day he said, "It is a great and glorious day." The last words he uttered were "Jefferson survives." But he had, at one o'clock, resigned his spirit into the hands of his God. The personal appearance and manners of Mr. Adams were not particu- larly prepossessing. His face, as his portrait manifests, was intellectual and expressive, but his figure was low and ungraceful, and his manners were frequently abrupt and uncour- teous. >HOMAS JEFFERSON, third presi- dent of the United States, was born April 2, 1743, at Shadwell, Albemarle county, Va. His parents were Peter and Jane (Randolph) Jefferson, the former a native of Wales, and the latter born in Lon- don. To them were born six daughters and two sons, of whom Thomas was the eldest. When fourteen years of age his father died. He received a most liberal education, having been kept diligently at school from the time he was five years of age. In 1760 he entered William and Mary college. Williamsburg was then the seat of the colonial court, and it was the abode of fashion and splendor. Young Jefferson, who was then seventeen years old, lived somewhat expensively, keeping fine horses, and was much caressed by gay society, yet he was earnestly devoted to his studies', and irreproachable in his morals. In the second year of his college course, moved by some unexplained inward impulse, he discarded his horses, society, and even his favorite violin, to which he had previously given much time. He often devoted fifteen hours a day to hard study, allowing himself for exercise only a run in the evening twilight of a mile out of the city and back again. He thus attained very high intellectual culture, and excellence in philoso- phy and the languages. The most difficult Latin and Greek authors he read with facility. Immediately upon leaving college he began the study of law. For the short time he con- tinued in the practice of his profession he rose rapidly and distinguished himself by his energy and acuteness as a lawyer. But the times called for greater action. The policy of England had awakened the spirit of resistance of the American colonies, and the enlarged views which Jefferson had ever entertained soon led him into active political life. In 1769 he was chosen a member of the Virginia house of burgesses. In 1772 he married Mrs. Martha Skelton, a very beautiful, wealthy and highly accomplished young widow. Upon Mr. Jefferson's large estate at Shad- well, there was a majestic swell of land, called Monticello, which commanded a prospect of wonderful extent and beauty. This spot Mr. Jefferson selected for his new home; and here he reared a mansion of modest yet elegant architecture, which, next to Mount Vernon, became the most distinguished resort in our land. 34 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. In 1775 he was sent to the colonial con- gress, where, though a silent member, his abilities as a writer and a reasoner soon be- came known, and he was placed upon a num- ber of important committees, and was chairman of the one appointed for the drawing up of a declaration of independence. This committee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Rob- ert R. Livingston. Jefferson, as chairman, was appointed to draw up the paper. Frank- lin and Adams suggested a few verbal changes before it was submitted to congress. On June 28, a few slight changes were made in it by congress, and it was passed and signed July 4, 1776. What must have been the feelings of that man — what the emotions that swelled his breast — who was charged with the preparation of that declaration, which, while it made known the wrongs of America, was also to publish her to the world, free, sovereign and independent! In 1779 Mr. Jefferson was elected successor to Patrick Henry, as governor of Virginia. At one time the British officer, Tarleton, sent a secret expedition to Monticello, to capture the governor. Scarcely five minutes elapsed after the hurried escape of Mr. Jefferson and his family ere his mansion was in possession of the British troops. His wife's health, never very good, was much injured by this excite- ment and in the summer of 1782 she died. Mr. Jefferson was elected to congress in 1783. Two years later he was appointed minister plenipotentiary to France. Return- ing to the United States in September, 1789, he became secretary of state in Washington's cabinet. This position he resigned January 1, 1794. In 1797, he was chosen vice president and four years later was elected president over Mr. Adams, with Aaron Burr as vice president. In 1804 he was re-elected with wonderful unanimity, and George Clinton, vice president. The early part of Mr. Jefferson's second administration was disturbed by an event which threatened the tranquility and peace of the Union; this was the conspiracy of Aaron Burr. Defeated in the late election to the vice presidency, and led on by an unprincipled ambition, this extraordinary man formed the plan of a military expedition into the Spanish territories on our southwestern frontier, for the purpose of forming there a new republic. In 1809, at the expiration of the second term for which Mr. Jefferson had been elected, he determined tQ retire from political life. For a period of nearly forty years, he had been continually before the public, and all that time had been employed in offices of the greatest trust and responsibility. Having thus devoted the best part of his life to the serv- ice of his country, he now felt desirous of that rest which his declining years required, and upon the organization of the new adminis- tration, in March, 1809, he bade farewell for- ever to public life, and retired to Monticello. The 4th of July, 1826, being the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, great preparations were made in every part of the Union for its celebration, as the nation's jubilee, and the citizens of Washington, to add to the solemnity of the occasion, invited Mr. Jefferson, as the framer, and one of the few surviving signers of the Declaration, to participate in their festivities. But an illness, which had been of several week's duration, and had been continually increasing, compelled him to decline the invitation. On the 2d of July, the disease under which he was laboring left him, but in such a reduced state that his medical attendants en- tertained no hope of his recovery. From this time he was perfectly sensible that his last hour was at hand. On the next day, which was Monday, he asked, of those around him, the day of the month, and on being told that JAMES MADISON PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 37 it was the 3d of July, he expressed the earnest wish that he might be permitted to breathe the air of the fiftieth anniversary. His prayer was heard — that day, whose dawn was hailed with such rapture through our land, burst upon his eyes, and then they were closed for- ever. And what a noble consummation of a noble life ! To die on that day, — the birth of a nation — the day which his own name and own act had rendered glorious; to die amidst the rejoicings and festivities of a whole nation, who looked up to him, as the author, under God, of their greatest blessings, was all that was wanting to fill up the record of his life. Almost at the same hour of his death, the kindred spirit of the venerable Adams, as if to bear him company, left the scene of his earthly honors. In person Mr. Jefferson was tall and thin, rather above six feet in height, but well formed; his eyes were light, his hair, originally red, in after life became white and silvery; his com- plexion was fair, his forehead broad, and his whole countenance intelligent and thoughtful. He possessed great fortitude of mind as well as personal courage; and his command of tem- per was such that his oldest and most intimate friends never recollected to have seen him in a passion. His manners, though dignified, were simple and unaffected, and his hospitality was so unbounded that all found at his house a ready welcome. In conversation he was fluent, eloquent and enthusiastic; and his language was remarkably pure and correct. He was a finished classical scholar, and in his writings is discernable the care with which he formed his style upon the best models of antiquity. l^AMES MADISON, fourth president of £3 the United States, was born March 16, A I 1751, and died at his home in Virginia, June 28, 1836. He was the last of the founders of the Constitution of the United States to be called to his eternal reward. The Madison family were among the early emigrants to the New World, landing upon the shores of the Chesapeake but fifteen years after the settlement of Jamestown. The father of James Madison was an opulent planter, re- siding upon a very fine estate called "Mont- pelier, " Orange county, Va. The mansion was situated in the midst of scenery highly picturesque and romantic, on the west side of Southwest Mountain, at the foot of Blue Ridge. It was but twenty-five miles from the home of Jefferson at Monticello. The closest personal and political attachment existed be- tween these illustrious men from their early youth until death. The early education of Mr. Madison was conducted mostly at home under a private tutor. At the age of eighteen he was sent to Princeton college, in New Jersey. Here he applied himself to study with the most im- prudent zeal, allowing himself for months but three hours' sleep out of the twenty-four. His health thus became so seriously impaired that he never recovered any vigor of constitution. He graduated in 1 77 1 , when a feeble boy, but with a character of utmost purity, and with a mind highly disciplined and richly stored with learning. Returning to Virginia, he commenced the study of law and a course of extensive and systematic reading. This educational course, the spirit of the times in which he lived, all combined to inspire him with a strong love of liberty, and to train him for his life-work of a statesman. In the spring of 1776, when twenty-five years of age, he was elected a member of the Virginia convention, to frame the constitution of the state. The next year (1777) he was a candidate for the general assembly. He re- fused to treat the whisky-loving voters, and con- sequently lost his election; but those who had 38 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. witnessed the talent, energy and public spirit of the modest young man, enlisted themselves in his behalf and he was appointed to the executive council. Both Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson were governors of Virginia while Mr. Madison remained member of the council; and their appreciation of his intellectual, social and moral worth, contributed not a little to his subsequent eminence. In the year 1780, he was elected a member of the continental con- gress. Here he met the most illustrious men in our land, and he was immediately assigned to one of the most conspicuous positions among them. For three years Mr. Madison continued in congress, one of its most active and influential members. In the year 1784, his term having expired, he was elected a member of the Virginia legislature. No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the utter inefficiency of the old confederacy, with no national government, with no power to form treaties which would be binding, or to enforce law. There was not any state more prominent than Virginia in the declaration, that an efficient national government must be formed. In January, 1786, Mr. Madison car- ried a resolution through the general assembly of Virginia, inviting the other states to appoint commissioners to meet in convention at Ann- apolis to discuss the subject. Five states only were represented. The convention, however, issued another call, drawn up by Mr. Madison, urging all the states to send their delegates to Philadelphia, in May, 1787, to draft a consti- tution for the United States, to take the place of that confederate league. The delegates met at the time appointed. Every state but Rhode Island was represented. George Washington was chosen president of the convention; and the present constitution of the United States was then and there formed. There was, per- haps, no mind and no pen more active in framing this immortal document than the mind and pen of James Madison. The constitution, adopted by a vote of 81 to 79, was to be presented to the several states for acceptance. But grave solicitude was felt. Should it be rejected we should be left but a conglomeration of independent states, with but little power at home and little respect abroad. Mr. Madison was selected by the convention to draw up an address to the peo- ple of the United States, expounding the prin- ciples of the constitution, and urging its adop- tion. There was great opposition to it at first, but it at length triumphed over all, and went into effect in 1789. Mr. Madison was elected to the house of representatives in the first congress, and soon became the avowed leader of the republican party. While in New York attending congress, he met Mrs. Todd, a young widow of remark- able power of fascination, whom he married. She was in person and character queenly, and probably no lady has thus far occupied so prominent a position in the very peculiar soci- ety which has constituted our republican court, as Mrs. Madison. Mr. Madison served as secretary of state under Jefferson, and at the close of his administration was chosen president. At this time the encroachments of Eng- land had brought us to the verge of war. British orders in council destroyed our com- merce, and our flag was exposed to constant insult. Mr. Madison was a man of peace. Scholarly in his taste, retiring in his disposi- tion, war had no charms for him. But the meekest spirit can be roused. It makes one's blood boil, even now, to think of an American ship brought to upon the ocean by the guns of an English cruiser. A young lieutenant steps on board and orders the crew to be paraded before him. With great nonchalance he selects any number whom he may please to designate JAMES MONROE. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 41 as British subjects; orders them down the ship's side into the boat; and places them on the gun-deck of the man-of-war to fight, by compulsion, the battles of England. This right of search and impressment, no efforts of our government could induce the British cabi- net to relinquish. On the 1 8th of June, 1812, President Madi- son gave his approval to an act of congress de- claring war against Great Britain. Notwith- standing the bitter hostility of the federal party to the war, the country in general ap- proved; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th of March, 18 1 3, was re-elected by a large majority, and entered upon his second term of office. The contest commenced in earnest by the appear- ance of a British fleet early in February, 181 3, in Chesapeake bay, declaring nearly the whole coast of the United States under blockade. The emperor of Russia offered his services as mediator. America accepted; England re- fused. A British force of five thousand men landed on the banks of the Patuxant river, near its entrance into Chesapeake bay, and marched rapidly, by way of Bladensburg, upon Wash- ington. The straggling little city of Washington was thrown into consternation. The cannon of the brief conflict at Bladensburg echoed through the streets of the metropolis. The whole population fled from the city. The president, leaving Mrs. Madison in the White House, with her carriage drawn up at the door to await his speedy return, hurried to meet the officers in a council of war. He met our troops utterly routed, and he could not go back without danger of being captured. But few hours elapsed ere the presidential mansion, the capitol, and all the public buildings in Washington were in flames. The war closed after two years of fighting, and on February 13, 181 5, the treaty of peace was signed at Ghent. March 4, 1817, James Madison's second term of office expired, and he resigned the presidential chair to his friend, James Monroe. He retired to his beautiful home at Montpelier and there passed the remainder of his days. On June 28, 1836, then at the age of eighty- five years, he fell asleep in death. Mrs. Madi- son died July 12, 1849. WAMES MONROE, the fifth president of B the United States, was born in West- (• J moreland county, Va., April 28, 1758. He joined the colonial army when every- thing looked hopeless and gloomy. The num- ber of deserters increased from day to day. The invading armies came pouring in, and the tories not only favored the cause of the mother country, but disheartened the new recruits, who were sufficiently terrified at the prospect of contending with an enemy whom they had been taught to deem invincible. To such brave spirits as James Monroe, who went right on- ward undismayed through difficulty and danger, the United States owe their political eman- cipation. The young cadet joined the ranks and espoused the cause of his injured country, with a firm determination to live or die with her strife for liberty. Firmly, yet sadly, he shared in the melancholy retreat from Harlaem Heights and White Plains, and accompanied the dispirited army as it fled before its foes through New Jersey. In four months after the Declaration of Independence, the patriots had been beaten in seven battles. At the bat- tle of Trenton he led the vanguard, and, in the act of charging upon the enemy he received a wound in the left shoulder. As a reward for his bravery, Mr. Monroe was promoted a cap- tain of infantry; and, having recovered from his wound, he rejoined the army. He, how- ever, receded from the line of promotion by 42 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. becoming an officer on the staff of Lord Stir- ling. During the campaigns of 1777 and 1778, in the actions of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth, he continued aid-de-camp; but becoming desirous to regain his position in the army, he exerted himself to collect a regi- ment for the Virginia line. This scheme failed owing to the exhausted condition of the state. Upon this failure he entered the office of Mr. Jefferson, at that period governor, and pursued with considerable ardor the study of common law. He did not, however, entirely lay aside the knapsack for the green bag; but on the in- vasions of the enemy, served as a volunteer during the two years of his legal pursuits. In 1782, he was elected from King George county a member of the legislature of Virginia, and by that body he was elevated to a seat in the executive council. He was thus honored with the confidence of his fellow citizens at twenty-three years of age; and at this early- period displayed some of that ability and apti- tude for legislation, which were afterward employed with unremitting energy for the pub- lic good; he was in the succeeding year chosen a member of the congress of the United States. Deeply as Mr. Monroe felt the imperfec- tions of the old confederacy, he was opposed to the new constitution, thinking, with many others of the republican party, that it gave too much power to the central government, and not enough to the individual states. In 1789 he became a member of the United States sen- ate, which office he held for four years. Every month the line of distinction between the two great parties which divided the nation, the federal and the republican, was growing more distinct. The two prominent ideas which now separated them were, that the republican party was in sympathy with France, and also in favor of such a strict construction of the con- stitution as to give the central government as little power, and the state governments as much power, as the constitution would war- rant. The federalists sympathized with Eng- land, and were in favor of a liberal construc- tion of the constitution, which would give as much power to the central government as that document could possibly authorize. Washington was then president. England had espoused the cause of the Bourbons against the principles of the French revolu- tion. All Europe was drawn into the conflict. We were feeble and far away. Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality between these contending powers. France had helped us in the struggle for our liberties. All the despotisms of Europe were combined to pre- vent the French from escaping from a tyranny a thousand-fold worse than that which we had endured. Col. Monroe, more magnanimous than prudent, was anxious that, at whatever hazard, we should help our old allies in their extremity. It was the impulse of a generous and noble nature. He violently opposed the president's proclamation as ungrateful and wanting in magnanimity. Washington, who could appreciate such a character, developed his clam, serene, almost divine greatness, by appointing that very James Monroe, who was denouncing the policy of the government, as the minister of that government to the republic of France. Mr. Monroe was welcomed by the national conven- tion in France with the most enthusiastic demonstrations. Shortly after his return to this country, Mr. Monroe was elected governor of Virginia, and held the office for three years. He was again sent to France to co-operate with Chancellor Livingston in obtaining the vast territory then known as the province of Louisiana, which France had but shortly before obtained from Spain. Their united efforts were suc- cessful. For the comparatively small sum of fifteen millions of dollars, the entire territory JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 45 of Orleans and district of Louisiana were added to the United States. This was prob- ably the largest transfer of real estate which was ever made in all the history of the world. From France Mr. Monroe went to England to obtain from that country some recognition of our rights as neutrals, and to remonstrate against those odious impressments of our sea- men. But England was unrelenting. He again returned to England on the same mis- sion, but could receive no redress. He returned to his home and was again chosen governor of Virginia. This he soon resigned to accept the position of secretary of state under Madison. While in this office war with England was de- clared, the secretary of war resigned, and dur- ing those trying times the duties of the war de- partment were also put upon him. He was truly the armor-bearer of President Madison, and the most efficient business man in his cab- inet. Upon the return of peace he resigned the department of war, but continued in the of- fice of secretary of state until the expiration of Mr. Madison's administration. At the election held the previous autumn Mr. Monroe had been chosen president with but little opposition, and upon March 4, 1817, was inaugurated. Four years later he was elected for a second term. Among the important measures of his presi- dency were the cession of Florida to the United States; the Missouri compromise, and the "Monroe doctrine." This famous "Monroe doctrine" was enunciated by him in 1823. At that time the United States had recognized the independence of the South American states, and did not wish to have European powers longer attempt to subdue portions of the American continent. The doctrine is as follows: "That we should consider any at- tempt on the part of European powers to ex- tend their system to any portion of this hemi- sphere as dangerous to our peace and safety," and "that we could not view any interposi- tion for the purpose of oppressing or controll- ing American governments or provinces in any other light than as a manifestation by Euro- pean powers of an unfriendly disposition to- ward the United States." This doctrine imme- diately affected the course of foreign govern- ments, and has become the approved senti- ment of the United States. At the end of his second term Mr. Monroe retired to his home in Virginia, where he lived until 1830, when he went to New York to live with his son-in-law. In that city he died on the 4th of July, 1831. WOHN QUINCY ADAMS, the sixth m president of the United States, was /• 1 born in Quincy, Mass., on the 11th of July, 1767. His mother, a woman of exalted worth, watched over his childhood during the almost constant absence of his father. When but eleven years old he took a tear- ful adieu of his mother, to sail with his father for Europe, through a fleet of hostile British cruisers. The bright, animated boy spent a year and a half in Paris, where his father was associated with Franklin and Lee as minister plenipotentiary. His intelligence attracted the notice of these distinguished men, and he re- ceived from them flattering marks of attention. Mr. John Adams had scarcely returned tc this country, in 1779, ere he was again sent abroad. Again John Quincy accompanied his father. At Paris he applied himself with great diligence, for six months, to study; then accom- panied his father to Holland, where he entered first a school in Amsterdam, then the univer- sity at Leyden. About a year from this time, in 1 78 1, when the manly boy was but fourteen years of age, he was selected by Mr. Dana, our minister to the Russian court, as his pri- vate secretary. 46 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. In this school of incessant labor and of en- nobling culture he spent fourteen months, and then returned to Holland through Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg and Bremen. This long journey he took alone, in the winter, when in his sixteenth year. Again he resumed his studies, under a private tutor, at Hague. Thence, in the spring of 1782, he accompa- nied his father to Paris, traveling leisurely, and examining architectural remains, galleries of paintings and all renowned works of art. At Paris he again became associated with the most illustrious men of all lands in the con- templations of the loftiest temporal themes which can engross the human mind. After a short visit to England he returned to Paris, and consecrated all his energies to study until May, 1785, when he returned to America. After leaving Harvard college at the age of twenty, he studied law for three years. In June, 1794, being then but twenty-seven years of age, he was appointed, by Washington, res- ident minister at the Netherlands. Sailing from Boston in July, he reached London in October, where he was immediately admitted to the deliberations of Messrs. Jay and Pinck- ney, assisting them in negotiating a commer- cial treaty with Great Britain. After thus spending a fortnight in London, he proceeded to the Hague. In July, 1797, he left the Hague to go to Portugal as minister plenipotentiary, On his way to Portugal, upon arriving in London, he met with despatches directing him to the court of Berlin, but requesting him to remain in London until he should receive his instruc- tions. While waiting he was married to an American lady to whom he had been previ- ously engaged — Miss Louisa Catherine John- son, daughter of Mr. Joshua' Johnson, Ameri- can consul in London. He reached Berlin with his wife in Novem- ber, 1797, where he remained until July, 1799, when, having fulfilled all the purposes of his mission, he solicited his recall. Soon after his return, in 1802, he was chosen to the sen- ate of Massachusetts from Boston, and then was elected senator of the United States for six years, from the 4th of March, 1804. His reputation, his ability and his experience, placed him immediately among the most prom- inent and influential members of that body. Especially did he sustain the government in its measures of resistance to the encroachments of England, destroying our commerce and in- sulting our flag. In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson in the presidential chair, and he immediately nominated John Quincy Adams minister to St. Petersburg. Resigning his professorship in Harvard college, he embarked at Boston, in August, 1809. While in Russia, Mr. Adams was an intense student. He devoted his at- tention to the language and history of Russia; to the Chinese trade; to the European system of weights, measures, and coins; to the climate and astronomical observations; while he kept up a familiar acquaintance with the Greek and Latin classics. All through life the Bible constituted an important part of his studies. It was his rule to read five chapters every day. On the 4th of March, 1817, Mr. Monroe took the presidential chair, and immediately appointed Mr. Adams secretary of state. Taking leave of his friends in public and pri- vate life in Europe, he sailed in June, 18 19, for the United States. On the iSth of August, he again crossed the threshold of his home in Quincy. During the eight years of Mr. Mon- roe's administration, Mr. Adams continued secretary of state. Some time before the close of Mi. Mr roe's second term of office, new candidates began to be presented for the presidency. The friends of Mr. Adams brought forward ANDREW JACKSON. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. his name. It was an exciting campaign. Party spirit was never more bitter. Two hundred and sixty electoral votes were cast. Andrew Jackson received ninety-nine; John Quincy Adams, eighty-four; William H. Craw- ford, forty-one; Henry Clay, thirty-seven. As there was no choice by the people, the question went to the house of representatives. Mr. Clay gave the vote of Kentucky to Mr. Adams, and he was elected. Mr, Adams was, to a very remarkable de- gree, abstemious and temperate in his habits; always rising early, and taking much exercise. When at his home in Quincy, he has been known to walk, before breakfast, seven miles to Boston. In Washington, it was said that he was the first man up in the city, lighting his own fire and applying himself to work in his library often long before dawn. On the 4th of March, 1829, Mr. Adams retired from the presidency, and was suceeded by Andrew Jackson. John C. Calhoun was elected vice president. The slavery question now began to assume portentous magnitude. Mr. Adams returned to Quincy, and to his studies, which he pursued with unabated zeal. But he was not long permitted to remain in retirement. In November, 1830, he was elected representative to congress. For sev- enteen years, until his death, he occupied the post as representative, ever ready to do brave battle for freedom, and winning the title of "the old man eloquent." Upon taking his seat in the house, he announced that he should hold himself bound to no party. He was usually the first in his place in the morning, and the last to leave his seat in the evening. Not a measure could be brought forward and escape his scrutiny. The battle which Mr. Adams fought almost singly, against the proslavery party in the government, was sub- lime in its moral daring and heroism. For persisting in presenting petitions for the aboli- tion of slavery, he was threatened with i dict- ment by the grand jury, with expulsior from the house, and also with assassination, but no threats could intimidate him and his final triumph was complete. On the 2 1st of February, 1848, he rose on the floor of congress, with a paper in his hand, to address the speaker. Suddenly he fell, again stricken by paralysis, and was caught in the arms of those around him. For a time he was senseless, as he was conveyed to the sofa in the rotunda. With reviving conscious- ness, he opened his eyes, looked calmly around and said: "This is the end of earth;" then, after a moment's pause, he added, "I am content. " These were the last words of the sixth president. HNDREW JACKSON, the seventh president of the United States, was born in Waxhaw settlement, N. C, March 15, 1767, a few days after his father's death. His parents were from Ireland, and took up their abode in Waxhaw settle- ment, where they lived in deepest poverty. Andrew, or Andy, as he was universally called, grew up a very rough, rude, turbulent boy. His features were coarse, his form un- gainly; and there was but very little in his char- acter, made visible, which was attractive. When only thirteen years old he joined the volunteers of Carolina against the British in- vasion. In 1 78 1, he and his brother Robert were captured and imprisoned for a time at Camden. A British officer ordered him to brush his mud-spattered boots. " I am a prisoner of war, not your servant," was the reply of the dauntless boy. The brute drew his sword, and aimed a desperate blow at the head of the helpless young prisoner. Andrew raised his hand, and thus recived two fearful gashes — one on the hand and the other upon the head. The officer then turned to his 50 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. brother Robert with the same demand. He also refused, and received a blow from the keen-edged saber, which quite disabled him, and which probably soon after caused his death. They suffered much other ill-treat- ment, and were finally stricken with the small- pox. Their mother was successful in obtain- ing their exchange, and took her sick boys home. After a long illness Andrew recovered, and the death of his mother soon left him en- tirely friendless. Andrew supported himself in various ways, such as working at the saddler's trade, teaching school and clerking in a general store, until 1784, when he entered a law office at Salis- bury, N. C. In 1788, he was appointed solicit- or for the western district of North Carolina, of which Tennessee was then apart. This in- volved many long and tedious journeys amid dangers of every kind, but Andrew Jackson never knew fear. In 1 79 1, Jackson was married to a woman who supposed herself divorced from her former husband. Great was the surprise of both parties, two years later, to find that the con- ditions of the divorce had just been definitely settled by the first husband. The marriage ceremony was performed a second time, but the occurrence was often used by his enemies to bring Mr. Jackson into disfavor. During these years he worked hard at his profession, and frequently had one or more duels on hand, one of which, when he killed Dickinson, was especially disgraceful. In January, 1796, the territory of Tennes- see then containing nearly 80,000 inhabitants, the people met in convention at Knoxville to frame a constitution. Five were sent from each of the eleven counties. Andrew Jackson was one of the delegates. The new state was en- titled to but one member in the national house of representatives. Andrew Jackson was chosen that member. Mounting his horse he rode to Philadelphia, where congress then held its sessions — a distance of about 800 miles. Jackson was an earnest advocate of the democratic party. Jefferson was his idol. He admired Bonaparte, loved France and hated England. As Jackson took his seat, Gen. Washington, whose second term of office was then expiring, delivered his last speech to congress. A committee drew up a compli- mentary address in reply. Andrew Jackson did not approve of the address, and was one of the twelve who voted against it. He was not willing to say that Gen. Washington's administration had been "wise, firm and patriotic. " Jackson was elected to the United States senate in 1797, but soon resigned. Soon after he was chosen judge of the supreme court of his state, which position he held for six years. When the war of 1 8 1 2 with Great Britain commenced, Madison occupied the presidential chair. Aaron Burr sent word to the president that there was an unknown man in the west, Andrew Jackson, who would do credit to a commission if one were conferred upon him. Just at that time Gen. Jackson offered his services and those of 2,500 volunteers. His offer was accepted, and the troops were assem- bled at Nashville. As the British were hourly expected to make an attack upon New Orleans, where Gen. Wilkinson was in command, he was ordered to descend the river with 1,500 troops to aid Wilkinson. The expedition reached Natchez, and after a delay of several weeks there, the men were ordered back to their homes. But the energy Gen. Jackson had displayed, and his entire devotion to the comfort of his soldiers, won him golden opinions; and he became the most popular man in the state. It was in this expedition that his toughness gave him the rickname of ''Old Hickory." MARTIN VAN BUREN. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 53 Soon after this, while attempting to horse- whip Col. Thomas H. Benton, for a remark that gentleman made about his taking a part as second in a duel, in which a younger brother of Benton's was engaged, he received two severe pistol wounds. While he was lingering upon a bed of suffering news came that the Indians, who had combined under Tecumseh from Florida to the lakes, to exterminate the white settlers, were committing the most awful ravages. Decisive action became neces- sary. Gen. Jackson, with his fractured bone just beginning to heal, his arm in a sling, and unable to mount his horse without assistance, gave his amazing energies to the raising of an army to rendevous at Fayettesville, Ala. The Creek Indians had established a strong fort on one of the bends of the Tallapoosa river, near the center of Alabama, about fifty miles below Fort Strother. With an army of 2,000 men, Gen. Jackson traversed the path- less wilderness in a march of eleven days. He reached their fort, called Tohopeka or Horse- shoe, on the 27th of March, 18 14. The bend of the river inclosed 100 acres of tangled forest and wild ravine. Across the narrow neck the Indians had constructed a formidable breastwork of logs and brush. Here 900 war- riors, with an ample supply of arms, were as- sembled. The fort was stormed. The fight was utterly desperate. Not an Indian would accept of quarter. When bleeding and dying, they would fight those who endeavored to spare their lives. From ten in the morning until dark, the battle raged. The carnage was awful and revolting. Some threw themselves into the river; but the unerring bullet struck their heads as they swam. Nearly every one of the 900 warriors was killed. This closing of the Creek war enabled us to concentrate all our militia upon the British, who were the allies of the Indians. No man of less resolute will than Gen. Jackson could have conducted this Indian campaign to so successful an issue. Immedi- ately he was appointed major-general. Late in August, with an army of 2,000 men, on a rushing march, Gen. Jackson went to Mobile. A British fleet came from Pensa- cola, landed a force upon the beach, anchored near the little fort, and from both ship and shore commenced a furious assault. The battle was long and doubtful. At length one of the ships was blown up and the rest retired. Garrisoning Mobile, Jackson moved his troops to New Orleans, and the battle of New Orleans, which soon ensued, was in reality a very arduous campaign. Here his troops, which numbered about 4,000 men, won a signal victory over the British army of about 9,000. His loss was but thirteen, while the loss of the British was 2,600. The name of Gen. Jackson soon began to be mentioned in connection with the presi- dency, but, in 1824, he was defeated by Mr. Adams. He was, however, successful in the election of 1828, and was re-elected for a second term in 1832. In 1829, he met with the most terrible affliction of his life in the death of his wife. At the expiration of his two terms of office he retired to the Hermitage, where he died June 8, 1845. The last years of Jackson's life were that of a devoted chris- tian man. QARTIN VAN BUREN, the eighth president of the United States, was born at Kinderhook, N. Y., Decem- ber 5, 1782. He died at the same place, July 24, 1862, and his body rests in the cemetery at Kinderhook. Above it is a plain granite shaft fifteen feet high, bearing a sim- ple inscription about half way up on the face. The lot is unfenced, unbordered or unbounded by shrub or flower. His ancestors, as his name indicates, were of Dutch origin, and 54 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. were among the earliest emigrants from Hol- land to the banks of the Hudson. His father was a farmer, residing in the old town of Kinderhook. His mother, also of Dutch lineage, was a woman of superior intelligence and exemplary piety. At the age of fourteen, he had finished his academic studies in his na- tive village, and commenced the study of law. As he had not a collegiate education seven years of study in a law office were required of him before he could be admitted to the bar. Inspired with a lofty ambition, and conscious of his powers, he pursued his studies with in- defatigable industry, After spending six years in an office in his native village, he went to the city of New York, and prosecuted his studies for the seventh year. In 1803, Van Buren, then twenty-one years of age, commenced the practice of law in his native village. The great conflict be- tween the federal and republican parties was then at its height. Van Buren was in cordial sympathy with Jefferson, and earnestly and eloquently espoused the cause of state rights; though at that time the federal party held the supremacy both in his town and state. His success and increasing reputation led him after six years of practice, to remove to Hudson, the county seat of his county. Here he spent seven years, constantly gaining strength by contending in the courts with some of the ablest men who have adorned the bar of his state. just before leaving Kinderhook for Hudson, Mr. VanBuren married a lady alike distinguished for beauty and accomplishments. After twelve short years she sank into the grave, the victim of consumption, leaving her hus- band and four sons to weep over her loss. In 1 8 12, when thirty years of age, he was chosen to the state senate, and gave his strenuous support to Mr. Madison's administration. In 181 5, he was appointed attorney-general, and the next year moved to Albany, the capital of the state. While he was acknowledged as one of the most prominent leaders of the democratic party, he had the moral courage to avow that true democracy did not require that "univer- sal suffrage" which admits the vile, the de- graded, the ignorant, to the right of governing the state. In true consistency with his demo- cratic principles, he contended that, while the path leading to the privilege of voting should be open to every man without distinc- tion, no one should be invested with that sacred prerogative, unless he were in some degree qualified for it by intelligence, virtue and some property interests in the welfare of the state. In 1 82 1 he was elected a member of the United States senate, and in the same year he took a seat in the convention to revise the constitution of his native state. His course in this convention secured the approval of men of all parties. In the senate of the United States, he rose at once to a conspicuous posi- tion as an active and useful legislator. In 1827, John Quincy Adams being then in the presidential chair, Mr. Van Buren was re- elected to the senate. He had been, from the beginning, a determined opposer to the ad- ministration, adopting the state rights view in opposition to what was deemed the federal proclivities of Mr. Adams. Soon after this, in 1828, he was chosen governor of the state of New York, and ac- cordingly resigned his seat in the senate. Probably no one in the United States con- tributed so much towards ejecting John Q. Adams from the presidential chair, and placing in it Andrew Jackson, as did Martin Van Buren. Whether entitled to the reputation or not, he certainly was regarded throughout the United States as one of the most skillful, sagacious and cunning politicians. It was sup- WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 57 posed that no one knew so well as he how to touch the secret springs of action; how to pull all the wires to put his machinery in motion; and how to organize a political army which would, secretly and stealthily, accomplish the most gigantic results. By these powers it is said that he outwitted Mr. Adams, Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster, and secured results which few thought then could be accomplished. When Andrew Jackson was elected presi- dent, he appointed Mr. Van Buren secretary of state. This position he resigned in 1831, and was immediately appointed minister to England, where he went the same autumn. The senate, however, when it met, refused to ratify the nomination, and he returned home, apparently untroubled; was nominated vice president in the place of Calhoun, at the re- election of President Jackson; and with smiles for all and frowns for none, he took his place at the head of that senate which had refused to confirm his nomination as ambassador. His rejection by the senate aroused all the zeal of President Jackson in behalf of his repudiated favorite; and this, probably more than any other cause, secured his elevation to the chair of the chief executive. On the 20th of May, 1836, Van Buren received the democratic nom- ination to succeed Gen. Jackson as president of the United States. He was elected by a handsome majority, to the delight of the retir- ing president. His administration was filled with exciting events. The insurrection in Canada, which threatened to involve this country in war with England, the agitation of the slavery question, and finally the great commercial panic which spread over the country, all were trials to his wisdom. The financial distress was attributed to the management of the democratic party, and brought the president into such disfavor that he failed of re-election. With the ex- ception of being nominated for the presidency by the free soil democrats, in 1848, Mr. Van Buren lived quietly upon his estate until his death. He had ever been a prudent man, of frugal habits, and, living within his income, had now fortunately a competency for his declining years. It was on the 4th of March, 1841, that Mr. Van Buren retired from the presidency. From his fine estate at Lindenwald, he still exerted a powerful influence upon the politics of the country. From this time until his death, on the 24th of July, 1862, at the age of eighty years, he resided at Lindenwald, a gentleman of leisure, of culture and of wealth; enjoying in a healthy old age, probably far more happi- ness than he had before experienced amid the stormy scenes of his active life. m. »ILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, the ninth president of the United States; was born at Berkeley, Va., Feb. 9, 1773. His father, Benja- min Harrison, was in comparatively opulent circumstances, and was one of the most dis- tinguished men of his day. He was an inti- mate friend of George Washington, was early elected a member of the continental congress, and was conspicuous among the patriots of Virginia in resisting the encroachments of the British crown. In the celebrated congress of 1775, Benjamin Harrison and John Hancock were both candidates for the office of speaker. Mr. Harrison was subsequently chosen governor of Virginia, and was twice re-elected. Having received a thorough common- school education, William Henry Harrison entered Hampden Sidney college, where he graduated with honor soon after the death of his father. He then repaired to Philadelphia to study medicine under the instructions of Dr. Rush and the guardianship of Robert 58 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. Morris, both of whom were, with his father, signers of the Declaration of Independence. Upon the outbreak of the Indian troubles, and notwithstanding the remonstrances of his friends, he abandoned his medical studies and entered the army, having obtained a commis- sion of ensign from President Washington. He was then but nineteen years old. From that time he passed gradually upward in rank until he became aid to Gen. Wayne, after whose death he resigned his commission. He was then appointed secretary of the Northwestern territory. This territory was then entitled to but one member in congress, and Capt. Harri- son was chosen to fill that position. In the spring of 1800 the Northwestern territory was divided by congress into two portions. The eastern portion, comprising the region now embraced in the state of Ohio, was called "The Territory northwest of the Ohio." The western portion, which included what is now called Indiana, Illinois, and Wis- consin, was called the "Indiana territory." William Henry Harrison, then twenty-seven years of age, was appointed, by John Adams, governor of the Indiana territory, and imme- diately after, also governor of upper Louisi- ana. He was thus ruler over almost as extensive a realm as any sovereign upon the globe. He was superintendent of Indian af- fairs, and was invested with powers nearly dictatorial over the now rapidly increasing white population. The ability and fidelity with which he discharged these responsible duties may be inferred from the fact that he was four times appointed to this office — first by John Adams, twice by Thomas Jefferson and afterward by President Madison. When he began his administration there were but three white settlements in that al- most boundless region, now crowded with cities and resounding with all the tumult of wealth and traffic. One of these settlements was on the Ohio, nearly opposite Louisville; one at Vincennes, on the Wabash, and the third a French settlement. The vast wilderness over which Gov. Har- rison reigned was filled with many tribes of Indians. About the year 1806, two extraordi- nary men, twin brothers, of the Shawnee tribe, rose among them. One of these was called Tecumseh, or "The Crouching Pan- ther;" the other, Olliwacheca, or "The Pro- phet." Tecumseh was not only an Indian warrior, but a man of great sagacity, far- reaching foresight and indomitable persever- ance in any enterprise in which he might en- gage. He was inspired with the highest enthusiasm, and had long regarded with dread and with hatred the encroachments of the whites upon the hunting grounds of his fath- ers. His brother, the Prophet, was an orator, who could sway the feelings of the untutored Indian as the gale tossed the tree-tops beneath which they dwelt. Gov. Harrison made many attempts to conciliate the Indians, but at last the war came, and at Tippecanoe the Indians were routed with great slaughter. October 28, 1 812, his army began its march. When near the Prophet's town three Indians of rank made their appearance and inquired why Gov. Har- rison was approaching them in so hostile an attitude. After a short conference, arrange- ments were made for a meeting the next day, to agree upon terms of peace. But Gov. Har- rison was too well acquainted with the Indian character to be deceived by such protestations. Selecting a favorable spot for his night's en- campment, he took every precaution against surprise. His troops were posted in a hollow square, and slept upon their arms. The troops threw themselves upon the ground for rest; but every man had his accoutrements on, his loaded musket by his side, and his bayonet fixed. The wakeful governor, between PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 59 three and four o'clock in the morning, had risen and was sitting in conversation with his aids by the embers of a waning fire. It was a chill, cloudy morning with a drizzling rain. In the darkness, the Indians had crept as near as possible, and just then, with a savage yell, rushed with all the desperation which supersti- tion and passion most highly inflamed could give, upon the left flank of the little army. The savages had been amply provided with guns and ammunition by the English. Their war-whoop was accompanied by a shower of bullets. The camp-fires were instantly extin- guished, as the light aided the Indians in their aim. With hideous yells, the Indian bands rushed on, not doubting a speedy and entire victory. But Gen. Harrison's troops stood as immovable as the rocks around them until day dawned; they then made a simultaneous charge with the bayonet, and swept everything before them, and completely routed the foe. Gov. Harrison now had all his energies tasked to the utmost. The British, descending from the Can- adas, were of themselves a very formidable force; but with their savage allies, rushing like wolves from the forest, searching out every remote farm house, burning, plundering, scalp- ing, torturing, the wide frontier was plunged into a state of consternation which even the most vivid imagination can but faintly con- ceive. Gen. Hull had made the ignominious surrender of his forces at Detroit. Under these despairing circumstances, Gov. Harrison was appointed by President Madison comman- der-in-chief of the Northwestern army, with orders to retake Detroit, and to protect the frontiers. Harrison won the love of his soldiers by always sharing with them their fatigue. His whole baggage, while pursuing the foe up the Thames, was carried in a valise; and his bed- ding consisted of a single blanket lashed over his saddle. Thirty-five British officers, his prisoners of war, supped with him after the bat- tle. The only fare he could give them was beef roasted before the fire, without bread or salt. In 1816, Gen. Harrison was chosen a mem- ber of the national house of representatives to represent the district of Ohio. In congress he proved an active member, and, whenever he spoke, it was with force of reason and power of eloquence, which arrested the attention of all the members. In 1 8 19, Harrison was elected to the sen- ate of Ohio; and in 1824, as one of the presi- dential electors of that state, he gave his vote for Henry Clay. The same year he was chosen to the United States senate. In 1836, the friends of Gen. Harrison brought him forward as a candidate for the presidency against Van Buren, but he was de- feated. At the close of Mr. Van Buren's term, he was re-nominated by his party, and Harri- son was unanimously nominated by the whigs, with John Tyler for the vice presidency. The contest was very animated. Gen. Jackson gave all his influence to prevent Harrison's election; but his triumph was signal. The cabinet which he formed, with Daniel Webster at its head as secretary of state, was one of the most brilliant with which any presi- dent had ever been surrounded. In the midst of these bright and joyous prospects. Gen. Harrison was seized by a pleurisy-fever, and, after a few days of violent sickness, died on the 4th of April; just one month after his inau- guration as president of the United States. With the exception, perhaps, of the death of George Washington, the demise of no presi- dent of the United States, down to this time, had created a deeper thrill of sympathy through- out the country than that of President Harri- son. North and south, his obsequies were ob- served with unaffected sorrow, and men of all parties seemed to forget differences of opinion in doing honor to the memory of the dead. 60 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. >7*OHN TYLER, the tenth president of m the United States, was born in Charles /» 1 City county, Va., March 29, 1790. At the early age of twelve, John entered William and Mary college and graduated with much honor when but seventeen years old. He devoted himself with great assiduity to the study of law, partly with his father and partly with Edmund Randolph, one of the most dis- tinguished lawyers of Virginia. At nineteen years of age, he commenced the practice of law. His success was rapid and astonishing. It is said that three months had not elapsed ere there was scarcely a case on the docket of the court in which he was not retained. When but twenty-one years of age, he was almost unanimously elected to a seat in the state legislature. He connected himself with the democratic party, and warmly ad- vocated the measures of Jefferson and Madison. For five successive years he was elected to the legislature, receiving nearly the unanimous vote of his county. When but twenty-six years of age, he was elected a member of congress. Here he acted earnestly and ably with the democratic party, opposing a national bank, internal improve- ments by the general government, a protective tariff, and advocating a strict construction of the constitution, and the most careful vigilance over state rights. His labors in congress were so arduous that before the close of his second term he found it necessary to resign and retire to his estate in Charles City county, to recruit his health. He, however, soon after consented to take his seat in the state legislature, where his influence was powerful in promoting public works of great utility. He was then chosen by a very large majority of votes, governor of his native state. His administration was sig- lally a successful one, and his popularity secured his re-election. ohn Randolph, a brilliant, erratic, half- crazed man, then represented Virginia in the senate of the United States. A portion of the democratic party was displeased with Mr. Randolph's wayward course, and brought forward John Tyler as his opponent, and Tyler was the victor. In accordance with his professions, upon taking his seat in the senate, he joined the ranks of the opposition. He opposed the tariff; he spoke against and voted against the bank as unconstitutional; he stren- uously opposed all restrictions upon slavery, resisting all projects of internal improvements by the general government, and avowed his sympathy with Mr. Calhoun's view of nullifica- tion; he declared that Gen. Jackson, by his opposition to the nullifiers, had abandoned the principles of the democratic party. Such was Mr. Tyler's record in congress — a record in perfect accordance with the principles which he had always avowed. Returning to Virginia, he resumed the practice of his profession. There was a split in the democratic party. His friends still re- garded him as a true Jeffersonian, gave him a dinner, and showered compliments upon him. He had now attained the age of forty-six. Soon after this he removed to Williamsburg, for the better education of his children; and he again took his seat in the legislature of Vir- ginia. By the southern whigs, he was sent to the national convention at Harrisburg to nominate a president in 1839. The majority of votes were given to Gen. Harrison, a genuine whig, much to the disappointment of the south, who wished for Henry Clay. To conciliate the southern whigs and to secure their vote, the convention then nominated John Tyler for vice president. Thus it happened that a whig president and, in reality, a democratic vice president were chosen. In 1 84 1, Mr. Tyler was inaugurated vice president of the United States. In one short JOHN TYLER PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 63 month from that time Pres. Harrison died, and Mr. Tyler thus found himself, to his own sur- prise and that of the whole nation, an occu- pant of the presidential chair. This was a new test of the stability of our institutions, as it was the first time in the history of our country that such an event had occurred. Mr. Tyler was at home in Williamsburg when he received the unexpected tidings of the death of Pres. Harrison. He hastened to Washington, and on the 6th of April was inaugurated to the high and responsible office. Gen. Harrison had selected a whig cabinet. Should he retain them, and thus surround himself with coun- selors whose views were antagonistic to his own? or, on the other hand, should he turn against the party which had elected him and select a cabinet in harmony with himself, and which would oppose all those views which the whigs deemed essential to the public wel- fare? This was his fearful dilemma, and so he invited the cabinet which Pres. Harrison had selected to retain their seats. The whigs carried through congress a bill for the incorporation of a fiscal bank of the United States. The president, after ten days' delay, returned it with his veto. He suggested, however, that he would approve of a bill drawn up upon such a plan as he proposed. Such a bill was accordingly prepared, and privately submitted to him. He gave it his approval. It was passed without alteration, and he sent it back with his veto. Here com- menced the open rupture. It is said that Mr. Tyler was provoked to this measure by a pub- lished letter from the Hon. John M. Botts, a distinguished Virginia whig, who severely touched the pride of the president. The opposition now exultingly received the president into their arms. The party which elected him denounced him bitterly. All the members of his cabinet, excepting Mr. Web- ster, resigned. The whigs of congress, both the senate and the house, held a meeting and issued an address to the people of the United States, proclaiming that all political alliances between the whigs and Pres. Tyler were at an end. Still the president attempted to conciliate. He appointed a new cabinet of distinguished whigs and conservatives, carefully leaving out all strong party men. Mr. Webster soon found it necessary to resign, forced out by the pressure of his whig friends. Thus the four years of Mr. Tylor's unfortunate administra- tion passed sadly away. More and more, however, he brought himself into sympathy with his old friends, the democrats, until, at the close of his term, he gave his whole influ- ence to the support of Mr. Polk, the demo- cratic candidate for his successor. On the 4th of March, 1845, he retired from office, to the regret of neither party, and probably to his own unspeakable relief. His first wife, Miss Letitia Christian, died in Washington, in 1842; and in June, 1844, Pres. Tyler was again married, at New York, to Miss Julia Gardiner, a young lady of many personal and intellectual accomplishments. The remainder of his days Mr. Tyler passed mainly in retirement at his beautiful home — Sherwood Forest, Charles City county, Va. A polished gentleman in his manners, richly furnished with information from books and experience in the world, and possessing bril- liant powers of conversation, his family circle was the scene of unusual attractions. With sufficient means for the exercise of a generous hospitality, he might have enjoyed a serene old age with the few friends who gathered around him, were it not for the storms of civil war which his own principles and policy had helped to introduce. When the great rebellion rose, which the state rights and nullifying doctrines of John C. Calhoun had inaugurated, Pres. Tyler re- nounced his allegiance to the United States. 64 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. and joined the confederates. He was chosen a member of their congress; and while engaged in active measures to destroy, by force of arms, the government over which he had once pre- sided, he was taken sick and soon died. Vj*AMES KNOX POLK, the eleventh ■ president of the United States, was Al born in Mecklenburg county, N. C. , November 2, 1795. His parents were Samuel and Jane (Knox) Polk, the former a son of Col. Thomas Polk, who located at the above place, as one of the first pioneers, in 1735- In the year 1806, with his wife and chil- dren, and soon after followed by most of the members of the Polk family, Samuel Polk emi- grated some two or three hundred miles further west, to the rich valley of the Duck river, Tenn. Here, in the midst of the wilderness, in a region which was subsequently called Maury county, they reared their log huts, and estab- lished their homes. In the hard toil of a new farm in the wilderness, James K. Polk spent the early years of his childhood and youth. His father, adding the pursuit of a surveyor to that of a farmer, gradually increased in wealth until he became one of the leading men of the region. Very early in life, James developed a taste for reading and expressed the strongest desire to obtain a liberal education. His mother's training had made him methodical in his habits, had taught him punctuality and industry, and had inspired him with lofty principles of morality. His health was frail; and his father, fearing that he might not be able to endure a sedentary life, got a situation for him behind the counter, hoping to fit him for commercial pursuits. He remained in this uncongenial occupation but a few weeks, when at his earnest solicitation his father removed him, and made arrangements for him to prosecute his studies. Soon after he sent him to Mur- freesboro academy. In the autumn of 181 5 he entered the sophomore class in the university of North Carolina,, at Chapel Hill. He grad- uated in 1 81 8, with the highest honors, being deemed the best scholar of his class, both in mathematics and classics. He was then twenty-three years of age. Mr. Polk's health was at this time much impaired by the assi- duity with which he had prosecuted his studies. After a short season of relaxation he went to Nashville, Tenn., and entered the office of Felix Grundy, to study law. Here Mr. Polk renewed his acquaintance with Andrew Jack- son, who resided on his plantation, the Her- mitage, but a few miles from Nashville. James K. Polk was a popular public speaker, and was constantly called upon to address the meetings of his party friends. His skill as a speaker was such that he was popularly called the Napoleon of the stump. He was a man of unblemished morals, genial and courteous in his bearing, and with that sympathetic na- ture in the joys and griefs of others whichever gave him troops of friends. In 1823, Mr. Polk was elected to the legislature of Tennes- see. Here he gave his strong influence toward the election of his friend, Mr. Jackson, to the presidency of the United States. In January, 1824, Mr. Polk married Miss Sarah Childress, of Rutherford county, Tenn. His bride was altogether worthy of him — a lady of beauty and culture. In the fall of 1825, Mr. Polk was chosen a member of congress. The satisfaction which he gave to his constit- uents may be inferred from the fact, that for fourteen successive years, until 1839, he was continued in that office. He then voluntarily withdrew, only that he might accept the gubernatorial chair of Tennessee. In congress he was a laborious member, a frequent and popular speaker. He was always in his seat, JAMES K. POLK. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 67 always courteous; and whenever he spoke it was always to the point, and without any am- bitious rhetorical display. During five sessions of congress, Mr. Polk was speaker of the house. Strong passions were aroused, and stormy scenes were witness- ed; but Mr. Polk performed his arduous duties to a very general satisfaction, and a unani- mous vote of thanks to him was passed by the house as he withdrew on the 4th of March, 1839. On the 14th of October, 1839, he took the oath of office as governor of Tennessee at Nashville. In 1841, his ■ term of office ex- pired, and he was again the candidate of the democratic party, but was defeated. On the 4th of March, 1845, Mr. Polk was inaugurated president of the United States. The verdict of the country in favor of the annexation of Texas exerted its influence upon congress; and the last act of the administration of President Tyler was to affix his signature to a joint reso- lution of congress, passed on the 3d of March, approving of the annexation of Texas to the American Union. As Mexico still claimed Texas as one of her provinces, the Mexican minister, Almonte, immediately demanded his passports and left the country, declaring the act of annexation to be an act hostile to Mexico. In his message, President Polk urged that Texas should immediately, by act of congress, be received into the Union on the same foot- ing with the other states. In the meantime, Gen. Taylor was sent with an army into Texas to hold the country. He was sent first to Nueces, which the Mexicans said was the western boundary of Texas. Then he was sent nearly two hundred miles further west, to the Rio Grande, where he erected batteries which commanded the Mexican city of Matamo- ras, which was situated on the western banks. The anticipated collision soon took place, and war was declared against Mexico by President Polk. The war was pushed forward by Mr. Polk's administration with great vigor. Gen. Taylor, whose army was first called one of "observation," then of "occupation," then of "invasion," was sent forward to Monte- rey. The feeble Mexicans, in every encounter, were hopelessly and awfully slaughtered. It was by the ingenuity of Mr. Polk's administra- tion that the war was brought on. "To the victors belong the spoils.'' Mex- ico was prostrate before us. Her capital was in our hands. We now consented to peace upon the condition that Mexico should sur- render to us, in addition to Texas, all of New Mexico, and all of Upper and Lower Califor- nia. This new demand embraced, exclusive of Texas, 800,000 square miles. This was an extent of territory equal to nine states of the size of New York. Thus slavery was securing eighteen majestic states to be added to the Union. In the prosecution of this war we ex- pended 20,000 lives and more than $100,000,- 000, Of this more than $15,000,000 were paid to Mexico. On the 3d of March, 1849, Mr. Polk re- tired from office, having served one term. The next day was Sunday. On the 5th, Gen. Taylor was inaugurated as his successor. Mr. Polk rode to the capitol in the same carrriage with Gen. Taylor; and the same evening, with Mrs. Polk, he commenced his return to Ten- nessee. He was then but fifty-four years of age. He had ever been strictly temperate in all his habits and his health was good. With an ample fortune, a choice library, a cultivated mind, and domestic ties of the dearest nature, it seemed as though long years of tranquility and happiness were before him. But the cholera — the awful scourge — was then sweep- ing up the valley of the Mississippi. This he contracted, and died on the 15th of June, 1849, in the fifty-fourth year of his age. 68 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. V m ACHARY TAYLOR, .twelfth presi- J^^f dent of the United States, was born f J on the 24th of November, 1784, in Orange county, Va. His father, Colonel Taylor, was a Virginian of note, and a distinguished patriot and soldier of the Revo- lution. When Zachary was an infant, his father, with his wife and two children, emi- grated to Kentucky, where he settled, a few miles from Louisville. In this frontier home young Zachary could enjoy but few social and educational advantages. When six years of age he attended a common school, and was then regarded as a bright, active boy, rather remarkable for bluntness and decision of char- acter. He was strong, fearless and self-reli- ant, and manifested a strong desire to enter the army to fight the Indians who were ravag- ing the frontiers. In 1808, his father succeeded in obtaining for him the commission of lietenant in the United States army; and he joined the troops which were stationed at New Orleans under Gen. Wilkinson. Soon after this he married Miss Margaret Smith, a young lady from one of the first families of Maryland. Immediately after the declaration of war with England, in 1812, Capt. Taylor (for he had then been promoted to that rank) was put in command of Fort Harrison, on the Wa- bash, about fifty miles above Vincennes. This fort had been built in the wilderness by Gen. Harrison, on his march to Tippecanoe. It was one of the first points of attack by the Indians, led by Tecumseh. Its garrison con- sisted of a broken company of infantry num- bering fifty men, many of whom were sick. Early in the autumn of 18 12, the Indians, stealthily, and in large numbers, moved upon the fort. Their approach was first indicated by the murder of two soldiers just outside of the stockade. Capt. Taylor made every possi- ble preparation to meet the anticipated as- sault. On the 4th of September, a band of forty painted and plumed savages came to the fort, waving a white flag, and informed Capt. Taylor that in the morning their chief would come to have a talk with him. It was evident that their object was merely to ascertain the state of things at the fort, and Capt. Taylor, well versed in the wiles of the savages, kept them at a distance. The sun went down; the savages disappeared, the garrison slept upon their arms. One hour before midnight the war-whoop burst from a thousand lips in the forest around, followed by the discharge of musketry, and the rush of the foe. Every man, sick and well, sprang to his post. Every man knew that defeat was not merely death, but in case of capture, death by the most agonizing and prolonged torture. The savages succeeded in setting fire to one of the block- houses. Until six o'clock in the morning, this awful conflict continued. The savages then, baffled at every point, and gnashing their teeth with rage, retired. Capt. Taylor, for this gal- lant defense, was promoted to the rank of major by brevet. Until the close of the war, Major Taylor was placed in such situations that he saw but little more of active service. He was sent far away into the depths of the wilderness, to Fort Crawford, on Fox river, which empties into Green bay. Gradually he rose to the rank of colonel. In the Black Hawk war, which resulted in the capture of that renowned chieftain, Col. Taylor took a subordinate but a brave and efficient part. For twenty-four years Col. Taylor was engaged in the defense of the frontiers, in scenes so remote, and in employments so obscure, that his name was unknown beyond the limits of his own imme- diate acquaintance. In the year 1836, he was sent to Florida to compel the Seminole Indians to vacate that region and retire beyond the Mississippi, as their chiefs, by treaty, had ZACHARY TAYLOR. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 71 promised they should do. The services ren- dered here secured Col. Taylor the high ap- preciation of the government; and as a reward, he was elevated to the rank of brigadier-gen- eral by brevet; and soon after, in May, 1838, was appointed to the chief command of the United States troops in Florida. After two years of such wearisome employment, Gen. Taylor obtained, at his own request, a change of command, and was stationed over the de- partment of the southwest. This field em- braced Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Establishing his headquarters at Fort Jesup, in Louisiana, he removed his fam- ily to a plantation which he purchased near Baton Rouge. Here he remained for five years, buried, as it were, from the world, but faithfully discharging every duty imposed upon him. In 1846 Gen. Taylor was sent to guard the land between the Nueces and Rio Grande, the latter river being the boundary of Texas, which was then claimed by the United States. Soon the war with Mexico was brought on, and at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, Gen. Taylor won brilliant victories over the Mex- icans. The rank of major-general by brevet was then conferred upon Gen. Taylor, and his name was received with enthusiasm almost everywhere in the nation. Then came the battles of Monterey and Buena Vista, in which he won signal victories over forces much larger than he commanded. His careless habits of dress and his unaffected simplicity, secured for Gen. Taylor among his troops the sobriquet of "Old Rough and Ready." The tidings of the brilliant victory of Buena Vista spread the wildest enthusiasm over the country. The whig party decided to take ad- vantage of this wonderful popularity in bring- ing forward the unpolished, uncultured, honest soldier as their candidate for the presidency. Gen. Taylor was astonished at the announce- ment, and for a time would not listen to it; declaring that he was not at all qualified for such an office. So little interest had he taken in politics that, for forty years, he had not cast a vote. Gen. Taylor was not an eloquent speaker nor a fine writer. His friends took possession of him, and prepared such few communica- tions as it was needful should be presented to the public. The popularity of the successful warrior swept the land. He was triumph- antly elected over two opposing candidates — Gen. Cass and ex-Pres. Martin Van Buren. Though he selected an excellent cabinet, the good old man found himself in a very uncon- genial position, and was, at times, sorely per- plexed and harassed. His mental sufferings were very severe, and probably tended to has- ten his death. The proslavery party was pushing its claims with tireless energy; expedi- tions were fitting out to capture Cuba; Cali- fornia was pleading for admission to the Union, while slavery stood at the door to bar her out. Gen. Taylor found the political con- flicts in Washington to be far more trying to the nerves than battles with Mexicans or Indians. In the midst of all these troubles. Gen. Taylor, after he had occupied the presidential chair but little over a year, took cold, and after a brief sickness, of but litttle over five days, died on the 9th of July, 1850. His last words were; " I am not afraid to die. I am ready. I have endeavored to do my duty." He died universally respected and beloved. Gen. Scott, who was thoroughly acquainted with Gen. Taylor, gave the following graphic and truthful description of his character: " With a good store of common sense. Gen. Taylor's mind had not been enlarged and re- freshed by reading, or much converse with the world. Rigidity of ideas was the consequence. The frontiers and small military posts had 72 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. been his home. Hence he was quite ignorant for his rank, and quite bigoted in his igno- rance. His simplicity was child-like and with innumerable prejudices, amusing and in- corrigible, well suited to the tender age. Thus, if a man, however, respectable, chanced to wear a coat of an unusual color, or his hat a little on one side of his head; or an officer to leave a corner of his handkerchief dangling from an outside pocket — in any such case, this critic held the offender to be a coxcomb (per- haps something worse), whom he would not, to use his oft repeated phase, "touch with a pair of tongs." m ILLARD FILLMORE, thirteenth president of the United States, wa s born at Summer Hill, Cayuga county, N. Y. , on the 7th of Janu- ary, 1800. His father was a farmer, and, owing to misfortune, in humble circumstances. Of his mother, the daughter of Dr. Abiathar Millard, of Pittsfield, Mass., it has been said that she possessed an intellect of very high order, united with much personal loveliness, sweetness of disposition, graceful manners and exquisite sensibilities. She died in 1831; having lived to see her son a young man of distinguished promise, though she was not per- mitted to witness the high dignity which he finally attained. In consequence of the secluded home and limited means of his father, Millard enjoyed but slender advantages for education in his early years. The sacred influences of home had taught him to revere the Bible, and had laid the foundations of an upright character. When fourteen years of age his father sent him some hundred miles from home, to the then wilds of Livingston county, to learn the trade of a clothier. Near the mill there was a small village, where some enterprising man had commenced the collection of a village I library. This proved an inestimable blessing] to young Fillmore. His evenings were spent 1 in reading. Soon every leisure moment was occupied with books. His thirst for knowledge became insatiate, and the selections which he made were continually more elevating and instructive. He read history, biography, oratory, and thus gradually there was en- kindled in his heart a desire to be something more than a mere worker with his hands; and he was becoming, almost unknown to himself, a well informed, educated man. The young clothier had now attained the age of nineteen years, and was of fine per- sonal appearance and of gentlemanly demeanor. It so happened that there was a gentleman in the neighborhood of ample pecuniary means and of benevolence — Judge Walter Wood — who was struck with the prepossessing appear- ance of young Fillmore. He made his ac- quaintance, and was so much impressed with his ability and attainments that he ad- vised him to abandon his trade and devote himself to the study of law. The young man replied that he had no means of his own, no friends to help him, and that his previous edu- cation had been very imperfect. But Judge Wood had so much confidence in him that he kindly offered to take him into his own office, and to loan him such money as he needed. Most gratefully the generous offer was ac- cepted. In 1823, when twenty-three years of age, he was admitted to the court of common pleas. He then went to the village of Aurora, and commenced the practice of law. In this secluded, peaceful region, his practice, of course, was limited, and there was no oppor- tunity for a sudden rise in fortune or in fame. Here, in the year 1826, he married a lady of great moral worth, and one capable of adorn- MILLARD FILLMORE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 75 ing any station she might be called to fill — Miss Abigail Powers. His elevation of character, his untiring in- dustry, his legal acquirements, and his skill as an advocate, gradually attracted attention; and he was invited to enter into partnership, under highly advantageous circumstances, with an elder member of the bar in Buffalo. Just before removing to Buffalo, in 1829, he took his seat in the house of assembly, of the state of New York, as a representative from Erie county. Though he had never taken a very active part in politics, his vote and his sympa- thies were with the whig party. The state was then democratic, and he found him- self in a helpless minority in the legislature, still the testimony comes from all parties, that his courtesy, ability, and integrity, won, to a very unusual degree, the respect of his asso- ciates. In the autumn of 1832, he was elected to a seat in the United States congress. He en- tered that troubled arena in some of the most tumultuous hours of our national history. The great conflict respecting the national bank and the removal of the deposits was then raging. His term of two years closed, and he re- turned to his profession, which he pursued with increasing reputation and success. After a lapse of two years he again became a candi- date for congress; was re-elected, and took his seat in 1837. His past experience as a repre- sentative gave him strength and confidence. The first term of service in congress to any man can be but little more than an introduc- tion. He was now prepared for active duty. Fillmore was now a man of wide repute, and his popularity filled the state, and in the year 1847 he was elected comptroller of the state. Fillmore had attained the age of forty- seven years. His labors at the bar, in the legislature, in congress, and as comptroller, had given him very considerable fame. The whigs were casting about to find suitable can- didates for president and vice president at the approaching election. Far away, on the waters of the Rio Grande, there was a rough old soldier, who had fought successful battles with the Mexicans, which had caused his name to be proclaimed in trumpet-tones all over the land. But it was necessary to asso- ciate with him, on the same ticket, some man of reputation as a statesman. Under the influence of these considerations, the names of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore became the rallying cry of the whigs, as their candi- dates for president and vice president. The whig ticket was signally triumphant. On the 4th of March, 1849, Gen. Taylor was inaugu- rated president, and Millard Fillmore vice president, of the United States. On the 9th of July, 1850, Pres. Taylor, but one year and four months after his inaugura- tion, was suddenly taken sick and died. By the constitution, Vice Pres. Fillmore thus be- came president. He appointed a very able cabinet, of which the illustrious Daniel Web- ster was secretary of state. Fillmore had very serious difficulties to contend with, since the opposition had a ma- jorty in both house. He did everything in his power to conciliate the south; but the pro- slavery party in the south felt the inadequacy of all measures of transient conciliation. The population of the free states was so rapidly in- creasing over that of the slave states that it was inevitable that the power of the govern- ment should soon pass into the hands of the free states. The famous compromise meas- ures were adopted under Fillmore's administra- tion, and the Japan expedition was sent out. On the 4th of March, 1853, Fillmore, having served one term, retired. In 1856, Fillmore was nominated for the presidency by the "know nothing" party, but 76 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. was beaten by Mr. Buchanan. After that Fillmore lived in retirement. During the ter- rible conflict of civil war he was mostly silent. It was generally supposed that his sympathies were rather with those who were endeavoring to overthrow our institutions. He lived to a ripe old age, and died in Buffalo, N. Y. , March 8, 1874. BRANKLIN PIERCE, the fourteenth president of the United States, was born in Hillsborough, N. H., November 23, 1804. Franklin was a very bright and handsome boy, generous, warm-hearted and brave. He won alike the love of old and young. The boys on the play ground loved him. His teachers loved him. The neigh- bors looked upon him with pride and affection. He was by instinct a gentleman; always speak- ing kind words, doing kind deeds, with a peculiar unstudied tact which taught him what was agreeable. Without developing any pre- cocity of genius, or any unnatural devotion to books, he was a good scholar; in body, in mind, in affections, a finely developed boy. When sixteen .years of age, in the year 1820, he entered Bowdoin college at Bruns- wick, Maine. He was one of the most popu- lar young men in the college. The purity of his moral character, the unvarying courtesy of his demeanor, his rank as a scholar, and genial nature, rendered him a universal favorite. There was something very peculiarly winning in his address, and it was evidently not in the slightest degree studied; it was the simple out- gushing of his own magnanimous and loving nature. Upon graduating, in the year 1824, Frank- lin Pierce commenced the study of law in the office of Judge Woodbury, one of the most distinguished lawyers of the state, and a man of great private worth. The eminent social qualities of the young lawyer, his father's promince as a public man, and the brilliant political career into which Judge Woodbury was entering, all tended to entice Mr. Pierce into the fascinating, yet perilous, path of po- litical life. With all the ardor of his nature he espoused the cause of Gen. Jackson for the presidency. He commenced the practice of law in Hillsborough, and was soon elected to represent the town in the state legislature. Here he served for four years. The last two years he was chosen speaker of the house by a very large vote. In 1833, at the age of twenty-nine, he was elected a member of congress. Without tak- ing an active part in debates, he was faithful and laborious in duty, and ever rising in the estimation of those with whom he was associ- ated. In 1837, being then but thirty-three years of age, he was elected to the senate of the United States, taking his seat just as Mr. Van Buren commenced his administration. He was the youngest member in the senate. In the year 1S34 he married Miss Jane Means Appleton, a lady of rare beauty and accom- plishments, and one admirably fitted to adorn every station with which her husband was honored. Of the three sons who were born to them, all now sleep with their parents in the grave. In the year 1838, Mr. Pierce, with growing fame and increasing business as a lawyer, took up his residence in Concord, the capital of New Hampshire. President Polk, upon his accession to office, appointed Mr. Pierce at- torney-general of the United States; but the offer was declined in consequence of numerous professional engagements at home and the precarious state of Mrs. Pierce's health. He also about the same time declined the nomina- tion for governor by the democratic party. The war with Mexico called Mr. Pierce to the army. Receiving the appointment of briga- FRANKLIN PIERCE. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 79 dier-general, he embarked with a portion of his troops at Newport, R. I., on the 27th of May, 1847. He took an important part in this war, proving himself a brave and true soidier. When Gen. Pierce reached his home in his native state he was received enthusiastically by the advocates of the Mexican war, and coldly by its opponents. He resumed the practice of his profession, very frequently tak- ing an active part in political questions, giving his cordial support to the pro-slavery wing of the demociatic party. The compromise meas- ures met cordially with his approval; and he strenuously advocated the enforcement of the infamous fugitive-slave law, which so shocked the religious sensibilities of the north. He thus became distinguished as a "northern man with southern principles." The strong partisans of slavery in the south consequently regarded him as a man whom they could safely trust in office to carry out their plans. On the 1 2th of June, 1852, the democratic convention met in Baltimore to nominate a candidate for the presidency. For four days they continued in session, and in thirty-five ballotings no one had obtained a two-thirds vote. Not a vote thus far had been thrown for Gen. Pierce. Then the Virginia delega- tion brought forward his name. There were fourteen more ballotings, during which Gen. Pierce constantly gained strength, until, at the forty-ninth ballot, he received 282 votes, ahd all other candidates eleven. Gen. Winfield Scott was the whig candidate. Gen. Pierce was chosen with great unanimity. Only four states — Vermont, Massachusetts, Kentucky and Tennessee — cast their electoral votes against him. Gen. Franklin Pierce was there- fore inaugurated president of the United States on the 4th of March, 1853. His administration proved one of the most stormy our country had ever experienced. The controversy between slavery and freedom was then approaching its culminating point. It became evident that there was an "irrepress- ible conflict" between them, and that the nation could not long exist "half slave and half free." President Pierce, during the whole of his administration, did everything he could to conciliate the south; but it was all in vain. The conflict every year grew more and more violent, and threats of the dissolution of the Union were borne to the north on every southern breeze. On the 4th of March, 1857, President Pierce retired to his home in Concord. Of three children, two had died, and his only sur- viving child had been killed before his eyes by a railroad accident; and his wife, one of the most estimable and accomplished of ladies, was rapidly sinking in consumption. The hour of dreadful gloom soon came, and he was left alone in the world without wjfe or child. Such was the condition of affairs when Pres. Pierce approached the close of his four years' term of office. The north had become thoroughly alienated from him. The anti- slavery sentiment, goaded by great outrages, had been rapidly increasing; all the intellectual ability and social worth of Pres. Pierce were forgotten in deep reprehension of his adminis- trative acts. The slaveholders of the south, also, unmindful of the fidelity with which he had advocated those measures of government which they approved, and perhaps, also, feel- ing that he had rendered himself so unpopular as no longer to be able acceptably to serve them, ungratefully dropped him, and nomi- nated James Buchanan to succeed him. When the terrible rebellion broke forth, which divided our country into two parties, Mr. Pierce remained steadfast in the principles which he had always cherished and gave his sympathies to that pro-slavery party with which he had ever been allied. He declined 80 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. to do anything, either by voice or pen, to strengthen the hand of the national govern- ment. He continued to reside in Concord i until the time of his death, which occurred in October, 1869. He was one of the most genial and social of men, an honored communicant of the Episcopal church, and one of the kind- est of neighbors. Generous to a fault, he con- tributed liberally for the alleviation of suffer- ing and want, and many of his townspeople were often gladdened by his material bounty. WAMES BUCHANAN, the fifteenth presi- m dent of the United States, was born in #• ■ Franklin county, Pa., on the 23d of April, 1 79 1. His father was a native of the north of Ireland; a poor man, who had emigrated in 1783, with little property save his own strong arms. Five years afterward he married Elizabeth Spear, the daughter of a respectable farmer, and, with his young bride, plunged into the wilderness, staked his claim, reared his log hut, opened a clearing with his ax, and settled down to perform his obscure part in the drama of life. In this secluded home, where James was born, he remained for eight years, enjoying but few social or intel- lectual advantages. When James was eight years of age his father removed to the village of Mercersburg, where his son was placed at school, and commenced a course of study in English, Latin and Greek. His progress was rapid, and at the age of fourteen he entered Dickenson college at Carlisle. Here he de- veloped remarkable talent, and took his stand among the first scholars of the institution. His application to study was intense, and yet his native powers enabled him to master the most abstruse subjects with facility. In the year 1809, he graduated with the highest honors of his class. He was then eighteen years of age; tall and graceful, vigorous in health, fond of athletic sport, an unerring shot, and enlivened with an exuberant flow of animal spirits. He immediately commenced the study of law in the city of Lancaster, and was admitted to the bar in 18 12, when he was but twenty-one years of age. Very rapidly he rose in his pro- fession, and at once took undisputed stand with the ablest lawyers of the state. When but twenty-six years of age, unaided by coun- sel, he successfully defended before the state senate one of the judges of the state, who was tried upon articles of impeachment. At the age of thirty it was generally admitted that he stood at the head of the bar. In 1820 he reluctantly consented to run as a candidate for congress. He was elected, and for ten years he remained a member of the lower house. During the vacations of congress, he occasionaily tried some important case. In 183 1 he retire i altogether from the toils of his profession, having acquired an ample fortune. Gen. Jackson, upon his elevation to the presidency, appointed Mr. Buchanan minister to Russia. The duties of his mission he per- formed with ability which gave satisfaction to all parties. Upon his return, in 1833, he was elected to a seat in the United States senate. He there met, as his associates, Webster, Clay, Wright and Calhoun. He advocated the measures proposed by Pres. Jackson, of making reprisals against France, to enforce the payment of our claims against that country: and defended the course of the president in his unprecedented and wholesale removal from office of those who were not supporters of his administration. Upon this question he was brought into direct collision with Henry Clay. He also, with voice and vote, advocated ex- punging from the journal of the senate the vote of censure against Gen. Jackson for re- moving the deposits. Earnestly he opposed JAMES BUCHANAN. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 83 the abolition of slavery in the District of Co- lumbia, and urged the prohibition of the circu- lation of anti-slavery documents by the United States mail. Upon Mr. Polk's accession to the presi- dency, Mr. Buchanan became secretary of state, and as such took his share of the respon- sibility in the conduct of the Mexican war. Mr. Polk assumed that crossing the Nueces by the American troops into the disputed territory was not wrong, but for the Mexicans to cross the Rio Grande into that territory was a declara- tion of war. Mr. Buchanan identified himself thoroughly with the party devoted to the per- petuation and extension of slavery, and brought all the energies of his mind to bear against the Wilmot Proviso. He gave his approval of the compromise measures of 1850, which in- cluded the fugitive slave law. Mr. Pierce, upon his election to the presidency, honored Mr. Buchanan with the mission to England. In the year 1856, a national democratic convention nominated Mr. Buchanan for the presidency. The political conflict was one of the most severe in which our country has ever engaged. All the friends of slavery were on one side; all the advocates of its restriction and final abolition on the other. Mr. Fre- mont, the candidate of the enemies of slavery, received 114 electoral votes. Mr. Buchanan received 174, and was elected. The popular vote stood 1,341,264 for Fremont, 1,838,160 for Buchanan. On March 4, 1857, Mr. Bu- chanan was inaugurated. Mr. Buchanan was far advanced in life. Only four years were wanting to fill up his three score years and ten. His own friends — those with whom he had been allied in political principles and action for years — were seeking the destruction of the government, that they might rear upon the ruins of our free institutions a nation whose corner stone should be human slavery. In this emergency, Mr. Buchanan was hope- lessly bewildered. He could not, with his long avowed principles, consistently oppose the state-rights party in their assumptions. As president of the United States, bound by his oath faithfully to administer the laws, he could not, without perjury of the grossest kind, unite with those endeavoring to overthrow the republic. He therefore did nothing. Mr. Buchanan's sympathy with the pro-slavery party was such, that he had been willing to offer them far more than they had ventured to claim. All the south had professed to ask of the north was non-interference with the sub- ject of slavery. Mr. Buchanan had been ready to offer them the active co-operation of the government to defend and extend the in- stitution. As the storm increased in violence, the slave holders claiming the right to secede, and Mr. Buchanan avowing that congress had no power to prevent it, one of the most piti- able exhibitions of governmental imbecility was exhibited the world has ever seen. He declared that congress had no power to enforce its laws in any state which had withdrawn, or which was attempting to withdraw from the Union. This was not the doctrine of Andrew Jackson, when, with his hand upon his sword hilt, he exclaimed: "The Union must and shall be preserved." South Carolina seceded in December, i860, nearly three months before the inauguration of Pres. Lincoln. Mr. Buchanan looked on in listless despair. The rebel flag was raised in Charleston; Fort Sumter was besieged; our forts, navy yards and arsenals were seized; our depots of military stores were plundered; and our custom houses and post offices were appropriated by the rebels. The energy of the rebels, and the imbecility of our executive, were alike marvelous. The nation looked on in agony, waiting for the slow weeks to glidf away and close the administration, so terrible in its weakness. At length the long looked 84 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. for hour of deliverance came, when Abraham Lincoln was to receive the scepter. The administration of President Buchanan was certainly the most calamitous our country has experienced. His best friends cannot re- call it with pleasure. And still more deplor- able it is for his fame, that in that dreadful conflict which rolled its billows of flame and blood over our whole land, no word came from his lips to indicate his wish that our country's banner should triumph over the flag of the rebellion. He died at his Wheatland retreat, June i, 1S68. HBRAHAM LINCOLN, the sixteeeth president of the United States, was born in Hardin county, Ky. , Febru- ary 12, 1809. About the year 1780, a man by the name of Abraham Lincoln left Virginia with his family and moved into the then wilds of Kentucky. Only two years after this emigration, still a young man, while work- ing one day in a field, he was stealthily ap- proached by an Indian and shot dead. His widow was left in extreme poverty with five little children, three boys and two girls, Thomas, the youngest of the boys, was four years of age at his father's death. This Thomas was the father of Abraham Lincoln, the president of the United States, whose name must henceforth forever be enrolled with the most prominent in the annals of our world. When twenty-eight years of age Thomas Lincoln built a log cabin of his own, and mar- ried Nancy Hanks, the daughter of another family of poor Kentucky emigrants, who had also come from Virginia. Their second child was Abraham Lincoln. The mother of Abra- ham was a noble woman, gentle, loving, pen- sive; created to adorn a palace, doomed to toil and pine, and die in a hovel. "All that I am, or hope to be," exclaims the grateful son, "I owe to my angel mother." When Abraham was eight years of age, his father sold his cabin and farm, and moved to Harrison county, Ind, where two years later his mother died. Abraham soon became the scribe of the uneducated community around him. He could not have had a better school than this to.teach him to put thoughts into words. He also became an eager reader. The books he could obtain were few; but these he read and re-read until they were almost com- mitted to memory. As the years rolled on, the lot of this lowly family was the usual lot of humanity. There were joys and griefs, wed- dings and funerals. Abraham's sister, Sarah, to whom he was tenderly attached, was mar- ried when a child of but fourteen years of age, and soon died. The family was gradually scattered. Thomas Lincoln sold out his squatter's claim in 1830, and emigrated to Macon county, 111. Abraham Lincoln was then twenty-one years of age. With vigorous hands he aided his father in rearing another log cabin. Abraham worked diligently at this until he saw the family comfortably settled, and their small lot of inclosed prairie planted with corn, when he announced to his father his intention to leave home, and to go out into the world and seek his fortune. Little did he or his friends imagine how brilliant that fortune was to be. He saw the value of educa- tion and was intensely earnest to improve his mind to the utmost of his power. He saw the ruin which ardent spirits were causing, and became strictly temperate; refusing to allow a drop of intoxicating liquor to pass his lips. And he had read in God's word, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain;" and a profane expression he was never heard to utter. Religion he revered. His morals were pure, and he was uncor.taminated by a single vice. ABRAHAM LINCOLN PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 97 Young Abraham worked for a time as a hired laborer among the farmers. Then he went to Springfield, where he was employed in building a large flat-boat. In this he took a herd of swine, floated them down the Sanga- mon to the Illinois, and thence by the Missis- sippi to New Orleans. In this adventure his employers were so well pleased, that upon his return they placed a store and mill under his care. In 1832, at the outbreak of the Black Hawk war, he enlisted and was chosen captain of a company. He returned to Sangamon county, and although only twenty-three years of age, was a candidate for the legislature, but was defeated. He soon afterward received from Andrew Jackson the appointment of post- master of New Salem. His only postoffice was his hat. All the letters he received he carried there ready to deliver to those he chanced to meet. He studied surveying and soon made this his business. In 1834 he again became a candidate for the legislature, and was elected. Mr. Stuart, of Springfield, ad- vised him to study law. He walked from New Salem to Springfield, borrowed of Mr. Stuart a load of books, carried them back and began his legal studies. When the legislature assem- bled he trudged on foot with his pack on his back 100 miles to Vandalia, then the capital. In 1836 he was re-elected to the legislature. Here it was he first met Stephen A. Douglas. In 1839 he removed to Springfield and began the practice of law. His success with the jury was so great that he was soon engaged in al- most every noted case in the circuit. In 1854 the great discussion began between Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Douglas, on the slavery question. In the organization of the republi- can party in Illinois, in 1856, he took an active part, and at once became one of the leaders in that party. Mr. Lincoln's speeches in opposi- tion to Senator Douglas in the contest in 1858 for a seat in the senate, form a most notable part of his history. The issue was en the slavery question, and he took the broad ground of the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal. Mr. Lincoln was de- feated in this contest, but won a far higher prize — the presidency. The great republican convention met at Chicago on the 16th of June, i860. The del- egates and strangers who crowded the city amounted to 25,000. An immense building, called "The Wigwam," was reared to accom- modate the convention. There were eleven candidates for whom votes were cast. William H. Seward, a man whose fame as a statesman had long filled the land, was the most prom- inent. It was generally supposed he would be the nominee. Abraham Lincoln, however, received the nomination on the third ballot. Little did he then dream of the weary years of toil and care, and the bloody death, to which that nomination doomed him; and as little did he dream that he was to render services to his country which would fix upon him the eyes of the whole civilized world, and which would give him a place in the affections of his coun- trymen, second only, if second, to that of Washington. Election day came and Mr. Lincoln re- ceived 1 80 electoral votes out of 203 cast, and was, therefore, constitutionally elected presi- dent of the United States. The tirade of abuse that was poured upon this good and merciful man, especially by the slaveholders, was greater than upon any other man ever elected to this high position. In February, 1 86 1, Mr. Lincoln started for Washington, stopping in all the large cities on his way, making speeches. The whole journey was fraught with much danger. Many of the southern states had already seceded, and sev- eral attempts at assassination were afterward brought to light. A gang in Baltimore had arranged, upon his arrival, to "get up a row," 98 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. and in the confusion to make sure of his death with revolvers and hand grenades. A detect- ive unraveled the plot. A secret and special train was provided to take him from Harris- burg, through Baltimore, at an unexpected hour of the night. The train started at half- past ten; and to prevent any possible com- munication on the part of the secessionists with their confederate gang in Baltimore, as soon as the train had started the telegraph wires were cut. Mr. Lincoln reached Wash- ington in safety and was inaugurated, although great anxiety was felt by all loyal people. In the selection of his cabinet Mr. Lincoln gave to Mr. Seward the department of state, and to other prominent opponents before the convention he gave important positions. During no other administration have the duties devolving upon the president been so manifold, and the responsibilities so great, as those which fell to the lot of President Lincoln. Knowing this, and feeling his own weakness and inability to meet, and in his own strength to cope with the difficulties, he early learned to seek Divine wisdom and guidance in deter- mining his plans, and Divine comfort in all his trials, both personal and national. Contrary to his own estimate of himself, Mr. Lincoln was one of the most courageous of men. He went directly into the rebel capital just as the retreating foe was leaving, with no guard but a few sailors. From the time he had left Springfield, in 1861, however, plans had been made for his assassination, and he at last fell a victim to one of them. April 14, 1865, he, with General Grant, was urgently invited to attend Ford's theater. It was announced that they would be present. Gen. Grant, however, left the city. Pres. Lincoln, feeling, with his characteristic kindliness of heart, that it would be a disappointment if he should fail them, very reluctantly consented to go. While listening to the play an actor by the name of John Wilkes Booth entered the box where the president and family were seated, and fired a bullet into his brains. He died the next morn- ing at seven o'clock, and now, if never before, the nation was plunged into the deepest mourning, and truly mourned the "country's loss." HNDREW JOHNSON, the seventeenth president of the United States, was born December 29, 1808, in Raleigh, N. C. When Andrew was five years of age, his father accidentally lost his life while heroically endeavoring to save a friend from drowning. Until ten years of age, An- drew was a ragged boy about the streets, sup- ported by the labor of his mother, who ob- tained her living with her own hands. He then, having never attended a school one day, and being unable either to read or write, was apprenticed to a tailor in his native town. A gentleman was in the habit of going to the tailor's shop occasionally and reading to the boys at work there. He often read from the speeches of distinguished British statesmen. Andrew, who was endowed with a mind of more than ordinary native ability, became much interested in these speeches; his ambi- tion was roused, and he was inspired with a strong desire to learn to read. He according- ly applied himself to the alphabet, and, with the assistance of some of his fellow-workmen, learned his letters. He then called upon the gentleman to borrow the book of speeches. The owner, pleased with his zeal, not only gave him the book, but assisted him in learn- ing to combine the letters into words. Under such difficulties he pressed onward laboriously, spending usually ten or twelve hours at work in the shop, and then robbing himself of rest and recreation to devote such time as he could to reading. ANDREW JOHNSON. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 101 He went to Tennessee in 1826 and located at Greenville, where he married a young lady who possessed some education. Under her instructions he learned to write and cipher. He became prominent in the village debating society, and a favorite with the students of Greenville college. In 1828 he organized a workingman's party, which elected him alder- man, and in 1830 elected him mayor, which position he held three years. He now began to take a lively interest in political affairs, identifying himself with the working classes to which he belonged. In 1835 he was elected a member of the house of representatives of Tennessee. He was then just twenty-seven years' of age. He became a very active mem- ber of the legislature, gave his adhesion to the democratic party, and in 1840 "stumped the state," advocating Martin Van Buren's claims to the presidency in opposition to those of Gen. Harrison. In this campaign he ac- quired much readiness as a speaker, and ex- tended and increased his reputation. In 1 841 he was elected state senator; in 1843 he was elected a member of congress, and by successive elections held that important post for ten years. In 1853 he was elected governor of Tennessee, and was re-elected in 1855. In all these responsible positions he discharged his duties with distinguished ability and proved himself the friend of the working classes. In 1857 Mr. Johnson was elected a United States senator. Years before, in 1845, he had warmly ad- vocated the annexation of Texas, stating however, as his reason, that he thought this annexation would probably prove "to be the gateway out of which the sable sons of Africa are to pass from bondage to freedom, and be- come merged in a population congenial to themselves." In 1850 he also supported the compromise measures, the two essential fea- tures of which were, that the white people of the territories should be permitted to de- cide for themselves whether they would en- slave the colored people or not, and that the free states of the north should return to the south persons who attempted to escape from slavery. Mr. Johnson was never ashamed of his lowly origin; on the contrary he often took pride in avowing that he owed his distinction to his own exertions. "Sir," said he on the floor of the senate, "I do not forget that I am a mechanic; neither do I forget that Adam was a tailor and sewed fig leaves, and that our Savior was the son of a carpenter." In the Charleston-Baltimore convention of 1 860, he was the choice of the Tennessee democrats for the presidency. In 1861, when the purpose of the southern democracy became apparent, he took a decided stand in favor of the Union, and held "slavery must be held subordinate to the Union at whatever cost." He returned to Tennessee, and repeatedly im- periled his own life to protect the Unionists of Tennessee. Tennessee having seceded from the Union, President Lincoln, on March 4, 1862, appointed him military governor of the state, and he established the most stringent military rule. His numerous proclamations attracted wide attention. In 1864 he was elected vice president of the United States, and upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, April 15, 1865, became president. In a speech two days later he said: "The American people must be taught, if they do not already feel, that trea- son is a crime and must be punished; that the government will not always bear with its ene- mies; that it is strong not only to protect, but to punish. * * The people must under- stand that it (treason) is the blackest of crimes and will surely be punished." Yet his whole administration, the history of which is so well 102 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. known, was in utter inconsistency with, and the most violent opposition to, the principles laid down in that speech. In his loose policy of reconstruction and general amnesty he was opposed by congress; and he characterized congress as a new rebel- lion, and lawlessly defied it in everything pos- sible to the utmost. In the beginning of 1868, on account of "high crimes and misdemean- ors," the principal of which was the removal of Secretary Stanton, in violation of the Ten- ure of Office act, articles of impeachment were preferred against him, and the trial began March 23. It was very tedious, continuing for nearly three months. A test article of the impeach- ment was at length submitted to the court for its action. It was certain that as the court voted upon that article, so would it vote upon all. Thirty-four voices pronounced the presi- dent guilty. As a two-thirds vote was neces- sary to his condemnation, he was pronounced acquitted, notwithstanding the great majority against him. The change of one vote from the not guilty side would have sustained the impeachment. The president for the remainder of his term was but little regarded. He continued, though impotently, his conflict with congress. His own party did not think it expedient to renominate him for the presidency. The bul- let of the assassin introduced him to the presi- dent's chair. Notwithstanding this, never was there presented to a man a better oppor- tunity to immortalize his name and win the gratitude of a nation. He failed utterly. He retired to his home in Greenville, Tenn., tak- ing no very active part in politics until 1875. On January 26, after an exciting struggle, he was chosed by the legislature of Tennessee United States senator in the forty-fourth con- gress; and took his seat in that body at the special session convened by President Grant on the 5th of March. On the 27th of July, 1875, the ex-president made a visit to his daughter's home, near Carter Station, Tenn. When he started on his journey he was appar- ently in his usual vigorous health, but on reaching the residence of his child the follow- ing day was stricken with paralysis, rendering him unconscious. He rallied occasionally, but finally passed away at 2 A. M., July 31, aged sixty-seven years. He was buried at Green- ville, on the 3d of August, 1875. aLYSSES S. GRANT, the eighteenth president of the United States, was born on the 29th of April, 1822, of christian parents, in a humble home, at Point P'easant, Va. , on the banks of the Ohio. Shortly after his father moved to Georgetown, Brown county, Ohio. In this remote frontier hamlet, Ulysses received a common school education. At the age of seventeen, in the year 1839, he entered the Military academy at West Point. Here he was regarded as a solid, sensible young man of fair abilities, and of sturdy, honest character. He took respect- able rank as a scholar. In June, 1843, he graduated, about the middle in his class, and was sent as lieutenant of infantry to one of the distant military posts in the Missouri terri- tory. Two years he passed in these dreary solitudes, watching the vagabond and exasper- ating Indians. The war with Mexico came. Lieut. Grant was sent with his regiment to Corpus Christi. His first battle was at Palo Alto. There was no chance here for the exhibition of either skill or heroism, nor at Resaca de la Palma, his second battle. At the battle of Monterey, his third engagement, it is said that he per- formed a signal service of daring and skillful horsemanship. His brigade had exhausted its ammunition. A messenger must be sent for F ^^?--^*^ lp&^&- If 'Ssfc Jf f «'•'■■ j^B^i ■Si-:*. . ™ 4fe few. j^^^F^' ^%^ PPlP^' '^ ■j-W^Kk f/ : ' f< Q^ J! t' ~^i*'\- Jr ■^ *- '.)' ityLYSSErs s. grant. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 105 more, along a route exposed to the bullets of the foe. Lieut. Grant, adopting an expedient learned of the Indians, grasped the mane of his horse, and hanging upon one side of the animal, ran the gauntlet in entire safety. From Monterey he was sent, with the Fourth infantry, to aid Gen. Scott, at the siege of Vera Cruz. In preparation for the march to the city of Mexico, he was appointed quarter- master of his regiment. At the battle of Molino del Rey, he was promoted to a first lieutenancy, and was brevetted captain at Chapultepec. At the close of the Mexican war, Capt. Grant returned with his regiment to New York, and was again sent to one of the mili- tary posts on the frontier. The discovery of gold in California causing an immense tide of emigration to flow to the Pacific shores, Capt. Grant was sent, with a battalion, to Fort Dallas, in Oregon, for the protection of the interests of the emigrants. Life was weari- some in those wilds. Capt. Grant resigned his commission and returned to the states; and having married, entered upon the cultiva- tion of a small farm near St. Louis, Mo. He had but little skill as a farmer. Finding his toil not remunerative, he turned to mercantile life, entering into the leather business, with a younger brother at Galena, 111. This was in the year 1 860. As the tidings of the rebels firing on Fort Sumter reached the ears of Capt. Grant in his counting room, he said — "Uncle Sam has educated me for the army; though I have served him through one war, I do not feel that I have yet repaid the debt. I am still ready to discharge my obligations. I shall therefore buckle on my sword and see Uncle Sam through this war, too." He went into the streets, raised a company of volunteers, and led them, as their captain, to Springfield, the capital of the state, where their services were offered to Gov. Yates. The governor, impressed by the zeal and straight- forward executive ability of Capt. Grant, gave him a desk in his office, to assist in the volun- teer organization that was being formed in the state in behalf of the government. On the 1 5th of June, 1861, Capt. Grant received a commission as colonel of the Twenty-first regiment of Illinois volunteers. His merits as a West Point graduate, who had served for fifteen years in the regular army, were such that he was soon promoted to the rank of brigadier general and was placed in command at Cairo. The rebels raised their flag at Pa- ducah, near the mouth of the Tennessee river. Scarcely had its folds appeared ere Gen. Grant was there. The rebels fled. Their banner fell, and the stars and stripes were unfurled in its stead. At Belmont, a few days later, he sur- prised and routed the rebels, then at Fort Henry won another victory. Then came the brilliant fight at Fort Donelson. The nation was electrified by the victory, and the brave leader of the boys in blue was immediately made a major general, and the military district of Tennessee was assigned to him. Like all great captains, Gen. Grant knew well how to secure the results of a victory. He immediately pushed on to the enemy's lines. Then came the terrible battles of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, and the siege of Vicksburg, where Gen. Pemberton made an unconditional surrender of the city with over 30,000 men and 172 cannon. The fall of Vicksburg was by far the most severe blow which the rebels had thus far encountered, and opened up the Mississippi from Cario to the gulf. Gen. Grant was next ordered to co-operate with Gen. Banks in a movement upon Texas, and proceeded to New Orleans, where he was thrown from his horse and received severe in- juries, from which he was laid up for months. He then rushed to the aid of Gens. Rosecrans 106 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. and Thomas at Chattanooga, and by a won- derful series of strategtic and technical measures put the Union army' in fighting condition. Then followed the bloody battles of Chatta- nooga, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, in which the rebels were routed with great loss. This won for him unbounded praise in the north. On the 4th of February, 1864, congress revived the grade of lieutenant general, and the rank was conferred on Gen. Grant. He repaired to Washington to receive his credentials and enter upon the duties of his new office. Gen. Grant decided as soon as he took charge of the army to concentrate the widely dispersed national troops for an attack on Richmond, the nominal capital of the rebel- lion, and endeavor there to destroy the rebel armies which would be promptly assembled from all quarters for its defense. The whole continent seemed to tremble under the tramp of these majestic armies, rushing to the deci- sive battle-field. Steamers were crowded with troops; railway trains were burdened with closely packed thousands. His plans were comprehensive and involved a series of cam- paigns, which were executed with remarkable energy and ability, and were consummated at the surrender of Lee, April 9, 1865. The war was ended. The Union was saved. The almost unanimous voice of the nation de- clared Gen. Grant to be the most prominent instrument in its salvation. The eminent services he had thus rendered the country brought him conspicuously forward as the re- publican candidate for the presidential chair. At the republican convention held at Chicago, May 21, 1868, he was unanimously nominated for the presidency, and at the autumn elec- tion received a majority of the popular vote, and 214 out of 294 electoral votes. The national convention of the republican party which met at Philadelphia on the 5th of June, 1872, placed Gen. Grant in nomination for a second term by a unanimous vote. The selec- tion was emphatically endorsed by the people five months later, 292 electoral votes being cast for him. Soon after the close of his second term, Gen. Grant started upon his famous trip around the world. He visited almost every country of the civilized world, and was every- where received with such ovations and demon- strations of respect and honor, private, as well as public and official, as were never before bestowed upon any citizen of the United States. He was the most prominent candidate before the republican national convention i.i 1 880 for a renomination for president. But he went to New York and embarked in the brokerage business under the firm name of Grant & Ward. The latter proved a villain, wrecked Grant's fortune, and for larceny was sent to the penitentiary. The general was attacked with cancer in the throat, but suffered in his stoic-like manner, never complaining. He was re-instated general of the army and retired by congress. The cancer soon finished its deadly work, and July 23, 1885, the nation went in mourning over the death of the illus- trious general. kS~\ UTHERFORD B. HAYES, the nine- I /^ teenth president of the United States, T was born in Delaware, Ohio, October 4, 1852, almost three months after the death of his father, Rutherford Hayes. His ancestry, an both the paternal and mater- nal sides, was of the most honorable character. It can be traced, it is said, as far back as 1280, when Hayes and Rutherford were two Scottish chieftains, fighting side by side with Baliol, William Wallace and Robert Bruce. Both families belonged to the nobility, owned extensive estates, and had a large following. RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 109 Misfortune overtaking the family, George Hayes left Scotland in 1680, and settled in Windsor, Conn. His son George was born in Windsor, and remained there during his life. Daniel Hayes, son of the latter, married Sarah Lee, and lived from the time of his marriage until his death in Simsbury, Conn. Ezekiel, son of Daniel, was born in 1724, and was a manufacturer of scythes at Bradford, Conn. Rutherford Hayes, son of 'Ezekiel and grandfather of President Hayes, was born in New Haven, in August, 1.756. He was a farmer, blacksmith and tavern-keeper. He emigrated to Vermont at an unknown date, settling in Brattleboro, where he established a hotel. Here his son, Rutherford Hayes, the lather of President Hayes, was born. He was married, in September, 18 13, to Sophia Bir- chard, of Wilmington, Vt., whose ancestors emigrated thither from Connecticut, they hav- ing been among the wealthiest and best fami- lies of Norwich. Her ancestry on the male side are traced back to 1635, to John Bir- chard, one of the principal founders of Nor- wich. Both of her grandfathers were soldiers in the Revolutionary war. The father of President Hayes was an in- dustrious, frugal and open-hearted man. He was of a mechanical turn, and could mend a plow, knit a stocking, or do almost any- thing else that he chose to undertake. He was a member of the church, active in all the benevolent enterprises of the town, and con- ducted his business on christian principles. After the close of the war of 18 12, for reasons inexplicable to his neighbors, he resolved to emigrate to Ohio. The journey from Vermont to Ohio in that day, when there were no canals, steamers, nor railways, was a very serious affair. A tour of inspection was first made, occupying four months. Mr. Hayes determined to move to Delaware, where the family arrived in 1817. He died July 22, 1822, a victim of malarial fever, less than three months before the birth of the son, of whom we now write. Mrs. Hayes, in her sore bereavement, found the support she so much needed in her brother Sardis, who had been a member of the house- hold from the day of its departure from Ver- mont, and in an orphan girl whom she had adopted some time before as an act of charity. Mrs. Hayes at this period was very weak, and the subject of this sketch was so feeble at birth that he was not expected to live beyond a month or two at most. As the months went by he grew weaker and weaker, so that the neighbors were in the habit of inquiring from time to time "if Mrs. Hayes' baby died last night." On one occasion a neighbor, who was on familiar terms with the family, after alluding to the boy's big head, and the moth- er's assiduous care of him, said in a bantering way, "That's right! Stick to him. You have got him along so far, and I shouldn't wonder if he would really come to something yet." "You need not laugh," said Mrs. Hayes. "You wait and see. You can't tell but I shall make him president of the United States yet." The boy lived in spite of the universal predictions of his speedy death; and when, in 1825, his older brother was drowned, he be- came, if possible, still dearer to his mother. The boy was seven years old before he went to school. His education, however, was not neglected. He probably learned as much from his mother and sister as he would have done at school. His sports were almost wholly within doors, his playmates being his sister and her associates. His uncle Sardis Birchard took the deepest interest in his education; and as the boy's health had improved, and he was making good progress in his studies, he pro- posed to send him to college. His preparation commenced with a tutor at home; but he was afterward sent for one year to a professor in 110 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. the Wesleyan university, in Middletown, Conn. He entered Kenyon college in 1838, at the age of sixteen, and was graduated at the head of his class in 1842. Immediately after his graduation he began the study of law in the office of Thomas Spar- row, Esq., in Columbus. Finding his oppor- tunities for study in Columbus somewhat limited, he determined to enter the law school at Cambridge, Mass., where he remained two years. In 1845, after graduating at the law school, he was admitted to the barat Marietta, Ohio, and shortly afterward went into practice as an attorney-at-law with Ralph P. Buck- land, of Fremont. Here he remained three years, acquiring but a limited practice, and apparently unambitious of distinction in his profession. In 1849 he moved to Cincinnati, where his ambition found a new stimulus. Two events, occurring at this period, had a powerful influ- ence upon his subsequent life. One of these was his marriage with Miss Lucy Ware Webb, daughter of Dr. James Webb, of Chillicothe; the other was his introduction to the Cincin- nati Literary club, a body embracing among its members such men as Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, Gen. John Pope, Gov. Edward F Noyes, and many others hardly less distin- guished in after life. The marriage was a fortunate one in every respect, as everybody knows. Not one of all the wives of our presi- dents was more universally admired, rever- enced and beloved than was Mrs. Hayes, and no one did more than she to reflect honor upon American womanhood. The Literary club brought Mr. Hayes into constant associa- tion with young men of high character and noble aims, and lured him to display the qualities so long hidden by his bashfulness and extreme modesty. In 1856 he was nominated to the office of judge of the court of common pleas; but he declined to accept the nomination. Two years later, the office of city solicitor becoming vacant, the city council elected him for the un- expired term. In 1 86 1, when the rebellion broke out, he was at the zenith of his professional life. His rank at the bar was among the first. But the news of the attack on Fort Sumter found him eager to take up arms for the defense of his beloved country. His military record was bright and illus- trious. In October, 1861, he was made lieutenant-colonel, and August, 1862, promoted colonel of the Seventy-ninth Ohio regiment, but he refused to leave his old comrades and go among strangers. Subsequently, however, he was made colonel of his old regiment. At the battle of South Mountain he received a wound, and while faint and bleeding displayed courage and fortitude that won admiration from all. Col. Hayes was detached from his regiment, after his recovery, to act as brigadier-general, and placed in command of the celebrated Kana- wha division, and for gallant and meritorious services in the battles of Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek, he was promoted briga- dier-general. He was also brevetted major- general "for gallant and distinguished services during the campaigns of 1S64 in West Vir- ginia." In the course of his arduous services four horses were shot from under him, and he was wounded four times. In 1864, Gen. Hayes was elected to con- gress, from the Second Ohio district, which had long been democratic. He was not pres- ent during the campaign, and after his election was importuned to resign his commission in the army; but he finally declared: " I shall never come to Washington until I can come by the way of Richmond." He was re-elected in 1866. In 1867, Gen. Hayes was elected governor ;.-'.' ^ ■WBaEMfcik- i tW^W' JBwPlliBSs /wlfflB I ' iS?WBlBMTiiwl^«" i irr : kflK ;.■ ■■£■'■ ■';. #■ £ f ^ ' JAMES A. GARFIELD. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 118 of Ohio over Hon, Allen G. Thurman, a popu- lar democrat. In 1869 was re-elected over George H. Pendleton. He was elected gov- ernor for the third term in 1875. In 1876 he was the standard-bearer of the republican party in the presidential contest, and, after a hard, long contest, was chosen president, and was inaugurated Monday, March 5. 1875. He served one full term of four years, then retired to his peaceful home, where he expired January 17, 1893. >^*AMES A. GARFIELD, twentieth pres- m ident of the United States, was born /* 1 November 19, 1831, in the woods of Orange, Cuyahoga county, Ohio. His parents were Abram and Eliza (Ballou) Gar- field, both of New England ancestry, and from families well known in the early history of that section of our country, but had moved to the Western Reserve, in Ohio, early in its settle- ment. The house in which James A. was born was about 20x30 feet, built of logs, with the spaces between the logs filled with clay. His father was a hard-working farmer, and he soon had his fields cleared, an orchard planted, and a log barn built. The household comprised the father and mother and their four children — Mehetabel, Thomas, Mary and James. In May, 1823, the father, from a cold contracted in helping to put out a forest fire, died. At this time James was about eighteen months old, and Thomas about ten years old. He now lives in Michigan, and the two sisters live in Solon, Ohio, near their birth-place. The early educational advantages young Garfield enjoyed were very limited, yet he made the most of them. He labored at farm work for others, did carpenter work, chopped wood, or did anything that would bring in a few dollars. Nor was Gen. Garfield ever ashamed of his origin, and he never forgot the friends of his struggling childhood, youth and manhood, neither did they ever forget him. When in the highest seats of honor, the humblest friend of his boyhood was as kindly greeted as ever. The highest ambition of young Garfield until he was about sixteen years old was to be a captain of a vessel on Lake Erie. He was anxious to go aboard a vessel, which his mother strongly opposed. She finally con- sented to his going to Cleveland, with the understanding, however, that he should try to obtain some other kind of employment. He walked all the way to Cleveland. After making many applications for work, and try- ing to get aboard a lake vessel, and not meet- ing with success, he engaged as a driver for his cousin, Amos Letcher, on the Ohio & Penn- sylvania canal. He remained at this work but a short time when he went home, and attended the seminary at Chester for about three years, when he entered Hiram and the Eclectic institute, teaching a few terms of school in the meantime, and doing other work. This school was started by the Disciples of Christ in 1850, of which church he was then a member. He became janitor and bell-ringer in order to help pay his way. He then be- came both teacher and pupil. In the fall of 1854, he entered Williams college, from which he graduated in 1856, taking one of the high- est honors of his class. He afterward re- turned to Hiram college as its president. Dr. Noah Porter, president of Yale college, says ot him in reference to his religion: "President Garfield was more than a man of strong moral and religious convictions. His whole history, from boyhood to the las'i. shows that duty to man and to God, and de- votion to Christ and life and faith and spiritual 11-4 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. commission were controlling springs of his being, and to a more than usual degree." Mr. Garfield was united in marriage with Miss Lucretia Rudolph, November 1 1, 1S58, who proved herself worthy as the wife of one whom all the world loved and mourned. To them were born seven children, five of whom are still living, four boys and one girl. Mr. Garfield made his first political speeches in 1856, in Hiram and the neighbor- ing villages, and thrje years later he began to speak at county mass meetings, and became the favorite speaker wherever he was. Dur- ing this year he was elected to the Ohio senate. He also began to study law at Cleve- land, and in 1861 was admitted to the bar. The great rebellion broke out in the early part of this year, and Mr. Garfield at once resolved to fight as he had talked, and enlisted to de- fend the old flag. He received his commission as lieutenant-colonel of the Forty-second reg- iment of Ohio volunteer infantry, August 14, 1 86 1. He was immediately put into active service, and before he had ever seen a gun fired in action, was placed in command of four regiments of infantry and eight companies of cavalry, charged with the work of driving out of his native state the officer (Humphrey Mar- shall) reputed to be the ablest of those, not educated to war, whom Kentucky had given to the rebellion. This work was bravely and speedily accomplished, although against great odds. President Lincoln, on his success, com- missioned him brigadier general, January 10, 1862; and as "he had been the youngest man in the Ohio senate two years before, so now he was the youngest general in the army." He was with Gen. Buell's army at Shiloh, in its operations around Corinth and its march through Alabama. He was then detailed as a member of the general court-martial for the trial of Fitz-John Porter. He was then or- dered to report to Gen. Rosecrans, and was assigned to the chief of staff. The military history of Gen. Garfield closed with his brill- iant services at Chickamauga, where he won the stars of the major-general. Without an effort on his part Gen. Garfield was elected to congress in the fall of 1862 from the Nineteenth district of Ohio. This section of Ohio had been represented in con- gress for sixty years mainly by two men — Elisha Whittlesey and Joshua R. Giddings. It was not without a struggle that he resigned his place in the army. At the time he entered congress he was the youngest member in that body. Here he remained by successive re- elections until he was elected president in 1880. Of his labors in congress Senator Hoar savs: "Since the year 1864 you cannot think of a question which has been debated in congress, or discussed before a tribunal of the American people, in regard to which you will not find, if you wish instruction, the argument on one side stated, in almost every instance, better than by anybod)' else, in some speech made in the house of representatives or on the hustings by Mr. Garfield." Upon January 14, 1880, Gen. Garfield was elected to the United States senate, and on the 8th of June, of the same year, was nom- inated as the candidate of his party for presi- dent at the great Chicago convention. He was elected in the following November, and on March 4, 1881, was inaugurated. Probably no administration ever opened its existence under brighter auspices than that of President Garfield, and every day it grew in favor with the people, and by the first of July he had completed all the initiatory and preliminary work of his administration and was preparing to leave the city to meet his friends at Will- iams college. While on his way and at the depot, in company with Secretary Blaine, a man stepped behind him, drew a revolver, and fired directly at his back. The president F CHESTER A. ARTHUR. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 117 tottered and fell, and as he did so the assassin fired a second shot, the bullet cutting the left coat sleeve of his victim, but inflicting no further injury. For eighty days all during the hot months of July and August, he lingered and suffered. He, however, remained master of himself till the last, and by his magnificent bearing was teaching the country and the world the noblest of human lessons — how to live grandly in the very clutch of death. He passed serenely away September 19, 1881, at Elberon, N. J., on the seashore, where he had been taken shortly previous. The murderer was tried, found guilty and executed, in one year after he committed the foul deed. a HESTER A. ARTHUR, twenty-first president of the United States, was born in Franklin county, Vermont, on the fifth of October, 1830, and is the eldest of a family of two sons and five daughters. His father was the Rev. Dr. William Arthur, a Baptist clergyman, who emigrated to this country from the county Antrim, Ireland, in his eighteenth year, and died in 1875, m Newtonville, near Albany, N. Y. , after a long and successful ministry. Young Arthur was educated at Union col- lege, Schenectady, N. Y. , where he excelled in all his studies. After his graduation, he taught school in Vermont for two years, and at the expiration of that time went to New York, with $500 in his pocket, and entered the office of ex-Judge E. D. Culver, as student. After being admited to the bar he formed a partnership with his intimate friend and room- mate, Henry D. Gardiner, with the intention of practicing in the west, and for three months they roamed about in the western states in search of an eligible site, but in the end re- turned to New York, where they entered upon a successful career almost from the start. Gen. Arthur soon afterward married the daugh- ter of Lieut. Herndon, of the United States navy, who was lost at sea. Congress voted a gold medal to his widow in recognition of the bravery he displayed on that occasion. Mrs. Arthur died shortly before Mr. Arthur's nomi- nation to the vice presidency, leaving two children. Gen. Arthur obtained considerable legal celebrity in his first great case, the famous Lemmon suit, brought to recover possession of eight slaves who had been declared free by Judge Paine, of the superior court of New York city. It was in 1852 that Jonathan Lemmon, of Virginia, went to New York with his slaves, intending to ship them to Texas, when they were discovered and freed. The judge decided that they could not be held by the owner under the Fugitive Slave law. A howl of rage went up from the south, and the Virginia legislature authorized the attorney general of that state to assist in an appeal. William M. Evarts and Chester A. Arthur were employed to represent the people, and they won their case, which then went to the supreme court of the United States. Charles O'Conor here espoused the cause of the slave- holders, but he too, was beaten by Messrs. Evarts and Arthur, and a long step was taken toward the emanicipation of the black race. Another great service was rendered by Gen. Arthur in the same cause in 1856. Liz- zie Jennings, a respectable colored woman, was put ofi a Fourth avenue car with violence after she had paid her fare. Gen. Arthursued on her behalf, and secured a verdict of $500 damages. The next day the company issued an order to admit colored persons to ride on their cars, and the other car companies quickly followed their example. Before that the Sixth avenue company ran a few special cars for col- ored persons and the other lines refused to let them ride at all. 118 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. Gen. Arthur was a delegate to the conven- tion at Saratoga that founded the republican party. Previous to the war he was judge-ad- vocate of the Second brigade of the state of New York, and Governor Morgan, of that state, appointed him engineer-in-chief of his staff. In 1 86 1, he was made inspector gen- eral, and soon afterward became quartermas- ter general. In each of these offices he ren- dered great service to the government during the war. At the end of Gov. Morgan's term he resumed the practice of the law, forming a partnership with Mr. Ransom, and then Mr. Phelps, the district attorney of New York, was added to the firm. The legal practice of this well known firm was very large and lucra- tive; each of the gentlemen composing it was an able lawyer, and possessed a splendid local reputation, if not indeed one of national extent. Arthur was appointed collector of the port of New York by President Grant, November 21, 1872, to succeed Thomas Murphy, and held the office until July 20, 1878, when he was succeeded by Collector Merritt. Mr. Arthur was nominated on the presidential ticket, with Gen. James A. Garfield, at the famous national republican convention held at Chicago in June, 1880. This was perhaps the greatest political convention that ever assem- bled on the continent. It was composed of the leading politicians of the republican party, all able men, and all stood firm and fought vigorously and with signal tenacity for their respective candidates that were before the con- vention for the nomination. Finally Gen. Garfield received the nomination for president and Gen. Arthur for vice president. The cam- paign which followed was one of the most animated known in the history of our country. Gen. Hancock, the standard-bearer of the democratic party, was a popular man, and his party made a valiant fight for his election. Finally the election came and the country's choice was Garfield and Arthur. They were inaugurated March 4, 1881, as president and vice-president. A few months only had passed ere the newly chosen president was the victim of the assassin's bullet. The remarka- ble patience that Garfield manifested during those hours and weeks, and even months, of the most terrible suffering man has often been called upon to endure, was seemingly more than human. It was certainly God-like. During all this period of deepest anxiety Mr. Arthur's every move was watched, and be it said to his credit, that his every action dis- played only an earnest desire that the suffer- ing Garfield might recover, to serve the re- mainder of the term he had so auspiciously begun. Not a selfish feeling was manifested in deed or look of this man, even though the most honored position in the world was at any moment likely to fall to him. At last God in his mercy relieved President Garfield from further suffering. Then it be- came the duty of the vice president to assume the responsibilities of the high office, and he took the oath in New York, September 20, 1 88 1. The position was an embarrassing one to him, made doubly so from the facts that all eyes were on him, anxious to know what he would do, what policy he would pursue, and whom he would select as advisers. The duties of the office had been greatly neglected during the president's long illness, and many import- ant measures were to be immediately decided by him; and still farther to embarrass him he did not fail to realize under what circumstances he became president, and knew the feelings of many on this point. Under these trying cir- cumstances President Arthur took the reins of the government in his own hands; and as em- barrassing as was the condition of afiairs, he happily surprised the nation, actign so wisely that but few criticised his administration. He STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 121 served until the close of his administration, March 4, 1885, and was a popular candidate before his party for a second term. His name was ably presented before the convention at Chicago, and was received with great favor, and doubtless but for the personal popularity of one of the opposing candidates, he would have been selected as the standard-bearer of his party for another campaign. He retired to private life carrying with him the best wishes of the American people, whom he had served in a manner satisfactory to them and with credit to himself. Although not a man of the transcendent ability possessed by the lamented Garfield, Mr. Arthur was able for the emergency he was so unexpectedly called to fill, and was a worthy successor to his chief. £^*TEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND, *^^MT the twenty-second and twenty-fourth ^ j president of the United States, was born in 1837, in the town of Cald- well, Essex county, N. J., and in a little two- and-a-half story white house which is still standing, characteristically to mark the hum- ble birth-place of one of America's great men in striking contrast with the old world, where all men high in office must be high in origin, and born in the cradle of wealth. When three years of age, his father, who was a Presbyte- rian minister with a large family, and a small salary, moved by the way of the Hudson river and Erie canal to Fayetteville in search of an increased income and a larger field of work. Fayetteville was then the most straggling of country villages, about five miles from Pompey Hill, where Gov. Seymour was born. At the last mentioned place young Grover commenced going to school in the "good old-fashioned way," and presumably distinguished himself after the manner of all village boys in doing the things he ought not to do. Such is the distinguishing trait of all village geniuses and independent thinkers. When he arrived at the age of fourteen years he had outgrown the capacity of the village school and expressed a most emphatic desire to be sent to an acad- emy. To this his father decidedly objected. Academies in those days cost money; besides, his father wanted him to become self-support-- ing by the quickest possible means, and this at that time in Fayetteville seemed to be a position in a country store, where his father, with the large family on his hands, had con- siderable influence. Grover was to be paid $50 for his services the first year, and if he proved trustworthy he was to receive $100 the second year. Here the lad commenced his career as a salesman, and in two years he had earned so good a reputation for trustworthi- ness that his employers desired to retain him longer. But instead of remaining with this firm in Fayetteville, he went with the family in their removal to Clinton, where he had an oppor- tunity of attending a high school. Here he industriously pursued his studies until the family removed with him to a point on Black river known as the Holland Patent, a village of 500 or 600 people, fifteen miles north of Utica, N. Y. At this place his father died, after preaching but three Sundays. This event broke up the family, and Grover set out for New York city to accept, at a small salary, the position of "under-teacher" in an asylum for the blind. He taught faithfully for two years, and although he obtained a good repu- tation in this capacity, he concluded that teaching was not his calling for life, and, re- versing the traditional order, he left the city to seek his fortune, instead of going to a city. He first thought of going to Cleveland, Ohio, as there was some charm in that name for him; but before proceeding to that place he went to 122 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. Buffalo to ask advice of his uncle, Lewis F. Allan, a noted stock breeder of that place. After a long consultation, his uncle offered him a place temporarily as assistant herdkeeper at $50 a year, while he could "look around." One day afterward he boldly walked into the office of Rogers, Bowers & Rogers, of Buffalo, and told them what he wanted. A number of young men were already engaged in the office, but Grover's persistency won, and he was fin- ally permitted to come as an office boy and have the use of the law library for the nomi- nal sum of $3 or $4 a week. Out of this he had to pay for his board and washing. The walk to and from his uncle's was a long and rugged one; and, although the first winter was a memorably severe one, yet he was neverthe- less prompt and regular. On the first day of his service there, his senior employer threw down a copy of Blackstone before him with a bang that made the dust fly, saying, "That's where they all begin." A titter ran around the little circle of clerks and students, as they thought that was enough to scare young Grover out of his plans; but in due time he mastered that cumbersome volume. Then, as ever afterward, however, Mr. Cleveland exhib- ited a talent for executiveness rather than for chasing principles through all their metaphys- ical possibilities. "Let us quit talking and go and do it," was practically his motto. The first public office to which Mr. Cleve- land was elected was that of sheriff of Erie county, N. Y. , in which Buffalo is situated; and in such capacity it fell to his duty to in- flict capital punishment upon two criminals. In 1 88 1 he was elected mayor of the city of Buffalo on the democratic ticket, with especial reference to the bringing about certain reforms in the administration of the municipal affairs of that city. In this office, as well as that of sheriff, his performance of duty has generally been considered fair, with possibly a few ex- ceptions, which were ferreted out and magni- fied during his last presidential campaign. The editorial manager or the New York Sun afterward very highly commended Mr. Cleve- land's administration as mayor of Buffalo, and thereupon recommended him for governor of the Empire state. To the latter office he was elected in 1882, and his administration of the affairs of state was generally satisfactory. The mistakes he made, if any, were made very public throughout the nation after he was nom- inated for president of the United States. For this high office he was nominated July 11, 1884, by the national democratic convention at Chicago, when other competitors were Thomas F. Bayard, Roswell P. Flower, Thomas A. Hendricks, Benjamin F. Butler, Allen G. Thurman, etc. ; and he was elected by the people by a majority of about a thousand over the brilliant and long-tried James G. Blaine. President Cleveland resigned his office as gov- erner of New York in January, 1885, in order to prepare for his duties as the chief executive of the United States, in which capacity his term commenced at noon on the 4th of March, 1885. In November, 1892, Mr. Cleveland was re- elected to the presidency by the democratic party, the candidate of the republican party being their ex-chief, Benjamin Harrison, a sketch of whom follows this. The popular vote on this occasion stood: Cleveland, 5,556- 562; Harrison, 5,162,874; the electoral vote was 277 for Cleveland, and 145 for Harrison. During the early part of his first administra- tion, Mr. Cleveland was married to Miss Frances Folsom, of Buffalo, N. Y. , and in Oc- tober, 1 89 1, a daughter, Ruth, came to bless the union, and a second daughter, Esther, was born in July, 1893. The first act of Mr. Cleveland, on taking his seat for his second term, was to convene congress in extra session for the purpose of repealing the Sherman sil- ver bill, and accordingly that body met Sep- — During the second administration of Mr. Cleveland a thiid daughter, Frances Marian, was born.] PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 125 tember 4, 1893, and both houses being demo- cratic, the bill, in accordance with the recom- mendation ol the president, was uncondition- ally repealed. The special feature, however, ol the second administration of Grover Cleve- land was the repeal of the McKinley tariff bill by congress and the substitution of the bill re- ported by William L. Wilson, of West Vir- ginia, as chairman of the ways and means com- mittee of the house of representatives, which bill, being concurred in, with sundry amend- ments, by the senate, was finally passed and went into effect in the latter part of 1894, materially reducing the duties on imports. -j*EREMIAH MORROW, sixth governor M elected under the state constitution, A 1 was born in Gettysburg, Pa. , October 6, 1 77 1. In early manhood he removed to the Northwest territory and in 1 802 was chosen delegate to the convention that framed the constitution of Ohio. Politically he was an ardent democrat, and in 1803 was elected a representative in the congress of the United States, in which body he served for a period of ten years. He did much toward promoting legislation in behalf of the western section of the United States, and for some time was chairman of the committee on public lands. In 1 8 14 he was commissioner to treat with the Indians west of the Miami river, and from 1 S r 3 till 1 8 19 served with distinction in the United States senate. In 1822 Mr. Morrow was elected governor of Ohio and served as such until 1 826, having been re-elected in 1824. From 1826 to 1828 he was state senator, later became canal commissioner, and for some time served as president of the Little Miami Railroad com- pany. In 1 84 1 he was again elected to repre- sent his district in the national house of repre- sentatives, in which capacity he served a single term. Gov. Morrow left the impress of his character on the commonwealth and his is among the many illustrious names which have given Ohio so prominent a position among her sister states; his death occurred in the county of Warren, on the 22nd day of March, 1852. ,y^V UNCAN McARTHUR, distinguished I as a soldier and statesman, and gov- /^^J ernor of Ohio from 1831 to 1832, was a native of the state of New York, born in the county of Dutchess, on the 14th day of June, 1772. When he was a mere lad his parents emigrated to the western part of Pennsylvania, and at the age of eighteen he volunteered in Gen. Harmar's expedition against the Miami Indians, in which he dis- tinguished himself by many acts of bravery. Subsequently he acted as scout in the warfare with the Indians in Ohio and Rentucky, and after the cessation of hostilities, in 1794, set- GOVERNORS OF OHIO. 139 tied near Chillicothe, Ohio, where he became the possessor of large tracts of real estate. For some years after settling in Ohio Gov. McArthur followed the profession of civil engi- neer, later he became interested in political matters and in 1 805 was elected to the lower house of the Ohio legislature. In 1808 he was appointed major-general of the territorial mili- tia, and at the beginning of the war of 18 12 was commissioned colonel of the First Ohio volunteers. He was second in command at Detroit, when that ill-fated post was surren- dered to the British by Gen. Hull, and it is stated that so great was his chagrin and anger at the capitulation that he tore off his epau- lettes and broke his sword in a fit of indigna- tion. Gov. McArthur was commissioned brig- adier-general in 1 8 1 3, and upon the resigna- tion of Gen. William Henry Harrison the year following, he succeeded to the command of the western army. He planned the conquest of Canada, crossed the Saint Clair river in 1 814 with a strong force, and after consider- able manuvering returned to Detroit by way of Saint Thomas, and discharged his force at Sandwich the latter part of the aforesaid year. In the meantime, 1S13, he had been elected by the democrats to a seat in the congress of the United States, but declined to leave the army, remaining with the command until hon- orably discharged June 15, 1815. On leaving the army Gov. McArthur was returned to the state legislature, and during the years 18 16-17 served as commissioner to negotiate treaties with the Indians, by which their lands in Ohio were ceded to the general government in 18 18. From 181 7 to 18 19 he was again a member of the lower house of the legislature, of which he was made speaker, and in 1822 was elected to congress on the democratic ticket and served as a member of that body from December 1, 1823, till March, 1825. In 1830 he was elected governor of Ohio, which position he filled very acceptably for one term, and in 1832 was again a candidate for congress, but lost the election by a single ballot. The record of Gov. McArthur, both mili- tary and civil, is without a blemish, and he will ever be remembered as one of the leading soldiers and officers of the great commonwealth of Ohio. While governor he suffered severe injuries from an accident, and never entirely recovered from the effects of the same. He died near Chillicothe, on the 28th day of April, 1839. BOBERT LUCAS, the immediate suc- cessor of Duncan McArthur, was born in Shepherdstown, Va., April 1,1781, and was a direct descendant of Will- iam Penn, the founder of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. His father bore a distin- guished part in the war of the Revolution, serving thoughout that struggle as captain in the American army, and was a trusted friend of Gen. Washington. Robert Lucas spent his youthful years in his native state, and about the beginning of the present century removed to Ohio, where in due time he became major- general of the state militia. Subsequently he was commissioned captain in the Ninteenth United States infantry, and in February, 181 3, became lieutenant-colonel of the same, serving as such until June of the same year, when he resigned. Immediately after leaving the gov- ernment service Mr. Lucas was made brigadier- general of Ohio militia, and as such served from July, 18 1 3, till the following September, in defense of the frontier. In 1 8 1 4 he was elected to the Ohio legislature, in the deliberations of which he took a prominent part, and in 1832 presided over the democratic national conven- tion which nominated Andrew Jackson for a second term. In 1S32 General Lucas was elected governor of Ohio, was re-elected in 140 GOVERNORS OF OHIO. 1834, and in 1S38 was made first territorial governor of Iowa, at which time the now state of that name was erected into a territory, in- cluding Minnesota and the Dakotas, and De- cember 28, 1846, as a state. He was a man of marked ability, possessing great energy, and was noted as a man of strong impulses and strict integrity. He died February 7, 1853, in Iowa City, at the advanced age of nearly sev- enty-two years. ! OSEPH VANCE, governor of Ohio for one term, 1837-3S, was a native of Pennsylvania, born March 21, 1 781, in the county of Washington, of Scotch- Irish descent. While quite young he was taken by his parents to Kentucky, where he grew to manhood, after which he removed to Ohio, locating at Urbana, where he became a suc- cessful merchant and married Miss Mary Lemen, of that city. Subsequently he turned his attention to farming and stock raising, in which he also met with success and financial profit, in the meantime becoming conversant with public affairs. Gov. Vance, becoming quite popular, was elected to and served in the legislature in 1S12-16, and in 1822 was elected to the congress of the United States, in which he served by successive re-elections until March, 1835. Originally Gov. Vance was a democrat, and as such was elected to the aforesaid offices, but later he became a whig, "which party sent him to congress in 1842. He served through two terms, during one of them as chairman of the committee on claims. In the meantime, 1836, he was elected governor, and as chief executive of the commonwealth his record will compare favorably with those of his illustrious predecessors and successors. He was a delegate to the whig national conven- tion of 1848, and while attending the consti- tutional convention of 1850 was stricken with paralysis, from which he suffered extremely until his death, August 24, 1852, near the city of Urbana. ■VINSON SHANNON, the eleventh governor of Ohio whom the people elected, was born February 24, 1803, in Belmont county, and was the first white child born in Mount Olivet township, that county. He was also the first governor of Ohio who was a native of the state. His parents crossed the Alleghany mountains from Pennsylvania and settled in Belmont county, Ohio, in 1802. In January of the next year the father of the future governor, whose name was George Shannon, and who had settled on a farm, upon his arrival in that county went out hunting. Late in the day, while returning home, he lost his way, became bewildered and wandered round and round, finally sitting down by a large maple tree and freezing to death. His tracks were plainly visible next morning in the deep snow that had fallen during the night. Upon the farm his father had selected young Wilson Shannon was reared. When fifteen years old he attended the Ohio univer- sity at Athens, remaining one year, and for two years afterward was a student at the Transvlvania university at Lexington, Ky. Returning home, he began the study of law in the office of Charles Hammond and David Jennings, completing his studies with them in Saint Clairsville, which town became the county seat. There he practiced for eight years. In 1832 he was the democratic nomi- nee for congress, but was defeated by a small majority. In 1834 he was elected prosecuting attorney, and was so assiduous in the perform- ance of his duties that his party elected him governor of the state in 1838 by a majority of 3,600. At the close of his first term he was GOVERNORS OF OHIO. 141 again a candidate, but was defeated by his opponent, Thomas Corwin, the whig candi- date, who was opposed to slavery, while Gov. Shannon, together with the entire democratic party, favored it. The most remarkable thing about this election was that the democratic candidate for president carried the state by about 25,000 majority. Gov. Shannon then returned to Belmont county to the practice of the law. In 1842 he was again elected gov- ernor of the state over Gov. Corwin, both of whom during the campaign had thoroughly canvassed the entire state, as they had done in 1840. In the spring of 1843 President Tyler offered Gov. Shannon the appointment of minister to Mexico, which he accepted, resign- ing his governorship and going to the city of Mexico, where he remained two years, when he was compelled to return home, because Mexico, on account of difficulties between the two countries over the annexation of Texas to the Union, severed all diplomatic relations with the United States. After being then en- gaged for several years in the practice of the law, Gov. Shannon was elected to congress by a majority of 1,300. In congress, by the man- ner in which he performed his duties, he attracted the attention of President Pierce, and was appointed territorial governor of Kansas, the most difficult position he had tried to fill. The contest on the soil of Kansas was more bitter and persistent than anywhere in the country, both pro-slavery and anti-slavery partisans being determined to carry out their own views in that state. It was therefore impossible for any man to preserve peace within her borders, especially as the weight of the administration at Washington was in favor of the pro-slavery party. Shannon, therefore, after fourteen months as governor in Kansas, was superseded by John W. Geary, who gave but little better satisfaction than had Gov. Shannon. The following year Gov. Shannon removed his family to Lecompton, Kans., the capital, and began the practice of the law in that turbulent state. His reputation soon gained for him a very large and profitable practice, as there was much litigation under the pre-emption laws of the United States. When Kansas was admitted to the Union, Topeka became the capital, Lecompton rap- idly declined, and Gov. Shannon removed his office and residence to Lawrence, where he resided until his death, highly regarded by all who knew him as having been a faithful public servant, and as a most conscientious man. His death occurred in September, 1877. HOMAS CORWIN, the twelfth gov- ernor of Ohio elected by the people, was born in Bourbon county, Ky., July 29, 1794. In 1798 his father, Matthias Corwin, who subsequently became a judge, removed to what afterward became Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio, and there, in a log school-house, taught by a school teacher named Dunlevy, young Corwin obtained what was then considered a thorough English edu- cation. When he was seventeen years old he drove a wagon-load of provisions for the army to the headquarters of Gen. Harrison, and this event had a potential influence upon his sub- sequent career. In 1817, after having studied law one year, he was admitted to practice, and in March, 18 18, was elected prosecuting attor- ney of his county. In 1822 he was elected to the legislature, having become by this time a well-read lawyer and a fluent speaker. Re- turning to his law practice he was again elected prosecuting attorney. In 1829 he was again elected to the Ohio legislature, and the follow- ing year to congress on the whig ticket. By subsequent re-elections he was kept in congress for ten years. In 1840 he was elected gov- 142 GOVERNORS OF OHIO. ernor of Ohio, serving one term. In 1845 he was elected to the United States senate, and discharged his duties there with great ability and faithfulness until 1 850. It is on his attitude while in this body that his memory will be per- petuated to posterity, for he showed the great- est courage imaginable, and took the true ground in reference to the war with Mexico, which is now generally recognized as a wholly unnecessary and unwarranted war, begun with- out proper authority from congress, and solely for the purpose of conquest, in order that slavery might be extended into free territory. His speech against that war was bold, pa- triotic and high-toned, and it is probable that had he subsequently been consistent in the attitude he then assumed his party would have made him its candidate for the presidency in 1852, but he became an advocate of the Wil- mot proviso, which by many is believed to have sealed his political career, so far as national promotion is concerned. For his ac- tion, however, in connection with this proviso, he was appointed, by President Fillmore, sec- retary of the United States treasury, a position which he held until 1852, when he resigned, and returned to private life among the hills of Warren county. Not long afterward he opened a law office in Cincinnati, and was again elected to con- gress in 1858 and i860. By President Lincoln he was appointed minister to Mexico, and on April 11, 1 86 1, he embarked for Vera Cruz, whence he went to the city of Mexico, where he served his country efficiently until the close of the war, returning to the United States in April, 1S65, opening a law office in Washington, D. O, but had no more than settled down to practice there than he was stricken with apo- plexy, and died after an illness of three days. While he was in congress he never rose to speak unless he had something to say; hence he always commanded the attention of that branch in which he was serving. His great- ness in oratory is beyond question, his patriot- ism no one ever doubted, and in his private life, from boyhood until his death, every one recognized the integrity and purity of his char- acter, which, during his whole public career, took on the form of the highest sense of honor, and through which he always maintained his reputation among his countrymen. November 13, 1822, he married Miss Sarah Ross, a sister of Hon. Thomas R. Ross, who served three terms in congress. By his mar- riage he had no children, so that he left noth- ing to his country but his labor therefor and his great and his everlasting fame. HOMAS WELLES BARTLEY, who succeeded Gov. Wilson Shannon as governor of Ohio, upon that gentle- man's resignation, as mentioned in his life above inserted, was born February 11, 1812, at the home of his parents, in Jefferson county, Ohio. His ancestry emigrated from Northumberland county, England, in 1724, and settled in Londoun county, Va., but sub- sequently removed to Fayette county, Pa. , where his father, Mordecai Bartley, was born. His mother was Elizabeth Welles, and Gov. Bartley was named Thomas Welles, from her father, Thomas Welles, of Brownsville, Pa. Having received a liberal education under his father's care and guidance, and having grad- uated with the degree of bachelor of arts from Washington & Jefferson college, a Pres- byterian institution of learning located at Washington Pa., and founded in 1802, Mr. Bartley studied law in Washington, D. C, and was licensed to practice at Mansfield, Ohio, in 1834. The following year he had conferred upon him by his alma mater the honorary degree of master of arts. Having taken a high position at the bar he was elected GOVERNORS OF OHIO. H3 attorney-general of Ohio and served as such four years; being afterward appointed United States district attorney, he served in that po- sition also four years. Subsequently he was elected to the lower house of the general as- sembly of the state, served therein one term, and was then elected to the state senate, in which he served four years. While president of the senate of Ohio, in 1844, he became governor of the state, through the resignation of Gov. Shannon, who had been appointed, by President Tyler, minister to Mexico, and he administered the affairs of the office until he was succeeded therein by his father, Mor- decai Bartley, in December of that year. In 1 85 1 he was elected judge of the su- preme court of the state, served two terms in this high position, and then resumed the prac- tice of the law, in Cincinnati, continuing there, thus engaged, for several years, when, owing to the ill health of his family, he removed, in 1869, to Washington, D. C., where he followed his profession until his death. Gov. Bartley was a sound attorney, a faith- ful public official, a wise judge and a most courteous gentleman, and his removal to the capital of the nation placed him in a field where he enjoyed full scope for the exercise of his powers, untrammeled by local politics, for in that city, where the people have no vote, politics does not enter into their business and their profession as it does elsewhere in the United States. Gov. Bartley is well remem- bered by many of the leading men of the state. ORDECAI BARTLEY, who suc- ceeded his son Thomas W. Bartley as governor, was born in Fayette county, Pa., December 16, 1783. He was reared to manhood on his father's farm, attended school at intervals during his minority, and in 1809 moved to Ohio. He tendered his services to the government in the war of 1812, served as captain and adjutant under Gen. William Henry Harrison, and on leaving the army settled, in 18 14, in Richland county, where he remained until his removal to the city of Mansfield in 1834. For some years Mr. Bartley was engaged in mercantile pursuits in Mansfield, but previous to locating there, had served as a member of the Ohio state senate, to which he was elected in 18 17. In 18 18 he was chosen, by the legislature, registrar of the land office of Virginia Mili- tary school-lands, which position he held until 1823, when he resigned in order to take his seat in the congress of the United States, to which he had been elected in the meantime. He served in congress until March, 1831, and in 1844 was elected, on the whig ticket, gov- ernor of the state, the functions of which office he discharged in a very creditable manner until 1846, declining a renomination and retir- ing to private life. After the nomination by the whigs for governor of Mordecai Bartley, the democrats in their convention, in the same year, came within one or two votes of placing his son Thomas once again in the field as his opponent. Gov. Bartley was very decided in his opposition to the Mexican war, but when the president issued a call for troops, he promptly responded and superintended the organization of the Ohio forces in person. Politically Gov. Bartley affiliated with the whigs until the disruption of that party, after which he espoused the cause of the republican party. He died in the city of Mansfield Oc- tober 10, 1 770. *ILLIAM BEBB, lawyer and judge, the fourteenth governor elected by the people of Ohio, was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1804, and died at his home in Rock River county, 111., 144 GOVERNORS OF OHIO. October 23, 1873. His father emigrated from Wales, Great Britian, in 1795, and first located in the Keystone state. Traveling across the mountains to the valley of the Miami on foot, he purchased in the neighborhood of North Bend an extensive tract of land, returned to Pennsylvania and married Miss Robert, to whom he had been engaged in Wales, and, with his bride, riding in a suitable conveyance, again crossed the mountains and settled on his land in what was then but a wilderness. He was a man of sound judgment, and, in common with many of his countrymen, of a joyous and ever hopeful disposition. His wife was a lady of culture and refinement, and her home in the valley of the Miami, with few neighbors except the wild, unshorn, and half-naked savages, was a great change from her previous life. There were of course no schools there to send her children to, and this was a matter of grave concern to the parents of our subject, who was in consequence taught to read at home. In those years the Western Spy, then published in Cincinnati, and distributed by a private post- rider, was taken by his father, and William read with avidity its contents, especially the achievements of Napoleon Bonaparte. His education advanced no further until a peripa- tetic schoolmaster, passing that way, stopped and opened a school in the neighborhood, and under him our subject studied English, Latin and mathematics, working in vacation on his father's farm When twenty years old he him- self opened a school at North Bend and resided in the home of Gen. Harrison. In this em- ployment he remained a year, during which he married Miss Shuck, the daughter of a \yealthy German resident of the village. Soon after- ward he began the study of law while continu- ing his school, and as a teacher was eminently successful, and his school attracted pupils from the most distinguished families of Cincinnati. In 1 S3 1 he rode to Columbus on horseback. where the supreme court judges examined him and placed him in the practice of the state. He then removed to Hamilton, Butler county, and opened a law office, where he continued quietly and in successful practice fourteen years. Dur- ing this period he took an active interest in political affairs, and advocated during his first (called the " Hard Cider ") campaign, the claims of Gen. Harrison, and no less distinguished himself during that "Tippecanoe and Tyler, too, " campaign, in which the persons indicated were successful, and the whigs in 1840, for the first time, succeeded in electing their candi- dates. Six years afterward he was elected governor of the state, and the war with Mexico placed him, as the governor of Ohio, in a very trying position. As a whig he did not person- ally favor that war, and this feeling was greatly entertained by the party who made him their leader in the state, but he felt that the ques- tion was not one of party but of cordial support of the general government, and his earnest recognition of this fact eventually overcame the danger that had followed President Polk's proclamation of war. His term of office (1846-48) was distinguished by good money, free schools, great activity in the construction of railroads and turnpikes; the arts and in- dustry generally were well revived, and high prosperity characterized the whole state. In 1844 Gov. Bebb purchased 5,000 acres of land in Rock River county, 111., of which the location was delightful and the soil rich; 500 acres were wooded and constituted a natural park, while the remainder was pasture of the best quality, with a stream of water fed by perpetual springs. No man of moderate ambition could desire the possession of a more magnificent portion of the earth's surface. Three years after making this purchase he re- moved to it, taking with him fine horses, and a number of the choicest breeds of cattle, and entered upon the cultivation of this fine prop- QOVERNORS OF OHIO. 145 erty. Five years afterward he visited Great Britain and the continent of Europe. In the birth-place of his father he found many de- sirous to immigrate to America, and encourag- ing the enterprise a company was formed and a tract of 100,000 acres purchased for them in east Tennessee, where he agreed to preside over their arrangements in the settlement of this land. In 1856 a party of the colonists arrived on the land and Gov. Bebb resided with them until the war of the Rebellion began, when he left the state with his family. The emigrants, discouraged by the strong pro- slavery sentiment, scattered and settled in va- rious parts of the northern states. On the inauguration of President Lincoln Gov. Bebb was appointed examiner in the pen- sion department at Washington, and held this position until 1866, when he returned to his farm in Illinois and the peaceful pursuits of agriculture. His scale of farming was the cul- tivation of 2,000 acres in a season, while an- other 1,000 formed his cattle pasture. He took an active part in the election of Gen. Grant, and the first sickness of any conse- quence he ever experienced was an attack of pneumonia following an exposed ride to his home from Pecatonica, where he had addressed the electors. From this he never recovered, and although he spent the following winter in Washington, occupied mainly as a listener to the debates in the senate, he felt his vital forces declining. Returning home the next summer, and feeling that he was no longer able to su- perintend his farm operations, he resided at Rockford until his death. EABURY FORD, the fifteenth gov- ernor of Ohio elected by the people, was born in Cheshire, Conn., in 1S02. John Ford, his father, was a native of New England, but of Scotch descent, while his mother, Esther Cook, was of English Puritan ancestry. She was -a sister of Nabbie Cook, the wife of Peter Hitchcock, the first chief justice of Ohio. In 1805, John Ford explored the Western Reserve in search of lands and a home in the west, purchasing 2,000 acres in what is now the township of Burton, Geauga county, Ohio, and removing to this land in the fall of 1807. Seabury was then but five years old, but even then gave in- dications of superior intelligence. He pre- pared for college at the academy in Burton, entering Yale college in 1821, in company with another young Ohioan, named D. Witter, they two being the first young men from Ohio to enter Yale. Graduating from Yale in 1825, he then began the study of the law in the office of Simon W. Phelps, of Painesville, completing his course in the office of his uncle. Judge Peter Hitchcock, in 1827. Being ad- mitted to practice he opened an office in Bur- ton, and grew rapidly in popular favor. He was always interested in military affairs, in ag- ricultural pursuits and in politics, and was in 1835 elected by the whigs to the legislature from Geauga county. Being twice re-elected, he served three terms, during the latter term acting as speaker of the lower house. In 1841 he was elected to the state senate from Cuya- hoga and Geauga counties, and remained a member of that body until 1844, when he was again elected to the lower house. In 1S46 he was again elected to the senate and was chosen speaker of that body. In 1848 he was elected governor by a small majority, retiring at the close of his term to his home in Burton, much broken in health. On the Sunday after reach- ing his home he was stricken with paralysis, from which he never recovered. During twenty years of his life he was an honored member of the Congregational church, and was always a highly respected citizen. As a representative of the people he was faithful U6 GOVERNORS OF OHIO. to their interests, and was possessed of the most rigid integrity. A private letter, pub- lished in a Cleveland, Ohio, paper, said of him, in 1839, that he was one of the most useful men in the legislature and that in a few years he had saved the state millions of dollars. September 10, 1828, he married Miss Har- riet E. Cook, a daughter of John Cook, of Burton, by whom he had five children, three of whom reached mature age, as follows: Seabury C. , George H., and Robert N. Gov. Ford died May 8, 1S55. SEUBEN WOOD, the successor of Seabury Ford, was born in Rutland county, Yt., in the year 1792. He was reared to manhood in his native state, served with distinction in the war of 1 8 1 2 as captain of a company of Vermont volun- teers, and afterward studied law and began the practice of his profession in Cleveland, Ohio. From 1S25 till 1828 Mr. Wood served in the state senate; in 1830 was appointed president- judge of the Third district, and in 1833 was elected associate judge of the state supreme court, which office he held until 1845. In 1848 Mr. Wood was the democratic nominee for the governorship, to which office he was elected by a handsome majority, and with such ability and satisfaction did he dis- charge his official functions that in 1850 he was chosen his own successor, being the first governor under the new constitution. Gov. Wood was prominently spoken of in 1852 as an available presidential candidate, but the party, while admitting his fitness for the high position, finally united upon Franklin Pierce. In addition to the honorable positions above mentioned, Gov. Wood served eighteen months as United States consul at Valpa- raiso, Chili, resigning at the end of that time and retiring to private life. The death of this eminent jurist and statesman occurred in Rock- port, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, October 2nd, 1864, in his seventy -second year. ^y W I LLIAM MEDILL, the seventeenth m B governor of Ohio elected by the \_3^/^ people, was born in New Castle county, Del., in 1801. He gradu- ated from Delaware college in 1825, and stud- ied law with Judge Black, of New Castle city. Removing to Lancaster, Ohio, in 1830, he began there the practice of the law, being regu- larly admitted to the bar by the supreme court in 1832. In 1835 he was elected to the lower house of the general assembly from Fairfield county, and served several years with great ability. In 1838 he was elected to congress from the counties of Fairfield, Perry, Morgan and Hocking, and was re-elected in 1840, serving to the satisfaction of his constituents. In 1841; he was appointed by President Polk second assistant postmaster-general, perform- ing his duties with marked ability. The same year he was appointed commissioner of Indian affairs, and as such commissioner introduced many needed reforms. Indeed, he was one of the few men holding office under the gov- ernment of the United States who have treated the unfortunate sons of the forest with any semblance of justice. Both these offices he held during President Polk's administration, at its close returning to Ohio and resuming the practice of the law. In 1849 he was elected a member of the constitutional convention that gave us the present constitution of the state of Ohio, serving with impartial ability as presid- ing officer of that body. In 1851 he was elected lieutenant-governor, and in 1853 as the second governor under the new constitution. In 1857 he was appointed by President Bu- chanan first controller of the United States treasury, holding that office until March 4, 1861, GOVERNQRS^OF QHLCL 147 when he retired to private life in Lancaster, Ohio, holding no office afterward. Gov. Medill was a man of great ability, a true patriot, of spotless character, a faithful friend and an incorruptible public servant. He never married, and died at his residence in Lancaster, Ohio, September 2, 1865. •""V*ALMON P. CHASE, the eighteenth *\^^%T governor of Ohio elected by the peo- h^_J pie, was born at Cornish, N. H., Jan- uary 13, 1808. His father, Ithaman Chase, was descended from English ancestry, while his mother was of Scotch extraction. Ithaman Chase was a farmer, was a brother of the celebrated Bishop Philander Chase, and died when his son, Salmon P., was yet a lad. In 1 8 1 5 his father removed his family to Keene, Cheshire county, N. H., where young Salmon received a good common-school edu- cation. Bishop Chase, having removed to Ohio, invited his young nephew to the state, and in Worthington, Franklin county, he pur- sued his studies preparatory to entering col- lege, becoming a student at Dartmouth in 1825, and graduating in 1826. He then went to Washington, D. C, where for some time he taught a classical school, which did not prove successful. For this reason he made applica- tion to an uncle of his, in the United States senate, to secure for him a position in one of the government offices, but was met with the reply from that uncle that he had already ruined two young men in that way, and did not intend to ruin another. Young Chase then secured the patronage of Henry Clay, Samuel L. Southard and William Wirt, who placed their sons under his tuition, and he in the meantime studied law with William Wirt. In 1830, having been admitted to the bar, he settled down in Cincinnati to the practice of the law, but meeting for some years with indifferent success, he spent his leisure time in revising the statutes of Ohio, and introduced his compilation with a brief historical sketch of the state. This work, known as Chase's Statutes, in three octavo volumes, proved of great service to the profession, and its sale was so great a success that his reputation as a lawyer of ability was at once established. In 1834 he became solicitor of the branch bank of the United States in the city of Cin- cinnati, and soon afterward of one of the city banks, and in 1837 he distinguished himself by defending a negro woman who had been brought by her master to Ohio, and who had escaped from his possession. This gave him considerable prominence as an abolitionist, and by some it was thought he had ruined his pros- pects, especially when he enhanced that repu- tation in the defense of James G. Birney, whose newspaper, the Philanthropist, had been de- stroyed by the friends of slavery. Mr. Chase had always looked upon things from the moral standpoint, believed ever in freedom, and that if Christ died for any man he died for all men, and hence Mr. Chase was always the friend of man. The position he took in the defense of slaves who had escaped to or were brought to free soil, was that by that act alone, even under the constitution of the United States, they obtained their freedom. In 1846 Mr. Chase, in the supreme court of the United States, defended Van Zandt (who was the original of John Van Trompe, in " Uncle Tom's Cabin "), who was prosecuted for harboring fugitive slaves, taking the ground, as before, that, even though the constitution contained a provision for the return of such fugitives, no legislative power on the subject had been granted to congress, and that there- fore the power to devise legislation thereon was left to the states themselves. The bold statements and forcible arguments of Mr. Chase in his management of such cases, 148 GOVERNORS OF OHIO. alarmed the southern states, and ultimately led to the enactment of the fugitive slave law in 1850, as a portion of the compromise meas- ures of that period. In 1 84 1 Mr. Chase united with others op- posed to the further extension of slavery, in a convention for which he was the principal writer of the address to the people on that subject. He also wrote the platform for the liberty party when it nominated James G. Birney as its candidate for the presidency. In 1842 he projected a convention of the same party in Cincinnati, the result of which was the passage of a resolution declaring the ur- gent necessity for the organization of a party committed to the denationalization of slavery. In 1848 Mr. Chase presided over the Buffalo free soil convention, which nominated Martin Van Buren and Charles Francis Adams for president and vice-president. On the 22d of February, 1849. Mr. Chase was elected to the United States senate by a coalition of democrats and free soilers, who had declared slavery to be an evil, but when the Baltimore convention in 1852 approved of the compro- mise measures of 1850 he withdrew from their ranks, and advocated the formation of an independent democratic party, which should oppose the extension of slavery. In 1855 Mr. Chase was elected governor of Ohio by the newly organized republican party by a ma- jority of 15,651 over Gov. Medill, and in 1857 he was elected governor, the second time, over Henry B. Payne. At the national republican convention in i860 Mr. Chase received on the first ballot forty-nine votes, in a total of 375, and im- mediately withdrew his name. By President Lincoln he was appointed secretary of the treasury of the United States, holding this position until July, 1864, when he resigned. His management of the nation's finance was marked with consummate ability, and con- tributed largely to the success of the govern- ment in its efforts to suppress the Rebellion. In November, 1864, he was nominated by President Lincoln as chief justice of the United States, to succeed Chief Justice Tanty, who had then recently died, and he filled this great office until his death. In 1868 he permitted his name to go be- fore the democratic national convention as a candidate for the presidency, but received only four votes out of 663, Horatio Seymour of New York securing the nomination. The most valuabe public service rendered the nation by Mr. Chase, as secretary of the treasury, was the origination by him of the bill under which, in 1863, state and private banks became na- tional banks, and under which the govern- ment of the United States became responsible for the circulation .of national bank notes, the government being secured by a de- posit of bonds equal in amount to the pro- posed circulation, plus ten per cent. While this law was at first opposed by many public men, yet in time it won its way into their judgment long before Mr. Chase's death, and he had the satisfaction of realizing that its ad- vantages were such that the people of the United States were more greatly benefited by this than by any previous monetary meas- ure, as under it the money of the banks was made equally valuble in all parts of the United States. Mr. Chase was married three times, and of six children born to him, two accomplished daughters survived him at his death, which occurred of paralysis, May 7, 1S73. ar ILLIAM DENNISON, Jr., nine- teenth governor of Ohio, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 23, 1815. His father and mother emi- grated from New Jersey to Ohio, settled in the GOVERNORS OF OHIO. 149 Miami valley about 1805, gave their son a liberal education, and he graduated from Miami university in 1835 with high honors in political science, belles lettres and history. After his graduation he became a law student in the office of Nathaniel C. Pendleton, father of Hon. George H. Pendleton, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1840. The same year he married a daughter of William Neil, of Co- lumbus, to which city he removed and applied himself with energy and diligence to the prac- tice of the law. In 1848 he was elected to the Ohio senate as a whig for the district com- posed of Franklin and Delaware counties. At that time the slavery question was a promi- nent one in politics, men taking positive posi- tions on one side or the other, and a desperate struggle was made throughout the state for the control of the general assembly. After failing by a small adverse majority to be elected president of the senate he was appointed to a leading position on a committe having in charge the revisal of the statutes, which had become in the opinion of most of the people a disgrace to the state, especially those laws which pro- hibited black men and mulattoes from gaining a permanent residence within the state, and from testifying in courts against white persons. Mr. Dennison warmly advocated the repeal of these laws, and with complete success. He was equally opposed to the extension of slaverv, with its blighting effects, into new territory. From 1850 to 1852 he was engaged in the practice of the law, and in the latter year, as a presidential elector, he cast his vote for Gen. Winfield Scott. From this time on for some years he took great interest in the sub- ject of railroads in the west, and was elected president of the Columbus & Xenia Railroad company, and was very active as a director of all railroads entering Columbus. In 1856 he was a delegate to the republican national con- vention at Pittsburg, and voted for Gen. John C. Fremont for president. In 1859 he was elected governor of Ohio by the republican party, and in his first message to the general assembly took the position that "The federal Union exists by solemn compact voluntarily entered into by the people of each state and thus they became the United States of- Amer- ica, e plaribus iiiium, and this being so, no state can claim the right to secede from or violate that compact." When the war was begun he exerted all the authority of his office to aid the general govern- ment to suppress the Rebellion, and as the first war governor of Ohio his name will go down to posterity as one of the most patriotic of men. When Gov. Magoffin, of Kentucky, telegraphed to President Lincoln that Kentucky would fur- nish no troops for such a wicked purpose as the subduing of the sister southern states, Gov. Dennison telegraphed that if Kentucky would not fill her quota, Ohio would fill it for her, and in less than two weeks, under the in- fluence of her patriotic governor, Ohio raised enough soldiers to fill the quota of three states, and it was not long before the attention of the entire country was directed to Ohio as the leading state in the suppression of the Rebel- lion, a position which she proudly maintained all through the war. The people of West Virginia owe to Gov. Dennison the fact of their separate existence as a state, the story of which is well known and too long for publica- tion here. At first Gov. Dennison opposed Sec. Chase's national banking system, but as its beneficial effects became apparent he gave it his unquali- fied support, and it is well known that Ohio took the lead in the establishment of national banks, a system of banking which, among its other features, has done much to cement the union of the states since the war. After his term of office as governor had expired he be- came a favorite speaker in defense of the Union. 150 GOVERNORS OF OHIO. As a delegate to the national republican con- vention, in 1864, he did much to secure the renomination of Abraham Lincoln, and suc- ceeded Montgomery Blair as postmaster-gen- eral, but resigned his office when President Johnson had defined his "policy." For several years after this Gov. Dennison lived in retire- ment, but was called on by President Grant, in 1875, to act as one of the commissioners of the District of Columbia, a position which he filled until 1878. By his marriage to Miss Neil he became the father of three children, the first-born dying in infancy, and the others being named Neil and Elizabeth. He died June 15, 1882, respected by all people as an able, patriotic and good man. ^V^V AVID TOD, Ohio's twentieth elect- I ed governor, was born in Youngs- /^^.J town, Mahoning county, February 21, 1805, received a good literary educa- tion, and after studying for the legal profession was admitted to the bar in the year 1827. He practiced about fifteen years at Warren, where his talents soon won him recognition among the leading lawyers of the northeastern part of the state, and while a resident of Warren was elected, in 1838, a member of the state senate. Gov. Tod soon took high rank as a successful politician, made a brilliant canvass for Martin Van Buren in 1840, and in 1844 was nominated for governor, but was defeated by a small ma- jority. One of the issues of the gubernatorial campaign of 1844 was "hard" and "soft" money, the democrats representing the former and the whigs the latter. In a speech David Tod, the democratic candidate, said that sooner than adopt " soft " or paper money, it would be better to go back to the Spartan idea of finance and coin money from pot-metal. His opponents seized upon this expression, dubbed him "pot-metal" Tod, and insisted that he was really in favor of coining pot-metal into currency. Medallions of Mr. Tod about the size of a silver dollar were struck off by his opponents by the thousands, being composed of pot-metal and circulated throughout the state. The "pot-metal" cry doubtless had much to do in bringing about his defeat by a slender margin, showing that small things are often effective in political campaigns, if the people happen to be in the humor to be influ- enced by them, which not infrequently hap- pens to be the case. In 1847 ne was ap- pointed, by President Polk, minister to Brazil, and represented his government until 1852, when he returned to the United States and took an active part in the campaign which re- sulted in the election of Franklin Pierce to the presidency. In i860 he was chosen delegate to the Charleston convention, of which he was made vice-president, and after the withdrawal of the southern wing of the democratic party, presided over that body until its adjournment. Upon the breaking out of the Civil war. Gov. Tod was earnest in his advocacy of a compro- mise between the north and south, but with the commencement of hostilities he became a firm supporter of the Union and did much to arouse enthusiasm in the prosecution of the struggle. In 1861 he was the republican nom- inee for governor, and at the ensuing election defeated his competitor by an overwhelming majority of 55,000 votes. He proved a very popular and capable executive, and during his term of two years, greatly aided the national administration. WOHN BROUGH, the twenty-first gov- m ernor of Ohio elected by the people A 1 of the state, was born at Marietta, Ohio, September 17, 1811. His father, John Brough, was a companion and friend of Blennerhassett, both coming to the United GOVERNORS OF OHIO. 151 States in the same ship in 1S06. They re- mained in close friendship for many years, but Mr. Brough was not connected with the unfor- tunate complications between Blennerhassett and Aaron Burr. John Brough died in 1822, leaving his wife with five children, and with but small means of support. John Brough, who became governor of Ohio, was sent to learn the trade of printer in the office of the Athens Mirror before he was four- teen. After a few months he entered the Ohio university at Athens, reciting with his class in the day time, and setting type mornings and evenings to support himself. He was a good compositor and also a good student, and was distinguished for his skill in athletic games. Having completed his education at the univer- sity he began the study of law, but soon after- ward went to Petersburg, Va., to edit a news- paper. Returning to Marietta, Ohio, in 1831, he became proprietor of the Washington county Republican, a democratic paper, which he con- ducted until 1833, when he sold out, and in partnership with his brother, Charles H., pur- chased the Ohio Eagle, published at Lancas- ter, Ohio, and while he was a strong partisan, yet he had no patience for any kind of under- hand work in either party. In 1835 he was elected clerk of the Ohio senate, and retained this position until 1838. He was chosen rep- resentative from Fairfield and Hocking coun- ties in 1838, and the next year he was chosen by the legislature to fill the office of auditor of state. To this latter office he was again elected and served six years. Many evils then existed in the finances of the state, but, not- withstanding much opposition and many em- barrassments, he succeeded in finding remedies therefor, and the pecuniary affairs of the state were placed on a solid foundation. The re- ports he made upon the state's financial sys- tem are among the ablest and most valuable of our state papers. During his second term as auditor of state he purchased the Phcenix, a newspaper in Cin- cinnati, changed its name to the Enquirer and placed it in charge of his brother, Charles H., and at the close of that term removed to Cin- cinnati, opened a law office and wrote edi- torials for his paper. He also became a power- ful and effective public speaker, and while he was becoming a distinguished leader in the democratic party he was also becoming with equal rapidity thoroughly disgusted with party politics. In 1848 he retired from partisan strife, sold one-half interest in the Enquirer, and devoted his attention to railroads. Being elected president of the Madison & Indiana Railroad company, he removed to Madison, Ind., but later, at the invitation of one of his friends, Stillman Witt, of Cleveland, Ohio, he accepted the presidency of the Bellefon- taine Railroad company, which, under his man- agement, became one of the leading railroads of the country. In 1861 he removed to Cleve- land, and during the first two years of the war was untiring in his efforts to serve the govern- ment by the prompt transportation of troops to the front. In 1S63, that portion of the democrats of Ohio that was opposed to the further prose- cution of the war nominated C. L. Vallandig- ham for governor of the state, and Stillman Witt, having urged Mr. Brough to take an ac- tive part in politics, generously offering to per- form the duties of the president of the railroad, and permit Mr. Brough to draw the salary, Mr. Brough was at length nominated by the republican party as its candidate in opposition to Vallandigham. The result of the election was that Mr. Brough was elected by a majority of 101,099, the total vote being 471,643. It was at the suggestion of Gov. Brough that an extra force of 100,000 men was raised to aid Gen. Grant in his arduous campaign of 1 864, Ohio's quota of this 100,000 being 30,000. 152 GOVERNORS OF OHIO. Within ten days Ohio raised 38,000 men, the result being due largely to Gov. Brough's ener- getic action, which called out the warmest commendation from both President Lincoln and Gen. Grant. While Gov. Brough lived to see the war brought to a successful close, yet he died -be- fore the close of his term, on August 29, 1865. He was of the honest men in politics, just in all his motives and acts. Though not a member of any church, yet he took a deep in- terest in religion and died in the hope of an eternal life. Gov. Brough was twice married — first to Miss Acsah P. Pruden, of Athens, Ohio, who died in 1838 at the age of twenty- five years, and second, to Miss Caroline A. Nelson, of Columbus, Ohio, whom he married in 1843 at Lewiston, Pa. By this latter mar- riage he had two sons and two daughters. a HARLES ANDERSON was put in nomination as lieutenant-governor of Ohio on the ticket in 1S63, with John Brough for governor and elected. The death of the latter transferred Col. Anderson to the office of governor in August of the same year. Charles Anderson was born June 1, 18 14, at the residence of his father, called Soldiers' Retreat, or Fort Nelson, near the falls of the Ohio, and which locality is about nine miles from the city of Loaisville, Ky. His father, Col. Richard Clough Anderson, a gentleman of high character, who was an aid-de-camp to Lafayette, removed to Soldiers' Retreat from Virginia in 1793, and there, in the capacity of surveyor-general of the Virginia military land grant, made his residence three years be- fore Kentucky was recognized as a territory. His mother was a relative of Chief-Justice Marshall, and his eldest brother, Richard Clough Anderson, represented his district in congress, was the first United States minister to the republic of Columbia and commissioner in congress at Panama. Robert Anderson, another brother of Gov. Anderson, was the Major Anderson commanding Fort Sumter in April, 1 86 1. Charles Anderson graduated from Miami university at Oxford, Ohio, in 1833, began the study of law in Louisville in his twentieth year in the office of Pirtle & Anderson, and in 1835 was admitted to practice. He then went to Dayton, Ohio, and September 16th married Miss Eliza J. Brown, a young lady of that place. He remained a resident of Dayton, Ohio, varying his professional engagement by working the farm during the following ten years, having in that time been elected prose- cuting attorney of the county, and in 1 844 was elected to the state senate. His vote in this body in favor of bills to give to the colored men the privilege of testifying in court caused him the enmity of all the pro-slavery element among his constituency, but of this he took no notice. He resolved that at the close, of his term he would recuperate his health by a protracted sea voyage, and, descending to New Orleans, he took a vessel for Havana, and there took passage on a vessel bound for Europe, and with much advantage to his health returned by the way of Paris and Liverpool. Arriving in Cincinnati, he entered into a law partner- ship with Rufus King, Esq., and for eleven years practiced his profession. Then his original love of farming still influencing his life, he went to Texas in 1859, and found the people greatly excited on account of the polit- ical condition of the country. Demagogues had advocated dissolution of the Union there as elsewhere, and the establishment of a new southern states' government of a monarchical form, its foundation-stone human slavery, and under the protectorate of Great Britain, to which people their cotton would be exchanged GOVERNORS OF OHIO. 153 for goods of British manufacture exclusively. He soon saw that this treasonable project had taken deep root among the ignorant masses of the south. There was no term that had been uttered that could be more opprobrious than abolitionist, and his well-known love of free- dom prompting him to boldly address the people, he did so at a great gathering at San Antonio November 20, i860, advocating, in the most stirring and patriotic language, the perpetuity of the national Union. Though the recipient subsequently of letters threatening his life, he continued to reside in San Antonio in spite of the forty-day resident act passed by the Confederate congress at Montgomery, Ala. , and was therefore confined as a political pris- oner in the guard-tent of Maclin's battery of artillery. By the assistance of two persons, who subsequently were maltreated for so assist- ing him, he escaped to the north. It was not reasonable to suppose that Mr. Anderson, born in Kentucky, and from infancy surrounded by and breathing the atmosphere of slavery, could have regarded that institution as it was looked upon by the millions who had not been simi- larly situated. Hence the original idea of the war, restoring the Union as it was, caused him to offer his services to Gov. Tod, and he was appointed colonel of the Ninety-third Ohio regiment, in command of which brave body of men he was seriously wounded in the battle of Stone River. After his term of service as lieutenant-governor and governor of Ohio he removed to a large iron estate on the Cumber- land river, in Lyon county, Ky. , where he spent the remainder of his life. >-j*ACOB DOLSON COX, the twenty-sec- M ond governor of Ohio elected by the {• J people, was born in Montreal, Canada, October 27, 1828, to which city his parents, who were natives of the United States, and who were then residents of New York, had gone for a temporary purpose, Mr. Cox being a master builder, and having in charge in Mon- treal the erection of the frame work, roofing, etc., of the church of Notre Dame. The fol- lowing year they returned to New York, where were spent the childhood days of the subject of this sketch. In 1846 he eatered Oberlin college, from which he graduated in 185 1, and in 1852 he removed to Warren, Ohio, where for three years he was superintendent of the high school. In the meantime he studied law and was admitted to the bar, and in 1859 he he was elected, from the Trumbull and Mahon- ing district, to the legislature, where throughout his term he was regarded as a "radical," not only on account of the section of the state from which he came, but also on account of his hav- ing married the daughter of President Finney of Oblerlin college. He took his seat in the senate on the first Monday in January, i860. After the enactment of the fugitive slave law of 1850 the state of Ohio passed a law providing penalties for carrying free blacks out of the state without first having recourse to judical proceedings. The democrats in the legislature earnestly desired to repeal this law, and Mr. Cox, as chairman of the judiciary com- mittee, made a minority report against its re- peal, to which report the support of the entire republican party was given. While Mr. Cox was not in favor of any unnecessarily harsh measures to grieve the southern states, yet he was always uncomprisingly in favor of support- ing the government in its efforts to suppress the Rebellion. Ten days after President Lin- coln's first call for troops, Mr. Cox was com- missioned, by Gov. Dennison, a brigadier-gen- eral of Ohio volunteers for the three months' service, and placed in command of Camp Jackson, which was established for the re- ception of troops. A larger camp being nec- essary, President Lincoln commissioned him 154 GOVERNORS OF OHIO. brigadier-general of volunteers, and with the assistance of Gen. Rosecrans he laid out Camp Dennison. On the 6th of July, 1861, he was ordered by Gen. McClellan to take a posi- tion at the south of the Great Kanawha, whence he drove the rebels under Gen. Wise out of the valley of that river, and took and repaired the bridge at Gauley, and other bridges; and it is owing to the success of these early military maneuvers that West Virginia became an inde- pendent state. In August, 1862, he was as- signed to the army of Virginia under Gen. Pope, and when Gen. Reno fell succeeded to his command, that of the Ninth corps, which he commanded at the battle of Antietam, in which battle his troops so distinguished them- selves that he was appointed to a full major- generalship. On April 16, 1S63, Gen. Cox was in command of the district of Ohio, and also of a division of the Twenty-third army corps, with headquarters at Knoxville, Tenn. In the Atlanta campaign he led the Third di- vision of the Twenty-third army corps, and in the engagement at Columbus had entire com- mand, as he had also at Franklin, November 30, where he felt the full force of Hood's at- tack. On reaching Nashville Gen. Thomas assumed command of the army, Gen. Scho- field of the Twenty-third corps, and Gen. Cox of his division — his division in this battle cap- turing an important rebel position and eight pieces of cannon. In January, 1865, Gen. Cox, with his division, performed important service in North Carolina, aiding in the cap- ture of Kingston, and then he united his forces with Sherman's army. Gen. Cox had charge of the details connected with the surrender of Gen. Johnston's soldiers. In July, 1865, he was placed in command of the district of Ohio, and while in charge of the discharge of Ohio soldiers was elected governor of the state, and was inaugurated January 15, 1866. Through- out the war Gen. Cox was steadily pro- moted, and won golden opinions from all pa- triots, but after the close of the struggle he supported President Johnson's " policy," which gave great dissatisfaction to loyal people. In 1869 President Grant appointed him secretary of the interior, which position he resigned after a few months, and returned to Cincin- nati, where he was appointed receiver of the Toledo, Wabash & Western railroad, and re- sided temporarily at Toledo, where, in 1875, he was elected to congress from the Sixth dis- trict. He was appointed a member of the Potter committee, which investigated the man- ner in which the presidential election of 1876 had been conducted in the "disputed states," South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana. Sub- sequently he removed to Cincinnati, where he died. «V~\ UTHERFORD B. HAYES.— For a I ^Z sketch of the life of Rutherford B. P Hayes, the twenty-third governor of Ohio elected by the people and elec- ed to succeed himself, and also elected to succeed William Allen, the reader is referred to that portion of this work which is devoted to the lives of the presidents of the United States. eDWARD FOLLANSBEE NOYES, twenty-fourth governor of Ohio elect- ed by the people, was born in Hav- erhill, Mass., October 3, 1832. His parents, Theodore and Hannah Noyes, both died before he was three years old, and he was reared by his grandparents, Edward and Han- nah Stevens, who resided at East Kingston, Rockingham county, N. H. His- grandfather Stevens having died, he was taken when twelve years of age by his guardian, Joseph Hoyt, of Newton, N. H. For two years he GOVERNORS OF OHIO. 155 worked on his guardian's farm in summer and attended schools in winter, and at fourteen he was apprenticed to the printer's trade in the office of the Morning Star at Dover, N. H., the organ of the Free Will Baptist church. In this office he remained four years. Though his apprenticeship required him to remain un- til he was twenty-one, yet his employer released him at eighteen, in order that he might secure an education. He prepared himself for college at the academy at Kingston, N. H., and entered Dartmouth college in 1853, graduating at that institution in 1857. In the winter of his senior year he began to read law in the office of Stickney & Tuck at Exeter, N. H., and before leaving Dartmouth he had become really an abolitionist. Being a good speaker, he was appointed by ihe republican state executive committee of New Hampshire to traverse the state in the interest of Gen. John C. Fremont for the presidency. The next win- ter he entered the law office of Tilden, Raridan & Curwen, and attended lectures on law at the Cincinnati Law school during the winter of 1857—58, being admitted to the bar during the latter year, and not long afterward established himself in a profitable practice. Giving atten- tion to the political crises then impending, he became convinced that secession, if accom- plished, would finally disrupt the Union, and on the 8th of July, 1S61, converted his law office into a recruiting station, and was com- missioned major of the Thirty-ninth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry. On August 20, 1861, the Twenty-seventh and the Thirty-ninth regi- ments were transferred from the eastern to the western army, the latter being officered as follows: John Groesbeck, colonel; A. W. Gilbert, lieut. -colonel, and, as stated above, Edward F. Noyes, major. Early in 1862 this latter regiment joined the army of the Mis- sissippi, then commanded by Gen. Pope, and took part in the capture of New Madrid and Island No. 10. From that time until Gen. Pope was assigned to the command of the Potomac, Maj. Noyes was on that general's staff, and when the colonel and lieutenant-col- onel of the Thirty-ninth, as named above, re- signed, Maj. Noyes was commissioned colonel, and took command of his regiment in October, 1862. In 1864 his regiment was one of those composing the First division of the Seven- teenth army corps, and on July 4, of that year, took part in the assault on Ruff's Mill, in which he was shot in the leg, which had to be am- putated on the field of battle. The operation not proving successful, the colonel was taken to Cincinnati, and operated on by Dr. W. H. Mussey, and in the following October he re- ported for duty to Gen. Hooker, who assigned him to the command of Camp Dennison. Upon the recommendation of Gen. Sherman he was promoted to the full rank of brigadier. He was soon afterward elected city solicitor of Cincinnati, and in 1871 was elected gov- ernor of Ohio by a majority of 20,000, while at the election of 1873, when he was again a can- didate, he was defeated by an adverse majority of 800. In the presidential campaign of 1876 he was an active participant, and was later appointed by his old friend, President Hayes, minister to France. He remained in Paris four years, in the meantime, however, making an extensive tour through the countries along the Mediterranean sea for the purpose of inves- tigating the condition of the laboring classes, making an able report to the government. He resigned in 1881 and resumed his law practice in Cincinnati. He was very enthusiastic and cheerful in his disposition, and kindly in his manner. In February, 1863, on a leave of absence, he married Miss Margaret W. Proc- tor, at Kingston, N. H., with whom he be- came acquainted while in the academy in his youthful days. He died September 4, 1 890, nearly fifty-eight years of age. 156 GOVERNORS OF OHIO. >ILLIAM ALLEN, twenty-fifth gov- ernor of Ohio elected by the peo- ple, was born in Edenton, Chowan county, N. C, in 1807. His par- ents both died within a few months of each other before he was one year old, and he was cared for by an only sister, who soon afterward removed with her .husband to Lynchburg, Ya., taking young William with her. This sister was the wife of an itinerant Methodist minis- ter and the mother of Hon. Allen G. Thurman. She was a very superior woman, and was well fitted for the task of rearing two of Ohio's dis- tinguished statesmen, whose names are given above. About 1821 Mrs. Thurman, with her husband and family, removed to Chillicothe, Ohio, leaving her brother to attend an acad- emy at Lynchburg, Va., but he rejoined her two years later, and attended the academy in Chillicothe, and later read law in the office of Edward King, the most gifted son of Rufus King, of Revolutionary fame, and a popular statesman for many years. Having been ad- mitted to the bar in his twentieth year, he be- came a partner of his preceptor, and early in his career manifested that forensic ability to which he was mainly indebted for his success. This, together with his tall, commanding fig- ure and powerful, penetrating voice, attracted people to him, the latter giving him the name of the "Ohio Gong," and all together secured his nomination to congress, he being elected by the democrats in 1832, in a whig district, by a majority of one vote. While he was the youngest man in the Twenty-third congress, yet he was recognized as a leading orator, tak- ing part in the most important discussions in that body. In January, 1837, on what was called "Saint Jackson's Day," at a supper given in Columbus, Ohio, he made a speech which un- expectedly led to his election to the United States senate, to succeed Hon. Thomas Ewing. He remained in the senate twelve years, or until 1849, during which time he was at the full measure of his powers. In 1845 Senator Allen married Mrs. Erne (McArthur) Coons, a daughter of ex-Gov. Mc- Arthur, who had been, in 1830, elected gov- ernor of Ohio. She inherited from her father the old homestead, "Fruit Hill" farm, upon which Gov. Allen resided with his only daugh- ter, Mrs. Scott, his wife having died in Wash- ington soon after the birth of her daughter. In August, 1873, Mr. Allen was elected governor of Ohio, being the only man on the demo- cratic ticket not defeated. As governor he recommended the reduction of taxation and economy instate affairs. He was the first demo- cratic governor of Ohio after the war, and though his administration gave general satisfaction, he was defeated with the rest of the democratic ticket in 1875. It has been said of him that he originated the political catch-word, "Fifty- four forty, or fight," in reference to the boundary question between the United States and the British dominions, from which posi- tion the democratic party so ignominiously backed down. Gov. Allen died at Fruit Hill farm in 1879. He was a man of high charac- ter, cordial manners, and above all political chicanery of every kind, and his name will long be an honored one in American history. HOMAS L. YOUNG, ex-officio gov- ernor of Ohio, succeeding to the office by the election of Gov. R. B. Hayes to the presidency of the United States, taking possession of the office in Feb- ruary, 1877, was born December 14, 1832, on the estate of Lord Dufferin in the north of Ireland. Of Lord Dufferin it may perhaps be permissible, parenthetically, to remark that as governor-general of Canada, in 1874, he made a remarkable report on the loyalty of the peo- GOVERNORS OF OHIO. 157 pie of Canada to the British government, which appeared to him so "wholesome and satisfac- tory." This estate of Lord Dufferin was in Down county, Ireland. When Mr. Young was twelve years old his parents brought him to this country, and he was educated in the com- mon schools of New York city. When he was sixteen years old he enlisted in the regular army, serving in all ten years. At the expira- tion of his enlistment he visited the home of his parents, in the northern part of Pennsyl- vania, on one of the upper tributaries of the Susquehanna river, where he engaged in the business of country merchant until 1859, when he removed to Cincinnati, and took charge of the house of refuge, a youths' reformatory in- stitution, which position he retained until the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion. Having, while in the regular army, spent sev- eral years among the people of the south, he knew that they had determined upon war, and in March, 1861, he wrote to Gen. Scott, whom he personally knew, offering to assist in organ- izing volunteers for the defense of the govern- ment. Gen. Scott thanked him for his loyalty, but expressed bis incredulity as to the southern people entertaining any such purpose. In August, 1 86 1, Mr. Young was commis- sioned a captain in Gen. Fremont's bod}' guard, serving in that capacity until the following January, when that organization was disbanded by Gen. Halleck. For some months after- ward Capt. Young was engaged in editing a democratic paper in Sidney, Ohio, in which he severely condemned the indecision manifested in the conduct of the war. In August, 1862, he was appointed to raise a company for the One Hundred and Eighteenth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, and became the first major of the regiment. In Februarv, 1863, he was promoted to lientenant-colonel, and com- manded his regiment in the Tennessee cam- paign. In April, 1864, he was commissioned colonel of his regiment and served as such until the 4th of September following, when he was honorably discharged on account of phys- ical disability resulting from his services, • and exposures in the field. At the battle of Rq- saca, Ga., Col. Young led the first charge on, the enemy's works, the severity of the contest being indicated by the fact that he lost 1 16 men out of 270 engaged. For this and other, acts of bravery the president brevetted hirn< brigadier-general of volunteers, March, 13, 1865.1 Upon leaving the service he engaged in the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in April, 1865, being in the same month appointed assistant city auditor of, Cincinnati. In Oc- tober, 1865, he was elected to the Ohio house of representatives for Hamilton county, and in December, 186S, was appointed, by President Johnson, supervisor of internal revenue for the southern district of Ohio. This position he re- signed at the end of one year. For some time afterward he was engaged in the purchase and sale of real estate, and in 1871 was the only republican elected to the state senate from Hamilton county. In 1873 he formed a law partnership with Gen. H. B. Banning and Jacob McGarry, and in 1875 he was elected lieutenant-governor. Upon the resignation of Gov. Hayes he became governor, serving the remainder of the term. In 1878 he was elected to congress by the republicans of the second dis- trict, and died July 19, 1 888, thoroughly admired for his integrity of character and manliness. 5>^\ ICHARD M. BISHOP, the twenty- I <^T sixth governor of Ohio, was born No- P vember 4, 18 12, in Fleming county, Ky. His parents, who were of Ger- man and English lineage, removed from Vir- ginia in 1 80c. They were members of the regular Baptist church, of which he also be- came a member in 1828. 158 GOVERNORS OF OHIO. At this lime the Baptist churches in Ken- tucky were greatly excited in consequence of the criticisms made by Mr. Campbell, and his co-laborers, upon the religious corruption of the age. This excitement continued to in- crease in the immediate neighborhood of the Bishop family until 1832, when they and others were excluded from the Baptist church on account of " Campbellite heresy." Since then Mr. Bishop has been associated with the church of the Disciples or Christians. Mr. Bishop began his business career in Flem- ing county, Ky. , at the age of seventeen, and before he was twenty-one he became a part- ner in the store which he had entered as a clerk From 1838 to 184 1 he was engaged with his brother in the pork business, which proved unfortunate in consequence of the sud- den depression in prices, and the failure of the Mississippi banks, in which state they sold largely. They were compelled to suspend, but this temporary embarrassment did not dis- courage him, for he soon resumed business in the same place, where he continued until 1847. He then removed to Mount Sterling, Kentucky, where he established a branch house, his brother remaining at the old stand. In 1848 he removed to Cincinnati and commenced the wholesale grocery business under the style of Bishop, Wells & Co. This firm continued until 1855, when the business was reorganized and conducted under the firm name of R. M. Bishop & Co. The firm was composed of himself and three sons, and at one time did the largest business in the city, the sales amounting in some years to nearly $5,000,- 000. In April, 1857, he was nominated for council in the Second ward and was elected by a large majority. At the end of the second year he was elected presiding officer. In 1859 he was elected mayor of Cincinnati by a handsome majority, holding the same office until 1 86 1, when he declined the renomination tendered him by each of the political par- ties. In January, i860, when the Union was threatened by the leaders of the Rebellion, the legislatures of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee visited Cincinnati to encourage each other to stand by the old flag. At a grand reception given them at Pike's opera house, Mayor Bishop delivered an address of welcome amid a storm of applause. In the September ensuing his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, visited Cincinnati at the in- vitation of the mayor and received from him a cordial welcome. In February, 1861, when President Lincoln was passing on his way to his inauguration through Cincinnati, he was received in a speech by the mayor. During his administration the laws were rigidly en- forced, of which the Sunday ordinance, and those against gambling houses, were notable examples. Liquor selling and various other forms of Sabbath desecration were in the main suppressed. He inaugurated, amid much op- position, most important reforms in the man- agement of the city prison, work-house and the police. Mr. Bishop has become widely known for his liberality and devotion to the Christian church. From 1859 to 1867 he was president of the Ohio State Missionary society, and was the successor of the late Dr. Alexander Camp- bell in the presidency of the general Christian Missionary conference, which office he held until 1875. He was president of the board of curators of Kentucky university from its or- ganization until 1S80, when he declined a re- election; he was also one of the curators of Bethany college; also for many years trustee of the McMicken university. He was director of the First National bank for many years, and of several other business enterprises, as well as philanthropic institutions. He was a member of the Ohio state constitutional con- vention held in 1873 and 1874, and was presi ■• GOVERNORS OF OHIO. 159 dent of the great national commercial conven- tion held in Baltimore in 187 1. He was one of the prime movers in that great enterprise, the Southern railway, the building of which he so successfully managed, having been a trustee from the beginning, and the laborious work of obtaining charters for the road is largely his. In 1877 he was elected governor of Ohio by a majority of nearly 23,000 over the domi- nant party, and served two years with entire satisfaction to all parties. His first annual message was well received and complimented by the press generally. Upon his return to Cincinnati he was given a cordial and enthu- siastic reception at Lytle hall, where a large number of ladies and gentlemen had assembled to welcome him home. Since the expiration of his term as governor he has been urged by his friends to accept the nomination for various important offices, but always declined. Few men in the state can point to so many substantial benefits conferred upon society as the results of their single labors. Prompt de- cision, constant industry, sound judgment, and a desire to benefit his fellow-men, are his chief characteristics. aHARLES FOSTER, twenty-seventh governor of Ohio elected by the peo- ple, was born in Seneca county, Ohio, April 12, 1828. His parents, Charles W. Foster and wife, the latter of whom was a daughter of John Crocker, were from Massa- chusetts, reaching Seneca county, Ohio, in 1827. Charles Foster received only a common- school education, and went to Rome, now Fostoria, Ohio, when he was fourteen years old, where he was compelled to take charge of his father's store, and thus failed to secure a liberal education, which his father intended he should receive, and for which he had prepared himself at the Norwalk seminary. His success in the management of the store was very marked, and he soon became sole manager. The town of Fostoria, named from the Foster family, was the result of the consolidation of Rome and Risdon, which lay but a mile or two apart. In 1870 Mr. Foster was induced to accept the nomination for congress at the hands of the republicans of his district, and he was elected by a majority of 776 over Hon. E. F. Dickinson. In 1872 he was again elected to congress by a majority of 726 over Rush R. Sloane. In 1874 he was elected by a majority of 159 over Hon. George E. Seney, and in 1876 he was elected by a majority of 271. In 1878, the democratic party having secured a majority of the state legislature, in order to defeat Mr. Foster most outrageously gerry- mandered his district, and he was defeated by a majority of 1,255. I n 1879 he was elected governor of Ohio over Hon. Thomas Ewing, by a plurality of 17,129, and in 1881 he was again elected, by a plurality of 24,309, over John W. Buchwalter. Upon the death of the secretary of the United States treasury, William Windom, Mr. Foster was appointed his successor by Presi- dent Harrison, February 27, 1891, and served until the close of the Harrison administration, March 4, 1893. The successful adjustment of the four and one-half per cent, loan was one of the notable events of his first year's admin- istration of the treasury department of the government. Of the $50,869,200 of the four and one-half per cent, bonds, July 1, 1891, $25,364,500 were presented for continuance at two per cent., the rest being called in for re- demption. No other financial officer of the general government has ever negotiated a public loan at so low rate of interest. Since retiring from the national treasury, Mr. Foster has been engaged in arranging his own financial 160 GOVERNORS OF OHIO. affairs, which were thrown into confusion, while he was in public office by those whom he had trusted. ^^EORGE HOADLY, who was the ■ f7\ twenty-eighth governor of Ohio, was \^^f born in New Haven, Conn., July 31, 1826. He is the only son of George and Mary Ann (Woolsey) Hoadly'. Mary Ann Woolsey was a daughter of William Walton and Elizabeth (Dwight) Woolsey of New York, and she was a great-granddaughter of Jonathan Edwards, the famous New England theologian. She was a niece of President Dwight of Yale college, and the eldest daughter in a family containing among its members President Wool- sey of Yale college. Theodore Winthrop was her nephew and Sarah Woolsey, known in literature as "Susan Coolidge," her niece. George Hoadly, Sr. , was at one time mayor of New Haven, Conn., removed in 1830 to Cleveland, Ohio, and resided there the re- mainder of his life, serving as mayor of that city five terms, from 1832 to 1S37, and again one term, 1846-47. George Hoadly, the subject of this sketch, received his preliminary education in Cleve- land, and when fourteen years old was sent to the Western Reserve college at Hudson, Ohio, where he was graduated in 1844. He then spent one year in the Harvard law school under the tuition of Judge Story and Prof. Simon Greenleaf, and after studied a year with Charles C. Convers, of Zanesville, Ohio, then removed to Cincinnati and entered the office of Chase & Ball as a student. He was admitted to practice in 1847 and in 1849 be- came a member of the firm of Chase, Ball & Hoadly, the senior member of which was Sal- mon P. Chase. In 185 1 he was elected judge of the supreme court of Cincinnati, and in 1853 formed a co-partnership with Edward Mills. In 1 85 5-56. he was city solicitor of Cincinnati, and in 1859 succeeded Judge W. Y. Gholson as judge of the new superior court, holding this office uutil 1866, when he resigned, in order to form the firm of Hoadly, Jackson & Johnson. He was a member of the constitu- tional convention of 1873-74, and served as chairman of the committee on municipal cor- porations. For eighteen years he was profes- sor in the law school at Cincinnati, trustee of the university, and of the Cincinnati mu- seum. He was one of the counsel in behalf of the board of education in its famous case of resistance to the attempt to compel Bible reading in the public schools, in which the victory was with the board. Originally a democrat, he left that party and became a republican on the question of slavery, but during the campaign of 1876 sup- ported Tilden as against Hayes. In 1877 he appeared as counsel before the electoral com- mission and argued in favor of the democratic electors from Florida and Oregon. In 1880 he was temporary chairman of the democratic national convention which nominated W. S. Hancock for president. In 18S3 he was elected governor of Ohio, and in March, 1887, he removed to New York city, became the head of a law firm there, and has resided there ever since. In 185 1 he married Mary Burnet Perry, third daughter of Capt. Samuel Perry, one of the earliest settlers of Cincinnati. He and his wife have had three children, viz: George, Laura and Edward Mills. >-j*OSEPH BENSON FORAKER, ex-gov- 3 ernor of Ohio and United States senator, /» 1 elect, was born near Rainsborough, Highland county, Ohio, July 5, 1846. His parents, who are still living, represent the GOVERNORS OF OHIO. 161 agricultural class of the population of this country, and upon their farm he spent his earlier years. When the war of the Rebellion broke out young Foraker enlisted in company A, Eighty- ninth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, being then but sixteen years of age. With this regi- ment he served until after the fall of Atlanta, at which time, by successive promotions, he had risen to the rank of first lieutenant. Im- mediately after the fall of Atlanta he was detailed for service in the signal corps as a sig- nal officer on the staff of Maj.-Gen. Slocum, commanding the left wing of the army of Georgia. After the marches through Georgia and the Carolinas he was promoted brevet captain of United States volunteers, and as- signed to duty as aid-de-camp on the staff of Gen. Slocum, holding this position until he was mustered out of service at the close of the war. Returning home and resuming his studies, he graduated from Cornell university, Ithaca, N. Y. , in 1869. To gain time lost while in the service of his country in the army he read law while attending the university, and was admitted to the bar in Cincinnati, October 14, 1869, and he at once began in that city the practice of his profession. He was married October 4, 1870, to Miss Bulia Bundy, a daughter of Hon. H. S. Bundy, of Wellston, Ohio, and they have five children, two sons and three daughters. In April, 1879, he was elected judge of the superior court of Cincinnati, Ohio, and held this position until May 1, 1882, when he re- signed on account of ill health. Recovering his health he resumed the practice of the law in Cincinnati, and in 18S3 was nominated for governor of Ohio, but was defeated by his opponent, Judge George Hoadly. In 1884 he was a delegate to the national convention of the republicans which met in Chicago, and as chairman of the Ohio delegation, placed Hon. John Sherman in nomination before the con- vention for the presidency. In 1885 he was again a candidate for governor of Ohio, and this time was elected, defeating his former opponent, Judge Hoadly, and in 1887 he was re-elected governor of the state. In 188S he was again a delegate to the republican national convention and was again chairman of the Ohio delegation, placing Hon. John Sherman again in nomination before the convention for the presidency of the United States. In 1889 he was again nominated for governor of Ohio, but through the persistent cry of " third term- ism " he was defeated by James E. Campbell. In January, 1892, he was a candidate for United States senator, receiving thirty-eight votes, but was defeated by Senator John Sher- man. That year he was a delegate at large to the national republican convention, which met at Minneapolis, serving in that body as chair- man of the committee on resolutions. The state convention held at Zanesville, May 28, 1895, unanimously endorsed him as the repub- lican candidate for United States senator to succeed Hon. Calvin S. Brice, whose term of office expired March 4, 1897, and at the November election, 1895, a republican legisla- ture was chosen by a majority of nearly 100,- 000, which was practically instructed by the people to elect Mr. Foraker to the position named above. In obedience to these instruc- tions the legislature of the state on January 14, 1896, elected Mr. Foraker United States senator from Ohio, for six years from March 4, 1897, by a majority, on joint ballot, of eighty-five, the majority in the senate being twenty-three, and in the house of representa- tives being sixty-two, the entire legislative ma- jority being, as stated, eighty-five. Mr. For- aker is, therefore, the people's choice for this high position, in which it is confidently pre- dicted he will confer honor on his native state, even as he has had honor conferred upon him. 162 GOVERNORS OF OHIO. In his speech accepting the office Mr. Foraker used the following language : " I go there (to the United States senate) as a republican. I belong to that party. I believe in that party. I believe in its past ; I believe in its present; I believe in its future. I believe it the most acceptable agency we can command in the administration of national affairs. I believe it is better calculated than any other political organization to contribute to the strength, power, dignity, happiness and glory of the American people. " After speak- ing in favor of American marine interests and of the construction of the Nicaragua ca- nal he then referred to financial questions as follows : "I believe in bi-metallism. I be- lieve the world made a mistake when it de- monetized silver. I sincerely hope some safe way may be found for the restoration of silver to its rightful place alongside of gold as a money of ultimate redemption. I shall favor every measure calculated in my judgment to bring about that result, subject always, how- ever, to the condition that it provides for the maintenance of the parity of the two metals." >~>AMES EDWIN CAMPBELL, ex-gov- M ernor of Ohio, was born in Middletown, a 1 Ohio, July 7, 1843. He is a son of Dr. Andrew and Laura P. (Reynolds) Campbell, the former of Scotch and the latter of English descent. John P. Reynolds, the father of Mrs. Laura P. Campbell, was at one time a publisher of the state of New York, but later a resident of Madison, Ohio. The Rey- nolds family came originally from Devonshire, England. Jonathan Reynolds emigrated from Plympton Earl, in that country, in 1645, to America, taking up his residence near Plymp- ton, in the colony of Massachusetts bay, and n Jonathan Reynolds Mr. Campbell is of the sixth generation. By another branch of his family on his mother's side he is a descend- ant of John Parker, who commanded the American troops at the battle of Lexington, the first battle of the American Revolution. Both his grandfathers were in the war of 1812. Upon reaching his maturity Mr. Campbell began reading law. In the summer of 1863 he became a master's mate on the gunboats Elk and Naiad, and took part in several engage- ments, but on account of ill health he was dis- charged at the end of one year's services. During the winter of 1864-65 he was a law student in the office of Doty & Gunckel at Middletown, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in 1865. Beginning practice in 1867, he was elected prosecuting attorney of Butler county in 1875 and again in 1877. In 1S79 he was defeated for the state senate by twelve votes. Up to 1S72 he was a republican, but then voted for Greeley, and has since acted with the demo- crats. He was elected to the Forty-eighth, Forty-ninth and Fiftieth congresses, and in 1889 was elected governor of Ohio. In 1891 he was again a candidate, but was defeated by Maj. McKinley. In 1895 he was the third time a candidate, but was defeated by the present incumbent of the office, Hon. Asa S. Bushnell, by a plurality of 92,622 votes. On January 4, 1870, Mr. Campbell was married to Miss Libbie Owens, a daughter of Job E. and Mary A. (Price) Owens, the former of whom was a native of Wales, and the latter of Welsh descent. m. ILLIAM McKINLEY, who succeed- ed James E. Campbell in the guber- natorial chair, and who served out a well-administered term of office, on retiring filled a higher position in the esteem of the people of Ohio than he had ever before enjoyed, and this measure of esteem was also supplemented by that of the people of the na- GOVERNORS OF OHIO. 163 tion at large, who, in November, 1896, elected him chief magistrate of the United States. In that portion of this volume devoted to the bi- ographies of our presidents, that of Mr. Mc- Kinley is given in full, and to it the attention of the reader is respectfully invited. HSA S. BUSHNELL, governor of Ohio at the present time, is, without doubt and without qualification, one of the ablest men in the state. In many respects his career has been an exceptional one. His education and training have been those of a practical man of affairs, and to-day, at the age of sixty-two, having been born at Rome, Oneida county, N. Y. , in 1834, he is one of the most clear-headed business men in the country. At the age of eleven he left his home in the Empire state, to begin his career in the Buckeye state, reaching Cincinnati in 1845, where he spent six years in the public schools, paying his own expenses by working out of school hours and in vacation seasons. At the end of the six years spent in Cincinnati he re- moved, in 1 85 1, to Springfield, Ohio, in which city he has since lived and in which city he has acquired a princely fortune. His first three years in the "Champion City" were spent as a dry-goods clerk, during which time he be- came a thoroughly practical bookkeeper, and at their expiration he was given a position as bookkeeper with the old and well-known water-wheel firm of Leffel, Cook & Blakeney, which was even then doing an extensive busi- ness. This position he retained until 1857, when he formed a partnership with Dr. John Ludlow in the drug business, a partnership which lasted ten years, or until 1867. The only break in the continuity of his labors here was while he was engaged as captain of com- pany E, One Hundred and Fifty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, in 1864, in the Shenandoah valley. Here his bravery and his kindly man- ner won for him the admiration of and made him very popular among his fellow-soldiers of the entire regiment. While he was in the army he was somewhat slight in build and light in weight, and he was not much given to physi- cal exercise, while at the present time he is unusually active and weighs fully 200 pounds. In 1867 Capt. Bushnell purchased an in- terest in the large manufacturing firm of what is now known as the Warder, Bushnell & Glessner Co., of which the late Benjamin F. Warder was then the head, and of which the junior member was J. J. Glessner, now a prominent capitalist of Chicago. And it is in connection with this concern, which Mr. Bush- nell has so long and so successfully managed, that he has made the fortune which he to-day possesses. Hon. Asa S. Bushnell has long been closely identified with the republican party in Ohio, though his attempt to become governor of the state was the first he ever made to secure pub- lic office. He became chairman of the repub- lican state executive committee in 1885, and from 1886 to 1890 he served the state as quartermaster-general, having been appointed by Gov. Foraker, who was largely instru- mental in securing for him the nomination for governor in 1895, at Zanesville. In the fall of 1888 he was assaulted in the streets of Spring- field by political enemies, and through that as- sault came near losing his life. This assault still remains a mystery, and no one has been brought to punishment. He was chosen as a delegate at large to the republican national convention which met at Minneapolis in 1892, and which nominated President Harrison for re-election, and on November 2, 1895, he was elected governor of Ohio by a plurality of 92,622, over Hon. James E. Campbell, the 164 GOVERNORS OF OHIO. democratic candidate, this plurality being the largest ever given to a governor with the ex- ception of that given Gov. John Brough, dur- ing the progress of the Civil war, when the soldiers at the front voted almost unanimously for Brough as against Vallandigham. He was inaugurated governor on January 13, 1896. In the affairs of the Grand Army of the Republic, Gov. Bushnell has long been a prom- inent participant, being a member of Mitchell post, of Springfield, Ohio. He is also an ar- dent Free Mason. Among other of Gov. Bushnell's benefactions may be mentioned the Ohio Masonic Home, which was in all proba- bility preserved to Springfield by his unsolicited contribution of $10,000, at a time, too, when he was not a Mason. Dr. John Ludlow, with whom Mr. Bushnell, as a young man, found employment, had at that time a pretty daughter named Ellen, and these two young people were eventually mar- ried. Several children blessed the union, three of whom survive, as follows: Mrs. J. F. Mc- Grew, Mrs. H. C. Dimond, and John Ludlow Bushnell, the latter of whom graduated with honors from Princeton in 1894. Mrs. Bushnell is an ideal woman in every relation. While she is a society woman, yet she is not so in the ordinary sense of the phrase, her principal strength lying in her domestic qualities. Her two daughters are as happily married as is she herself. Mrs. McGrew is the wife of one of Springfield's most promising young attorneys, and is the mother of two children, Ellen and Fanny, while Mrs. Dimond is the wife of a prominent young physician and also the mother of two children, Asa Bushnell and Douglas Marquand Dimond. Brief reference can be made to the inau- gural address of Gov. Bushnell. Among other things he commended was the proposition of home rule or local option in matters pertaining to taxation — which means that counties should provide their own systems of taxation for their necessary expenses ; that double taxation should be avoided, and that such taxation as is nec- essary should be distributed as to lighten the burden of government, and so as to retain and attract capital to the state. He also favored a purchasing board for state institutions, and the providing of some means by which the state could supply employment to such of its prison- ers as are now compelled to remain perpetually idle. He also favored the limitation by statute of local indebtedness to ten per cent of the tax duplicate, and in closing said: "Time only can tell how much or how little I shall merit your commendation, but it will be my constant aim and purpose to serve you as faithfully and as wisely as there is light given me to show the path of right, and I shall ever remember that I am the servant of the people." From "Early Dayton." CEN. ROBERT C. SCHENCK. DAYTON, OHIO. THE GEM CITY. y^-^EN. ROBERT C. SCHENCK, de- ■ (j\ ceased, one of Ohio's most distin- ^L^J guished sons, and one whom the people of Dayton take pride in claim- ing as their fellow-citizen, was born in Frank- lin, Warren Co., Ohio, October 4, 1809, and was the son of Gen. William C. Schenck. Gen. William C. Schenck was a native of New Jersey, born in January, 1773. He came to Cincinnati in 1795, and served for a time in the land office under Gen. James Findlay, and afterward under John Cleve Symmes, as a sur- veyor, which became his profession. In 1798 he married Betsey Rogers, of Huntington, Long Island, N. Y., and reached Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife, January 1, 1799. They resided in that city until about 1803, when they removed to Franklin, Ohio, of which place, as well as of Newark, Licking county, he was the founder and proprietor. His death occurred in January, 1821, on the forty-eighth anniversary of his birthday, at Columbus, where he was serving as a member of the leg- islature from Warren county. His eldest son, James Findlay Schenck, was rear admiral of the United States navy. 1 After the death of his father, Robert C. Schenck was placed under the guardianship of Gen. James Findlay. In November, 1824, he entered the sophomore class at Miami univer- sity, and in [827 was graduated from that in- stitution, but remained in Oxford, the seat of the university, employing his time in reading, and as tutor of French and Latin, until 1830, when he received the degree of master of arts. In November, 1830, he entered the law office of Thomas Corwin, at Lebanon, Ohio, and in the following January was admitted to the bar. He then located in Dayton and commenced the practice of law, which he continued with success until the commencement of his public life. In 1 84 1 he was elected to the lower house of the Ohio general assembly. In May, 1843, he was elected to congress, and was re- elected for each succeeding term until 1850, when he declined a renomination. In 185 1 he was appointed by President Fillmore as United States minister to Brazil. In April, 1852, while in Brazil, he received instructions to proceed to Buenos Ayres, and to Monte- video, and with the charge d'affaires to the Argentine confederation, to propose treaties of 172 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD commerce with the latter government, and with the oriental republic of Uruguay. He was also empowered to negotiate with any person authorized to represent the republic of Paraguay. He returned from Brazil in 1854, and for some years took no active part in pol- itics, spending his time in attending to import- ant law cases and in managing, as president, a line of railroad from Fort Wayne, Ind., to the Mississippi river. In 1859, at a meeting of his fellow-citizens of Dayton, he delivered an ad- dress upon the political questions of the day, and was on this occasion the first to suggest the name of Abraham Lincoln as the next president. When the attack was made on Fort Sum- ter, Mr. Schenck at once tendered his services to the government, and was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers. On June 17, 1 86 1, Gen. Schenck was ordered to take pos- session of the London & Hampshire railroad as far as Vienna. On reaching Vienna he was unexpectedly attacked by a body of rebels in ambush under Gregg, in greatly superior num- bers. Gen. Schenck, with great coolness, rallied his few men, and behaved with so much courage that the rebels withdrew. At Bull Run, July 21, 1861, he commanded a brigade in Gen. Tyler's division, and when the order for retreat was given, Gen. Schenck, forming his brigade, brought off the only por- tion of that great army that was not resolved into the original elements of a mob. Gen. Schenck was next assigned to the command of a brigade in West Virginia under Gen. Rose- crans, and was actively engaged in the cam- paign on the Kanawha and New rivers. From Cumberland, he, with a small force, was or- dered to move up the south bank of the Poto- mac river, did so, and successfully occupied and held Moorefield, Petersburg, Franklin and other important points. At the battle of Cross Keys he was assigned to the right of the line, and the rebels, in heavy force, attempted to flank his position, but the attempt was prompt- ly repulsed. From that time until the second battle of Bull Run the General was actively engaged in all the fatiguing marches along the Rappahannock. Gen. Pope abandoned this point, and on August 22, 1862, Gen. Schenck's division was ordered toward Bull Run. In the two days' fight that ensued his division took an active part. His orders were given with great promptness and judgment, and he himself was active in seeing them executed. Gen. Polk's report mentioned his conduct in highly com- mendatory terms. On the second day of the battle he was severely wounded, and was car- ried from the field and conveyed to Washing- ton. Shortly afterward he received his ap- pointment as major-general of volunteers, and accompanying it a letter from Secretary Stan- ton, in which he stated that no official act of his was ' ' ever performed with more pleasure than the forwarding of the inclosed appoint- ment." For some time Gen. Schenck's wound was critical, and he recovered very slowly, with his right arm permanently injured. His service in the field closed with the second bat- tle of Bull Run. Over six months elapsed before Gen. Schenck was again fit for duty. In the meantime his great reputation and ex- perience in civil affairs had suggested him as the fit commander for the troublesome Middle department, and accordingly he was, on De- cember 11, 1862, assigned to that command, Eighth army corps, with headquarters at Bal- timore, where he assumed command on the 22nd of the month. His administration of the Middle department was what might have been expected from one of his known executive ability and firmness. He was warmly praised by the president and the war department, and had the unqualified endorsement of all Union men within the Middle department for his course while in Maryland and Delaware. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 173 On December 5, 1863, Gen. Schenck re- signed his commission to take his seat in con- gress, to which he had been elected from the third congressional district of Ohio. He was appointed chairman of the committee on. mili- tary affairs, a position of much responsibility, involving continuous and exhaustive labors. A history of his course in the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth congress would be a complete his- tory of the military legislation of the country through the most eventful years of the war and after its close. Upon the organization of the fortieth congress Gen. Schenck was appointed chairman of the house committee on ways and means, thus becoming the leader of the house, which position he held until near the close of the forty-first congress. His services during that period were of great benefit to the coun- try. From 1 87 1 to 1876 Gen. Schenck ably represented the United States as minister to the Court of St. James, by appointment from President Grant, previous to which appoint- ment he had served as a member of the high joint commission for the settlement of questions then in dispute between the United States and Great Britain. On his return he located in Washington, D. C. , and resumed the practice of law. Subsequently the department of state placed in his hands the codification of interna- tional laws, upon which task he was employed for several years. Gen. Schenck's death occurred in Wash- ington City in March, 1890, and his remains were brought to Dayton for interment. 'y-rf ENDERSON ELLIOTT, jurist, was [^\ born in Perquimans county, N. C, I , r August 17, 1827, son of Jesse and Rachel (Jordan) Elliott. His ances- tors on both sides were Irish, his grandparents being Quakers. His first American ancestor, Col. William Elliott, emigrated from Ireland toward the close of the seventeenth century. Young Elliott came in 1830 with his parents to Ohio, where the family engaged in farming. The father died in 1839, and at sixteen the son T who had early shown some taste for me-' chanics, apprenticed himself to learn the cabi- net trade. He relinquished this at the end of six months, and after some two years devoted to mechanical employments, all his spare time being meanwhile given to reading and study, he entered upon active preparations for teach- ing. His opportunities for even a common- school education were limited, hence he worked by day and studied by night, until he was able to pass an examination qualifying him to teach in the county schools. After some years of alternately teaching and attend- ing school, he in 1845 entered Farmers' col- lege, near Cincinnati, Ohio, where he had the benefit of the instruction of the foremost edu- cators of that day, such as President Freeman G. Cary, the venerable R. H. Bishop, D. D., Dr. John Scott and others. At the close of his collegiate career Mr. Elliott resumed teach- ing, and at the same time commenced the study of the law with Gen. Felix Marsh, of Eaton. He was admitted to the bar by the supreme court of Ohio in 1851, his examina- tion having been made by Hon. William Den- nison, afterward Ohio's war governor. In all his efforts in school and in the study of the law Mr. Elliott had no assistance from others, but made his own way, paying his entire ex- penses by teaching. He opened an office in Germantown, Ohio, in the spring of 1852, but business not proving so profitable as he had hoped, he in 1855 removed to the city of Day- ton. Here, with the exception of three years spent in editorial work, he continued the prac- tice of his profession, until elevated to the common pleas bench in 187 1. In this position he served continuously for twenty-five years, in which time he performed an immsnse 174 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD amount of judicial labor. He presided in every class of cases in the nisi prius courts, criminal and civil, equitable and legal. His predilection was always toward the equity side of the court, and notwithstanding that he sat in about 800 felony trials, and in many hun- dreds of civil jury trials, Judge Elliott is best known for his trial of equity, corporation and ecclesiastical cases. He gave especial atten- tion to railroad law, while his experience in the trial of church disputes and contests was considerable. Of these thousands of cases, adjudged by him in the ccurt of common pleas, his decisions in less than half a dozen civil cases, and in but one criminal case, were reversed by the supreme court, and in the lat- ter case the law was so clearly with Judge Elliott that the legislature ultimately amended the statute to correspond with his views of the criminal law. In a recent work, entitled "The History of Dayton," the author of the depart- ment allotted to the "Bench and Bar, " the Hon. Geo. W. Houk, himself an accomplished lawyer, makes this highly complimentary state- ment: "No judge ever so long discharged judicial functions in Montgomery county since its organization as Judge Elliott. The judicial qualities of mind, possessing a strong sense of natural justice, and well learned in the ele- mentary principles of the law, have been de- veloped by long experience and conscientious devotion to duty into rare excellence." In politics Judge Elliott was always a democrat, although during his service on the bench he was not actively identified with party politics. Judge Elliott always took a deep interest in educational matters, serving with much ability on the board of education of Dayton for the period of six years. In religion he was both by education and by inclination a Methodist, which church bestowed upon him its highest honors. He was a member of every electoral conference of his jurisdiction after the intro- duction of lay-representation, and also served as a member of the general conference of the church. In 1844, at the request of the bish- ops, he attended the centennial of Methodism, at Baltimore, as the representative of the laity of the Cincinnati conference. Judge Elliott was especially prominent in the organization of the State Bar association. Upon the death of the lamented Gen. Durbin Ward, he suc- ceeded that eminent lawyer as chairman of the committee of this association on judicial ad- ministration and legal reform, in which posi- tion, as elsewhere, he did much toward ad- vancing law reform in Ohio. In this capacity, too, he wrote and submitted to the State Bar association, in 1885, an elaborate report in favor of codification, which report was en- dorsed by the association. He had much to do with preparing the bill for the organization of the new circuit court. At the meeting of the State Bar association, held at Put-in-Bay, July, 1S90, Judge Elliott was elected, by a unanimous vote, president for the ensuing year. In May, 1888, he attended a convention called at the national capital for the purpose of or- ganizing a national bar association, in which body he was likewise active. In 1850 Judge Elliott was married to Rebecca, daughter of John and Rebecca Snavely. Of the five chil- dren born to them but two daughters are now living. Judge Elliott died June 25, 1896, having continued for months, even under the burden and distress of failing health and increasing feebleness of body, to give conscientious and laborious attention to the duties of his office. After a quarter century of faithful and devoted service, in which he had won the love and re- spect of the bar and of the community, he passed away full of years and of honor. His fine record as a jurist, his pure personal char- acter, his never-failing sympathy for the younger members of the bar, his certain in- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 175 terest in every movement for the public weal, the goodness and usefulness of his life, these will long remain fresh in the memory of the people to whom Henderson Elliott gave the fullness of his intellectual strength and of his moral nature. 1 wa s born in county Armagh, Ire- land, on February 10, 1833, and is the son of James and Jane Callahan. The Callahan family came to the United States in 1848, and settled at Shippensburg, Pa., where the parents resided for many years. Be- fore leaving Ireland, William P. Callahan had acquired the foundation of a common-school education, and to this he added by attending the common schools of Shippensburg. Before completing his schooling, however, he left school to serve an apprenticeship at the trade of cabinetmaking, which trade he mastered. Before attaining his majority, young Callahan began to dream of what he might accomplish in the west, and in 1853 he left his home in Pennsylvania, coming to Ohio, and settled in Dayton, then considered a western town by the people of the east. Here he found em- ployment in the furniture factory of M. Ohmer, where for a time he and Judge Dennis Dwyer worked together at the same bench. In 1854 these two young men — Callahan and Dwyer — went west to Iowa, where they worked at their trade for about eight months, when they re- turned to Dayton. Mr. Callahan then entered the shops of Chapman & Edgar, of Day- ton, where he learned the trade of pattern- making. He left that firm in 1855 to accept the foremanship of the pattern shops of Thompson, McGregor & Co., on Third street, by which firm he was employed for two years. In 1857 he became a member of the above firm by the purchase of John Clary's interest therein. In 1862 the senior member of the firm died, and in 1868 Mr. Callahan bought out the interest of McGregor and became sole proprietor of the works. In 1876 Mr. Calla- han admitted as a partner Thomas DeArmon, and the firm became that of W. P. Callahan & Co. In 1885 William K. Callahan, son of W. P. Callahan, was admitted to the firm, the firm name remaining as above. This busi- ness was originally founded in 1841 on Shaw- nee street, between Wayne and Wyandotte streets, on a very small scale, and gradually grew into its present large proportions. In 1856 it was removed to its present location on East Third street, where the company has one of the largest and most important manufactur- ing plants in Dayton or the state of Ohio. In February, 1865, Mr. Callahan made a second business venture, becoming one of a party of five gentlemen who established the Miami Val- ley Boiler & Sheet-Iron works, under the firm name of McGregor, Callahan & Co. A few years later Mr. Callahan purchased the interest of Mr. McGregor, but later sold his own inter- est and retired from the firm. In 1873 W. P. Lewis and Mr. Calla- han built what is known as the Lewis paper- mill, on Monument avenue, which has been a success, and is now owned by Mr. Callahan. In 1883 Mr. Callahan bought a controlling in- terest in the Ohio Paper company, at Miamis- burg, Ohio, which has been running success- fully ever since. He has been a stockholder and director of the Cooper Insurance company since its organization, and since the death of Col. D. E. Mead has been its president. He has also served as a director in the Dayton Gas Light & Coke company for twenty years. For many years Mr. Callahan has been identified with many of the leading financial institutions and insurance companies of Day- ton, either as an officer, director or stockholder. He was for some years a director and large stockholder of the Dayton National bank, which position he resigned a few years since, becoming associated with the City National bank, with which he had been identified since its organization, and on January 10, 1894, he became its president. For many years Mr. Callahan has been a holder of valuable city ^■^L*w. <^^<__ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 193 real estate, improved and unimproved. His first notable purchase of real estate was that of the Main street business and office property, on Main street between Second and Third streets. In 1890 he began the erection of the Callahan bank building on the corner of Third and Main streets, which was completed in 1 89 1, and is to-day one of the most con- spicuous business buildings in the city. In 1859 Mr. Callahan was married to Elizabeth Keifer, who was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1834, and is the daughter of Philip Keifer. Her father is one of the oldest living pioneers of Dayton. He was born in Maryland in 1801, and came to Dayton at a very early date in the history of the city. To Mr. and Mrs. Callahan the following children have been born: Will K., Charles, Lillie and Cora, the latter daughter deceased. The business career of Mr. Callahan is one most worthy of record and is a marvel in its way. Greater fortunes have been accumu- lated, but few lives furnish so striking an ex- ample of the wise application of sound prin- ciples and safe conservatism as does that of W. P. Callahan. The story of his success is short and simple. It contains no exciting chap- ters, but in it lies one of the most valuable se- crets of the prosperity which it records. Be- ginning with no capital save brains, energy, integrity and rugged health, and building up the great business which bears his name, his business life is pregnant with interest to the public. He is truly a self-made man in the broadest sense of that often misapplied term. When he came to Dayton forty-three years ago he was only a young, inexperienced cabinet- maker, with no money and few friends. Yet he has in that time built up one large and suc- cessful manufactory, and has contributed to the success of a dozen other enterprises. To-day he is the head and controlling spirit in one of the leading manufacturing plants in the state, and president of one of the leading and most substantial banking houses in the city, and is prominently identified with other important concerns, all of which have been of great ben- efit to Dayton in a material and lasting way. Mr. Callahan's life has been a most active and busy one, but he has not permitted business to interfere with his duties as a citizen. He has always been found on the right side of public questions having for their aim and object the building up and beautifying of his adopted city. His views on public matters have always been broad and liberal, tempered with conservatism. While progressive, he is prudent, ambitious, yet cautious. As a man, Mr. Callahan pos- sesses characteristics which have won for him the friendship of the leading citizens of Dayton, and the admiration of all who know him. Per- sonally he is pleasant, agreeable and always approachable, fond of humor, and with a de- sire to make life enjoyable for himself and all with whom he comes in contact. Though in his sixty-third year, and after a life of activity and constant business occupation, Mr. Calla- han is in the enjoyment of all his physical and mental faculties, and is a striking example of the well-preserved, progressive and represent- ative men of Dayton. >-j*OHN A. McMAHON, one of the lead- m ing members of the Dayton bar, and (9 I ex-member of congress from the Third Ohio district, was born in Frederick county, Md., on February 19, 1833. His fa- ther, John V. L. McMahon, of Baltimore, was a distinguished lawyer, ranking among the lead- ers of the Maryland bar. John A. McMahon, at an early age, was sent to St. Xavier's col- lege, Cincinnati, where he graduated in 1849, after a full collegiate course. He remained at that institution as a teacher until June, 1850. In 1S52 he came to Dayton and became a law 194 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD student in the office of the Hon. C. L. Val- landigham, who married the sister of his fa- ther. He was admitted to the bar in 1854, and immediately formed a partnership with Mr. Vallandigham. Thorough preparations and diligence as a student enabled him at once to achieve a high position at the bar, and a gen- eral reputation in the community that secured a large and important practice. He was not infrequently, before he was twenty-five years of age, opposed in the trial of causes to some of the most able lawyers of the state; upon one occasion, in the year 1859, trying an im- portant case at Dayton in opposition to Judge Thurman, then in the zenith of his reputation at the Ohio bar, in which Mr. McMahon was successful. After Mr. Vallandigham's en- trance into official political life, Mr. McMahon practiced alone for a time, and in 1861 formed a partnership with the late George W. Houk, which continued until January, 1 880. On the 23d of January, 1861, Mr. McMahon married Miss Mollie R. Sprigg, of Cumberland, Md., a lady belonging to one of the oldest families in that state. Mr. McMahon persistently declined all po- litical preferment up to the year 1872, when he was elected a delegate at large by the democratic state convention of Ohio to at- tend the democratic national convention held at Baltimore in that year. He several times refused a nomination for congress from the Dayton district, but in 1874, after he had been nominated in spite of his declination, his acceptance was so strongly insisted upon that he consented to make the canvass. The dis- trict at that time was largely republican, but he was elected by a majority of nearly eleven hundred votes. In the first session of the first term (Forty-fourth congress) he was one of the managers of the Belknap impeachment pro- ceedings, and upon the organization of the management of the conduct of the trial Mr. McMahon was selected chairman of the sub- committee to try the case. During the same session he was appointed upon a special com- mittee to investigate the St. Louis whisky frauds. He was afterward appointed by the house one of the committee of fifteen to in- vestigate the presidential election in the state of Louisiana prior to the counting of the elect- oral vote, of which committee Mr. Morrison, of Illinois, was chairman. Mr. McMahon was renominated without opposition for a second term by the demo- cratic party, and was re-elected to the Forty- fifth congress. Upon the organization of the session Mr. McMahon was assigned to a position upon the judiciary committee on accounts. During the session he was also selected as one of the Potter investigation committee. During the congress the undetermined questions con- nected with a distribution of a remainder of the Geneva award fund, amounting to nearly ten millions of dollars, were referred to the house judiciary committee. It soon became apparent that there would be so wide a differ- ence of opinion in the committee as to neces- sitate two reports, one from the majority and one from the minority. The minority report was drawn and reported by Mr. McMahon, and was signed by Fry, of Maine; Butler, of Mas- sachusetts; Conger, of Michigan; and Lapham, of New York. It was adopted by the house, and the principle of this report was subse- quently enacted into a law. In 1878, though desirous of retiring from public life, Mr. McMahon was again unani- mously renominated and elected to the Forty- sixth congress. During his third term he was a member of the committee on apportionment. At the expiration of his last term, in 1881, he resumed his practice in Dayton, at which he has been continuously engaged ever since. After the election of a democratic state legisla- ture in 1889, Mr. McMahon was a candidate OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 195 for the nomination, by a caucus of his party, for United States senator, receiving the vote next highest to that of Hen. Calvin S. Brice, who was chosen and elected. Mr. McMahon's political service was char- acterized by ability and a broad scope of use- fulness, reflecting credit upon himself and honor upon his constituents. As a lawyer his career has been abundantly successful. The secret of his prominence in the profession does not lie alone in his strong natural endowments, his breadth of mental grasp and intellectual vigor. It may be found in the fact that he has always been a close and conscientious student, not only of text books, but of the reported de- cisions of both English and American courts, so that he is to-day familiar, in a marked degree, with case-law, as well as the underlying legal principles. Industry, method, thoroughness, intense application — these are the habits which Mr. McMahon has brought to the practice of the law, and which, exerted upon the opera- tions of a keen and alert intellect, have placed him in the front ranks of the lawyers of Ohio. WOHN C. REEVE. M. D., one of the m oldest and most prominent physicians A 1 and surgeons of Dayton, Ohio, was born in England, June 5, 1826. When six years of age he came with his father's fam- ily to America, their residence being taken up in Cleveland, Ohio. At the age of twelve years young Reeve was thrown upon his own resources by the death of his mother, and by financial reverses to the family. Up to this time he had enjoyed good school privileges in the common schools of Cleveland. Following the death of his mother he apprenticed himself to become a printer, and spent several years in the office of the Cleveland Advertiser and Herald. While thus employed he fitted him- self for teaching school, which occupation he followed for a time as the means of improve- ment and education. He read medicine with Dr. John Delamater, professor of obstetrics in the medical department of Western Reserve college, Cleveland, from which institution he graduated. In 1849 Dr. Reeve began the practice of medicine in Dodge county, Wis. Some years later he visited Europe for the purpose of further study of his profession, and after passing the winter in London and a sum- mer at the university of Gottingen, Germany, he returned to this country, and in the fall of 1854 located in Dayton, where he has since practiced. Dr. Reeve is a member of the Montgomery Medical society, of which he has several times been president. He is also a member of the Ohio State Medical society, the American Medical association and the Ameri- can Gynaecological society, of which he was one of the founders. He has made numerous reports of important professional cases, and has been a frequent contributor to the leading medical journals of the country. On August 10, 1849, Dr. Reeve was married to Emma J. Barlow, of Cleveland, Ohio. To this union two sons and two daughters have been born, namely: Charlotte E., now the wife of Frank Conover. attorney, of Dayton; John C, Jr., practicing physician and surgeon, of Dayton; Mary S., now the wife of Robert E. Dexter, architect, of Dayton; and Sidney A., professor of mechanical engineering in Worcester Poly- technic school, Worcester, Mass. * w * ON. LEWIS B. GUNCKEL, prom- I^^V inent lawyer and ex-member of con- r gress, was born in Germantown, Montgomery county, Ohio, October 15, 1826. His grandfather, Judge Philip Gunckel, and his father. Colonel Michael Gunckel, were among the first settlers of Montgomery county. Mr. Gunckel graduated 196 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD at Farmers college in 1848, and from the Cin- cinnati Law school in 185 1, and in the same year was admitted to practice. In his early professional life he was associated with Hiram Strong, and laid the foundation of a practice which, through his fidelity, industry, and ability, has grown to be as important as any ever enjoyed at the Dayton bar. In 1862, Mr. Gunckel was elected to the Ohio state senate. He served there during the years of the war, was chairman of the judiciary com- mittee, and during the entire period especially distinguished himself in furthering legislation favorable to the soldiers and their families. He introduced a bill for the establishment of a state soldiers' home, another for a bureau of military statistics, and in all that concerned the welfare of the soldiers in the field he was especially conspicuous and efficient. In 1864, he was a presidental elector, and canvassed the state for Mr. Lincoln. He was influen- tial in the inauguration of measures for the establishment of the soldiers' home in Day- ton, and was appointed one of its first board of twelve managers. He held this position for twelve years, during ten of which he was sec- retary of the board and local manager. In 1 87 1, Mr. Gunckel was appointed by President Grant special commissioner to inves- tigate frauds upon the Cherokee, Creek and Chickasaw Indians, upon which subject he made a valuable report, which led not only to the detection and punishment of the guilty parties, but to important reforms in the Indian service. In 1872 he was elected to congress, served on the military committee, voted to re- peal the salary-grab law of the preceding con- gress, and declined to accept the increased pay to which he was entitled under that law. Since Mr. Gunckel's retirement from congress he has been more especially identified with his pro- fession and devoted to its practice. He was for three successive years a delegate from the Ohio state bar to the National Bar association, and was for the same period treasurer and member of the executive committee of the lat- ter. In 1884 he was nominated by his party for congress, but persisted in his refusal to accept the nomination, thus making another convention and nomination necessary. Mr. Gunckel's public services have been varied and important; and those most highly appreciated by the community, as well as most satisfactory to himself, were rendered in con- nection with the soldiers' home. He has been long known as one of the leading members of the Dayton bar, and so recognized throughout the state. In his latter years, as he has gradually be- come less absorbed in the routine of profes- sional work, he has given much thought and study to the improvement of municipal con- ditions in Dayton, and to the moral and mate- rial advancement of the city. He is prominent in all movements looking to the public good, and in these activities is rounding out a most useful public career. Mr. Gunckel was married in i860 to Kate, daughter of Valentine Winters, a prominent capitalist and banker of Dayton. at ILLIAM HAVE LOCK CRAW- FORD, president of the Dayton Last works, and one of the city's representative manufacturers, was born on West Second street, Dayton, Novem- ber 22, 1863. His father was the late Charles H. Crawford, a sketch of whom appears else- where in this work, and his mother was Sarah (Thresher) Crawford, a daughter of the late Ebenezer Thresher, and a sister to E. M. Thresher, of Dayton. Mrs. Crawford's death occurred in 1880. She was one of Dayton's well-known and beloved women, and her death was universally regretted. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 199 William H. Crawford was reared in Day- ton, and received his preliminary education at the Second district school. Subsequently he attended the Cooper academy, and later took a course at the Miami commercial college. In 1883 he began working in the last factory of Crawford, Coffman & Company. During the first four years of his service in the factory, he filled various positions, working in all the de- partments of the factory and acquiring a general knowledge of the business. Having become thoroughly familiar with all details of the work in the factory, young Crawford was taken into the office of the company as book-keeper. While employed in this capacity he had charge of the sales of the goods to a considerable ex- tent. Later he traveled in the interest of the firm. Upon the death of the father, in 1887, Mr. Crawford succeeded to his interests and took general charge of the business, which dur- ing the past nine years has increased some ten- fold, a fact which indicates clearly the posses- sion of fine business ability by Mr. Crawford. In 1886 the firm of Crawford, Coffman & Company sold out to the firm of Crawford, McGregor & Canby, which partnership con- tinued until April, 1896, when the company was incorporated under the firm name of the Crawford, McGregor & Canby company, con- sisting of W. H. Crawford, as president; John McGregor, vice-president and general manager, and W. J. Blakeney as secretary and treasurer. The other members are Edward Canby, W. H. Kemper, and O. A. Woodruff. In 1884 Mr. Crawford was instrumental in organizing the Last Makers' National association, consisting of thirty-seven members, and of this association he was the first president and was three times re-elected to that position. Mr. Crawford is a director of the Dayton Computing Scales company, is a director of the Dayton board of trade, and a director of the Homestead Aid association. He is a member of the Y. M. C. A., and of the First Baptist church. Mr. Crawford was married on Novem- ber 4, 1 886, to Mary A., daughter of D. O. Cunningham, a prominent glass manufacturer of Pittsburg, Pa., and to their union the fol- lowing children have been born: Marie Made- leine, Charles Henry, and William Harelock. W. H. Crawford is recognized as one of Dayton's most successful manufacturers and most useful citizens. The enterprise of which he is the head and guiding spirit, is one of the city's most important industries, as well as the largest plant of its kind in the United States, and is well known wherever the manufacture of shoes is carried on. Though comparatively a young man Mr. Crawford has demonstrated that he is a man of more than ordinary busi- ness ability, the best evidence of which is the uniform success that has been enjoyed by the Dayton Last works under his management. As a citizen Mr. Crawford is active, liberal minded, and public spirited. He is to be found always on the side of progress, and always ready to do his full snare towards the building up and de- velopment of the Gem City and the advance- ment of its welfare. a APT. EPHRAIM MORGAN WOOD, a prominent business man of Dayton, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Janu- ary 24, 1838. His father was Dr. William Wood, an eminent member of the medical profession, a writer upon professional and general subjects and a distinguished edu- cator, occupying a chair in the Cincinnati Medical college. Capt. Wood's mother was the daughter of Ephraim Morgan, a well- known citizen of Cincinnati, one of the origi- nators of the Cincinnati Gazette, and a lineal descendant of Capt. Miles Morgan, one of the founders of Springfield, Mass., in 1636, and 200 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD a brave officer in the Indian wars, to whom a statue has been erected in the most promi- nent square of Springfield. Capt. Wood graduated from Yale college when nineteen years of age. He studied law with the late Justice Stanley Matthews, of the U. S. supreme court. Soon after his admis- sion to the bar, he was appointed by President Lincoln a captain in the Fifteenth United States infantry and served in the war of the Rebellion on the Mississippi until the breaking down of his health compelled his resignation from the army. He married Miss Victoria H. Clegg, of Dayton, Ohio, and after his retirement from the army returned to this city, with which he has since been prominently identified in busi- ness and public affairs. For six years Capt. Wood was president of the board of education, and for seven years occupied a similar position in the city council. Upon the reorganization of the municipal gov- ernment he accepted the office of president of the board of police directors. During his term in the board of education, in conjunction with Robert W. Steele and other leading members, he introduced the office of superintendent of schools and established the Normal school. Capt. Wood is a director of the Winters National bank and of several large manufac- turing corporations. He holds a number of the most prominent offices in the Episcopal church in the diocese of southern Ohio ; is an officer in the Ohio Society of Colonial Wars and of the Sons of the Revolution, and is a Companion of the Loyal Legion. In every official relation sustained toward the city of Dayton, Capt. Wood's services have been marked by sound judgment, strong business sagacity and a broad and public-spir- ited conception of official duty. His services upon the board of police directors, of recent date, were most valuable in the reorganization of that most important municipal department ; while his earlier labors upon the board of education and in the city council reflected great honor upon himself and were of most marked benefit to the community. He is actively in- terested in every movement looking to the betterment of municipal conditions, and is recognized as one of Dayton's most influential citizens. Capt. Wood is an able and accom- plished public speaker. Many of his addresses, delivered in this city and elsewhere, have been published and widely circulated. Vj»UDGE JOHN ALLEN SHAUCK, of ■ Dayton, Ohio, is a native of the Buck- et 1 eye state, and was born in Richland county, March 26, 1841. His parents, Elah and Barbara (Halderman) Shauck, were born in Pennsylvania — the father in York county in 1806, and the mother in Lancaster in 1802, and both were children when brought to Ohio by their respective parents, who set- tled in Richland county, in that particular por- tion which was afterward selected, in 1848, to become a component part of Morrow county. The marriage of these parents took place in Richland county in 1829, when they at once settled on a farm, on which they passed the remainder of their days, the death of the mother occurring in January, 1862, and that of the father in October, 1875. The six chil- dren born to this marriage were named, in or- der of birth, as follows: Jacob, who is now a merchant of Kendallville, Ind. ; Mrs. Rebecca Coe, of Morrow county, Ohio; Moses, in the insurance business at Newark, Ohio; John A., the subject of this memoir; Sarah, who died after reaching the years of maturity, and Mar- tha Johnstone, of Ringgold county, Iowa. In politics, the father was a strong republican, was utterly inimical to the institution of slav- ery, and died an honored and respected citi- zen, his philanthropic principles having gained OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 201 for him the esteem of the most enlightened residents of Morrow county, which was, in its early days, a cradle of abolition. The early education of John Allen Shauck was acquired in the common schools of Johns- ville, Morrow county, and was supplemented by a classical course of five years at Otterbein university. In 1865 he entered the law de- partment of the university of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from which he graduated in April, 1867. Soon thereafter he located in Dayton and for two years practiced law on his own account, establishing in this brief period an enviable reputation in his profession. He then formed a partnership with Judge Samuel Boltin, and this firm, which long stood in the front rank of the legal profession, continued until February 8, 1885, when Judge Shauck was called upon to assume his duties on the bench of the cir- cuit court. Here he served with eminent abil- ity until February, 1895, when his strong judi- cial qualifications and fine reputation were recognized and rewarded by his elevation to the office of judge of the supreme court of the state of Ohio. Judge Shauck was most happily united in wedlock, at Centralia, 111., June 1, 1876, with Miss Ada May Phillips, who was born in Bond county, HI., May 26, 1855, a daughter of Charles W. and Eliza D. (Marshall) Phillips, natives of Fayette county, Pa. To this union two children have been born, of whom one, Helen C, still lives to bless the home of her parents, but Perie, the younger of the two, is deceased. Politically, Judge Shauck is a republican. As an attorney and as a jurist he has few equals in the state of Ohio, and as a man his life has been so pure, simple and unostenta- tious as to win the respect of all who have ever met him. In the short term of his service, up to this time, upon the supreme bench, the strength, clearness and courage of his decisions have won him the admiration of the entire bar of Ohio. They give evidence of a broad and safe knowledge of legal principles and of a fine discrimination in their application. The char- acteristic style of Judge Shauck's opinions, their virile, nervous English, the absence of doubt or compromise in their conclusions, mark their author as one of the ablest judges known to the history of Ohio's highest tribunal. kS~\ ENJAMIN B. CHILDS, member of |(^^ the board of water-works trustees of £*^_J Dayton and general foreman of the Barney-Smith Car works of the same city, was born in Livermore, Androscoggin county, Me., August 29, 1825. He is a son of Godney and Mary (Marsh) Childs, both of whom are now deceased. Receiving his early educa- tion in the district schools, he left home when ten years old and hired out to work on a farm. In 1 841 he left his home in Maine and went to Worcester, Mass., where he again was em- ployed on a farm, and there he remained thus engaged, working on different farms, for two years, and then began to learn the carpenter trade in Worcester. In 1845 he began work- ing at car building, and in 1856 removed to- Dayton, Ohio, where he became employed in the car shops of Barney & Parker, now the Barney & Smith Car Co. From that time up to the present day, a period of forty years, he has been continuously in the employ of thi& same company. At first he was made fore- man of the freight car department, being sub- sequently promoted to the position of foreman of the passenger car department, and for the past twenty-five years he has been general fore- man of the shops. Mr. Childs was married at Worcester, Mass., January 12, 185 1, to Annis E. Howe, a native of Leicester, Mass., who died in June, 1894, leaving three children, as follows: Ed- LMI-2 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ward E. , who is engaged in railroading; Ada- line M., who married Will D. Huber, of Day- ton, and Charles, draughtsman in the car shops of the Barney & Smith Car Co. Mr. Childs was elected to the water-works board of Dayton in April, 1890, was re-elected in 1893, and again in 1896, and during his last term has served as president of the board. He is a member of the Knights of Honor, and is in every way a man worthy of the highest regard and esteem. WOHN W. STODDARD, a prominent • citizen and president of the Stoddard /• J Manufacturing company, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city on the first day of October, 1837, and is the son of the late Henry Stoddard, a pioneer citizen and dis- tinguished lawyer of Dayton, of whom a sketch appears on another page of this volume. John W. Stoddard was prepared for college in the private schools of Dayton, and spent his freshman and sophomore years at Miami university. He next entered the junior class at Princeton college, where he was graduated in the class of '58. Determining to adopt the legal profession as a calling, Mr. Stoddard en- tered the Cincinnati Law school, from which he was graduated in i860. He practiced law in Dayton for two years, with every probabilty of success, after which he decided to abandon the legal profession for a business career, and in 1862 began the manufacture of linseed oil in partnership with his brother Henry, and Charles G. Grimes, under the firm name of Stoddard & Grimes. That business was con- tinued for three or four years when it was en- larged, and the manufacture of varnishes was added, the firm also dealing by wholesale in paints, oils, window glass, etc., under the name of Stoddard & Company (which business is continued at the present time by the Lowe Brothers' company). Mr. Stoddard retired from connection with the above business in 1869, disposing of his interest to his brothers, Henry and E. Fowler Stoddard, and in the same year began the manufacture of agricul- tural implements in partnership with John Dodds, under the firm name of John Dodds & Company. This firm continued business for five years, and was succeeded by that of J. W. Stoddard & Company, the other members of which were E. Fowler Stoddard and William A. Scott. This firm was followed, in 1884, by the incorporation of the Stoddard Manufacturing company, of which Mr. Stoddard became, and has ever since been, the president and princi- pal stockholder. This is one of the principal manufacturing plants of Dayton, and one of the largest in its line in the world. Mr. Stoddard is also president of the Amer- ican Stoker company, of Dayton; president of the Milburn & Stoddard company, of Minne- apolis; vice-president of the Milburn Wagon company, of Toledo; and vice-president and acting president of the Pasteur Filter com- pany, of Dayton. He holds a directorship in the following corporations: The Fourth Na- tional bank, the National Improvement com- pany, of which he is president; the American Carbon company, the Davis Sewing Machine company, all of Dayton, and in the Indiana Iron company, of Muncie, Ind. He is also president of the Dayton club, the leading social organization of the city. Mr. Stoddard was married in May, 1861, to Susan, daughter of Daniel Keifer, one of the old citizens of Dayton, and to this marriage the following children have been born: Charles G., vice-president and superintendent of the Stoddard Manufacturing company; Mrs. Charles M. Nash, and Misses Alice and Flor- ence. John Williams Stoddard was named for his grandfather, John Williams, a pioneer of Day- ■ %*~ Vfc&£&f*^e OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 205 ton. His ancestry comprises a long line of prominent names, in, many instances distin- guished in the history of this country. As a business man Mr. Stoddard has been cautious, conservative, but courageous. He possesses to a marked degree what is known in the commercial world as "nerve." This ele- ment in his character has been wisely tempered with sagacity and most excellent judgment. He commenced his business life most admir- ably equipped. Educated in the best schools of this country, and with that further legal training which so thoroughly disciplines the mind, few men have enjoyed better preparation. To-day the sixtieth milestone is nearly passed and the period of retrospect has arrived. The future in Mr. Stoddard's business life is assured, and the pages of the past disclose a career of unvarying success. President and principal stockholder of one of the largest manufactories of its kind in the world, and identified with the management of many of Dayton's largest in- dustries and financial institutions, he may in- deed view the present and review the past with feelings of becoming pride. Socially those who know Mr. Stoddard well know him with ever increased attachment. His long, assiduous attention to business left little time for him to cultivate extended social relations. The formation of the Dayton club within the last few years has brought Mr. Stod- dard more prominently in contact with his fel- low-citizens and he has become one of its most popular members. His social qualities have thus become more generally known and recog- nized. Strong in his attachments, firm, de- cided and sincere in character, he well deserves his position of prominence and influence in his native city. He enjoys a beautiful home on a hillside of Dayton, from which is presented a kaleide- scopic view of progress and development, in which he is and has been a prominent factor. * yy w M LLIAM M. MILLS, vice-president Mm and general manager of the Globe vJLyJ [ron Works Co., of Dayton, Ohio, is one among the old and well- known citizens of the Gem City. Mr. Mills was born in Wythe county, Va., of French- Welsh origin, and is of the fourth generation since the first of his ancestors settled in Albe- marle county, Va. His grandfather, Menan Mills, was an ensign during the Revolutionary war, and was with his regiment at the sur- render of Yorktown, Va. He lived to reach the age of eighty-nine years, and during the last year of his life rode horseback from Lex- ington, Ky., to the western part of Montgom- ery county, Ohio, intending to remain in this county during the winter. But about three months after his arrival he was taken sick, and after a few days' illness died. The father of William M. was the Rev. John I. T. Mills, who married Maria Galladay, daughter of Maj. Galladay, of Augusta county, Va., and a few years later removed to Lexing- ton, Ky., whither he had been preceded a few years by his father and two brothers. Rev. Mills began the realities of life as a minister of the M. E. church and a teacher, in both of which callings he became one of the most suc- cessful in Kentucky. He was a man of fine physique, and exceedingly fond of athletic sports, taking part with his pupils at play dur- ing recess. Although very strict during study hours, he was the idol of his students. Dur- ing the cholera epidemic of 1833 he suffered from a very severe attack of that disease, from which he never fully recovered, and died eighteen months afterward, at the age of forty- six years, in the full promise of his manhood. At the time of his death and for several years prior thereto, he was professor of Greek and Hebrew in the seminary at Harrodsburg, Ky., a school which he had founded on his own account. Rev. Mills was considered one of 206 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the leading educators in the state of Kentucky. He was a natural orator, a close student, a fine instructor, and withal a true type of the Christian gentleman. After the death of Rev. Mills his widow, with her five children, two sons and three daughters, removed to Jackson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, where she purchased a farm and began farming, al- though her eldest son, Jewette M. Mills, was but seventeen years of age, and her youngest, William M., was not yet fourteen. These two boys took charge of the farm, and so success- fully did they manage it that they greatly sur- prised the neighbors. Fortunately for his family, Rev. Mills was very fond of farm life, and had for many years owned and cultivated a good farm, so his boys were no strangers to their new duties. W. M. Mills remained with his mother until he reached his eighteenth year, and having by that time made up his mind that farming was not his choice of business, with the consent of his mother and brother, he went to learn the carpentering trade with a neigh- bor. After working as an apprentice for about two years young Mills concluded that he would be something more than a country carpenter, and consequently came to Day- ton to finish his trade. After completing his apprenticeship and working as a carpenter for a few years Mr. Mills determined to seek em- ployment in some branch of manufacturing, where there would be an opportunity of ad- vancement, and so obtained a place as pattern- maker. A few years later he purchased an interest in an iron foundry and machine busi- ness, forming what afterward became the firm of Stout, Mills & Temple, the successor to which firm is now the Dayton Globe Iron Works Co., which was formed in 1890, at which time Mr. Mills was made secretary. In 1891 he was made vice-president and general manager. Mr. Mills was made an elder in the Presbyterian church when he was thirty-five years of age. He is now one of the ruling elders of the Third street Presbyterian church. Mr. Mills was married on October 28, 1845, to Margaret Bowersock, daughter of David Bowersock, who was of German descent, born in Northumberland county, Pa., and settled in Miami county, Ohio, at an early date. Mrs. Mills was born in Miami county in December, 1822, and Mr. and Mrs. Mills have lived to cel- ebrate their golden wedding anniversary. To Mr. and Airs. Mills the following children have been born: Annie M., widow of Samuel Steele, son of the late Dr. Steele, of Dayton ; David T. , now engaged in the wood pulp man- ufacturing business in the state of Maine; Belle W.; William H., who died in his thirteenth year ; Edna L., now Mrs. E. P. Matthews, of Dayton, and Gussie L. When Cincinnati was menaced by Gen. Kirby Smith, Mr. Mills organized a company of 103 men, two lieutenants and a drum corps, was commissioned captain by Gov. Tod, and assisted in repelling the rebel invader. In about 1870 Mr. Mills was elected to the Dayton city council, and was chosen president of that body. He has also served a number of times as chairman of county conventions. HLVAN A. SIMONDS, manufacturer of machine knives, Dayton, was born at Fitchburg, Mass., January 28, 1 841 . His father was Abel Simonds, a scythe manufacturer of that place. Alvan grew to manhood in his native state, and when sixteen years of age, learned the trade upon which his present business is based. He worked at it for four years, and then, in com- pany with his brother, George F., opened a shop at home, remaining in business there for ten years. The firm was known as Simonds OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 207 Brothers, and subsequently was organized into a joint-stock company, under the name of the Simonds Manufacturing company, of which Mr. Simonds became the trusted and efficient treasurer. The firm of Simonds Brothers commenced business with ten men in their employ, and in 1874, when Mr. Simonds resigned his position as treasurer of the company, the force had been increased to 125 employees, and the amount of business to $200,000 annually. In the year last named Mr. Simonds came west, seeking a location for the establishment of a new plant of the same character. On his arrival at Dayton, he was so impressed with the industrial outlook that he determined to locate himself in this city. He erected his present shops in Dayton View, and his success has fully justified his decision. In 1 86 1, Mr. Simonds enlisted in company B, Fifteenth regiment Massachusetts volun- teer infantry, and served in the Second corps, army of the Potomac. After a term of three years in defense of the Union, he was honor- ably discharged and returned home. He is a member of the Old Guard post, G. A. R., of Dayton. Mr. Simonds was married, in 1865, to Miss Marcella C. Willard, a native of Leominster, Mass. Of the five children born to them, four are living — Caroline J., Cora B. , Herbert R. , and Ethel G. ; Bessie E. being deceased. Mr. Simonds, in starting, upon a modest scale, the knife manufacturing plant which has grown into a large and prosperous industry, introduced a new feature into the business activities of Dayton. To every detail of its development he gave the most watchful care and judicious direction, and in a few years of residence here, he took place among the sound and reliable business men of the city. At the time of his retirement, by reason of ill health, from the personal and active management of his business, he was recognized in the com- munity not only as a prominent and influential factor in the industrial life of Dayton, but as one of her most useful and liberal citizens. The establishment of the Deaconess hospital was largely due to the untiring labors of Mr. Simonds, who was the first president of the board of trustees and so continued until 1896, when the failure of his health precluded his further service. He has been identified with very many of the charitable and benevolent movements in Dayton, wherein his good judg- ment and his generosity have been equally ap- preciated. ^yn^ILLIAM HENRY NEGLEY, M.D., mm whose office is at No. 137 West \JL/I Third street, Dayton, Ohio, is ,1 native of the Buckeye state, and was born in Germantown, Montgomery county, July 16, 1863, a son of William Henry and Eleanor A. (Schultz) Negley. John C. Negley, his grandfather, was born near Carlisle, Cumberland county, Pa.., July 21, 1783, and when about twelve years of age accompanied his father and other members of the family to Mercer county, Ky., where he grew to manhood. In 1805 he came to Ohio and entered a section of land in German town- ship, Montgomery county, just east of German- town, that village then consisting of a post- office, store, tavern, and a few houses. In 181 1, he married Miss Mary Shuey, a daughter of John Martin Shuey, the marriage resulting in the birth of five children, viz: Christiana, Caroline, Elizabeth, Catherine and William Henry. Shortly after his marriage, John C. Negley volunteered for the war of 18 12, enter- ing the army with the commission of ensign, and later, for brave and gallant conduct, was promoted to be captain. 1'O.S CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD William Henry Negley, the only son of John C. and the father of Dr. Negley, was born in Germantown, Ohio, December iS, 182S, was reared on his father's farm, and in 1857 married Miss Eleanor A. Schultz, a native of Baltimore, Md., this union being blessed with two children — Frank Herwood and Dr. Will- iam H. Mr. Negley, like his father, was a brave soldier, and served his country through the war of the Rebellion; in 1869 he removed with his family to Cincinnati, Ohio, and there Dr. W. H. Negley was educated. Dr. Negley received his elementary educa- tion in the public schools of Cincinnati, and passed through all the intermediate grades until he reached the Woodward high school, from which he was graduated in 1882. In 1883 he entered the Miami Medical college at Cincin- nati, to prepare himself for his chosen profes- sion, and from this institution he graduated in March, 1886. In October, 18S6, he was ap- pointed acting assistant surgeon at the National Military Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers near Dayton; January 1, 1887, was promoted to the position of second assistant surgeon, and July 1, 1S89, was promoted to first assistant surgeon. June 9, 1891, Dr. Negley was most happily united in marriage with Miss Anna Poyntz An- derson, daughter of Charles B. and Belle (Bradford) Anderson, of Campbell county, Ky. March 1, 1892, the doctor resigned his position in the Military home, near Dayton, in order to go to Europe, and further to prosecute the study of his profession in the hospitals of the old world. Returning to Dayton in November of the same year, he opened his present office January 1, 1893. In March, 1894, he was appointed attending physician to Saint Eliza- beth hospital, which position he has filled with marked credit and ability. Two children — Eleanor Bradford and William Henry, Jr. — have been born to Dr. and Mrs. Negley. ^-j»OHN R. McINTIRE, capitalist, banker g and wholesale merchant, of Dayton, (9 1 Ohio, is a native of the Reystone state, having been born at Lancaster, Pa. , and is the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Mcln- tire. The Mclntire family was one of the early ones in Montgomery county, Ohio. Samuel Mclntire was a native of Scotland, born of Scotch-Irish parents. Before attain- ing his majority he came to the United States and settled in Lancaster county, Pa. There he was married, his wife having, when a child, gone with her parents to that state from her native place in Virginia. In the spring of 1840 Samuel Mclntire brought his family to Montgomery county, making the entire trip by wagon, the journey consuming twenty-one days. Upon arriving in this county he located temporarily at Harshmanville. His death oc- curred four years later. His widow survived him until 1885, her death occurring in Dayton, where she had resided for a number of years. After securing a common-school education, John K. Mclntire came to Dayton in the fall of 1846, and took a position as clerk in the grocery store of George W. Rneisley, continu- ing in that capacity with the same house until January 1, 1854, when he purchased an inter- est in the business, and became a partner in the firm of Kneisley, Mclntire & Co., whole- sale grocers. In 1861 the firm became that of Rneisley & Mclntire, with Mr. Mclntire an equal partner. In 1876 Mr. Mclntire retired from the above firm, and in the same year established the wholesale grocery house of J. R. Mclntire & Co., on East Third street, which, on May 1, 1894, was removed to No. 116 North Main street. This is the largest and the leading house in its line in Dayton, and one of the largest in Ohio. Mr. Mclntire has other large and important business interests in Dayton. For the past twenty-one years he has been a stockholder {^1^1- -J /i/i^^EFFERSON A. WALTERS, M. D., of M Dayton, is now living in retirement and /• 1 devoting his leisure to the study of his- torical and philosophical literature, hav- ing long since acquired a competency and being now one of the solid capitalists and finan- ciers of the Gem City. He descends from one of the oldest of American families, was born in Fayette county, Pa., October 19, 1810, and has been a resident of Ohio since 1830. His father, Ephraim Walters, also a native of Fay- ette county, was born in 1776, was reared a farmer, and, while still a young man, also en- gaged in trading, and as early as 1 800 floated flour to New Orleans, La., on a keel-boat. In 1803 he married Miss Elizabeth Ache, daugh- ter of a Dunkard preacher, and thenceforward confined himself to agricultural pursuits, and died at the ripe old age of ninety-one years. Ephraim Walters, grandfather of Dr. Wal- ters, was born about 1737, and when fourteen years of age was captured by the Shawanese Indians on the south branch of the Potomac river, in Virginia. His father, mother, and six children beside himself, were also the victims of this onslaught, and the father was shot dead on the spot. While crossing the mountains westwardly the Indians seized a nursing babe from its mother's arms and dashed out its brains against a stump, and then tied the mother to a tree and slowly tortured her to death with fire. Young Ephraim, with the other prison- ers, was taken to an Indian village on the Mo- nongahela river near Pittsburg (as it is now known), where he was adopted by the chief, Yougashaw, and was kindly treated. He be- came an expert hunter and a brave warrior, and was present at Braddock's defeat and at the subsequent fall of Fort Duquesne in 1758. He was of course among the Indians who sided with the French, and in 1759 was exchanged, and so passed into the hands of the English, who then controlled the colonies. But the ar- rogance of the British officers was to him un- bearable, and he soon rejoined his Indian as- sociates and with them came to Ohio, where he passed two years on the Muskingum river and its tributaries. In 1761 he returned to Pennsylvania and made his home on the Mo- nongahela river in the village of the renowned Indian chief, Cornstalk, in what is now Fay- ette county. In 1770 he located a "toma- hawk" title to about 7,000 acres of land in that county, most of which is to-day very valu- able and a great portion of it in the possession of his descendants. The same year he married Miss DeBolt, of French descent, to which union were born seven sons and three daugh- ters, and of these ten children three lived to reach the age of ninety years, six to be sev- enty-five, and one to be fifty-five years old. During the Revolutionary war Mr. Walters raised a company for the defense of the settle- ment, and during the war of 181 2, his young- est son having been drafted, he offered himself as a substitute and was accepted, although he was then seventy-five years old. He was ever prominent in local affairs and for many years was a justice of the peace. His death took place in 1835 at the age of ninety-four years, and his memory is still cherished and vener- ated in the western part of the Keystone state. Dr. Jefferson A. Walters, on coming to Ohio in 1830, was the first student to enter the Eclectic Medical college, just organized at Worthington, and from this institution he graduated in 1834. The first three years of practice he passed in Perry county, and in June, 1837, he settled in Dayton. December 24, 1840, he was united in marriage with Miss Lucetta E. Brooks, only daughter of James Brooks, and to this union were born one son and one daughter. In the summer of 1841 the Doctor opened a drug store and for twenty-five years did a very successful business, but in 1866 had the misfortune to be thrown from his ■2 is CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD buggy, sustaining a serious injury to his spine, from which he suffered for six years before finding permanent relief, since when he has enjoyed very fair health. For many years he has been living in retirement, passing his time in the perusal of standard works of philosophy and antiquarian research. He is well pre- served for his age and adds to his longevity by maintaining an equable temper and the exer- cise of an unusual degree of sociability. He has always been a democrat in politics, but has never aspired to public office nor cared to burden himself with official cares, being satis- fied with his lot as an honored and quiet citizen of the republic. IHOMAS P. GADDIS, vice-president and general manager of the Dayton Malleable Iron works and one of the Gem City's representative manufac- turers and citizens, was born in this city June 5, 1850. His father was the late Rev. Max- well Pierson Gaddis, who for years was one of the well-known ministers of the Cincinnati M. E. conference, and was the author of that val- uable and interesting autobiographical work, "Footprints of an Itinerant." Rev. Gaddis was born in Lancaster county. Pa. , on Sep- tember 9, 181 1. His parents, Robert and Mary Ann (Frazier) Gaddis, who were natives of Ireland, were married in 1789, and became the parents of thirteen children, seven of whom were born in that country. In 1801 the fam- ily sailed from Ireland on the ship Stafford, and after a perilous voyage of thirteen weeks, reached this land. They first located on a small farm in Delaware, but in 1803 they re- moved to Pennsylvania, and in 18 17 came to Ohio. Rev. Gaddis was educated principally by his mother. Before he had reached his six- teenth year he had passed the necessary exam- ination, had been pronounced competent to teach, and had taught his first common school. By teaching he earned means to go to college, which he entered in 1830, but soon afterward was forced to abandon his studies on account of poor health. In 1832-33 he was engaged in mercantile business. In 1824 he was con- verted to religion; in 1835 he was authorized to exhort in the M. E. church, and during that year he received his first appointment to a cir- cuit. His first appointment to a station was in 1838, when he was placed in charge at Fulton, Ohio. In the fall of 1841 he was appointed agent for the Worthington Female seminary and Asbury academy at Parkersburg, Va. In 1852 he was compelled to abandon active work, on account of ill health, and the following year he severed his connection as pastor at Piqua, and went east to recuperate. He recovered his health to a slight degree, but continued weak, and was compelled to take a superan- nuated relation with the church. Following this he located in Dayton, and here resided until his death, which occurred in 1878. His widow still resides in Dayton. Thomas P. Gaddis was reared in Dayton, first attended the public schools, and then An- tioch college, at Yellow Springs, Ohio. In 1869 he went to Colorado, where he served in the U. S. engineering corps under Maj. John E. Clark. In 1872 he was in Wisconsin and Michigan with the engineering corps of the Northwestern Railway company, and in 1873 he returned to Dayton and entered the Malle- able Iron-Works as a partner, holding first the position of shipping clerk and subsequently that of foreman of the foundry, then superin- tendent and general manager. In 1884 he became vice-president and general manager. For a time he was president of the company. In 1878 Mr. Gaddis was married to a daughter of the late Col. John G. Lowe, of Dayton. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 219 HDMIRAL JAMES FINDLAY S CHE NCR, deceased, was born at Franklin, Warren county, Ohio, on June ii, 1807, and was the son of Gen. William C. Schenck, a pioneer of Ohio, of whom extended mention is made in the biog- raphy of Gen. R. C. Schenck, on another page of this volume. In 182.2, James Findlay Schenck received an appointment as cadet at the United States Military academy, at West Point, N. Y. , where he remained for about two years; but in consequence of some trouble with one of the tactical officers, resulting from certain reports which had been made against cadets by that officer, and of his subsequent actions respecting these cadets and deemed by them to have been conducted in a spirit of in- justice. Cadet Schenck and several others ten- dered their resignations. On March 1, 1825, Mr. Schenck received an appointment as mid- shipman in the United States navy, and in the following August was ordered to the sloop Hornet, of the West India squadron. In March, 1827, he was detached and ordered to the Natchez, which vessel had been fitted out at the Norfolk navy yard, under special in- structions from the navy department, to join the West India squadron for service against pirates, which infested those waters at that time. While serving with the vessel on the south side of the island of Cuba, in July, 1828, two schooners and a sloop were fitted out to aid the Natchez in her operations against the pirates. The latter vessel, the Surprise, with thirty men, was for some time under the com- mand of Mr. Schenck. In November, 1828, he was detached from the Natchez and ordered to the Peacock, of the same squadron, and in December, 1829, he was ordered to the Bran- dywine, then lying at the New York navy yard, under orders to join the same squadron, which vessel reached Havana on April first following. In July, 1830, Mr. Schenck was detached from the Brandy wine and placed upon " waiting orders," and on June 4, 1831, he was pro- moted to passed midshipman, and in the fol- lowing month ordered to the receiving-ship at Norfolk, Va., but in October following was detached and granted leave. In January, 1832, he was ordered to the frigate United States, then fitting out at the New York navy yard, whence he sailed to join the Mediterra- nean squadron on the 3d of July of that year, touching at Funchal, Lisbon, Gibraltar, and arriving at Port Mahon on the 26th of the following August. Here Mr. Schenck was transferred as the acting master to the frigate John Adams, she being short of officers. After the usual services upon this station he was, in March, 1834, detached and granted leave. He was commissioned lieutenant on December 22, 1835, ar, d in June, 1836, was ordered to the Boston, then fitting out at Boston, Mass. The Boston sailed for Pensacola on July 10 of that year, for services in the West India squadron. From that vessel Lieut. Schenck was detached in September, 1836, and ordered to the St. Louis, and to the Constellation in July, 1837, and in May, 1838, he was detached and granted leave. In August, 1839, he was or- dered to the Dolphin, Brazil squadron, where he served until July, 1840, when he was de- tached and granted leave. In November, 1 84 1, he was ordered to the receiving-ship at New York, and in July, 1842, detached to the razee Independence, of the home squadron, and in December, 1843, was detached to the Preble, which vessel sailed from Boston for Pensacola and the West India squadron on January 24, 1844. On the 28th of June of that year Com- mander Freelon forwarded, with a very favor- able and flattering indorsement, an application of Lieut. Schenck for leave of absence, and the following month he was detached and granted leave. In August, 1845, ne was or- dered to the frigate Congress, Pacific squad- 220 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ron, Commodore Stockton commanding, and as chief military aid to that officer, Lieut. Schenck landed and took possession of Santa Barbara and San Pedro, in California, and in the same capacity marched upon and was at the first capture of Los Angeles. This was during the war of the United States with Mex- ico. As the second lieutenant of the Congress, Lieut. Schenck was at the bombardment and capture of Guaymas, and at the taking of Mazatlan, in Mexico. In October, 1848, he returned from the Pacific squadron as bearer of dispatches, and was granted leave. In May, 1849, he was ordered to the command of the Pacific mail steamer Ohio, in which service he remained until granted leave of absence in December, 1852. He- was promoted to the rank of a commander on September 14, 1855, and in April, 1857, was ordered to the com- mand of the receiving-ship at New York. In June, 1858, he was placed on waiting orders, and in July, 1859, was ordered to the com- mand of the Saginaw, of the East India squad- ron. In June, 1861, Commander Schenck was ordered by Flag Officer Engel to proceed with the Saginaw to Quim-hon bay, in Cochin China, in the execution of certain duties, in the performance of which, after his vessel had thrice been fired upon from the fort at that point, he was compelled to reduce the Chinese fortifications. In February, 1862, after an ap- plication had been made by him to the secretary of the navy to be relieved from the command of the Saginaw, which vessel was not considered seaworthy, Commander Schenck was ordered home. This order was anticipated by him, however, and he arrived in New York on March 11 following, and on the 19th of the next month was placed in command of the frigate St. Lawrence, and at once proceeded to Hampton Roads, and assumed command of his ship on May 3, 1862, proceeding to join the West gulf blockading squadron. This vessel was soon found to be of little value for such duty, and was converted into a store ship and stationed at Key West. At his own re- quest, made some months before, he was relieved from the command of the St. Law- rence on April 14, 1863. On October 6, 1864, he received the notification of his promotion to the rank of commodore, his commission dat- ing back to January 2, 1863. October 6, 1864, he was ordered to command of the Powhatan, of the North Atlantic squadron, and assumed command of that vessel on the fourteenth day of the same month. The Pow- hatan took a prominent part in the two attacks upon Fort Fisher, N. C, under command of Commodore Schenck, who, in these attacks, also commanded the third division of the North Atlantic squadron. In March, 1865, Commodore Schenck, still in command of the Powhatan, was ordered to proceed to Key West. Previous to the departure of the vessel from Hampton Roads, however, he applied to be relieved from command of the vessel, which was done upon his arrival at Key West, and he was placed upon waiting orders. In No- vember, 1865, he was ordered to command the naval station at Mound City, Ills., and in the following November was detached and placed on waiting orders. This was his last assignment to duty, and on June 11, 1869, having reached the age of sixty-two years, he was, in accordance with the law governing the navy, placed upon the retired list. July 18, 1870, he was promoted to the rank of rear- admiral on the retired list, but to date from September, 1868, his promotion having been unjustly delayed by permitting another officer above him to remain on the active list-without warrant of law. Upon his retirement Admiral Schenck returned to Dayton, where he had for many years maintained a home, and here spent the remainder of his life, after having devoted upwards of forty-four years of it to the service OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 221 of his country, most of which was spent on duty at sea. The death of Admiral Schenck occurred on December 21, 1882. Admiral Schenck was married at Smith- town, Long Island, N. Y., in 1S29, to Doro- thy Ann Smith, a descendant of Maj. Richard Smith, the patentee of Smithtown, Long Island. The issue of this marriage was as follows: Sarah Smith, Jane Findlay, Caspar and Woodhull Smith. During the years passed by Admiral Schenck in Dayton, after his retirement from active service, his home was the center of attraction for many of the city's most prominent men, who were drawn to him by those splendid qualities of mind and heart which marked him both as a fine public character and as a worthy private citizen. His personal characteristics of bluff speech and uncompromising directness of judgment only added strength to his rare social attributes. He was the true friend and beloved associate of many men of the later generation. Dayton cherishes the memory of James Findlay Schenck, not only as a loyal servant of his country, but as a strong man, a good citizen and a valued factor in the social life of this community. \S~\ ANIEL C. LARKIN, chief of the fire I department of Dayton, was born in A^^J Sandusky, Erie county, Ohio, July 29, 1849, an d is a son of Thomas Larkin, who was born in Connecticut. Thomas Larkin was one of six brothers who came west together in 1824, three of them settling in San- dusky, Ohio, the other three going further and locating in Detroit, Mich. Thomas Larkin was a locomotive engineer for more than thirty years, and lost his life in an accident, his loco- motive exploding June 5, 1875, about two miles from Sandusky. His wife was Ann Ryne, who was born in Ireland, and who came to the United States when a child, with her two sisters, and died in 1893. Daniel C. Larkin was reared in Sandusky, and received his education in the public schools of that city. After leaving school he learned the trade of a machinist, serving an appren- ticeship of three years. He then began firing a locomotive running between Sandusky and Dayton, being promoted to engineer three years later, his route lying between Sandusky and Dayton, on the C. , S. & C. railroad. For three years afterward he ran a locomotive on the C, C, C. & I. railroad, between Cincin- nati and Dayton. In 1875 he retired from the road and took charge of a number of teams in Dayton, doing draying for large firms in that city, continuing thus engaged until 1880, in which year he was appointed chief of the Dayton fire department, a position which he has held ever since. This was at the time of the organization of the present board of fire commissioners. Mr. Larkin was married May 26, 1875, to Hannah A. Hartnett, of Dayton. This lady, a daughter of Morris and Julia (Hern) Hart- nett, natives of Ireland, was born in Dayton, Ohio, January 10, 1856, and has blessed her husband with seven children, viz.: Morris D., assistant secretary of the Dayton fire depart- ment; Thomas, a student of Saint Mary's insti- tute of Dayton; John, Alice, Helen, Francis and David. Mr. and Mrs. Larkin are mem- bers of Saint Joseph's church, and Mr. Larkin is a member of Iola lodge No. 83, Knights of Pythias, which was instituted March 24, 1875, and also of the society of Elks. A brief review of the growth and improve- ment of the Dayton fire department is appro- priate in this connection, as it is in point of fact, a history of the great success of the life of Mr. Larkin. When he took charge of the department in 1880 it had eleven horses, while 222 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD now it has thirty-six. It then had six hose reels, and now has thirteen new, improved hose wagons. At that time it had two old en- gines, and now has four engines, two of which are new. It had then but one hook and lad- der truck, where now it has three. There were then only thirty-five fire alarm boxes, while to-day there are 122, with the Game- well fire-alarm system. In 1880 the depart- ment owned but 2,000 feet of good hose, and 4,000 feet of that which was inferior. Now it has 25,000 feet of good hose. It had six en- gine houses, three of which were unfit for the service. Now it has twelve engine houses, nine of them new and of modern construction, and the appointments for quick hitching to the engines are complete, seconds being required now instead of minutes as then. At the time Mr. Larkin took charge there were eighteen reg- ular firemen, and thirteen subject to call; now there are seventy regular men and five call men. Many other improvements, which it would be tedious to enumerate, have been made and put in operation in the department, all tending to rapid and efficient service. In the first year Mr. Larkin had charge of the department there were sixty-five fires, and during the year 1895 there were 342. In 1875 there were forty-six; in 1880, sixty-five; in 1885, 103; in 1S90, 138; in 1895, 34 2 . an d in 1896, 353- The citizens of Dayton are cer- tain that they have one of the best fire depart- ments in the country, the improvements in its equipment and administration being a source of great pride in the entire community. Mr. Larkin is treasurer of the International Fire Chiefs' association, having held this position for twelve years; and in 1895 he was made president of the Fire Chiefs' association of Ohio. He is likewise a member of the Great Britain Fire Brigade union, is president of the Firemen's Benevolent society, and secretary of the Firemen's Relief fund. Chief Larkin's personality is so closely identified in the public mind with the recog- nized excellence and efficiency of the fire de- partment, that it is impossible to discuss the latter without giving large praise to the man who has given the best years of his life in its service. m. 'ILLIAM E. CRUME, vice-president and general manager of the western department of the Carter-Crume Manufacturing company, and a rep- resentative citizen of Dayton, is a native of Ohio, having been born at Collinsville, Butler county, on March 26, 1848. The ancestors of Mr. Crume came from Wales to America dur- ing the latter part of the seventeenth century and settled in Maryland, from which state his paternal great-grandfathers, Jesse Crume and Mathew Richardson, came to Ohio in 1802 and settled in Butler county. Jesse Crume shortly afterward removed to Kentucky, where he spent the balance of his life, while Mathew Richardson remained in Ohio and served in the state legislature in 1804 and 1806. The great-grandfathers of Mr. Crume on the mater- nal side were James Martin, a native of Mary- land, and David Steel, a native of Ireland. The paternal grandparents of Mr. Crume were John C. Crume, who came from Kentucky, his native state, to Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1810, but returning to Kentucky, died therein 1 81 5; and Sarah Richardson, who came with her parents from Maryland to Ohio in 1803. The maternal grandparents of Mr. Crume were David Steel, a native of Scotland, and Nancy Martin, a native of Ireland. The father of Mr. Crume was William H. Crume, who was a native of Kentucky. He came to Ohio about 1830, locating in Butler county, where he lived many years. His death occurred in Dayton in 1882. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 223 William E. Crume was reared in Butler county, Ohio, where he resided until he en- listed in the late war, with the exception of two years spent at Muscatine, Iowa, where his parents removed in 1858. He attended the common schools, and secured a good English education, his school days being brought to a close by his enlistment when he was sixteen years of age, on May 1, 1864, in the 167th regiment of Ohio volunteer infantry. He was mustered out of this regiment in September of that year, and February 2, 1865, re-enlisted in the 184th regiment of Ohio volunteer in- fantry. He was mustered out of service at Nashville, Tenn., on October 3, 1865, with rank of corporal. Returning to Butler county he remained there until the following year, when he came to Dayton and learned the trade of carpentering and building with Andrew Slentz. He pursued that business until 1873, when he began the manufacture of wooden boxes, which proved very successful, and was, in fact, the foundation of the establishment with which he is at the present time connected. In 1877 he organized the firm of Aulabaugh, Crume & Co., the other members of which firm were P. M. Aulabaugh and J. W. Sefton. After the death of Mr. Aulabaugh in 1880, the firm became known as the Crume & Sefton Manufacturing company, which continued un- til 1893, when it was amalgamated with four other concerns, engaged in a like manufactur- ing business, and became the Carter-Crume company, with works at Niagara Falls, N. Y., Toronto, Canada, Saginaw, Mich., and Day- ton, Ohio, Mr. Crume holding the position of vice-president of the company and general manager of the western department of the same. Mr. Crume has other business inter- ests of importance, and is a director in the Fourth National bank. Politically, Mr. Crume has always been a member of the republican party, and has for years been active and prominent in its coun- cils. While his career has been a business one, and he has in no sense sought public office or political honor, yet he has been frequently rec- ognized by his party and fellow citizens. In 1892 he was a delegate to the republican national convention at Minneapolis, and in 1896 was a delegate to the republican national convention at St. Louis, and is usually a dele- gate to the county, district and state conven- tions of his party. In 1876 he was elected to the Dayton city council, re-elected in 1878 and 1880, and was chosen vice-president of that body in 1881. He was appointed to a position on the board of police directors, of Dayton, in 1892, for a term of four years, and in 1896 was re-appointed for another term of four years. In 1894 and 1895 Mr. Crume was president of the board, where his services have been of great value to the city, as during his terms the existing efficient police department was in- augurated. Mr. Crume is a prominent mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, being a Knight Templar and a Scottish rite Mason. Mr. Crume has long been recognized and considered one of Dayton's leading, progressive and representative citizens. As a man of large business affairs he has exhibited talents of more than the ordinary. The business with which he is connected and which has enjoyed so pros- perous a career, was originated and founded by him, and it was by his guiding hand that it was made successful. Personally, Mr. Crume is one of our most popular citizens, his genial- ity, progressive ideas, and liberal views winning him a large circle of friends and admirers. In the business world he ranks among the sub- stantial men of the city. On January 18, 1S70, Mr. Crume was mar- ried to Mary C. Slentz, who was born near Dayton, Ohio, and is a daughter of Andrew Slentz, who was a prominent contractor of the the city. To Mr. and Mrs. Crume the follow- 224 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ing children have been born: Enimi I., wife of John P. Lytle, of Dayton, Ohio; Lola H., wife of Harrie P. Clegg, of Dayton; William H., Roscoe A., and Eleanor J. ^/^\ ICHARD P. BURKHARDT, presi- I ^T dent and manager of the Stomps— _^P Burkhardt company, Dayton, Ohio, was born in the grand duchy of Baden, Germany, October 28, 1845, and is a son of Joseph Anthony and Theresia (Ber- berich) Burkhardt, who came to America in 1850, with their family of seven children, and settled in Dayton, where the mother died July 9, 1869, and the father August 6, 1880, at the age of eighty-three years. Joseph Anthony Burkhardt descended from a family of business men who held sway for generations in Baden as prominent in their various callings. For a number of years Joseph A. Burkhardt was burgomaster of his native city, and on coming to this country fol- lowed his business in Dayton, from which bus- iness he retired, with a competency, in 1858. To Joseph Anthony Burkhardt and wife were born eight children, of whom the eldest, Frank Stephen, was the first to come to Amer- ica, leaving his parents and family of seven children to follow, and he still keeps his resi- dence in Dayton; Theresa, the second born, died in California, the wife of John Huberty; Gertrude is the widow of Joseph Burkhardt, deceased; August died in California; John V. also died in that state; Mary H. is the wife of Nicholas Sacksteder, of Dayton; Mark A. is a druggist of the same city, and Richard P. is the youngest born. Richard P. Burkhardt was in his fifth year when the family came to Dayton, and was educated in the parochial school and in Saint Mary's institute until twelve or thirteen years old, when he engaged as an errand boy in the cabinetmaker's union, at $1.25 per week, for one year; he was next apprenticed for two and one-half years at the cabinetmakers' trade, with Philip Haverstick; he then entered the employ of M. Ohmer, as clerk, and remained in that position until his employer's place of business was destroyed by fire, in May, 1869; he next traveled for a few months as an intro- ducer of a patent bed bottom, and for five months afterward was employed as clerk in the dry-goods store of H. V. Perrine. He then purchased the interest of Martin Brabec in the firm of G. Stomps Brothers & Company. One month later the firm name was changed to that of G. Stomps & Company, under which style business was carried on for twenty-one years, when, on January 1, 1890, it was merged into a joint stock concern under the title of the Stomps-Burkhardt company, Mr. Burk- hardt during the interval, having had charge of the general office work and finances of the firm. On the formation of the stock company Mr. Stomps was made its president, and Mr. Burkhardt vice-president and general manager; the year following this action Mr. Stomps was called from business cares by death, and Mr. Burkhardt became president; Gustave Stomps, vice-president and treasurer; J. M. Kramer, secretary; and R. P. Burkhardt, Jr., superin- tendent. When Mr. Burkhardt first became a mem- ber of this concern, its annual financial tran- sactions amounted to an average of $30,000; the business now done reaches from $250,000 to $300,000 per year; the plant has a frontage of 200 feet on First street aside from the space allotted to warerooms, and the number of peo- ple employed is 235. The output of the firm reaches all points in the United States, Cana- da and Mexico, and the superiority of the wares is fully shown by the demand for them all over this extensive territory. The marriage of Richard P. Burkhardt OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 227 took place November 21, 1871, with Miss Mary Adelaide Stomps, daughter of Gustav Stomps, and to this marriage were born six children, of whom one died in infancy; Richard P., Jr., is alluded to in a preceding paragraph; William M. is a traveling salesman in the factory of which his father is the head; Mary A., Catherine T. and Ellanore E. are at home with their father. Of these children, the eld- est, Richard P. , Jr. , was married, November 21, 1894, to Miss Emma Bauman, and to this union has been born one child — R. Waldron. R. P. Burkhardt was bereft of his wife by death, May 12, 1893, she being then but little over thirty-nine years of age. She was a faithful Catholic in her religious faith and all the family are members of the same church. In politics Mr. Burkhardt is a true demo- crat, and was a member of the first board of tax commissioners of Dayton. He is what is usually called a self-made man in mercantile matters — in other words, his knowledge of trade and his natural astuteness, industry and honesty have led to his present business pros- perity; while he is honored and esteemed for his breadth of mind and public spirit, by the entire community wherein he has earned a well-merited success. @EN. WILLIAM H. MARTIN, now living in retirement at No. 1 15 South Dudley street, Dayton, Ohio, was born near Boston, Mass., Septem- ber 13, 1830. His parents, Edward and Betty Martin, were also natives of Massachu- setts, and were respectively of German and Irish descent. The father died two months before the birth of our subject, and when the latter was but two years of age he was bereft of his mother. Of the four sons and three daughters born to Edward and Betty Martin, all are now deceased, excepting William H., and of the sons, who were all seafaring men, John was governor of one of the South sea jslands under the British crown at the time of his death, Joseph died on an East India island on a return trip from Egypt, and James was lost at sea; of the daughters, Elizabeth, wife of Capt. Thomas M. Fulton, sailed with her husband four times around the world and died in San Francisco, Cal. ; Mary E. was married to Edward Deering, and died in Portsmouth, N. H.; and Sarah, wife of a Mr. Mapes, died in Saint Louis, Mo. While yet a mere boy, William H. Martin ran away from his adopted home and followed the sea for two or three years as a cabin boy, but finally left his vessel at a seaport in Nova Scotia, where he attended school for two win- ters and worked at farming during the summer months. He then returned to Boston and at- tended night school for several years. In 1847 he was employed by the Boston & Worcester Railroad company, and in 1850 went to Central America with a crew employed to construct the Panama railroad; six months later he returned north to New York, visited Boston, then again returned to New York, and at Delaware, that state, was employed on the New York & Erie railroad. In 185 1 he was made a conductor, a position he held nearly three years; in July, 1853, he came to Cincinnati, Ohio, with Major Seymour; made his first visit to a slave state, Kentucky, but was dissatisfied, and returned to Cincinnati, where he entered the employ of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad com- pany. He located his home in Dayton, and continued with this company until 1881, hav- ing a leave of absence during the Civil war. On the night of April 14, 1861, Mr. Mar- tin signed enlistment papers, in Dayton, in the First Ohio volunteer infantry, and went at once to Columbus. He was soon appointed color-sergeant of his regiment, and carried the 228 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD regimental flag through the three-months serv- ice, and saw active service at Vienna and Bull Run. In the latter battle he won his first pro- motion for gallant conduct on the battlefield. In the excitement of the struggle, when the Union troops were sorely pressed, the regiment became separated from its color-bearer, who had advanced nearer to the enemy than the re- mainder of his regiment. This fact was no- ticed and reported by the brigade staff of Gen. R. C. Schenck, and by order of President Lin- coln, Sergt. Martin was promoted to be assist- ant quartermaster-general of his brigade, and ordered to report to Gen. A. S. Piatt, com- manding the mountain department of Virginia. He was to rank as captain, but a year passed before he received official notice of this action. After a service of four months he received an honorable discharge. He was at once tendered the colonelcy of the Fourteenth Missouri, de- clined acceptance, but accepted the lieutenant- colonelcy of the Seventy-fifth Ohio; but this regiment was soon afterward consolidated with the Seventy-first Ohio, which left him a super- numerary, and he retired in January, 1862, and resumed his old place as conductor on the C, H. & D. road. But these were stirring times, and Col. Martin, in July, 1862, recruited company A, Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry, many enlistments being made with the distinct un- derstanding that Col. Martin should remain with his men. Two hours after his muster-in as captain of this company, he received his commission from President Lincoln, before no- ticed, for his gallant services on the battlefield of Bull Run, but this he was forced to decline, owing to the conditions on which his com- pany had been organized. The Ninety-third regiment was assigned to the Twentieth army corps, under Maj.-Gen. McCook, army of the Ohio, and was at the battle of Perry- ville, Ky., against Kirby Smith; was on the flank of the Union army at Dry Ridge, near near Harrodsburg; was next at Antioch church, Tenn.; next for two days at Triune, Tenn., fighting Hardee; next, at the battle of Stone river, where the regiment suffered severely — Capt. Martin acting as lieutenant-colonel, as he had indeed done almost from the beginning. Here he was shot through the body,aminie ball entering the left clavicle and passing out through the shoulder blade, barely missing the main artery of the neck. While being treated in hos- pital, Capt. Martin was promoted to major, in February, 1863, and to lieutenant-colonel in March; in April he returned to his regiment with his wound yet unhealed, which was aggra- vated by the exercise required in mounting and riding his horse; he was granted a furlough, however, which was extended until August, 1863, when he rejoined his regiment. At the battle of Chickamauga, Col. Hiram Strong received a fatal wound, and Lieut. -Col. Martin assumed command of the regiment. While here leading a charge against a battery he was struck in the leg by a spent ball, which brought him to the ground, and this fall tore open the old wound; but he tenaciously com- manded his regiment until the battle was ended. It was found necessary to extract from the old wound twenty-four pieces of bone at different operations, and the Colonel, on two or three occasions, tendered his resignation, believing that he would never again be fit for service, but each resignation was peremptorily rejected. He was granted a leave of absence, however, and on his return to Dayton a consultation of Cincinnati and Dayton surgeons was held, re- sulting in the removal of fifteen splinters of bone from the wound at one time. Soon after this the Colonel again sent in his resignation, but, receiving no response for several months, he decided to return to the front, and while en route received, at Chattanooga, the accept- I ance of his resignation. In May, 1865, he was GU*^ H OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 229 honored with a commission as brevet brigadier general. On returning to Dayton he was incapaci- tated, through his wounds, from engaging in any business for several months, but finally ac- cepted a position as government store-keeper at Dayton, and held the position for five years; in 1873 he was appointed chief of police, held the position two years, and then resigned. As a testimonial of the esteem in which their chief was held, the police force of Dayton presented the General with a fine gold-headed cane on his retirement. During all these years of varying fortune, his position on the Cincinnati, Hamil- ton & Dayton railroad was always open to him, and on the publication of a news item of his resignation as chief of police, the superin- tendent of the railroad company telegraphed him that his old train was ready for him; he thereupon resumed his former position, and re- mained on the road until 1881, as has already been stated. In 1 88 1 Gen. Martin went to northwest Minnesota, leaving a valuable home on Fifth street, Boston, which he still owns. He pur- chased a quantity of railroad land in Minne- sota, on which he resided until November, 1895, when he returned to Dayton to pass the remainder of his life in retirement, although he still owns a fine farm in Minnesota. Gen. Martin was most happily united in marriagej at Dayton, in 1854, with Miss Hen- rietta Pierce Carpenter, whose parents settled in the city in 1813. Her father, Thomas G. Carpenter, was born in Pennsylvania in 1802, and was a builder by occupation; her mother, who bore the maiden name of Hannah E. Heitman, was a native of Maryland, born in 1803. The only child born to the General and his wife, was named Frank P., and died No- vember 4, i860, at the age of five years, eight months and twenty days. Gen. Martin has taken all the degrees in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and all the degrees in Masonry excepting the thirty- third; he still holds membership in lodge and chapter in Dayton and Cincinnati; is a mem- ber of Old Guard Post, G. A. R. ; of the Union Veteran Legion, and of the Ohio division of the Loyal Legion. The religious relations of Mr. and Mrs. Martin are with the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics Gen. Martin is an uncompromising republican, although in his earlier years he was a democrat, but found occasion to change his political views at the ballot box in 1852. Gen. Martin's courage upon the field, as well as at the head of the police department and in the discharge of his railroad duties, has been one of his marked characteristics; and his splendid services with Dayton's favorite regiment, the old Ninety- third, have always endeared him to the people of this city. He is held in the warmest regard by all who have watched his varied, but uniformly honorable, career. OSCAR F. DAVISSON, a prominent member of the Dayton bar, was born in Preble county, Ohio, on June 12, 185 1, and is a son of Josiah and Han- nah (Foos) Davisson. His grandfather, also Josiah Davisson, was a pioneer of Preble county, whither he removed from Virginia in 1812, after having liberated a large number of slaves, then owned by him. He was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, and for gallant service upon the field of battle dur- ing that struggle was appointed sheriff of Rock- ingham county, Va. (then comprising all of what is now the state of West Virginia), by Patrick Henry, governor of Virginia. Mr. Davisson's death occurred in Preble county on September 9, 1825, in his eighty-first year. Jacob Foos, the maternal grandfather, was a native of Pennsylvania, and owned a farm near 230 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD what is now Fairmount park, Philadelphia. He was an artilleryman during the Revolution. Some time before the twenties of this century he removed to Ohio, settling in Warren county, whence he removed to Preble county in 1822, dying in that county on August 7, 1842, in his sixty-first year. Josiah Davisson, father of Oscar F. , was born in Rockingham county, Va. , and came to Ohio in 18 12 with his parents. For many years he was a prominent citizen of Preble county, holding the office of justice of the peace for over thirty years. He was a man of more than ordinary attainments, having been given a good education, and for years was in a manner judicial officer for all the northern por- tion of his county. His death occurred in 1 863. The mother of Oscar F. was born near Waynesville, Warren county, Ohio, on Feb- ruary 13, 1 8 19, and removed with her parents to Preble county in her third year. She lived to the ripe age of seventy-seven years, five months and two days, her death occurring on July 15, 1896. She was one of the most widely known women in Preble county, and was an important factor in the development of that county. She was a strong character, and was always in the front rank of those advocat- ing needed reforms and improvements for the benefit of mankind. She was endowed by na- ture with a very high order of executive abil- ity, was a wise counselor, and eminently a woman of affairs. She was generous to the poor, and kind and sympathetic with those in distress. Her marriage occurred on May 12, 1846, and she survived her husband almost thirty-three years, and left the following chil- dren: Francis M., Amelia E., Sarah A., all of Preble county, and Oscar F. and Dr. E. C, of Dayton. Oscar F. Davisson was reared on the farm in Preble county, where he attended the com- mon schools. In 1870 he entered the National normal at Lebanon, Ohio, and was there grad- uated in 1874. He then entered the law de- partment of the university of Michigan, at And Arbor. In 1875 he came to Dayton and en- tered the law office of Gunckel & Rowe as a student, and was admitted to the bar on Jan- uary 2, 1877. He remained with the above firm until the first of the following June, and then opened an office and engaged in the gen- eral practice of law by himself. From the beginning Mr. Davisson met with success in his profession, and year by year his practice grew until he took rank among the foremost attorneys of the city. His business is general and civil practice, and he is attorney for nu- merous important corporations. As a lawyer Mr. Davisson is able and thorough, strong in argument, resourceful and aggressive, and has met with unvarying success. As a citizen he is progressive and enterprising, and ready to lend his aid and endorsement to movements having for their object the improvement and benefit of the community. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has at- tained the thirty-second and knight templar degrees. In politics he is a republican, but is in no sense a partisan, and has never held nor sought public office. Mr. Davisson was married in Dayton on June 18, 1889, to Jessie M. Leach, who was born in Pittsburg, Pa., and is the daughter of Richard T. and Mary Ann Leach, residents of Dayton. The children of this marriage are Richard and Marian. m. ILLIAM L. CATEN, senior mem- ber of the firm known as the South- ern Ohio Coal company, in Dayton, Ohio, was born in Syracuse, N. Y. , August 29, 1 86 1, receiving his earlier educa- tion in Gloversville, Fulton county, in the same state, and graduated from the Saint Law- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 231 rence university, Canton, N. Y. , in the scien- tific course, in 1883. For a short time he was engaged in Goshen, Ind., in the lumber business, but in 1884 came to Dayton as the manager of the Southern Ohio Coal company, which corporation ceased to exist in 1892. Mr. Caten and his brother, Frederick, then purchased the business and are still conducting it under the old firm name, operating four places of business in the city, handling all vari- eties of fuel, and giving employment to forty men. In politics Mr. Caten is a republican. Frederick Caten, the junior partner, was born in Blossburg, Pa., May 21, 1866, and was educated at the Clinton Liberal institute, Fort Plain, N. Y.', from which he graduated, in the scientific course, in 1885. Immediately thereafter Mr. Caten came to Dayton and be- came associated with his brother in the South- ern Ohio Coal company, but in 1890 returned to Gloversville, N. Y., and was there engaged in the manufacture of glove leather for four years, when he disposed of his interest in the business and returned to Dayton to rejoin his brother William. Frederick Caten was united in marriage December 8, 1891, in Cortland, N. Y. , with Miss Anna B. Cordo, the union being blessed with one child — Mary Louise. m ILLIAM EARNSHAW, D. D., de- ceased chaplain of the soldiers' home at Dayton, Ohio, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., May 12, 1828, and was the third son of George and Eliza Earnshaw, who had a family of seven sons and two daughters. William Earnshaw was carefully reared within the pale of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his early years were passed in fit- ting himself for the ministry. At the age of twenty-five, in 1853, he joined the Baltimore conference and entered upon his duties as an itinerant minister, and for one year his first charge was at Warriors' Mark; the next two years he was stationed at Gettysburg, and the following two at Hancock, Md. His fourth charge was at Mercersburg, Pa. , for two years, and his last conference charge was at Ship- pensburg Station, Pa., in which he was en- tering on his second year, when he enlisted, April 16, 1 86 1, in response to the president's first call for volunteers. He was assigned to the Forty-ninth Pennsylvania infantry and em- ployed for several months in home guard duty, was then commissioned chaplain of his regi- ment, served until the close of the war, and thereafter continued his work of love and devo- tion until September, 1867. Chaplain's Earnshaw's service was first with the army of the Potomac, and he was present at the second battle of Bull Run, at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettys- burg; but after the enemy was driven out of Pennsylvania and Maryland, he was transferred to the army of the Cumberland, where he served under Maj.-Gen. George H. Thomas, whose cordial friendship and support he earned by his untiring zeal in the performance of duty. While in the service Mr. Earnshaw was pres- ent, as a non-combatant, on nineteen battle fields, and, after the final surrender, was ap- pointed by Gen. Thomas as superintendent of cemeteries at Stone River and Nashville; sub- sequently this appointment was so enlarged as to include the national cemeteries at Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth and Memphis. In the presence of thousands of unreconstructed rebels, and of women and children who were imbued with the idea that secession was just and the northern soldiers usurpers, this duty was most arduous; yet, in the face of insult and intimidation and personal danger, the bodies of 22,000 fallen Union soldiers were gathered from their shallow, temporary graves, decently 232 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD interred, and carved headboards were placed at each grave — many, however, being marked "unknown." About the time Mr. Earnshaw had com- pleted this serious task, the national military home was established near Columbus, Ohio, for which, from many applicants for the posi- tion, with strong credentials, Mr. Earnshaw was appointed chaplain on the sole recommen- dation of Gen. Thomes, which read, " This is the best chaplain I have known during the war." Mr. Earnshaw entered at once upon his duties, and when the home was transferred from Columbus to Dayton, continued as its chaplain, and was the only one known to over 3,000 veterans who died and were buried under his ministrations. Hon. L. B. Gunckel has said that, after watching him for eighteen years, he is not sure "they could have made a better selection had they searched the whole army." But the exposures of camp and field, and nearly six years of hard labor, had left their impress upon the physical constitution of Mr. Earnshaw. A short respite — the first he had ever asked for — and a trip to the south afforded him temporary relief; but death finally claimed him on the afternoon of July 17, 1885, his last message being, "Tell the veterans I love them all." Grizzled old soldiers and youthful employees wept alike, as for a father, and they felt that no truer friend of mankind had ever lived. The funeral services were conducted at the home chapel, concluding with the Masonic ceremony of transferring the ring from father to son — William, the eldest son, being the heir to the emblem the father had so worthily worn for years. The remains were followed to their final resting place in Wood- land cemetery by a large number of citizens, soldiers, organizations and civil societies. For a time the home flags were displayed at half- mast, offices were closed and business entirely suspended. In the eulogy pronounced over his dead body it was said by the orator: "On the eighth of June last, it was my sad privilege to confer with him and to listen to his words of religious faith and hope. I repeat them for the comfort of his friends and for the honor of his Master. He said, ' Feeble as I am, it is not certain that I shall not recover, although I do not expect to. I wish to make all prac- ticable preparations for the event which I be- lieve is near. I am not alarmed about dying. I have not been as good as I should have been, but my hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ, who saved me in my boyhood and who has been with me ever since. He will not desert me now. Perhaps I am too cheerful and exu- berant about it. I have no fears whatever. The quiet, beautiful resting-place in Wood- land cemetery awaits me. I look back over my life with the peculiar satisfaction that I have been able to do something for my fellow- men and for Christ.' To his wife he said: ' Dear mother, you were never willing to let me die; but can you give me up now? I am going — glory, giory. ' These were his last words." Chaplain Earnshaw was in appearance tall and graceful; of military pose and bearing, he looked rather more martial than ministerial; yet he never sank the minister into the soldier, nor lost the soldierly bearing in the minister. He was the soul of honor, truth and nobility, and in all undertakings was earnest, laborious and persistent. Eminent positions came to him unsought. He was grand chaplain of the National Grand Army of the Republic, and also its commander-in-chief, and was the first person below the rank of major-general to hold this office. He was also, as has been seen, eminent as a Mason, and was a member of several local organizations. Mrs. Margaret A. Earnshaw, widow of Chaplain William Earnshaw, D. D., was born at Warriors' Mark, Huntingdon county, Pa., OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 233 January 28, 1833, and was educated in its public and private schools. Her parents, Ben- jamin and Rebecca (Wilson) Hutchison, were also natives of Huntingdon county, the father being a farmer, and both parents died at the family homestead in Warriors' Mark. The parents of Mrs. Earnshaw were of Irish and German descent; the father was accidentally killed at the age of fifty-eight years, while the mother lived to the advanced age of ninety years. Of their seven children, three are still living at this writing. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw took place in Warriors' Mark, October 10, 1855. From the opening of the Civil war until 1864, Mrs. Earnshaw lived under the parental roof, and then joined her husband at Murfreesboro, and for twenty-one days was shut up in the fortifications of that city. She remained at the south until the chaplain had completed his work, witnessed a number of battles, and then accompanied her husband to Ohio, occupying the chaplain's house, first at Columbus and then at Dayton, and encounter- ing her sad affliction at the latter place, as narrated above. To Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw there were born five children, viz. : Minnie W. , wife of B. F. Hershey, of Dayton, a biography of whom will be found on another page; William B. , for the past eighteen years secretary of the Dayton Malleable Iron-works, and married to Miss Louise Stockstill, of Day- ton; Margaret H., married to Dr. Grube, a practicing physician of Greenville, 111. ; Fred- erick S., who died in his fifteenth year, an in- telligent lad of great promise; and Louis Put- nam, a practicing physician of Dayton. Mrs. Earnshaw is not altogether sectarian in her religious views, although she has been a life-long member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and her rectitude, beauty of character and warm impulses have won for her hundreds of sincere friends. kS~*\ EV. MAURICE EMERY WILSON, I t^T D. D., pastor of the First Presby- P terian church of Dayton Ohio, was born in Baltimore, Md., April 2, 1855, but was reared in Cannonsburg, Pa. Rev. Thomas B. Wilson, father of Rev. Maurice Emery, was a native of Cannonsburg, Pa., born November 17, 1822, and descended from good old ante-American Revolutionary families. The paternal grandfather of the Rev. Thomas B. Wilson was a native of London- derry, Ireland, and the maternal grand- mother, who bore the maiden name of Dill, descended from Col. Matthew Dill, of York county, Pa., a prominent hero of the war for American independence, and who traced his genealogy to Oliver Cromwell. Rev. Thomas B. Wilson was educated at Jefferson college and at the Western Theological seminary, and his first pastoral charge was that of the Sixth Presbyterian church of Pittsburg, Pa., his sec- ond, that of the Presbyterian church of Xenia, Ohio, and while here engaged in work of the ministry, he was taken sick, which caused his re- turn to Cannonsburg, Pa. , where he died in Sep- tember, 1858. His widow, who prior to mar- riage was Miss Margaret B. Sanders, survived him until August 31, 1895. She was a native of Gettysburg, Pa., and was a daughter of Maj. Jacob Sanders, a gallant officer of the war of 1 8 12, a hero of Lundy's Lane, and an ardent friend of Gen. Winfield Scott. The children born to Rev. Thomas B. Wilson and wife were two in number, Rev. Maurice E. and Rev. Calvin Dill Wilson — the latter being the pres- ent pastor of the Franklin, Ohio, Presbyterian church. These brothers were educated in the same schools, and were classmates from the time of their entrance upon collegiate work until their graduation, so that a brief record of the educational course of one is equivalent to that of the other. Maurice Emery Wilson received his ele- ■234 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD mentary instructions in the public schools of Cannonsburg, Pa., and prepared for college in the Cannonsburg academy. He entered the sophomore class of Washington and Jefferson college at the age of eighteen years, graduated when twenty-one years old, and immediately entered the Western Theological seminary at Pittsburg, Pa., where he completed his three- years' course in April, 1879. In December of the latter year he was ordained to the minis- try of the Presbyterian church, having accepted a call to the pastorate of the church at Galli- polis, Ohio, where he remained two and one- half years. His next charge was at Emsworth, one of the suburban Presbyterian churches of Pittsburg, Pa., where he officiated very ac- ceptably for the same period of time, and was then called to the pastorate of Westminster church, of his native city, Baltimore, Md., where he gained celebrity as a pulpit orator and a profound interpreter of the Scriptures and remained over five years. In March, 1890, Dr. Wilson was called to his present charge in Dayton, where he has established himself each year more firmly in the affection and esteem of his congregation and has added to his character for piety and devotion to the cause of religion, a high repute for that good citizenship which concerns itself in the every- day affairs and interests of the community. In June, 1879, Dr. Wilson was united in matrimony with Miss Fanny McCombs, who comes from two of the oldest and most prom- inent families of Washington, Pa., but now of Pittsburg. Miss McCombs was highly edu- cated in her girlhood and a graduate of Wash- ington seminary. The union of Rev. M. E. Wilson and wife has been blessed with one child only — Anna Quail, a young lady now un- der the instruction of private tutors. In his politics Mr. Wilson is independent of party control, but is a warm and earnest advocate of temperance; fraternally, he is a member of the Sons of the Revolution and also of the Royal Arcanum. The Wilson family have ever been eminent in literary pursuits and belles lettres generally as well as in the ministry and other spheres of usefulness. One, Rev. Dr. John R. Paxton, is now in Europe, seeking the restoration of his health which has been lost through over-exertion in the performance of his arduous professional duties, he having for many years been eminent as pastor of the West Presbyterian church of New York city; another member of the family, Prof. Samuel J. Wilson, D. D., LL D., was for twenty- five years professor of church history in the Western Theological seminary of Pittsburg, Pa., while the Dr. M. E. Wilson and his brother have edited and published a volume, entitled "Occasional Addresses and Sermons," delivered by this able and eloquent scholar. eDMOND STAFFORD YOUNG, de- ceased, one of the ablest members of the Dayton bar, and one of the most prominent citizens of that city, was born at Lyme, N. H., on February 28, 1827, and was the son of George Murray Young and Sibel (Green) Young. He was of Scotch-Irish descent, his grand- father, Dr. Hugh Murray Young, having been an early Irish emigrant to Connecticut. His father, George Murray Young, was born in Litchfield county, Conn., on April 1, 1802. He was educated at Exeter and Pough- keepsie academies, and then, learning the trade of a printer, carried on business for a time as a printer and publisher. In 1836 he married Sibel Green, daughter of Benjamin Green, of Lyme, N. H., and granddaughter of Col. Ebenezer Green, a Revolutionary soldier. In 1835 he moved with his family to Ohio, and located at Newark, where for ten years he was extensively engaged in mercantile pur- «p^p OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 237 suits. In 1845 he went to Cincinnati, where for six years he carried on the produce and commission business. He came to Dayton in 1851. He was elected mayor of this city in 1854, and re-elected in 1855, and was subse- quently appointed United States commissioner, an office which he held until his death. His wife died in Dayton in 1865. He was grand worthy patriarch of the Sons of Temperance, when that order numbered 30,000 in Ohio. In politics he was a whig, and subsequently a republican. During the war he was a stanch Union man. He was prominent member of the Presbyterian church, and was at all times, and in whatever commu- nity he resided, honored and respected for his integrity and strength of character. He died at Dayton on August 30, 1878. Edmond Stafford Young attended college at Granville, Ohio, and afterward at Cincin- nati, graduating from Farmers (afterwards Belmont) college near that city in 1845. At the latter institution he had among his school-mates ex-President Benjamin Harrison, Murat Halstead, and Hon. L. B. Gunckel, and the late Judge Henderson Elliott, of Dayton. He read law in the office of W. J. McKinney, of Dayton, and after a term of service in the office of the clerk of the court of Montgomery county, Ohio, graduated from the Cincinnati Law school, and was admitted to the bar in the year 1853. Mr. Young's professional partners were, successively, George W. Brown, Hon. D. A. Houk and Oscar M. Gottschall, with the latter of whom his partnership continued from 1866 until 1879. In 1878 his eldest son, George R. Young, was admitted to the firm, which, under the name of Young, Gottschall & Young, con- tinued until the year 1879, when Mr. Gott- schall retired. Mr. Young and his son re- mained together in the practice under the firm name of Young & Young until his death in 1 888. In September, 1856, at Philadelphia, Pa., Mr. Young married Sarah B. Dechert, daugh- ter of Elijah Dechert, a prominent lawyer of Reading, Pa., and granddaughter of Judge Robert Porter of that city. Her mother, Mary Porter, was descended from Robert Porter, a native of Ireland, who landed at Londonderry, N. H., and afterwards purchased a farm in Montgomery county, Pa., where he took up his permanent residence. His most successful and prominent son (Mrs. Dechert's grandfather) was Gen. Andrew Porter, who'was born September 24, 1743, and served with distinction as an officer during the Revolutionary war. After its close he was commissioned major-general of militia in Pennsylvania, and was tendered the position of secretary of war by President Madison, but declined. His son, Judge Robert Porter, of Reading, Pa., was born January 10, 1768, and served during the latter part of the war of the Revolution as a lieutenant of artillery. Hav- ing entered the army with his father when but eleven years of age, he was perhaps the young- est soldier and officer of the war. In 1789 he was admitted to the bar at Philadelphia, and was afterwards appointed president judge of the Third judicial district of Pennsylvania, a position which he filled for over twenty-five years, when he resigned and retired to private life. Edmond S. Young was a strong Union man and an earnest supporter of President Lincoln's administration. He was appointed by Gov. Brough commissioner of the draft for Montgomery county, and made the largest draft of any in the state. He also served as a member of the military committee, and was identified with the organization of all the local companies raised in Dayton and its vicinity. He devoted much time and labor to the cause, and through his out-spoken and un- compromising efforts, was often exposed to much personal danger. 238 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Mr. Young was a member of the first non- partisan police board of Dayton, appointed in 1 873, by which the present metropolitan po- lice system of that city was inaugurated. He was also one of the founders of the Dayton Bar association, now known as the Dayton Law Library association. During the course of his practice he was frequently urged to accept a judicial position, but declined. Upon the death of Judge W. W. Johnson in 1886 he was asked to become a candidate for his unexpired term upon the supreme bench; and without his knowledge a petition for his appointment, signed by the en- tire Dayton bar, was presented to Gov. Foraker. Learning of the movement, how- ever, Mr. Young, for personal reasons, declined to permit the use of his name. He was a member of the Ohio State Bar association, and also of the American Bar asso- ciation, and from a biographical sketch of him, which appears in the published proceedings of the latter organization, for the year 1888, we select the following extract, which is truthfully descriptive of him, both as a lawyer and as a citizen: Mr. Young was a man of striking physic- al appearance, and of marked mental charac- teristics. He was born to be a lawyer. His breadth of intellect, his strong, determined will, his sound, impartial judgment, his remark- able reasoning powers, his gift of nice and cor- rect discrimination, made up a mental organi- zation distinctively legal, while, at the same time, his large and well proportioned head, with its high, expansive forehead, set firmly on his broad, square shoulders, gave him a personal appearance in keeping with his mental characteristics. He was a strong and pure type of that class of American lawyers, who, eschewing outside schemes for the promotion of wealth or per- sonal aggrandizement, devote to their profes- sion the full measure of their powers, and seek happiness in the conscientious discharge of their professional, domestic and civic duties. He died suddenly on the evening of Febru- ary 14, 1888, while still in the active practice of his profession, leaving his widow, two sons, and one daughter, Mary (since deceased), surviving:. BOBERT I. CUMMIN, one of the solid and successful business men of Day- ton, was born in Liverpool, Perry county, Pa., July 7, 1845, and seven- teen years later came to this state, locating at Marion, where he spent three years in the dry- goods store of Johnson, Uhler & Company. After leaving that establishment, he secured a clerkship in the old store of Prugh & Rike, who were extensively engaged in the dry-goods busi- ness in Dayton. Two years were passed in this way, when his connection with the firm ter- minated by the formation of the house of D. L. Rike & Company, of which Mr. Cummin and S. E. Kumler were members. This firm carried on a most successful business for nearly thirty years, when the death of D. L. Rike caused a vacancy, which was soon afterward filled by his son, Frederick H. Rike. The firm of D. L. Rike & Company inaugurated a business career that has had a wonderful growth. At first they required the assistance of but two clerks; but their patronage has continually urged every advance that they have made, and has poured into their new and extensive estab- lishment in so marvelous a way that they are now giving employment to one hundred and forty clerks. During all these years Mr. Cum- min has been an indefatigable worker, alert to grasp every new and practical idea, and quick to utilize every scheme that promised to pro- mote his business or the public interests. He was the originator of the design on which the Rike Dry Goods company's new store building was erected, it being 1 50 x 80 feet in dimen- sions, and arranged with every convenience for OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 239 the expeditious transaction of business, and being a model in its attractiveness and comfort to patrons. Mr. Cummin, while thus attending to the promotion of the business interests of his firm, has not been unmindful of his duty to the pub- lic as a citizen. He was a member of the company which constructed the Fifth street railroad in Dayton, and was for many years one of its directors and a factor in bringing about its success; he was also largely instru- mental in effecting the legislation which has made all the pikes of the county free to the use of the public without the imposition of tolls, and still finds time and energy to devote to the duties of chairman of the good roads committee. Dr. William Cummin, father of Robert I. Cummin, was a native of Ireland, and his mother, Mary (Hart) Cummin, a native of Tuscarora valley, Pa., was also of Irish de- scent. The father was a physician of consid- erable ability and reputation. He acquired his medical learning in the schools of Edin- burg, Scotland ; Belfast institute, Ireland, and in Philadelphia, Pa. He practiced his profes- sion in Pennsylvania, and died in 1846, at the early age of forty-two. His widow long sur- vived him, dying in Williamsport, Pa. , at the advanced age of eighty-six. Robert I. Cummin had the benefit of a common-school education that terminated when only sixteen years of age. But he made the most of it, and has achieved a signal success in life. He is a member of the Prot- estant Episcopal church, and affiliates with the republican party in his political activities. He was married June 15, 1881, to Miss Ellen P. Church, daughter of Judge Gaylord Church, of Meadville, Pa. Four children, three sons and one daughter, have been born to them, of whom all are now living : Gaylord, Edith, Hart and Pearson. aHARLES WESLEY DUSTIN, judge of the common pleas court of the second judicial district of Ohio, and a prominent member of the Dayton bar, was born in Zanesville, Ohio, and is the son of the late Rev. M. and Mary B. (Danna) Dustin. Rev. Dustin was a native of Oneida county, N. Y. , and was a lineal descendant of Hannah Dustin, who during the Indian war killed ten Indians with a tomahawk in order to preserve the lives of herself and child, after two children had already been killed by the savages. A monument has been erected to her memory on an island in the Merrimac river, the scene of the incident. The parents of Rev. Dustin came to Ohio during his youth and set- tled in Washington county, and it was there he was reared. He attended Marietta college, entered the ministry of the M. E. church, and for fifty years was in active work, first in the Ohio and then in the Cincinnati conference. He was especially prominent during the anti- slavery movement. In 1890 he retired from the ministry, and in 1893 removed to Dayton, and died in this city during the winter of 1896. His wife was born in Washington county, Ohio (a full account of her family appearing in Mun- sey's Magazine for November, 1896). Her fa- ther was William Danna, a son of Capt. Will- iam Danna, who was a pioneer of Ohio and an intimate friend of the Blennerhassetts, of Blen- nerhassett island fame, Capt. Danna having lived opposite that island. Five children were born to Rev. Dustin and wife, three of whom lived to reach maturity, all now being dead except the judge, and the mother having died during his youth. The early education of Judge Dustin was secured in the public schools. He attended Wesleyan university at Delaware and was graduated there at an early age. Following this he went west and taught in the Quincy, 111., and Brookville, Ind., colleges. He read 240 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD law with the firm of Boltin & Shauck, of Day- ton, the junior member of which firm is now on the supreme bench of Ohio. He was ad- mitted to the bar and engaged in practice in Dayton and continued until he was elected to the bench in November, 1895. During his early years Judge Dustin did considerable writing for the press. He was for some time an editorial writer for the Daily Journal of Day- ton. He also contributed to the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, and during the existence of the Cincinnati Graphic, he was on that paper's editorial staff. He has traveled ex- tensively, having been to Europe on two differ- ent occasions and visiting all the countries reached by the great body of tourists. He has also visited Russia and Finland in Europe, old Mexico and Canada, and nearly every section of the United States. Judge Dustin served six or seven years as a member of the Dayton board of education, in whose work he took a deep interest. He was one of the founders of the Garfield republican club of Dayton, and was the first to sign the constitution of that organization. He took an active interest in the formation of the Ohio republican league, serving on the committee to draft a constitution for the same, and was a delegate to the convention held in New York city, which organized the national republican league. He is also a member of the different Masonic bodies and of the Dayton club. Early in his career Judge Dustin was married to Miss Alpha Hull Newkirk, of Connersville, Ind., who lived only a few years, dying without issue. y^^UGENE J. BARNEY, president of m I the Barney & Smith Manufacturing V_>4, company of Dayton, was born in that city on February 12, 1839. His ed- ucation was secured in the public schools and at Rochester university. In 1866 Mr. Barney purchased the interest of S. F. Woodsum in the Barney & Smith Car works. In a few years he became superintendent of the works, and upon the retirement of Mr. Smith was made vice-president and superintendent, and in 1880, upon the death of his father, was made presi- dent of the company. Mr. Barney is also pres- ident of the Dayton Manufacturing company, and president of the Cooper Hydraulic com- pany; and is also a director in the following: The Fourth National bank, the Union Safe Deposit and Trust company, the National Im- provement company, Dayton Street Railway company, Wisconsin Central Railroad com- pany, New York, Lake Erie & Western Rail- road company, Davis Sewing Machine com- pany, and other minor local institutions. Mr. Barney was married on February 12, 1862, to Miss M. Belle Huffman, eldest daugh- ter of the late W. P. Huffman, of Dayton, and they are the parents of the following children: Mrs. Anna B. Gorman, Julia Barney (deceased), Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Reynolds, and Eugene E. Barney (deceased). Mr. Barney is essentially a man of business affairs, and chiefly absorbed in the direction of the great manufacturing enterprise of which he is the head. His exceptional business qualifi- cations, largely inherited from his father, the late Eliam E. Barney, place him among the leaders in the financial and industrial life of the city of Dayton. S^%. EORGE W. HEATHMAN, one of the ■ ^\ prominent business men of Dayton, ^L^J was born in Dayton January 13, 1850. He is a son of Elias Heathman, who was a native of Findlay, Ohio, and removed to Dayton in 1844. Elias Heathman was a cabinetmaker by trade and followed that trade for many years. For some time he was en- gaged in the carriage business in Dayton, and OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 241 • from about 1S51 to 1885 he was engaged in the livery business. Mr. Heathman was a man of integrity and highly respected. His death occurred in 1885. George W. Heathman was reared in Day- ton and was educated in the public schools. At the age of sixteen he entered the store of Van Ausdal, Harman & Co., where he remained from 1866 to November, 1869. In that year Charles W. Nickurn, George W. and Elias Heathman formed a firm then known as Nickum, Heathman &Co., with its location on Main street, for the purpose of manufacturing crackers, biscuits, etc. In the spring of 1870 this firm removed to Second street, where they remained until 1872, when the style was changed to G. W. Heathman & Co., Mr. Nickum retiring. In 1875 the firm purchased a lot on the corner of Second and St. Clair streets, upon which they erected a three-story and basement brick building, 68 x 100 feet in size, which is equipped with a fifty-horse power engine and all machinery necessary to the car- rying on of a first-class business. The firm name of G. W. Heathman & Co. was used until the spring of 1890, when the business passed into the hands of the United States Baking company, of which Mr. Heathman was one of the organizers. He is also manager of the Dayton business. Mr. Heathman was married in 1872 to Ida M. Anderson, daughter of Benjamin F., of Dayton. Four children have been born to this union, as follows : Edward M., Frank B., Effie S. and Luella. (D ORRIS WOODHULL, proprietor of the Dayton Buggy and Carriage- works, and one of the representa- tive men of Dayton, Ohio, was born in New York city on December 1, 1842, and is a son of James and Hannah (Long- streth) Woodhull, the former a native of Long Island, N. Y., and the latter of New Jersey. The Woodhulls originally came from England, the first family of the name landing on Long Island in 1648, where they laid out the town of Setauket, purchasing the land from the In- dians, and for three generations a Woodhull was the king's magistrate on that island. One of the family, a cousin to James Woodhull, was mayor of New York city, and William Woodhull, grandfather of Morris, was a lead- ing merchant of that city in 1800. The grand- father of Mrs. James Woodhull was Gov. Lambert, of New Jersey. Morris Woodhull was reared and educated in New York city, and after graduating from the city schools entered the university of the City of New York. He came to Dayton in 185S and took a position in his elder brother's seed and implement store, where he remained as clerk until 1869, when he became a mem- ber of the firm of L. & M. Woodhull. This firm conducted the seed and implement busi- ness until 1878, when they engaged in the manufacture of carriages, the partnership last- ing continuously for twenty-one years. In 1890 Morris Woodhull purchased the entire interest of his brother Lambert, the firm was dissolved, and he became sole proprietor of the business. In 1878 Mr. Woodhull was one of the first to introduce into Ohio the manu- facture of carriages in a wholesale way, out- side of Columbus and Cincinnati, and the first to start in that line in Dayton and vicinity. The original shops were located on Kenton street, and were a part of the old Beaver & Butt buildings. The business was begun in a small way, the intention being to make a trial of 300 carriages for the first year. The demand for the firm's work was, how- ever, so great during the first year that 700 instead of 300 vehicles were completed, to meet the orders. The shops remained on 242 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Kenton street for two years, and were then re- moved to the Dayton & Western shops, on West Fifth street, where they were continued until 1888, when the present large shops were completed at the junction of Fifth street and Home avenue. Here the class of work turned out is strictly high grade; but Mr. Woodhull, early recognizing that grade alone was insuf- ficient to insure large success, has, since the beginning, made a specialty of attractive and meritorious novelties. He successfully mark- eted the Woodhull side bar spring, which had a ready sale all over the United States, not only in the finished vehicle but in parts. Mr. Woodhull also invented, in 1890, the Perfec- tion jump seat surry, which was very success- ful and so popular that in the same year the sale amounted to 1,030. Each year he adds something new to his line. The year 1895 was noteworthy in the Woodhull establish- ment, from the fact that he then introduced and marketed a new style of pleasure vehicle known as the trap. Mr. Woodhull's plant is one of the finest and most complete for man- ufacturing buggies and carriages in the state of Ohio, and is by far the largest in the city of Dayton. A bit of interesting history is at- tached to the ground upon which the plant is situated. The grandfather of Mr. Woodhull's wife, David Stout, an old Dayton merchant, owned 160 acres of land, some fifty years ago, a part of which was the ground above men- tioned. Desiring to sell the farm, Mr. Stout was compelled to cut it up into ten-acre tracts in order to realize the value of $19 per acre. In March, 1894, Mr. Woodhull sold to the City Railway company a piece of ground upon which the company's power plant now stands, containing less than one-third of an acre, which was a part of the original 160 acres,' for $15,- OOO cash — quite an increase in valuation in fifty years. Mr. Woodhull is vice-president for Ohio of the National Carriage Builders' association, chairman of the electric light committee of the board of trade, is a member of the Day- ton club and of the Present Day club. He is a ready writer and has contributed many in- teresting articles to the papers and delivered numerous addresses and short talks before va- rious conventions and bodies. Mr. Woodhull was married, May 23, 1872, to Mary Stout, daughter of Elias Stout, of Dayton, and to their marriage three sons have been born, as follows: Morris G., manager for his father of the New York repository of the Dayton Buggy works, at No. 366 Canal street, New York city; Roger S., a graduate of Yale college, and James R. , a student at the Dayton high school. **/^\ OBERT MURPHY NEVIN, a well- I /«^ known member of the Dayton bar W and senior member of the legal firm of Nevin & Kumler, was born in High- land county, Ohio, May 5, 1850. His ancestry on his father's side of the family came originally from the north of Ireland, in the vicinity of the Giant's Causeway, which, according to a myth- ical legend, was the commencement of a road to be constructed by giants across the channel to Scotland, projecting as it does from the northern coast of Antrim into the North chan- nel. The first of the name of Nevin to come to America settled in Lancaster county, Pa., in which locality the grandfather of Mr. Nevin was born; and whence he removed to Ohio at an early date. Robert Nevin, the father of Robert M., was born in Ross county, Ohio. He married Frances E. Eakin, who was born in Highland county, Ohio, and was the daughter of John Eakin, a native of Ireland, whose wife was Nancy Ross, a native of Manchester, Eng- land. Both parents of Mr. Nevin are now deceased. The postoffice called Nevin, in OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 243 Highland county, was named after Mr. Nevin's father, who was the first postmaster there. Robert Murphy Nevin was reared in Hills- boro, in his native county, and secured a good English education in the public schools of that county and in the high school at Hillsboro. In the fall of 1864 he entered the freshman class of the Ohio Wesleyan university, at Dela- ware, Ohio, pursued a four-years' course, and graduated there in the summer of 1868. Im- mediately afterward he located in Dayton, and began reading law in the office of Thomas O. Lowe, who was soon afterward nominated and elected judge of the superior court of Mont- gomery county. Mr. Nevin then entered the office of Conover & Craighead, where he fin- ished reading law, and on May 10, 1871, five days after becoming of age, he was admitted to the bar. Mr. Nevin remained in the office of Con- over & Craighead until the spring of 1876, when he formed a partnership with Alvin W. Kumler, which partnership was terminated by the election of Mr. Kumler to the bench, and was the oldest continuous law partnership in Dayton at its dissolution. Mr. Nevin entered politics as a republican about twenty-five years ago, and has since then been both active and prominent in the councils of the party. During the past fifteen years he has attended as a delegate every republican state convention in Ohio, save one. He was elected prosecuting attorney of Montgomery county in the fall of 1S87, holding the office for one term of three years, and has served as chairman of the republican county committee of Montgomery county during many campaigns. Mr. Nevin was nominated for congress by the republican party in 1896, and after a heated campaign was defeated by a majority of 10 1 votes. Mr. Nevin is an able lawyer and a sound politician. He is a Mason, Knight Templar and Scottish rite; an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias and a member of the society of Elks. He was married November 7, 1871, to Emma Reasoner, of Dresden, Ohio, and to this marriage there have been born the follow- ing children: Moile B., Robert R. , Frances M. and Lurton Kumler. Mr. Nevin is strongly attached to his pro- fession, knowing that the law, as he has so often said, is a jealous mistress. His reputa- tion as an orator is recognized beyond the con- fines of his native state, while as a criminal lawyer, his thorough knowledge of that branch of practice, his marked ability in the trial of causes, and his eloquence as an advocate have earned for him a most prominent place at the Ohio bar. ^^•AMUEL D. BEAR, member of the *^^KT Dayton city council from the Fourth K. J ward, was born in Cumberland coun- ty, Pa., May 27, 1840. Reared and educated in Cumberland county and receiving a good common-school education, he engaged in the nursery business in i860 and so contin- ued until 1866, when he made a tour through the western states. He located in Dayton, Ohio, in 1867, with the view of carrying on here the nursery business, and has ever since resided in this city. From the time of his arrival in Dayton until 1873 he was employed with the Heikes nurseries, and in this latter year he was one of the organizers of the com- pany bearing that name, of which he has served as president since 1878. Mr. Bear has always been a successful business man, and has won and retains the confidence of the business community. In 1869 he was married to Anna Rung, by whom he had two children, Alice A. and Nor- man R., both of whom are living at home. Mrs. Bear died in 1887. Norman R. Bear is draughtsman with the Stillwell & Bierce Co. L>44 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Mr. Bear was first elected to the city coun- cil in 1876, from the Tenth ward, and in 1891 he was elected from the Fourth ward, and was re-elected from the same ward in 1895, his present term expiring in 1897. Politically he is a republican. Mr. Bear is a man of strict business integrity, well known for his many excellent traits of genuine American citizen- ship, and has given both faithful and intelligent service to the city as its official servant. f\ EORGE R. YOUNG, senior member ■ Cj\ of the legal firm of Young & Young, X^_^ and one of the most prominent mem- bers of the Dayton bar, was born in this city on October 2, 1857, and is the son of the late Edmond Stafford Young and Sarah (Dechert) Young. Mr. Young was educated in the Dayton public schools, graduating with honors from the Central high school in 1875. He was valedictorian of his class, and also received the gold medal for best scholarship. After taking an additional course from private tutors, he read law in the office of his father, until his admis- sion to the bar in April, 1S78. He was ad- mitted by the court (after passing on the ques- tion of his eligibility) some months before he reached his majority, and was probably at the time the youngest attorney in the state. Immediately after his admission to the bar, he was taken in as a member of his father's firm, which thereupon became Young, Gott- schall & Young, and subsequently Young & Young, as stated in the preceding sketch of E. S. Young. While absent in the east in 1 88 1 , Mr. Young was, without his solicitation or knowl- edge, nominated by the republican party for prosecuting attorney of Montgomery county. He made the race against a strong and popular candidate, and an adverse majority of over a thousand, but was defeated by only a few hun- dred votes. In 1885 he received the repub- lican nomination for city solicitor, but the city then being largely democratic, he was again defeated by a small majority. Since this time he has never been a candidate for political office, attending strictly to the practice of his profession, and giving it all his time and atten- tion, and he has met with marked and well merited success. He has taken a leading part in the trial of many important cases, and is recognized by the profession both as a sound and able lawyer, and as an advocate of superior ability. In the fall of 1894, Mr. Young's name was suggested to the governor as a successor to Judge John A. Shauck, about to leave the cir- cuit for the supreme bench, and a petition for his appointment was circulated. This petition was signed by every member of the Dayton bar, save one, who, having already recommended another aspirant, wrote a personal letter with- drawing his support and endorsing Mr. Young. Owing to want of time, incase of appointment, to close up his private practice, Mr. Young sub- sequently withdrew from the contest. Mr. Young is a charter member of the Day- ton club. He was one of the founders of the Dayton Literary union, which flourished for many years, and was the first president of the present High School Alumni association. He has been for years a trustee, and is now vice-president of the Dayton Law Library asso- ciation, and is a member of the Ohio State and American Bar associations. St March 2 mond S. and cated in the ILLIAM H. YOUNG, junior mem- ber of the firm of Young & Young, and a well-known member of the Dayton bar, was born in Dayton on i860, and is the son of the late Ed- Sarah D. Young. He was edu- Dayton public schools. After v dkJh^ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 249 leaving the high school, he read law in the office of his father and brother. He was ad- mitted to the bar in 1884, and upon the death of his father, in 1888, became a member of the present firm of Young & Young. Mr. Young is a republican in politics, and has usually taken an active part in campaign work. Although he has never held or sought political office, his name has frequently been mentioned in connection with the congres- sional nomination and with other honorable positions. He has attained quite a reputation for eloquence as a speaker, is an effective stumper and jury advocate, and holds an en- viable position at the bar as an able and suc- cessful lawyer. aHARLES FREDERICK SNYDER, secretary and treasurer of the Beaver Soap company, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Dayton, December 21, 1848. He is a son of Rev. Frederick and Martha Wil- son (Henderson) Snyder, both of whom are now deceased. The former was born in Lan- caster county, Pa., and was the son of George Snyder, who came to Ohio, locating in Dayton in 1 8 19. Rev. Frederick Snyder was educated in Columbia college, N. Y. , a non-sectarian institution of learning established in 1754, and •one of the best in the country. After leaving college he entered the ministry of the Baptist church, and from 1843 to 1850 was pastor of the First Baptist church in Dayton. He was also pastor of a church at Terre Haute, Ind., and of a church at Williamsburg, N. Y. , where he died in 1852. His life was given entirely to the ministry, and to thoroughly prepare himself for his work he took a course of study, after his marriage, at Rochester Theological seminary. His wife died in 1884, at the age •of sixty-three. They had a family of five chil- dren, two of whom died in infancy. The others are Elizabeth A., wife of E. R. Stillwell, of Dayton; Harriet A., wife of R. N. King, of Dayton, and Charles Frederick, the subject of this sketch. Charles Frederick Snyder was educated in the public schools, graduating from the high school of Dayton in 1867. He was then em- ployed in the Payne & Holden book store for eighteen months, afterward entering the serv- ice of the Stillwell & Bierce Manufacturing company as a mechanic. Promotion followed, and he entered the office of the company as bookkeeper, continuing in fhis capacity for five years, during which time he also traveled in the interest of his employers. He became en- gaged for himself, in 1874, in the manufacture of extension table slides, upon a small scale, on the lower hydraulic, between Third and Fourth streets, removing in 1881 to the Wood- sum Machine company's building, and in 1884 to a three-story brick building on Monument avenue and the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad, where he continued in the business until the fall of 1893, when he sold out to the Dayton Table Slide company. He had been unusually successful in this enterprise, having built it up from almost nothing to an industry employing from thirty-five to forty hands, and which required his whole attention. Having sold his table slide manufacturing business, Mr. Snyder became associated with the Beaver Soap Manufacturing company as its secretary and treasurer, and to the duties of this position he now devotes his entire time and energies. Mr. Snyder was married April 23, 1885, to Miss Mary L. Cooper, daughter of David Cooper, a native of Springfield. To this mar- riage there have been born two children, Lou- ise and Leslie. Mr. Snyder is a member of the First Baptist church of Dayton, and one of its trustees. In the social, church and business life of 250 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Dayton no citizen has won a surer place in the respect and confidence of the community than that achieved by Mr. Snyder. Upright and sincere in his business methods, and of a warm and genial nature, he has the faculty of making fast friends of a large circle of acquaintances. >-j i M. APPLETON, of Nos. 20 and 22 M East Third street, Dayton, Ohio, is (9 J recognized as one of the most skilled artists in the state, and merits classifi- cation among the representative photographers of the Union. Mr. Appleton is a native son of Ohio, with whose history that of his family has been linked from the early pioneer days, while his lineage also goes back in American annals to the Revolutionary epoch and thence to stanch English and Scotch origin. He was born at Millersburg, Holmes county, Ohio, on the 3d of September, 1848, being the son of Samuel and Catherine (Morris) Appleton. The original American ancestor of the Appleton family emigrated hither from England early in the seventeenth century, and records extant show that he bore the name of Samuel and that he located in the state of Massachusetts, in which and in others of the eastern states the family has become a numerous one, its repre- sentatives having been principally identified with business pursuits of commercial character. The parents of our subject became residents of Ohio in an early day, and their marriage was consummated at Millersburg, Holmes county. The maternal ancestry of Mr. Appleton traces back to pure Scotch extraction, the line of de- scent being clearly defined in its connection with the royalty of Scotland. The Morris family has been long and closely identified with the history of New England. J. M. Appleton passed his boyhood days in the town where he was born, receiving his early education in the public and select schools of that place. At the age of fifteen years he became a clerk in a local drug store, and after acquiring quite a full knowledge of this busi- ness he severed his connection therewith and learned the painter's trade, in which he was engaged for some time. Prior to his majority he entered a photographic studio at Akron, Ohio, and there remained for a brief time, within which he had so thoroughly familiarized himself with the processes and details of the work that he returned to Millersburg and there opened a studio of his own, continuing the en- terprise successfully until the year 1876. In the centennial year he closed out his business in Millersburg and removed to Columbus, Ohio, becoming one of the leading photographers of the capital city and there successfully conduct- ing a studio until 1880, when he came to Day- ton, where he has ever since been located, conducting the leading studio of the city and doing all classes of photographic work, both in portraiture and commercial productions. He is a member of both the National and the Photographers' associations and has held the office of president of the national organization. A similar honor was tendered him by the state association, but he declined the position. Mr. Appleton was the projector and prime factor in the establishment of the Photographic Salon of Ohio, whose object is the advance- ment of photographic art and the education of those concerned therein. The productions of Mr. Appleton's finely equipped studio have been exhibited, on various occasions, in compe- tition with the work of the leading artists of the country, and the high artistic and technical merit of his work has gained him many medals at these exhibitions. He devotes his attention to high-grade work almost exclusively, and has been a persistent advocate of the profes- sional wisdom of maintaining a high standard of art rather than of establishing cheapness of price at the sacrifice of fine and effective work. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 251 He is progressive in his art and in his business methods, keeping in close touch with every ad- vance made in the field of photography, which is both a science and an art. His studio is supplied with the most approved mechanical appliances and accessories, while in the chem- ical manipulations every portion of the work is entrusted to competent hands. The marriage of Mr. Appleton was solem- nized in the year 1869, at Millersburg, when he was united to Miss Oellaw E. Courtney, daughter of William J. Courtney. Her family in the paternal line is of English descent, her grandfather having emigrated from the British Isles to America. Mr. and Mrs. Appleton are the parents of four children, as follows: Theresa, wife of Theodore Heinig, of Dayton; Katherine, wife of Harold C. Maltby, of this city; Margaret L. , at home; and William Court- ney, a graduate of the Dayton high-school, who is now preparing himself as a scientific and practical electrician at Rose Polytechnic school, Terre Haute, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Ap- pleton are members of the Central church of Christ, where Mr. Appleton renders efficient service on its official board. aHARLES A. LUCIUS, secretary and treasurer of the Bailey Soap com- pany, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., April 12, 1S49, and is a son of Charles A. and Mary F. (Moser) Lucius, natives of Wurtemburg, Germany, who came to America prior to their marriage, which took place in Philadelphia in 1848. The father is now a resident of Kansas City, Mo., in which city the mother died in 1895, at the age of seventy-three years. They were the parents of five children, of whom three reached the years of maturity, viz: Charles A. ; Emma, Mrs. Eben, now residing in Brook- lyn, N. Y. , and Henry A., of Kansas City, Mo. Charles A. Lucius, Sr. , father of our sub- ject, learned the trade of jeweler in his native land, and on coming to America was engaged in the manufacture of jewelry in Philadelphia for about ten years; he then went to Cincin- nati, Ohio, where he filled the position of fore- man in the jewelry factory of Duhme & Co., until his enlistment, at the second call for vol- unteers, in company F, Twenty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, of which he was at once elected lieutenant, and in which he served un- til after the battle of Cannifax Ferry, when he was honorably discharged because of disease contracted while in the service. He then re- sumed his position with Duhme & Co., but in 1 869 went to New York, where he was engaged at his trade until 1880, when he went to Kan- sas City, where he is still working at the man- ufacture of jewelry. Charles A. Lucius, the younger, whose name introduces this biographical record, was educated in the public schools of Philadelphia and Cincinnati, and at the age of seventeen years entered upon an apprenticeship of two years with Duhme & Co., of the latter city; in 1868 he entered the service of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad company as mes- senger, and passed through the intermediate po- sitions to that of chief clerk of the local freight department at Cincinnati in 1881. He then engaged in the commission business, and in 1883 came to Dayton as line agent for the Canada Southern fast freight-line, remaining in that employ for about two years, when he returned to the C, H. & D., and served as assistant agent at Dayton until 1886. He was then ap- pointed superintendent of the weighing and in- spection bureau, in connection with which he was made the first superintendent of the car service bureau. In May, 1893, he resigned his connection with the railroad and took an active part in organizing the Bailey Soap company, of which he was elected secretary and treas- 252 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD urer, and since then he has devoted his atten- tion solely to its interests and has been largely instrumental in advancing its prosperity. Mr. Lucius was united in marriage, in 1872, with Miss Emma B. Huff, a native of Cincin- nati, and daughter of John Huff. Since 1873 Mr. Lucius has been a member of the Method- ist Episcopal church, and is now a trustee and steward of the Riverdale congregation, of which Mrs. Lucius is also a member. In pol- itics Mr. Lucius is a stalwart republican, and as a business man he is recognized as among the most enterprising in Dayton. He has a pleasant home at No. 62 1 North Main street, and he and his wife move in the highest circles of Dayton society. BOBERT R. DICKEY, president of the Dayton Gas Light & Coke com- pany, has been a citizen of the Gem City for over half a century, and for the greater part of that time has been closely identified with the business interests of the city. Mr. Dickey was born near Middletown. in Butler county, Ohio, on October 26, 18 16, and is the son of Adam and Mary (McKee) Dickey. Adam Dickey was a native cf county Antrim, Ireland, where he was born in 1768. He came to America in about [784, and located near Mc- Connellstown, Pa., where in the year 1790 he married Mary McKee, who was a native of Pennsylvania, and was second cousin to George Washington. In 1799 Adam Dickey, with his wife and three children, and in company with an uncle, whose name was Doyle, came to Ohio and settled at Cincinnati, then Fort Washington. They made the trip down the Ohio river in two flat boats built by Mr. Dickey, on which he brought two four-horse teams and two wagons. He lived in Cincinnati for four years and while there was joined by two brothers, who came over from Ireland. While in that place he was engaged in making brick, and the first brick house erected in Cincin- nati was built from brick made by Mr. Dickey. In 1803 he removed to Butler coun- ty, and settled near Middletown, where he engaged in farming, milling and distilling, building his own flat boats and shipping his produce to New Orleans markets. His death occurred in 1828, his wife surviving him until 1844. Robert R. Dickey was but eleven years of age when his father died. Although a success- ful man, his father, toward the close of his life, met with reverses through fires and other misfortunes, and left his family in poor circum- stances. Thus it was that at the above tender age the son was thrown upon his own resources and was compelled to begin the struggles of life at a time when he should have been at school. However, his lack of early schooling was com- pensated for by an experience with the world and with people, that stood him in good stead in afterlife. Following the death of his father young Dickey was employed in a brick yard, where he worked an average of fourteen hours a day, receiving the sum of $4.87 per month for his labor. Afterward he worked upon a farm for $5 per month. In 1830 he was employed upon the public works of Ohio and Indiana by his brothers, who were contractors, and at the age of seventeen was made superintendent of a large gang of men. In 1842 he located in Day- ton, and in connection with his two elder brothers — John and William — was engaged in quarrying stone until 1S53. In 1847 he was connected with the firm of Dickey, Doyle & Dickey in placing a line of packet boats on the Wabash & Erie canal, and later, under the firm name of Doyle & Dickey, he built the locks at St. Mary's and at Delphos. In 1845 Mr. Dickey was one of the organizers of the Dayton bank, and was for several years one of its directors. In 1852 he became a partner in OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 255- the Exchange bank with Messrs. Jonathan Harshman, Valentine Winters and J. R. Young. In 1853 he became one of the largest stockholders in the Dayton Gas Light & Coke company, of which he was elected president in 1855. Three years later, ill health compelled his retirement from the presidency of the com- pany, though he continued as a director. At the annual election in 1880, however, Mr. Dickey was again chosen president of the com- pany and has held that office continuously up to and including the present time. During the years 1854-55-56 Mr. Dickey was president of the Dayton & Western Railroad company. He was one of the original stockholders of the Dayton National bank in 1865, and has been one of the directors of that concern since 1868. Since January 1, 1894, Mr. Dickey has been president of the Dayton Globe Iron works, one of the leading manufacturing institutions of the city. On June 17, 1850, Mr. Dickey was married to Martha J. Winters, who was born in Dayton and is descended from one of the leading pio- neer families of the city. Her father was Val- entine Winters, who was one of the most prominent citizens and successful financiers of the community during his life, and her grand- father was the Rev. Thomas Winters, a pio- neer minister of the Miami valley. To the mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Dickey three sons have been born, as follows: William W. Dickey, born in 1852, died on July 15, 1S96; Val- entine Winters, born in 1855, died March 30, 1890; Robert R. Dickey, Jr., the only survi- vor, is one of the prominent young business men of Dayton. Both in point of residence and in age Mr. Dickey is one of Dayton's oldest citizens. He is likewise one of the most prominent repre- sentative men of the city. During his resi- dence of fifty-five years he has witnessed the growth of the Gem City from a small place of about 6,000 people into one of the largest and most prosperous and beautiful cities in Ohio, and towards this growth and development he has contributed his full share. His life has. been a most active and successful one, and his efforts have all been made along lines that have proved of material benefit to the entire community, so that success to him has meant something to the city. His business career has been a most remarkable one and points a moral, demonstrating what can be accom- plished by man's efforts, energy and persever- ance when supported by native ability. Be- ginning life's battle at the age of eleven years, with no capital save his energy, pluck and determination to get on in life and better his condition, Mr. Dickey has succeeded in gain- ing a place in the very front rank among the leading and successful citizens of Dayton. All of this has been accomplished by his own un- aided efforts. As a financier, Mr. Dickey is considered one of the ablest and most saga- cious in the city. Shrewd and courageous, yet careful and conservative, his management of the affairs of the concerns of which he has been the head has been both strong and wise. As a citizen he has always discharged to the fullest extent the duties incumbent upon all good citizens. As a man he is kind and con- siderate, genial in disposition, with a desire to do justice to all men, and his many sterling traits of character have won for him a large circle of warm friends. t^\ EV. EDGAR WHITTAKER WORK, I <*^ D. D., pastor of the Third street P Presbyterian church of Dayton, was born in Logan, Hocking county, Ohio, November 20, 1862, and is one of the most able young ecclesiastics of his denomination in the state. His parents, John W. and Ann 256 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Elizabeth (Fielding) Work, were born respect- ively in Lancaster, Ohio, in 1823, and West Chester, Pa. , in 183 1, were married in Lancaster in 1847, and became the parents of seven chil- dren, of whom four are still living, Edgar W. being the youngest. John W. Work was a mer- chant of Logan, where he passed all his life, and died in 1887, and where his widow still makes her home. Joseph Work, paternal grandfather of Rev. Edward W., was a native of county Donegal, Ireland, born about the year 1800, was of Scotch-Irish parentage, and in 18 19 came to the United States and settled in Lancaster, Ohio, where he was engaged in mercantile pur- suits for the remainder of his life. Robert Fielding, the maternal grandfather, was a na- tive of Pennsylvania, was a hatter and mer- chant, and passed the latter part of his life in Lancaster, Ohio. Rev. Edgar Whittaker Work received his elementary education in the public schools of Logan, and in 1879 graduated from the high school of that city; he next passed a year in the pursuit of business and in private study, and in 1880 entered the university of Woos- ter, Ohio, where he pursued a philosophical course, and was graduated in 1884. Immedi- ately thereafter he entered Lane Theological seminary at Cincinnati, completed a full course, and graduated from that institution in May, 1887; on June 7, 1S87, he was ordained to the ministry of the Presbyterian church, and at the same time was installed as pastor of the Pres- byterian church of Van Wert, Ohio; in the fall of 1890 he severed his connection with his congregation to accept a call to return to the university of Wooster and become professor of biblical instruction and apologetics, and, in conjunction therewith, to officiate as the pas- tor of the college church. In these capacities he acted until March 16, 1895, when he en- tered upon the pastorate of the Third street Presbyterian church of Dayton, his installment taking place April 23. This church has a mem- bership of about 500 of the most enlightened people of the city, and the edifice has a seat- ing capacity for between 800 and 900 persons. It is a fine stone building, erected at a primary cost of $100,000, which has been largely in- creased by the addition of a chapel, auditorium, etc., and has always been considered to be the handsomest church structure in western Ohio. The marriage of Rev. Dr. Work took place June 23, 1887, at Grafton, W. Va., to Miss Ellen Blair Wilson, a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of Hon. Henry Stewart and Anna (Ennis) Wilson, who were also natives of the Keystone state, of Scotch-Irish descent, but who are at present residing at Parkersburg, W. Va. Hon. Henry Stewart Wilson was a lumberman in early life, and is now a very prominent man in democratic politics. Mrs. Work is a highly educated lady and a meet companion for her husband. Her early edu- cation was acquired at Harrisburg, Pa., sup- plemented by an attendance at the public schools of Grafton, W. Va., and completed at the university of Wooster, Ohio, where she formed the acquaintance of her husband. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Work, the eldest of whom died in infancy. The two survivors, Edgar Wilson and John Stewart, are the pride and comfort of their parents. In politics Mr. Work is a republican, but is never hampered by party rule. Frater- nally he is a member of the Sigma Chi society of his alma mater, to which he has given many contributions that have embellished lit- erature. He is now a member of the Present Day club, of Dayton, a literary society of the highest character, and is an alumnus of the university of Wooster, and has, beside, the distinguished honor of being a member of the board of trustees of the Lane Theological seminary and of the university of Wooster. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 257 EON. JOHN L. H. FRANK, ex-judge of the probate court, Dayton. — This well-known attorney was born March 31, 1837, in Nordhousene, county of Brackenheim, kingdom of Wuitemburg, Ger- many, and was the second in a family of five children, all of whom are now residents of this country. His parents were natives of Kalten- westen, on the Necker, Wurtemburg, but at the time of their marriage, in 1835, moved to Nordhousene, in the same county, where the judge's father became proprietor of the Wald- horn hotel. Subsequently they moved to Heil- bronn, on the Necker. Young Frank had an uncle and an aunt living in Leroy, Genesee county, N. Y., who requested him to come to America, and in March, 1852, when not yet fifteen years old, he started by steamboat down the Necker to the Rhine, thence through France by railroad to Havre de Grace, a sea- port in France, where he took passage for America. Travel in those days was not made easy as it is now, and the boy of fifteen had neither friend nor acquaintance on this long and strange journey; but he possessed a deter- mination to fight his own way through life, and this quality, thus early manifested, and joined with constant industry and rigid integ- rity, helped him in later years'to win success. Upon reaching his destination, young Frank soon became employed in the cultivation of fruit trees in his uncle's nursery, where he worked faithfully until 1855, when he removed to Rochester, continuing the same business at the Mount Hope nursery. The following year a branch of the Mount Hope nursery was es- tablished at Columbus, Ohio, and here he prosecuted his labors, attending at intervals Antioch college, at Yellow Springs, Ohio, until the summer of 1859. He being then in limited circumstances, a kind friend offered to lend him money to complete his studies, but, declin- ing the generous offer through fear of debt, he went to Missouri to work in the Herman nur- sery, where he was employed until the spring of 1861. At the first call for volunteers, he enlisted in company B, Fourth Missouri volunteer infan- try, in the three-months' service, but severe exposure brought on an attack of typhoid fever, and he was discharged in the fall of the same year. He soon after re-enlisted in the Tenth Illinois volunteer infantry, and although not perfectly recuperated, he stood the hard- ships of one campaign until the fall of 1862, when he was again discharged on account of physical disability. Judge Frank was soon after given a position in the quartermaster's office at Saint Louis, where he remained until 1864, using his spare moments in reading Black- stone and other elementary works furnished him by Judge Eaton. About a year after he had left Germany, his father died, and in a few years, he sent for his mother and the rest of the fam- ily, the former dying in Dayton, April 27, 1877; two of his brothers and one sister reside in Dayton and one sister in Mattoon, 111. In 1864 Judge Frank came to Dayton, where he continued his law studies under the tutorship of Craighead & Munger, making rapid prog- ress, and being admitted to the bar Septem- ber 2, 1867, when he at once opened an office and practiced his profession successfully for several years. He was married August 11, 1873, to Mary Lutz, a native of Germany, who came to this country in childhood with her parents and grew to maturity in Dayton. Nine children have been the fruits of this union, five sons and four daughters, all but two of whom are living. Politically, the judge has always been a re- publican, and in the fall of 1875 was nominated and elected to the office of probate judge, commencing the duties of his office February 14, 1876. In 1878 he was re-elected to that responsible position, which was one of 258 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the strongest possible indorsements of his official worth and integrity, in view of the fact that Montgomery county was then largely democratic. Since leaving the bench, Judge Frank has devoted himself to his profession, his business being largely an office practice, and his clients coming, in the main, from those of German descent. He ranks high among the safe and honorable practitioners of Dayton, and well deserves the confidence that is reposed in him. eLLIS JENNINGS, M. D., of Dayton, was born in Wilmington, Ohio, on the 29th of December, 1833, being the son of Alexander and Ruth (Tay- lor) Jennings, his lineage being traced through Scotch, Irish and English lines. He was born on a farm, and his preliminary education was secured in the district schools, after which he continued his studies in the high school at Troy, Ohio, and subsequently in Antioch college, at Yellow Springs, this state. In his early youth he had given clear definition to the course which he would pursue in life, deciding to adopt the medical profession, and with this end in view began his technical reading at an early age, continuing his studies for some time under the effective guidance of Dr. John D. Kemp, of Vandalia, Ohio. Later he matricu- lated in the Medical college of Ohio, where he graduated as a member of the class of 1862, having secured the degree of doctor of medi- cine, and thus equipped himself for the active practice of his profession. Not to this peace- ful work, however, was the young man to de- vote himself at the start, for a more impera- tive duty called, and the loyalty of his nature could not but heed the summons. In October, 1862, Dr. Jennings identified himself with the medical corps of the Union army, and continued in active service until June, 1865. He was first assigned to the posi- tion of assistant surgeon of the Fifth Iowa in- fantry, in which capacity he served until De- cember of the same year, when he was assigned to duty in hospital No. 2, at Nashville, Tenn., retaining this place until March, 1S65, when he was transferred to Camp Dennison, Ohio, where he remained until the close of the war. He was post surgeon in turn on the staffs of Gen. Noyes, Col. Warner and Col. Andrews, and in the exacting and onerous duties which fell to his lot he was found always at his post, ever faithful in rendering aid to the brave men who suffered from the injuries and diseases incident to war. Dr. Jennings came to Dayton soon after his discharge from the service, locating in this city in September, 1865, and entering vigor- ously upon the practice of his profession. He gained a distinctive prestige through his ability, his integrity of character and his deep sympa- thy with those in affliction, and his practice constantly broadened in scope; but he was not yet satisfied with his professional acquirements, and accordingly, in 1871, he went to Europe. During the winter passed abroad he gave his attention to the serious study of subjects per- tinent to medical science, securing the unex- celled advantages offered in the foreign hos- pitals and colleges. He then returned to Day- ton, which has ever since been his home and the scene of his earnest and fruitful professional endeavors. From 1870 until 1873 he was in partnership with Dr. Thomas L. Neal, their practice being of a general character, and since the dissolution of this association Dr. Jennings has devoted himself to the general practice of medicine and surgery. He is an honored member of the state Medical society and of the Montgomery county Medical society. In politics the doctor is a republican of the uncompromising sort. In his fraternal rela- tions he is identified with the I. O. O. F., being OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 261 a member of Montgomery lodge No. 5, while he is also medical director of the National Ben- eficial association of this order, of Dayton. The doctor is thoroughly cosmopolitan in his tastes, and has been able to indulge these, having made a second trip to Europe in 1890, visiting the principal cities of the continent and divers other points of historical and local in- terest. In 1896 Dr. Jennings made his third trip abroad and spent two and a half months in visiting the Mediterranean ports, Egypt and the holy land. If the doctor has a hobby, it is the love of travel, and it is his intention, be- fore the close of the present century, to start on a trip around the world. Dr. Jennings has ever been a thorough and systematic student, and his intellectual horizon has been broadened to include far more than a knowledge of the literature of his profession, for he has been an indefatigable reader in general fields of knowledge and possesses a fund of information which cannot but be a source of constant satisfaction to him, as it is to those with whom he comes in contact in either a business or a social way. BRANK J. KUNKLE, general manager of the Dayton Ice Manufacturing & Cold Storage company, was born in Chambersburg, Montgomery county, Ohio, October 26, 1859. His father, John Kunkle, was born in Pennsylvania, and came to Ohio with his parents, who settled in Mont- gomery county, being among its pioneer fam- ilies. The father of John Kunkle was Jacob Kunkle, and as one of the early residents of this county he was well known and esteemed. Frank J. Kunkle passed his boyhood on the farm in Butler township, and received hisearly education in the public schools at Vandalia. At the age of eighteen years he entered Wit- tenberg college at Springfield, Ohio, remaining a student there for three years. After taking a commercial course at Cleveland, Ohio, he located at Dayton in 1881, and accepted a po- sition as bookkeeper with the firm of C. Wight & Son, lumber manufacturers, and remained with that firm until August, 1892. He then accepted the position of general manager of the Dayton Ice Manufacturing & Cold Stor- age company, which he still retains, having en- tire charge of that company's business affairs and property. Mr. Kunkle was married in October, 1886, in Johnsville, Montgomery county, to Miss Susie Furry of that place, and a daughter of David Furry. To this marriage there have been born two sons, John D. and Robert H. Mr. Kunkle is a member of Riverdale lodge, Knights of Pythias. He is vice-president and director in the Pioneer Tar Soap company, and director in the National Plant company, and is interested in real estate, having been active in building and selling houses, princi- pally in Riverdale. When he located in Day- ton he was without capital, but by careful and industrious management he has been success- ful in accumulating a competency, and ranks among the young business men of the city who have wrought out success through years of earnest endeavor. OREN BRITT BROWN, attorney at law, Dayton, Ohio, is a native of the Empire state, having been born at Jeddo, Orleans county, N. Y., on the 22d of June, 1853, a son of Col. E. F. Brown, who held the commission as colonel of the Twenty-eighth New York regiment during the late war of the Rebellion, rendering valiant service in upholding the Union arms and pre- serving the integrity of the nation. Col. Brown removed to Dayton a few years after the close of the war, and was made the first governor of 262 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the soldiers' home, which important office he held from 1868 until 1S80. enjoying the respect and affection of the veterans over whose inter- ests he was thus placed in charge, and proving a most able and conscientious executive in directing the affairs of this great national insti- tution. That his services were held in high appreciation by the national government is manifest from the fact that he is now an in- spector general of the national soldiers' homes of the Union, maintaining his headquarters at Hartford, Conn. The maiden name of our subject's mother was Elizabeth Britt. Oren Britt Brown was born on a farm, and his early education was secured in the public schools at Medina, N. Y. , where he remained until the time of his parents' removal to Day- ton, in April, 1869. Here he was a student in the high school until 1871, when he entered Dennison university, at Granville, Ohio, where he continued his studies until January, 1874. He then entered Princeton college, N. J., graduating from this celebrated institution as a member of the class of the Centennial year, 1876, having completed a thorough classical course. Thus fortified in a theoretical way for the duties of life, he returned to his home in Dayton and began the work of practical and technical preparation. In September of the year mentioned he entered the office of Gunckel & Rowe, prominent attorneys of this city, and under their effective guidance con- tinued the reading of law for two years, and was admitted to the bar in September, 1878. He remained with his preceptors for one year, after which he established an individual prac- tice, conducting a successful business until 1 88 1, when, as the candidate of the republican party, he was elected to the office of county clerk of Montgomery county, assuming the duties of this position in February, 1882. He served for one term of three years, having proved a most acceptable and efficient incum- bent, and then declined to become a candidate for re-election, having determined to resume the practice of his profession, in which he was already enjoying a marked prestige. On the 9th of February, 1885, he entered into a pro- fessional alliance with Oscar M. Gottschall, under the firm title of Gottschall & Brown, and this association continued until January 1, 1895, when the firm was changed by the ad- mission of Ira Crawford, Jr., to partnership, whereupon the title of Gottschall, Brown & Crawford was adopted. This firm holds a prominent place among the leading legal prac- titioners of the county, having been retained in much of the important litigation that has come before the courts of this and adjoining counties, as well as in the state courts. Mr. Brown is uncompromising in his advo- cacy of the principles and policies advanced by the republican party, and he has been promi- nent in the councils of the same in Montgom- ery county. He was a delegate from the Day- ton district to the national republican con- vention at Chicago in 1888, when Harrison was nominated for the presidency. He was a member of the Dayton board of elections, hav- ing been one of the republican representatives thereon from the time of the formation of the board until he went upon the bench. He vvas nominated for judge of the third subdivision, Second district, in the spring of 1896, and after the death of Judge Henderson Elliott, in July, 1896, he was appointed his successor, having already been nominated by his party. He was elected in the fall of 1896, and entered upon his term of five years on the third Monday of November, 1897. On the 1 2th of June, 1883, was celebrated the marriage of Judge Brown to Miss Jeannette Gebhart, daughter of Simon Gebhart, one of the old and honored citizens of Dayton. In his fraternal relations Judge Brown is promi- nently identified with the Masonic order, being OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 263 a Knight Templar and having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish rite. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Royal Arcanum and the Dayton club, enjoying a marked popularity in professional, business and social circles. >-j'ACOB LINXWEILER, Jr., who has ■ long been active in a field of enterprise /• J which contributes in a large degree to the prosperity of any community or section — that corporate use of capital whose object is to furnish indemnity against loss by fire — occupies a distinctly representative posi- tion among the business men of Dayton, Ohio, and for this reason, as well as that of his char- acter as an enterprising and public-spirited citizen, it is eminently fitting that he be ac- corded due recognition in a biographical rec- ord of this community. Mr. Linxweiler is secretary of that stanch organization, the Teu- tonic Fire Insurance company, and holds offi- cial position in connection with municipal affairs, being at this time the mayor of the city of Dayton. Mr. Linxweiler is a native -of the city in which he has won his way to success and honor. The date of his birth was January 22, 1843, his parents being Jacob and Caroline (Heinz) Linxweiler, both of whom were born in Rhenish Bavaria, and were among the early settlers in Dayton. Jacob Linxweiler, Sr. , emigrated to the United States in the summer of 1840, and for a few weeks after his arrival here was employed on a farm near Niagara Falls, Canada. In August of the same year he came to Dayton, which has ever since been his home and where he is held in highest esteem as one of the honored patriarchs of the city. Animated by a strong will, industrious and re- sourceful, Mr. Linxweiler was not slow in proving his power to attain a due measure of success in the land of his adoption. He was for a time engaged in the bakery and grocery trade in Dayton, and later became actively in- terested in horticultural enterprises in Mont- gomery county, gaining a wide reputation in that important field. He was one of the lead- ing members of the horticultural society, and a generally recognized authority in this direc- tion. He retired from active business in 1869. His cherished and devoted wife died in 1868. She had been an earnest member of the Ger- man Lutheran church, and her character was one of signal purity and beauty. Jacob Linxweiler, Jr., was reared in Day- ton, receiving a good common-school educa- tion and profiting by the influences of a refined and pleasant home. After leaving school he secured a position as clerk in a wholesale no- tion house in Dayton, and in 1863 he enlisted in the 100-days' service as a member of Col. John G. Lowe's regiment, the One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, serv- ing his term and being on garrison duty at Baltimore, Md., during the greater portion of the time. After the close of the war he re- turned to Dayton and entered Greer's com- mercial college, where he completed a course of study, after which he accepted the position of bookkeeper for T. Parrott & Sons, manu- facturers of linseed oil, remaining in their employ until May, 1867. Mr. Linxweiler was then elected secretary of the Teutonic Fire In- surance company, which office he has since continuously retained, his well-directed efforts and marked executive abilitv having been large factors in so shaping the policy of the company that it to-day stands as one of the strongest and most popular insurance organi- zations in the entire west. Mr. Linxweiler has been prominent in Dayton's municipal affairs for a number of years, having ever stood ready to do all in his power to further its prosperity and substantial 264 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD upbuilding. In 1874 he was elected a member of the board of education, as representative of the Sixth ward, being the candidate on the democratic ticket and receiving a majority of 140 votes in a ward distinctively republican in its political complexion — the average repub- lican majority therein having been 120 in the same election. He served in this capacity for one term of two years, when he declined again to become a candidate for the office. He was the second member of the finance committee and its acting chairman during his term. When the fire department of Dayton was reorganized in 1 88 1, Mr. Linxweiler was appointed a mem- ber of the fire board, and took an active part in the reorganization of the department, doing much to bring it to its present high standard of efficiency. He was a member of the board for about three years. In 18S4 he was appointed by Gov. Hoadly as a member of the board of trustees of the southern Ohio asylum for the insane, in which capacity he served for five years. In 1891 he was elected a member of the city board of waterworks trustees, being his own successor in 1893, m which year he served as president. In his first election to this board he ran nearly 700 votes ahead of his ticket — a fact which furnished marked evi- dence of the confidence reposed in him and of his great popularity. At the time of his re- election the remainder of the ticket, with the exception of Mayor McMillen, was defeated, the republican majority ranging between fifty and 100, while Mr. Linxweiler's majority was over 400 votes. He has been a stanch sup- porter of the democratic party, and has done much to advance its local interests. In his fraternal relations he is identified with Steuben lodge, I. O. O. F., of which he is a charter member, and with the Grand Army of the Re- public, being also a member of the board of trustees of the Old Guard post, G. A. R. He has also been, for many years past, an influen- tial member and an an officer of the Dayton Turngemeinde, an organization for physical- culture. In February, 1867, Mr. Linxweiler was- united in marriage to Miss Bertha Zimmer- mann, of Cincinnati, and they became the par- ents of five children, namely: Elmer, who is- now engaged in horticultural pursuits in south- ern Georgia; George, who is a clerk in the office of the Teutonic Fire Insurance company; Ed- mund, a clerk in the office of the Seybold Machine company; and Cora and Otto, both. now living at the parental home. Mr. Linxweiler was elected mayor of the city of Dayton in the spring of 1896, for a term of two years, by a plurality of nine votes over his republican opponent. He and Ben. B. Childs, democratic candidate for trustee of the water works, were the only democrats elected, the republican candidates for the other offices being elected by majorities of from four hundred to five hundred votes. Mr. Linx- weiler resigned the office of water works trus- tee at the request of many citizens, who de- sired that his superior executive ability, strength of will and sound judgment should be utilized in the discharge of the more important duties of the mayoralty. In that responsible office he has already given evidence of peculiar qualities of fitness for the exercise of the ap- pointive power which the existing form of city government vests in the mayor, and has gained friends among all classes and in all parties by his faithful and conscientious administration of an honorable and responsible civic trust. X-^EORGE GOODHUE, M. D., one of ■ (j\ the leading physicians and surgeons \^^J of Dayton, Ohio, was born in West Westminster, Vt., May 24, 1853. Reared upon the farm he attended the district school until he was sixteen years old, when he OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 265 entered the preparatory department of Carle- ton college, at Northfield, Minn., and there took a three-years' course, with the view of entering Dartmouth college, in which he took a four-years' course, graduating in the class of 1876. After this he taught school for two years as professor of Greek and physics in Miami college, Oxford, Ohio. Having deter- mined to follow the profession of medicine he entered the office of Dr. John Davis, of Day- ton, now deceased. His first course of lectures was taken at the college of Physicians and Surgeons of New York city, and his second at the medical department of Dartmouth college, graduating from the latter institution in 1879. He then entered the university of New York, from which institution he graduated in March, 1880. Having previously secured a position in the Brooklyn city hospital, he held this posi- tion for one year, and thereafter spent three months in the Manhattan Eye and Ear hospi- tal. Being thus thoroughly equipped for suc- cessful work in medicine and surgery, he re- turned to Dayton and entered into partnership with his former preceptor, Dr. John Davis, with whom he was associated until the death of Dr. Davis, which occurred June 10, 1883. Since that time he has carried on his practice alone, with the exception of some two and a half years, when he was associated with a nephew of Dr. Davis. While his practice is general, yet Dr. Goodhue gives considerable attention to diseases of the eye and ear, and also to surgery, the latter being his preference. Dr. Goodhue is a member of the Montgom- ery county Medical society, and also of the Ohio state Medical association. He is ac- knowledged as one of the progressive physicians ■of the city, ranking among the foremost in both skill and success, and his practice is, as a consequence, unusually extensive. Dr. Goodhue has, however, in the past, given some attention to the business interests of Dayton, has aided many enterprises, and is a stockholder in several of the prosperous con- cerns of the city. He is a member of Dayton lodge No. 147, F. & A. M., a thirty-second de- gree Mason, and a member of the Mystic Shrine. He was married at Terre Haute, Ind. , to Miss Rose E. Kendall, and both he and his wife attend the Protestant Episcopal church. Dr. Goodhue is of English ancestry, being the seventh in direct descent from William Goodhue. He is a son of Horace and Clarissa (Braley) Goodhue, both of whom died in Ver- mont. They were the parents of nine chil- dren, the doctor being the youngest of the family, and the only one living in Ohio. He has two brothers and one sister living, viz: Horace, professor of Greek in Carleton college, Minn. ; Harlan, a farmer of Vermont, and Electa, also living in Vermont. Dr. Goodhue is, at the present time, sur- geon of the Panhandle railroad company at Dayton, and at different times has held the same position with all the railroads entering Dayton. He has also been surgeon of the Deaconess hospital ever since its foundation, and in 1890 was president of the Montgomery county Medical society. ^yy»ILLIAM WEBSTER, M. D., de- M M ceased, who for many years was one III ofthi leading citi ens and physicians of Dayton, was born in Butler coun- ty, Ohio, January 12, 1827, and was of Welsh descent. He was reared to agricultural pur- suits in Butler county, in the rich Miami val- ley. In his fourteenth year he entered the Monroe academy for the purpose of preparing for admission to the Ohio Wesleyan university at Delaware, Ohio, where he studied during the years 1845 and 1846. He then entered Farmers college, near Cincinnati, graduat- ing in 1848 with honor. Inheriting from his 260 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD father a taste for medical studies, he devoted his senior year's leisure moments to reading medical works, with a view to entering a med- ical college, and did enter the Eclectic Medical institute at Cincinnati, from which institution he was graduated in 185 1. Prior to his graduation, on account of the spread of cholera in this country, he opened an office in Middletown, Ohio, and at once entered upon a busy practice, but upon the dis- appearance of the epidemic he closed his office, returned to college and graduated as above narrated. At first he practiced according to the principles of the regular school of medicine, or what is generally called allopathic treat- ment; but during his last term of attendance at the Eclectic college the faculty employed Dr. Storm Ross, of Painesville, Ohio, to deliver a course of lectures on homeopathy, a new the- ory of medicine at that time in Ohio, the re- sult being the conversion of nearly all the fac- ulty and class to the new system. Dr. Web- ster made a trial of this new system of medi- cine, and after a year or two of practice of allopathy, and of investigation and experiment- ing with homeopathy, he finally dropped the former system and from that time on followed the principles of homeopathy during his entire professional life. After seven years of practice in Middletown, he removed with his family to Dayton, Ohio, and remained a citizen of Day- ton until his death, which event occurred May 19, 1894. Immediately after locating in Dayton he male himself felt in the medical world, being one of the organizers of the Miami valley Homeopathic society, and was officially con- nected therewith for many years. He served as secretary and president of the Ohio state Homeopathic Medical society for many years, and was also connected with the American In- stitute of Homeopathy, beside being well known as a contributor to the leading homeo- pathic journals. He carefully avoided all of- ficial positions, excepting such as mentioned above, devoting himself closely to his profes- sional labors and studies, with the result that he attained a position of prominence in the medical world which he could not otherwise have reached. For fifty-five years he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and for many years was a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity. Dr. Webster was married three times; first to Mrs. Catherine Martin, who was born in Warren county, Ohio, July 1, 1827, and died July 29, 185 1, after about one year of married life. His second wife, whom he married May 28, 1853, was Miss Sarah Harkrader, who bore him one son, Frank, and was soon after- ward taken from him by death. She died August 9, 1854, at the age of nineteen, of cholera. She was the daughter of David and Nancy (Gallagher) Harkrader, who were among the early pioneers of Warren county, Ohio, and whose families were of great longevity, some of the Gallaghers living to be upward of ninety years of age. Dr. Webster was married, the third time, to Miss Rosalinda Brashear, who still survives. She bore him two sons, Edward and William H. Edward is a traveling salesman from Day- ton, Ohio, representing the Pittsburg Consoli- dated Wire & Nail company in the state of Ohio. He married Miss Mollie Miller, of Grand Forks, N. Dak. The second son, William Herr Webster, was educated in the public schools of Dayton, and attended the Ohio Wesleyan university, at Delaware, for four years, reading medicine while there with Dr. M. P. Hunt, and subsequently with his father, and in 1891 entering Pulte Medical college at Cincinnati, Ohio. From this insti- tution he graduated in 1894, subsequently lo- cating in Dayton, and forming a medical part- nership with his half-brother, Dr. Frank Web- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 267 ster, whose biography will appear below in connection with this sketch. William H. Webster also took a post-graduate course at the Chicago Homeopathic college. While he is giving special attention to surgery, he is also engaged in general practice. He is a member of the medical staff of the Deaconess hospital, of Dayton, and is also a member of the Ohio state Homeopathic Medical society, of the Miami valley Homeopathic Medical so- ciety, and is highly regarded as a citizen and as a physician. He was married January 12, 1895, to Miss Mary Isabel Ferneau, a native of Ross county, Ohio, who was born near Chillicothe. Both he and his wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. Having recited the family history of Dr. William Webster, deceased, it is now proper to present some of his personal characteristics, and to deal briefly with the ancestry of the family. The deceased practitioner was a phy- sician always welcome in the sick room, be- cause of his known professional skill and of his genial disposition and cheerful, hopeful pres- ence. He made a large circle of warm friends, was affable and courteous, and his personality was almost as valuable as any medical treat- ment, especially to those who were susceptible to such personal influences. In his practice he amassed a handsome fortune, which he used in great part for the benefit of humanity. He was devoted to the success of the Young Men's Christian association, acting as an official of the association and contributing of his means to its prosperity. He was a liberal supporter of all worthy public enterprises, and to his friends was liberal to a fault, but more espe- cially to the poor. The ancestry of Dr. William Webster is said to be of Welsh origin. John Webster, of whom the doctor was a direct descendant, emigrated to New Jersey in 1691. The grand- father of Dr. Webster was also named William Webster. He was a native of Essex county, N. J., born in 1771, removed to Pennsylvania about 1803, became a pioneer in the Miami valley in 1806, settling in Butler county, Ohio, and died in 1844. His son, Dr. Elias Webster, the father of Dr. William Webster, was one of a family of nine children. He was born Oc- tober 31, 1805, and became a physician of the allopathic school when quite young, but after about fifteen years' practice embraced the doctrines and principles of homeopathy, a sys- tem then comparatively new, especially in this country, as it was established and announced by the celebrated Hahnemann during the clos- ing years of the eighteenth century. In 1866 he removed to Connersville, Ind. , where he re- mained in practice until he retired, dying there in 1 89 1, when he was eighty-six years old. He married Mary Kain, of Lebanon, Ohio, who died in 1867. By her he had nine chil- dren : William, the subject of this sketch ; Samuel, Hugh, James K. , M. D., deceased; Joseph R. , a farmer, of Connersville, Ind.; Taylor, Daniel, Sarah Ann, wife of Rev. Mr. Tevis, of Kansas, and Mary J., all but two of whom are now dead. Dr. Elias Webster took a deep interest in religious matters. In politics he was a pro- nounced democrat. He was a man of great force of character and much esteemed for his honesty and integrity. A wide reader and a deep thinker, he was also a close and diligent student of the bible, and was always welcome among the young, who revered him for his many excellent traits of character, all of which he strove, with much success, to impart to his children. His brother, Hon. Taylor Webster, was, for nearly half a century, identified with the democratic press of Butler county, Ohio; served in 1829 as clerk of the general assembly of Ohio, and in 1830 was a representative from Butler county in the lower house of the gen- 26S CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD eral assembly and was chosen its speaker. From 1832 to 1838 he was a representative from the counties of Butler, Preble and Darke in the congress of the United States and was subsequently clerk of the court of common pleas of Butler county, and afterward of the supreme court of Ohio. His services in Ohio politics were exceedingly efficient during the administrations of Presidents Jackson and Van Buren. He was modest in manner and indus- trious by habit. He died, generally lamented, in New Orleans, La., April 27, 1876, at the age of seventy-one years. Frank Webster, M. D., was, as will have been noted, the eldest son of Dr. William Webster, and the son of his second wife. He was born in Middletown, Ohio, April 6, 1854, and was educated in the public schools of Day- ton, Ohio, graduating from the high school in 1874. Afterward he graduated from the Miami Commercial college in Dayton, and was for some three years engaged in the music business in that city. He then engaged in the study of medicine with his father, and graduated with the class of 1882 from Pulte Medical college. Becoming associated with his father in the practice of medicine, he so remained until his father's death, and has since formed a partner- ship with his younger half-brother, William H., referred to above. He has confined his at- tention to the general practice of medicine and has made himself prominent in his profession and school, standing to-day as one of the lead- ing and best informed physicians of Dayton. He served as secretary of the Miami valley Homeopathic Medical association for thirteen years, and is now its president, and has been president of the Dayton city Homeopathic Medical society. He has also been a mem- ber of the board of censors of Pulte Med- ical college. Dr. Webster is a member of Dayton lodge No. 147, F. & A. M. He was married January 30, 1879, to Miss Anna A. Turner, a daughter of Hamilton M. Turner, of Montgomery county, Ohio, Mrs. Webster be- ing a native of that county. Dr. and Mrs. Webster have three children, Howard H., Rome M., and Margaret K. Both parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. BIELDING LOURY, deceased, was born in the city of Dayton, Ohio, Oc- tober 9, 1824, and became one of the most prominent business men as well as one of its most representative citizens. His genealogy will be fully traced throughout the details of this memoir, as opportunity suitably presents itself. For the present it may be said simply, that he was the only son of Gen. Fielding Loury, who was a native of Spottsyl- vania county, Ya., and a civil engineer and surveyor, the mother of our subject being the second wife of the general, and, at the time of her marriage with him, the widow of Daniel C. Cooper. She died in Dayton, in 1826. The first wife of Gen. Loury was a daughter of John Smith, the first United States senator from Ohio. Fielding Loury was educated in Woodward high school, Cincinnati, and Kenyon college, Gambier, Ohio, and, having inherited a for- tune from his mother, his earlier manhood was spent in comparative leisure. He wedded in Dayton, in 1847, Miss Elizabeth Richards Mor- rison, a native of Dayton and a daughter of Joseph and Harriet (Backus) Morrison, who were born in Kaskaskia, 111., and there mar- ried. Col. William Morrison, grandfather of Mrs. Loury, was a soldier of the old French-Indian wars, and was extensively connected with the North American Fur company, so famous in its day, was very prominent as a pioneer, and died at the old French military post, known as Kaskaskia. JH (^UtAA^es OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 271 Joseph Morrison, the father of Mrs. Loury, was a graduate of an eastern university and of the Philadelphia law school, and was a mem- ber of the state senate of Illinois; but his brill- iant career was brought to an untimely end, as he died when Mrs. Loury was still a child. Harriet Backus, his wife, also a native of Kaskaskia, died at the home of Mrs. Loury, in 'Dayton, in June, 1890. Mrs. Loury is the only survivor of a family of three daughters — her sisters having been Mrs. Lucretia DuBois (who died in early life, leaving one son, now deceased), and Mrs. Eloise Bowen, who died in middle age. leaving a son and daughter, who are still living. The result of the marriage of Mr. Loury with Miss Morrison, which was sol- emnized by Rev. Mr. Arnott of Christ's Epis- copal church, was three daughters and one son, viz: Harriet Sophia; Eloise Peirce; Anne Howard, wife of Edward Dana, who resides in Cincinnati and is extensively interested in coal mining in Virginia; and Charles Greene, em- ployed in the office of the National Cash Reg- ister company, in Dayton. Fielding Loury entered the army in 1861, as an aid on the staff of Gen. Schenck, with the rank of captain, and took part in the first battle of Bull Run. He served, also, on the staffs of Gens. Hooker, Milroy and Rosecrans, and was wounded at the battle of Chancellors- ville. After his recovery he was sent to Pitts- burg, Pa. , where he was at the head of the bureau for the purchase of cavalry supplies — receiving and disbursing an average of $1,- 000,000 monthly. After a service of about five years and a half in the army, he resigned his commission, having reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and returned to Dayton. Here he was commissioned postmaster, and served eight years. His many years of ardu- ous labor, civil and military, at last made deep inroads on his health, and death came to him, as a welcome relief, November 13, 1882. No more fitting words can be used, as to his demise, than those of his pastor: " A brave soldier, a public-spirited citizen, a loving hus- band, a devoted father — early consecrated to the Lord in holy baptism — we leave him in the hands of that God, who will find in his life all that was virtuous, and will mete out the tenderest judgment." Mrs. Loury has been a member from early life of Christ Episcopal church, in which faith her husband died, and her grandchildren are of the fourth generation reared in that church. Both the Loury and Morrison families trace their genealogy to Scotch-Irish origin. Both have long been established in America, and many have attained positions of great prominence, one being remembered as chief- justice of California. The present inter-state commerce commissioner, Hon. William Mor- rison, of Illinois, is a second cousin of Mrs. Loury; a sister of Joseph Morrison married Chief-Justice Breese, of Illinois, who was also United States senator from that state; Mrs. Loury's mother was a daughter of a Revo- lutionary officer, and her only sister wedded Judge Nathaniel Pope, a United States senator and father of Maj.-Gen. John Pope, of Civil war fame. Gen. Fielding Loury came to Cincinnati in 1803, and reached Dayton in 1806, where he found a solitary log cabin at the intersection of what are now known as Fifth and Main streets, and inquired of the occupant the dis- tance to Dayton. He continued his duties as a surveyor, in the discharge of which he en- countered all the dangers of existence on the frontier of the entire northwest country, but, possessed to a distinguished degree of all the manly qualities which marked the typical pio- neer of the west, he surmounted every obstacle in his way. In his intercourse with the In- dians, thousands of whom still remained in the country and viewed with jealous alarm the en- 27 '2 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD croachments of the whites, he manifested a character for firmness, tempered with sym- pathy, which he maintained to the closing hour of his life. About 1808 he occupied a seat in the Ohio legislature; in 1S11 he married Mrs. Cooper, as previously recorded; in 18 12 he was actively employed in various duties con- nected with the army; in 1816, he was again elected to the state legislature, and in 1835 was elected for the third time. To a personal character of unblemished in- tegrity, Gen. Loury united, in an eminent de- gree, the dignity and refined manners of a gentleman of the old school, and possessed that nice sense of honor and generous hospi- tality for which the natives of the state of his birth are so distinguished. A more affection- ate and indulgent husband and father never blessed a home circle. In his politics he was a pronounced democrat, and was an able and fearless exponent of the principles of his party. His death occurred in Dayton, October 7, 1848, and his remains lie interred in beautiful Woodland cemetery, the burial spot having been selected by himself. eMERSON L. HORNER, member of the Dayton board of education, and principal of the Eighth district school in Harrison township, Montgomery county, was born at West Baltimore, March 29, 1 86 1. His parents were James and Re- becca (Harp) Horner, the former of whom was of English descent and was born at Thorntown, Boone county, Ind., while the latter was born in Germantown, Montgomery county, Ohio. They were married in Indiana, and came to Ohio in i860, locating on a farm near West Baltimore, Montgomery county, where they continued to reside until the death of Mr. Horner, which occurred in 1882. They were the parents of four children, all of whom are living, viz: Mrs. Mary Gaskell, of West Bal- timore ; Mrs. Emma Ewing, of Farmersville ; Edward and Emerson L., of Dayton. Emerson L. Horner was reared on the farm and received his education in the public schools. When twenty years of age he re- ceived a certificate to teach school, and taught for one year. For six years following he at- tended the Northwestern Ohio normal school at Ada, Ohio ; the National normal university at Lebanon, Ohio, and at Ann Arbor, Mich., in the summer season and taught school in the winter season. He became principal of the Eighth district school of Harrison township in 1886, and has ever since retained that position, enjoying a record for faithful, efficient and continuous service unexcelled by that of any teacher in the county. Mr. Horner has had unusual success as a teacher, being a thoroughly progressive educa- tor, and standing among the leaders of his profession in this county. He has been pres- ident and vice-president of the Montgomery county teachers' association, and is at present a member of its executive committee. In April, 1896, he was elected by the people of the Fifth ward to the board of education of Dayton. In this body he soon took rank among its most active and efficient members, and has rendered valuable and intelligent serv- ice to the cause of education. He is a republican in politics, but his per- formance of the duties of public trust has been so free from mere partisan bias as to win for him the esteem and confidence of his constitu- ents of all parties. Mr. Horner is prominent in Odd Fellow circles, being a past grand of Fraternal lodge ; a past chief patriarch of Fraternal encamp- ment, and a member of Galilee Rebekah lodge. He is a member of Summit street U. B. church, which, since its organization in 1871, has been a great power for good. In all of the relations OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 273 of life Mr. Horner has been prompt and faith- ful in the discharge of his duties, individual, social and professional, and has earned an as- sured place in the regard of the entire com- munity in which he resides. ST ILLIAM CRAIGHEAD, one of the prominent attorneys of Dayton, Ohio, was born in that city on Sep- tember i, 1835. His fatherwas the late Dr. John B. Craighead, who for many years was a leading physician of Dayton. Dr. Craighead was.born near Carlisle, Cum- berland county, Pa., on April 22, 1800, and was the second son of Thomas and Rebecca (Weakley) Craighead. He received a thorough classical education at Dickinson college, and, choosing medicine as his profession, he became a student at the university of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, from which institution he gradu- ated in 1826. In the winter of 1827 he made a visit to the west for the purpose of selecting a place for the practice of his profession, and located at Mansfield, Ohio. He returned to Philadelphia and spent the winters of 1827-8 in attending medical lectures in that city. Hav- ing returned to Mansfield he married Mary Wallace Purdy, of that place, and in 1830 re- moved from Mansfield to Dayton, where he soon took a prominent position in the medical profession. He was one of the original mem- bers of the Montgomery county Medical society. He was twice married. His first wife died on December 29, 1839, leaving two young sons — John P. Craighead, now a resi- dent of New York city, and William. His second wife was Rebecca Dodds, whom he married in May, 1841. Joseph B. Craighead, of Richmond, Ind., and Mary E. Soper, of Chicago, 111., are the surviving children of the second marriage. Dr. Craighead was a fine classical scholar, and the preparation of his sons for college, which was accomplished prin- cipally under his supervision, afforded him an excellent opportunity to review his favorite authors. He was a devoted member of the First Presbyterian church. His death occurred on September 8, 1868. William Craighead attended the public school on Perry street in this city until he be- gan his preparation for college, when he en- tered the Dayton Literary institute, which was under the management of W. N. Edwards and Robert Stevenson. In September, 1852, he matriculated at Miami university, where he en- tered the sophomore class and graduated June 30, 1855. In the following fall, in connection with Robert Stevenson, his former teacher, he opened a private school in Miami City, where he taught for two years. While teach- ing, his leisure reading was in the direction of law, and after giving up teaching he entered the law office of Conover & Craighead as a student. He was admitted to the bar in 1859, and opened an office with Luther Bruen. After several years he formed a partnership with Warren Munger, thus organizing the firm of Craighead & Munger. At about this time Mr. Craighead was elected city solicitor of Dayton, and served the city in that capacity for four years. It was during his administration of that office that the riots of the Civil war occurred in the city, during which much' valuable property on the west side of Main street was burned, and a number of suits for heavy damages were brought by the sufferers against the city. Mr. Craighead represented the city in this litigation, and was successful in preventing recovery by the complainants. Mr. Craighead continued practicing law in the firm of Craighead & Munger until 1876, when that firm was dissolved, and the firm of Conover & Craighead being dissolved at about the same time by the retirement of Mr. Cono- ver on account of- failing health, Samuel Craig- 274 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD head and William Craighead became partners in the practice of law, and so continued until the death of Samuel Craighead. In 1891 Mr. Craighead was chosen, by the board of •city affairs, city solicitor, which position he filled with marked ability until the spring of 1894. Since the death of Samuel Craighead, William and Charles A. Craighead, sons of Samuel, have constituted the law firm of Craig- head & Craighead. On December 27, 1865, Mr. Craighead was married to Margaret S. Wright, daughter t>f Francis M. and Sophia Corwin Wright, of Urbana, Ohio. They have but one child, a daughter, Sophia. Mr. Craighead is one of the most success- ful practitioners at the Dayton bar. He is essentially and by personal preference an office lawyer, although he is also an able and ag- gressive trial advocate. Thorough and ex- haustive research and examination regarding legal principles and judicial decisions charac- terize his treatment of every important ques- tion arising in his practice. The habit of painstaking investigation, aided by a tenacious memory, has made Mr. Craighead one of the best "case lawyers" ever at the local bar. His knowledge of the law of pleading is exact, his patience and persistence are a byword in the profession, and his opinions as a lawyer have the weight and respect to which these qualities justly entitle them. HBRAM DARST WILT, one of the prominent and representative citizens of Dayton, Ohio, and principal and proprietor of the Miami Commercial college, the leading college of the kind in the city, was born in Dayton, on September 21, 1842. His parents were Jacob and Mary (Darsti Wilt, early citizens of Dayton. The father was a native of Chambersburg, Pa., and was a son of Jeremiah Wilt. The mother was born in Dayton, and was the daughter of Abram Darst, a pioneer citizen of Dayton. Jacob Wilt came to Dayton in 1832, and for many years was engaged in the manufacture of rifle barrels. He died in 1882, his wife's death having occurred in 1875. Abram Wilt was educated in Dayton, and taught school for a time. Following this he engaged in merchandizing for several years. In 1 86 1 he took charge of the Miami Commer- cial college, just established, of which he be- came the principal and proprietor in the follow- ing year. In 1863 he was connected with E. D. Babbitt, of Dayton, in the publication of the "Babbittonian System of Penmanship," and so continued for several years, during which time that system was introduced both in this country and in England. In 1882 Mr. Wilt was appointed postmaster at Dayton, which position he held from February 2 1 of that year until September 1, 1886. For five years he served as a member of the Dayton board of education, during which time he aided in the establishment of night drawing schools, and was also an active member of the library com- mittee. He served as a member of the city board of school examiners for five years, at a time when Robert Steele and John Hancock were also members of that body. In 1883 he was president of the National Business Edu- cators' association, which met that year in Washington city, and for several years was a member of the executive committee of that association. He has also served as a member of the city republican committee. On March 19, 1872, Mr. Wilt was married to Miss Ella, daughter of William and Eliza Bickham, of Riverside, Cincinnati, and sister to the late Maj. William D. Bickham, propri- etor of the Dayton Daily Journal. To Mr. and Mrs. Wilt the following children have been born: Mary Dennison, now the wife of Dr. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 27T Jerome B. Thomas, Jr.,' a prominent young physician of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Emily B. and Abram D., Jr. Mr. Wilt's name is prominently associated with the educational and moral interests of the city. He has been active in every movement aiming at the enlargement of the intellectual life of Dayton. A ready and versatile writer, his pen has contributed many articles, both through the press and otherwise, to the store of public knowledge. SOBEST CUMMING SCHENCK is president of the Dayton Malleable Iron company and one of the leading citizens of Dayton. He was born at Franklin, Warren county, Ohio, October 2, 1845, received his early education in the public schools of Franklin, and was graduated from Miami university in 1864. He served on a gunboat during the Kirby Smith raid and in the militia during the John Morgan raid, and in May, 1864, enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-sixth regiment, O. N. G., and served with that regiment through the cam- paign in the mountains of West Virginia. In 1S66-67, Mr. Schenck read law in the office of Davies & Lowe, Dayton, Ohio. In 1868 he formed a partnership with S. W. Davies in the lumber business, from which he retired in 1870. After spending a considerable time in Europe, Mr. Schenck, with a number of other gentlemen, established the American District Telegraph company, which company also put up the first telephones in Dayton. From 1880 until 1882, Mr. Schenck was in the U. S. government service, being chief dep- uty and cashier of the third internal revenue district of Ohio. In 1880, he formed a part- nership with Charles Wuichet in the National Cornice-works, of which firm he is still a mem- ber. In August, 1882, he became, and has ever since been, the president of the Dayton Malle- able Iron company, one of Dayton's largest and most important manufacturing concerns. He is also a director in the Dayton National bank, the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway company, the Columbia Insurance company, the Dayton Asphalt Paving and Roofing company, a trustee of the Woodland Cemetery association, and is identified with a number of other important enterprises in Day- ton and elsewhere. In 1868 Mr. Schenck. was married to Julia Crane Davies, second daughter of Edward W. Davies, of Dayton. To this marriage four children have been born, as follows: Mary D. , who married J. Sprigg McMahon, of the legal firm of McMahon & McMahon; Graham C, who died in 1874; Pierce D. and Ren- nelche W., all of Dayton. Mr. Schenck is recognized as one of Day- ton's most successful and representative citi- zens. His enterprise and progressive spirit are well known and fully appreciated by the public, while his many fine traits of character and social nature have won him a large circle of warm friends. HRTHUR MELVILLE KITTREDGE, general superintendent of the Barney & Smith Car company and one of the representative citizens of Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city January 9, 1854. He is a son of Oliver and Julia (Estabrook) Kittredge, who came to Dayton from Massa- chusetts in 1838, and both of whom are still living, the father being in his eighty-first year and the mother in her seventy-sixth year. Oli- ver Kittredge was the first agent of the first express company in Dayton. He was also a clerk in the post-office at a very early date. In politics he was a whig. Arthur M. Kittredge received his education 278 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD in the Dayton city schools, leaving them at the age of sixteen years, after having passed successfully the high school entrance examina- tion. He began life for himself by serving an apprenticeship at the galvanized iron and cor- nice-working trade, which trade he followed, having in time been made by promotion fore- man of the shop, then superintendent, until 1877, and being out of the city from 1 87 1 to 1877. Following this he was bookkeeper for a wholesale house, and subsequently was trav- eling salesman for four years for the H. W. Merriam Shoe company, of New Jersey. In January, 1884, he became connected with the Barney & Smith Car company, and was soon made general superintendent of the entire plant, which is the largest car- works in the west, and one of the largest manufacturing plants in the state of Ohio. Mr. Kittredge is a director in the Miami Building association of the East End, and is also director in the Y. M. C. A. and an act- ive member of Memorial Presbyterian church. He was married in this city in 1875 to Mary J. Broadwell, of the old and well-known family of that name in Dayton. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kittredge, as fol- lows: Harry C, Arthur L., Mary J. and Helen L. Mr. Kittredge, while closely devoted to the duties entailed upon him by a responsible posi- tion, is interested in public questions and movements, and especially in the educational and religious fields. /'"^V* H. CARR, a prominent citizen and *\^^T attorney of Dayton, Ohio, was born Av_# in central Ohio. He traces his pa- ternal ancestry back to Welsh and Scotch-Irish descent, and his maternal ances- try back to the old families of Virginia. Mr. Carr was educated in the public schools of Ohio and Michigan, and graduated in the scientific course in the National university in 1874. He was for two years principal of the German- town, Ohio, high school, and in 1876 came to Dayton and entered the law office of Boltin & Shauck as a student. He was admitted to the bar in 1878. While reading law Mr. Carr was for one year principal of the Vandalia, Ohio, schools, teaching as a means of livelihood. He began practicing soon after his admission to the bar, and soon took rank with the leading and successful attorneys of Dayton. In his practice he has aimed at that character of busi- ness which is most remunerative, paying little or no attention to criminal cases. He is now the senior member of the legal firm of Carr, Allaman & Kennedy, one of the strongest in the city. Mr. Carr is also identified with sev- eral industrial and other enterprises in the city, being a director in the Third National bank, the Davis Sewing Machine company, the Still- well-Bierce & Smith-Vaile company, the Na- tional Improvement company, the Cast Steel Plow company, Dayton Church & Opera Chair company, the National Plant company, and the Boda House company. EARRY E. FEICHT, manager of the Grand opera house and Park theater, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city during the late war, and is the son of J. Fred and Eliza (Thomas) Feicht. The father is one of Dayton's oldest citizens, having resided here for over sixty-five years. He is a native of Germany, was a contractor and builder by vocation, and now lives a re- tired life in the city. His wife was born in this country, and is still living. Harry E. Feicht was reared in Dayton and was educated in the public high school and the Miami Commercial college, graduating from the latter. His first business position was that of secretary of the Dayton Transportation com- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 279 pany, which he held for about two years. He next took a position with the Cincinnati, Ham- ilton & Dayton Railroad company, he having charge of the through business. Later he was promoted to be agent of the Dayton, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad, and next was made contracting agent of the O, H. -V OHN S. BECK, M. D. , one of the promi- fl nent physicians of Dayton, was born /• 1 May 19, 1842, on a farm three miles west of Lancaster, Ohio, of German, parentage. His father, Jacob Beck, was but eighteen months old when he was brought to this country by his parents. He was born in 1804, and is still living, at the great age of ninety-three. In his early life he was a black- smith, and served two terms as treasurer of Fairfield county, Ohio. After retiring from this position he engaged in farming three miles west of Lancaster, where he has spent the rest of his life, and where he has become the owner of 700 acres of land in one body. He has al- ways been regarded as one of the most honest and capable men of his county, and has been called on to act as administrator in the settle- ment of many estates. Jacob Beck married Miss Susan Kerns, a daughter of Jacob Kerns, an old settler of the 286 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD county, and to this marriage there were born seven children, as follows: Mary A., wife of Zebulon Peters, who lives two miles west of Lancaster; George W. , farmer, living three miles west of Lancaster; Jacob K., a farmer, living three miles west of Lancaster; Henry S., president of Pierce National bank, of Pierce, Neb. ; Joseph, a Lutheran minister of Rich- mond, Ind. ; John S. ; and Clara, deceased wife of William Huges, who lives three miles west of Lancaster, Ohio. John S. Beck, M. D., worked on his fa- ther's farm in the summer time until he was sixteen years of age, and parts of the fall and spring seasons, attending school in the winter months. When sixteen years of age his father sent him, with his brother, Joseph, now Rev. Joseph Beck, of Richmond, Ind., to the Cap- ital university at Columbus, Ohio, where he became a member of the freshman class. Re- maining in the university in regular attendance in his classes, he was in the senior class in 1862, when the war fever so took possession of him that he left school, returned to his fa- ther's home at Lancaster, and there, on the 20th of August, enlisted in company D, Nine- tieth Ohio volunteer infantry, then being or- ganized at Circleville, Ohio. This regiment was assigned to the army of the Cumberland, and in this department of the service it re- mained throughout the war, participating in all the battles that were fought by that organiza- tion from August, 1862, to June, 1S65, from Louisville, Ky. , to Atlanta, Ga. He was mus- tered out at Nashville, Tenn., June 13, 1S65, having in the meantime been promoted to the position of first lieutenant. Returning to peaceful pursuits, he studied medicine, beginning in August, 1S65, and graduating from the medical department of the university of Pennsylvania in the spring of 1868, and locating in Miamisburg, Montgom- ery county, in the spring of 1869. Not being satisfied with his location in Miamisburg, he removed to Dayton in December, 1870, and has now practiced his profession there for more than a quarter of a century, his office during all that period being on Fifth street, somewhere between Jefferson and Ludlow streets. For fourteen years he was a member of the board of United States pension sur- geons, serving through President Cleveland's first term by the endorsement and courtesy of the influential democrats of the county. He has served a term as a member of the board of health, has twice been chosen physician to the county jail, is a member of the county Medi- cal society, and has been twice elected to the presidency of that body. He is a member of the Ohio state Medical association, of the Mississippi valley Medical society, and was a delegate from Montgomery county to the ninth international medical convention, which met in Washington, D. C, in 1887. For five years he served as visiting physician to Saint Eliza- beth hospital, but resigned this position on ac- count of his own very large private practice. After this he was given a position on the consult- ing staff. Dr. Beck was one of the building com- mittee in the erection of the Deaconess hos- pital of Dayton, and has put forth every energy in forwarding the success of the institution, which is one of the great benevolences of the city in which the entire community takes pride. To Dr. Beck much credit is due for its being now in existence. He is at present the chief of staff of this hospital, and is also supreme medical director of the supreme council of the Fraternal Censer of Dayton. Dr. Beck was married to Miss Sarah A. Work, daughter of John and Mary (Webb) Work, of Lancaster, Ohio, she being of Eng- lish and Irish descent. Dr. Beck and his wife are the parents of two daughters, Clara Lusetta and Mary. His family is one among the best in Dayton, its members moving in the refined OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 287 and cultivated circles of society. They are highly esteemed and respected for their per- sonal and social qualities, and have many warm friends among all classes of people. at TLLARD D. CHAMBERLIN, vice- president of the Beaver Soap com- pany, of Dayton, Ohio, was born at Ketchumville, Tioga county, N. Y., August 13, 1S5S. He is a son of Samuel and Car- oline (Swan) Chamberlin, the former of whom was born in 1827, and lived at Vestal Center, Broome county, N. Y. , for some thirty years. He was an academic scholar, and taught school for twenty-one terms, two or three years of which time was in the Titus district at Middle- town, Ohio, after which he returned to the east. He was otherwise a farmer by occupa- tion, and in politics a prominent republican, especially in local affairs. He was asked to become a candidate for the general assembly of the state, but declined. For some thirty years he was a deacon in the Baptist church, and died in 1892. The family, as the name may indicate, is of English origin, and is, beside, one of the oldest in this country, the great-great-grandfather, William Chamberlin, coming from England previous to and being a soldier in the Revolu- tionary war. The mother of Willard D. is now living in Waverly, Iowa, with a daughter. She and her husband were the parents of four children, as follows: YVillard D. , AlmaM., wife of Dr. Osment, of Waverly, Iowa; Samuel S., a manufacturer of table slides, of Dayton, Ohio; and Carrie L., the latter dying in early childhood. Willard D. Chamberlin was educated in the district schools of the state of New York, and afterward attended the high schools of Bing- hamton, N. Y. , where he received a liberal education, being also assisted by his father, who was not only well educated himself, but strongly believed in educating the young. After his school days were over he removed west in 1877, and located in Dayton, taking a clerk- ship in the office of the Great Western Dis- patch, where he remained until 1881, when he accepted a position as traveling salesman for Thresher & Co. This position he retained until 1 885, when he became associated with Mr. Beav- er in the manufacture of soap, the name adopted by the company being Beaver & Co. Mr. Chamberlin took charge of the office business and also acted as traveling salesman. In 1893 this firm was incorporated under the name of the Beaver Soap company, and Mr. Chamber- lin became the vice-president of the company, which position he still holds. He has shown himself to be one of the most progressive young business men of Dayton, and in politics is a stanch republican, though never a seeker after office. Mr. Chamberlin was married September 5, 1 888, to Miss Mary Hinkley Sumner, daughter of Dr. E. G. Sumner, of Mansfield Center, Tolland county, Conn., and to this marriage there have been born two children, viz: Mary Louise, born September 14, 1889, and Edwin Sumner, born November 1, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlin are members of the First Baptist church of Dayton, which was organ- ized in 1829, and he is one of its deacons. Mr. Chamberlin's residence is at No. 110 Central avenue, Dayton, where he and his family are surrounded by a great number of friends, all of whom entertain for them the highest regard. H LINCOLN BOWERSOX, art pho- tographer, of Dayton, Ohio, with his studio in the Canby building, was born in Snyder county, Pa., March 28, 1 86 1. He is a son of Isaac and Mary 288 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Anna (Yeisley) Bowersox, both of whom were of German descent. His great-grandfather, George Adam Bowersox, came from Saxony to this country, locating in Snyder county, Pa., where the family has since lived, following ag- riculture in the main, although some of them have adopted the learned professions, as the ministry, school-teaching and the law. Isaac and Mary A. Bowersox were the parents of seven children, as follows : Sabilla, wife of William Knapp, of Centerville, Snyder county, Pa. ; Serenus, a merchant of Centerville ; A. Lincoln, the subject of this sketch ; Jennie, wife of Kiefer Trautman, of Mifflinburg, Union county, Pa. ; Henrietta, wife of James Spang- ler, a teacher, of New Berlin, Pa. ; Emma Charilla, wife of John Bolig, of Shamokin, Pa., and Clara Verdilla, wife of G. Edward Mohn, telegraph operator at Muncy Valley, Pa. A. Lincoln Bowersox was reared to farm life until he was fifteen years of age. In the meantime he had attended the public schools. At fifteen he entered the boarding school at Selin's Grove, Pa., remained there one year, and then attended high school one year at Cen- terville. When seventeen years old he came to Ohio, locating at Fremont, and there learned photography. After thus spending some eight- een months, he visited various cities in Ohio and Pennsylvania, as well as in the eastern states. He then spent some time in Europe, gaining knowledge pertaining to his profession, and in 1884 located in Dayton, Ohio, opening a studio at the corner of Main and Second streets, where he remained until 1S94, when he removed to his present location. His studio occupies the entire sixth floor of the Canby building, and is one of the most complete any- where to be found. Mr. Bowersox was one of the organizers of the Ohio Fruit Land company, located in Ft. Valley, Ga., the farm containing 1,850 acres and being the largest orchard in the country at the time the company was formed. He is also secretary and treasurer of the Dayton Canning and Packing company, having been one of the organizers of this concern. He is a director of the Dayton Building and Loan association. In 1894 Mr. Bowersox served as secretary of the Photographers' association of Ohio, in 1895 was its president, and is at present sec- retary of the Photographers' association of America. He is in possession of medals earned in competing with others in photography, one given in Germany in 1894, also one in 1896, and had medals awarded him at the semi-cen- tennial of photography held in Boston in 1889. He also has a prize medal won at Columbus, Ohio, in 1894, and another awarded at Saint Louis, Mo., by the National association. He is recognized as among the leading artists of America, his work being reproduced in journals and periodicals throughout the United States and Europe, as specimens of master-pieces in the photographic art. Since 1884 Mr. Bowersox has given much attention to music, both vocal and instrumen- tal. He is a member of the Philharmonic society, and as such attended the world's fair at Chicago in 1893. Fraternally he is a past chancellor of Iola lodge No. 83, Knights of Pythias, and also belongs to the Royal Arca- num, of which he has lately been honored with the collectorship. He has served in the Fourth regiment, O. N. G., Hamilton light artillery. He is a Royal Arch Mason, and maintains him- self in good standing in all the societies and organizations to which he belongs. Mr. Bowersox was married April 19, 1893, to Miss Lizzie Gazell Stern, daughter of Sum- ner S. Stern, of Cleveland, Ohio. He and his wife are members of the First Baptist church, of Dayton. For a period of two years he was president of the Berean bible class, and has served as superintendent of the Browntown Sunday-school, and also of a Sunday-school in OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 289 North Dayton. In the Young Men's Christian association he is a most active worker, being on the committee of the junior department. K m * ORACE A. IRVIN, secretary of the |f\ Lowe Bros, company, of Dayton, F Ohio, was born in Morrow, Warren county, February 17, 1855, and is a son ofjames B. and Ellen (Monfort) Irvin. Andrew Irvin, grandfather of Horace A., came from Londonderry, Ireland, and settled in the state of Pennsylvania, where he married a lady of German descent, and to this union were born thirteen children. By calling he was in his early years a farmer, but in later life established an inn, or hotel, in which enterprise he prospered. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, did good and faithful serv- ice, and eventually came to Ohio and settled in Ross county, where he died at the advanced age of eighty-nine years, his wife living to be over ninety years old. James B. Irvin, father of Horace A., was born in Kingston, Ross county, Ohio, in April, 1827, and there grew to manhood; but, as his earlier years were passed in hard toil on the home farm, his education was somewhat neg- lected until after he had reached his majority, when he attended subscription schools and academies, and qualified himself for school- teaching, having earned the requisite means for the payment of his instruction fees through his daily labor. He began to follow this pro- fession at Morrow, Ohio, and taught also at other points in the state until 1856, when he came to Dayton, and for six years was princi- pal of one of the city schools. He then en- tered the employ of Winthrop B. Smith & Co., of Cincinnati, as general agent for the sale of their school books in Ohio, and with this firm he remained, throughout its various changes, until his death, which occurred in February, 1885. Mr. Irvin had filled during his very useful life the office of county school- examiner of applicants for the position of school-teacher, having been appointed, year after year, by both the republican and dem- ocratic county officials. He was a knight templar in the Masonic order, was a member of Saint John's lodge (third degree), and also a member of the I. O. O. F. His wife, Ellen (Monfort) Irvin, died in 1875, at the age of forty-five years, in the faith of the Presbyterian church. To Mr. and Mrs. James B. Irvin were born four children, viz: Julia, wife of William T. Wuichet, of Dayton; Horace A.; Obed W., probate judge of Montgomery, coun- ty, Ohio, and James M., traveling salesman for the Lowe Bros, company. Horace A. Irvin graduated from the Day- ton high school at the age of sixteen years, and entered Miami university, at Oxford, Ohio, with the sophomore class; he then taught school for a short time, and in the fall of 1873 went to Chicago, where he was employed as bookkeeper for Charles A. Gump & Co. ; in the spring of 1874 he returned to Dayton and entered the service of Lowe Bros, as assistant bookkeeper, passed through various stages of employment as general bookkeeper, traveling salesman, special partner, and, December 15, 1887, became a general partner, attending to the correspondence of the firm, its advertising, etc. On the incorporation of the company, in 1893, he was elected and has ever since been its secretary. In 1896 he was appointed by Gov. Bushnell as a trustee of Miami university. In his fraternal relations, Mr. Irvin, in 1878, was made a member of Mystic lodge No. 405, F. & A. M., of Unity chapter No. 16, Reese council No. 9, and in January, 1879, he became a member of Reedcommandery, K. T., No. 6; the same year he took all the Scottish rite degrees at Cincinnati, and is a charter member of all Scottish rite bodies in Dayton. 290 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD He is now thrice potent grand master of Ga- briel lodge of Perfection, and at Buffalo, N. Y. , in September, 1895, was elected inspector- general, thirty-third degree (the highest), by the supreme council of northern jurisdiction. Mr. Irvin has been twice married, his first marriage having taken place, in 1878, to Miss Ella K. Jewell, who died in April, 1880, the mother of one child — Ella Marian. His sec- ond marriage, which occurred in 1883, was with Miss Carrie K. Kneisley, and this union also has been blessed by the birth of one child — Martha Monfort. Mr. and Mrs. Irvin are members of the Third street Presbyterian church, of which he is a trustee, and have their home at No 213 North boulevard. a HARLES EDWARD PEASE, presi- dent of the Buckeye Iron and Brass works, of Dayton, was born at Car- rollton, Montgomery county, Ohio, on August 20, 1836, and is the son of the late Horace and Sarah L. (Belville) Pease. Horace Pease was born in Connecticut in 1 79 1 , and came to Ohio in 1S16, locating first at Cincin- nati. In 1823 he came to Montgomery county, locating on Hole's creek, where he established a fruit distillery, making peach and apple brandy. Subsequently he removed to Carroll- ton, where he carried on the distillery and milling business for a number of years, and in 1838 he came to Dayton. Upon locating in the city he built the Pease mill on the corner of Third and Canal streets, which is now owned by Joseph R. Gebhart, and for about thirty years the firm of H. & P. Pease, of which he was the head, conducted the largest distillery and milling business in Ohio. He was one of the prominent business men of Dayton during his time, and was connected with a number of enterprises, among them being the old State bank, of which he was a director from the time of its organization until it was merged in- to the Dayton National bank, and of the latter he was a director up to the time of his death. Horace Pease took an active interest in public affairs, both of the county and state, and rep- resented Montgomery county in the Ohio legis- lature for a term of years. He also served on the board of county commissioners, and was a member of that board when the old stone court house was erected, the designs for which he made, and in the building of which he took a deep interest. He was a member of the Old School Presbyterian church. He retired from active business in about 1854, and died at his residence in this city in 1875. His wife, who was born at St. George's, Del., in 18 10, was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister. Her death occurred in 1862. Six children were born to the parents as follows: Walter B. Pease, deceased, who served during the Civil war and was a captain in the regular army; Charles Edward; Frank, who died young; Jo- sephine, who married James Stockstill, of Day- ton; Nannie, who married Horace Phillips, of Dayton, and Hattie, deceased, who married Charles B. Clegg, of Dayton. Charles E. Pease grew up in Dayton, his parents having removed here when he was but two years of age. His boyhood days were spent in a manner common to youths of his time and station of life. He attended the private schools of the late E. E. Barney and was also a pupil of the Second district public school, when that school was taught by Thomas Hood, and of the high school when James Campbell was principal and John W. Hall, assistant principal. During the years 1S55 and 1856 he attended the university of Wisconsin at Madison, leaving college, how- ever, in his senior year. During the years 1853-54 and part of 1855, young Pease worked in the machine shops at the trade of a ma- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 293 chinist, leaving the shopsfor college. In 1857 he made his first venture in a business way by engaging in milling at Fulton, on Rock river, Wisconsin, where he continued with varying success for two years, coming thence to Day- ton to pursue a similar business. In 1861 he entered the firm of W. B. Pease & Co. (of which the Buckeye Iron and Brass works are the successors), and took charge of the busi- ness of that firm when his brother, Wal- ter B., reported with his company to Co- lumbus at the beginning of the late Civil war. The following year, however, he him- self entered the service of his country and was assigned to duty in the quartermaster de- partment at Nashville, Tenn., under Capt. Charles T. Wing, with whom he remained un- til the close of the war. In 1865 Mr. Pease located in Memphis, Tenn., where he engaged in the wholesale grocery business, and so con- tinued for three years. In 1868 he was ap- pointed to a position as gauger in the United States revenue department, with headquarters at Cincinnati. He remained in the govern- ment service for about two years, and in 1870, returned to Dayton and purchased the interest of S. D. Graffiin in the firm of Hoglen & Grafflin, the firm becoming Hoglen & Pease, builders of machinery, especially of tobacco ma- chinery. In June, 1876, Mr. Pease purchased the business interests of his partner and organ- ized the Buckeye Iron and Brass works, which company was incorporated with himself as president. The other officers of the company at the present time are Edward G. Pease, vice- president, and William B. Anderson, secre- tary. The business operations of the com- pany are in the line of the manufacture of brass goods for engine builders and steam fit- ters, tobacco cutting machinery and linseed oil and cotton seed oil machinery, all of which are manufactured under patents controlled by the company. The Buckeye Iron and Brass works rank among the largest and most pros- perous industries of Dayton, and of the enter- prise Mr. Pease has become an important com- ponent part. Under his skillful management and guiding hand, the works have grown and expanded from year to year from a small and unpretentious machine shop into one of the lar- gest and most successful manufacturing plants in a city noted for its manufacturing and industrial interests. Mr. Pease is also a di- rector and stockholder in the Dayton Natural Gas company, and has other business interests of importance. Mr. Pease was married in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 3, 1855, to Laura G., daughter of John Erwin, one of the pioneer citizens of the Forest city, and to this union two sons have been born — Calvin E. and Edward G. . In 1882 Mr. Pease was elected to the city council of Dayton, and was again elected to that body in 1896. Mr. Pease is a Mason and is quite prominent in Masonic circles. He is a Master Mason, a Knight Templar, a Scottish Rite and a Mystic Shriner. The life of Mr. Pease has been an active one, and merited success has crowned his efforts. Early in life he manifested those traits of character which have colored his whole career — perseverance, sagacity, foresight and pluck — and he has steadily progressed along those lines of business which have not only brought to him success, but have also aided materially in advancing the interests of the community. His concern in the welfare, growth and prosperity of Dayton, his generous contributions of both time and money in be- half of all movements looking toward the ben- efit of the city, have placed him in the front rank of her representative and progressive cit- izens, while his liberal views, broad minded- ness, genial personality and sterling character- istics have won for him a wide circle of warm and admiring friends. 294 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD SEV. JAMES ROWLAND HUGHES, the venerable pastor of the Memorial Presbyterian church of Dayton, Ohio, is a native of Darlington, Beaver county, Pa., and was born March 17, 18 19. His father, Rev. Thomas Edgar Hughes, was born in Washington county, Pa., April 7, 1769, and on May 2, 1799, married Mary Donahey, also a native of that county, born August 22, 1770, and of Scotch-Irish descent. The Hughes family was probably established in America by William Hughes, who was born in Wales in 1728, was an early settler in Penn- sylvania, and died at the patriarchal age of 100 years. His son, Rowland, grandfather of Rev. James R., was a tanner by occupation, and passed nearly his whole life in York coun- ty, Pa. The children born to Rev. Thomas E. Hughes and wife were ten in number, of whom a brief mention is made as follows: John D. , the eldest, born July 27, 1S00, was a minister of the Presbyterian church of north- ern Ohio, where he passed his life and died March 3, 1870; William, born May 28, 1802, was also a Presbyterian minister, and died July 1, 1880; Watson, born September 7, 1804, was likewise reared to the ministry of the Presbyterian church, and died March 25, 1870; Anne, born October 8, 1806, became the wife of Rev. Samuel A. McLean, a Presby- terian minister, and died near Chillicothe, Ohio, leaving a large family; Eliza was born Septem- ber 16, 1 80S, was married to William McKee, a merchant, and died at mature years in Mount Pleasant, Jefferson county, Ohio; Joseph, born August 16, 1 8 10, was called away at the early age of fifteen years; Mary Barr, born August 13, 1812, became the wife of Samuel Wells, and at her death left several children; Robert Smiley, born December 29, 18 14, was a farm- er of Iowa, in which state he died, after mid- dle life; Thomas, born July 14, 1816, also a farmer, died in Fairfield, Iowa, June 28, 1879; Rev. James R., the youngest, it will be per- ceived, being the only survivor of this large family. The father of these children was called to his final rest May 2, 1838, his widow sur- viving him until February 23, 1852. Rev. James Rowland Hughes received his elementary education in his native town of Darlington, and later became a student in Wash- ington (now Washington and Jefferson) col- lege, at Washington, Pa. , where he attended a full course in the classics. Having in the beginning determined to make the ministry his life work, he immediately after his graduation entered Western Theological seminary, at Al- legheny City, Pa., completing the course in 1848, when he began his career as a minister of the gospel. The first eighteen months of his ministerial life he served as a representative of the Presbyterian board of education, and traveled in central and western Pennsylvania in the interest of the board; in 1850 he was in- stalled pastor of the Rehobeth church near Belle Vernon, Pa. , of which he had charge for fully fifteen years. Toward the end of his pas- torate he became principal, in 1864, of a young ladies' seminary at Blairsville, Pa., where he taught the senior class, in conjunction with his ministerial duties, for nearly three years, when he was reluctantly compelled to sever his rela- tions with the seminary by reason of the pro- tracted illness and death of his wife. In 1869 Mr. Hughes came to Ohio, and was in the same year installed pastor of the East Presby- terian church of Dayton. The name of this church has since been changed to the Me- morial, of which he is still the pastor; and that he has been a vigorous, capable and efficient pastor is evidenced by the fact that during this long period he has not lost more than seven weeks of service, through sickness or any other bodily or mental disability. The marriage of Rev. James Rowland Hughes took place October 16, 1851, to Miss OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 295 Ann Caroline Stewart, a native of Huntingdon county, Pa., born March 8, 1828, and whose death occurred at Blairsville, Pa., May 16, 1869. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hughes are Mary Wilson, who married James Caldwell, and now resides in Urbana, Ohio; Catherine Walker, who died in infancy; Eliza- beth Walker, who is now the companion of her father; Sarah Stewart, who is the wife of Charles J. McKee, of Dayton; Fannie Speer, born April 6, 1S63, and who died July 5, 1866; and James Rowland, who married Miss Eva Ke- naga,of Urbana, where he now resides. These children were all born in the parsonage of the Rehobeth church, near Belle Vernon, Pa. Rev. Thomas E. Hughes, father of James R., was the founder of Greersburg academy, one of the earliest educational institutions of western Pennsylvania. In this academy some afterward very distinguished men received their early training, and among these may be noted the names of Rev. Robert Dilworih, D. D., the eminent minister and reformer; Gen. John W. Geary, ex-governor of Pennsylvania and renowned as a Union soldier; William H. Mc- Guffey, D. D., of school-book fame, and one of Ohio's most successful educators, and also John Brown (Ossawatomie), the anti-slavery agitator, of Harper's Ferry fame, who was a recognized member of the Hughes family for several years. The long residence of Rev. J. R. Hughes in Dayton has made his name a household word, and he is thoroughly identified with the religious and educational interests of the city. In politics he was formerly a whig, as was his father, but since the organization of the repub- lican party he has sustained it with unabated zeal. He is also a strong and earnest advocate of prohibition as the principal auxiliary of tem- perance, and has devoted all his long life to the promotion of morality by every means within his power. <*/^\ ANIEL W. ALLAMAN, practicing I attorney of Dayton, Ohio, was born /^^_J in Butler township, Montgomery county, Ohio, August 5, 1861. Heisa sonof David and Catherine (Zimmerman) Alla- man, who removed from Franklin county, Pa., to Montgomery county, Ohio, in the early 'for- ties. They settled in the vicinity in which Daniel was born, where his mother died in January, 1863, when he was eighteen months old, and the father resided there until Decem- ber, 1889, when he died at the age of seventy- five. David Allaman was a republican in poli- tics, held many of the minor township offices, and was one of the oldest Masons in Mont- gomery county. After his mother's death Daniel W. Alla- man was taken into the home of an uncle who lived on a farm near Brookville, Montgomery county. He received his early education in the common schools and afterward attended the National normal school at Lebanon, Ohio, and still later the college at Oberlin, in the meantime teaching schools a number of terms, and being principal of the schools at Johns- ville, and at Trotwood, Ohio. In 1886 he be- gan reading law in the office of S. H. Carr, and was admitted to the bar in March, 1888, since which time he has practiced law with Mr. Carr, with the exception of one year, dur- ing which he was in partnership with F. M. Compton, under the firm name of Compton & Allaman. In 1892 he formed his present partnership with Mr. Carr and Mr. Kennedy, under the firm name of Carr, Allaman &. Kennedy. Mr. Allaman has always been a republican in politics, and was one of the incorporators of the Garfield club, in which he served as a director for a number of years. In 1891 he was elected as a representative in the legisla- ture X)i Ohio, being the first republican mem- ber of that body from Montgomery county in 296 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD fifteen years, with one exception. In this office he served two years, was secretary of the committee on finance, and also served on the committee on public works. Mr. Allaman is a Mason and still a member of the Garfield club. He was married, in 1885, to Miss Iva Cupp, a daughter of Louis and Kate H. Cupp, the former of whom is now de- ceased. Mr. and Mrs. Allaman have two chil- dren, Mary Katherine, aged eleven years, and Mildred Louise, aged three vears. OSCAR M. GOTTSCHALL is head of the firm of Gottschall, Brown & Craw- ford. He was born at Newark, Ohio, on the 14th day of August, 1843, but was brought up in Dayton, to which city his parents removed when he was but two years old. His parents were John and Abigail Jane (Conklin) Gottschall, the former of German and the latter of Dutch descent. His paternal grandfather was a native of Germany, who came to America in the early part of this cen- tury and settled in Pennsylvania. His father removed in early manhood to Ohio, and has since continued to live in that state. Mr. Gottschall's mother is descended from Dutch stock which settled in New York state in colo- nial times. Her grandfather took an honorable part in the war for independence, fighting in the continental army during that memorable struggle. Oscar M. Gottschall's early education was obtained in the public schools of Dayton, where he graduated from the high school in the class of 1 86 1. He at once commenced the study of law in the office of the late Edmond S. Young, one of the most conspicuous members of the Dayton bar, with whom he continued for about one year. In August, 1862, he laid aside his text-books and his personal aspirations to take up arms in the defense of his country. He enlisted in company K, Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry. Shortly afterward he was promoted to quartermaster-sergeant of his company. In January, 1863, he was made sergeant-major of his regiment, and in 1864 was raised to the position of adjutant, which place he held until his muster-out, June 25, 1865. His regiment was first attached to Gen. Gilbert's brigade in Kentucky, and later to McCook's corps in the army of the Cumber- land. He participated with his regiment in all the hard fighting of that army, from Stone river to Atlanta, and later, under Gen. Thomas, in the final defeat of Hood in Tennessee. He was twice wounded, first at the battle of Chick- amauga, and again at the battle of Mission Ridge. His promotion to the adjutancy of his regiment was the result of the recommen- dation of his superior officer for gallantry and meritorious conduct on the battlefield of Chick- am auga. After the close of the war Mr. Gottschall resumed his studies in the office of Mr. Young at Dayton, and was admitted to the bar on May 12, 1866. He at once entered upon the practice of law in partnership with his pre- ceptor, under the firm name of Young & Gott- schall. In the year 1878 George R. Young was admitted into the firm, which became Young, Gottschall & Young, and continued until 1879, when Mr. Gottschall withdrew. He then formed a partnership with R. D. Marshall, the firm being Marshall & Gottschall. This association continued until September, 1883, when the firm was dissolved, Mr. Gottschall continuing in practice alone until February, 1885, when the firm of Gottschall & Brown was formed by the admission of O. B. Brown. In 1893 Ira Crawford was admitted to the firm, which became and is now Gottschall, Brown & Crawford. Mr. Gottschall, by untiring industry and constant application in the practice of his pro- ^s OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 299 fession, has become one of the most promi- nent and widely-known members of the Day- ton bar. His special field of work embraces commercial and corporation law, and in these he has gained a large and important clientage. His success has been achieved through emi- nent personal fitness for the exacting duties of his profession, and he has brought to the care of the weighty and varied interests entrusted to him the qualities of clear judgment and practical common sense as well as strong intel- lectual endowment. HLVIN W. KUMLER, judge of the court of common pleas of Montgomery county, and one of the leading mem- bers of the Dayton bar, was born near Trenton, Butler county, Ohio, on January 20, 1 85 1, and is the son of John and Sarah Kum- ler. The early education of Judge Kumler was obtained in the common schools of his na- tive county. In 1870, he entered the An- tioch college, at Yellow Springs, where he was a student for two years. His general educa- tion was completed by one year's attendence at Ohio Wesleyan university, at Delaware. Following this, he entered the law department of the university of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated in the class of 1875. The same year he located in Dayton and en- tered upon the practice of his profession, and in 1S77 he formed a partnership with R. M. Nevin, which association continued until the election of Mr. Kumler to the bench of the common pleas court in 1896, the firm at that time being the oldest legal firm in the city in point of years of partnership. In 1879, Judge Kumler was elected city solicitor of Dayton, at a time when the political complexion of the city was strongly democratic, and in 1881 was re-elected. In the spring of 1896 he was nominated by the republican party for the office of judge of the common pleas court for the third sub-division of the second judicial district of Ohio, and in November following was elected by a large majority, taking his seat on the bench in the same month. As a lawyer Judge Kumler took rank among the leading and successful members of the Dayton bar, and as a judge, while having been on the bench but a short time, has given evidence of ability and promise of a useful career. ^-VOSEPH W. KENNEDY, secretary and S treasurer of the Dayton Cast Steel (% 1 Plow company, is a native of Montgom- ery county, Ohio, and was born on a farm four miles north of Dayton, September 22, 1869, a son of John and Martha (Dorst) Kennedy. The excellently equipped plant of the Cast Steel Plow company is located at 122 North Front street. The business dates its inception back to 1885, when it was founded with the following named gentlemen as inter- ested principals: Stephen J. Allen, John Ken- nedy, Joseph Kennedy, L. S. Aughe, Joseph W. Kennedy, and Grafton C. Kennedy. The enterprise was established for the purpose of manufacturing cast-steel plows of special de- sign and of many points of recognized superi- ority, and the success of the venture is the best evidence of the character of the products turned out. The original executive corps of the company comprised Mr. Allen as president, Mr. Aughe as superintendent, and Joseph W. Kennedy as secretary and treasurer. The cap- ital stock is $18,000, while the surplus has now reached an aggregate of about $9,000. The works afford employment to a body of from twenty to twenty-five skilled operatives, and the most punctilious care is accorded to every detail of manufacture. The present members of the company areS. H. Carr, president; J. F. Allen, vice.-president; Joseph \V. Kennedy, sec- 300 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD retary and treasurer; and L. S. Aughe, super- intendent. Joseph Kennedy, Sr. , and Grafton C. Kennedy have retired from the concern, and S. J. Allen is now deceased. The princi- pal trade territory covered by the company comprises Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, and the business is gradually extending its range of operations as the merits of its products become known. Joseph W. Kennedy received his educa- tional discipline in the public schools of Day- ton, though he continued to reside on the old homestead until 1883, when he came to Day- ton and accepted a position as clerk in the establishment of C. Wight & Son, with whom he remained a few weeks, after which he be- came bookkeeper for the Parrott Manufactur- ing company, manufacturers of plows, contin- uing in their employ for two years. He then became personally interested in the enterprise with which he is at present identified, and has done much to insure the marked success which has attended the prosecution of the business. He is recognized as a representative of that progressive young element in the business cir- cles of Dayton which is carrying the city for- ward to an even more conspicuous place in the industrial world than she has yet attained. In his fraternal relations Mr. Kennedy is a member of Miami lodge of the Knights of Pyth- ias, and he is also identified with the Garfield club, a republican organization. His marriage was solemnized in July, 1887, when he wedded Miss Daisy A. Macy, a daughter of Davis Macy, a prominent farmer of Harrison town- ship, Montgomery county. Two children were born of this union, but the parents were called upon to bear a double bereavement in the death of both in the month of January, 1896 — Lawrence being seven years of age and How- ard M. five. Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy are mem- bers of the Presbyterian church, in whose af- fairs they maintain an active interest. m. L. BLUMENSCHEIN.— The sub- ject of this biographical review was born in Brensbach, Germany, De- cember 16, 1849. He lived for many years in Pittsburg, Pa., but has been a Buckeye resident since the fall of 1876. Ports- mouth, Ohio, was his first point of operations, whither he was called to direct the Harmonic society. The Ironton choral union was also under his direction for a season. In the summer of 187S the Dayton, Ohio, Philharmonic society extended a call to him, which was accepted, Otto Singer, so recently deceased, being his predecessor. Since then the Philharmonic society has been continuously under his direc- tion, and has won for itself and director a far more than local reputation. Indeed, the rep- ertory of choral works performed in Dayton will compare favorably with that of any of the prominent choral organizations of the country. The directorship of the Indianapolis, Ind., Lyra society (male chorus and orchestra) was intrusted to him for a season, also the Spring- field Orpheus mixed chorus, and, incidentally, two Ohio saengerfests in Dayton and Spring- field, respectively. The Cincinnati May festi- val chorus was given under his direction, su- perintended by Theodore Thomas, from 1891 to 1895. Dayton's present musical status is largely to be attributed to Mr. Blumenschein's persist- ent efforts in the direction of classical culture. His pupils in piano-playing and singing have won for him a standing as teacher such as any musician and artist may be proud of. The surrounding towns have also contributed much of their best talent to his tutorship. The Third street Presbyterian church has claimed his services as organist and choir-director since October, 1878. As composer for piano and voice Mr. Blu- menschein hac had the satisfaction of being re- warded by favorable criticism in all the prom- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 301 inent musical journals ot the country. Sev- eral of his anthems have been reprinted in England, and quite recently a Leipsic, Ger- many, musical journal has published a sketch of his life and work, illustrated by his portrait. Considering that his residence has mostly been confined to an inland town, it is surely a credit to his ability thus to be a subject of consider- ation in other countries. What the future may bring to Mr. Blumen- schein is a matter of conjecture, of course, but as he is just in the prime of life and activity, it is reasonable to predict a continuance of the good work of the past, coupled with a fair measure of success. SEV. GEORGE M. MATHEWS, D. D. , pastor of the First United Brethren church of Dayton, was born in Ham- ilton county, Ohio, August 22, 1848, and is a son of John and Milchi Ann (Maddux) Mathews. John Mathews, a native of Westmoreland county, Pa., of German descent, was born in 1805 and in 181 1 came to Ohio, coming down the Ohio river from Pittsburg, Pa., and land- ing in Cincinnati. He later bought from Gen. Taylor a farm which was a portion of the tract granted to the latter in recognition of earlier military service, and died on this farm, in Hamilton county, at the age of eighty-two years. Mrs. Milchi Ann Mathews, of English descent, was born near Frederick, Md. , in 1 8 10, and was a daughter of a slave-holding father, who, however, liberated his living chat- tels before coming to Ohio for his place of residence. John Mathews and wife were the parents of nine children: James, a farmer, died in mature life; Mary was the wife of Stephen Markley, and died in Hamilton coun- ty, Ohio; Talitha is the widow of William Ayer, and Joseph is a farmer, both being resi- dents of Hamilton county; William H. is a lawyer of Cincinnati; Charles is a farmer of Hamilton county; Martha is the wife of F. M. Prickett, a contractor at Bethel, Ohio; George M. is next in order of birth, and Eliza- beth is married to P. McQuain, a contractor of Cincinnati. George M. Mathews was primarily educated in the public schools, and at the age of six- teen years entered Otterbein university, from the scientific department of which famous in- stitution of learning he graduated in 1870. He then was employed for several years as princi- pal of the graded schools in Hamilton county, and also studied law, but never practiced. In 1878 he entered Lane Theological seminary, studied two years, and next entered Union Biblical seminary of Dayton, from which he graduated in 188 1. At this time he began his ministerial labors and organized the High street United Brethren church of Dayton, Ohio, and served as its pastor for. three years; for the next five years he had charge of the Sum- mit street church of this city, and was then elected presiding elder of the Miami confer- ence, in which capacity he served for five years. On retiring from the eldership he was appointed pastor of the First United Brethren church, of- this city, and in this capacity is now serving his third year. In 1894 he also be- came editor of the Quarterly Review of the United Brethren in Christ, a religious organ of high standard. Dr. Mathews is president of the board of trustees of the United Brethren Publishing house; he is also a member of the board of trustees of the Union Biblical seminary and a member of its executive committee; he is like- wise an alumnal trustee of Otterbein university. He has twice been a member of the general conference of his church, and was secretary of the committee that made the report which re- 302 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD suited in the elimination of the so-called secrecy law in the church discipline. Dr. Mathews was united in marriage with Miss Clara Belle Hopper, a native of Hamilton county, Ohio, and a daughter of Abram Hop- per. One son, Milton H., the offspring of this union, is now twenty-two years of age, and is a student in the senior class at Otterbein uni- versity. In his politics Dr. Mathews is a pro- hibitionist, but usually affiliates with the re- publican party on national questions. Socially he is a member of the Present Day club of Dayton, which is composed of the leading pro- fessional and business men of the city. >-j»OHN HENRY VAILE, manufacturer g and inventor, of Dayton, Ohio, was A J born in Piqua, Miami county, Ohio, on March 31, 1844. He is the son of John and Lucy (Sherman) Vaile, deceased, natives of Vermont and Massachusetts respectively. John Vaile came from Vermont to Ohio and for some time was engaged in mercantile pur- suits in Piqua, subsequently becoming princi- pal of the Piqua high school, a position he was holding at the time of his death, in September, 1844. After the death of her husband, the widow returned to her former home in Lowell, Mass., where she died in 1873. J. H. Vaile was reared in Lowell, and was educated in the public schools. After passing through the high school he learned the trade of machinist and engineer. In 1862 he re- ceived an appointment as engineer in the United States navy. He served in the navy three years, a portion of which time was spent in the Monitor service and the remainder on vessels in different squadrons. He was prob- ably the youngest engineer in the United States navy, having received his appointment before he was eighteen years of age. He was second assistant engineer when he left the service. After leaving the navy Mr. Vaile be- ■ came associated with a glass manufacturer of Philadelphia, and gained his mercantile experi- ence while thus associated by selling and con- tracting on the road. In 1868 Mr. Vaile came to Dayton and entered the Barney-Smith Car works as a mechanical engineer. While thus engaged he came in contact with Mr. Holly, of the noted Holly Manufacturing company, and by that gentleman was employed as a mechan- ical engineer in Columbus, Covington and In- dianapolis. At the latter city he was retained as mechanical engineer and later as mechan- ical engineer and superintendent of streets for the Indianapolis Water Works company. In September, 1874, Mr. Vaile returned to Day- ton, and in connection with the late Preserved Smith and Walter W\ Smith established the Smith-Vaile Pump manufactory, under the firm name of Smith, Vaile & Co., with which he has since been identified. This enterprise was begun on a very small scale, only six men being employed at the start. The business grew from year to year until, in 1893, the works employed 450 men. During this time Mr. Vaile took out fifteen patents, upon which the busi- ness of Smith, Vaile & Co. has been developed. In 1 893 Smith, Vaile & Co. and the Stillwell & Bierce Manufacturing company were consoli- dated under the name of the Stillwell-Bierce & Smith-Vaile Manufacturing company, of which Mr. Vaile is a director, and is also man- ager of the east shops of the company. The Stillwell-Bierce & Smith-Vaile company is now one of the largest and most important manufacturing corporations in the west, its business extending all over the United States and Canada, and having an established agency in London and a growing trade in all foreign countries. Mr. Vaile is also identified with other enterprises. He is president of the American Carbon company, which has its fac- tories at Noblesville, Ind., and in which com- 7 r^x^yC^ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 305 pany are interested such leading Dayton citi- zens as John W. Stoddard, E. Morgan Wood, Sylvester H. Carr, George W. Shaw and Wal- ter W. Smith. He is a director in the Merchants' National bank of Dayton, a stockholder in the Dayton street railway, is a member and stockholder in the Dayton club and a stockholder in the Miami club. He a member of the Masonic fraternity, being a knight templar in that order. Mr. Vaile was married in 1878 to Miss Alvina, daughter of Hugh Wiggim, of Dayton. He is considered one of Dayton's representa- tive citizens and successful manufacturers. He has established a reputation as a careful, con- servative and thoroughly reliable business man, yet aggressive and enterprising to a marked de- gree. As a citizen he has always exhibited a commendable public spirit in matters pertain- ing to the growth and development of the city and its enterprises. >-j* ELLIOT PEIRCE, president of the ■ Peirce & Coleman company, of Dayton, /• 1 Ohio, is a nati*e of this city, was born April 17, 1 861, the son of Jeremiah H. and Elizabeth (Forrer) Peirce, and was edu- cated in the late Cooper academy. Jeremiah H. Peirce, father of J. Elliot Peirce, and his wife were also born in Dayton — the father in September, 1818. His father, Joseph Peirce, with his wife, was of the Mari- etta party, who effected the first settlement in the Buckeye state, the Peirce family settling in Dayton near the beginning of the present century. The grandfather of J. Elliot Peirce was a banker in the early days of this city, in which he passed his later years as one of its most prominent and influential citizens. Jere- miah H. was early connected with the Miami Lard Oil company and maintained this con- nection until 1876, when he became interested I in the business with which his son, J. Elliot, is now identified, the title of the original firm being Peirce & Coleman. The Peirce & Coleman company was in- corporated in 1 89 1, Mr. Peirce being then elected to his present office, which he has since so capably filled, adding each year, through his business talent, to the prosperity and pro- gressiveness of the concern. The company- does a general contracting and building busi- ness, including mill work and dealing exten- sively in hardwood lumber and finishings, and usually employing 150 men, although for the past two years the number has been some- what less. Mr. Peirce was married, in 1885, to Miss Fannie Harsh, a native of Findlay, Ohio, where her parents passed the greater part of their lives, but are now deceased, leaving Mrs. Peirce the sole survivor of the Harsh family. She is now the mother of three daughters, named, in the order of birth, Elizabeth For- rer, Virginia O'Neil and Mary Frances. In politics Mr. Peirce is a republican. He is a scholarly gentleman and a business man of the strictest integrity; is public-spirited and ever ready to aid all undertakings designed for the public good, or calculated to advance the prog- ress of his native city and county. a APT. JOHN A.' MILLER, cashier of the Pasteur Chamberland Filter com- pany, of Dayton, Ohio, was born at Annville, Lebanon county, Pa., No- vember 4, 1839. His. parents were Jacob and Lydia (Hershey) Miller, both natives of Leb- anon county. The husband and father was an elder in the Church of God, and spent his life largely in doing missionary work for that religious body. He was venerated by those best acquainted with him for his genuinely religious feeling, and much regarded for his 306 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD kind and neighborly qualities. The family is of Scottish origin, the grandfather of Capt. Miller coming directly from Scotland. Capt. Miller was the second child in a family of seven sons and three daughters, of whom seven are now living. His boyhood was spent in Lancaster county, Pa., where he secured a very good common-school education. While still a lad, he came to Dayton, in 1856, but remained here only a brief time, accepting a good position in a store at Miamisburg, where he worked as a clerk until 1862. He found himself by that time both unable and unwill- ing to resist any longer the flood of patriotic devotion that was sweeping Ohio's best and bravest young men into the great crusade for union and freedom, and he enlisted on the 9th day of October in that year, and was assigned for duty to company E, First Ohio volun- teer infantry. The gallant First was a fight- ing regiment, and made itself felt on many a desperate and bloody field of battle. It was attached to the command of Gen. Rosecrans, and its history is part of that of the army of the Cumberland. At the battle of Chicka- mauga Capt. Miller was taken prisoner on the evening of September 19, 1863, and was held by the enemy for fourteen months. He was in the rebel prisons at Belle Isle, Danville, Andersonville, Savannah and Millen, Ga., and suffered during these long and dreary months untold hardships. Even though offered sev- eral details for duty outside, he persistently refused to accept, believing that such service was inconsistent with the duty he owed to the Union. But all things end, and his release from suffering and destitution came at last in the form of a parole. He was given a fur- lough, but soon returned to the front, and, his regiment having been mustered out, he was transferred to the Eighteenth Ohio volunteer infantry. He was with this regiment when his discharge from the service occurred, Octo- ber 9, 1865. He was an efficient and capable soldier, and had already won promotion when the regiment was retired to civil life. He was appointed sergeant-major of the regiment, and had received his commission as second lieuten- ant of company E. His active military experiences in actual war at an end, Capt. Miller made his way back to Dayton, and took a position as sales- man in a wholesale queensware establishment, and in 1867 was appointed deputy county clerk under Fred Fox. This position he held for only four months, when he resigned it to return to the office of his former employers, in the capacity of bookkeeper, and continued with them for more than ten years. The Ohio Fair association called for his services as secretary, and offered him such inducements that he did not think it wise to remain longer at the book- keeper's desk. At this time he was also sec- retary of the Home Avenue railroad, and sec- retary of the Southern Ohio stock yards, and, though a busy man, he found it possible to take on a little more work. He was active in the organization of the Dayton zouaves, the first military company organized in Dayton since the war. In recognition of his valuable serv- ices in its behalf, as well as in acknowledg- ment of his executive ability, he was made its captain in May, 1873. Later this organiza- tion was designated as company A, Fourth reg- iment, O. N. G. This office he resigned in 1 88 1, and seven years later recruited company C, Thirteenth O. N. G., of which he was also elected captain. His first company was called out to avert a threatened lynching, by guard- ing the Dayton jail. It was also out two weeks during the great railroad strikes in 1877, and guarded the first freight train out when the strikes were declared at an end. He com- manded this company during a competitive drill in Saint Louis in 1879, when its perfect drill and soldierly appearance attracted gen- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 307 eral admiration. With his present company Capt. Miller was called again to guard the jail at Dayton to prevent another lynching; and in 1892, during the great coal strikes, was on duty eleven days. Capt. Miller continued as secretary of the Ohio Fair association for about four year's, when he resigned this as well as other posi- tions, to return for the third time to the em- ployment of the old firm, George A. Black being now the principal member of it. Here he was busy at the bookkeeper's desk for a year or more, when he set up business for him- self and so continued for a year. He then en- tered into partnership with Mr. Barger, and the two carried on a very successful wholesale queensware business for seven years. In 1890 he secured his present position, where his faith- ful services are thoroughly appreciated by the corporation. Capt. Miller married Miss Amanda E. Chambers, a native of Dayton, whose father, R. M. Chambers, is a prominent contractor, and is widely known among the city's repre- sentative business men. They have one child, a daughter, now Mrs. Frank A. Groves, of this city. Capt. Miller is prominent in Masonic circles, having received the thirty-second de- gree in the A. A. S. R. of that order. The various Masonic bodies with which he is con- nected are all in Dayton, except the consis- tory, which is in Cincinnati. He is past mas- ter of Mystic lodge No. 405, Dayton ; past high priest. Unity chapter No. 16, R. A. M., and past thrice illustrious master of Reese council No. 9, R. & S. M. He has served several years as captain-general of Reed com- mandery No. 6, and commanded this organi- zation at the prize drill of the triennial en- campment at the grand commandery in Chi- cago in 1 88 1. He was grand master of cere- monies in the lodge of Perfection, Scottish rite, for a number of years, and has also taken a deep interest in kindred societies, such as the Knights of Pythias. He is a member of Iola lodge No. 83 of this order, and was cap- tain of Iola division when it was instituted, serving about four years. As might well be imagined, the Grand Army has received from him a service of love. He is a member of Old Guard post No. 23, of this city, and holds the position of P. P. C. He served a term as as- sistant inspector-general, department of Ohio, and a term as aid-de-camp on the staff of the department commander. He is a member of the military service institution of the United States, an organization composed of officers of the United States army and officers of the na- tional guard. In his political relations, Capt. Miller affiliates actively and earnestly with the republican party. While at Miamisburg he was a member of the German Reformed church, but since his residence in this city he has become a member of the First English Lutheran church. HNDREW FERRIS SMART, a suc- cessful business man of Dayton, deal- ing in fuel, lime, cement, etc., is a native of Ohio, born within a short distance of his present location, on the 14th of July, 1853. His father was Alexander M. Smart, a ship builder of Connecticut, where his birth occurred May 10, 1807. Alexander M. Smart married Mary J. Slaght, came to Dayton about the year 1835, and remained in this city until his death, January 25, 1881; Mrs. Smart died November 21, 1875. Alex- ander and Mary J. Smart were both of Scotch- Irish descent; they reared a family of five chil- dren, viz: Maggie, who died September 6, 1872; Geddes, who died when young; George, who is secretary of the Dayton Gas Light & Coke company; Andrew F. and Harry S. — the .'?ns CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD last named employed as clerk in the office of his next older brother. Andrew Ferris Smart graduated from the Central high school of Dayton in the class of 1 87 1, and commenced business in partnership with C. A. Starr, Esq., handling fuel, lime and cement, in which branch of trade he has since continued. The firm of C. A. Starr & Co. existed for a period of ten years, at the end of which time, in 1S85, Mr. Smart with- drew and engaged in business upon his own responsibility at his present location, Nos. 524-6 South Wayne avenue, where he now deals in all kinds of coal and wood, cement, sewer pipe, lime, etc. He has a well-estab- lished business, and his trade, profitable from the beginning, has constantly increased until, at this time, his establishment is one of the best known and most successful of the kind in the city. Mr. Smart and Miss Harriet S. Jones, of Dayton, were united in marriage December 15, 1 88 1 ; they have had three children — Alex- ander, Emma E. and Roy A. The last named died at the age of five months. Mrs. Smart was born at Fair Haven, Butler county, Ohio, and received a liberal education in the city schools of Hamilton. Mr. Smart is promi- nently connected with the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Saint John's lodge No. 13; Unity chapter No. 16, R. A. M. ; Reese council No. 9, R. & S. M. ; Reed commandery No. 6, K. T. ; Gabriel lodge of Perfection, Scottish rite; Miami council, P. of J. ; Dayton chapter of Rose Croix; Ohio consistory, S. P. S. He is also identified with the I. O. O. F., being a member of the encampment branch of the or- der; the subordinate lodge to which he belongs is Wayne No. 10, and his name appears upon the rolls of Dayton encampment No. 2. In addition to the above orders Mr. Smart belongs to lodge No. 32, K. of P., which he has repre- sented for the past five years in the grand lodge of the state. He is a member of the Dayton division No. 5, uniform rank, K. of P., is iden- tified with the American Legion of Honor, and belongs to May Flower council, O. U. A. M., No. 33. In state and national affairs Mr. Smart is a democrat, but in local matters he refuses to be bound by party ties, casting his ballot for the person whom he thinks best qual- ified for official position. aHARLES J. McKEE, a prominent and active member of the Montgom- ery county bar, was born at Hillsboro, Highland county, Ohio, January 23, 1856, and is a son of Samuel and Rebecca Crawford (Cox) McKee. In April, 1861, the family moved to Dayton, and in September of the following year Charles J. entered the Perry street district school. For thirteen years he successfully pursued his studies in the Dayton schools, graduating from the Central high school June 16, 1875. His early inclinations led him to choose the legal profession for his life work, and in July, 1875, he began the study of law with the firm of Young & Gottschall, teaching a country school at Liberty, Ohio, during the winter of 1877-78. April 23, 1878, he was admitted to the Montgomery county bar, but feeling in need of further preparation before beginning practice, continued the study of law for a year and a half longer, at the same time teaching in the Mumma district in Harrison township. He opened an office in Dayton September 1 1, 1 879, .and on November 1, 1881, formed a law partnership with Walter D. Jones, a member of the Dayton bar. The partnership continued up to January 1, 1888, since which time Mr. McKee has pursued his legal practice alone, confining himself almost exclusively to civil practice. Though professional duties have claimed OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 309 his constant attention, he has given some con- sideration to other business matters, having to a considerable extent been identified with building association interests, and is at present secretary and attorney for one of the leading associations of the city. He was attorney for the board of education in 1888-89-90, this being the only public office he has ever held. On April 23, 1889, Mr. McKee was mar- ried to Miss Sarah Stewart Hughes, daughter of Rev. J. R. Hughes, and three children have been born to them. As a lawyer Mr. McKee holds a high rank at the Montgomery county bar, with a reputation for ability, learning and successful management of legal business. As a citizen he is interested in public affairs, and especially in the advancement of the cause of good government and municipal progress. *y-* OWARD F. PEIRCE, a native of |r\ Dayton, Ohio, and one of the most F popular musicians of the city, deserves especial mention in this work, and before tracing his genealogy, mention will here be made of his career as an artist in music, preceded by a brief sketch touching his early training. Howard F. Peirce was endowed by nature with large musical gifts and this inborn faculty has been carefully cultivated since his child- hood days. His studies of the piano and har- mony under his earliest teachers (notably, Prof. Huesman, of Dayton) developed so great a genius for the art that he was placed under the guidance of the accomplished Prof. Blu- menschein, also of Dayton, and in 18S6, when twenty-one years of age, was sent to Europe, that he might improve his already excellent practice as a pianist. He spent about three years in Munich, under the tuition of Giehrl on the piano, and that of Rheinberger in theory. At Florence, Italy, he passed eight months under the culminating instruction of the great pianist, Giuseppe Buonamici, and on his return to Dayton his proficiency was at once recog- nized and he was awarded a high rank among musical artists. Since then, his work as a pianist has been made a prominent feature, at various times, in leading concerts in Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Cleveland, and other of the principal cities of the United States, and has always secured the highest praise from musical critics, the press and the public. Mr. Peirce has the happy faculty of being able always to fall into sympathy with the score set before him, and, with a vigorous or delicate touch, give forth all the fine shades of mean- ings indicated by the composition. He is ever conscientious and true to the author, and never seeks, by a meretricious display of his own power and skill, to substitute himself for the maestro; he is content with a correct interpre- tation of the composer's thought, and this quality has, no doubt, won for him his fame with true lovers of music. Mr. Peirce, for the past ten years, has been organist of Grace Methodist Episcopal church of Dayton, and also has regular en- gagements as an accompanist to noted singers, who make stated tours. Howard F. Peirce was born May 4, 1865, the son of Jeremiah and Elizabeth (Forrer) Peirce, whose parents were early settlers of Dayton. Isaac Peirce, father of Jeremiah, was a banker and a prominent leader in public affairs from the time of his coming to this place until his demise. Jeremiah Peirce was born in Dayton, was a solid business man and a substantial citizen, did a great deal of work towards advancing the material and moral wel- fare of the community, and died in his native city in 1889, honored and beloved by all who knew him. Mrs. Peirce died in 1874. Samuel Forrer, the maternal grandfather of Howard F. Peirce, was one of Dayton's 310 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD earliest settlers, was a civil engineer, and the superintendent of the construction of the Miami canal. To the marriage of Jeremiah and Elizabeth Peirce there were born, beside Howard F., three sons and four daughters, of whom Samuel, the eldest, died when about seven years of age; Henrietta, the wife of Eugene Parrott, resides in Dayton; Edward died when he was about seventeen years old; Sarah H., who organized the first kindergarten in Dayton, is now conducting the principal school of that character in the city; Mary died in young womanhood; Elizabeth, a trained nurse, was educated in this profession in the Massachusetts general hospital of Boston; J. Elliot is successor to the business of his father. >y'OHN CHARLES CLINE, superintend- ■ ent of Woodland cemetery, Dayton, (• J Ohio, was born in Switzerland February i, 1844, and in 1851 came to America with his parents, who settled in Dayton. These parents were John P. and Theresa (Leub- ing) Cline, the former of whom was born in Edelfingen, ober amt Mergentheim, Wurtem- berg, Germany, was a blacksmith, and died of cholera, in Dayton, in 1S54; the mother, who was a native of Switzerland, died at the same time and place. They had two children, John Charles, and Catherine, who died in infancy. John C. Cline, being thus early bereft of his parents, was in 1856 adopted into the fam- ily of William W. Lane, then superintendent of Woodland cemetery, and in this family was reared to manhood, receiving a limited educa- tion in the common schools. September 22, 1 861, he enlisted in company C, First Ohio volunteer infantry, then commanded by Capt. (afterward Gen.) Gates P. Thurston, and served three years with the army of the Cum- berland, nniler Gens. Rosecrans, Thomas, Rousseau, and other commanding officers. He took part in all the general engagements of his corps, was off duty sixteen days only during the three years, and was honorably discharged at Chattanooga September 16, 1864. He then returned to Dayton and resumed his labors un- der Mr. Lane, as assistant superintendent of Woodland, and, on a change of management in 1S69, was appointed superintendent. Dur- ing this period of twenty-seven years there have been 14, 570 interments, the total number being 20,548 from the time of the founding of the cemetery until the date of this sketch, June 9, 1896. Few cities in the Union have a more beautiful resting place for their dead than Woodland. It comprises 100 acres and thirty men are constantly employed in its care, all under the general superintendence of Mr. Cline, who gives to it the most constant and intelli- gent attention. October 4, 1866, J. C. Cline was united in marriage in Hanover, Jackson county, Mich., with Miss Fannie E. Dew, a native of Spring- field, Ohio, the union resulting in the birth of four children, viz: Walter, who is a student in the Ohio university; Carl, a graduate of the Dayton high school; Luther, still a student in that institution, and Haidee, deceased. The family are members of the Lutheran church. In politics Mr. Cline was reared a republican by his foster parents, and on attaining his man- hood he readily dropped into the ranks of that party. Fraternally, Mr. Cline is a member of Wayne lodge No. 10, I. O. O. F. , of which he is a past grand; also of Miami lodge No. 32, K. of P.; of Old Guard post, No. 23, G. A. R., and of Gem City lodge. As a republican, Mr. Cline has held various offices of trust and responsibility; he served as a member of the city council one year, having been elected from a strongly democratic ward, and while in this position voted for an ordi- nance which obliterated his own ward, thus vo- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 311 ting himself out of office. He was also a mem- ber of the board of police commissioners for four years, having received this appointment from the governor of the state. Mr. Cline and his children are the only representatives of his family in America. When he speaks of the early experience of his parents in the new world, with no friends nor even a knowledge of the prevailing tongue, his words recall the early trials endured by the pioneers of the country. His father's untimely death, and that of his mother immediately afterward, were sad blows to him, thus left to the care of strangers; but he has so lived as to prove him- self to be worthy of the kindness bestowed upon him by Mr. Lane in his childhood, and is to-day one of the trusted and respected citizens of the community in which he resides. Mr. Cline ever speaks of the Lane family with feelings of profound respect and gratitude, as, when in need, they were his best friends, and did their whole duty by him as their adopted son. ^j* HALE PARDONNER, vice-president m and manager of tha John Rouzer Con- st 1 tracting & Building company of Day- ton, Ohio, is a native of this city and was born March 22, 1849, a son of John A. and Jane (Van Sandt) Pardonner, the former of whom was a native of Germany and the latter of Kentucky. The father came to America in middle life, was engaged in the shoe business in Cincinnati and Dayton, and died in Cler- mont county at the advanced age of ninety years, his widow still residing in Clermont county. It is stated that John Van Sandt, father of Mrs. Pardonner, was the man who harbored Eliza, the well-known character in Mrs. Stowe's famous novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and that he appears in the story under the name of John Van Tromp. John A. Pardonner and family were the parents of twelve children, of whom six are still living, J. Hale, the second, being the subject of this memoir. Hale, as he is best known, received his elementary education in Dayton, and at the age of fourteen years en- listed for six months in the Fourth battalion, Ohio volunteer cavalry, being probably next to the youngest, if not the youngest, lad in Ohio to take up arms in defense of the Union. He served in Tennessee, with headquarters at Cumberland Gap, and had many skirmishes with guerrillas in guarding government stores. After fully seven months in this service, he re- enlisted, but this time in the One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio infantry, for the 100-day serv- ice, and was stationed at Baltimore, Md. In each case our subject received an honorable discharge. In 1867 Mr. Pardonner married Miss Sarah Sophia Hinsey, a native of Dayton and daugh- ter of John Hinsey, an old resident, well known as Esquire Hinsey. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Pardonner are William S., John H., and Bertha. Of these the eldest, William S., is the assistant manager of the Norfolk Beet Sugar company, at Norfolk, Nebr. ; John H. is a draftsman for an architect in Dayton, Ohio, and Bertha is at home with her parents. J. Hale Pardonner, the subject, is a Free Ma- son, a past grand of the I. O. O. F. , and a mem- ber of Old Guard post, G. A. R., Dayton, arid is, beside, a member of several other social and beneficial orders of the same city. In politics he is a republican, and in religion he and wife are members of the First Reformed church. The business relations of Mr. Pardonner with the Rouzer company began in 1 869, and he has passed through every department of the con- cern until reaching his present responsible posi- tion, although he began as journeyman with John Rouzer, and held that relation for several years. He then became a partner in the busi- ness until the incorporation. On the formation 312 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of the present company, in 1890, he became manager, and at the death of Mr. Rouzer was elected vice-president and general manager. The capital stock of the company is $100,000, and it employs from seventy-five to 125 hands, turning out every variety of mill work. William S. Pardonner, eldest son of J. Hale and Sarah Sophia Pardonner, married Bessie, the daughter of Hon. George Wilson, deputy commissioner of internal revenue, appointed under President Harrison, and still retaining the office. The brothers and sisters of J. Hale Par- donner, who still survive from a family of twelve, are Clemma, who is unmarried and has her home with her mother in Bethel, Clermont county, Ohio; Mrs. George Hughes, who re- sides in Dayton; Mrs. McLeod, who is a resi- dent of Cincinnati; William and Albert, who are partners in a mercantile business in Mid- dletown, Ohio. HDOLPH NEWSALT, the leading jew- eler, of Dayton, Ohio, and owner of one of the finest establishments of the kind in the state of Ohio, if not in the entire west, was born in Prussia, Decem- ber 25, 1848. The father of Mr. Newsalt died in Ger- many, and in 1857, with his mother, Adolph came to the United States, landing in New York. For a time after reaching this country he attended school in the city of New York, and then went to La Crosse, Wis., situated on the east bank of the Mississippi river, and there in i860 he began an apprenticeship at the jeweler's trade, serving four years. In 1S64 he came to Dayton, his mother having, in i860, removed to this city from Saint Louis. Up . reaching Dayton he went to work in the jewelry store of Henry Kline, under the Phillips house. He remained with Mr. Kline for one year, at the end of which period he went to Springfield, Ohio, and there worked for A. Aaron, a jeweler, for somewhat more than a year. He had now accumulated a little over $300, and returning to Dayton he at once es- tablished himself in the jewelry business on a very small scale on Fifth street. His business was at first so small that he was able to do all of his work himself, and this was the case for about two years; but it was a frequent expe- rience for him to be at work at his bench as late as one or two o'clock in the morning. By degrees his business so increased that he was at length compelled to move into larger quarters. This necessity was forced upon him at several different times, his business extending year by year, until at length he prevailed upon Mr. John Bosler to tear down his little house on Fifth street and erect for him upon its site a large store room in which he remained for fifteen years. Upon the completion of the Davies building at Fourth and Main streets, Mr. Newsalt removed into his present quarters, which were designed especially for his business, he having leased the room in which he is now located prior to the. completion of the building. The establishment is one of the most com- plete and best designed in the country, and it is no uncommon thing for parties to come from great distances, as from Saint Louis and other points, to pattern after it in their respective homes. It covers a space 32 X75 feet in size, with a basement of the same dimensions un- derneath. The entire fronts, on both Main and Fourth streets, are of glass, thus making it one of the finest show rooms to be found. Mr. Newsalt employs twenty men the year round, and in business seasons adds to his force as occasion requires. Mr. Newsalt was married in Dayton, No- vember 10, 1870, to Sarah Wise, formerly from Paducah, Ky. One son has been born to this marriage, T. A. Newsalt, who was edu- I OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 315 cated at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. , and who is now in his father's establishment as salesman, an excellent position in which to gain a full knowl- edge of the business and of the trade of jew- eler. Mr. Newsalt is, in point of fact and in the best sense of the word, a self-made man, and his career should be the means of encour- aging the young men of this day to be satisfied with small beginnings. ^y^VHILIP A. KEMPER, importer and 1 ■ wholesale dealer in materials for art embroidery, etc., Dayton, Ohio, was born at Wallhausen, not far from the beautiful city of Bingen on the Rhine, Ger- many, in 1835. In his fifteenth year he came to America, landing in Philadelphia, and after attending school in that city for eight months in order to familiarize himself to some extent with the English language, he entered the store of an uncle, as an errand boy, and for eleven years faithfully did his duty to his employer, advancing by successive promotions to the po- sition of first book-keeper. In August, 1859, at his request the mother of Mr. Kemper, with her six remaining chil- dren, came to America. In 1861 he came to Dayton, Ohio, to establish himself in busi- ness, and, having perfected his plans, he re- turned to Philadelphia, whence he came back in August with his family. In a short time after his arrival in the Gem City, Mr. Kemper established a dress-trimmings and fancy goods store at the northwest corner of Second and Main streets, under the firm name of Philip A. Kemper & Sisters. Success attended this firm for the period of nine years, when Mr. Kem- per rented the old Franklin house, on the op- posite corner, and remodeled the building for store purposes. This store was occupied by him until 1880, when he removed to his own premises, Nos. 19 and 21 West Second street, his present location. His businessconsists prin- cipally in furnishing convent schools through- out the country with materials for fancy needle and embroidery work, as well as supplying these articles at wholesale to other dealers. His trade, which is altogether wholesale, fills a peculiar want in the market, his shipments going to all parts of the Union and to Mexico. The youngest brother of Mr. Kemper is the Rev. Charles S. Kemper, Catholic chaplain of the national military home, near Dayton, of whom brief mention is made elsewhere. Philip A. Kemper is recognized as one of the public-spirited and useful citizens of Day- ton, and is especially active in forwarding the educational and charitable work of the Roman Catholic church. @EORGE W. BUVINGER, senior member of the firm of G. W. & E. E. Buvinger, proprietors of the Dayton Cornice works, corner of East Third and Canal streets, is one of the well-known business men and prominent citizens of Day- ton. Mr. Buvinger was born in this city, within three blocks of his present place of busi- ness, on December 26, 1837, and is the eldest child born to Henry and Cassandra (Everest) Buvinger, of whom fuller mention is made in connection with the sketch of E. E. Buvinger. With the exception of his time of service in the army, Mr. Buvinger has spent his entire life in Dayton, and few men are more widely and fa- vorably known in the community. He at- tended the public schools and acquired a fair knowledge of the common English branches, which, supplemented by habits of reading, study and observation, has made him a broad- minded and intelligent man, liberally educated in that knowledge of men and affairs which schools and colleges alone cannot impart. His early life was spent in various employments 316 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD until the war cloud darkened the national hori- zon, when he offered his services to his country, enlisting in April, 1S61, shortly after President Lincoln made his call for 75,000 men. The quota being filled before his regiment was formed, Mr. Buvinger was not permitted at that time to go to the front. In 1862 he re- sponded to the call of the governor of the state during the Kirby Smith raid, and served in what was known as the "Squirrel Hunters" brigade in and about Cincinnati. After that the National Guard was organized, and he be- came a member of company A, of Dayton, and continued a member until the final discharge in 1S65. In June, 1863, he enlisted in the Fourth Independent battalion of Ohio volun- teer cavalry. This regiment did duty in south- ern Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. On being discharged from this service on ac- count of termination of term of enlistment, in February, 1864, Mr. Buvinger returned to Ohio, and remained in Dayton until the follow- ing May, when company A, O. N. G., was called out by the governor and mustered into the One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio volun- teer infantry for 100 days, though it remained a longer period, doing garrison duty principally in Maryland and Virginia. Since the war Mr. Buvinger has been act- ively engaged in business in Dayton. The Dayton Cornice works, with which he has so long been identified, has been in existence for thirty years at its present locality, and is regarded as one of the important enterprises of the Gem City. The business consists in the manufacturing of galvanized iron cornices, tin, slate, iron, and copper roofing, and all kinds of sheet metal work. The fol- lowing are a few of the prominent buildings in the city on which they had contracts: City buildings, new court house, Firemen's build- ing, Kuhn's building, Deaconess hospital, Ohmer building, Third street Presbyterian church, Beckel bank building, and Reibold's Jefferson block. Mr. Buvinger occupies a prominent posi- tion in the business and social affairs of the city. He is enterprising, progressive and lib- eral-minded in his views, and is fully alive to all that tends to the advancement of the pub- lic interest, enjoying the confidence and esteem of all with whom he is in any way associated. In his political views Mr. Buvinger is an ardent republican. In 1891-92 he served as a mem- ber of the Dayton city council, was vice-presi- dent of that body in 1892, and was largely instrumental in promoting much important municipal legislation. In social and fraternal circles Mr. Buvinger is quite prominent. He is a member of the F. & A. M., Knights Tem- plar, I. O. O. F., K. of P., A. O. U. W., National Union, Royal Arcanum, and G. A. R. He is also a member of the Dayton board of trade. Both himself and family are members of Christ Episcopal church. Mr. Buvinger was married, in 1867, to Miss Jane Smith, a native of Ecton, Northampton- shire, England. Mrs. Buvinger's native village has some American significance in that it is the birthplace of the ancestors of Washington and Franklin. Mrs. Buvinger came to Day- ton with her parents in 1850, and was educated in the city schools. Prior to her marriage she was for some time assistant principal of the Fourth district school. To Mr. and Mrs. Buv- inger the following children have been born: Bertha, Emma, George A., and Minnie Ever- est, the last named having died in infancy. Miss Bertha is a graduate of both the Dayton high and normal schools, and has spent two years in traveling; George A. is a graduate of the Dayton high school, and also a graduate in mechanical engineering of Lehigh university, at Bethlehem, Pa., and is a young man of much promise and bright prospects for future advancement. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 317 BREDERICK W. NEWCOMER, ca- terer and confectioner, at the corner of Third and Ludlow streets, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Connellsville, Pa., May 1 8, i860, and is a son of Joseph and Margaret (Gebhart) Newcomer, who are of German descent. Joseph Newcomer was born in Fayette county. Pa., February 14, 1825, a son of John and Barbara (Snyder) Newcomer. His great- grandfather Newcomer was the first of the family to come from Germany and he settled in Pennsylvania. Henry Snyder, maternal grand- father of Joseph Newcomer, served eight years in the war of the Revolution. Joseph was one of a family of nine children, born in the fol- lowing order: Lydia, Jacob, Samuel, John, Joseph, Polly, Catherine, Barbara and Sarah, of whom two sons and one daughter are liv- ing at this writing. Joseph Newcomer was reared a farmer, was educated in the public schools, and when twenty-one years of age engaged in mercantile business on his own account in Bentleysville, Washington county, Pa., but eighteen months later removed to Connellsville, Fayette county, where he was engaged in mercantile business seventeen years. He then moved to Pittsburg, was in the wholesale grocery trade ten years, and in 1875 came to Dayton, Ohio, and here conducted a retail grocer)' for five years. Dur- ing the next five years he held a partnership in the bookbinding and printing house known as the Holden Manufacturing company, and since then has lived in retirement, excepting two years, when he filled the position of truant of- ficer in the public schools. In politics he is a republican, and served two years as ward assessor. He was united in marriage October 1, 1857, with Miss Margaret E. Gebhart, daughter of Frederick and Catherine (Walter) Gebhart, one of the oldest families of Somerset county, Pa., where Mrs. Newcomer was born April 17, 1827. To this marriage have been born six children, viz: Kate, wife of Edward F. Cooper, of Dayton; Frederick W., whose name opens this biography; Mary, deceased; Charles G., who is foreman of a bookbindery in Savannah, Ga. ; Annie, wife of George M. Lee, of Down- er's Grove, a suburb of Chicago, 111., and Bessie, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Newcomer are members of the Christian church, and reside at No. 122 East Second street, where they are surrounded by a large circle of warm friends. Frederick W. Newcomer was reared in Pennsylvania until fifteen years of age, and was educated in the public schools. In 1875 he came to Dayton, Ohio, with his parents, and for a time was employed as clerk in his father's grocery, and later by C. C. Moses in the same capacity, for five years. For the next five years he held the position of foreman of the jobbing department of the Holden Manufacturing company, and was then again employed by C. C. Moses as clerk in his gro- cery. In 1890 he started in business for him- self, as caterer and confectioner, at No. 7 East Second street, and there maintained a success- ful trade until June 15, 1S96, when he removed to the building especially erected for his busi- ness at the corner of Third and Ludlow streets, where he has greatly enlarged his business, the added features being the serving of luncheons and the novelty of a modern roof garden. He is the leading caterer of Dayton, and his busi- ness extends to adjacent or neighboring towns and villages. His establishment is neatly and handsomely furnished, and the service rivals that to be found in large cities. Miss Anna Shoup is associated with Mr. Newcomer as mistress of the tea-room, looking after the comfort of the guests; the firm name, since occupying the present quarters, being that of The Newcomer. 318 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Mr. Newcomer is married to Miss Jennie Moses, daughter of C. C. and Margaret Moses, of Dayton, and the two children born to this union are named Mabel and Leila. Mr. Newcomer is very popular, not only in his business, which necessarily brings him in contact with hundreds of the best people in Dayton, but in social circles as well. He and his wife are members of the Lu- theran church, and have a most pleasant home at No. 330 West First street. EARMAN ROGGE was born near Hanover, Germany, September 2, 1845. He is a son of Harman and Angel (Mayrose) Rogge, the former of whom was a farmer, but is now deceased, while the mother still survives. Their children numbered eight, of whom Harman was the second. He was educated in the excellent public schools of his native country and under private tutors until eighteen years of age, when he came to this country with an uncle, who was a citizen of Dayton. After his arrival at Dayton he obtained employment at the Blanchard & Brown Wheel works, now the S. N. Brown Co. After several years of steady employment by this firm he entered the service of the Barney & Smith Car works. After about fifteen years of hard work, he started on his own account in the retail grocery business. In this he was very successful and was also en- gaged in the wholesale grocery trade for a few years. In 1887 he first became a stockholder in the Zwick & Greenwald Wheel company, of which he is now president and general mana- ger. Since his connection with this company, it has been crowned with success and its finan- cial strength has increased threefold. Harman Rogge was united in marriage, in 1S72, with Miss Augusta Kropp, a native of Dayton and a daughter of Henry Kropp. This union has been blessed with eleven children, of whom, eight are still living. In religion the family are of the German Lutheran faith, and of the church of which they are members, Mr. Rogge has for years been a trustee and is at present a member of the official board of man- agement. In politics he is a democrat, and as such served one term as a member of the Day- ton city council. Mr. Rogge has done much toward advancing the material prosperity of Dayton, having erected upward of twenty dwellings, and having, by industry and thrift, become one of the substantial German-Ameri- can citizens to whom the city is indebted for much of her prominence and high standing in the commercial and manufacturing world. eDWARD EVEREST BUYTNGER, junior member of the firm of G. W. and E. E. Buvinger, proprietors of the Dayton Cornice works, and a well- known and popular business man of the city, was born in Dayton on May 12, 1844, ar >d is the son of Henry Buvinger, deceased. After attending the public schools of Dayton for sev- eral years, young Buvinger entered upon an apprenticeship at the tinner's trade. This he mastered and followed until 1866, when the firm of G. W. & E. E. Buvinger was formed, and the Dayton Cornice works established. This firm has had an uninterrupted and suc- cessful existence of over thirty years. It is engaged principally in the manufacture of met- allic cornices, in addition to which a general tinner's business is conducted, and the Cling- man gas machine, a device for lighting and heating, is manufactured. In evidence of the success with which this firm has met it is nec- essary only to refer to the number of years it has been in business and the name and charac- ter it enjoys in the industrial world. During the late Civil war Mr. Buvinger, &YVt>OZ^

-j»AMES B. HUNTER, county commis- ■ sioner of Montgomery county, was born m 1 in Berks county, Pa., September 23, 1 84 1. His parents were Jacob and Matilda (Boyer) Hunter, both of whom were natives of Berks county, Pa., and who, in 1852, brought their family to Ohio, locating in Jefferson township, Montgomery county. They are now both deceased. Their lives were marked by industry and economy, virtues which were encouraged and stimulated by the surroundings of those days. James B. Hunter was eleven years old when he came with his parents to Montgomery county. Here he grew upon his father's farm in Jefferson township, and received his educa- tion in the common schools. Remaining on the farm until 1861 he then enlisted in com- pany D, Thirty-ninth regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, and served in that organization for three years in the south and west, being at- tached to the army of the Tennessee most of the time. His term of enlistment expiring OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 331 in 1864, he was honorably discharged. Dur- ing his war experience he was twice wounded, once at Dallas, Ga., in the foot, and again be- fore Atlanta, where he received a gun-shot wound in the right arm. After leaving the army Mr. Hunter spent a little over a year in Nashville, Tenn., where he war. connected with the railroad commissary department. Immediately after the war closed he spent two years in Louisiana, engaged in the work of constructing levees on the Missis- sippi river. Returning then to Montgomery county he was engaged for eighteen years in teaching school and in farming. In 1887 he was elected a member of the board of county commissioners, and served for three years. In 1 89 1 he was again elected for a similar term, and in 1984 he was again re-elected, his pres- term of office expiring in 1897. Mr. Hunter owns a farm in Jefferson town- ship. He was married in 1868 to Catherine Johnson, who died in 1874, leaving one son, Leslie. Mr. Hunter was married the second time, in 1876, to Miss Rebecca Beachley, by whom he has had two children, Edgar and Vernon. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and of the Grand Army of the Repub- lic. Mr. Hunter has lived in Montgomery county practically the whole of his life, is well- known by most of its citizens, and being hon- ored as he has been by repeated election to re- sponsible positions, it is clear that the people fully appreciate his integrity and honesty of character. >-j*OHN McGREGOR, vice-president of M the Crawford, McGregor & Canby com- /• 1 pany, manufacturers of lasts, was born three miles east of Dayton, November 4, 1836. His father, Thomas McGregor, came from Scotland, in 1828, landing in Nova Scotia and remaining there two years, and in 1830 came to the United States, locating in Little Beaver, Pa., where he gained employment in a paper-mill, he being a papermaker by the old hand process. While in this position he learned that he could secure a place as fore- man for Phillips & Alexander, whose mill was one-half mile west of Harries station, and ac- cordingly he left Little Beaver in 1834, re- moving to Montgomery county. After eight years of service with Phillips & Alexander, he operated a woolen mill at a point two miles from Tippecanoe, Miami county, for two years, and returning to Montgomery county pur- chased the Phillips & Alexander mill, of which he had been foreman, and moved it to Dayton in 1848. Mr. McGregor died in Dayton in 1866, in his seventieth year. His wife was Janet Watson, of Scotland, their marriage taking place in 1818. Her death occurred in 1874, in her seventy-seventh year. One of their sons, Thomas McGregor, together with Joseph Parrott, under the firm name of Parrott & MeGregor, originated what is now the W. P. Callahan Co., manufactur- ers of cotton seed oil machinery, steam engines, etc., Mr. McGregor selling his interest in the firm in 1868. He died in 1893. John McGregor grew to manhood in Day- ton and was educated in the public schools of that city. He was a member of the first class in the Central high school, which was estab- lished under a resolution adopted by the board of education, April 5. 1850, and was opened on April 15, in the northeastern district school- house, with James Campbell as its principal. Leaving school at the age of fifteen years, young McGregor went to work in his father's mill, where he remained for four years, and then served an apprenticeship at pattern mak- ing with the firm of Thompson, McGregor & Co. (now W. P. Callahan & Co.). Following his apprenticeship he secured a position in the spring of 1859 with the firm of Crawford & 332 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Stilwell, proprietors of the factory established by A. & Z. Crawford. Remaining in the em- ploy of this company as a workman until 1870, when Mr. Stilwell retired from the linn. Mr. McGregor was made foreman of the factory, and in 1874 was made a partner in the firm of Crawford, Coffman & Co. In 1886 Edward Canby became a member of the company, purchasing the interest of Mr. Coffman, and the title of the firm' then became Crawford, McGregor & Canby, and so con- tinued until March, 1896, when the company was incorporated under the name of the Craw- ford, McGregor & Canby company, with Mr. McGregor as vice-president and general man- ager. In all of the positions which Mr. Mc- Gregor has held, he has proved his skill as a mechanic and his ability and sound judgment as a man of business. Mr. McGregor was married in 1861 to Sa- rah Doyle, who was born in Shelby, Ohio, in 1 84 1, and is a daughter of Mrs. Lucy Doyle. To this marriage there have been born two children — Mary and John Watson. Mr. Mc- Gregor is a member of the Memorial Presby- terian church, which was organized in 1868 as a New School body of that denomination. Since 1857 Mr. McGregor has been an Odd Fellow, and is now a member of Wayne lodge No. 10, which was chartered in 1840. His life has been one of untiring industry, and his integrity of character and good citizenship have earned for him a high place in the esteem of the entire community. lS~\ ENJAMIN F. HERSHEV, a promi- 1<^^ nent attorney of Dayton, Ohio, was JK^J born in Medway, Clarke county, Ohio, August ii, 1853. He is a son of John and Christiana (Hocker) Hershey, the former of whom was a native of Lancaster county, Pa., and came to Ohio with his par- ents, Jacob Hershey and wife, in 1835, and located in Clarke county. The latter was a native of Dauphin county, Pa., and came to ( »lii' 1 with her parents, John Horker and wife, and located in Randolph township, Montgom- ery county, being among the early settlers. There being no railroad, they were compelled to come in wagons, being twenty-three days upon the journey. When Benjamin F. Hershey was two years old, his parents removed to Randolph town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, where they had been married, they having lived in Clarke county from their marriage to that time. At present they are residing on a farm on the Dayton and Covington turnpike, near the town of Union, purchased by John Hershey in 1866. John Hershey in his early days was a miller by occupation, but in his later years, since purchasing the above farm, has been one of the successful farmers of Randolph township. In politics he has always been a strong repub- lican. John Hocker and Catharine, his wife, parents of Christiana, were influential citizens of Randolph township, noted for their industry and thrift, and for their high moral and chris- tian characters. Benjamin F. Hershey received his early education in the district school at Union, Montgomery county, and began teaching school when nineteen years of age. He successfully followed the profession of teaching for eighl years. He then attended the Ohio State uni- versity at Columbus and the Ohio Wesleyan university at Delaware; began reading law in 1 S8j with Craighead & Craighead in Dayton, passed the junior examination in the Cincin- nati Law school at Cincinnati, graduated from that institution in 18S4. and was admitted to the bar. Soon afterward he began the p tice of law in Dayton, and continued for one year, when he received the appointment of chief deputy under Sheriff Weis, and remained OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 333 in that position until January I, 1S86. Since then he has been continuously engaged in the practice of law, and has built up a lucrative practice in his profession. Mr. Hershey was married in April, 1892, to Minnie E., oneof the daughters of Chap- lain William Earnshaw, D. D., who was chaplain of the National Military home at Dayton, Ohio, from September, 1867, until his death. Mr. Hershey is a member of the board of education of Dayton, a thirty-second degree Mason, a Knight Templar, and a mem- ber of the Royal Arcanum. @EORGE O. WARRINGTON, a prom- inent young member of the Dayton bar, was born at South Charleston, Clarke county, Ohio, March 3, 1855, and is a son of Francis Warrington. The Warrington family came originally from Man- chester, England, near which city is a manu- facturing town by the name of Warrington, about half way between Manchester and Liver- pool, and it is possible at least that there is some connection between the name of the fam- ily of which Mr. Warrington is a member, and the town of the same name. Oswald War- rington was the first of the name to emigrate to the United States, coming to this country about 1 8 19. George O. Warrington was reared in South Charleston, and there, in the public schools, received his preliminary educational training. After completing his studies there he entered the Ohio Wesleyan university at Delaware, Ohio, in 1872, and was graduated from that institution in 1876. During the first part of January, 1877, he located in Dayton and be- gan reading law in the office of Warren Munger, now deceased, but then one of the leading lawyers of Dayton. He was admitted to the bar in 1879, remaining, however, with Mr. Munger until 1S80, when he formed a partner- ship with Edwin P. Matthews, under the firm name of Warrington & Matthews. This firm continued in existence until 1885, when it was dissolved, and since then Mr. Warrington has practiced alone, with gratifying success. Mr. Warrington is a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity. He was married in August, 1879, to Miss Mary M. Work, of Lancaster, Ohio, and a daughter of John Work. To this marriage there have been born four children, only one of whom, a daughter named Louise, now survives. Mr. Warrington is a lawyer of ability and safe judgment. His professional standing is of the highest, and his personal character beyond reproach. His colleagues at the bar regard Mr. Warrington with a large degree of trust and confidence. aHARLES WHEALEN, Ohio division manager, and manager of the Dayton mills, of the American Strawboard company, was born in Franklin coun- ty, Pa., September 17, 1844, a son of Bernard and Catherine Whealen, and was but twelve years of age when he came to Huffersville, Montgomery county, Ohio. Here, in the spring of 1857, he entered the service of Clark & Hawes, who established the first strawboard mill erected west of the Alleghany mountains, and, with the exception of nine months, Mr. Whalen has ever since been with this concern, the firm name having several times been changed. He began at a compensation of $2.50 per week, and worked his way upward until he became one-third owner, the business being then carried on under the title of the C. L. Hawes company, which was later merged into the American Strawboard company, of which organization he became a member in July, is;- 334 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Mr. Whealen is one of the most active and enterprising business men of the state of Ohio. He was one of the organizers of the Dayton Ice Manufacturing & Cold Storage company, of which he is president, and also of the Crys- tal Ice Manufacturing & Cold Storage com- pany, of Columbus, of which he is vice-presi- dent and director. He assisted in organizing the Dayton Brewing company, and is its pres- ident; aided in the organization of the Ameri- can Casket company, of Cincinnati, and is its president; is a stockholder in the Siebold Ma- chine company, of Dayton; is president of and stockholder in the Heikes Hand Protective company, of Dayton, and a director in the Teutonia National bank, of the same city. Fraternally, he is a member of Montgomery lodge No. 5, I. O. O. F., of the B. & P. O. E., and of the Social Aid society. The marriage of Mr. Whealen was solem- nized in Dayton, January 2, 1 872, with Miss Liz- zie Corson, daughter of James Corson. Their family consists of four daughters — Blanche, Glenn, Elizabeth and Rhoda. Mr. Whealen, as will have been seen, is the "architect of his own fortune;" he is public-spirited and liberal, and is one of the most substantial business men of the Gem City. S^\ RAFTON CLAGETT KENNEDY, a ■ ^\ prominent attorney of Dayton, Ohio, \^^J was born in Harrison township, Mont- gomery county, on the farm where his grandfather, Joseph Kennedy, settled in 1807. The Kennedy family came originally from Scotland, and settled in South Carolina; from that state they removed to Pennsylvania, and it was from near Shippensburg, Cumber- land county, that state, that Joseph Kennedy, the grandfather of Grafton C, came to Ohio, settling on a farm of 300 acres, four miles north of Dayton, which he had purchased from a cousin, the original owner of the land. There Joseph Kennedy remained the rest of his life, dying about 1854, at the age of eighty years. His wife was Nancy Kerr, who, like himself, was of Scotch descent, and who died in 1 86 1 . To them there were born three sons and one daughter, the daughter dying about 1855. The eldest son, Gilbert Kennedy, was a very prominent lawyer of Dayton and Cincinnati, and died sometime during the eighties. The surviving sons are John and Joseph, both farmers, the latter being the fa- ther of Grafton C. Joseph Kennedy was instrumental in raising a company for the One Hundred and Thirty- second regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, and drilled his company for some time on the fair grounds. The understanding was that the one reporting to camp the largest number of en- listed men, should receive the colonelcy of the regiment. Mr. Kennedy reported the largest number of men present, and was thus, as he thought, entitled to the commission; but an- other reported a larger number of men enrolled for his company, though not all enrolled were present in person, and this man received the commission. The failure of Mr. Kennedy to become commander of the regiment was a great disappointment to him as well as to the men he had raised for his company, but-notwithstand- ing this he was willing to serve in any other capacity and to go to the front with the regi- ment; but the governor of the state, becoming aware of the true state of the case, thought it best that he be given an honorable discharge, and be permitted to return home, and this was done. Joseph Kennedy married Catharine Clag- ett, a native of Maryland, whose father, Grafton A. Clagett, was also a native of that state. Her death occurred in 1866, she leav- ing three children as follows: Grafton Clag- -&. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 337 ett, Gilbert, now deceased, and Caroline, now Mrs. Edward Martin, of Milwaukee. Grafton Clagett Kennedy was born March ii, 1859, and received his early education in the common schools, which he attended dur- ing their regular sessions and occupied himself during vacations with work upon the farm. When he reached his thirteenth year he entered the public schools of Dayton, and studied in them two years. In his fifteenth year he entered the preparatory department of Wit- tenberg college, in which institution he spent five years, and where he was graduated in June, 1879, with the degree of bachelor of arts. From this college he subsequently re- ceived the honorary degree of master of arts. In September, 1879, he entered as a student the law office of Conover & Conover. Here he remained one year, and then read law two years in the office of Warren Munger, now deceased. In May, 1882, he was admitted to the bar, and in February, 1883, he opened an office and began the practice of his profession. In March, 1883, he was appointed United States commissioner at Dayton for the south- ern district of Ohio, and held this position until October, 1894, when he resigned. Mr. Kennedy practiced law alone until May, 1888, when a partnership was formed between himself and Warren Munger, his former pre- ceptor, under the firm name of Munger & Kennedy. On January 1, 1893, the firm be- came Munger, Kennedy & Munger, Harry L. Munger, son of Warren Munger, being admitted to the firm. This partnership con- tinued until about June 1, 1894, when War- ren Munger died, and since that time the firm has been Kennedy & Munger. Mr. Ken- nedy is an elder in the Third street Presby- terian church. He was married April 30, 1889, to Miss Louise Achey, a daughter of the late John J. Achey. To this marriage there have been born one daughter and one son, viz: Catherine Louise, and Grafton Sherwood. Mr. Kennedy has not yet reached the prime of his manhood and his strength, and while his suc- cess in the difficult profession of the law has been most satisfactory to himself and gratify- ing to his friends, it is probable that even greater success awaits him in the future. eDWARD B. WESTON, president of the Weston Paper Manufacturing company of Dayion, Ohio, and secre- tary and treasurer of the Weston Paper company, of the same city, was born in Bloomington, 111., October 6, 1863. His father, John G. Weston, was born at Calais, Washington, county, Me., and was a son of Irish parents.' Removing to Dayton, Ohio, in the early 'sixties, he was here married to Miss Louise M. Aull, a native of Dayton, and a daughter of Nicholas and Julia A. G. Aull, pioneer citizens of Dayton. From this city John G. Weston and his wife removed to Bloomington, 111., not many months before Edward B. was born. Mr. Weston was a printer by trade, and while in Dayton was connected with the city's newspapers. He is well remembered by the local profession. Fol- lowing the newspaper business in Bloomington until the close of the war of the Rebellion, he then returned to Dayton and died there in 1867, his widow still residing in Dayton. Edward B. Weston received his education in the public schools of Dayton, attending the Sixth district school and afterward the inter- mediate school. When he was eleven years of age he went to work in the notion house of Ewald &Wiggim, and remained in the employ of the successor of this firm, T. C. Wiggim. His employer becoming insolvent, Mr. Weston then went to work for the Augustus Sharp dry- goods store, with which he remained about six months, when he left to go with T. C. Wiggim 338 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD to Emporia, Kan., where Mr. Wiggim was the manager for E. C. Nichols. With this firm Mr. Weston remained about two years, a part of the time in Emporia, a part of the time in Wichita, and at the end of this period the con- cern was closed out. For a year or so he re- mained in the west, in Kansas, in Texas, and in the territories, still in the employ of Mr. Wiggim, who was conducting a general mer- chandise business at various points. Returning to Dayton in 1876, Mr. Weston entered the employ of R. A. Rogers & Co., proprietors of a paper store, and while there began to learn the business. After remaining with Mr. Rogers for about eight months, he went to Hoglen Bros., in the hard wood lum- ber, saw-mill and timber business, to take charge of their wood department and teams, and remained with them two years. At the end of this time he retired from their employ and went on a farm for one season, and during the same fall followed a threshing machine. Returning to 1 Jayton he entered the employ of the John W. Stoddard Manufacturing com- pany, and remained there for about two years. Then, going on the road as salesman of specialities and general paper lines for R. A. Rogers &.Co., he continued thus engaged un- til 1S82, when he became connected with Anil Bros. , paper dealers, and remained on the road for them until Ma) 1 , 1887. At this time Mr. Weston entered upon the wholesale paper business at No. 136 East Second street, under the firm name of E. B. Weston & Co., the company being nominal, and here he carried on business until 1889, when he removed to No. 104 North Main street and continued there in vholesale paper business and in the manu- facture of patented paper specialities. In 1893 Mr. Weston organized the Weston Paper company, and erected a straw wrapping r null at Greenfield, Ind., in the Indiana In 1 Sn 1 he secured the incorpora- tion of the Weston Paper & Manufacturing company, taking in a number of his old em- ployees as members of the company, and these two companies are still in active operation and conducting a successful business. Mr. Weston was married in 1886 to Blanche Phillips, daughter of Theodore A. Phillips, of Dayton. Two daughters have been born to this marriage, Irma Delight and Mar- guerite Louise. Mr. Weston is a member of Hope lodge. Knights of Pythias, and also ma- jor of the uniform rank, in the same order. He is also a member of the Order of Elks No. 58, of the Dayton club, arid of the Dayton Bicycle club. Mr. Weston served five years in the old Harris Guards, of Dayton, as a mem- ber of company A. In religion he is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church. As a republican Mr. Weston has been and is quite active in politics, but he has never held nor sought office. A successful business man of irreproachable character, he enjoys the confidence and esteem of all. EDWARD E. EUCHENHOFER, a member of the firm of Weinman & Euchenhofer, machinists, at 20 and 22 North Canal street, was born in Dayton October 3, 1852, and is a son of Fred- erick H. and Caroline (Disher) Euchenhofer. In 1888, E. E. Euchenhofer, in partner- ship with C. ] . Weinman, founded the Novelty Machine works, on St. Clair street, Dayton, and under that name the business was con- ducted seven years, when it was incorporated under the name of the Dayton Gas & Gaso- line Engine company, but a year later was changed to tin: Dayton Gas Engine & Manu- facturing company, the concern being con- verted into a joint stock company, with a capital of $40,000, and officered with E. E. Euchenhofer as president. The present firm OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. ;;a«i of Weinman & Euchenhofer was formed in May, 1896. Frederick H. Euchenhofer, father of Ed- ward E. , was born in Switzerland about the year 1812, and at the age of twenty years came to America; for a few years he lived in one of the eastern states, and in 1S36 came to Ohio, established a bakery and confectionery in Miamisburg, Montgomery county, carried on a successful trade until 1848, and then set- tled in Dayton. Here he purchased the old Columbus house, and carried on a hotel until 1863, at the same time operating the Third street brewery, which he sold in 1867; for the next five years he operated the old Tate mill, and then re-purchased the Third street brew- ery, which he operated until within a few months of his death. He was a thorough business man, and always ready to lend his aid to enterprises that might benefit not himself only, but his fellow-citizens. He was one of the charter members of, and a director in, the Teutonia Insurance company of Dayton, which is one of the most successful, yet conservative, financial institutions of the city, having been brought to its present strength through the sound judgment and business sagacity of Mr. Euchenhofer and his associates. Fraternally, Frederick H. Euchenhofer was an Odd Fellow and a member of the Harugari; in religion he was a Lutheran, and in politics he was a republican. He had been twice married, and to his first union was born one child — Albert — who died in February, 1892. His second marriage took place in Dayton with Miss Caroline Disher, who was born in Germany, but was only three years of age when brought to Fort Jennings, Putnam county, Ohio, by her parents. To this union were born ten children, in the following order: Rudolph, deceased: Edward E., whose name opens this memoir; Sabina, deceased; Otto, a brewer, of Dayton; Julia, wife of Russell Bates, also of Dayton; Katie, married to Henry Godle, of Peoria, 111. ; Ida, Hugo and Frederick, all three deceased, and Alexander. The mother of the family still survives, but the father died in Dayton February 7, 1892, at the advanced age of eighty years, honored by all with whom he had come in contact, whether in business or in fraternal and social relations. Edward E. Euchenhofer was educated in the public schools of Dayton until fourteen years of age, when he entered the employ of Mr. Mueller, first as errand boy, and afterward as clerk, until seventeen years old, when he began an apprenticeship with Brownell & Kielmeier, manufacturers of engines. With this firm he remained five years, acquiring a full knowledge of machinery and becoming an expert in the manufacture and construction of steam engines in every detail. His next step was to enter into business on his own account, but at the end of two years he abandoned this to engage in the dry goods and notion trade. After a year thus spent, he returned to his former employers, for whom he did faithful service for several years; was next appointed assistant engineer of the city water-works, and nine months later was appointed chief engi- neer, holding this responsible position for five years. While serving in this capacity, Mr. Euchenhofer invented and patented an auto- matic device for boilers, for feeding boiler scale solvents, and this patent has, by reason of its acknowledged efficiency, met an extensive sale throughout the country. His next step in business was the formation of a partnership with Mr. Weinman in the enterprises above mentioned. Messrs. Euchenhofer & \\ man are the inventors and patentees of many valuable devices in connection with engines and machinery. In politics Mr. Euchenhofer is a republican, and in societary relations he is a member of 340 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the Order of Chosen Friends. His marriage took place November 9, 1877, to Miss Dora Makley, daughter of Frank Makley, and to them have been born five children, Adolph, Carl, Walter, Clara and Edna. The parents and children are all members of the Lutheran church. >*j* RUSSELL JOHNSTON, representa- ■ tive merchant of Dayton, Ohio, and (• 1 member of the large dry-goods house of Elder & Johnston, was born in the year 1854, in the town of Ayton, Berwickshire, Scotland. He began an apprenticeship at the dry-goods business as a clerk in a local store. He served as an apprentice for a term of five years, and continued for eighteen months afterward in the same establishment. He then came to the United States and entered the dry- goods store of Brown, Thompson & Co., of Hartford, Conn., where he continued for ten years. In 18S3, Mr. Johnston came to Day- ton, and in March of that year the present dry- goods establishment of Elder & Johnston was founded. Their first location was at Nos. 1 14 and 1 16 East Third street, where they opened with a comparatively small stock, the firm's capital being limited. Two and a half years later the business had grown to such an extent that larger quarters were necessary, and the firm removed to Nos. 24 and 26 East Third street, where they conducted both a wholesale and retail business, employing eighty people in the establishment. The firm continued at the above stand until November, 1896, when they removed to the new Reibold building, on South Main street, where they occupy two floors and the basement with probably the largest stock of dry goods in the city. The in- tention of the firm is ultimately to develop their business into a department store, in which event it will be the first of the kind in Dayton. Mr. Johnston's success in life has been remark- able. He began his life work as a boy of four- teen years of age, as an apprentice, and now, as a man of only forty-two years, he has reached a position as equal partner in one of the largest and most successful dry-goods es- tablishments in western Ohio. This he has accomplished solely by his own efforts, having made his way in life unaided, relying entirely upon his industry and business ability. His life has been a most active one, and his labors in every capacity from that of apprentice to that of proprietor have met with deserved suc- cess. As an apprentice he was industrious, ambitious to learn and faithful to his employ- er's interests ; as a salesman he was thorough, painstaking and conscientious, striving always to promote the welfare of his employers and at the same time to advance his own. Since coming to Dayton and entering a mercantile career upon his own responsibility, Mr. John- ston has given all his time and attention to the upbuilding of his business, and the success that he has achieved is the natural result of energy, enterprise and splendid qualifications. Mr. Johnston is regarded as one of the representa- tive and progressive citizens of Dayton. His usefulness as a citizen has not been hampered by his devotion to business cares, and he has always stood ready to lend his aid and influ- ence to all movements having for their object the growth, development and advancement of his adopted city. He is a Mason of high degree, being past master of Mystic lodge No. 405 ; belongs to Unity chapter; is past eminent commander of Reed commandery, Knights Templar, and has attained the thirty-second degree in Scottish rite masonry. Mr. Johnston was married in 1877, in Hart- ford, Conn., to Miss Lizzie C. Purvis, and they are the parents of the following children: Edith, Mae and Russell Purvis. rrUiJrc-rL OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 343 u 'ILLIAM G. ZWICK, assistant sec- retary of the Zwick & Greenwald Wheel company, is a native of Day- ton, Ohio, was born May 20, 1863, and is a son of Ernst and Sophie (Wilke) Zwick, the former of whom was the founder of the above named company. The Zwick & Greenwald Wheel company, at the corner of Huffman and Linden avenues, Dayton, Ohio, was established, in 1859, by Ernst Zwick (now deceased), at the corner of Wayne and Third streets, where it transacted business until 1890, when it was removed to its present location — the name the company now bears having been assumed in October, 1881. In 1892, a joint stock company was formed for the conduct of the business, although the company did not change its title, and the officers elected at that time were the following: Harman Rogge, presi- dent; Henry Zwick, secretary ; Frederick Rogge, treasurer — the stockholders being Henry Zwick, Jacob Greenwald, Harman Rogge, F. Kam- men, Samuel Zwick, Joseph Zwick and Fred Rogge. No change has since taken place among these stockholders, excepting that oc- casioned by the death of Jacob Greenwald. The Zwick & Greenwald Wheel company plant covers three acres of ground and employs from 140 to 150 people, the president of the company, Harman Rogge, being also the man- ager. The business has grown from the man- ufacture of ten sets of wheels per day to that of 1 50 sets per day. The wheels are known as the best made in the United States, and are sold all over the Union, as well as in other countries. The elementary education of William G. Zwick was acquired in the public schools of his native city, and this was supplemented by an attendance at the Baptist college, of Roches- ter, N. Y. , and at the Miami Commercial col- lege, of Dayton, Ohio. He first entered the wheel factory as an apprentice, thoroughly learned the trade and became familiar with the workings of the immense concern in all its de- tails, became a stockholder in the company in 1888, and eventually reached his present re- sponsible position, which he has since filled with marked ability. July 18, 1888, Mr. Zwick was united in marriage with Miss Louise A. Bartel, the ac- complished daughter of Herman Bartel, of Dayton, and this union has been followed by the birth of three children: Walter William, born May 15, 1889; Helen Louisa, June 3, 1892, and Lawrence, October 6, 1893. The parents are faithful members of the German Baptist church of Dayton, of which Mr. Zwick is a trustee and assistant clerk. m AJ. ALVAN STUART GAL- BRAITH, commissary of subsist- ence of the central branch of the National Military Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (a brief sketch of which in- stitution will be found in the biography of Col. J. B. Thomas), was born near Salem, Colum- biana county, Ohio, November 15, 1840, and there grew to manhood. Soon after the outbreak of the late Civil war, Mr. Galbraith volunteered in a battalion of cavalry, known as Fremont's body guard, and served from July, 1861, until December of the same year. His experience, although short, served to increase his patriotic ardor, and thereafter he became a vigorous, valiant and efficient soldier in the defense of his country's flag, and was eventually promoted from private to brevet major for meritorious conduct in the face of the enemy, and for valuable services rendered in other capacities, brief mention of which is here given: In April, 1862, he en- listed in the Eighty-fourth Ohio volunteer in- fantry, was elected first sergeant of company G, and saw service in Maryland and Virginia, 344 OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. and with the regiment was mustered out of the service in September, 1862; his next enlist- ment was in company G, One Hundred and Twenty-fourth regiment, Ohio volunteer in- fantry, entering the company as first sergeant, which rank was granted him as a recognition of his past services as a soldier; with this non- commissioned, but honorable title, hs served until March, 1863, when his commendable con- duct as a soldier was rewarded by a commis- sion as first lieutenant of company I, of the same regiment. While holding this rank Lieut. Galbraith was detailed as a provost-marshal of his brigade and was also appointed assistant inspector-general on the staffs of Gen. William B. Hazen ind Gen. P. Sidney Post. In Aug- ust, 1864, he was promoted to the captaincy of company I, and his higher rank was reached in the regular army of the United States, of which mention will be made in a following par- agraph. While in the volunteer service Capt. Gal- braith took an active part as sergeant, lieuten- ant and captain, in many severe and sangui- nary battles of the Civil war, among which may be named, outside of his service in Mis- souri, those of Spring Hill and Triune, Tenn. ; Chickamauga, Ga. ; Brown's Ferry, Tenn., where he was severely wounded and in conse- quence was confined in hospital several months. He went through the Atlanta campaign and was under fire at Jonesboro and Lovejoy; was at the fall of Atlanta, and in the battles at Franklin and Nashville, Tenn. He also served in the campaigns through Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and in other states, until mustered out with his regiment at Cleveland, Ohio, July 19, 1865. He then re- turned to his home in Columbiana county, Ohio, and on May 11, 1866, was appointed nd lieutenant in the Eighteenth United States regular) infantry; in 1867 he was pro- moted to the rank of first lieutenant, and in 1868 to that of captain and major by brevet — these rapid promotions being awarded him chiefly for his gallant and meritorious conduct at the battles of Chickamauga and Brown's Ferry, while in the volunteer service. While in the regular army the work en- trusted to Maj. Galbraith was arduous, varied, and comprehensive. He was at different peri- ods of his service placed on duty at Newport (Ky.) barracks; at Governor's, Bedloe's and David's islands, New York harbor; at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Md. ; at Washington, D. C. ; at Fort Casper and Fort Fetterman, then in Dakota territory, but now within the bound- aries of Wyoming; at North Platte station, Neb. ; at Fort Sedgwick, Colo. ; Fort Omaha, Neb. : and at Huntsville, Ala. ; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Lancaster, Ky., and Atlanta, Ga., dur- ing the reconstruction period. Also, while still first lieutenant, with brevet major rank in the regular army, he acted as Indian agent for the United States government, in charge of the interests of the Confederated Flathead na- tion in Montana. December 18, 1S73, Maj. Galbraith re- signed his position in the regular army, rejoined his mother in Cincinnati, Ohio, and for three years enjoyed a rest, in the meanwhile recu- perating his shattered health. In the early- part of 1882, he was appointed postmaster at the National Military home, near Dayton, in which capacity he served until 1892, when he resigned in order to accept his present posi- tion, wherein he has charge of the entire sub- sistence department of the home. Nathan and Sarah (Hoover) Galbraith, parents of the major, had a family of three children, of whom Marius Robinson is a resi- dent of Cincinnati, and Celia, unmarried, is a resident of Johnstown, Pa. Nathan Galbraith, a native of Ohio, died at the early age of thirty years, while his widow, a native of Pennsylvania, lived to be OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 345 nty-four years old. In religion they were respectively members of the Quaker and Bap- tist churches. The marriage of Mai. Galbraith took place in 1884, to Mrs. Myra (Fonda) Taylor, a native of Brooklyn, N. Y. , this union resulting in the birth of one child, Stuart, who died in infancy. Mrs. Galbraith is a member of the Society of the Daughters of the Revolution, by right of lineal descent from Asa Priest, her maternal great-grandfather, who was a soldier from Massachusetts, and took an active part in the glorious struggle. Maj. Galbraith is a member of Perry lodge, No. 185, F. cS: A. M., as well as of the Loyal Legion and the G. A. R. In politics he has been a life-long abolitionist and republican. ^|-» EWIS HENRY WEBBER, a well- j known cut-stone contractor of Day- Ji ton, Ohio, was born in Salem, N. J., December 15, 1845, ar >d i s a son °f Thomas and Louisa (Green) Webber, also na- tives of Salem. The Webber family, of English origin, was established in New Jersey over 200 years ago, but its genealogy cannot be fully traced. Suf- fice it to say that John Webber, great-grand- father of Lewis, was a sailor, hailing from the Sharp Backs state, and was killed by lightning. John's son, Henry, served as a musician through the war of 181 2, and died at the age of eighty-six years. Thomas, the son of Henry, and father of Lewis, was a contrac- tor in early life, but later engaged in merchan- dizing, and in this occupation died in Chris- tiana, New Castle county, Del., in 1876, at the age of fifty-five years. The Green family, equally as old in Amer- ica as the Webber family, and also of English origin, belonged to the religious organization known as Quakers. Great-grandfather Green was a farmer, and resided in the vicinity of Salem, N. J., during the Revolutionary war. As is well known, the Society of Friends (Quakers) are people of peace, whose tenets forbid the bearing of arms in war or the aiding or abetting of war. Nevertheless, feeling that the struggle of the colonists was patriotic and just, his sympathies were all with their cause, and the following incident is related of him, touching his latent but ardent patriotism. On a certain occasion, when the Continental army was in great distress for want of corn, with which his cribs were well filled, he was impor- tuned by the officers to sell an evident surplus of the grain on hand. He declined to do so, because, as he said, "That would be encour- aging war; but I shall go away from home, and if the corn be missing when I return, I shall not inquire concerning it." History records that the corn was missing. Of the five sons born to Thomas and Lou- isa Webber, Lewis H. is the eldest, and Albert, his next younger brother, is foreman in his ex- tensive works; Arthur G. and Henry L. are in the grain and coal trade at Christiana, Del., and John died at the age of eight years. The early life of Lewis H. Webber was spent in the states of New Jersey and Dela- ware, his education being acquired in the New- ark (Del.) academy and Delaware college. In 1869 he came to Dayton and entered into the employ of the Webber & Lehman Stone & Marble company, of which company John Webber, his uncle, was president. Of this company Lewis H. was at first bookkeeper, and was then made assistant secretary. After three years well spent in this concern, Mr. Webber united in partnership with S. T. Bryce and with him continued in business for five years, when Mr. Webber bought out his partner's interest and has since carried on a most successful business on his own account, 346 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD in contracting for the construction of stone buildings and for the stone work of others not composed entirely of stone. His plant, which is planned for the reduction of all kinds of quarried stone to a condition for practical use in building foundations and walls as well, and for the smoothing and polishing of rough ashlars, is most complete in its appliances, containing machinery which is alone estimated at a value of $40,000, including ftone saws, planers, and all other means necessary for the production of solid exterior as well as decorative exterior and interior work, and giving employment, on an average, to 100 men. One of the first struc- tures that attracted attention as the work of Mr. Webber was the Montgomery county court house, the stone work of which was sup- plied, as one of his earliest contracts, from his own shops, at a cost of $50,000, in 1878. Since that date Mr. Webber has furnished the material and assisted in the construction of nearly all the substantial stone buildings in the city of Dayton, among which may be cited the costly Burney and King residences, the U. P. and Sacred Heart churches, and the Steele high school building. The marriage of Mr. Webber took place in Christiana, Del., in 1875, to Miss Florence Southgate, a native of Baltimore, Md. , and of English descent. This union has been blessed by the birth of three children — Emma E., Florence L., and Willard — the first two of whom are now attending the Steele high school. The family are connected with the Third street Presbyterian church. In politics Mr. Webber is a stanch republican, although he has never sought public office. He is a Freemason, and is also a member of the Dayton club, a social organization, and of the political body known as the Garfield club. Mr. Webber's energy, skill and industry have earned him a place in the front rank of the successful business men o( Dayton. HOMAS ELDER, a leading merchant of Dayton, Ohio, and senior member and founder of the extensive dry-goods house of Elder & Johnston, was born in Harrisburg, Pa., in the year 1845. His parents were Robert R. and Elizabeth G. El- der, both of whom were of Scotch descent. The boyhood of young Elder was spent in a manner common to boys of his station in life. He attended the public schools of Harrisburg, securing a good English education. At the age of seventeen years he resolved to leave his native place and try his fortune in the broader field of a large city. Accordingly, in 1862, he set out for Philadelphia, which city he reached with but few possessions and little money, but with sound health, good habits, ambition and a determination to get on in the world. He was willing to turn his attention to anything he could do and soon found employment. He remained in Philadelphia eight or nine years, engaged in different capacities in various lines of business, and in 1872 he went to Boston, Mass. In Boston he secured a position with the blanket house of Thomas Kelley & Co., as a traveling salesman. After remaining with the above firm three years, in 1875 he entered the service of Jordan, Marsh & Co. , of Bos- ton, one of the largest dry-goods houses in the world, as general traveling salesman, where he remained until 1883. At this time ne decided to embark in business on his own responsibil- ity, and the same year he came to Dayton and, associating himself with Messrs. Johnston & Hunter, founded the present business of Elder & Johnston, which is now the leading dry-goods establishment in Dayton and one of the largest in western Ohio. Mr. Hunter retiree 1 from the firm in 1886. The. business was begun origi- nally upon a very modest basis and with a lim- ited capital, at Nos. 114 and 116 East Third street. In about two and a half years, how- ever, it had grown to such proportions that OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 349 larger quarters were necessary, and they re- moved to Nos. 24 and 26 East Third street, where the business was established on a much larger scale. From year to year it grew and spread, and a wholesale department was added, together with other features, until again it be- came necessary to find more commodious quar- ters, and in November, 1896, they removed to the new Reibold building on South Main street, where they now occupy two floors and the basement. They carry a complete stock of dry goods, cloaks, etc., doing both a whole- sale and retail business, and employing over 100 people. Their store rooms are the largest and handsomest in the city, and their trade, while already the leading one, is constantly in- creasing, ft is the firm's intention eventually to convert their business into a modern depart- ment store, there being no enterprise of that character in Dayton. fn 1872 Mr. Elder was married to Miss Tacie E. Jarrett, who was born in Philadel- phia, of Quaker parents. To Mr. and Mrs. Elder the following children have been born: Mary M., Robert, Elsie, Helen, and two de- ceased in infancy. Mr. Elder is a member of the Third street Presbyterian church and pres- ident of the Y. M. C. A. In the Sabbath- school he has also been an earnest worker, taking great interest in all of its useful ac- tivities. Mr. Elder's life has been a busy one, and success has come to him through his own ef- forts. He may well be termed a self-made man, as he began at the bottom, starting in life with no capital save that of energy, indus- try and ambition, and relying entirely upon his own ability and natural resources. Still a man in his prime, he has risen from an humble clerical position to that of senior member of one of the largest mercantile houses in a great state, and his prosperity has been well de- served. His position in the business world has not overshadowed his position in life as a citi- zen, friend and neighbor. He has always been found ready to lend his aid and influence to all worthy movements designed to benefit the community at large. He is regarded as a broad-minded and public-spirited citizen, rec- ognizing and discharging faithfully all the du- ties incumbent upon him. ^y^VROF. CLAUDE MICHELON, in- 1 m structor in the French, Italian and M Spanish languages, with his residence at the corner of Third and Perry streets, Dayton, was born in Chambery, near Lyons, France, December 8, 1869. He was a student in the college Louis le Grand, at Paris, and at the Lyceum of Lyons, where he was educated in literature and philosophy. On October 1, 1894, he came to America; on the 1 2th day of the same month he was dis- patched by Prof. Berlitz, of New York, to Cincinnati, Ohio, to become an instructor in a French school, and on June 12, 1895, he came to Dayton and opened his present poly- glot school of instruction, in which he has met with success. His classes comprise about 180 pupils, drawn from the most cultured and intellectual circles of the city, and these pupils are taught in so simple a manner that, at the conclusion of forty lessons, they are prepared to conduct a reasonably intelligent conversation in the special language acquired. Beside his home class, he teaches in the Y. M. C. A. school, also in Miss Thomas's academy for young ladies, and has a large class at the Soldiers' home. Prof. Michelon has, in his comparatively brief residence in Dayton, awakened a new interest in language study, and is now recog- nized as the most skillful and accomplished teacher of French that has ever conducted classes in this city. 350 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD (D ICHAEL WALTER, funeral direc- tor and a leading business man of Dayton, is a native of Germany, born December 17, 1840, in the kingdom of Bavaria. His parents, Martin and Barbara (Schnabel) Walter, were both natives of the above country, where the father, for many years, carried on the cabinetmaking business, and where his death occurred in 1856, at the age of sixty-three; the mother having died in 1855, at the age of fifty-six years. Their son, Michael, is the youngest of ten chil- dren. Three sisters and one brother died in America, and one brother and two sisters still live in Germany; the only member of the family in the United States, with the exception of Michael, is Henry, who makes his home at Celina, Ohio. Michael Walter was educated in the schools of his native country and there learned cabi- netmaking, which he followed, in connection with the undertaking business, until 1863, at which time, he came to the United States, lo- cating at Dayton, Ohio, where for a period of seven years he was in the employ of his brother Martin, one of the leading undertakers of the city. In 1870, Mr. Walter embarked in the undertaking business upon his own re- sponsibility on Franklin street and has since continued the same with most gratifying suc- cess, being at this time the head of one of the largest establishments of the kind in the city. From a rather limited beginning he has gone forward year by year, building up a constantly increasing trade, and, at this time, he enjoys much more than a local reputation in business circles. He has spared no reasonable effort to make himself thoroughly familiar with every detail of his trade and in 1883 graduated from the Cincinnati school of embalming, one of the largest and most thorough institutions of the kind in the United States. Mr. Walter's place .'1 business on Franklin street is fully equiped and supplied with all that pertains to the suc- cessful prosecution of undertaking and the nec- essary equipment and stock of caskets, etc., represent a capital of about $10,000. Mr. Walter is a member of an undertaking associa- tion of Ohio, of which he has served as treas- urer during the past ten years. He is a man well known in the community where he has lived so long and sustains a reputation for in- tegrity and honesty surpassed by none. Per- sonally Mr. Walter is very popular, a genial companion and a good citizen. In 1 868 Mr. Walter was united in marriage with Miss Philomena Steile, a native of Cin- cinnati, but born of German parentage; three sons and three daughters have been born of this union — Joseph C, who is employed in his father's business house; Clara, Leo, Flora, Amelia and Edward. The family are mem- bers of the Emanuel Roman Catholic church, of Dayton, and Mr. Walter affiliates with the following societies: Catholic Knights of Amer- ica; Catholic Knights of Ohio; Knights of St. George; St. Charles Benevolent society; Gesel- len society; St. Joseph's Orphan society; the Bavarian society and the Cincinnati Life asso- ciation. Politically Mr. Walter is a democrat. <>^\ ABBI MAX WERTHEIMER, Ph.D., I /<^ pastor of B'nai Yeshurun temple, W Dayton, Ohio, is a native of Buffalo, N. Y. , and was born December 6, 1864. He was primarily educated in the pub- lic schools of the city of his birth, and later studied for eight years in the Cincinnati uni- versity, from which institution he graduated June 14, 1887, with the degree of bachelor of letters, and two years later he was graduated from the Hebrew Union college, of the same city, which conferred upon him the title of rabbi. In March, 1889, he was unanimously elected by the congregation or synagogue of OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 351 B'nai Yeshurun to his present eminent posi- tion, and September 6, 1SS9, he delivered his inaugural sermon or lecture, which was recog- nized as the result of deep thought and ripe scholarship, and of great power and beauty of expression. Since assuming his pastorate, Rabbi Wert- heimer has taken a post-graduate course at Martyn college of philosophy, from which he was graduated in June, 1895, with the ad- vanced degree of Ph. D. The doctor has also traveled quite extensively since first locating in Dayton, lecturing before many learned socie- ties, as well as to popular gatherings, in many cities of the west. The marriage of Rev. Dr. Wertheimer took place in Peru, Ind., December 27, 1893, to Miss Hannah Affelder, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Affelder. Mrs. Wertheimer is a lady of rare accom- plishments, and is especially talented in instru- mental music. She has borne her husband one child, Lester Henry, who was born Janu- ary 5, 189s. Rabbi Wertheimer is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and was for two years chaplain of his lodge; he is also a member of the B'nai Brith, or Sons of the Covenant, and was formerly president of the Kersher Shel- barzel, a Jewish society of Dayton, as well as an active member of the Present Day club. He is a scholar of unusual literary attainments, is a forcible and eloquent speaker, is possessed of indomitable energy, and his philanthropic disposition has won for him the esteem of all who know him. \S~\ EV. EDWARD LORENZ, of Dayton, I /^ Ohio, German editor for the United P Brethern Publishing house, was born in Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, No- vember 26, 1827. He received his preliminary education in the excellent public schools of his native land, and learned the trade of shoemak- ing, made illustrious by the many great men who began life in this calling. At the age of twenty-one years he came to America. Sev- eral years later he married Mrs. Adam Geil, formerly Miss Barbara Gueth, whom he had but passingly known in the fatherland. His wife had come to America several years earlier with her first husband, who died soon after their arrival, leaving her a widow with two small children, a stranger in a strange land at the age of twenty. With characteristic cour- age and fortitude she faced the situation, and despite the loss of her inheritance in Germany by the bad management of friends, supported herself and her little ones until her marriage with Mr. Lorenz. But she has borne the marks of this trying experience in the pro- tracted invalidism of nearly half a century due to a broken nervous system. Mrs. Lorenz is a woman of unusual force and straightforward- ness of character, somewhat rese.rved in man- ner and of few words, but with a kind heart and full of practical helpfulness, fn this she resembles her father, whose young manhood was spent in Spain in the army of Napoleon. Taken captive by the English he was sent to England. Released on parole and sent home with 400 comrades, their ship was wrecked on the coast of Holland and only twenty-six of them were saved. He subsequently wrote a graphic narrative of this terrible experience, the original manuscript being now in the pos- session of E. S. Lorenz. To Mr. and Mrs. Lorenz were born three children, viz: Edmund Simon, Daniel Ed- ward, and Justina. Of these a full biographical sketch of Edmund S. follows this memoir; Daniel Edward is pastor of the Presbyterian church of the Good Shepherd, on Sixty-sixth street, New York city, and Justina is professor of the German language in the Norwich (Conn. , 352 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Free academy. Rev. Daniel Edward Lorenz received his preparatory education in the Day- ton high school, graduated from Otterbein uni- versity in 1884, became assistant secretary of the Young Men's Christian association of New York city, attended Union Theological semi- nary, of that city, and married Miss Etta, daughter of Bishop J. W. Hott. Justina Lor- enz married J. O. Stephens, August 14, 1883, but her husband died October 18 following of typhoid fever, and since his death she has de- voted herself exclusively to teaching. Since she accepted her present position she has been invited to fill important situations in other in- stitutions, but has steadily declined to consider or accept them. Edward Lorenz was converted the year after his reaching America (1849). He united with the United Brethren church in Canal Ful- ton, Stark county, Ohio, in 1859, and at once began preaching in the same town. After many years spent in the pastorate, preaching in most of the important cities of Ohio, he was appointed in May, 1889, by the United Brethren missionary board, as general mana- ger of its missions in Germany, and was lo- cated at Berlin for four years, where his daughter, Justina, improved the opportunity in completing her advanced studies in the Ger- man language. During these years Mr. Lorenz traveled in all parts of the German empire, superintending the extensive missionary efforts of his church. On his return to the United States, in 1893, he was chosen pastor of the Otterbein (German) church on Xenia avenue, Dayton, and held the charge for two years, or until 1895, during the last year of his pastorate filling also the important position he at present occupies. He has exclusive editorial charge of all the publications issued in the German language by the United Brethren Publishing house, which include the Froehliche Botschaf- ter, weekly; Jugend Pilger, semi-monthly; Lektionshefte, quarterly. Beside editing these, he reads the proofs of all German publications issued from the United Brethren Publishing house and also attends to all the German busi- ness correspondence of the house. Rev. Mr. Lorenz has been a man of won- derful vitality, and now, though past sixty-nine years of age, is hale and hearty, being remark- ably well preserved and still as affable, digni- fied and courteous as when he was in his prime. He attends to all his manifold and taxing duties without fatigue, and, it may be added, has lost but one day from illness during his forty years of active labor. C/^V HILIP E. GILBERT, the prominent 1 ■ contractor and builder of Dayton, was fl born in Miltonville, Butler county, Ohio, November 21, 1845, ms father and mother having been respectively of Penn- sylvania and Maryland parentage. In 1848 the family settled in Miamisburg, Montgomery county, where Philip was educated in the pub- lic and select schools, and at the age of thir- teen began an apprenticeship of five years at carpentering, serving at the trade during the intervals between school sessions. The con- clusion of his apprenticeship brought hirn up to 1864, when he enlisted in company D, One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio national guard, under command of Col. John G. Lowe, and at the conclusion of his term of enlistment was honorably mustered out. In 1865 he moved to West Sonora, Preble county, where he was engaged in saw-milling and carpentering for several years, and during his residence there was united in marriage, June 14, 1866, to Miss Mary Ann Scharf, of Franklin, Warren county. In the spring of 1868 Mr. Gilbert, with no considerable means, ventured upon a removal with his wife and child to Dayton, for the purpose of improving his worldly condition. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 353 Here, soon after his arrival, he became ac- quainted with the late William P. Huffman, in whom he found a sincere friend, and from whom he received many kindnesses. Through him Mr. Gilbert was enabled to enter into contracting and building, and this, with the manufacture of builders' supplies, has been his business up to the present time. That he made a success of his enterprise may be shown by the fact that, in the spring of 1878, he be- gan the year in March with 125 contracts to build houses, and by the close of the season had erected 165. Among the heavier contracts handled by Mr. Gilbert may be mentioned those for the construction of the Ninth district school-house, Sacred Heart church, the Cen- tral Baptist church, the Fourth National bank, the Ohmer Canby block; the Barney block on Third and Wayne streets and the Barney blocks on Fifth street; the Lowe brothers and Ware Coffee company's blocks on First street; the J. P. Wolf and J. S. Antrim blocks on First street; the residences of E. J. Barney, J. P. Wolf, Col. F. T. Huffman, George P. Huffman and W. H. Crawford, and also many of the largest manufacturing plants in the city, including those of the Davis Sewing Machine company, the Zwick & Greenwald Wheel company, the Dayton Manufacturing company, the Woodhull Carriage company, the Dayton Last company, the Crume & Sef- ton factories, the Dayton Spice-mills, and scores of other large and substantial buildings. In politics Mr. Gilbert is a strong republican ond takes an active interest in his party's wel- fare, having served as its delegate to its county, state and national conventions; he has served two terms of two years each on the board of education from his ward, was appointed on the board of city affairs for a term of four years by the tax commissioners in 1892, and was re- appointed for four years by Mayor C. G. Mc- Millen in 1896. He has been a member of the Garfield club since its organization; is a member of the Dayton club, of the Old Guard post, G. A. R. , of Dayton lodge, F. & A. M., is a Knight Templar, and also a member of Iola lodge, K. of P. In religion he is a Bap- tist and has been a member of the Linden ave- nue church since its organization and its Sun- day-school superintendent for eleven years. Mr. Gilbert has always been a public-spirited citizen, devoted to the material interests of his adopted city. Of the ten children born to his marriage, the following-named still survive: Erminie P., now Mrs. Ira Crawford; Florence E., wife of J. Frank Kiefaber; Hattie B. ; William P., book-keeper for the Huffman Stone Co.; Edwin D., a student, and Helen E. >-y'OHN CHARLES PATTERSON, son of ■ Prof. William J. and Anna (Ford) Patter- (9 1 son, whose biography is elsewhere giv- en, is a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, and was born July 26, 1862. Hepassedhis youthful days on a farm, performing the severe physical labor incident to such a life, but by no means neglected the cultivation of his mental powers. Aided by his father and other com- petent teachers he was able, at the age of nine- teen years, to assume the duties of a school- master, and for three years followed this pro- fession as a vocation. He then entered the law office of Boltin & Shauck, of which firm the junior member is now a judge of the supreme court of Ohio. Through diligent study young Patterson was soon prepared for the bar, to which he was admitted in 1887, when he im- mediately entered upon the active practice of his profession. His abilities were promptly recognized, and in 1890 he was elected prose- cuting attorney of Montgomery county, upon the democratic ticket, and his performance of the duties of that office served to add to his reputation as a lawyer. He now holds a prom- 354 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD inent position among the members of the Day- ton bar, being the senior member of the firm Patterson & Murphy. Mr. Patterson was united in marriage, June 19, 1883, with Miss Mary A. Douglass, of Oxford, Ohio, and this union has been blessed with one son, John M., born August 2, 1885. eZRA F. KIMMEL, manager of the National Improvement company, and among the best known young business men of Dayton, was born in this city October 20, 1863. His father, Christian Kim- mel, was one of the old settlers of Dayton, having come here from Germany in 1846. He resided in this city the rest of his life, being killed in September, 1893, in a railroad wreck while on his way home from the world's fair. For thirty-five years Mr. Kimmel was superin- tendent of the machine shops of the Buckeye Iron & Brass works. His widow, who still lives in Dayton, was a native of Ashland coun- ty, Ohio, and a daughter of Jacob Ecki. She was also in the wreck in which her husband was killed, and sustained severe injuries. To them there were born six children, five of whom are still living, and residing in Dayton, as fol- lows: William H. , secretary of the Mutual Home & Savings association; Mrs. Louise Bard, wife of O. J. Bard, attorney at law; Mrs. Anna Freehofer, wife of A. O. Freehofer, bookkeeper for the John Dodds Manufacturing company; Gnstave B., a student in college at Napierville, 111., and Ezra F. Ezra F. Kimmel was reared in Dayton and was educated in the public schools of that city, including the high school, from which he graduated in 1879. In May, 1880, he began working for R. C. Anderson, manufacturer of plows, as bookkeeper, in which position he re- mained for four years. In March, 1884, he entered the office of the Mutual Home & Savings association, having charge of that as- sociation's books for four years, and being its auditor for three years and a half. On July 15, 1891, he organized the John Dodds Manu- facturing company, of which he became vice- president and superintendent, in which capa- cities he acted until December 1, 1896, when he accepted the position of manager for the National Improvement company and agent for E. J. Barney. At the time he left the Mutual Home & Savings association, he >was made a director and a member of the finance commit- tee of the institution, positions which he still retains. He aided in organizing the Walker Lithographic & Printing company, and was a director of that company until the latter part of 1895, when he sold his interest in the business. Mr. Kimmel was married in November, 1885, to Miss Ida M. Steffey, daughter of Rev. M. W. Steffey, a minister of the Evangelical association, formerly of Dayton, Ohio, but now of South Bend, Ind. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Kimmel there have been born two children, Florence M. and Russell Ezra. Mr. Kimmel is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of the church of the Evangelical association, and is a member of the board of trustees of that church. In both fraternity and church he enjoys a high slanding and is held in sincere esteem by his many friends in the community. EENRY W. KAISER, one of the com- missioners of Montgomery county, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 21, 1850. As the name indicates, he is of German antecedents. He was reared in Cincinnati and was there educated in the public schools, learning both German and English, and being confirmed in German. After leav- ing school he learned the trade of saddle cov- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 355 ering and worked at this occupation for a num- ber of years. Since November I, 1875, he has been a resident of Dayton, to which city he removed for the purpose of taking charge of the business of the Fleischmann Yeast company, as general agent, which position he has held ever since, a period of more than twenty years. Mr. Kaiser was elected county commissioner in the fall of 1893, the term being for three years and expiring in the spring of 1897. He is a republican in politics, and a popular man in Montgomery county. He was married, September 17, 1874, in Cincinnati, to Miss Emma Rheinhardt, who was born in that city October 17, 1855, and who was the daughter of Frederick Rheinhardt. She became the mother of three children, as follows: Harry F. ; Maude N., and J. Edward, and died De- cember 22, 1895. Mr. Kaiser is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Ancient Or- der of United Workmen, holding at the pres- ent time the presidency of the Grand trustee board of Ohio of that order. He is also a member of the Knights of Maccabees. He is a member of St. John's German Evangelical Lutheran church, in good standing, and is one of the useful and esteemed citizens of Dayton. y^yLIAS LEWIS ACTON, draftsman, H 1 and supervising architect, with his V«_>A. office in the Callahan Bank building, Dayton, Ohio, was born in London, Madison county, Ohio, May 21, 185 1, and is a son of Richard and Minerva (Lewis) Acton. The father, also a native of the Buckeye state, was a carriage builder by occupation, and died in London at the age of sixty-two years; the mother still resides in that city, and is passing the closing years of her life in religious work in the interest of the Universalist church. These parents had born to them four children, viz: Lina and Elias L. , who are twins — Lina being now the wife of G. P. Cross, of Minneapolis; Peyton H., who was a journalist at Sioux Falls, Dak., for a number of years, and died in that city at the age of thirty-five; and Maggie who is still the companion of her mother. Elias L. Acton left his native city in 1869, and went to Cincinnati, where for about seven years, he made his home with his uncle, Bolly Lewis, and entered upon his business life as a clerk or salesman, in a carpet store, in the meantime taking lessons in isometric and or- nametal drawing, thus laying the foundation of his after skill as an architect; he next spent two years in New Orleans, La., in a carpet store, and also continued the study of drafting. In 1878 Mr. Acton returned to his native city, where he was engaged, in association with his brother, Peyton H., in the publication of the Madison County Times. In 1881 Mr. Acton came to Dayton, re-engaged in the carpet business, and was also employed as a designer of ceiling decorations. About 1888 he turned his attention to architectural work exclusively, and for several months was employed by Will- iams, Otter & Dexter as draftsman and de- signer. He then embarked in business as an architect on his own account, and during the past eight years has designed and constructed many fine edifices in Dayton and elsewhere, notably, the Hotel Atlas, the Armory, and the Gem Shirt company's building, besides many of the better class of private residences. He is at present engaged in the construction, on Fifth street, of the Ridgway apartment building, which comprises seven distinct structures under one roof. Mr. Acton is also superintending the erection of an architecturally beautiful double stone front building for George Fair, costing $16,000, which will be an additional evidence of the skill of its designer and an or- nament to the city. Mr. Acton was married in Dayton, Sep- 356 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD tember 27, 1879, to Miss Anna Nolan, of Columbus, Ohio, a native of Madison county. Mrs. Acton bore her husband three children, but at the early age of thirty-six years was laid to eternal rest, dying in Dayton, February 13, 1895. The three children are: Richard, who, now at the age of fifteen years, is an as- sistant in his father's office, but is also attend- ing school; Thomas, aged twelve years, and Minerva, aged nine, are still the companions of their father, and are also attending school. Mrs. Acton was a conscientious Catholic in her religious faith, and her children have been baptized in that church. Mr. Acton was formerly a democrat, but became a republican at about the time of the resumption of specie payment by the government. EERBERT HENRY WEAKLEY, pres- ident and general manager of the Herald Publishing company, of Day- ton, Ohio, was born February 1, 1837, on the Weakley farm, in the vicinity of Day- ton, and is the son of Edward Thomas and Catherine (Gunckel) Weakley. The Weakley family is of English origin, the first to come to America having been five well-to-do brothers, who emigrated together prior to the coming of William Penn. Three of them located in Penn- sylvania, while the other two went south. The latter became the progenitors of large fam- ilies. Weakley county, Tenn., was named for one of them. The grandfather of Herbert H. was Thomas Weakley, who was born in Cum- berland county, Pa.., and whose wife was Ann Alexander; her father was a staff officer of Gen. Washington. Edward Thomas Weakley, their only son, was also born in Cumberland county, Pa., and came with his parents to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1828. The original family resi- dence, located on the old Weakley homestead, near the soldier's home, was built by Thomas Weakley, and still stands. In its time it was the finest farm residence in Montgomery county. At Germantown, Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1834, Edward Thomas Weakley was mar- ried to Catherine Gunckel. She was the daughter of the late Col. Michael Gunckel, and sister to William, Henry S., George W. , and Lewis B. When Herbert H. was a child, his parents removed to New Carlisle, Clark county, Ohio, and there his father em- barked in the tanning and leather business, which he carried on successfully for a number of years. His death occurred in New Carlisle, in 1890, that of his widow occurring about two years later. To Edward Thomas Weakley and wife children were born as follows : Her- bert Henry, Mrs. Dr. William W. Crane, of Tippecanoe City, Ohio; Mrs. Dr. G. A. Billow, of New Carlisle; Mrs. Charles Neff, of Colum- bus, Ohio; Capt. T. J. and George Willis, oi Dayton. Henry Herbert Weakley attended the pub- lic schools of New Carlisle until he reached his fifteenth year, when he was sent to a grammar school at Springfield, Ohio. He next entered Antioch college at Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he spent one year, and then entered Miami university, at Oxford, Ohio, where he took the regular collegiate course, and graduated in the class of 1858. In the fall of the same year he came to Dayton and entered the law office of Gunckel & Strong, where he spent two years studying law. He was admitted to the bar in i860 and spent several years in prac- tice in the office of his preceptors. In 1863 Mr. Weakley organized a local fire insurance company with R. B. Harshman as president ; as secretary and manager Mr. Weakley conducted that business, the company taking and holding high position through his efforts, at the same time carrying on j^fr/ir^^^^r OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 359 the practice of law and the collection of claims against the government until the fall of 1 87 1, when he resigned his position to accept that of land commissioner of the West Wisconsin Railroad company ( now the St. Paul line of the C. & N.-W. R. R.J, with headquarters at Hudson, Wis. Mr. Weak- ley was one of the most efficient officers of the company and during his connection with the railroad sold over 750,000 acres of land. In the fall of 1 878 he resigned this position, and, with his wife, made a general tour of the United States, including the territories. Following this he located at Troy, Ohio, and established the Miami county bank, succeeding the bank- ing firm of W. H. H. Dye & Son. As president and owner Mr. Weakley coducted very success- fully this banking house for seven years, be- coming, in the meantime, a partner in the wholesale grocery fism of Weakley, Worman & Co., of Dayton. Selling his banking inter- ests in Troy, in 1879, Mr. Weakley, accom- panied by his wife and daughter, spent nearly two years in traveling in central Europe. Upon his return he located permanently in Dayton, and has continued to reside here. After having been a citizen of Dayton for about eight months Mr. Weakley assisted in the organization of the Dayton board of trade, and for two years was president and manager of the board, during which time he gave to that organization an impetus which made it an assured success, and when he severed his official connection with it he had won the highest respect and esteem of the business men of Dayton. From time to time Mr. Weakley has been interested in dif- ferent enterprises in Dayton, and still retains a number of important connections in business affairs; but it is to the Herald Publishing com- pany that he gives his time and attention, and in which he takes a just pride and pleasure. It was in September, 1889, that he purchased the controlling interest in the Herald com- pany. The Evening Herald was then a four- page paper with a weekly edition of the same size. Mr. Weakley purchased the building now known as the Herald building, corner of Sec- ond and Jefferson streets, and there developed the business, enlarging the daily and weekly editions to eight-page papers. Under his act- ive direction as president, general manager and principal owner, the paper has proved to be one of the most successful in the city, and justly lays claim to being the largest and enjoy- ing the greatest circulation of the several pa- pers published in Dayton. He has been a member of the Dayton club since its organiza- tion, and is connected with other social organ- izations. On September 21, 1861, Mr. Weakley married Miss Sarah Culbertson, of Troy, Ohio, a daughter of H. H. Culbertson, one of the old families of Miami county. A daughter was born to them — an only child — who mar- ried Charles Van Ausdal, on January 31st, 1888. Mrs. Van Ausdal received a fine edu- cation, completing her studies with Mrs. Reed, of New York, after which she accom- panied her parents on a lengthened tour in Europe. Mr. Weakley has been successful in every business enterprise with which he was person- ally identified. He has never had any politic- al ambition, and although preferment of that character has been offered him, he has invar- iably declined. Decided in character, warm in friendship, he has always enjoyed much personal popularity. He has always had charge and control of large transactions and his business capacity is of a very high order. His education and literary tastes have fitted him for any walk in life. Age is coming along apace, and with an ample fortune, a handsome home and a fine library, enjoying the highest respect and confidence of the people, he can pleasantly look back upon a successful life. 360 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 'HE DAYTON COLLEGE OF MUSIC had its origin in the school known as the Boulevard Conservatory of Music. The founders of this school, the Misses Lillie C, Louie M. , and Viola M.Butz, seeing the success attending their new enterprise, concluded that a college organization should be perfected and duly incorporated under the laws of the state of Ohio, which was accordingly effected October 17, 1S92. The hopes of the founders have been more than realized. The press, the standing of the college, the rating of its pupils, the hearty endorsement of the citi- zens of Dayton, Ohio, have shown that the conception and developement of the plan for musical education in the minds of its founders was no mere theory, but a clear discernment of the needs of the city and surrounding territory, in the sphere of musical culture. With the ample facilities and acknowledged strength of the faculty a thorough collegiate education is afforded to students of the insti- tution. In establishing the College of Music, the Misses Butz associated with themselves their brother, Clarence A. Butz, Anthony J. Schath, and Miss Josephine H. Holbrook. The faculty engaged in the institution are not only success- ful teachers but concert artists of confirmed ability, having appeared with great success on the concert stage of Europe as well as America. The principals of the various departments are Lillie C. Butz, Louie M. Butz, Viola M. Butz, Clarence A. Butz, Anthony J. Schath, and Josephine H. Holbrook, whose extensive studies have given them a perfect understand- ing of the best methods existing, and who are gifted with the faculty of successfully impart- ing this knowledge to their pupils. The most approved European methods are used at this college, which professes to be a true model in teaching the same method to all grades of its pupils and uniting all of its teachers in one scientific plan for the development of the best musical results. There is an inspiration in as- sociation with others engaged in the same work. The college has for its object the foun- dation and diffusion of a high musical educa- tion, which, based on the study of the classic masters, embraces whatever is good in modern art. The curriculum comprises the art of sing- ing, instruction of piano, violin, pipe organ, harp, viola, violoncello, flute, oboe, clarinet, French-horn, cornet, trombone, and full in- duction in theory, harmony and ensemble. The voice method strictly observed, is the pure Italian method of singing. The Stuttgart and Leipsic piano methods are used, embracing thorough study through preparatory, academic and collegiate courses, carrying the student from the first elements of musical education to the highest proficiency. The violin course comprises the study of Hermann, Spohe, Schubert, Schroeder and David's Hoch-schule methods. For all the other instruments the best European methods extant are used. The Misses Lillie, Louie and Viola Butz and Clarence Butz are descended from musical parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Butz, Jr., who, from a life of study and constant associa- tion with music, together with fine talents, have always occupied and still enjoy. a promi- nent place among the leading musicians of Dayton, and have earned an enviable reputa- tion in many cities in which they have appeared in concert. Lawrence Butz is bass soloist in Holy Trinity Catholic church, Dayton, Ohio, which position he has held for many years. His wife, Mrs. Lawrence Butz, is the capable organist of the church, having successfully filled that place for the past twelve years, pre- v'ous to which time she had been the leading soprano for a number of years. Having so assiduously brought out and cultivated their own musical tendencies, Mr. and Mrs. Butz spared neither pains nor money properly to OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 361 direct the qualifications of their children. At the age of five, respectively, the three daugh- ters were placed under the best local teachers until they had reached twelve years. They were then sent to Mount Notre Dame, an ex- cellent academy near Cincinnati, where for a period of five years they pursued a thorough theoretical and practical study of music — voice, piano and pipe organ — following also a col- legiate course of art, science, mathematics, history and languages, taught at this school. After receiving each a gold medal and diploma, their study continued under eminent teachers in New York, and after several years they placed themselves under the best masters in Europe. Clarence Butz, like his sisters, is possessed of a fine voice which has been highly cultiva- ted, and has studied piano and pipe organ to a creditable extent, yet his favorite instrument is the violin, of which he is a most successful teacher and at the same time a soloist on the concert stage. This young man's talent showed itself at a very early time in life. He began the study of the piano as a preparation for the violin, beginning on the latter instru- ment at the age of nine years. He, too, was placed under the best local instructors for the first years, and at the age of fifteen began study in Cincinnati under Prof. A. J. Schath, who afterward became one of the faculty in the Dayton College of Music. Mr. Butz rose to eminent proficiency under Mr. Schath, with whom he studied assiduously for years, when he placed himself under the instruction of Max Bendix, of Chicago, whose capable ped- agogic worth is universally acknowledged. Mr. Butz is the teacher of a large class of students at the College of Music, whose prog- ress ably attests his qualifications as a first- class teacher of violin. The Misses Butz and Clarence Butz have distinguished themselves with success wherever they have appeared in concert. Among the musical celebrities with whom these young artists have been associated are Sig. Albino Gorno and John S. Van Cleve, critic and lec- turer both of the College of Music, Cincin- nati; Mile. Verlet, of the Opera Comique, Paris; Mme. Moriani, Mile. Poisson and Mon- sieur Van Doren, of Brussels; William H. Sherwood, of Chicago; and Victor Thrane, the impressario, of New York. The College of Music is eentrally located, occupying the fifth floor of the Louis block, southwest corner of Fifth and Jefferson streets. The scholastic term opens each year with Septemebri, continuing until June 30. From July 1, to September 1, the college summer term is in session. Every facility for practice and study is given the pupils at the college. Beside the students' concerts that are given at stated periods during the scholastic term, a number of artist concerts are given by the faculty and eminent people of the concert world, for the purpose of educating the public to a love of the divine art. The Dayton Col- lege of Music is one of the most refining of the educational institutions of the city and well deserves the extended patronage it enjoys. BRANK ANDERSON, engineer of the Steele High School building, Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city May 25, 1854, a son of Benjamin and Maria (Wall) Anderson, of whom the former was born in Washington township, Montgomery county, Ohio, and reared to manhood in Cen- terville; the latter was a native of Maryland, and their marriage took place in Dayton. Benjamin Anderson was a merchant tailor in the Gem City from 1840 until about 1867, when he engaged in the produce commission business, in which he continued a few years only, and was living retired at his death, when 362 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD fifty-four years of age, in 1882. His widow- survived until 1893, when she died at the age of seventy-two years, leaving six children, viz.: Mrs. Hattie Thompson; Charles, who, though a mere boy at the close of the Civil war, en- listed at Dayton in 1865, served 100 days, is now married, and is a clerk in his native city of Dayton; Addie and Josephine, who are twins, the former being now Mrs. George W. Heathman and the latter the widow of P. E. Morton, both sisters being residents of Dayton; and William, who is a carpenter of the same city, Frank being the youngest of the family. Frank Anderson was educated in the Day- ton public schools, and early learned the trade of steam and gas fitting, at which he worked for about fifteen years, and then began general engineering. In 1S95 he was chosen engineer of the Steele High School building, a position of great responsibility and requiring a sound knowledge of machinery, and in which he has given the most faithful and efficient service up to the present time. In 1889 Mr. Anderson married Mrs. Sallie Clarke, a native of Preble county, Ohio, but at the time of her marriage to Mr. Anderson a resident of Dayton. She bore the maiden name of Kirtland, and by her first marriage is the mother of one son — Delbert Clarke — now sixteen years of age and a member of Mr. An- derson's household. Mr. Anderson is a member of the Junior Order of American Mechanics, and, with his wife, of the Daughters of Liberty. They be- long to the congregation worshiping at the Central Baptist church, and in politics Mr. Anderson is a sound republican of the Mc- Kinley school. He has led a quiet, industrious life, confining himself to his own affairs, and has made many warm friends in Dayton, where those who best know him honor him the most. He and his family hold the respect and esteem of their neighbors to a marked degree. kS~\ EV. JOHN KERFOOT LEWIS, chap- I f^l lain in the United States navy, with 1 P his residence at No. 304 South Jeffer- son street, Dayton, Ohio, was born in York, Pa., March 18, 1835, a son of Thomas M. and Ann Jane (Kerfoot; Lewis. Thomas M. Lewis was a native of Bucks county, Pa., from January 17, 1808, and on September 11, 1832, married Miss Ann Jane Kerfoot, in Lancaster, Pa. In October, 1838, he brought his family to Dayton, Ohio, and engaged in the clothing business, which he fol- lowed until shortly before his death, which was caused by a railroad accident and took place in Dayton, July 14, 1884. His widow, the mother of John K. Lewis, still resides in Dayton. She was born in Dub- lin, Ireland, October 5, 1S10, and came to America with her parents in 1818. She is the second child who grew to maturity of Richard Kerfoot, of Castle Blarney, county Monaghan, Ireland, of the baronial family of Kerfoot, of Berwick manor, in the south part of Scotland, on the border of England, a branch of which family settled in Ireland in the time of Queen Elizabeth, of England. Her mother was a daughter of Hugh Cumming, an attorney of Armagh, Ireland, who was, according to tradi- tion, confirmed by the coat of arms borne by his ancestor, Alexander Cumming. The broth- ers of Mrs. Lewis were persons in high official station, in both England and Ireland, but the only one now living is a leading real estate dealer in Chicago, 111., where he settled in 1848. William D. Lewis, the paternal grandfather of Rev. John K. Lewis, was born in Bucks county, Pa., of Welsh parentage. To the marriage of his son, Thomas M., with Ann Jane Kerfoot, were born, beside the subject of this sketch, four children, viz.: Samuel S., who for many years was a farmer in Kansas, but is now a resident of California; Martha J., y> £L &(f m £&s*r2k *^z@? OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 365 who died in 1863 at the age of twenty-nine years; Mary A., who was married _to George H. Lane, an attorney of Dayton, and about 1856 removed to Burlington, Iowa, where she died, in 1871, at the age of thirty-four years; and Emily M., who died in Dayton, in 1887, aged forty-one years. The education of John K. Lewis was be- gun in the pioneer schools of Dayton, where he was under the instruction of Mr. Gaylor and Mr. Chipman, and also, in his early days, was a pupil under Mr. and Mrs. James Wal- ters, of Sixth street. At the age of about eleven years he left the public school and became a student under Milo G. Williams, in the old academy, which afterward became the first high school of the city, under the manage- ment of James H. Campbell and Dr. Crook, and later under that of John W. Hall. At the age of nearly fifteen years, Mr. Lewis en- tered the Ohio Wesleyan university, but was dissatisfied with its curriculum and returned to Dayton, where for three years he was em- ployed as a clerk in a book store. He then entered Saint James college, an Episcopal in- stitution, near Hagerstown, Md. In passing, it may be said that the president of this col- lege was a brother of his mother; that the college was discontinued during the Civil war and was never rehabilitated, and that its pres- ident later became president of Trinity college, Hartford, Conn. At the age of twenty-two years Mr. Lewis was graduated from Saint James and was at once installed as head master of the grammar school of the same — a position he held for four years, or until the outbreak of the Rebel- lron. In 1858, while still in the institution, he was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal church, and in i860 was invested with full orders. In 1 86 1 he entered upon his ministerial duties as assistant to the pastor of the Episcopal church at Elizabeth, N. J., and in 1862 was placed in charge of Saint Luke's Episcopal church at Buffalo, N. Y. , where he officiated four years. He next established Saint Mark's school, at Southborough, Mass., under the auspices of the church, and this school is still in existence and in a most flourishing condition. A year later he was given charge of a mission in Syracuse, N. Y., and after four years of labor succeeded in building a church edifice — now the second Episcopal church of that city. In November, 1869, Rev. Mr. Lewis was appointed a chaplain in the United States navy, and although his time since then has chiefly been passed in shore duty, he has nevertheless seen seven or eight years of sea service, during which period he has visited Europe, Asia, Africa and the South Sea islands, according to sailing orders issued by the navy department to the commander of the man-of-war or fleet to which he happened to be detailed. While performing shore duty as United States naval chaplain, he often conducted religious services, not only for his crew, but for the landsmen, among whom he may have happened at the time to be stationed. For the past ten years he has considered Dayton to be his permanent home, and, if he live until March, 1897, he will be placed on the retired list of United States officers. The first marriage of Rev. Mr. Lewis was solemnized in Elizabeth, N. J., in 1862, with Miss Susan W. Moore, a native of that city. This union resalted in the birth of five daugh- ters, in the following order: Catherine E., Martha, Mary, Margaret and Florence. Of these Catherine E., is the wife of William E. Abbey, of Philadelphia, and Martha is married to Mr. Hill, of Newport, R. I. The second marriage of Rev. Mr. Lewis was with Miss Anne E. Keble, of Dayton, daughter of Walter and Elizabeth Keble — the parents being of English birth. Rev. Mr. Lewis is a Thirty-second degree 3(56 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Scottish rite Mason. In politics he is inde- pendent, but is an advocate of the single tax theory. In early times his father was one of the foremost of Ohio abolitionists, and, with Dr. Hibbard Jewett and John A. Sprague, had the courage to maintain his convictions of right in the face of the strong pro-slavery element the day. He was well understood as one of the managers of "the underground railroad," and assisted many a fugitive slave to freedom, and rejoiced that he lived to see America free in fact as well as in name. a APT. THOMAS G. ADKINS, band- master at the National Military home, near Dayton, Ohio, and one of the most accomplished musicians and band leaders in the United States, was born in London, England, March 4, 1823, and, vet- eran as he is, still stands at the head of his profession. His parents were Thomas and Catherine (Robinson) Adkins, the former of whom was a soldier of the Twenty-fourth "foot" regiment in the British army. When a child of two years of age, the son was taken through Ireland by his parents, his father following the fortunes of his regiment in that island, and his wife accompanying him. At the age of six years young Adkins first saw America, the regiment to which his father was attached being ordered to Quebec, Canada, where the father died in 1833 — and the mother and son were returned to England by the government. At the age of nine years, Thomas was placed in the Royal Military school in London, where he received a mili- tary and musical education, and, having devel- oped a decided taste and talent for musical art, was entered, at the age of fifteen years, as musician, in the Second regiment of life guards — the bodyguard of the sovereign. After nig ten years in this regiment, Mr. Adkins came to the United States, and made his first engagement as a musician as master of the Washington band of New York city; he was also a member of the orchestra which played at the concerts of the Swedish nightingale, Jenny Lind, in her earliest concerts in this country, he playing cornet solo, and still has a program of the third concert given by that famous showman, Phineas T. Barnum — possibly at Castle Garden, New York. Dur- ing this time Mr. Adkins still retained his po- sition as leader of the Washington band, which was attached to or employed by the aristo- cratic and "crack" regiment, known as the Seventh New York militia, but four or five years later the band dissolved its connection with the Seventh and attached itself to the Eighth New York militia. In a short time, how- ever, Mr. Adkins withdrew from this connec- tion and went to New Orleans, La., and for a while was solo cornetist in a theater orchestra during the winter of 1855-56. In the spring of the latter year he organized a band of twenty-five men to accompany the "gray- eyed man of destiny," Gen. William Walker, who departed, with a body of "fishermen," to aid in the liberation of 'Nicaragua, but he was not long a band-master with that little army, as it soon became necessary to shoulder a musket and fight in person. Penned up in the little city of Rivas, the patriot army de- fended itself against a siege of three months, living on horseflesh, dogs, lizards and what- not, and in the meantime slaughtering about 1,000 of the besiegers, but at last compro- mised, marched out, and the greater part of the 250 fighting men were deported for New York. Mr. Adkins, however, wandered to the Pacific coast and at Point d'Arenus formed a troupe of minstrels — the first heard in the country — composed of seven musicians. The British consul at the Point was a cornet player, had several instruments, which he loaned the OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 367 troupe, and banjos, etc., were constructed through the ingenuity of the band. Through this means the performers were enabled to travel several hundred miles afoot and make a livelihood. While on this memorable trip Mr. Adkins was engaged by a local priest to play at a cel- ebration over the defeat of Gen. Walker, and, though this engagement was not to his taste, playing dance and other profane music at the head of the military procession on Sunday, while the cannon were booming, yet it netted him considerable "dinero" and he was well treated. Mr. Adkins was also offered a posi- tion as leader of a fine band at Walla Walla, but declined. He received, however, a purse of $30 and a liberal supply of provisions from the friendly priest — Padre Cabaisa — and went on his way rejoicing. On reaching Aspinwall he boarded a vessel for New York, but found that he had only $25 in his possession, while the passage rate was fixed at $60; but by a Masonic arrangement he was permitted to embark for the voyage. When the vessel stopped at the way port of Havana, Cuba, Mr. Adkins was seized with the Chagres fever, a disease known only to Central America, but continuing the voyage, he arrived in New York July 4, 1857, where he was confined in bed during the three months following. He was then able to resume his place as master of the Washington band, and in the latter part of 1857 was offered by Col. Colt (the inventor of the revolving firearm), of Hartford, Conn., a liberal compensation as leader of his band in that city, which was accepted and filled until 1S61. Mr. Adkins then organized a band of twen- ty-four musicians for the Fourteenth United States infantry, and for five years and eleven months was connected with this regiment, serv- ing through the Civil war, the greater part of the time at headquarters, but nevertheless in the field through the battle of the Wilderness. At the close of the war the widow of Col. Colt recalled Capt. Adkins to Hartford, Conn., and placed him once more in charge of the Colt factory band, which position he retained until 1 88 1. This was an especial recognition of his merits as a musician and band leader, as he was thus employed, save during the war, from 1857 until 1 88 1. During the last engagement of Capt. Adkins at the Colt firearms factory, Gen. Franklin was its superintendent, and it was through his influence that the captain was admitted to the National Military home at Dayton. In May, 18S1, Capt. Adkins was placed in charge of the Home band, and a recent re- port rendered by the United States inspector, Gen. Breckinridge, shows this to be one of the best military bands in the country — it being composed of thirty-three pieces. Capt Adkins was first married, in England, to Miss Mary Walker, who there died, leaving one son, who sacrificed his life in our late Civil war. His present wife, whom he married in Portland, Oregon, in 1866, was Miss Jane Mil- lard, a native of Ireland. To this union eight children have been born, viz. : Catherine, Alice, Frederick William, Thomas, Alfred, Maud, Mabel and Edward. Of the sons, Alfred served three years in the United States cavalry service, receiving his discharge in 1895 ; the daughters, inheriting the musical, talent of their father, have developed as most excellent performers on the piano. There is one fact in regard to the family of Capt. Adkins which ought to be mentioned, and that is that, although he is an Englishman born, his relative, Nathan Adkins, was a soldier in the Second regulars of Virginia in the war of the Revolution, and aided in attaining the independence of the country in which the cap- tain has now found a home. Capt. Adkins was made a Freemason, in 368 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD New York city, in 1852, in Worth lodge ; he was dimitted thence to Mystic lodge, No. 405, at Dayton, Ohio, and has attained to the Thirty-second degree — a very exalted position in the order. He is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and in religion he and his family are members of the Episco- palian church. In his politics he is a repub- lican, and he and his sons furnish four straight votes annually for that party. (D AJ. CARL BERLIN, assistant ad- jutant general of the Central branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers near Dayton, Ohio, was born near Ystad, in the northern part of Sweden, May 17, 1834, was graduated from a university and the military academy, entered the Swedish atmy at the age of twenty years, as a non-commissioned officer, received his commission as second lieutenant in 1856, and as first lieutenant in 1862, serving in all nine years. In the fall of 1863 he came to the United States, was at once commissioned first lieutenant of company C, Eighth New York volunteer cavalry, and faithfully served against the rebels until mustered out with his regiment in December, 1864. The day of his muster out he was commissioned first lieutenant of the First New York light artillery, and served with this rank until the close of the internecine struggle. He took part in all the engagements of the army of the Potomac during the years he was in the service, doing duty as aid-de- camp to the chief of artillery. Gen. Henry J. Hunt, and as inspector of the artillery brigade, Fifth army corps. He was brevetted captain and major for brave and meritorious conduct at Spottsylvania Court House and Petersburg. After the close of the war he engaged in plant- ing and in mercantile business in South Caro- lina, but his experience in these lines was not altogether gratifying, and he relinquished them in 1884. In 1885 he was appointed adjutant and inspector of the Central branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Sol- diers. He is a member of the Loyal Legion and of the Grand Army of the Republic, and a Knight of the Royal Order of the Sword, which decoration was conferred on him by the king of Sweden. Maj. Berlin is not only one of the most popular officers connected with the govern- ment of the home, but he numbers among his friends very many of the best citizens of Day- ton. HDAM ADELBERGER, ex-member of the Dayton city council from the Sec- ond ward, and who was a well-known butcher, residing at No. 315 and 317 Xenia avenue, was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, December 31, 1848. Having re- ceived his education in his native country, he left home on June 17, 1866, and came to the United States, landing in New York and com- ing thence direct to Dayton, which place he reached July 22, 1866. His trade of butcher he acquired in Dayton, working for Leonard Stockert, one of the oldest butchers of the city, where he still resides. For some four years after retiring from the service of Mr. Stockert, Mr. Adelberger worked for various employers, and then engaged in business for himself. For one year he was in business on Webster street, and then removed to Mad River township; but in May, 1885, he returned to Dayton and opened a place of business on Xenia avenue, where he remained until his death. On April 28, 1870, he was married to Eliz- abeth Wassum, a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, who came to this country in May, 1868. To them were born ten children, five OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 371 of whom, all daughters, are still living. Mr. Adelberger was, and his family are, members of St. John's German Evangelical church, of which Mr. Adelberger was a trustee at his death, and of which he had formerly served as trustee for four years. He was also a member of the Odd Fellow fraternity, A. O. U. W. and of the order of Chosen Friends, besides several other beneficiary organizations. He was elected to the council of Dayton in June, 1894, to fill the unexpired term of Mr. Kro- nauge, and in April, 1895, he was re-elected, his term to expire in 1897. In 1888 Mr. Adelberger paid a visit to his native country, remaining abroad three months with his relatives and friends. There his fa- ther and mother, three brothers and one sister are still living. Mr. Adelberger was one of the successful business men of Dayton, and his judgment in business, as well as in political matters, was frequently sought. Mr. Adelberger met with a sudden and mel- ancholy death August 18, 1896, by being thrown from a wagon, and his untimely end was sincerely mourned by all who knew him. >Y»OHN NEWTON ALLABACK has long ■ been associated with the commercial /• 1 and laboring interests of Dayton, and for the past ten years has been a most efficient and useful member of the police force of the city. Capt. Allaback was born in the village of West Point, Morrow county, Ohio, November 15, 1857. The removal of his parents to Dayton brought him to this city, which has been his home for twenty years or more. His father, John Alfaback, is also a native of this state, and has done his part in life as a citizen and soldier. When the war of the Rebellion called out the brave men of the nation to her defense, he was among the first 10 to respond. He enlisted in a company that went out from Galion early in the summer of 1 86 1, served throughout the war, and was mustered out as captain of company K, Eighty-first regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry. After the return of peace, he returned to Galion, where he engaged in business as a contracting plasterer for several years, until his removal for a second time to this city, which has since continued to be his home. Despite his long and arduous services as a soldier, he is still active and vigorous, and car- ries on an extensive business. John N. Allaback remained with his father, working with him in his business, until he had reached the age of twenty-two years. At this time he also determined to try military life, and accordingly enlisted in Cincinnati, March 26, 1879, in the cavalry service of the United States. His first assignment was to Jefferson barracks, where he made a stay of some two months, undergoing a preliminary drill and general training for the service. When thought ready for the field, he was assigned to the Second United States cavalry, troop M, with headquarters at Fort Custer, Mont. The first three years of his stay with the troopers were principally occupied in scouting and field service, many of the northwestern Indians being openly hostile. He participated in two engagements of proportions sufficient to war- rant them a place in history, one on the Milk river with the Sioux, and the other on the Rosebud with the Ogallas, both battle fields being in what is now the state of Montana. The Indians were active and aggressive, and the soldiery qualities of the Second were often severely tried. But it was a gallant company of brave men, and won a great reputation as Indian fighters. And our young soldier was well to the front in every time of danger. He won promotion from the ranks by his gallant behavior, was made corporal, and at the time 372 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of his discharge, March 26, 1884, was first duty sergeant of the troop. Ex-Cavalryman Allaback returned to Day- ton after leaving the service, and at once re- sumed the business he had put aside five years before. But the precision of his habits and the strength of his character, which he had gained from military life, were recognized, and he was called to the police department of the city, being appointed on the force June 16, 1886, and in this service he is still engaged. As a police officer he has acted in almost every capacity, and wherever he has been assigned to duty he has acquitted himself with high credit. He has followed the line of promo- tion; was first roundsman, then sergeant, and his commission as police captain bears date March 8, 1893. Capt. Allaback was married, on September 16. 1884, to Miss Alice Francis, a native of Dayton. Her father, Amon Francis, has been for many years one of Day- ton's best millwrights. To this happy union there have been born three sons and one daughter: John Clifford, Wilbur Newton, Helen Catherine, and an infant, deceased. Capt. Allaback is a member of the Order of Foresters, and of the Police Benevolent asso- ciation. He is still a young man, but has already won an honorable place in the estima- tion of the community, to whose interests he has been faithful in a place of responsibility and trust. K^\ OBERT MORRIS ALLEN, who holds I /^ the position of joint weighmaster and P inspector of all railway lines centering in Dayton, is a native of this city, and was born March 30, 1847. His parents were Robert and Elizabeth (Simpson) Allen. The father came to Ohio from Pennsylvania in 1 83 1, and at once located in this city, and here he lived until his death, which occurred in 1872, after he had passed his seventy-first birthday. During his youth he learned the cooper and stone-cutting trades, and after com- ing here he worked at the cooperage business until 1856. He was then appointed to the po- sition of city wood measurer, and, following that, was elected to the same office, which he continued to hold until the spring of 1864. From that time on he ceased active employ- ment. His wife was born in Dayton, and was the daughter of Moses and Eliza (Baker) Simpson. Her father and her grandfather (Aaron Baker) were early citizens of Dayton, and contributed not a little to the history of the growing town. They came from New Jer- sey, and found much delight in the soil and climate of southwestern Ohio. Robert and Elizabeth Allen became the parents of ten children, of whom three are now living, Rob- ert M. , and two younger sisters, of whom Sarah is the wife of William Sellman, of Day- ton, and Annie resides with her brother. Robert Morris Allen was reared in this city, attended its schools until he had reached the age of fourteen, when he felt called upon to care for himself, and began at that early age a business career that has been long and success- ( ful. His first employment was in the ware- house of Robert Chambers. Later he became a house and carriage-painter of acknowledged skill. In 1866 the railway service attracted him, and he became a brakeman on the old Dayton & Michigan railway. This po- sition he held until 1S71, when he received station work from the Atlantic & Great West- ern (now the N. Y., P. & O.). He entered the revenue service of the United States in September, 1885, and was first appointed as deputy collector in the Sixth Ohio district, making his headquarters at Dayton until the consolidation of this district and the First. He was then stationed at Cincinnati, where he re- mained for two years. He then came back to OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 373 this city to take charge of the position of stamp deputy. This place Mr. Allen held un- til a change of national administration called for his resignation from the service, to give office to a republican. The railway officials were quick to recognize the value of his ready and accurate mind, and he was offered the the chief clerkship in the Dayton car service bureau. This he accepted and held until 1892, when this bureau was consolidated with a similar organization at Cincinnati. Mr. Allen was then put in charge of the weighing and in- spection of all lines at Dayton, and here he is now engaged. He is also secretary of the Freight Agents' association and of the Dayton freight committee. As a citizen Mr. Allen has been both active and public spirited. He was first elected to the board of education in 1873, and, with the exception of three years, has held a contin- uous membership to the present time. For three years he was president of the board, and has always exerted great influence in the edu- cational affairs of the city. He was president of the board at the time the plans for the city library were perfected, and was instrumental in obtaining the consent of the city council to the location of the library building in the city park. He was on the board of education un- til about the time of the completion of the library, when the legislature passed a law creating a board of library trustees. Of this board he was made a member, with much unanimity of feeling, as a deserved tribute to a hard worker in the cause of public education. He was afterward returned to the board of education, and continues in both bodies. Mr. Allen is much engaged in fraternity work, and is a member of several of the leading brother- hoods of the city. He is a Mason, an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Honor, a member of the Order of Elks, and of the Chosen Friends, and is much esteemed in all these relations. ^-j* AMES M. ALLAN, infirmary director of m Dayton and superintendent of the W. (• J P. Levis & Co. paper-mill, was born in Dayton, February 20, 1856, and is a son of John and Jessie (Cooper) Allan, natives of Kirkintilloch, Scotland. John Allan, the father, came to the United States in 1848, and at once settled in Dayton, Ohio, where he found work at his trade in the old McGregor paper-mill. He was a man of fine education, and for some years taught school in Montgomery county. In 1S51 Miss Jessie Cooper came to America and was mar- ried to Mr. Allan in the same year. She died in 1874, a member of the Presbyterian church, and on February 15, 1896, her hus- band, who was an attendant of the same church, also passed away in the seventy-second year of his age. Of their six children, four are still living, viz: Jennet, the wife of Samuel Lehman; James M., Thomas C. and Annie M., all residents of Dayton. James M. Allan attended the public schools of his native city until eleven years of age. On March 4, 1867, he was employed by the paper-making firm of W. P. Levis & Co., learned the trade, and by this firm he has ever since been retained, reaching his present re- sponsible position, by well-merited promotions, in September, 1892. At the April election of 1896 he was elected, on the republican ticket, director of the city infirmary of Dayton, an of- fice also of great responsibility, and which he has filled to the approval of the public and with credit to himself. November 21, 1879, Mr. Allan was happily married to Miss Annie M. Shiftier, daughter of William and Elizabeth Shiftier, old residents of Dayton. To this union have been born four chil- dren — Charles E., William E., Jessie E., and Mabel E. In their religious connection Mrs. Al- lan and her eldest son are members of the Lu- theran church, while Mr. Allan is a Presbyterian. 374 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD In his fraternal relations, he is a member of the Senior Order of American Mechanics and of the American Insurance Union. ^y^V IUS P. ALTHOFF, senior member of "II the well known firm of P. P. Althoff & Son, coal dealers of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Emmittsburg, Md., De- cember 8, 1 82 1, of German parentage. Until 1847 he worked at farming and lumbering in his native state. In 1849 he came overland by teams to Ohio and since that date has been a resident of Montgomery county. After mov- ing to Dayton he engaged in contracting, and building the narrow-gauge railroad, and was an excavating contractor for many years. In 1884 he engaged in the coal trade at Dayton, which was discontinued during the absence of his son, Henry F., in the west, and resumed on his return. Mr. Althoff married, in Maryland, April 26, 1846, Miss Kate Welty, a resident of Mary- land but a native of Karlsruhe, Germany, born June 20, 1 82 1. To this union were born eleven children, nine of whom are still living, viz: Mary, Henry F., Carrie, George, Kate, Charles, Emma, Rose and Lillie, — all married, except- ing Henry F., Carrie and Kate; the two de- ceased were named Harry and Willie. Mary is the wife of Redmond P. Sage, and lives in Dayton; George is a resident of Butte, Mont. ; Henry F. and Charles are in Dayton; Rose is married to Frank Saxteller, also of Dayton; Lillie, now Mrs. Arnold Greiner, resides in Miamisburg, Ohio. Although not a pioneer, Pius P. Althoff was an early settler in Montgomery county and came here a poor man. Of the sixteen com- panions who accompanied him over the Na- tional pike in 1849 but four are now living, while he and his wife have lived to celebrate their golden wedding, at which festival twenty- four children and grandchildren were present. Although now a solid citizen, the first year's experience in Montgomery county was, never- theless, discouraging — the prospect being only for hard work and poor compensation, while, to add to the troubles of Mr. and Mrs. Althoff, a child sickened and died, and serious thoughts were entertained of going back to Maryland. But Mr. Althoff had a strong will and an in- dustrious disposition, and after working on the railroad, as already mentioned, he began to buy wood in the timber and to haul it to town for the difference in price, which was very small; then worked on a farm for a year, saved his earnings and moved to Dayton. He next traded for a farm, on which the family lived for three years. He then exchanged his farm for city property, and engaged in contract work, as noted, and thus, by steady and persistent effort, he wrought out success and ultimate propensity. Mr. Althoff was reared in the faith of the Catholic church, and is to-day a devoted mem- ber of the Sacred Heart congregation of Day- ton, of which his wife and children are also members. He is, beside, a director of the Calvary cemetery. In politics he has been a life-long democrat, but has never been an office-seeker. The parents of Pius P. Althoff were Henry and Catherine (Diffendall) Althoff, natives of Germany, but who died in Maryland, aged re- spectively seventy-two and sixty-three years. They were the parents of nine children, viz: John, now over eighty years of age and a resi- dent of Houston, Tex. ; Ann, widow of Dr. Flatt, and residing in Reedsburg, Wis. ; Henry, a plasterer, who died in Hagerstown, Md., in his twenty-first year; Pius P.; Francis, a painter by trade, who died of a fever in Alton, 111., where he was engaged in the grocery busi- ness; Ambrose, a retired mechanic, who lives near the foot of the Blue Ridge mountains, in OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 375 Frederick county, Md. ; Aloysius, who is a mechanic of Dayton; and Felix, also of Day- ton, who is a painter and decorator, and an- other deceased. Henry F. Althoff, son of Pius P. Althoff, was born in Liberty, Ohio, August 29, 1850, and was educated in the district school. Until 1882 he worked with his father and lived at home; then went west, but shortly afterward returned. March 17, 1884, he went to Mon- tana, worked at silver mining in the Parrott and Anaconda mines, then went to Idaho and worked in the Bunker Hill and Tiger mines; was for two years a cowboy, and in 1892 re- turned with his savings and engaged in busi- ness with his father, handling coal, wood, lime, cement, etc., and doing a prosperous trade. He is still unmarried and resides with his par- ents at No. 226 South Warren street, Dayton. In politics he is a democrat. '^'j'OSEPH W. ALLISON, manufacturer m of wood and metal patterns and mod- /• 1 els, at the corner of Third and Canal streets, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Shelby county June 4, 1836, and is a son of James C. and Jane (Graham) Allison, natives of Pennsylvania, and doubtless of Scotch- Irish descent. James C. Allison was in early life a shoe- maker, but later became a teamster, and in 1853 came to Dayton with his family, and here his wife died in 1878, at the age of sev- enty-six years, and he in 1885, at the ad- vanced age of eighty-six years — both having lived in the faith of the New Light church. They were the parents of nine children, of whom three are now living in Dayton, one in Cincinnati, Ohio, and one in Carlisle, Ohio. Joseph W. Allison was well educated in the public schools of his native county and in those of Dayton, and in his early manhood learned the trade of carriage making, at which he worked until his enlistment in October, 1 86 1, in company G, Fourteenth Missouri volunteer infantry, in which he gallantly served until honorably discharged, in July, 1862, on account of disability. By advice of his phy- sicians he then relinquished carriage making and devoted his attention to pattern making, in which business he began, in a small way, in Dayton, but has made an increasing and deserved success. He is an expert, and em- ploys none but the bes t artists as his assist- ants, and has thus achieved a reputation sec- ond to that of no other designer in the state. In 1893 he associated his son with himself in the business, and assumed for the firm the style of the Allison Pattern works, under which name it has since greatly prospered. Mr. Allison is also a director in the West Side Building & Loan assocciation, and is a mem- ber of the Hiram Strong post, No. 79, G. A. R. Politically he is a republican, and has served two terms in the Dayton city council, being for one year its president. The marriage of Mr. Allison took place May 12, 1859, with Miss Isabella Kiler, a na- tive of Dayton and a daughter of Daniel W. Kiler. This union was blessed with three children, viz: Charles L. , now a pattern- maker, with Stilwell, Bierce & Co., and mar- ried to Cora Romaine; Daniel K., who is his father's partner in business and is married to Miss May E. Bryce, daughter of S. T. Bryce; Russell W., patternmaker, in the employ of the Buckeye Iron & Brass works, and married to Miss Jennie Atchison, The mother of this family became somewhat frail in health in 1893-94, an d was taken by her husband on a tour through the west, and passed several months in California, Mexico, etc., but in May, 1895, sne died in Dayton, a member of the Disciples' church, of which, for thirty years, Mr. Allison has also been an active member. 376 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Of their descendants, five grandchildren are now living and one deceased. Daniel K. Allison, second son of Joseph W. and Isabella (Kiler) Allison, and now asso- ciated with his father in business, received his preliminary education in the public schools, and later attended Bethany college; he then read law with Hon. Samuel Craighead, was admitted to practice March iS, 1888, but fol- lowed his profession for twelve months only, preferring to devote his attention to mechan- ical industries. Joseph W. Allison is one of Dayton's reli- able business men and has always kept in view the material progress of the city, contributing freely to all projects designed for the promo- tion of the public good. He was for ten years at the head of the pattern department of the Dayton Malleable Iron works and one year with the Farmers' Friend Manufacturing company. >VOHN AMAN, a prominent citizen of M Dayton, was born in Koenigheim, in A J the grand duchy of Baden, German, October 16, 1 836, and is a son of Frank and Sophia Aman, both natives of Germany. Emigrating to the United States the family landed at Baltimore, Md., October 4, 1852, going from there to Washington, D. C, where they located permanently, and where Frank Aman followed his trade, that of tailor, until the time of his death, which occurred in 1855. Mrs. Aman died there in 1865, and both are buried in Washington. They were the par- ents of four children, as follows: Andrew, now a resident of Hyattsville, Prince George's county, Md., and who has been in the railroad service for more than forty years; Martin, who was accidently shot at Wabash, Ind., in 1861, died from the effects of the wound and is buried in Dayton; John, the subject of this sketch, and Sebastian, who was a well-known restaurant keeper of Washington, and died February 20, 1895. John Aman received most of his education in his native town in Baden, but attended night school during one winter in Dayton. While in Washington he learned the cabinet- maker's trade, working for one employer for five consecutive years. In 1857 he removed to Dayton, and there entered the service of the Dutton Agricultural works, and after six months' employment in connection with this firm, became an employe of the Barney & Smith Manufacturing company. In 185S he went to Richmond, Ind., where during the summer of that year he worked at house car- pentering. In December, 1858, he was mar- ried to Mary Goellner, who was born in Ba- varia, Germany, the marriage taking place in Dayton. After spending the succeeding winter in Richmond he returned to Dayton- and re- sumed his position in the car works of Barney & Smith, remaining with them until Novem- ber, 1 88 1, and having been foreman during the last nine years of his service there. In 1882 he purchased a lot on the corner of Johnston and Perrine streets, and built his present place of business, where he has ever since carried on business as a retail grocer. Politically Mr. Aman has always been a strong democrat and as such has been both active and prominent in city politics for many years. In 1S67 he was elected to the city council from the Sixth ward, and served two years. In 1870 he was elected to the board of educa- tion from the Eleventh ward, the boundaries having been so changed as to throw his resi- dence into this ward. In 1872 he was re- elected to that office for a second term of two years. In 1882 he was elected assessor of the Eleventh ward, serving one year. In 1885 he was elected from the Seventh ward to the city board of education, and was twice re-elected. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 377 thus serving six years consecutively at this time, or ten years in all. In 1890 he was elected infirmary director and was re-elected in 1893. In all of these offices Mr. Aman has proved himself efficient and alive to duty, la- boring for the good of those whom he repre- sented, rather for his own aggrandizement. To the marriage of Mr. Aman and his wife there have been born eight children, as fol- lows: Annie, wife of Joseph Unger, of Day- ton; Carrie, wife of Dennis J. Madden, of Dayton; Louisa, widow, of William Roney; John, Jr., cornice worker of Dayton; Emma, wife of William Staffen, of Dayton; Josephine, wife of Eugene Chapin, of Dayton; William, an employee. of the National Cash Register company, of Dayton, and Charles, also with the Cash Register company. Mr. Aman is a member of Humboldt lodge, No. 58, Knights of Pythias, and of Dayton lodge, A. O. U. W. He was one of the charter members of the Baden society of Dayton, and in all of these societies is not only in good standing but is a man of usefulness and influence. He was sec- retary of the Miami, the Union and the Mont- gomery Building & Loan Associations, all of which have now gone out of existence through the terms of their organization. ^yy»ILLIAM J. AMBROSE is the man- M m ager for the C. F. Adams company, VJLyJ ni Dayton, dealers, on the install- ment plan, in household goods. He was born in Urbana, Ohio, May II, 1852, and is a son of William M. and Susan (McCandless) Ambrose. William M. Ambrose was born in Berks county, Pa., of German descent, and although reared on a farm, was in his early manhood engaged in merchant-tailoring and in mercan- tile business. He first married Susan McCand- less, who became the mother of five children, viz: William J. ; Flora, wife of C. A. Meek, of Davenport, Iowa; Walter, deceased; Charles, a traveling salesman for the Simmons Hard- ware company, of Saint Louis, Mo., and re- siding in Lincoln, Neb.; and Edward C. , a traveling salesman of Oakland, Cal. The mother of these children was called away in 1861, at the early age of twenty-seven years, and the father, who is now farming east of Urbana, was again married, and became by this second union the father of three children, viz: Nettie, Judson W. and one that died un- named. William J. Ambrose, after passing through the public schools, for two terms attended the Swedenborg college at Urbana. At the age of seventeen years he began learning the carpen- ter's trade, and came to Dayton in 1871, when he accepted a position as salesman for the C. F. Adams company, and for six months acted as such in the Dayton store; he was then sent to Springfield. Ohio, as manager of the com- pany's establishment in that city, where he was so efficient that the company, at the end of six months, recalled him to Dayton, which afforded a broader field for the exercise of his superior executive ability, and in his present position he has ever since been employed, widening and broadening the trade of the Adams com- pany from year to year. Mr. Ambrose now employs in the Dayton establishment from fif- teen to twenty salespeople. In politics Mr. Ambrose is a republican. In fraternal matters he united with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows in' 1774, has passed all the chairs of the subordinate lodge, is a member of the Gem City encampment, was one of the charter members of the Gem City lodge, and is, beside, secretary of the Montgomery County Aid association of I. O. O. F. He is a charter member of Crown council, No. 35, Junior O. U. A. M., also of Mayflower council, No. 33, O. U. A. M. 378 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Mr. Ambrose was married December 4, 1874, to Miss Elnicia G. Fitch, a native of Newberry, Ohio, and to this union have been born three children, Annabel, Bernice V. and Estella G. The eldest daughter, Annabel, is an accomplished vocalist, and is now the lead- ing soprano in Saint Paul's Methodist church, is a member of the Philharmonic society, and also of the East End Choral society. The family are all members of Saint Paul's Meth- odist Episcopal church, Mr. Ambrose being a class leader and superintendent of the Sunday- school, and taking an active part in both church and Sunday-school work. kV^\ EV. CHARLES S. KEMPER, D. D., I /^ chaplain of Central Branch National P Home for Disabled Volunteer Sol- diers, at Dayton, Ohio, was born in Wallhausen, Prussia, July 6, 1851, a son of John and Catherine Kemper, the former of whom died in Prussia and the latter is now a resident of Dayton, in her eighty-fourth year. At the age of eight years Charles S. Kemper was brought to America by his mother, passed two years in school in Philadelphia, Pa., and at ten years of age was brought to Dayton. At thirteen years he went Bardstown, Ky., and passed two years in Saint Thomas' college; from there he went to Mount Saint Mary's seminary, in Cincinnati, where he remained for five years. He then went to Europe and studied theology three years at Innspruck, Austrian Tyrol, following this with one year's study in the German-Hungarian college in Rome, Italy, where he received the degree of doctor of divinity. In September, 1875, Dr. Kemper returned to America, and for two years was instructor in classics at Mount Saint Mary's, Cincinnati, and then took charge of the parish at Greenville, Ohio. In May, 1880, he was appointed Catholic chaplain of the Central branch, as noted above, where his duties are similar to those in parish work, except that there is greater demand for his presence with the sick and dying. Father Kemper has been a priest of vast usefulness among the soldiers of the Central Branch, and is honored and revered by all with whom he comes in contact, regardless of religious faith. Of the 5,000 or more inmates of the home nearly one-third are of Catholic creed, and their spiritual care is found to be no easy task. Father Kemper has two brothers and three sisters, all in America. Of these, Philip A. Kemper is a wholesale merchant and importer, of Dayton ; Jacob is a merchant in Philadel- phia ; one of the sisters is wedded to a Mr. Rotterman, and the remaining two are still unmarried. aHARLES ANDERTON, Sr., sheriff of Montgomery county, and a well- known and honored citizen of Day- ton, was born in this city on October 1 1, 1844, and is the son of James and Frances (Wilbey) Anderton. The parents were natives of England, and came to the United States early in life. They were among the old and well-known people of Dayton. The death of the father occurred in 1850, and that of the mother in 1890. Sheriff Anderton obtained his education in the Dayton public schools, and early entered upon the practical duties of life, beginning as a clerk in a city store. In April, 1862, he began business for himself by opening a fruit store in Dayton, but in August of the same year he enlisted in company A, Ninety-third Ohio volunteer regiment, with which he served until May 17, 1865, when he was mustered out of the service by general or- der of the war department. At the battle of Missionary Ridge he was wounded, and at ^wu L W*.^. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 381 Dandridge, Term., he was again wounded, on January 17, 1864. Returning to his home in Dayton, after having been honorably dis- charged from the service, Mr. Anderton bought a news stand located in the old Post Office building, then at the corner of Third and Jef- ferson streets, now occupied by the Third National Bank, and continued in business un- til 1893. In November, 1894, he received the nomination for sheriff of Montgomery county at the hands of the republican party, and was elected by a handsome majority, and in 1896 he was re-nominated and re-elected by an increased majority, being the first repub- lican sheriff who has succeeded himself in Montgomery county since i860. For five years Sheriff Anderton served as a member of the city board of equalization. For years he has been an active and prominent member of the republican party, and served during one campaign as chairman of the county central committee. Mr. Anderton is a member of the I. O. O. F., K. of P., G. A. R., Union Vet- eran Legion, Legion of Honor, and the A. E. O. He was married in April, 1867, to Miss Lucy Henderson, who was born in Dayton, and is a daughter of -the late Ebenezer Hen- derson, once sheriff of Montgomery county. To Mr. and Mrs. Anderton two children have been born, only one of whom — Charles, Jr. — is still living. The one deceased was Emma, who died in May, 1891, aged nineteen years. aHARLES FORSMAN ANDERSON is to be classified as one of the repre- sentative business men of the city of Dayton, being a member of the pho- tographic firm of Anderson & Hartshorn. He is an artist of much technical skill and dis- criminating taste, having made a thorough and systematic study of photography in all its branches. A son of Benjamin Dickey Anderson and Sarah (Forsman) Anderson, our subject was born in Xenia, Greene county, Ohio, on the 16th of June, 1855, tracing his lineage through Scotch, Irish and English strains. The father also was a native of the Buckeye state, hav- ing been born in Adams county. He became well known throughout the state as a breeder and driver of fine standard-bred track horses, and was a man of inflexible honor and marked individuality. He was an active member of the United Presbyterian church of Xenia, and for many years acted as chorister of the same. He was possessed of exceptional musical abil- ity, and in his early manhood had devoted his attention for some time to the teaching of vo- cal music. He lived a long and useful life, secure in the esteem and confidence of his fel- low-men, and his death occurred in 1883, at which time he had attained the venerable age of seventy-one years. He had been twice married, and the one child of the first union is now deceased. By his marriage to Sarah Forsman he became the father of four chil- dren: James W., who is a traveling sales- man, living in Dayton; Charles F.; Ella, the wife of Charles Bigelow, of Boston, Mass; and Carrie, wife of Henry Henderson, of Los Angeles, Cal. Charles F. Anderson passed his youthful years in Xenia, securing his education in the public schools of that city and remaining at the parental home until he had attained his majority. In the year 1878 he came to Day- ton for the purpose of devoting himself to the study of crayon portraiture and photography, for which he had a natural inclination. He continued his technical study with interest and careful application for some three years, at the expiration of which time he had become a capa- ble artist. He first went to Indianapolis, Ind. , where he opened a studio for the execution of crayon work, continuing there for nearly two 382 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD years, after which he returned to Dayton and entered the establishment of Appleton & Hol- linger, photographers, where he acted in the capacity of crayon artist and finisher of photo- graphic work. He remained in the employ of this firm for several years, and then engaged in business on his own responsibility by open- ing a studio on the corner of Fifth and Wayne streets, conducting the same successfully for a period of nearly two years. He was then offered such inducements that he entered the studio of Hollinger as crayon artist and fin- isher, also spending considerable time in out- door photographic work. In February, 1894, he formed his present partnership with Mr. Hartshorn. The establishment has acquired particular prestige in the line of crayon and pastel portraits, this work being executed by Mr. Anderson, who has established an excel- lent reputation as a free-hand artist. Our subject is progressive in his methods and aims to take advantage of every new discovery and accessory which will facilitate the production of high-class work and insure satisfaction to patrons. He is a member of the State Photog- rapher's association, in whose work he main- tains much interest. In his political faith he renders allegiance to the republican party. On the 14th of November, 1881, Mr. An- derson was united in marriage with Miss Lizzie Hamill, daughter of Capt. Joseph and Leah C. Hamill, honored residents of Dayton. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are the parents of one child, Gaylord. They are consistent members of the United Presbyterian church, of which Mr. Anderson is a member of the board of trustees, and also renders effective service as a member of the choir. At the attractive family home, 322 Jones street, a cordial welcome is always assured to the large coterie of friends whom Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have drawn about them, and both are held in the highest esteem in the community. ^"VMLAS S. AUGHE (deceased), for- •\^^kT merly the leading plow manufacturer K^_J °f Dayton, was born in Miamisburg, Montgomery county, Ohio, Novem- ber 17, 1831, a son of William and Catherine (Tafflemire) Aughe. William Aughe, his father, was a native of Rockingham county, Va. , born November 20, 1794, and at the age of two or three years was brought to Ohio by his parents, Jacob and Lydia (Jeffers) Aughe, who settled in Warren county. Jacob Aughe was a millwright in Vir- ginia, and at one time owned a mill on the site of the famous battle field of Bull Run. The family was of combined German and English stock, and was one of the foremost in the Old Dominion. Jacob Aughe was the pioneer miller on the Hocking river, where he first built a small corn-cracker at the falls, near Logan, 1796, then moved to Springboro, near Clear Creek, in Warren county, later to the site of what is now known as Vandere's mill, where he erected the first mill between Cincinnati and Piqua, and finally returned to Springboro, where he ended his days, the father of eleven children, all of whom reached maturity. William Aughe was a brickmaker and followed this business chiefly in Warren and Mont- gomery counties. He was a man of domestic habits, was honest and industrious, and for some years lived in Miamisburg, but finally moved to Carrollton, where he died at the age of eighty-six years, in the faith of the Method- ist church. To his marriage were born seven children, viz. : Hiram, an edge-tool maker, who died in Dayton at the age of forty-five years; Susannah, deceased wife of John Yea- zell, a farmer; Jefferson, who died in 1871, aged forty-nine years; William, a blacksmith by trade and superintendent of a railroad shop in Logansport, Ind. ; Silas S. ; Mary J., who died in infancy, and Samantha, deceased wife of Andrew Clark, a farmer of Darke OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 383 county. Jefferson Aughe, mentioned above, was a blacksmith and general forger, and about 1852 or 1853 invented the Aughe plow, in the manufacture of which he was engaged at the time of his death. Mrs. Catherine (Tafflemire) Aughe was a native of Canada, although her parents were born in Virginia, whence they moved to Ken- tucky and located near Boonsboro. There Mr and Mrs. Tafflemire were captured by In- dians during a raid and carried off to Canada, where the husband and wife were separated. Some little while afterward the husband made his escape, and in revenge the wife was made to "run the gantlet," in which cruel proceed- ing she was unmercifully clubbed, had her col- lar-bone broken, and sustained other severe injuries. She recovered, however, and shortly afterward her husband, assisted by two others, effected her rescue. The couple then settled in Canada, where the husband worked as a miller and ship-carpenter until his death, the wife also dying in that country. Silas S. Aughe, after receiving a good pub- lic-school education, learned the trade of black- smithing and plowshare forging under his brother Jefferson, and, about 1866, was made foreman of his brother's works. He was later made a sharer in the profits of the business and given the superintendence 7 , and this posi- tion he held until his brother's death (in 1871), when a Mr. Parrott bought the plant, retain- ing Silas S. Aughe in his former capacity and on the same terms. This arrangement con- tinued until 1885, when the Cast Steel Plow company was organized, in which company Mr. Aughe held a controlling interest. Upon the original plow Mr. Aughe made a number of improvements and secured patents for at- tachments not only to this particular plow, but to plows of other makes, to which these attach- ments are valuable adjuncts. Mr. Aughe was united in marriage, in Day- ton, February 14, 1856, with Miss Mary Kittinger, a native of Lancaster, Pa. , and a daughter of Samuel and Lucy Kittinger. To this union were born two children, ziz: John, who is in the employ of the Dayton Fan & Motor company, and Laurina, de- ceased. Mr. Aughe possessed a deep and re- flective mind, and was an active and ener- getic business man. He was thoroughly prac- tical in all things, and as a business man had but few superiors in the city of Dayton. His death occurred February 8, 1897. kJ^\ ENJAMIN F. ARNOLD, contractor, If^ builder and manufacturer, of Dayton, J^9 Ohio, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, November 14, 1842. Heisason of John W. and Eliza J. (Kelly) Arnold, the for- mer a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Ohio. They were the parents of seven children, all still living, as follows: Mary, widow of Jacob Arnold; Lizzie; Benjamin F. ; Sarah, widow of John Frederick; Rebecca, wife of Alsup Dann; John D., and Clara, wife of Edwin Fair. John W. Arnold, the father of this family, was a farmer by occupation, and came to Ohio in 1833, locating in Dayton. He followed farming near Dayton until 1S65, in the mean- time serving as the first superintendent of the poor house, when its only building was con- structed of logs. His death occurred when he was fifty-nine years of age. Two years later his wife died. Both were members of the United Brethren church. Mr. Arnold was a soldier in the late Civil war, as a member of company G, Sixty-ninth Ohio volunteer in- fantry. The father of John W. Arnold was a native of Pennsylvania, but was of English and Welsh descent. He was married twice and was the father of thirteen children, was a farmer by occupation and lived to be a very 384 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD old man. The maternal grandfather of Ben- jamin F. Arnold was a native of Virginia. Benjamin F. Arnold was reared on the farm near Dayton until he was fourteen years of age, receiving his early education in the public schools. At that time his parents re- moved to Dayton, and he then began learning the carpenter's trade, and for some time was a journeyman carpenter, until 1868. During the late Civil war he enlisted in company C, Thirty-fifth Ohio volunteer infantry, at Hamil- ton, Ohio, and served eighteen months. Re- turning to Dayton he enlisted in the Fourth Ohio cavalry, in which he served nearly nine months. The battles in which he took part were those of Mill Springs, Ky. ; Pittsburg Landing, and Perryville, and a number of minor engagements and skirmishes. After the war he returned to Dayton and worked at his trade until 1868, when he began to do contract work on his own account, and has continued thus engaged ever since. He erected several of the buildings at the soldiers' home, the Western engine house, and also a large num- ber of residences in Dayton. For the last ten years he has manufactured the Ladies' Friend washing machine, and in the busy season gives employment to quite a number of men. On January 6, 1869, Mr. Arnold was mar- ried to Miss Julia A. Powell, daughter of Jos- eph and Mary E. (May) Powell. To this mar- riage have been born eight children, five sons and three daughters. Those living are as fol- lows: Stella M., Irving P., Joseph J., Jessie, Clayton, Carroll and Lula. Stella M. married Luther Rumbarger, by whom she has one child, Arnold Rumbarger. Irving P. married Lulu Hines, by whom he has two children; Joseph J. married Josie Belle Fisher. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold are members of the Baptist church, Mr. Arnold having been a dea- con in his church for several years. He is a member of Armstrong post, No. 79, G. A. R., and of the Junior Order of American Mechanics. As a republican he was elected to the Dayton board of education, and served one term. Having lived in Montgomery county and Day- ton for more than half a century, he is well- known throughout the country as a good work- man, as a capable and successful business man, and as a useful citizen. HE AULL BROTHERS PAPER & BOX COMPANY, whose thoroughly equipped establishment is located at Nos. 220 to 224 West Fifth street, Dayton, Ohio, is to be numbered among the progressive and important manufacturing con- cerns of the city. In the year 1882 the busi- ness had its inception, F. N. Aull having at that time begun operations upon a very small scale, buying his stock in limited quantities and selling the goods from a wagon. This he he continued for one year, after which the business was conducted under the firm title of W. J. Aull & Brother. They secured a small stock of goods, and their method of working was to go out and personally secure orders and then return to their headquarters and fill the same. Their establishment was located on Hanna's alley, between Jefferson and St. Clair streets, and these quarters were retained for about four years, when the growing demands made upon the firm rendered it essential that they secure accommodations of a better order. Accordingly they removed to No. 39 East Second street, and eventually found use for the adjoining store, No. 37. Upon the erection of the M. J. Gibbons building, 136 East Second street, they took possession of it, the building having been designed and built particularly for their use. Here, under the firm name of Aull Brothers Paper Company, they continued operations for five years, when again there arose the necessity for more com- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 385 modious quarters, and they then prepared for the erection of a building of their own and one which should offer all the conveniences essen- tial to carrying on with the greatest facility the details of the now very extensive business. This building was completed in due time and the firm took possession of the same in Janu- ary, 1895. The structure is of brick, is 50X 125 feet in dimensions, five stories in height and of approved modern architectural design. Special shipping facilities are secured through the provision of a side-track connecting di- rectly with the establishment. When operat- ing to full capacity, the manufactory affords employment to a corps of 150 persons, the output comprising folding and made-up paper boxes of all kinds, paper pails for ice cream, oysters, berries, etc., together with paper bags of all sizes. The business is continued as a wholesale jobbing enterprise, and the products of the establishment find sale in the most di- verse sections of the Union. In March, 1895, the senior member of the firm, W. J. Aull, started on a trip south, by river, for the improvement of his health, taking passage on the steamer "Longfellow," which encountered a fog at Cincinnati on the 7th of March, resulting in a most painful fatality, since the boat went down with all on board, Mr. Aull and his wife both being drowned. He was but thirty-eight years of age, and his untimely death by so pitiable an accident caused the deepest sorrow to all who had known him in either a business or social way. After his death the business in which he he had been so conspicuously concerned was reorganized and incorporated, with officers as follows: F. N. Aull, president; J. W. Aull, secretary, and A. H. Baer, treasurer, the enter- prise being capitalized for $75,000. The Aull family have been continuously res- idents of Dayton for more than thirty years, the family having come to this place in 1840, subsequently removing to Bloomington, 111., where he remained until 1865, when he again returned with his family to Dayton, where they have ever since maintained their abode. The venerable father is still living, having attained the age of seventy-two years. He left Dayton in 1895 Ior tne purpose of making his home with his daughter, who resides on Lookout Mountain. He had been prominently engaged in the hotel business for many years, and had a wide circle of acquaintances, among whom he was singularly popular. He has been a stalwart democrat all his life and an active worker in the party ranks. He is a native of Hesse-Cassel, Germany, whence he came to America when a lad of ten years. Upon at- taining his majority he was united in marriage to Miss Julia Gigler, a native of Hagerstown. Her death occurred January 8, 1891. They became the parents of ten children, two of whom, Edward and Elizabeth, died in infancy. Of the others, Louisa is the widow of John Weston, of Dayton; Catherine is the wife of W. F. Heath, of Ottawa, 111. ; Eva is the wife of Colonel H. F. Collins, of Dayton; William J. is deceased; Emma is the wife of O. L. Hurlburt, of Lookout Mountain, Tenn. ; Frank N. is president of the Aull Brothers Paper & Box company; John W. is a member of the same company; Julia is the wife of T. V. Meyer, of Chattanooga, Tenn. Frank N. Aull was born August 27, 1862, at Bloomington, 111. He was educated in the public schools and at fourteen years of age be- came identified with the line of industry with which he is still concerned. He has developed a marked business sagacity and executive abil- ity, is known as one of the most capable young business men of Dayton, and is a member of the board of trade. His marriage to Miss Ella Wetzel was celebrated October 2, 1889, and they have three children — Charles F. , Harold W. and Edgar C. The family home is :;si; CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD located at 313 Superior avenue, and both Mr. and Mrs. Aull are members of Grace Meth- odist Episcopal church. John W. Aull, secretary of the company, is a native of Dayton, where he was born on the 27th of March, 1866. He received a common-school education, and at the age of fourteen years became associated with the practical duties of life, becoming then con- cerned in the paper business with R. A. Rog- ers, with whom he continued to be associated until 1885, when he became traveling sales- man for the Aull Brothers' establishment, be- coming a member of the firm in 1890. In 1892 he gave up work as traveling representa- tive and assumed charge of the manufacturing department of the business, becoming secre- tary at the time of its incorporation. His standing in commercial circles is on a parity with that of his brother, and both are unmis- takably popular by reason of their correct and honorable methods and sterling personal at- tributes. In his fraternal relations Mr. Aull is a member of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, in, whose affairs he has an abid- ing interest. On the 3d of June, 1891, John W. Aull was united in marriage to Miss Mamie Harries, daughter of John Harries, a well-known resi- dent of Dayton. They reside at No. 217 North Jefferson street. • HADEUS JOSEPH BACKUS, super- intendent of streets of Dayton, was born April 3, 1852, in this city, where he has always resided. He is a son of Washington and Lucy (Stuckmier) Backus, both of German extraction. Washington Backus was a native of Con- necticut and possessed a large measure of Yankee thrift and energy, which he devoted to commerce, spending his life in mercantile pur- suits. He was a large dealer in notions, doing a wholesale and retail business which made his name widely known. He died when his son Thadeus Joseph was but four years old, leav- ing a widow, this son and two daughters, who are now Mrs. Susanna Lachelle, residing in Denver, Colo., and Mrs. Emma Houser, of this city. The widow afterward married Will- iam E. Martin, now of Springfield, Ohio, who brought into the household his son by a former marriage, William A., who is the superintend- ent of the Farm and Fireside, a literary and household journal published at Springfield. To the union of Mr. Martin and Mrs. Backus were born three children: George, who is now a druggist at Miami City; Levi, who is super- intendent of the Barb Wire Fence Manu- facturing company, at Lawrence, Kan., and Jennie, who resides at Dayton. The mother died at her home in Dayton in 1873. Mr. Backus early learned the business of making galvanized-iron cornice and slate roof- ing, which he successfully followed for about twenty years. His methods attracted the at- tention and commanded the respect and confi- dence of the people, and in 1893 he was appointed, by the board of city affairs, to his present position of responsibility and trust, the duties of which office he is performing in an eminently satisfactory manner. The varied and important character of these duties ren- ders his position far other than a sinecure, and, with the construction of sewers, the cleaning of streets and destruction of garbage, Mr. Backus is kept a very busy man. On the 7th of June, 1877, Mr. Backus was united in marriage to Miss Katie C. Barnes, a native of Dayton, and daughter of Lawrence and Margaret Barnes, the former now deceased. Of a family of five children Mrs. Backus is the eldest. The other children are: Robert, the proprietor of a box factory in Dayton; Mary, wife of Joseph Ferneding, one of Dayton's OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 387 shoe merchants; Maggie, who resides with her mother in this city; and Julia, the wife of Joseph L. Sacksteder, of Dayton. Mr. and Mrs. Backus have a family of seven children, all of whom live with their parents. They are: May, Lulu, William, George, Julia, Charles and Christopher. Miss May is a sten- ographer and typewriter, employed in the pen- sion department at the National Military Home, Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. The other chil- dren are still in school. Politically, Mr. Backus is a democrat and stands high among the local counselors of his party. He was reared in the Presbyterian church, and is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias and of the B. P. O. Elks. Mrs. Backus is an adherent of the Roman Catholic faith, and is a member of the Church of the Sacred Heart. >^ESSE H. BATES, one of the old and A highly respected citizens of Dayton, /» 1 was born January 6, 1834, ten miles south of Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio, a son of Acel C. and Meca (Bobo) Bates, who, about 18 12, came to Ohio from Con- necticut and Virginia respectively. The father was a carpenter b}' trade, and later an auction- eer at Cincinnati, but, when Jesse was born, was keeping hotel in Warren county. Jesse H. Bates was the seventh born in a family of ten children, was reared in Warren county, and at the age of eighteen years began to study bridge building. In due time he as- sisted in constructing the bridges on the Day- ton & Richmond and Indiana Central railroads, and followed the trade for several years there- after. In 1858 he came to Montgomery county, located at Germantown, and purchased a hack line running from Germantown to Car- lisle Station, which he ran for one year, and then for a time conducted a livery barn and traded in horses. In 1866 he came to Dayton, Ohio, and was first engaged as foreman by D. H. Morrison, a prominent bridge builder, and later, for twelve years, was employed on the Pan Handle railroad as foreman of the bridge department, since when he has practically lived a retired life. Jesse H. Bates was married in German- town, Montgomery county, in 1858, to Miss Melazina Schaeffer, daughter of Michael N. and Mary (Katron) Schaeffer, the union result- ing in the birth of four children, in the follow- ing order: Mollie, wife of DeWitt C. Arnold, shoe dealer of Dayton; Oliver E., the popular caterer of Dayton, of whom fuller mention will be made in a later paragraph; Harriet B. and J. Stewart. Mr. and Mrs. Bates are members of the Third street Presbyterian church, and in politics Mr. Bates is a stanch republican. They have their residence at No. 341 West Fourth street, where their hospitable doors are always open to the visits of a large number of sincere friends. Oliver E. Bates, son of Jesse H. and Mela- zina (Schaeffer) Bates, was born in Montgom- ery county, Ohio, March 30, 1862, and was but five years of age when his parents came to reside in Dayton. He was educated in the public schools of the city, and at the age of twenty-two years entered the employ of Lowe Bros, as assistant bookkeeper, and later be- came a traveling salesman for the same firm, having charge of their artists' material depart- ment. He remained with this firm for five years, and then traveled for a short time for a Chicago firm in the same business. Returning to Dayton, he was for two years in the employ of the Globe Iron works as shipping and cor- responding clerk, and in 1889 embarked in a bakery business on his own account, at No. 524 East Fifth street, confining himself to bread and cake baking. In 189 1 he purchased his present business, succeeding F. J. Holden, 388 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD at No. 14 North Main street. Here he caters to the best social circles of the city, manufac- turing all his confectionery and ice cream, of which he makes a specialty. His parlors are complete and inviting in every respect, and the attendance perfect. Mr. Bates is a member of Dayton lodge, No. 147, F. & A. M., in which he has passed all the chairs; is also a member of Unity chap- ter, No. 16; Reese council, No. 9; Reedcom- mandery, No. 6; Gabriel grand lodge of Per- fection; Miami grand council; Dayton grand chapter, and Rose Croix, Cincinnati consist- ory; he was also a charter member of the Vingt-et-un club of Dayton — a social and ben- eficial organization. Mr. Bates was united in marriage March 22, 1887, to Miss Carrie E. Gebhart, daughter of S. T. Gebhart, and this union has been blessed with two children — Elwood G. and J. Robert. The family have their home at No. 334 West Fourth street. WOHN R. BROWNELL, president of ■ the Brownell company, one of the A J largest manufacturing concerns of Day- ton, is a native of Fulton county, N. Y., where he was born on July 7, 1839. His parents were Frederick and Ann (Dolly) Brownell, both of whom were natives of the county already named. The father was a tanner and a currier by trade. He served as a soldier in the war of 1812, being stationed at Sackett's Harbor with Gen. Brown; six uncles of his wife also served in the war. In 1842 Frederick Brownell came to Ohio with his family and located at Lower Sandusky, near Fremont, and from there removed to Perrysburg, Wood county, and thence to Green Springs, Sandusky county, and finally to a farm three miles from Fremont, where he died in 185 1. His widow died in 1882, in Dayton. John R. Brownell was the youngest of eleven children born to his parents. After the family came to Ohio he attended school dur- ing the winter time for several years. The first winter after his father's death he worked at Green Springs for his board, at the same time attending school. Further educational advantages were denied him, and from that time on he was thrown upon his own resources and compelled to make his way in life by his own efforts. During the year 1853 he served as a clerk in the store of W. T. & A. K. West at Sandusky City, and the following two years he spent on the steamer Northern Indiana, on Lake Erie. In the fall of 1856 he came to Dayton and entered the employ of his brother, Elijah H. Brownell, at boilermaking, at which he continued until the fall of 1857, when he went to California. After working at his trade in San Francisco for a time he went to the gold mines and remained there until Janu- ary, 1 86 1, when he returned to Dayton. The following August he enlisted in the army, was sent to Saint Louis, and mustered into the Thir- teenth Missouri regiment (which at Corinth was changed to the Twenty-second Ohio volunteer regiment) as a sergeant, and served as such until 1863, when he was commissioned second lieu- tenant of company K, of the above regiment, which company he commanded most of the time. He was mustered out as second lieu- tenant, having served all through the war of the Rebellion. Returning to Dayton, he be- came a member of the firm of Brownell & Com- pany, manufacturers of machinery, boilers and general foundry work. This firm was origi- nally composed of John R. Brownell, James H. Brownell, E. H. Brownell, George J. Rob- erts and Josiah Lee, and their place of busi- ness was at No. 437 East First street. May 8, 1865, F. J. Brownell was admitted to the firm, and on November I, 1867, it was organ- ized under the name of Brownell, Roberts & OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 391 Company. In February, 1S71, the Brownell & Kielmeier Manufacturing company was in- corporated, with C. H. Kielmeier as president; John R. Brownell as vice-president and general superintendent, and James Anderson as secre- tary and treasurer. On account of the panic of 1873 the company made an assignment. At the sale John R. Brownell bought two-thirds and Martin Schneble one-third of the property, and continued the business until February, 1884, in which year Mr. Brownell bought out the interest of Mr. Schneble, and, under the name of Brownell & Co., ran the business by himself until January, 1888, when the Brow- nell company was incorporated, with Mr. Brownell as president and superintendent, D. H. Dryden, vice-president, and E. A. Vance, secretary and treasurer. The business re- mained at its original location until September 12, 1888, when a fire occurred, destroying buildings and machinery. The business was then moved to Findlay street, just north of First, where a portion of the boiler plant had been since 1883. The plant at the above lo- cation, as it stands to-day, consists of a two- story brick machine shop, 200 x 60 feet, with a three-story office building, 30 feet square; a foundry building, 200x60 feet, with an "L" 50 x 30 feet; a boiler shop, 200 x 50 feet, with .two "Ls" 50 feet square; and a recent addi- tion to the boiler shop of 70 x 227 feet. Mr. Brownell owns the principal stock (ninety per cent) at present. Officers: J. R. Brownell, president; Joseph Burns, vice-president; C. J. Brownell, secretary and treasurer, and Alice Hartnett, assistant secretary and treasurer. Mr. Brownell has been twice married; first, in June, 1866, to Melvira J., the daughter of Thomas Humphreys, of Urbana, Ohio. To the union one daughter, Anna, was born. The mother and daughter both died in the year 1872. In the fall of 1875 Mr. Brownell was married to Miss 11 Harriet Alice Smith, the daughter of Abraham Smith, of Maryland. By this marriage he has the following children: Carrie J., Alice J., Mary J. and John R., Jr. In 1874 Mr. Brownell was elected a member of the board of commissioners of Montgomery county, serving three years; during the years 1881-82 he was a member of the Dayton city council. In 1882 he was elected to the Ohio state senate, serving one term. He is a lead- ing member of the G. A. R., Loyal Legion and Union Veteran League. WAMES H. BAGGOTT, ex-judge of the A probate court of Montgomery county, f» I was born in Licking county, Ohio, and is the eldest child of Col. William Bag- gott, who emigrated from Virginia to Ohio in 1823. Just previous to leaving Virginia he was married to Miss Hannah Quick. After living in this state about sixteen years they moved into Montgomery county in 1839, set- tling upon a farm nine miles north of Dayton on the National road. Here James worked upon the farm in summer, and attended school in the winter season, receiving the best edu- cation the country schools afforded at that time. So well did he progress in learning that at an unusually early age he himself began teaching school, being barely seventeen years old when he first essayed this responsible duty. In 1846 and 1847 he attended the old academy in Dayton, a remarkable institution in several re- spects. In 1848 he began reading law in the office of the Hon. Peter Odlin, at one time a partner of Gen. Robert C. Schenck, under the firm name of Odlin & Schenck, and was ad- fnitted to.the bar in June, 1850. In Septem- ber, 1S51, he was unanimously nominated by the democratic convention for the office of prosecuting attorney, and was elected by a ma- jority of one vote over Hon. Samuel Craig- head, the whig candidate, who was running for 3V>2 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD his third term, and who, having been an able and most efficient official, was very popular with his own party. In 1853 young Baggott was again unanimously nominated for the sec- ond term, his competitor being the Hon. Hiram Strong, who, as colonel of the Ninety- third regiment of Ohio troops, was afterward fatally wounded at the battle of Chickamauga. The result of the contest was the re-election of Mr. Baggott by a majority of more than 300. In 1857 Judge Baggott was nominated without opposition for the office of probate judge and was elected, serving one term of three years. After retiring from the office of probate judge he returned to the practice of the law, and has since continued thus engaged. In politics Judge Baggott is and always has been a democrat, and has been a delegate to numerous state conventions. He was married in 1862 to Fannie Williams, of Kentucky, a daughter of George Williams. Mr. Baggott is a member of the Masonic fraternity and is a Knight Templar. He has been a member of the First Baptist church since 1872. He is a man of great strength of characcer, devoted to his profession, and well qualified to fill any po- sition of public trust. It may be said of his work as prosecuting attorney of Montgomery county, that he distinguished himself, while in that office, by the prosecution and conviction of Frank Dick for murder, as a result of which Dick was executed. This was one of the most notable criminal trials in the annals of Montgomery county. a APT. ALLEN M. BAKER, of the National Military Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, near Dayton, Ohio, was born in Aroostook county, Me., August 9, 1833, and is a son of George and Mary (Lawrence) Baker, natives of New Brunswick, where their marriage took place. George Baker was a mechanic, but died when his son Allen was but a child. Of his five sons three were soldiers in the late Civil war, and one was for seven months a prisoner at Andersonville, S. C. Allen M. Baker was quite well educated in the public schools of his native state of Maine ; learned the blacksmith's trade, and later be- came a steamboatman, and in this latter em- ployment he was engaged when he enlisted, December 20, 1863, in Company I, Thirty- ninth New York volunteer infantry. He served until the close of the war in the army of the Potomac, Second army corps, under Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock ; and in the battle of the Wilderness, Va., under Gen. U. S. Grant, was wounded, May 6, 1864, and sent to hospital. There he was confined until August 15 following, when he rejoined his regiment at City Point, Va., and took part in all its marches, skirmishes and engagements until the war closed. Among the battles of note in which he participated were those of Deep Bot- tom, Reams Station, Petersburg, and Hatcher's Run, and all engagements of his company ; he was in the grand review in Washington, D. C, in May, 1865, and was finally mustered out of the service, in that city, July 1, of the same year. He returned to his native state for a brief visit, then came west and for a number of years was employed in farming and lumber- ing in Wisconsin and Minnesota, but at last succumbed to the effects of disease contracted in the army, and in October, 1884, sought a refuge in the soldiers' home near Dayton. For a long time after entering this institution he was unable to perform any active labor, and was, until the five years last past, constantly under medical treatment, but was then ap- pointed captain of company Eleven, his bar- racks affording accommodation for 217 men. Capt. Baker has never been married and has lived apart from his family relatives since OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 393 the close of the Civil war. He has never been a member of any secret society and in religious matters he thinks for himself. In politics he is bound by no party ties, but exercises his franchise in favor of the candidate he considers to be a friend of the soldiers. His military titles were awarded him for marked bravery on the battle field and meritorious conduct in face of the enemy and in the performance of duty on all occasions. He was first pro- moted to be sergeant of his company, then commissioned second lieutenant, and then cap- tain, with which rank he was mustered out. eDWIN RUTHYEN BAKER, M. D., practicing physician and surgeon of Dayton, with office at No. 221 East Third street, was born in Phillips- burg, Montgomery county, Ohio, June 6, 1851. He is a son of Andrew H. and Hannah C. (Thomas) Baker, both of whom are living at Phillipsburg. Edwin Ruthven Baker was reared in Mont- gomery county, and educated in the public schools until he was fifteen years of age, when he began to learn the trade of mason, at which he worked for some eight or ten years during the summer season, at the same time pursuing the study of medicine with Dr. J. W. Tedrow, now deceased. After completing his studies in the public schools of Dayton, he attended the Ohio Medical college at Cincinnati, and graduated as a member of the class of 1876. After this he formed a partnership with Dr. Hawkins at Union, Montgomery county, with whom he was associated for two years. He then located at West Milton, Miami county, and was there engaged in an active and suc- cessful practice for twelve years. At the end of this time he came to Dayton, where he has since been engaged successfully in the general practice of his profession and in sur- gery. He is a member of Gem City lodge, No. 795, I. O. O. F., and has belonged to this order for twenty-four years. In politics he is a republican, and has been elected to the of- fice of township treasurer. Dr. Baker was married at Union, Mont- gomery county, November 23, 1876, to Miss Fannie E. Hawthorne, a daughter of George and Nancy Hawthorne, who came from Penn- sylvania to Ohio. Mrs. Baker was born in Lancaster, Pa., and is of German and Irish ancestry. Dr. Baker is one of the progressive citizens of Dayton, is public spirited, and takes an interest in every movement calculated to promote the prosperty of his chosen home. >-j' OHN L - BAKER, member of the board ■ of city affairs, of Dayton, was born A 1 in New Carlisle, Clarke county, Ohio, December 10, 1848. His father, Will- iam Baker, was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1821, and was a son of John Baker, one of the earliest settlers of the city of Dayton, and one of the first carpenters and contractors to locate there. John Baker assisted in building the old Third street bridge. William Baker was reared in Dayton, where he learned the trade of carriagemaking. In 1840 he re- moved to New Carlisle, Clarke county, where he was married to Mary McNeal, who was born in Pennsylvania and who died about 1850. Mr. Baker died in 1870. Until the beginning of the war he carried on the manu- facture of carriages at New Carlisle. He and his wife were the parents of two sons, John L. , and William A., his elder brother, who is now a resident of Muncie, Ind. John L. Baker was reared in New Carlisle, and was educated at the academy in that place. After leaving school he learned the carriage- maker's trade. In 1864 he established him- self in the carriage manufacturing business in 394 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD New Carlisle, continuing until January 2, 1872, when he moved to Dayton and entered upon the same business there, having been thus en- gaged ever since. His present factory is situ- ated at Nos. 22, 24 and 26 West Fifth street. In March, 1889, Mr. Baker also embarked in the livery business with a stable on Ludlow street, between Third and Fourth streets, and has now one of the largest establishments in the city. On January 29, 1894, he purchased the Dayton Transfer company's property and business, and now operates that as well as his carriage manufactory and livery stable. In April, 1S95, he was appointed by Mayor Mc- Miilen to a position on the board of city af- fairs, of which office he took possession on the 19th of that month. Mr. Baker has always been a democrat, and as such holds his pres- ent office. He was married in 1S75 to Miss Josie Brower, of New Carlisle, and to their marriage there ha? been born one daughter, Blanche Louise. BREDERICK D. BARRER, M. D., physician and surgeon of Dayton, Ohio, with office at No. 29 North Perry street, was born at McConnels- ville, July 13, i860. He is a son of Charles L. and Rachael (Maxwell) Barker, both of whom are of Scotch descent and now living at McConnelsville. The family were among the earliest settlers of Morgan county, Ohio, and experienced all the trials, hardships and dan- gers of pioneer days. They have been for years prominent in their part of the state in political and religious matters as well as in philanthropic movements, and there are many of the name in southeastern Ohio. The grandfather of Dr. Barker was Luther 1). Barker, who, in company with two of his brothers, located early in the Muskingum val- ley. They were interested in flatboating down the river, and were otherwise employed in business of various kinds, and also in farming. Some members of the family became ministers of the gospel, while Frederick D. is the only one who has turned his attention to medicine. The family are mostly republicans, and with few exceptions are members of the Baptist church. Frederick D. Barker is one of a family of five children, and is the only son. He was reared in his native town, received his educa- tion in the public schools, from which he was graduated in 1878, having, however, previously taken a course of study in the Southeastern Ohio Normal school. After graduating from the public schools of McConnelsville, he en- tered Denison university at Granville, Ohio, graduating from this institution in 1S82, with the degree of bachelor of philosophy. In 1 891 he was honored with the degree of master of philosophy. After graduating from Denison university he engaged in business with his father in Mc- Connelsville, dealing in provisions and wool, and continued thus engaged until 1888. In 1884 he made a trip to Europe, visiting the British Isles and the entire continent, with the double purpose of pleasure and study, and in 1885 began the study of medicine with R. Harvey Reed, surgeon-in-chief of the Balti- more & Ohio railroad, and took his first course of lectures at the Ohio Medical college in Cin- cinnati. The second course of lectures he took at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was graduated in the class of 1890. In a competitive examination among twenty-five applicants, for the position of house physician and surgeon in the Presbyterian hospital in Philadelphia, Dr. Barker took first place, and as a consequence served as resident physician for one year, leaving there in 1891, and com- ing direct to his present location in Dayton, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 395 and a daughter of Marshall O. Rice, manu- facturer of that city. (/^V L. BATES & BRO, machinists, I manufacturers and nickel platers, at /^^J the corner of Fourth and St. Clair streets, Dayton, Ohio, still carry on a business which was founded in 1866 by their father, Hamilton Bates, on the hydraulic, in Ohio. Here he has been engaged in the active practice of medicine ever since. Dr. Barker is a member of the Beta Theta Pi college fraternity, of the Stille Medical so- ciety, of Philadelphia, and of the American Academy of Railway Surgeons. He is the physician to the Widows' home in Dayton, is the city police surgeon, is head surgeon of the Dayton district of the D. & M. railway, and of the C, D. & I. and C, H. & D. rail- ways. He is also surgeon on the staff of the Deaconess hospital, and teaches anatomy and physiology in the Dayton Summer school for teachers. He lectures on medical subjects before the Young Men's Christian association in Dayton, and also in Xenia, and is active in the general work of that association. In 1894 Dr. Barker made a second trip abroad, spending most of his time in the hos- pitals of London and Vienna. In the follow- ing spring he made a trip through Italy and down into Egypt, through Palestine, to Athens and Constantinople, returning through Bul- garia, Syria and Hungary to Vienna. Through- out his entire career he has been self-reliant, and an independent student and investigator, j He paid his own way through the medical schools, met without assistance his expenses upon the three trips to Europe, and, in short, what he has thus far accomplished has been wholly through his own unaided efforts. Dr. Barker was married in Boston, June 3, 1896, to Helen R. Rice, a native of Boston the rear of Gebhart's mill, chiefly for the manufacture of wool machinery. Hamilton Bates was born at Ellicott's Mills, Md., in 18 19, and when a young man, somewhere about 1841, came to Dayton, Ohio, but learned the machinist's trade at Wheeling, W. Va. , returned to Dayton, and became foreman, first for McMillan & Co., and then for Broadrup & Co., in the manufacture of woolen-mill machinery. In 1866, as noted above, he founded the present business in company with his eldest son, Daniel L. , and this was conducted, under the firm name of Bates & Son, until the death of the father, in 1884. Hamilton Bates was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church, having been converted in his early youth; he was one of the earlier members of Wayne lodge, I. O. O. F., and on more than one occasion was its representative in the grand lodge. He mar- ried Miss Martha Lemon, a daughter of John Lemon, a highly respected resident of Day- ton. She was born in this city about 1840, and died in 1876, the mother of three chil- dren, viz: Daniel L., now the senior member of the firm of D. L. Bates & Bro. ; Russell H., the junior member of the firm, and Sarah, wife of Lewis Tischer, of Dayton. Daniel L. Bates was born August 16, 1847, at the corner of Fifth and Brown streets, Day- ton, was educated in the city schools, and at the age of fifteen years entered upon his ap- prenticeship at the machinist's trade, and this has ever since been his constant employment. From 1866 until 1884 he was a partner of his father, and since the latter date has been asso- ciated with his brother, Russell H., in the pres- ent business. In November, 1870, he married Miss Susan Umphries, who was born in Alex- anderville, Ohio, a daughter of Boler Umphries, and to this union have been born four children, viz: Harry L. , a graduate of the Dayton Com- mercial college, a practical machinist and book- 396 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD keeper for his father, and married, in 1894, to Miss Laura Kimmel, a daughter of William Kimmel, of Dayton; Maud M., a graduate of the city high school, and for the past five years a teacher in the city schools of Dayton; Edith V., and Zelma G., still under parental care. The father is a member of Wayne lodge, No. 10, I. O. O. F., has his residence in Dayton View, at 435 River street, is surrounded by a host of true friends, and is recognized as one of the best business men of the Gem City. Russell H. Bates, the junior member of the firm of D. L. Bates & Bro., was born Novem- ber 1, 1 861, was educated in the public schools of his native city of Dayton, and at the age of seventeen years, like his elder brother, served an apprenticeship at the machinist's trade un- der his father's instruction. He learned the trade in all its details, and in 1884, at the death of his father, became the associate of his brother, Daniel L. , in the present lucrative business, in the success of which he has been no unimportant factor. The marriage of Rus- sell H. Bates was celebrated September 2, 1884, with Miss Julia Euchenhofer, who was born and reared in Dayton and is a daughter of Frederick Euchenhofer, one of the best known citizens of the Gem City. Two children have blessed this union and are named Ralph and Edmond. Mr. and Mrs. Russell H. Bates reside at the corner of Third and June streets, and are, with their little family, part of a circle of close acquaintances and neighbors. In poli- tics, both brothers are republicans. \S~\ OTTO BAUMANN, oneof theyoung- I •^ er members of the Dayton bar, and P secretary of the city board of elec- tions, was born in Dayton, Ohio, June 30, 1870, and is a son of Hon. C. L. Baumann, who is included by Hon. George W. Houk, in his history of the Dayton bar, in the list of lawyers admitted to practice soon after i860. R. Otto Baumann received his preliminary education in the Dayton public schools. After- ward he took a course of study in the Miami Commercial college, graduating from that in- stitution in his seventeenth year. After being engaged in bookkeeping for one year he was appointed to the position of librarian of the Dayton law library, which place he held for four years. During this time he began the study of law and was admitted to the bar in December, 1891. For about eight months after his admission to the bar he was in the office of John M. Sprigg, and in 1893 began the practice of the law on his own account. In May, 1S94, Mr. Baumann was appointed clerk of the city board of elections, a position which he still retains. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. Mr. Baumann, while young both in years and in the practice of his profession, has the capacity and the industry which are certain to bring success. His intellectual endowments are generous, and his social qualities are such as to have made for him a host of friends. aHARLES BECK is one of the most artistic landscape gardeners in the United States, having had charge of the garden and grounds of the na- tional soldiers' home at Dayton, since 1876. Mr. Beck is a native of German}-, born in Frankfort-on-the-Main, January 2, 1827, the son of William and Louise (Kroeber) Beck. The father was a tax collector in his native province, a position of trust and responsibility, and both parents died in the fatherland. Frederick Beck, a brother of Charles, lives in Germany. He served as justice of the peace daring all his active life, and is now a pen- sioner of the government; two sisters, Emma and Matilda, died in Germany, and the only OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 397 members of the family that came to America were Charles and Caroline; the latter married a Mr. Myer and died near Cincinnati. Charles Beck was educated in the land of his nativity and at an early age learned garden- ing, an occupation which receives much more attention in the old world than in the United States. When twenty years of age he came to America, locating at Rochester, N. Y. , where for two years he worked for a nursery firm. He then went to Cincinnati and en- gaged in operating floral gardens and doing floral decorating until his removal in i860 to Dayton. He engaged in the same business in this city upon his own responsibility until em- ployed by the government to take charge of the entire floral, landscape and vegetable gardens at the national soldiers' home, the duties of which position he has since most successfully discharged. During his twenty years of service Mr. Beck has superintended the planting and laying out of all the grounds of the home, hav- ing under him seventy-five men to assist him in the various kinds of decorative work required. The conservatories and decorations, and, in- deed, every thing connected with the grounds, are artistic in the highest degree and a tangible tribute to the taste and skill of the manager, whose knowledge of the profession has been gained only after many years of careful and painstaking study. Mr. Beck was married in 1 S56 to Miss Louisa Schnike, a native of Saxony, where she was born in 1836. Mrs. Beck came with her parents to America when fourteen years of age, locating at Cincinnati, where she grew to womanhood. Her daughter, Louise, is assist- ant principal of the Dayton Steele high school, having charge of the German department. She is a graduate of the Central high school, and for some time pursued her studies in Munich, Germany; the brother, Otto Walter, also edu- cated in Munich, is' a teacher in the art museum in Cincinnati; Matilda was educated in the city schools of Dayton. Mrs. Beck was reared in the faith of the German Lutheran church, but is now a member of the English branch of that denomination. Mr. Beck takes an active interest in political matters, support- ing the republican party upon state and na- tional issues, while in local matters he is en- tirely independent. a APT. JOHN NELSON BELL, sec- retary of the Ohio Fire Insurance company, and general fire insurance agent, at Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city December 18, 1838, a son of John S. and Zipporah (Cock) Bell. He graduated from the Central high school of his native city, and immediately afterward went west and taught school for a time on the prairies of Minnesota; he then went to Burlington, Iowa, and for sev- eral years was employed as a local reporter on the " Hawkeye." and at the breaking out of the Civil war enlisted for ninety days. After serving out his term of enlistment he returned to Burlington and raised a company of volun- teers, and in 1862 was commissioned captain of company E, Twenty-fifth Iowa volunteer infantry, and as such served until the close of the war. He participated in all the campaigns in the southwest under Gens. Grant and Sher- man, and also in the south and southeast, in- cluding the siege of Vicksburg, the storming of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, the campaign of Atlanta, the march through Geor- gia and the Carolinas, and the grand review at Washington, D. C. During his term of serv- ice Capt. Bell was appointed assistant adju- tant-general and assistant inspector-general on the staffs of Gen. James A. Williamson and Gen. George A. Stone, in Sherman's Fifteenth corps, and received the commendation of his commanders in general orders for his faithful 398 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD discharge of duty. After the war he returned to Iowa, and for several years was engaged in mercantile business, but finally returned to Dayton, filling a position as bookkeeper until 1885, when he accepted his present office. Capt. Bell was made a master Mason in Des Moines lodge, No. 1, Burlington, Iowa, October 12, 1868; was exalted a royal arch Mason October 2, 1869, in Iowa Royal Arch chapter, No. 1 ; created a Knight Templar in St. Omer commander}', No. 15, February 22, 1 87 1. He has affiliated with the various York rite bodies in Dayton since 1872, and has re- ceived the various degrees of the Scottish rite, from the fourth to the thirty-second degree, in the valley of Dayton, and in the Ohio con- sistory, at Cincinnati; in 1880 was crowned a sovereign grand inspector -general, thirty- third degree, and made an honorary member of the supreme council, N. M. J., of the United States, at Boston, September 18, 1888. He has served as recorder of Reed command- ery, No. 6, of Dayton, nine years; eminent commander of the same commandery in 1886; grand recorder of the grand commandery of Ohio in 1886, and to this office he has been annually elected up to the present time. He is a past master of Gabriel lodge of Perfec- tion, A. A. rite, and is the present grand master of Miami council, P. of J., in which position he has served continuously since 1887. He is a member of the Loyal Legion, and a past commander of Old Guard post, G. A. R. Capt. Bell was united in marriage in Bur- lington, Iowa, November 3, 1S61, with Miss Annie E. Acres, daughter of Stephen T. Acres, of Gibraltar, and has a family of six children, viz: Charles W. , secretary and manager of the United States Board & Paper company, of Cincinnati; William A., traveling sales- man for the American Strawboard company, of Cincinnati; George H., state agent for the North British & Mercantile Insurance com- pany, at Dayton; Walter H., grocers' broker, Dayton; Mary V. and Nelson J., at home. The family are members of the Episcopal church, and in politics Capt. Bell is a repub- lican. He descends from very old American families, his maternal ancestors being traced to the Mayflower, while his paternal fore- fathers, who came from England, can be traced equally far back to the early settlements on the shores of Maryland. His grandparents were residents of Greene county, Ohio, as early as the opening of the present century, his grandfather, John Bell, having been drowned in the Little Miami river in 18 10. His parents were residents of Dayton as early as 1830, and the name has been prominently associated with the history of the city and county up to the present day. j*()HN W. BOREN, contractor and J builder, is a native of Dayton, Ohio, (% 1 born on the 25th day of January, 1852. His father, Wesley Boren, was born in Jonesboro, Term., about the year 1816, and became a resident of Dayton in 1832, where for many years he was a leading manufacturer of brick and a builder. He retired from act- ive life after acquiring a competence, and is still living in the city of his adoption. Lydia E. Coblentz, wife of Wesley Boren, was born in 1 814, in Frederick, Md., and is passing the remaining years of her life at her home in Dayton. She is the mother of five sons and three daughters, John W. being the only son living, the others having died in infancy; the daughters are Amanda, wife of William H. Pritz, superintendent of the Stoddard Manu- facturing company, of Dayton; Mary, wife of George W. Folkerth, also a resident of Day- ton; and Alice, who is under the parental roof. After receiving a practical English educa- tion in the public schools of Dayton, which he attended for some time during both day and evening sessions, John W. Boren, at the age of sixteen, entered upon an apprenticeship under his father to learn the trade of brick laying, in which he soon acquired much more than ordinary proficiency. He has followed his chosen calling all his life, not as a layer of brick merely, but as a contractor upon a large scale, having contracted for and personally superintended the erection of many of the largest public buildings in Dayton and other cities, beside numerous private residences here and elsewhere. Among the structures built by Mr. Boren are the city building and mar- ket house, the Montgomery county court house, St. Elizabeth's hospital, Fourth National bank, the Callahan bank building and many others, beside large contracts at the national soldiers' home. Mr. Boren is a very competent builder and a careful calculator, and has met with financial success most encouraging during his business career in Dayton. He gives steady employment to from ten to twenty workmen, and, at this writing (1896), is engaged on the Ridgway apartment house, Fifth street and OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 413 Boulevard, a building 70 x 162 feet, two stories in height, designed for residence flats, to cost $25,000. In addition to his business of con- tracting, Mr. Boren, as already stated, is quite extensively engaged in the manufacture of brick just outside the city limits, employing about twenty-five men during the season; the output of his yards is common building brick, and what he himself does not use is chiefly sold in the city. Mr. Boren was married in 1876 to Miss Addie L. Emerick, a native of Winchester, Ohio, but who, at the time of her marriage, was residing with her parents in Dayton. Mrs. Boren is a daughter of Andrew and Cath- erine Emerick, both natives of Ohio, and has borne her husband four children, namely: Walter E., Wesley, Helen C. and Frank G. Politically Mr. Boren is a supporter of the re- publican party; fraternally he belongs to the I. O. O. F. , Wayne lodge, No. 210, of Day- ton. He is active in church work, belonging to the Saint Paul's Methodist Episcopal con- gregation, of which he has been a trustee ever since its organization; his wife and family are also members of the same church. eDMOND E. BOHLENDER, M. D., one of the promising young physicians and surgeons of Dayton, is a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, and was born March 14, 1868, a son of Peter and Anna B. (Elmore) Bohlender, now residents of Miami county, where they settled in the spring of 1881. Peter Bohlender was born near Strasbourg, Germany, and when ten years of age was brought to America by his parents, who settled on a farm north of Dayton. The boy,. Peter, however, went to Cincinnati, where he worked in a tobacco house one winter, when he re- turned to Dayton and entered the employ of the Heikes nursery, with which he remained for about thirteen or fourteen years, becoming a thorough horticulturist and nurseryman. He saved a large part of his earnings, at the same time supporting his aged parents, and at the age of twenty-five years married Anna B. El- more. At this time, also, he associated him- self with others in the nursery business, but shortly afterward sold his interest in the firm, continuing in its employ for one year as over- seer. He then purchased an eighty-acre tract of land northwest of Dayton, where he con- tinued his business as nurseryman, and on March 28, 1868, engrafted the first wild-goose plum in this part of the country. For several years later he was a partner of W. H. Smith- man, in the same business, at the end of which connection he sold his land and purchased a farm at the junction of Dogleg and Fredericks- burg pikes. Two years later he sold out and bought a place six miles north of Dayton, on the Covington pike, where he resided for seven years and was active in the affairs of the nursery firm of Bohlender & Quimby. Upon the dissolution of this partnership, Mr. Bohlender purchased eighty acres ten miles north of Dayton, on the old Troy pike, in Miami county, to which, two years later, he added ten acres, where he still continues the in- dustry of fruit raising, in which he has won a widespread and well deserved reputation. Be- side his home horticultural interests, Mr. Boh- lender is a stockholder in and director of the Albaugh Nursery & Orchard company of Day- ton and Tadnor, and is also largely interested in Georgia fruit and land companies. To the marriage of Peter and Anna B. (El- more) Bohlender have been born six children, viz: Thomas L. , overseer of Bidwell's nur- sery, at Chico, and commissioner of horticul- ture, Butte county, Cal. ; Dr. Edmond E. ; HowardJ., a jeweler of Osborn, Ohio; William Fletcher, in the nursery business with his 414 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD father; and S. Lyvirgie and Iva at home with their parents. Dr. Edmond E. Bohlender, having fully prepared himself in the public and high schools of Miami county, passed six months in the Ada normal college, and then entered the office of Dr. Bohlender of Cincinnati, studied medicine under his preceptorship for one year and next placed himself under the tuition of Dr. W. J. Thomson of Union, Montgomery county. Following his course of instruction under this able physician, he entered the Ohio Medical college at Cincinnati, from which he graduated in 1894. He also took a special course in ophthalmic treatment, and after practicing for six months in Piqua, Ohio, final- ly located, February 1, 1895, in Dayton, at the old stand of Dr. Albaugh, now deceased, and where he has already achieved a deserved success in the practice of his profession. Dr. Bohlender was united in marriage, February 21, 1895, with Miss Clara B. Dins- more, daughter of William Dinsmore, of Bethel township, Miami county, Ohio, by whom he has one child, William Elmore, born September 25, 1896. Since his settlement in Dayton Dr. Bohlender has won a host of friends both in his social relations and in his professional practice. aOL JOHN BOTHAST, of No. 520 Richard street, Dayton, Ohio, is a native of this city and was born Oc- tober 22, 1845. He was fairly edu- cated in the public schools, and when about fifteen years of age enlisted in company B, Second battalion, Eighteenth United States infantry, but, in order to secure enrollment in this service, it was necessary to overstate his age, and consequently the records show him to have been nineteen years old. His was the first regiment to occupy Camp Thomas, at Columbus, Ohio, at which point it remained about three months, guarding the Ohio peni- tentiary, Mr. Bothast being posted at the main entrance. From Columbus the regiment was ordered to Kentucky, where it took part in the battle of Mill Spring, in the fall of 1861, soon after which Mr. Bothast was taken sick and was sent to hospital at Lebanon, Ky., where his disease, typhoid fever, came very near proving fatal, and he attributes his conva- lescence wholly to the tender care and skillful nursing of the Sisters of Charity. May 9, 1862, he was discharged from the service by reason of disability, and on returning to Day- ton was some months under treatment in this city. October 28, 1863, Mr. Bothast enlisted in company I, Sixty-first Ohio volunteer in- fantry, and now his actual war service began. He was assigned to the Eleventh army corps, which afterward was merged into the Twen- tieth. He was in the army of the Potomac until the transfer of Gen. Joe Hooker to the southwest, his first engagements under this en- listment being at Missionary Ridge and Look- out Mountain, the top of the mountain being scaled by the Sixty-first Ohio. Mr. Bothast was also all through the Atlanta campaign, taking part in the battles of Buzzard Roost, Kingston (Ga. ), Resaca, Dallas, Ringgold. Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, and the siege of Atlanta. At the latter point Mr. Bothast was left on garrison duty while Sher- man returned with his army to confront Hood at Nashville. In the spring of 1864, Mr. Bothast took up the line of march under Sherman for Savannah, Ga. , and thence on to Washington, D. C, the last fight taking place at Bentonville, N. C. Passing through Rich- mond, Va., the regiment reached the capital city, and, after taking part in the grand review in May, 1865, was then sent to Louisville, Ky., and was there mustered out July 29, 1865, after nearly four years' service. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 415 On returning to Dayton, Col. Bothast en- gaged in the manufacture of horse-collars, which has been his principal business since the close of the war, although he receives a fair pension from the government, in recognition of the disabilities he sustained while in the service. The marriage of Col. Bothast took place in Dayton, May 14, 1868, to Miss Anna Adams, a native of Germany, but a resident of Dayton since two years of age. Five children have been born to this happy marriage, of whom John died in early infancy; Ida Christina is the wife of Albert Tiffany, a machinist, residing in Dayton; Frederick Lewis and Catherine are still under the parental roof, andTillie died in her twelfth year. Col. Bothast is very active in ex-soldier or- ganizations. He is a member of Old Guard post, No. 23, G. A. R., and of John A. Logan command, No. 7, Union Veteran Union, of which he is the present colonel. The condi- tions on which membership in the association is based are enlistment, actual participation in battle and honorable discharge from the army or navy. Col. Bothast is also a prominent member of the order known as the Knights of Honor. In his politics Col. Bothast is an un- compromising republican. In matters relig- ious, he and his wife are ardent and consistent members of the Baptist church. Col. Bothast was one of the original volunteer firemen of Dayton, having been for six years a member of Independent company, No. 1. \S~\ ANIEL G. BREIDENBACH is a I native of Germany, and was born £^^J July 6, 1826. When twenty years old he determined to seek his fortune in America, and on May 13, 1846, landed at Philadelphia. After remaining two months in that city, he came to Dayton and engaged in the trade of shoemaking, afterward opening a retail shoe store, in which business he contin- ued and was well known for many years. In June, 1848, in Dayton, he was married to Miss Anna E. Trieschman, a native of Ger- many, and to them were born eleven children, as follows: Elias, prominently known in Day- ton as the president of the Trades & Labor assembly; Conrad, an organ builder of Piqua, Ohio; Catherine, wife of J. W. Fouts, of Eaton, Ohio; Mary, who married Lawrence Kirschner, and died in March, 1894; J. W. , a printer, of Dayton; Emma (Mrs. P. M. Weaver), of Dayton; C. H.; Anna (Mrs. Samuel Monneman), of Dayton, and three who died in infancy. Mr. Breidenbach served his adopted country in the Civil war, enlisting in the One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio vol- unteer infantry, for the hundred days' service, and being stationed at Baltimore. Politically he is a democrat, and was a member of the Dayton board of education from 1875 to 1881. He has served as assessor of his ward since 1883, a period of fourteen years. He is a member of the G. A. R. and a charter mem- ber of the German Pioneer society. His wife died in 1892. They were both members of the German Evangelical association, with which Mr. Breidenbach is still prominently identified. A host has risen up to bless his latter days, he having twenty-six living grand- children. C. H. Breidenbach, the youngest son, is one of Dayton's best known and most enter- prising young business men. He was educated in the excellent public schools of his native city, served an apprenticeship in the drug busi- ness under Dr. J. C. Reeve, Jr., and graduated from the Philadelphia college of pharmacy in 1888. He is at present pursuing the study of medicine at the Miami Medical college of Cin- cinnati, from which institution he will graduate in April, 1898, when he expects to abandon 416 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the drug business for the practice of medicine and chemistry. In 1890 he established his present prosperous business at the corner of Fifth and Jefferson streets. He is recognized as one of the mpst efficient chemists in this section of the state, and is not infrequently called upon as an expert scientific witness, to give the courts the benefit of his extensive research. On April 3, 1893, Mr. Breidenbach was married to Miss Anna Danner, a favorite teacher in the Fifth District school, in which capacity she served most acceptably for seven years. She is the daughter of George Danner, of Dayton. One child, Isabel, has been born to this union. Both Mr. and Mrs. Breiden- bach are members of the Miami street Lutheran church, and he is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the Knights of Pythias, and of the P. O. S. of A. He is an ardent republican and takes an active part in local politics. «-|-» UTHER MORAL BRYANT, super- r intendent of the Montgomery county ^^ infirmary, is a native of Portland, Me., born March 22, 1850. His father, William Bryant, was a native of Maine, of English and Scotch parentage, and a cousin of William Cullen Bryant. His wife, Elizabeth Bates, was a daughter of a sea captain, and of Scotch descent. William Bryant and his fam- ily removed from Portland, Me., to Urbana, Ohio, in 1853, and to Dayton, Ohio, in the fall of 1858. In the fall of 1861 Mr. Bryant en- listed in company H, Fourth Ohio cavalry, in which he served about one year, when he was discharged from the service on account of having broken his ankle. In 1864 he re-en- tered the service, as a member of the Second Ohio heavy artillery, and in this organization served until the close of the war. He then re- turned to Dayton, and resided there until the fall of 1869, when he removed to Brookville, Montgomery county, Ohio, but returned to Dayton in 1872 and there died in 1S75. His widow still resides in Dayton. William Bryant and his wife were the par- ents of eight children, five of whom are still living, three of these being triplets. The trip- lets are Luther Moral, Laraby and Mrs. Henry Showalter, all of Dayton. The other children living are Mrs. Helen M. Reiszer, a teacher in the public schools of Dayton, and Mrs. Henry Gillespie, now of North Baltimore, Ohio. The latter was a teacher in the Day- ton public schools for twenty-two years, was for five years assistant principal and was offered the position of principal, which she declined. Luther Moral Bryant was reared princi- pally in Dayton, and was educated there in the public schools. On account of his father having enlisted in the army he was compelled to leave school at an early age and to con- tribute his share to the support of the family and to the education of the other children. One year was spent in learning the molder's trade, and ten years at the cooper's trade. From the end of this time to 1894 he was en- gaged in farming, and was then appointed superintendent of the Montgomery county in- firmary, was re-appointed in 1895 and again in January, 1896. This responsible position he has filled with general satisfaction, not only to the inmates but also to the people at large. Mr. Bryant was married in 1870 to Minerva Baker, who was born in Clay township, Mont- gomery county, in 1855. She is a daughter of Benjamin Baker, who was born in the same township in 18 10, his father, Michael Baker, having come from Pennsylvania to Ohio and settled in Montgomery county in the beginning of the century. It was his intention to locate where Dayton now stands, but by reason of the swampy character of the land he changed his OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 417 plans and settled in Clay township. The mother of Mrs. Bryant was Frances Neiswon- ger, who was born in Clay township, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, her parents having been natives of Virginia. Both are now deceased, the mother dying April n, 1890, and the father in March, 1891 , the former in her seventy- seventh year, the latter in his seventy-eighth. Mrs. Bryant received a common-school edu- cation and now holds the position of matron of the infirmary, taking great interest in the work. At the convention of the infirmary officials and superintendents, held at Columbus, Ohio, in January, 1896, Mrs. Bryant read a paper on the Matron in the Infirmary, which received marked expressions of approval. To Mr. and Mrs. Bryant there have been born three sons, as follows: Scott Elliott, who died Septem- ber 30, 1895, in his twenty-fourth year; Forest Baker, nineteen years old, and a graduate of Brookville high school, and now attending col- lege, and Willian Benjamin. Mr. and Mrs. Bryant have been members of the United Brethren church for nineteen years, and Mr. Bryant is a member of the Garfield club, which is a sufficient indication of his politics. eDWIN F. BURKERT, M. D., of Dayton, traces his lineage back to German origin. He is a native of the old Keystone state, having been born at Rebersburg, Pa., on the 27th of February, 1856, the son of Jacob and Elizabeth Bur- kert, the former of whom was a cabinet- maker by trade. In the Burkert family there were eleven children, as follows: George died while in the service during the late war of the rebellion; Rev. Cyrus J. is presiding elder of the Miami conference of the United Brethren church, Cincinnati district, and maintains his home at Germantown, Montgomery county; Milton is a resident of Germantown; John C. resides at Oskaloosa, Kan. , being probate judge of Jefferson county; Emma is the wife of George B. Haines, of Pennsylvania; Effinger is deceased, as is also Charles; Edwin F. is the immediate subject of this review; Clayton is a resident of Valley Falls, and two children died in infancy. The parents were consistent and devoted members of the German Reformed church, being industrious, intelligent and God- fearing people, who ordered their lives accord- ing to the highest principles. Edwin F. Burkert pursued his studies in the district and subscription schools of his na- tive state, and after thus acquiring a funda- mental education he entered the normal college in his native county, and there completed two distinct courses, after which he put his acquire- ments to practical test by engaging in school- teaching for two terms in Pennsylvania. He then came west, in 1874, and located at Ger- mantown, Ohio, where he attended the Twin Valley college, later supplementing this dis- cipline by a course of study in the Southwest- ern Ohio normal school, thus thoroughly forti- fying himself for successful pedagogic labors. He thereafter devoted his attention to teach- ing for the period of six years. During the last three years of his school work he had de- voted his leisure to the reading of medicine, having determined to adopt that profession as his vocation in life. His preceptor was Dr. J. W. Cline, now of Dayton, and under his effective direction Mr. Burkert continued his studies for some time, after which he entered the Ohio Medical college, at Cincinnati, where he graduated as a member of the class of 1884. He began the practice of his profession in Tren- ton, Butler county, Ohio, where he remained for a time, after which he located at Collins- ville, where he was in successful practice for three years. He then came to Dayton, in the year 1887, and has since been established in practice here, his thorough learning in his pro- •418 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD fession and his devotion and industry in its pursuit having gained for him the respect and confidence of the public and a full measure of professional success. In the year 1878 the doctor was united in marriage to Miss Anna M. Carney, daughter of A. D. Carney, who is a well-known resident in the vicinity of Sunbury, Delaware county, this state. They became the parents of three children: Bertie C, Stanley L. , and Edna, the last named being deceased. Dr. and Mrs. Burkert are consistent members of the United Brethren church. LBERT H. POOCK, deceased, was one of the most popular and prom- ising of Dayton's young business men. He was born in Dayton, June 27, 1863, and was the eldest son of Louis H. Poock, one of Dayton's leading citizens, of whom a biographical sketch appears above. Albert H. Poock was reared and educated in Dayton. He was assistant cashier of the Day- ton Savings bank, of which institution his father was president. He held the position of secretary of the New Franklin Building as- sociation, and was also identified with the Germania Building association. He was a member of the uniform rank, Knights of Pyth- ias, of the Dayton Gymnastic club, of the Ger- man Lutheran Saint Paul's Beneficiary society, and of several musical clubs, in all of which he was prominent and active. His untimely death occurred on January 13, 1889. He was a young man of more than ordi- nary ability and of fine traits of character, which, had he been permitted to live to de- velop them, would have made him a useful and valuable citizen. He was peculiarly adapted to the occupations in which he was engaged during his brief business career, and would no doubt have achieved a merited suc- cess. Of strong moral characteristics, lovable disposition, kind and generous to a fault, he was devoted to his parents and brothers and sisters, and to his large circle of warm friends. BRANK S. BREENE, member of the Dayton bar, was born in Dayton, Ohio, on November 20, i860, and is a son of William G. and Margaret Breene, old and well-known citizens of Dayton. Frank S. Breene was educated in the Dayton public schools, and was graduated from the Central high school in 1879. He read law in the office of the firm of Marshall & Gottschall, and was admitted to the bar in May, 18S3. Mr. Breene has been practicing alone for a number of years, during which time he has demonstrated his talents and fitness for his chosen profession. His success has been grat- ifying both to himself and to his many friends, and bids fair to grow to larger proportions in the future. a APT. NEWTON R. BUNKER, the well-known grocer of No. 451 North Main street, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Hollidaysburg, Blair county, Pa., February 25, 1843, ar >d i s a son °f Isaiah and Isabella (Maize) Bunker. His paternal grand- father was a native of Wales and his grand- mother a native of Scotland, and both came to America prior to the war of the Revolution. Isaiah Bunker was a native of Delaware and a blacksmith by trade, was a soldier in the war for the preservation of the Union, and died in Milwaukee, Wis., in October, 1884; his wife, Isabella (Maize) Bunker, was born in Huntingdon county. Pa., and died in Altoona, Pa., January 8, 1853. To these parents were born six children: William B., the eldest, was formerly a general merchant, served nine 4~Ji-^^-^L{L OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 421 months in the Union army, is now a traveling salesman, and resides in Philadelphia; Capt. N. R. is the second-born ; Henry L. served three years with the Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania vol- unteer infantry, and died in January, 1897; Benjamin M. is a contractor and builder in Altoona, Pa. ; Julia and Isabella died in infancy. Newton R. Bunker lived in his native town until 1857, when he went to Philadelphia and became an apprentice to a blacksmith. While thus employed he enlisted, December 17, 1861, in company D, Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania vol- unteer infantry, and had been but two weeks in the service when he was promoted sergeant. He was first sent to Camp Roxboro and then to Camp Curtin for drill and equipment, re- mained in Philadelphia until March, 1862, and then went to Fortress Monroe, under command of Gen. Wool. His first war experience was in the capture of Norfolk, Va., then, in the fall of 1862, New Berne, where he was on outpost duty about nine months; next, for a year, was at Little Washington, N. C. , where he fought guerrillas and other rebel soldiers who were en- deavoring to recruit for the Confederate army. In the winter of 1863-64 the regiment veteran- ized, and an effort was made to hold it in con- tinuous service; but it was finally decided that the enlistment would be void unless its terms were fully concurred in. This included a thirty- days' furlough, but this was not granted until nearly six months later, when the veterans were allowed to leave the trenches in front of Petersburg and to return home in July for the stipulated term of thirty days. In the meantime, however, after veteranizing, the regiment had been ordered back from North Carolina to Vir- ginia in the spring of 1864, and placed under the command of Gen. Butler ai Bermuda Hun- dred; it took part in various battles in the vi- cinity of Petersburg and Richmond, and in June, 1864, joined the army of the Potomac, and for fourteen days was engaged at Cold Harbor. It was then at Petersburg until July. 1864, when it was ordered on furlough by the secretary of war. Returning from furlough, the regiment joined the army of the James, but Sergeant Bunker, who had been detailed on recruiting service, did not rejoin his regiment until Octo- ber, 1864, when he found his command at Chap- in'sfarm, or Deep Bottom. Although ranking as sergeant, he had been placed in command of his company at the battle of Cold Harbor (June, 1864), and held command until his final muster-out — being commissioned first lieuten- ant December 24, 1864, and captain January 24, 1865. His regiment formed a part of the first brigade to enter Richmond (April 3, 1865), and for the five months following lay at Man- chester, on the opposite side of the James river. It was then transferred to Staunton, Va., and apportioned among fourteen counties, for the purpose of relieving troops in various localities. Capt. Bunker was placed in charge in Rockbridge county, with headquarters at Lexington, and then in Fluvanna county, with headquarters at Columbia, being chiefly con- nected with the Freedmen's bureau, or provost duty. He was finally mustered out at City Point, Va., January 24, 1866, having served at the front four years and six weeks, when he returned to Philadelphia, and thence came to Dayton, Ohio, March 1 , 1 866. Here he worked at his trade until 1893, when failing health warned him that the time had come when he must relinquish mechanical pursuits. He rested nearly three years, and then, in April, 1896, engaged in his present business, and now owns one of the leading grocery stores in Riverdale. The marriage of Capt. Bunker took place in Dayton, May 12, 1S70, to Miss Laura Wol- laston, a native of this city and a daughter of Jeremiah Wollaston, who was also born in Dayton. To the captain and his wife has been born one daughter — Estelle — who is a teacher 422 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of music and has her home with her parents. The family are all members of the First Bap- tist church of Dayton and enjoy the esteem of a large circle of devoted friends. Capt. Bunker is prominent as a Grand Army man and has been senior vice-commander of Old Guard post, No. 23. July 4, 1867, he became a member of Wayne lodge, I. O. O. F., a year later became a member of the encamp- ment, and has passed all the chairs in both branches of this order. In politics he is an uncompromising republican and cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864. In every position in life that the captain has held he has performed his duty with unswerv- ing faithfulness, and well deserves the high re- spect in which he is universally held. BRANK J. BURKHARDT, secretary of the Burkhardt Furniture company of Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city April 1 , 1 860, a son of Frank Joseph and Gertrude Burkhardt, natives of Gis- sigheim, Germany, who both came to America shortly before 1S50, and were married in Day- ton, February 2, 1857. F. J. Burkhardt, the father of Frank J., was an orphan and was bound as an appren- tice to the cabinetmaking trade in his native land. On arriving in Dayton he was first em- ployed by a Mr. Doup, a sash and blind man- facturer, and later by Beaver & Butt, remain- ing with the latter for some thirty years as foreman of the sash-making department, and while in this employment his death took place May 5, 1883. He was a quiet, unassuming man, and a devout member of Emanuel Catholic church. To him and his wife were born five children, viz: Mary H., wife of Charles E. Rotterman, of Dayton; Frank J. ; Theresa, who died at two years of age; Louisa M., now residing with her mother; and Rich- ard Vincent, president of the Burkhardt Fur- niture company. Frank J. Burkhardt, after having received a good common-school education, at the age of fourteen years entered the employ of the Barney & Smith Car company, in whose shops he worked for fourteen years as cabinet- maker; he was next employed for upward of four years by John Stengel & Co., furniture manufacturers, when the Burkhardt Furniture Manufacturing company was formed, of which he was one of the incorporators. In politics Mr. Burkhardt is a democrat, and for one year served as assistant deputy recorder of Mont- gomery county. Fraternally, he is a Knight of Saint John. He was married May 9, 1886, to Miss Emma J. Hochwalt, daughter of George Hochwalt, of Dayton, and to this union have been born two children: Clarence E. and Marguerite. The family are members of the Emanuel Catholic church, and have their home at No. 703 South Ludlow street. Richard V. Burkhardt was born in Dayton April 5, 1 868, was educated in the Emanuel parochial school and at Saint Mary's institute, and then, at the age of fifteen years, was em- ployed by Stengel & Co. as packer; he was then made shipping clerk and later promoted to be bookkeeper, and finally, when about nineteen years old, was employed as traveling salesman. After having served this company for about ten years he resigned to become an incor- porator of the Burkhardt Furniture company, of which he is the president and also traveling salesman. He is still unmarried. Fraternally Mr. Burkhardt is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters, the American Sons of Co- lumbus, the Catholic Gesellen Verein, the Day- ton Gymnastic club, and of the Saint Joseph's Orphan society. In religion he is a Roman Catholic. The Burkhardt Furniture company, at Nos. 415 to 423 East First street, Dayton, was in- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 423 corporated March 13, 1893, by R. P. Burk- hardt, Sr., F. J. Burkhardt, R. P. Burkhardt, Henry Hambrecht and Aug. Zwiesler, and, with the exception of R. P. Burkhardt, who withdrew soon after the incorporation, these gentlemen still constitute the company. The present officers are R. V. Burkhardt, president and treasurer; H. Hambrecht, vice-president; F. J. Burkhardt, secretary, and Aug. Zwiesler, superintendent. The capital stock of the com- pany is $50,000, and employment is given to over thirty men. Its output is distributed throughout Pennyslvania, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana and New York and the East generally. The com- pany makes a specialty of parlor and library tables, and its members are all practical me- chanics and furniture men. Although the con- cern was established at the time when business in general was at almost a standstill, it has prospered wonderfully and is now one of the strongest in its line in the state of Ohio, and this result is owing to the practical ability, skill and sound business tact and integrity of its individual members. kJ^\ IGNAL R. BUTT, prominent as a I /<^ contractor and builder, o f the city of P Dayton, and a son of John W. and Lydia Ann ( Carlisle ) Butt, was born in Dayton, Ohio, September 3, 1848. His father was a native of Virginia and his mother of Maryland. They were the parents of five children — three of whom are still living, as follows : Volney H. , Rignal R. and Hettie K. , the wife of John Hacking. John W. Butt was about nine years of age when brought to Dayton by his parents. Here he was educated, grew to manhood and learned his trade, that of a carpenter and contractor. Here he became a most useful and well-known citizen, and was honored by election to the city council, as a member of which he served several terms. He was also a member of the board of trustees of the water works for sev- eral years, holding this office at the time of his death. His wife died April 24, 1855, when she was but thirty-two years old, and for his second wife he married Mrs. Kittie Ann Fair, widow of John F. Fair. By this second marriage he had two children, viz: Lydia, the wife of Charles \V. Gillis, and Walter L. Mrs. Fair by her first marriage had two children, Charles B., and Kittie V., the wife of Albert Smith. Rignal Butt, the paternal grandfather of Rignal R., located in Dayton about 1S30. He lived in Dayton until near the close of his life, his death occurring in Indiana while he was on a visit to that state. The maternal grand- father was a native of Maryland, descended from Scotch ancestry, and located in Dayton in the early days, dying there in 1873 when upward of eighty years of age, a well-known and highly respected citizen. Rignal R. Butt was reared and educated in Dayton, and when about fifteen years of age began to learn the carpenter's trade. He remained at home until he was twenty years old and followed his trade until 1872, when he began taking contracts on his own account. Many of the substantial residences and other buildings in Dayton were erected by him. In his business he has been unusually successful, and he maintains an excellent standing in the business community. On the 14th of Novem- ber, 1 87 1, he was married to Miss Matilda Ray, a daughter of John Ray. By this mar- riage he had two children, viz: Lydia A. and Glenna, the latter dying in infancy. Lydia A. married John Utzinger, of Dayton. The mother of these children died in 188 1, an ex- cellent woman and a member of the Catholic church. Mr. Butt married for his second wife Mrs. Emma £. Deubner, the marriage taking 424 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD place July 21, 1883. She was the daughter of John C. and Catherine (Zerbe) Deubner, the former of Germany, the latter of Pennsyl- vania. Mrs. Butt, by her first husband, Albert Patton, had one daughter, Birdie, who is now the wife of Charles Osgood. Mr. and Mrs. Osgood have one son, named Bail. Mrs. Butt is a member of the United Brethren church. Mr. Butt is a member of Dayton lodge. No. 273, I. O. O. F., of Dayton, and is a member of the order of Daughters of Re- bekah, as is also his wife. Politically he is a republican, but cares nothing for office. Mr. Butt is one of the substantial and highly es- teemed citizens of Dayton and a useful mem- ber of the community. aM. HASSLER, clerk of the courts of Montgomery county, and a repre- sentative citizen of Dayton, was born on December 6, 1 84 1 , in St. Thomas, Franklin county, Pa. The boyhood days of Mr. Hassler were spent in Mercersburg, Frank- lin county, Pa., where he attended the com- mon schools. While yet a boy he entered a general store in Mercersburg as a clerk, and in this and similar establishments in Chambers- burg and Carlisle he was employed until 1861, when he returned to St. Thomas and there en- listed in the Thirty-fifth Pennsylvania regi- ment, known as the Sixth Pennsylvania re- serve volunteer corps. He served gallantly in the ranks, and at Fredericksburgh was recom- mended for promotion and commissioned to a second-lieutenancy in recognition of his serv- ices. But this promotion he declined, pre- ferring to serve his country as an enlisted man. Mr. Hassler was mustered out of service on June 14th, 1864, at Harrisburg, Pa., and on the first of the following month re-enlisted in the regular army, and was assigned to duty in the office of the adjutant-general in the war department at Washington, where he remained for two years, being honorably discharged on July 31, 1866, at his own request. Leaving the service, Mr. Hassler engaged in merchandising in Pennsylvania and was thus engaged until the fall of 1868, when he came to Dayton and engaged in the dry-goods business, being connected with the firms of A. C. Van Doren & Co., G. G. Prugh & Co., and M. B. Parmely for a period of over twelve years. Following this he became register and money-order clerk in the Dayton post-office under the late Fielding Loury, and in this ca- pacity he served for nine years, when he re- signed to become bookkeeper for the firm of Reynolds & Reynolds, of Dayton. In the lat- ter position he remained until March, 1889, and in September, 1889, became assistant postmaster of Dayton, and continued in that capacity through two administrations, going out of office with the incoming of the demo- cratic administration at Washington. In 1893 Mr. Hassler was nominated by the republican party for the office of clerk of the courts of Montgomery county, and at the general elec- tion of that year was elected by the handsome majority of 1,143 votes. In 1896 he wps re- nominated and re-elected, his majority being more than double that of the previous elec- tion, reaching 2,314 votes. When the pre- vious democratic majority obtaining in the county, amounting to 1,400, is considered, it will be understood that the triumph of Mr. Hassler, and of his associates upon the ticket, was one that they and the party in general may well contemplate with pride, and the large increase of Mr. Hassler's second over his first majority stands as a strong endorsement of the manner in which he has administered the af- fairs of his office. Mr. Hassler was married in 1866 to Mrs. Sarah E. McKinney, a native of New York, whose maiden name was Aldrich. The fra- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 425 ternal associations of Mr. Hassler are with the F. & A. M., the I. O. O. F., the A. E. O. and the G. A. R. >-j*AMES J. BUTTLER, superintendent of A the Metropolitan Life Insurance com- ft 1 pany, at Dayton, Ohio, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, August 16, 1864. He is a son of Columbus and Ann (Troy) Buttler, the former of whom is now deceased. They were respectively of English and Irish ancestry. The father was engaged in the shoe business for a number of years, having previously, however, been a contractor on railroad work, and engaged principally on the Louisville & Nashville railroad. He died in 1S89, leaving a widow and five children, as follows: John, a resident of Cincinnati and a commercial traveler for a shoe manufacturing firm; Mary, a resident of Brown county, Ohio; Elizabeth, a resident of Cincinnati; James J., and Joseph, a bookkeeper of Cincinnati. James J. Buttler grew to manhood in Cin- cinnati, and there received his education in the public schools, graduating from the high school in 1881. He was then engaged as a cutter in a shoe manufactory for a short time, and in 1885 accepted a position with the Met- ropolitan Life Insurance company as agent in Covington, Ky. , remaining there some two and a half years. Afterward he took an agency at Covington, Ky., holding this position two years, was then transferred to Akron, Ohio, then to Canton, Ohio, and finally, in 1893, to Dayton. Here he has been, since 1893, superintendent of the office of the company, which is located in rooms 40 and 41, Lewis block. While in the service of this company he has built up a comparatively small business to an extensive and paying one, so that it now stands far in advance of that of any other com- pany writing the same lines within the city <>f Dayton. The Metropolitan writes industrial insurance from $15 up to $1,000, at ages from one year up to seventy, ordinary, or old lines, from $1,000 up to $50,000, and from twenty to sixty-five years of age. To give a synopsis of the company's business and an idea of its magnitude, it may be stated that it pays in death claims at the rate of $15 per minute of banking hours, for each day in the year. It has assets amounting to $30,000,000, and has 5,000,000 policies in force. The company has been operating in Dayton for fourteen years, and has paid out to its policy-holders hundreds of thousands of dollars. Mr. Buttler has in- creased the working force connected with the Dayton office, and now has sixty men soliciting in the field. There are more than 20,000 policy-holders in the city of Dayton alone. Mr. Buttler was married in Cincinnati, Ohio, Decembers, 1857, to Miss Anna Jones, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Seider) Jones. She was born in Newport, Ky., and is the mother of three children, viz: Clifford, Mabel and Virginia. Mr. Buttler is a young man of energy and of devotion to the business whose present proportions are so largely due to his well-directed efforts. aOL. JOHN WHITEHEAD BYRON, inspector of the Central branch, N. H. D. V. S., was born on the 23rd of November, 1840, in the historic town of Cahir, situated in the " Golden Vale, " county of Tipperary, Ireland. The greater part of his boyhood was spent at the home of his paternal grandfather, John Byron, in the country, about two miles from Cahir. Here he remained until in his fifteenth year, when he joined his parents in New York city, whither they had preceded him and settled over a decade before. At the breaking out of the Rebellion he was a law student in the of- 426 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD fice of Charles H. Smith, a prominent lawyer of New York city. Possessing in large degree the martial and patriotic spirit for which the Celtic race is so justly famed, he promptly re- sponded to President Lincoln's first call for troops and enlisted in company K,' Sixty- ninth regiment of New York state militia, be- known as " Meagher's Zouaves," after its elo- quent and heroic commander, Thomas Fran- cis Meagher. Having served the three months' term of this first enlistment, during which he took part in the fights at Blackburn's Ford and Bull Run, he was mustered out with his com- pany in New York city on the 3rd of August, 1 86 1. Within a week thereafter he was ten- dered — but declined — authority to recruit a company for the Eighty-eighth New York vol- unteers, which was being organized by his whilom captain, Thomas Francis Meagher. He, however, accepted a lieutenancy, and was one of two detailed to visit various cities and towns of the state to issue transportation to recruits, and to guarantee line officers' com- missions in any regiment of the Irish brigade then being organized, to such persons as would recruit the required number of men, and were otherwise qualified. The young lieutenant passed through all the intermediate grades of rank till he reached that of lieutenant-colonel of his regiment, and was twice brevetted for gallant and meritorious service during the war, upon the recommendation of Gen. Hancock. During the terms of his second and third en- listments (his regiment veteranizing in 1863) he participated in most of the campaigns of the army of the Potomac, was present at the siege of Yorktown and the battle of Fair Oaks, in which he was wounded, Antietam, Fred- ericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna and South Anna. At l'etersburg, Strawberry Plains, Deep Bot- tom and Ream's Station he commanded the remnant of the Irish brigade, which at the time was consolidated into a provisional regi- ment. In the last named battle, fought Au- gust 25, 1864, he was wounded and captured by the enemy. He was held a prisoner of war for nearly six months in Libby and Danville, Va., and Salisbury, N. C. At Salisbury he conspired with a number of his fellow-prison- ers to effect their escape, but the scheme was frustrated through treachery. Another attempt to regain his liberty was made at Danville, but this also resulted in failure owing to the vigi- lance of the rebel guards. In this attempt Col. Ralston, of the Twenty-fourth New York cav- alry, was mortally wounded. In the latter part of February, 1865, Col. Byron was ex- changed, sent to Annapolis, Md., and thence given a thirty days' leave of absence to re- cuperate at his home in New York city. He was finally mustered out July 14, 1865, after giving to his adopted country over four years of faithful service in the field. As a private soldier and commissioned officer, Col. Byron always had the respect and esteem of his su- periors, being an especial favorite with the superb Hancock, on whose staff he served for a period as ordnance officer. He was fre- quently detailed for special duties, and at the close of the war was inspector of the First division of the famous Second corps. On July 21, 1865, Col. Byron set sail for Ireland with a view to aid in throwing off the yoke of England and establishing a free govern- ment on Irish soil. He was arrested there five times, the last time under the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, and was kept in confine- ment fourteen months. Shortly after his arrest he was offered his liberty on condition that he would consent to go under guard from prison to the ship and return to America. He, however, refused to accept freedom on such conditions, until convinced that he could be of no service to the Irish cause while in captivity. He, therefore, returned to New York in May, 1867, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 427 became assistant adjutant-general of the Fe- nian Brotherhood, and subsequently inspector of that order. In June, 1869, he was appointed chief of staff to Gen. Guicoria, the Cuban pa- triot and martyr, and took an active part in fit- ting out the " Catherine Whiting expedition," which came to naught on account of the inter- vention of the United States authorities. In July, 1869, Col. Byron was appointed assistant assessor of legacies and successions to real es- tate for the Third New York district, and, after two-years' service, voluntarily resigned upon the removal of his chief from office. Within a short period thereafter he was ap- pointed an officer of customs and served as such for many years. His health having become greatly impaired, he became a member of the Central branch home in July, 1881, and within a week after admission was detailed as clerk in the adju- tant's office, promoted to chief clerk, and in 1893 was appointed inspector of the branch by the honorable board of managers of the home, much to the satisfaction of the officers and men, with whom the colonel has always been deservedly popular. Col. Byron is actively prominent in the af- fairs of the Grand Army of the Republic, was the junior vice-department-commander of Ohio in 1887-8, and delegate to many national and department encampments; he is a com- panion of the military order of the Loyal Legion, and a member of the Present Day club, of Dayton, Ohio. >-j»ACOB CLEMENS, a native of the m palatinate of Rhenish Bavaria, was (• 1 born on the 19th of December, 1828, being the son of Adam and Catherine Clemens, who were born in Germany, where they passed their entire lives, being people of intelligence, industry and honest worth. They became the parents of eight children, five of whom are still living. Two of the sons, Peter and Nicholas, were the first of the family to emigrate to America. They left their native land in the year 1846, and upon arriving in this country came westward to Ohio, locating in Defiance county, where they still reside, both being farmers. Two years later, in 1848, three other members of the family also came from the fatherland to try their fortunes in the United States. These three were Jacob, his brother Adam and his sister Caroline, who was then the wife of Peter Leonhardt. They landed in New York city on the 30th of May. Another sister, Philopena, became the wife of John Schaun, whom she accompanied to Bra- zil in 1847. Elizabeth and Catherine never severed the ties which bound them to the old home, and both died in Germany. Jacob Clemens secured his educational dis- cipline in the excellent schools of his native land, and also prepared himself for the prac- tical duties of life by devoting his attention for some time to work at the carpenter s trade, with which he had become quite familiar at the time of his emigration to America. Upon his arrival he came direct to Montgomery county, Ohio, and his first stay was at Hole's Creek, six miles south of Dayton, where he remained about two months. He then went to Miamis- burg, in the same county, and there remained until 1849, when he came to Dayton, where he has e^er since resided. After his arrival here he worked at his trade until 1866, when he engaged in general contracting. This line of enterprise held his attention for six years, and his careful business methods and capable management insured success to his efforts. His next business venture was the building of a planing mill, at the corner of Fifth and Mad River streets, and this industry he prosecuted with excellent results for twelve years, when he disposed of the business to Philip E. Gil- 428 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD bert, and thereupon retired from active exer- tion, content to enjoy the fruits of his past labors. Mr. Clemens, in 185 i, married Miss Eliza- beth Reisberger, who, like himself, was born in the picturesque Rhine district of the prov- ince of Bavaria, the year of her birth having been 1S29. Their home life has been one of great happiness and the marriage has been blessed by the birth of twelve children, all save four of whom are deceased. The four surviv- ors are: Martin, now a resident of Cincinnati; Clara, the wife of Thomas Selz, of the Pearl laundry, in Dayton; Annie and Mary, twins, the former of whom is the wife of Joseph Schneble and the latter of Theodore Schneble, of Dayton. Mr. and Mrs. Clemens have long been zealous and devoted members of Trinity Roman Catholic church, in which they have been communicants for many years. Mr. Clemens has always taken a lively and public-spirited interest in the questions of the hour and in the political issues involved. He has been a stalwart supporter of the demo- cratic party and a firm advocate of the essen- tial principles which underlie its organization. In 1S84 he was honored by the citizens of the county through election as a member of the board of directors of the Montgomery county infirmary, which office he retained for three years, giving to its duties that careful attention and unflagging interest which had ever been characteristic of his efforts in private business affairs. In 1S91 he was a member of the de- cennial board of equalization of Dayton. Mr. Clemens is a man of marked individu- ality, of pleasing address, and strong intel- lectual grasp, and his life has been so lived as to gain to him the merited reward of the re- spect and esteem of his fellow men. The city of his home has ever called forth his hearty interest, and he has done all in his power to further its progress and insure its stable pros- perity. He well deserves consideration in this connection as one of the representative men of the city of Dayton. ^y^ILBUR CONOVER, late a member mm of the Montgomery county, Ohio, \J)L/1 bar, was born in Dayton, Ohio, May 10, 1 82 1, and died October 3, 1 88 1. He was the son of Obadiah B. and Sarah (Miller) Conover, and was of Dutch extrac- tion, his paternal ancestors having come from Holland to this country in the seventeenth century. Mr. Conover was married in 1849 to Miss Elizabeth Walker Dickson, a daughter of John W. and Lucretia Dickson, born in Phila- delphia in 1828, and who died at Dayton September 27, 1868. The children of this marriage were as follows : Mary, the eldest, who in 1883 married Dr. W. H. Grundy, of Dayton, and died in 1S87, leaving one child, a daughter, Suzette K. Grundy ; Frank ; John Dickson, who died in 1859, at the age of two years ; Hugh Dickson, who died in 1891 in his thirty-second year ; and Hiram Strong, who died in 186S in his second year. Wilbur Conover grew to manhood in his native town, and in 1S37, after a course for preparation for college under the tuition of E. E. Barney, at the Dayton academy, he entered the sophomore class at the Miami university, Oxford, Ohio, and graduated from that institution in 1840. He at once entered upon the study of law with the firm of Odlin & Schenck, and was admitted to the bar in 1842. From 1844 to 1850 he practiced law in partnership with Robert C. Schenck, his former preceptor. Almost immediately upon the termination of this partnership by reason of the entrance of General Schenck into public life, Mr. Conover formed a partnership with WILBUR CONOVER (deceased) OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 431 Samuel Craighead in 1857, and this firm con- tinued until 1877, when it was dissolved by the retirement of Mr. Conover, caused by broken health. The firm of Conover & Craighead was, at the date of its termination, the oldest law firm in continuous existence in Ohio. It had be- come prominent at the Ohio bar, having estab- lished a large and important practice. Mr. Conover was peculiarly adapted to the labori- ous work of the office, involving the prepara- tion of cases and the determination of legal questions; while Mr. Craighead was one of the most eloquent and successful trial advocates ever known at the local bar. The union of the differing qualities and professional gifts of the two men resulted in a harmonious and suc- cessful association. Mr. Conover was devoted to his profession, steadily refusing to enter public office, except- ing that for a number of years he served upon the board of education of Dayton and gave especial attention to the upbuilding of the pub- lic library, which was during that period under the control of the board. This work had a peculiar attraction for him, his interest in the library having been early manifested through his connection with the Dayton Library asso- ciation, the forerunner of the public library, and of which he was one of the founders and an active officer from its inception until it was merged into the public institution. Mr. Conover's mental endowments and his personal characteristics cannot better be de- scribed than by repeating here a part of the tribute to his name adopted by the members of his profession at the time of his death. The memorial of the Dayton bar said in part: "Mr. Conover possessed all the qualifica- tions of an excellent lawyer, and was peculiarly fitted for the high office of judge. He was diligent, painstaking and strictly conscientious, accurate and clear in his perceptive faculties. 13 He was too independent and candid, and, one may add, too modest, to be a successful aspi- rant for popular favor. He never concealed his honest convictions on any subject, and never sacrificed or compromised them for the sake of popularity. His opinions as a lawyer were regarded w ; th deserved confidence, as well by the community as by the profession; and his business life seemed to illustrate the lofty sense of duty united with a sincere de- votion to his profession. So long as he lived he never tarnished the achievement of pro- fessional success by personal self-seeking, or that unworthy rivalry that finds its own ad- vancement in the depreciation of others. He esteemed that professional eminence only as worthy of attainment which is deserved by an honorable, judicious, intelligent, truthful de- votion to the interests and cause of a client.'' From the appreciative analysis of Mr. Con- over's character contributed to the press at the time of his death, by his life-long friend, Robert \V. Steele, we quote the following as an expression of the estimation in which he was held by one who knew him intimately from early boyhood until his death. Mr. Steele says: "Mr. Conover was endowed with an un- usually clear, analytical mind, which, with his love of study and industry, made him the best scholar in his class. So great was his profi- ciency in Greek, that the professor of that language, in justice to him, used to read with him, privately, additional Greek authors which the majority of the class were unwilling or un- able to master. Thoroughness was his dis- tinguishing quality as a student, and he never left a subject until he reached the bottom of it. Truthfulness and purity characterized him throughout his college course, and in all of my intercourse with him, I never heard him utter an unworthy or impure word. " His later life was a fitting fulfillment of 432 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the bright promise of his college days. He occupied no official positions, because he never sought nor would accept them. He devoted himself wholly to his profession and worthily won the high position he attained as a lawyer." BRANCIS MARION CLEMANS, D. D., pastor of the Broadway Methodist Episcopal church, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Greene county, June 28, 1835, a son of William T. and Elizabeth (Dalby) Clemans. The father was a native of Lou- doun county, Va., of Scotch-Irish descent, born in 1 8 10, and was brought to Ohio in 181 3 by his parents, who settled in Greene county. Hezekiah Clemans, father of William T. , and also a native of Virginia, was a soldier under Gen. Anthony Wayne, and while in the service had, in 1S12, come with the troops to Ohio, where he made his home immediately upon his discharge from the army, and died in Van Wert, at the age of ninety-two years. The father of Hezekiah Clemens was one of seven brothers who came from Ireland to America prior to the Revolutionary war, and all united with the patriot army, the last battle in which the great-grandfather of Francis M. took part being that of the Cowpens, which was a bayonet, hand to-hand contest with the Hessians. The Dalby family was of Welsh descent, and largely given to yrofessional pur- suits — ministers predominating. Both the grandfathers of Elizabeth Dalby (mother of subject) were clergymen; the paternal grand- father being a Presbyterian, but after coming to America the family became Methodists. The children born to William T. and Eliza- beth Clemans were nine in number — four sons and five daughters — of whom four are still living, viz: Francis M., the eldest born; Mrs. Lama J. Johnston, now residing in Van Wert; Leroy S., a minister of the Quaker, or Friends' church of Van Wert, and Mrs. Charlotte Grove, also a resident of that city. The de- ceased children, who all reached mature years, were Mrs. Angeline Keys, a teacher, whose death took place in Van Wert; Mrs. Sarah Sheley, who died in Iowa; Mrs. Martha Moor- man, who died in Jamestown, Ohio; Orange Scott, who died in Van Wert in early man- hood, and whose remains are interred beside those of his wife and two children. The par- ents of Francis M. also died in Van Wert — the mother at seventy-seven and the father at eighty-four. Francis Marion Clemans was reared to man- hood in Greene county, attended the public schools, and when about nineteen years old engaged in teaching, which vocation he fol- lowed for eleven years, studying, in the mean- time, the course required in the Latin scientific department of the East Tennessee Wesleyan university — now known as the Grant Memorial university. From this institution he graduated in 1880, then took a post-graduate course, and completed this in 1882, receiving the degree of Ph. D., and receiving at the same time the degree of A. M. from the Ohio Wesleyan uni- versity. He had been converted to Christ in his eighteenth year, or in 1853, and immedi- ately began to shape his course with a view to entering the ministry. But he was wholly self-dependent, and his struggle for an educa- tion was a severe one. During the last four of the eleven years of his career as a teacher he was superintendent of the union schools of Jamestown, Ohio, and it was while thus em- ployed that he was recommended to the Cin- cinnati conference by his home church, and of that body he has been a member since Septem- ber, 1866; under its jurisdiction all his minis- terial work has been performed, and during his thirty years of itinerant service he has never missed more than six appointments from any OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 433 cause — an evidence of robust- health, strong constitution and untiring zeal. The pastorates or charges of Dr. Clemans have been about as follows: Union circuit, near Xenia, three years; Fairfield, three years; Middletown, three years; King's Creek circuit, two years; Mechanicsburg station, three years; Miamisburg, three years; Ripley, two years; Jamestown, three years; Franklin, five years (the limit having been changed) ; and, in the fall of 1893, the Broadway church in Dayton. While at Franklin, having completed a post- graduate course in the National university of Chicago, he received the degree of D. D. The Broadway church has a membership of 800, and the church property and parsonage are valued at $15,000. The Sunday-school com- prises 550 scholars, the Epworth league 183, and the Junior Epworth league 140. Dr. Cle- mans has been blessed in his work as a revival- ist and has made it a point to conduct one or more revivals in each of his charges; the one in which he is now engaged has resulted in the conversion of 112 souls, and during his thirty years in the ministry he has brought nearly 3,000 persons into the church. The first marriage of Dr. Clemans was sol- emnized near Jamestown, Ohio, in 1859, with Miss Sarah I. Chaffin, a native of Fayette county, Ohio, and a teacher at the time of her marriage. Of the four children born to this union, William Leroy is a bank cashier at Cedarville, Ohio, and is about thirty years of age, married, and the father of two children; Frederick Marion is cashier of the Farmers & Traders' bank of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, is mar- ried, and has had born to him three children, two still living; Lillie Viola died in Jamestown at the age of two years, and Nellie Grace died at Mechanicsburg when four years old. Mrs. Clemans was called from earth November 5, 1885, under peculiarly sad circumstances. Be- ing president of the missionary society of James- town, she had just closed a meeting with prayer, and the "Amen" which closed this supplica- tion was the last word she ever uttered, as death followed almost instantly. July 25, 1888, Dr. Clemans was married to Mrs. Clara (Chaffin) Clarke, widow of Max Clarke, and a cousin to the first Mrs. Clemans. This lady is a graduate of Xenia college, of which she was preceptress for some time after her first husband's death, and continued her educational work up to her present marriage. She had borne to her first husband two sons — the elder of whom died in childhood; the younger, Max Guy Clarke, graduated from the Ohio Wesleyan university at Delaware, stand- ing at the head of his class — having completed the classical course at the age of nineteen. He began the study of law, but died at twenty- two years of age, a thorough linguist and a young man of great promise. Dr. Clemans is a charter member of the Masonic lodge at Jamestown, Ohio, and is also an Odd Fellow. As to politics, the Clemans family have long been noted as rad- ical abolitionists and have been identified with the republican party ever since its organiza- tion; and the doctor, in addition to his ad- herence to the principles of the last-named party, is an earnest advocate of prohibition, steadily advocating this policy both in public and in private. aLAUDE NORTH CHRISMAN, M. D., physician and surgeon of 402 Xenia avenue, Dayton, is a native of Kingston, Ross county, Ohio, born December 30, 1869. When he was two years old his father removed his family to Tarlton, Pickaway county, Ohio, and there lived six years, going thence to Delaware, Ohio, where they lived for three years. The family then 434 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD came to Dayton, Ohio, which has since been their residence. Claude N. Chrisman is a son of William and Nancy (North) Chrisman, both of whom are still living, the father being a railroad con- tractor. The subject of this sketch was edu- cated primarily in the public schools and at the high schools of Dayton, and finished his educa- tion by attending the Ohio Wesleyan univer- sity at Delaware, Ohio, being a student there three years. In order to qualify himself for the practice of the medical profession, he then became a student in the office of Dr. J. M. Weaver, of Dayton, where he studied for some time, afterward entering the Miami Medical college, and graduating from that institution in 1895. He at once entered upon the practice of his profession in Dayton, and is meeting with most gratifying success, having already become well known as a progressive young physician. Dr. Chrisman is assistant on the staff at Saint Elizabeth Medical & Surgical hospital of Dayton. He is a member of the Phi Gamma Delta society, and of the Broad- way Methodist Episcopal church of Dayton, recently organized. He follows the general practice of medicine, though he is giving special attention to surgery, which science is sufficiently broad to take in all classes of med- ical practitioners and to have no "schools." It is surgery that Dr. Chrisman prefers, and which he has in view as a special form of practice. eMILE COBLENTZ, aged fifty-eight years, enlisted April, 1861, in the Twelfth New York state militia for three months, first call; re-enlisted for three years in company L, Third Pennsyl- vania heavy artillery; and was discharged No- vember 8, 1865, at expiration of service, the war having long before come to a close. BRANK CONOVER, attorney, of Day- ton, Ohio, was born in that city May 29, 1853. He is the son of Wilbur and Elizabeth W. (Dickson) Con- over. His father, of whom a sketch appears elsewhere in this volume, was of Dutch an- cestry, and his mother of Irish extraction. Frank Conover was educated in the public schools of his birthplace, graduating from the Central high school in the year 1872. He then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Boston, taking a special course of three years in civil engineering. Returning to Dayton in 1875, he was employed in the engineering corps upon the construction of the Dayton & South Eastern railroad until the summer of 1876. Mr. Conover then deter- mined to begin the study of the law, and entered the office of Conover & Craighead, of which firm his father was the senior member. Completing his preparatory course of study, he was admitted to the bar in 1878. For about two years thereafter he remained in the office of Craighead & Craighead, which firm had succeeded that of Conover & Craighead in 1877. He then entered upon and has ever since continued the practice of law alone. Mr. Conover served as assistant city solici- tor of Dayton from the spring of 1891 to 1894. He has for over five years past been a member of the Dayton library board, and has taken an active interest in the extension of the usefulness of the public library. He has been especially concerned in effecting closer rela- tions between that institution and the public schools, having delivered a number of public addresses upon that subject. In 1879 Mr. Conover married Charlotte Elizabeth Reeve, eldest daughter of Dr. J. C. and Emma G. Reeve, of Dayton. To this marriage have been born four children: Eliza- beth Dickson, John Charles Reeve, Wilbur and Charlotte Mary. $ULuJkrti OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 437 BRANK C. CLEMENS, ot the firm of McDermont & Clemens, plumbers, gas and steam fitters, etc., Dayton, Ohio, is a native of this city, and was born November I, 1871. He is the son of Nicholas J. and Anna (Brown) Clemens, both of whom were born in Germany, but were brought to America when young by their par- ents, who settled in Dayton, and there passed the remainder of their lives. Nicholas J. and his wife, Anna, are still living in Dayton, where Nicholas J. is now retired. Their family was composed of seven children, of whom one is deceased; Frank C. is the eldest of the sur- vivors; James is a student in France and is being prepared for the Catholic ministry; Rose is a sister in St. Francis order, of Dayton, and the remaining three, Joseph, Harry and Mary, are students in the city schools. Frank C. Clemens was also educated in Dayton — partly in the public schools and partly in the Catholic parochial schools. His first independent effort in life was in the busi- ness in which he is still engaged ; he having first worked at this trade for five years under F. J. McCormick, and then becoming a partner with S. B. McDermont in the present exten- sive business at No. 13 East Second street. This firm gives almost constant employment to thirty men and certainly does the largest business in this line in Dayton, both partners being thorough masters of their trade. Besides being a member of the Emanuel Roman Catholic church, Mr. Clemens is con- nected with several religious and social orders, among which may be named the Knights of St. George, the American Sons of Columbus, the Catholic Gesellen Verein, the Catholic Or- phan's society, and the Harmonia society. Mr. Clemens is a young man of excellent tact and practical judgment, and has won a place of prominence among Dayton's many success- ful young business men. >-j*OHN COLLINS, official stenographer M for the courts of Montgomery county, A 1 Ohio, and superintendent of the sten- ographic department of Beck's Com- mercial college, of Dayton, Ohio, was born at Angelica, Allegany county, N. Y., September 14, 1849. He attended the public schools of Wellsville, in the count)' of his birth, and also the academy at Angelica, receiving additional instruction in Latin and other branches from his father. Charles Collins, his father, was born in Geneva, Ontario county, N. Y. , January 2, 1813. He received his education at Geneva college, now Hobart college, situated at Geneva, N. Y. — a Protestant Episcopal insti- tution established in 1822. He graduated from that institution in 1834, and is, with one exception, the oldest alumnus of that col- lege now living. Having afterward studied law, he practiced that profession for some time in Detroit, Mich., from which city he re- moved to Angelica, N. Y. , where his parents were then living, and practiced law at Angelica and at Wellsville, N. Y. , for sometime. His father was one of the distinguished men of that county, being county judge for several years. In 1866 Mr. Collins removed to Northumberland, Northumberland county, Pa., and thereengaged in fruit farming, having retired from the active practice of the law. After living at Northum- berland, engaged as above noted, until 1882, he removed to Dayton, Ohio, and is now residing in that city with his son. His wife was Eliza- beth Hyde Cardell, daughter of William S. Cardell, of Lancaster, Pa., the author of sev- eral school books, among them Jack Hal- yard, a work well-known in the east. Will- iam S. Cardell was a half-brother of Chancellor Walworth, of New York state. Mrs. Collins died in 1873, at Northumberland, Pa. John Collins learned from his father the characters used in shorthand before he learned 438 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the ordinary English letters. He remained on j the farm with his father until 1875. He then went to Delaware, Ohio, where he purchased and operated a book bindery for three years, giving more or less attention to shorthand dur- ing that time. He reported the proceedings of the first convention of the Music Teachers' National association, held at Delaware in that year, and afterward did occasional work of this kind in Delaware until 1878, when he went to Columbus, Ohio, and there spent one year with the official stenographers at the capitol. In the spring of 1879 he removed to Dayton and received the appointment as official stenogra- pher for the courts of Montgomery county, a position he has held continuously up to the present time, eighteen years. Mr. Collins was married in the spring of 1877 to Sarah J. Leighoux, of Northumber- land, Pa., and to them have been born three daughters — Helen, Bertha and Lucy, all of whom are attending the Steele high school, in Dayton. Mr. Collins has achieved a high reputation for accuracy and reliability in the duties of his official position, and the excellence of his work is fully appreciated by the members of the legal profession who constitute the Montgom- ery county bar. He is a writer of no mean literary attainments, and has produced a num- ber of articles, both in prose and verse, of a high degree of merit. aHARLES JUDSON COFFMAN, vice-president of the Gem Shirt com- pany of Dayton, is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Montgomery county. The first of the family to locate in this county was Jacob Coffman, who, in company with his wife and one child, came here from Virginia in the early part of the present century. He purchased a considerable tract of land, a portion of which is now em- braced in the precincts of the national sol- diers' heme. This land he reclaimed and im- proved, making it his residence until his death, and, having devoted his entire attention to his farming interests, became a man of prominence in the community. He became the father of five children, each of whom lived to an ad- vanced age, their names in order of birth be- ing as follows: John; Jacob, father of Charles J. ; Catherine, better known as Kittie, who married Jacob Neibert, who lived to the age of nearly ninety years; Rachael, deceased, and Hannah, deceased. Jacob Coffman, the father of Charles J., was born on the old homestead near Dayton in December, 1819, and remained on the farm until he had attained the age of nineteen years, when he came to Dayton and secured clerical employment in the dry-goods establishment of Daniel Kiefer, with whom he remained for some time. He then turned his attention to what was a very important line of enterprise in the pioneer days, that of peddling notions by wagon, thus traversing a large territory in the neighborhood of Dayton. He sold to the re- tail dealers in the various towns, which he vis- ited at regular intervals, and continued this now almost forgotten industry for a number of years. In 1855 ne established the first whole- sale notion house in Dayton, being associated with John Beaver, under the firm name of Coffman & Beaver. In about a year Mr. Beaver died, after which Mr. Coffman con- ducted the business individually for some time, and eventually formed the firm of Coffman, Os- born & Coffman, which continued with success until the close of the Civil war. Mr. Coffman then disposed of his interest and purchased the interest of Edward Stilwell as a member of Crawford & Stilwell, who were engaged in the manufacture of lasts and pegs for boots and shoes. This industry was continued, under OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 439 the firm name of Crawford & Coffman, until about the year 1885, when Mr. Coffman sold out his share and purchased the business which is now conducted by his son, Charles J. Coff- man, it being then of the same character as that with which he had formerly been identified, namely, the wholesale notion business. The father, however, practically retired from active pursuits at the time of purchasing this estab- lishment, chiefly by reason of the deplorable infirmity of blindness, which afflicted him for a period of about six years prior to his death, which occurred in April, 1892. The enter- prise noted was, in 1887, merged into the Gem Shirt company, and upon the organization of this stock company, Jacob Coffman became vice-president of the corporation and was con- nected with it until his death. He was a man of unassuming manners, of unbending integ- rity and honor, and of marked business ability. He commanded the confidence and esteem of all with whom he came in contact. In his re- ligious views he held the faith of the Baptist church and was a zealous worker in its cause. He was radical and uncompromising in his op- position to the institution of slavery and ren- dered a stanch allegiance to the republican party from the time of its organization. His tastes were essentialy domestic and in his home were centered the chief attractions and inter- terests of his life. Jacob Coffman was united in marriage, in December, 1841, to Miss Sarah Ann Miller, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah Miller, who were among the pioneers of Montgomery county, coming hither from Lancaster, Pa., where the mother of Charles J. was born. Her death occurred in 1889, at the age of sixty-five years. Jacob and Sarah Ann Coff- man became the parents of a large family of children, of whom seven are living. Charles J. Coffman, the fifth child of this family, was born July 11, 1850. He was reared in Dayton, receiving his education in the public schools. At the age of sixteen he entered the last and peg factory operated by his father, and there remained employed for the period of three years, after which he ac- cepted a position as traveling salesman for the wholesale millinery establishment of Fahnley & McCrea, Indianapolis, Ind., with whom he remained for somewhat more than three years. He then returned to Dayton and became com- mercial traveler for the wholesale notion house of Osborn, Satcamp & Co. for five years, after which he established a wholesale business of the same character, under the firm name of C. J. Coffman & Co., conducting the same for seven years, at the expiration of which time he was succeeded by his father. He then became a traveling salesman in the handling of shirts, and has ever since been associated with this business, having been one of the or- ganizers of the Gem Shirt company. In ad- dition to his own private concerns he handled his father's business for six years prior to the latter's death. Mr. Coffman is known as one of the progressive and thoroughly representa- tive business men of Dayton, and has a sin- cere interest in all that tends to conserve the prosperity of the city. In his political adher- ency he is identified with the republican party, and fraternally is a member of the Royal Arcanum and of the United Commercial Trav- elers' association, in which he holds official preferment as senior counselor. aHARLES F. CORNS, member of the Dayton city council from the Sixth ward, and foreman of Kuhns Bros.' foundry, was born in Prussia, Ger- many, December 4, 1835. Receiving his edu- cation in his native country, he came to America in company with his mother in 1849, a brother and sister also accompanying them. At first 440 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD they located in Waterloo county, Upper Can- ada, where Mr. Corns learned the trade of foundryman, which trade he has since followed almost continuously. In 1852 he came to the United States, locating in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he worked at his trade until 1854, and in 1855 returned to Canada. In 1856 he was married in Canada to Susan Mclntire, and in 1859 returned to the United States, locating at Cleveland, Ohio, where he continued to re- side until 1 86 1. During this latter year he came to Dayton, Ohio, where he has lived ever since. During the war of the Rebellion Mr. Corns aided in recruiting company K, Seventh regi- ment, Ohio volunteer infantry, and also com- pany I of the One Hundred and Twenty-third Ohio volunteer infantry. He worked in the government arsenal at Troy, N. Y., for about four months during the year 1862, going there from Dayton. For a number of years Mr. Corns was employed as a molder in the stove foundry of Brown & Irwin, of Dayton, and afterward was with the firm of Greer & King for about ten years. He was afterward a molder in the employ of John W. Stoddard for about three years, and for about eleven years was foreman of the foundry of the Farmers' Friend Manufacturing company. He was one of the originators of the Marley-Craig Foundry com- pany, being a partner in the concern, from which came the Craig-Reynolds company. In 1892 he became foreman at the Kuhns Bros.' foundry, which position he has since continu- ously held. Mr. Corns has long been identified with the republican party, and has been prominent in the public affairs of the city of Dayton. In 1886 he was elected to the city council from the Ninth ward. In 1888 he was re-elected from the same ward, and again in 1890 and 1892, thus serving eight successive years from this ward. In 1894 he was elected to the council from the Third ward, which has since been changed to the Sixth. Mr. Corns is the oldest member of the city council, not only in point of age, but also in years of service. Mr. Corns is a member of the Harugari lodge of the German-American Pioneer so- ciety, and of the A. O. U. W. To Mr. Corns and his wife there have been born four children, as follows: Edwin; Estella, wife -of Fremont Dodds, of London, Madison county, Ohio; Charles M. , dental student; and Mur- rel, wife of Vallington Tippy, of Dayton, as- sistant bookkeeper for the dry-goods house of Elder & Johnston. Mrs. Corns is a member of the United Brethren church. The most marked characteristic of Mr. Corns as a city official is his fearlessness in the expression of his views upon all matters of public moment which come before the body in which he has rendered so long a service. eLI FASOLD, general agent for the Singer Manufacturing company at Dayton, Ohio, was born in Sunbury, Northumberland county, Pa., Febru- ary 22, 1838, his parents being also natives of that county. In 1844 the family removed to Richmond, Ind., where Eli attended the pub- lic schools and learned the carriage-ironing trade under Peter Crocker & Co. April 20, 1 86 1, he enlisted in the Eighth regiment, Indiana volunteer infantry, for three months, at the end of which time he entered the em- ployment of the Singer Manufacturing com- pany, and for five years had his headquarters at Indianapolis, and for more than thirty years has been stationed at Dayton. For eight years he has been connected with the Troup Manufacturing company of Dayton, as vice- president, but is now closing out the business of this concern. For five years he was a direct- or of the Southern Ohio Fair association, and £^-J^^> OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 443 has been an active and energetic business man ever since attaining his majority. Fraternally, Mr. Fasold is eminent in Free- masonry and in the order of the Knights of Honor, having been a member of the former for nearly thirty and of the latter for twenty- seven years. He was initiated in Mystic lodge, No. 405, F. & A. M., Dayton, June 12, 1869; passed July 24, 1869, and raised, September 11, 1869; was elected trustee December 12, 1879, and so remained until 1896; elected senior warden December 4, 1880; worshipful master, December 9, 1884, for one year. In Unity chapter, No. 16, R. A. M., marked November 4, 1869; passed January 6, 1870; received and acknowledged May 5, 1870; exalted June 2, 1870; was king from December 19, 1878, until December 16, 1886; high priest from December 16, 1866, to December 15, 1887. In Reese council, No. 9, he received the royal and select master's degree September 2, 1870. In Reed commandery, No. 6, K. T. , was dubbed and created Knight of Red Cross June 21, 1870; K. T., July 19, 1870; K. of M., July 19, 1870; sword bearer, November, 1871, to November, 1873; senior warden, November, 1873, to November, 1875; captain general, November, 1875, to November, 1876; emi- nent commander, 1876 to 1880; trustee, 1880 to 1895. I n tne grand commandery K. T. of Ohio, was grand senior warden in 1877 and 1878; grand senior warden in 1879 and 1880; grand generalissimo, 1881 and 1882; deputy grand commander, 1883, and right eminent grand commander in 1884; was representative of the grand commandery of Nebraska in 1886-89, 1892-95-98. In the ancient ac- cepted Scottish rite; he received the ineffable degrees March 14, 1872, in Giblum grand lodge of Perfection at Cincinnati; received the ancient traditional grades March 15, 1872, in the Dalcho grand council, P: J., Cincinnati; received philosophical and doctrinal grades in Cincinnati grand chapter of Rose-Croix, same date and place, and the modern historic and chivalric grades March 16, 1872; in Ohio grand consistory, S. P. R. S., thirty-second degree; was created sovereign grand inspector general, thirty-third degree, at Detroit, Mich., September 23, 1884. Mr. Fasold is a charter member of Gabriel grand lodge of perfection, Dayton; was appointed grand orator for 1881- 82, and served as trustee from January, 1881, to 1896; is a charter member of Miami coun- cil, and charter member of Rose-Croix grand chapter, Dayton; was appointed M. E. and P. K., S. W., in April, 1880-81, and elected M. W. and P. M. in May, 1881-83. Mr. Fasold has for twelve years been presi- dent of the Scottish rite K. T. and Master Mason's Aid association, and has been presi- dent of the Homestead Aid association for five years, and a director in the same eight years; he was one of the founders of the Freemasons' Mutual Benefit association, and has been a director and treasurer for twenty-two years. Mr. Fasold was united in marriage, Octo- ber 5, 1861, with Miss Louisa Smith, of Rich- mond, Ind., and to this union have been born two children — a daughter, Mary F. , and a son, William S., who is now cashier of the Big Four Railroad company at Dayton. The parents have been members of the Third street Presbyterian church for the past thirty years. In politics Mr. Fasold is a republican. HLBERT CLAYTON CARNEY, M.D., physician and surgeon of Dayton, Ohio, with office at 715 Washington street, was born in Butler county, southwest of and near Germantown, Montgom- ery county, December 9, 1868. He is a son of Walter and Catherine (Garrison) Carney, who are still residing on their home farm in 444 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Butler county, where Mr. Carney has followed agricultural pursuits for many years. The Carney family is of mixed nationality, Walter Carney having descended from Scotch, Irish and German ancestry. He and his wife are parents of four children. Albert C. Carney was reared on his father's farm, and thus inured to labor in his early days. His education was received in the com- mon schools, and later he attended Otterbein university. However, while in college he was reading medicine with Dr. J. W. Cline, of Dayton, Ohio, as his preceptor, having early in life chosen medicine as his profession. He afterward read with Dr. J. W. Jones, of Wes- terville, Ohio, and attended the Ohio Medical college at Cincinnati, graduating from that in- stitution in the class of 1889. At first he was located in Greenville, Ohio, practicing there six months, and then removed to Germantown, where he was engaged in practice until 1892. In this year he removed to Dayton, where he has been ever since, and where he has built up a good practice. He is the most successful of the young physicians of the city, and a rising young man in every way. He is a member of Friendship lodge, No. 21, I. O. O. F. , of Germantown, Ohio, and of the Germantown encampment, No. 77, Patri- archs Militant. He was married March 1, 1888, in Germantown, Ohio, to Miss Etta B. Swain, a daughter of Rev. J. L. Swain. Dr. and Mrs. Carney are the parents of one child, Homer Eugene. They are leading members of the United Brethren church and highly re- garded by all who know them. aHARLES A. COOPER, senior mem- ber of the firm of Charles A. Cooper & Co., wholesale dealers in saddlery and carriage goods, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Springfield, Ohio, May 13, 1851, a son of David and Louisa S. (Runyon) Cooper. David Cooper was born in Pennsylvania January 9, 1826, a son of William and Jane (Murphy) Cooper, and died in Dayton, Ohio, November 11, 1888. When nineteen years of age he came to Ohio and engaged in the dry- goods business at Springfield, but sold out in 1849, and established the business which Charles A. Cooper, his son, now conducts in Dayton, and of which further mention will be made. January 9, 1849, he was married in Springfield to Miss Louisa S. Runyon, daughter of William and Harriet (Silvers) Runyon, the former of New Jersey and the latter of Eng- land. Mrs. Louisa S. Cooper was born in Newburg, Pa., and was a babe when taken to Kentucky by her parents. Her father was a railroad contractor and constructed the first railroad west of the Alleghany mountains, and constructed the first railroad at Lexington, Ky. , which was one of the first in that state. About 1835 the Runyon family came to Columbus, Ohio, where Mr. Runyon was engaged in the hardware business until 1841, when he removed to Springfield, wherehe was engaged in the same industry until his death. To Mr. and Mrs. Runyon were born five children, of whom two died in infancy; Louisa S. is the widow of David Cooper; Mary, now deceased, was the wife of Pliny Newhall, and Ellen is married to Albert E. Shearer, of Cleveland. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. David Cooper were born six children, viz: George, now a travel- ing salesman; Charles A. ; Edward F. , of Day- ton; Hattie E., wife of W. B. Anderson; David W. , and Mary L. , wife of Charles F. Snyder — all of Dayton. The mother and her sons, Charles A. and David W., now make their home at No. 351 West First street. As has been stated, the late David Cooper established the present business in 1849, in Springfield, Ohio, beginning as a whole- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 445 sale and retail dealer in general hardware, saddlery and carriage materials. In 1869 he came to Dayton, opened his store at No. 140 East Third street, and conducted a wholesale and retail trade in the same line as that he had carried on in Springfield; but in 1876 disposed of his general hardware business and confined himself to the wholesale saddlery and carriage goods trade, selling chiefly throughout Ohio and Indiana. At his death, in 1888, his son, Charles A., assumed the management of the business in conjunction with his brother, Ed- ward F. Cooper, under the firm name of David Cooper's Sons. January 1, 1890, the firm removed to the present quarters, No. 123 East Third street, in the Huffman block, and August 1, 1893, Charles A. purchased the interest of his brother, Edward F., and Janu- ary 1, 1894, changed the firm name to that of Charles A. Cooper & Co. — the firm being now composed of Louisa S. Cooper and Charles A. Cooper. Two men are constantly employed by the firm as salesmen on the road, and they cover the territory embraced by the states of Ohio and Indiana, throughout which states the firm is well known, it being the largest concern in its line in western Ohio. Charles A. Cooper was reared in Spring- field, and received his education in the schools of that city and at Wittenberg college. At the age of eighteen years he came to Dayton to assist his father in the store, and in 1873 went on the road as salesman, representing the house for sixteen years. He then returned to the store and assumed the management of the business, having been admitted as a partner a year previously. Mr. Cooper has been very successful in his management, and is looked upon as one of the ablest of the young business men of Dayton. He is a member of the Third street Presby- terian church, and in politics affiliates with the republican party. aOL. ROBERT COWDEN, of Day- ton, Ohio, is descended from an old Scotch family, who came to America, many years ago, from Cowden Knolls, twenty-five miles north of Edinburg. His par- ents, David and Elizabeth (Kitch) Cowden, were natives of Pennsylvania, and early settlers in Ohio, where the father died when Robert was but five years of age. Robert Cowden was born May 24, 1833, near Leesville Cross Roads, Ohio, and although his opportunities for securing an education were meager, he succeeded, by dint of close application to study, in acquiring a fair amount of knowledge and became a school teacher at the age of eighteen years, following that call- ing in the winter and working during the sum- mer at any paying employment he could find, for several consecutive years. At the age of nineteen he was converted to Christ and at once entered upon a career of religious work in the interest of the United Brethren church and humanity, and to-day, as an organizer and teacher of Sunday schools, he probably has no superior. Persistent in his studies, he early developed himself as a scholar of much learn- ing, especially in the field of theology, and was thus fully qualified for Sabbath-school work, and for nearly thirty years he has been closely identified with that branch of religious activity in this country, and has filled many positions of honor in connection with it. Coupled with his well-earned reputation for usefulness in civil life, Col. Cowden has a military record for patriotism and valor, and the scars upon his person bear substantial witness to the fact that he not only loved his country but helped to fight her battles. Robert Cowden enlisted September 9, 1861, in company B, Fifty-sixth Illinois volunteer infantry, but was transferred to company H, and between the date of his en- listment and January 28, 1862, was promoted to be corporal, was next advanced to the posi- 446 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD tion of sergeant, and still later was commis- sioned first lieutenant of company H. Because of defective enlistment or organization of the Fifty-sixth, that regiment was mustered out of service January 28, 1862, and on the same day Lieut. Cowden entered battery I, First Illinois light artillery, as a private. During his serv- ice of eighteen months in this body he was promoted through the intermediate grades from private to second lieutenant, receiving his com- mission for meritorious conduct on the battle field of Shiloh. July 29, 1863, Lieut. Cow- den was discharged to receive promotion, and was mustered in as major of the Fifty-ninth United States colored infantry, and May 1, 1864, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, with which rank he served until his final muster out, January 31, 1866. At this time, to save the men, who in most cases had been recruited from the illiterate plantation hands, from the self-constituted bounty and claim agents, a meeting of the officers of the regiment was held at Memphis, Tenn., where it was decided that Col. Ccwden should re- ceive authority to act for the discharged men. As a consequence 530 soldiers entrusted their discharge papers to him, the result being that he subsequently collected all back pay, bounty, etc., due to the men and placed the proceeds into the hands of those to whom they rightfully belonged. The colonel was also instrumental in establishing a school for the instruction of unlettered men of his regiment, and in this school 250 colored men were taught to read and write. Among the many engagements in which Col. Cowden participated may be enumerated that of Shiloh, both days; the siege of Corinth and the engagement at the Russell house, lying between Pittsburg Landing and Corinth; the siege and capture of Yicksburg; the second capture of Jackson, Miss.; the engagement at Guntown, Miss., where, June 10, 1864, he re- ceived a severe wound in the right hip; and finally the battles of Tupelo and Pontotoc, Miss., in July, 1864. To revert to the life of Col. Cowden as a civilian, it may be stated that, prior to the Civil war, he resided in Kansas for three years and was there during the "border" troubles, and was the first county clerk elected in Franklin county. He again resided in that state from 1885 until 1891, in Cheyenne county; in the interim, however, he lived in Galion, Craw- ford county, Ohio, where he was postmaster during the administration of President Hayes. He is at present a member of the military or- der known as the Loyal Legion, commandery of Ohio; for twenty-six years has been a mem- ber of the general board of the Ohio Sunday- school association, in which he served one year as president, six years as general secre- tary, and the remainder of the period as a member of the executive committee; for years he has been general secretary of the Sabbath- school board of the United Brethren in Christ and general Sabbath-school missionary and organizer for that denomination; he is also secretary of the normal department of the Ohio State Sabbath-school association and is its statistician; from 1875 until 1890 he was a member of the executive committee of the In- ternational Sabbath-school association, and has been a delegate to all its triennial conven- tions, held in London, and to the first and sec- ond world's conventions; also the convention held at Saint Louis, Mo., in 1893. He travels about 20,000 miles annually in the prosecu- tion of his work. He has contributed many valuable articles to the religious press, and, wielding a facile pen, has written a history of his regiment. The first marriage of Col. Cowden was solemnized, in 1854, with Miss Lydia T. Miller, which union was blessed with four chil- dren, viz: Daniel Webster, now a wholesale OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 447 merchant of Salina, Kans. ; John C. Milton, a farmer of Cheyenne county, in the same state; Jacob K. R., a farmer of Eagle county, Colo., and Mrs. Zoe E. M. Chipperfield, whose hus- band is also a farmer of Cheyenne county, Kans., and descended from these children there are now twelve living grandchildren of Col. Cowden. After a happy union of over thirty-six years, Mrs. Cowden died in Decem- ber, 1S90, and in November, 1891, Col. Cow- den was united in matrimony with Mrs. Joanna McGinnis, of Wichita, Kans. a APT. THOMAS J. CROOKS was born in Cleveland, Ohio, May 3, 1845. His parents were John C. and Sarah J. (Beatty) Crooks, the father a na- tive of north Ireland and the mother born in the highlands of Scotland: they were married in Ireland, and, about the year 1842, immi- grated to the United States, settling in Cleve- land, Ohio, where John C. Crooks was for some time a member of the police force. In his na- tive country he learned the trade of carpet weaving, but did not follow his calling very long after becoming a citizen of the United States; he died at Cleveland in 1878, aged sixty years. Mrs. Crooks still lives in that city. John C. and Sarah Crooks were the parents of eight children, four sons .and four daughters, three of the sons having served gallantly in the late war of the Rebellion; Samuel was killed in December, 1864, at Fort McAlister; John E. was wounded at the battle of Fredericksburg, Va. ; he is now a resident of Benicia, Cal., where he is engaged in the banking busi- ness and of which city he has also served as mayor at different times; William L. , a telegrapher, resides at Los Angeles, Cal. ; Elizabeth married a Mr. Lewis and lives in Kansas; Elizabeth Callins makes her home in Cleveland, and the two youngest members of the family, Mary and Lillie A., both unmarried, still reside with their mother under the paren- tal roof. Thomas J. Crooks grew to early manhood in Cleveland, where he attended school until his seventeenth year, at which time he laid aside his studies and entered the army, enlist- ing in what was known as the Cleveland Grays, a company which formed part of the Eighty-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, and with which he served for a period of four months in Virginia under Gen. Kelley. Dur- ing his first enlistment Capt. Crooks saw some active service and took part in several engage- ments of minor importance, chief among which was the fight at New Creek, Va. At the ex- piration of his period of service, he re-enlisted, October 9, 1862, for three years, in company H, One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Ohio in- fantry, receiving the rank of corporal, and, a little later, was made first sergeant of his com- pany. He was wounded September 19, 1863, at Chickamauga, and for six months thereafter remained in a hospital, the nature of his disa- bility necessitating his retirement from active service for the greater part of a year. On being discharged from the hospital Capt. Crooks was transferred, March, 1864, to the One Hundred and Fifty-second battalion vet- eran reserve corps, with which he served until mustered out July 26, 1S65, at Nashville, Teml. During this period he participated in the battles of Thompson's Station, Tenn., where the entire brigade, with the exception of the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Ohio, was captured; Triune, Tenn.; Chickamauga; two-days' fight at Nashville, and other engage- ments, in all of which his conduct was that of a faithful and gallant soldier. Returning to Cleveland after the war, Capt. Crooks accepted a clerical position in the mayor's office of that city and was thus employed for one year, when he embarked in the grocery business, conduct- 448 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ing the same until 1867. In the latter year he entered the United States service, enlisting in the Twenty-eighth infantry for three years, during the greater part of which time he was stationed at Governor's Island, N. Y. , and for over one year was drillmaster on Hart's Island. The Twenty-eighth was consolidated with the Nineteenth U. S. infantry in 1869, from which time until the expiration of his term of enlist- ment Capt. Crooks was stationed at Little Rock, Ark., Baton Rouge and New Orleans, La. He was honorably discharged at Fort Pike, La., June, 1870, and in September of the same year he re-enlisted for a term of five years in the Seventeenth U. S. infantry, com- pany I, of which he was made sergeant. This service was principally at Fort Sully, Chey- enne agency. Forts Rice and Stevenson, and he was discharged in September, 1 875. In De- cember following he again entered the army, enlisting in company A, Twenty-second U. S. infantry, with which he served one year at Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., three years at Fort Wayne, Mich., and the last year at Fort Grif- fin, Tex., receiving his discharge at the last named place, December, 1880. In April, 1 88 1 , Capt. Crooks enlisted for five years in company F, Fifteenth U. S. infantry, of which he was made first sergeant, and pro- ceeded at once to Columbus, Ohio, thence joined his command later at Santa Fe, N. M., from which place the regiment was used in operating against the hostile Indians in the southwest. Three months of 1881 were spent in active warfare with the Indians under chief Victoria, whose band was driven across the Rio Grande into Mexico, and later Capt. Crooks' company was transferred to Fort Lewis, Colo. , thence to Forts Abe Lincoln and Stevenson, Dak. After long and continuous service of great activity and danger, Capt. Crooks was final- ly discharged at his own request, at Fort Buford, Dak. He saw over twenty years of service while in the regular army, shirked no duty, however onerous, and shrank from none of the many perils through which he was called to pass. For years he was exposed to almost constant dangers, and his escapes from the Indians upon many occasions were narrow and thrilling. At one time, with eighteen comrades, he was surrounded by the Indians, and for six days this intrepid little band kept up an unequal contest with 500 savages, being rescued, after untold sufferings and the loss of several men, by a detachment of U. S. troops from Fort Stevenson. Many other adventures could be narrated, and his army experience, if written in full, would be replete with romantic interest. After his last discharge, Capt. Crooks went to Detroit, Mich., where he spent one year at different occupations, and then ac- cepted a position on the city police force, which, however, he was soon compelled to re- sign on account of disabilities incurred while in the army. During the succeeding two years, he represented a wholesale house as a com- mercial traveler, but this, too, he was forced to give up by reason of his enfeebled condition. He then became an inmate of the National Home for Disabled Volunteers at Dayton, his admission to the institution dating in Septem- ber, 1892. During the greater part of 1893, he was sergeant of the Columbian guards at the world's fair, and since December of that year has been captain, first of company Twelve, which he commanded until July 20. 1894, when he was transferred to company Twenty, which he now commands. Capt. Crooks is an active member of the G. A. R. , a republican in politics, and was reared in the faith of the Episcopal church. In 1876 he was united in marriage with Miss Lizzie Bowman, of Detroit, Mich., who bore him two children, Sadie and Daisy, the former OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 449 now living in Cleveland, Ohio, and the latter in the city of Detroit. The captain is a wid- ower, having lost his wife several years ago. aHARLES W. DALE, judge of the police court of Dayton, and one of the widely-known members of the Dayton bar, was born in Germantown, Ohio, on September 13, 1862. By working during the summer seasons he was enabled to attend school in the winter months, during his boyhood days, and at the age of seventeen years he was graduated from the high school of his native town. For a period of five years Judge Dale taught in the public schools of Germantown and Ellerton, this county, and then attended the law school and university of Cincinnati, graduating from that institution in 1883. Locating in Dayton, he began the practice of his profession and so continued until his election to the bench. During the term of office of Mayor Crawford, Judge Dale served as his clerk. In March, 1892, he was nominated by the republicans as candidate for police judge, and he was elected over a strong competitor in the person of the democratic candidate — Hon. J. E. D. Ward, then mayor of the city. He has continued on the bench ever since, giving entire satisfaction to the public, and discharging the duties of his office with ability and judgment. Judge Dale has written extensively for some of the leading periodicals, and is the author and compiler of Familiar Laws. *-j-» EWIS DANCYGER, senior member j of the dry-goods firm of L. Dancyger A & Son, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Poland in 1 83 1. In order to avoid impressment into the Russian army he left his native land and went to England. In 1856 he, with his wife and two children, came to the United States and first located at New Brighton, Pa., where he opened a general store and remained about five years, and then removed to Noblesville, Ind., and for three years was there a leading merchant and banker. For two and a half years he was engaged in mercantile and real-estate enterprises in Indi- anapolis, Ind., and in 1865 came to Dayton, Ohio, opened a dry-goods store on the corner of Third and Jefferson streets, and, after twenty years, moved to the Balsley building, where he carried on business for seven years. On Feb- ruary 9, 1887, he lost the companion of his life, who had borne him two children — Simon and Isaac. Simon Dancyger, at present connected with his father in his extensive business, was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, and came to America with his parents in infancy. He received a fair education and at the age of fifteen years entered his father's store as cash- boy, and at twenty years became buyer for the concern. He is of an inventive turn of mind, and his little leisure time he has devoted to the invention of labor-saving devices, chiefly for the use of merchants — such as marking tags, pins, and other contrivances — now hold- ing nine patents granted by the United States government and several issued by the English and German governments. These articles are now being sold all over the Union by traveling salesmen and are coming into general use. For the manufacture of these specialties he has recently erected a handsome three-story brick building on Saint Mary street, running back to Clegg street, and will give employ- ment to forty or fifty persons. Isaac Dancyger, the youngest son of Lewis Dancyger and wife, when a lad of six years was killed by a runaway team in Indianapolis, Ind. , where his remains were interred. Lewis Dancyger is an Odd Fellow and a 450 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD member of the Ancient Order of United Work- men; he is a stockholder in the City National bank, has erected several fine residences in Dayton, and has otherwise contributed to make the city what it is to-day. He is a member of the synagogue on Jefferson street, and lives in strict conformity with the teachings of the faith in which he was reared. Simon Dancy- ger, in his religious views, is quite liberal. Both father and son are stanch republicans in their politics, but simply act as quiet voters in support of their party. Lewis Dancyger has been remarkably suc- cessful as a business man, the nucleus of his present fortune having been £$, which he borrowed from his brother in England. How he handled that small sum may easily be imagined. That he has been prudent and conservative is evidenced by the fact that he has passed safely through all the financial crises that have occurred since he started busi- ness in America, without suspending even for one day. His son Simon deserves equal credit for the usefulness and ingenuity of the inven- tions suggested to him by the demands of his daily occupations. "^-VOSEPH LIGHT, superintendent of the B Dayton Gas Light & Coke company, f» J was born in London, England, June 16, 1833. His parents, George and Ann (Rutherford) Light, were natives of England, and were the parents of twelve children, only two of whom are now living, viz: Mary Ann, widow of Edward Roberts, and who is living in Dayton, and Joseph, the subject of this sketch. George Light, the father of Joseph, was a brick mason by trade, an Episcopalian in re- ligion, and died in London when seventy-six years of age, in 1852. His wife, who was a Congregationalist in religion, died in 1866, aged sixty-five years. The paternal grandfather was also a native of England, and lived in that country all his life, dying at the age of 101 years. The ma- ternal grandfather, John Rutherford, was a native of Scotland, and died in the land of his birth. Joseph Light was reared and educated in London, and when twelve years of age began to learn the manufacture of gas machinery and the art of ship building, in that city. These occupations he followed with energy and inter- est until he was eighteen years of age, and then came to the United States. In Cincin- nati he was engaged in the manufacture of gas for three years, and, in 1855, removed to Dayton, where he took charge of the Dayton Gas Light & Coke company's works as super- intendent, which position he has held ever since, a period of forty-two years. Mr. Light is interested in the firm of G. J. Roberts & Co., manufacturers of steam pumps and general machinery. He is also president of the Piqua Gas Works company, and is superintendent of the Urbana Gas works. Mr. Light was married in November, 1854, to Miss Catherine Lee, daughter of Richard Lee, of Cincinnati, the maiden name of whose wife was McGee. To this marriage there have been born six children, three sons and three daughters, as follows: Catherine, George, Jennie, Joseph E., Ella F., and Edward H. George married Miss Lida Ferguson. He is assistant superintendent of the Gas Light & Coke company. Jennie married Charles De- Armon, of Piqua, Ohio, and has three children, Joseph Eugene, Catherine, and Charles Ruth- erford. Mrs. Catherine Light died in 1874. She was an excellent woman, and a member of the Presbyterian church. At her death she was mourned by many friends as well as by her relatives, as one whose place it would be diffi- cult to fill. Mr. Light was married the second time, ^€A^\ 0(u OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 453 April 7, 1880, to Miss Elizabeth Westwood, daughter of John C. and Susannah Westwood, by whom he has had no children. Mr. and Mrs. Light are members of the Park Presby- terian church, which was organized in 1851. Mr. Light is a member of the Masonic, frater- nity, and has had conferred upon him the thirty-second degree. He is an Odd Fellow, and was a charter member of Miami lodge, No. 32, Knights of Pythias, and is also a Knight of Honor. Politically, Mr. Light is an earnest republican. Mr. Light's connection of over forty years with the gaslight and coke company has made his name familiar throughout the community, and he is not only regarded in business circles as a man of strong, native ability and judgment, but enjoys the sincere confidence and esteem of all Dayton's citizens. In the several de- partments of the gas company's plant over 100 men are employed, so that Mr. Light's position is one of great importance and responsibility. In 1872, after being absent from his native country some twenty years, he made a three- months' visit to his old home, this being the only time he has been away from Dayton for any considerable period. Mr. Light is a con- sistent member of his church, and an industri- ous and worthy citizen of the state in which he has lived for forty-five years. a APT. LORENZO N. DAVIS was born in the county of Wyoming, N. Y. , April 7, 1840. His father, Lo- renzo D. Davis, also a native of the Empire state, was a man of local prominence in the community where he resided and for many years held positions of trust in Wells- ville, where he owned and operated a manu- facturing establishment. He was twice mar- ried, the first time to Mary Dodge, by whom he had two children, Daniel and Lorenzo N. ; 14 his death occurred at Wellsville, N. Y., June, 1885, at the age of seventy-six years. Capt. Davis spent the years of early manhood in his native county, assisting on the home farm when not otherwise engaged, attending in the meantime the public schools, in which he ob- tained a knowledge of the common branches. At the breaking out of the late war he turned his back upon home and friends, and enlisted in company E, Fifth New York cav- alry, known as the Harry Harris Guards, with which he served in the army of the Poto- mac under Gens. Hatch, Sheridan and Kil- patrick. He was engaged in the principal bat- tles in which the army of the Potomac took part and was on the famous raid under Gen. Kilpalrick after the fight at Chancellorsville, when prisoners were taken inside the fortifica- tions around Richmond. The list of battles in which his regiment was engaged is a long one, including Front Royal, Newtown Cross Road, Winchester, Orange C. H., Cedar Mountain, Waterloo Bridge, Groveton, second Bull Run, Chantilly, Hanover, Humberstown, Boonsboro, Culpeper C. H., Summerville Ford, James City, Brandy Station, Backland Mills, Raccoon Ford, defenses of Richmond, Parker's Store, Wilderness, Milford Station, Mount Carmel church, Ashland Station, Salem church, White Oak Swamp, Nottaway C. H., Round Oak Station, Mary Heights, Stony Creek, Ream's Station, Snicker's Ferry, Kerns- town, Summit Point, Winchester, Milford, Surry Valley, Waynesboro, Tom's Brook and Cedar Creek, a total of forty-five battles and twelve minor engagements, in nearly all of which Capt. Davis was present and did effect- ive service. He was taken prisoner while on picket duty at Fairfax Court House, January, 1863, but was paroled after a confinement of only twelve hours, after which he was taken to Annapolis, Md., where he remained until exchanged. 454 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD He rejoined his regiment after a three- months' absence and continued in active serv- ice until honorably discharged at the close of the war, when he returned to his old home in New York. Subsequently he went to Mich- igan, where he was employed at various occu- pations for eight years, and in 1883 became an inmate of the national soldiers' home at Day- ton, where he has been honored with official positions since September of the year follow- ing. In 1886 he was promoted captain and placed in command of company Twenty-five, a position of responsibility, which he still holds, and the duties of which he has dis- charged in an eminently satisfactory manner. Capt. Davis was a gallant soldier, unflinch- ing in the discharge of every duty in most try- ing situations, and earned his laurels on many battle fields. As an official he is popular alike with his superiors and with those under him, possesses executive ability of no mean order, and is one of the trusted guardians of the noble institution with which he is identified. Capt. Davis never married. He was made an Odd Fellow while a resident of Michigan, and has since been an active and influential member of the fraternity; he is also a member of the Union Veteran Legion, a military organ- ization. Politically, Capt. Davis has been a life-long republican; he was reared in the faith of the Baptish church, but, while believing in religion, is not identified with any church organization. aLAIBORNE M. DAVIS, undertaker and funeral director, is a native of Clark county, Ohio, where he was born July 2, 1850. His parents were Hezekiah and Druzilla Davis, both natives of Ohio, and his paternal ancestors were Virgin- ians of Scotch descent. Owing to the death of his parents, which occurred when he was quite young, Mr. Davis remembers but little of the family history, as he was reared among strangers. Like many young men who have been compelled to make their own way in the world without social prestige or monetary influ- ence, Mr. Davis was denied in a great measure the educational advantages now considered essential to success in life, but he made up for the lack of opportunities in youth by diligent study after reaching the years of manhood. By close application, after his twenty-first year, he advanced sufficiently in his studies to obtain a teacher's license, after which his time was divided between teaching and attending school, working in the meanwhile as a farm hand, and thus adding to his earnings and enabling him to pursue a course in the Ohio Southern Normal school. He began teaching in 1870, and remained in the profession for a period of ten years, his work during that time being confined to a single township in his native county, which fact attests his ability as a suc- cessful instructor. Severing his connection with educational work, Mr. Davis embarked in the undertaking and furniture business at Tippecanoe, Miami county, Ohio, where he carried on a remarka- bly successful trade for about seven years, at the end of which time, in the fall of 1887, he located in Dayton, where he has since operated an extensive undertaking business, his place, Nos. 1 105-7 East Fifth street, being one of the best known establishments of the kind in the city. Mr. Davis is familiar with every detail of his business, keeps fully abreast of the times in the matter of new features and improve- ments in the line of undertaking, and has the satisfaction of seeing his patronage increase year by year. He is a self-made man in all the term implies, is indebted to nobody but himself for financial assistance, and his life is a striking example of what can be done OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 455 through a well-defined purpose to succeed, aided by sound judgment and industry. Mr. Davis was happily married to Miss Ella Mock, of Clark county, Ohio, and is the father of two bright children, Oral E. and Mary Georgenia, both living. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are members of the Baptist church, belonging to the Linden avenue congregation, of which Mr. Davis has been a deacon for seven years; he is also a teacher in the Sunday- school. Politically he is a democrat and fraternally holds membership in the Gem City lodge, No. 795, I. O. O. F. ; Linden lodge, No. 412, K. of P., and Crown council, No. 35, of the Junior Order of United American Mechan- ics, of which he has been treasurer since its organization in 1888. WOHN DAVY, residing at No. 679 South fl Main street, Dayton, is one of the army A 1 of capable railway postal clerks, who are so indispensable to the business of this country. His birthplace was Bowman- ville, Ontario, where he was born February 28, 1840. While still very young, his father brought him to Dayton, his mother having died when he was but twenty-two months old. Here he grew to manhood, and received a com- mon-school education, by which he has greatly profited. William Davy, his father, was of English extraction, and was a native of Corn- wall, as was also his mother. He was a car- penter, and thoroughly trained his son John in this business. His death occurred in the house now occupied by his son, January 21, 1883, at the age of eighty-six years and seven months. He was an honest, hard-working man, and left his children the priceless legacy of a good name. Five of his family are now living, John being the youngest of twelve chil- dren. Two, Peter and Mrs. William Kelley, make their home in Kansas; Mary Ann is the wife of S. F. Bridges, and lives at Mason, Tex.; Jane, the widow of the late James Viele, resides at Toronto, Canada; the other chil- dren, with one exception, died in infancy or childhood. John Davy, as noted above, worked at the carpenter business until in the early 'sixties, when he enlisted June 12, 1861, in Dayton, as a member of company A, Eleventh Ohio vol- unteer infantry, serving over three years. He was in the army of Gen. McClellan during the Maryland campaign, and participated in the battles of South Mountain, Frederick and An- tietam. Later, his regiment was sent into West Virginia, where it was attached to the command of Gen. J. D. Cox, afterward gov- ernor of Ohio. His regiment, moving to the West, was made a part of the famous Four- teenth army corps, took part in the battle of Chickamauga, and was an important portion of Turchin's brigade, and Reynold's division. "Old Pap" Thomas was in command, and never was a more desperate battle more gamely fought. The gallant Eleventh Ohio was at Missionary Ridge, and did its full share of fighting in the great battles around Resaca, Ga., that opened up the way to central Georgia and to the great ocean beyond. And down this wonderful way went the irresistible army of Gen. Sherman, breaking the Confed- eracy in two, and hastening the final collapse of treason. fn these scenes and experiences John Davy bore a brave soldier's part, and never shirked his duty, nor failed at the hour of danger. After the stormy days that pre- ceded Resaca, the garrison duty at that point, to which his regiment was assigned, seemed very tame and monotonous. But it was all a part of a soldier's life. The regiment con- tinued here at garrison duty until June, 1864, when it was ordered to return to Camp Den- nison, where it was mustered out of service on 456 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the 2 ist of the month. It is one of the stand- ing wonders of our history, that this great host of warriors, more than a million men in all, could be returned suddenly to peaceful life, and be swallowed up in the great ocean of arts and industries of the nation. But the million men were like our subject, not mer- cenary soldiers of fortune, but citizens taking up arms for the safety of the nation. And when that was assured, they were all glad to return quickly and quietly to the trades and profes- sions they had before followed. Mr. Davy, now a veteran soldier, came back to Dayton, and resumed the carpenter work that he had put by for the sake of his country, and no doubt followed it all the more effectively for his military experience. He continued at the carpenter's bench until May, 1868, when he accepted a position on the Day- ton police force. He was a model police offi- cer for some fourteen years, serving success- ively as patrolman, roundsman, sergeant and lieutenant, and making a fine record for careful attention to duty. The seventh day of No- vember, 1 88 1, he resigned from the force, and resumed his trade as a carpenter, which he fol- lowed until 18S5. In this year he was ap- pointed to the railway mail service, and was a vigilant and successful postal clerk, until his suspension in Ma)', 1889, for politicial reasons. On personal inquiry of high officials, he was informed that there were no charges of any kind touching his personal character or his ef- ficiency in the service, and was explicitly as- sured that the only reasons for his removal were political. He regarded his suspension from the service as only temporary, and dur- ing the greater part of this time he was super- intendent of the Dayton court house. He was reinstated in the railway mail service under the civil service rules, though he was reappointed without an examination, the time of his return to duty being May 7, 1895. His run is be- tween Delphos and Dayton, making the round trip daily, " week on and week off." Mr. Davy was married January 1, 1867, to Miss Kate M. Paullus, a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, and to them there have been born three children, who are now living. The eldest of these, Harry P., is foreman of a cigar factory; John W. is a printer in the United Brethren Publishing House; Catherine Eleanor is at home. There have as yet been no weddings in the second generation. As might be imagined, our subject feels a justifi- able pride in his military career, and is an active worker in the Union Veteran Legion, Encampment No. 145, at Dayton. Mrs. Davy is a member of the United Brethren church, as are her children also. Her parents were John and Elizabeth (Laney) Paullus. Her father was a Virginian, while his wife was a native of Ohio. His parents came from Germany, while his wife's people were of Scottish origin. They had eleven children, of whom five are alive at this writ- ing: Matthew is a resident of Greenfield, Ind., he was in the Civil war, and served as captain of company G, Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry, and is not now engaged in active business; he had also served in the Mexican war; Peter L. , who is now at home in Chicago, was a soldier in the same company with his brother and served as lieutenant; Samuel is residing in Preble county, Ohio; Mrs. Sarah Grace is a resident of Dayton, and one child, Emanuel, died in childhood. Five passed away after they had come into mature life — Nancy Ella, Elizabeth, Hester Ann, John R. and Adam. This last son was also a soldier in the Thirty- fifth Ohio volunteer infantry, and his death was the result of wounds and disability in- curred while in the service. Mrs. Davy is the youngest of this large and interesting family, and is an active worker in the various societies connected with her church. Her parents died OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 457 in Preble county, Ohio — her mother in 1848, and her father two years later. Mr. Davy is a man of strong political pro- clivities, and has long been an active worker in the democratic party, following here in the footsteps of his father, who was devoted to that organization. He is a man not afraid of work, and while he inherited nothing but a strong constitution and a good example, by industry and economy he has secured a con- venient and comfortable home. He is a mem- ber in good standing of Miami lodge, A. O. U. W., of Iola lodge, K. P., and of the uniform rank of the same order. t >^~\ AVID A. DEAN, commissioner of I Montgomery county, and a well- /^^f known citizen of the county, residing at Beavertown, was born at that place November 27, 1837. He is a son of Alexander Dean, one of the earliest of the pio- neers of Montgomery county, who came to this county in 18 12, from Pennsylvania, his native state. He was one of the prominent men of his day, being elected justice of the peace and appointed postmaster of his town, serving in each capacity for many years. He died at the age of eighty-two years in 1882. His wife was Susanna Lemmon, a daughter of David Lem- mon, and a native of Montgomery county. David Lemmon, like Alexander Dean, was one of the pioneers of Montgomery county. David A. Dean was reared in Beavertown, and was there educated in the public schools. He followed farming until the war, and then enlisted in the One Hundred and Thirty-first regiment, O. V. I., with which he served one hundred days. After the war he began work- ing at the carpenter's trade, and continued so to labor for twenty years. His reputation for sound judgment and fairness became so well established that he was elected justice of the peace in the spring of 1878, and by successive re-elections he continued to hold that position for six terms of three years each, or eighteen consecutive years. He also served as town- ship clerk for one term. In 1895, Mr. Dean was elected, as a repub- lican, to the office of commissioner of Mont- gomery county, taking possession of his office on the first Monday in January, 1896. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and he and his wife are members of the United Brethren church of Beavertown. Mr. Dean was married in the fall of 1S58 to Cornelia Darner, who- was born in Montgomery county, and who is a daughter of Jacob Darner, a farmer of that county. To this marriage there have been born eight children, seven of whom, two sons and five daughters, are living. One of the sons and four of the daughters are mar- ried. Mr. Dean is one of the best known men in the county, and in his long term of service as a justice he has not only won the confidence of every class by his strong practical sense and his judicial impartiality, but has given the best evidence of the value and necessity of the magistrate's court in the community. BM. COMPTON, attorney and coun- selor at law, of Dayton, Ohio, was born October 19, 1863, near Franklin, Warren county, Ohio. He lived on his father's farm until he was sixteen years of age, when he attended the preparatory depart- ment of the National normal university at Leba- non, Ohio. From this school he graduated in 1884, having in the meantime spent two years traveling in the interest of The Hall Safe & Lock company of Cincinnati, Ohio. After leaving the Lebanon institution he taught the school in the village of Blue Ball, Warren county, Ohio, which he had attended before going to Lebanon. In the fall of 458 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 1885 he entered as a law student the office of Craighead & Craighead, in Dayton, remaining with them for two years, and was then admitted to the bar, but continued with the above firm for one year longer. In January, 1S89, he opened an office for the practice of his profes- sion, in Dayton, and two years later formed a partnership with Hon. D. W. Allaman, which was dissolved at the end of one year, by reason of the election of Mr. Allaman to the legisla- ture. Since then Mr. Compton has prosecuted the practice of the law alone. He is now at- torney for the American Loan & Savings as- sociation, and is generally recognized as a safe and sound counselor. Mr. Compton was married in November, 1890, to Miss Nellie Probasco, daughter of the late Firman Probasco, of Middletown, Ohio, and they have two children. Mr. Compton, while not a seeker for political preferment, is an active adherent of the republican party. He is one of the most ready and forcible speak- ers among the men of his age at the Mont- gomery county bar. >Y*OHN FRIEND DeBRA, M. D., phy- m sician and surgeon of Dayton, Ohio, (% J located at No. 1902 East Third street, is a grandson of Daniel DeBra, who came from Alsace, then a district of France, as a soldier of LaFayette, and served as a lieutenant with that friend of America all through the Revolutionary war. The Revo- tion having come to a close, he located at Baltimore, and there married Elizabeth Friend, by whom he had r.en sons and three daughters. The father of John F. was also named Daniel. He was reared in Maryland and learned the trade of cabinetmaker. In 1802 he came to Ohio, settling in Miami county, where he lived the rest of his life, and where he was one of the leading characters in that part of the coun- try, and served as colonel of the militia. Early in life he was a democrat, but later became a free-soiler, and was quite prominent in local affairs. He was the first to advocate temper- ance in his section of the country, and died in 1844. He married Miss Mary Langston, a daughter of Lazarus Langston, one of the first settlers in Upton, Preble county, Ohio. He and his wife were the parents of five children, as follows: Rebecca, wife of Obed Macy, of Troy, Ohio; Alfred, a carpenter and builder of Miami county, Ohio; Dr. John F. ; Cynthia, wife of Dr. A. H. Iddings, of Dayton, Ohio; and Daniel, of Pleasant Hill, Miami county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier of the Union army, who was wounded in the battle of the Wil- derness. Dr. John F. DeBra was born August 16, 1837, and when he was but seven years of age his father died; since then he has practically taken care of himself. The time from the death of his father until he reached his eight- eenth year was one of trial, trouble and hard- ship, with but little encouragement from any source. Up to that time he had received no education, but he was then induced to attend school, and after receiving one winter's in- struction he became so determined to inform himself that he borrowed the funds necessary to meet the expense of a brief course of study in college. The next fall he secured a certifi- cate for twelve months to teach school, and from that time he has gradually risen through his own exertions and unaided efforts. He at- tended Antioch college at Yellow Springs, tak- ing there an academic course; then, beginning to read medicine with the view of making that profession his life work, he afterward attended the Ohio Medical college at Cincinnati, where he graduated in 1870, having, however, been engaged in practice previous to his graduation for some ten years. Dr. DeBra located first in Darke county, Ohio, at Hill Grove, where OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 459 he remained until 1876, when he removed to Miamisburg, Montgomery count}'. There he remained engaged in active practice until 18S4, when he was appointed physician to the agency of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians, at Fort Reno, I. T. , which place he filled for five years. Retiring from this position, he located in Dayton, where he has ever since been en- gaged in practice. In 1893 he was county physician of Montgomery county. He is a member of the Montgomery county Medical society, also of the Ohio state Medical asso- ciation. He is a member of the Masonic fra- ternity, a Knight Templar, and a Knight of Pythias. Politically he is a democrat. Dr. DeBra was married April 23, 1863, to Miss Susannah Ohlinger, a daughter of John Ohl- inger, of Center, Montgomery county. To this marriage there has been born one child, Charles E., of Dayton. Charles E. DeBra married Miss Mittie Willis, of Louisville, Ky. They are the parents of two children, Ouida and Lillian. Dr. DeBra is a man of wide knowledge and extensive experience, and has collected many valuable curios which adorn his home. He has been successful in life, has contributed many valuable articles to the medical press, and is in every way a credit to his profession. >nr , OSEPH J. DEGER, proprietor of the ■ Banner bakery and wholesale dealer in A j confections and fancy groceries, was born in Martinsburg, Champion county, Va. (now West Virginia), May 22, 1857. When he was three years of age his parents re- moved to Saint Louis, Mo., and there his fa- ther, Michael Deger, enlisted in the Second Missouri regiment volunteer infantry, under Gen. Rosecrans. During the war the family remained in Saint Louis, removing to Dayton, Ohio, in 1865. Michael Deger then engaged in the bakery business, which he followed until his death in 1893. His widow is still carrying on the business left by her husband. Joseph J. Deger received his preliminary education in the parochial schools, and after- ward took a course of instruction in the Miami Commercial college. He then served an ap- prenticeship at the bakery business under the instruction of his father, with whom he re- mained until 1885, having for some years the management of the entire business. During the year last mentioned he erected a building at the corner of Washington and Perry streets, in which he began business for himself, engag- ing in baking, and dealing in wholesale confec- tionery and fancy groceries. Since then he has been constantly thus engaged at the same location. Mr. Deger has been a member of the Catholic Gesellen society for twenty-three years. He assisted in building the present temple and has held the office of trustee for four years. He has also been for nineteen years a member of Commandery No. 115, Catholic Knights of Saint George. Of this so- ciety he has been messenger two years, a trus- tee two years and treasurer six years. He has also been treasurer of the uniform rank, com- mandery No. 115, Catholic Knights of Saint George, for fifteen years. He is also a mem- ber of colony No. 4, American Sons of Colum- bus, and has been treasurer of the society for four years. The office of senior major of the Seventh battalion of the Knights of Saint John, now the Third regiment, he has held for seven years. Mr. Deger is a member of Chickasaw commandery, No. 108, Sons of Veterans. For the past nineteen years he has been a member of the Orphans' society, and of commandery No. 132, Knights of Saint John, division D. He is also a member of branch No. 58, C. M. B. A. and of branch No. 192, C. K. of A. For the past fifteen years he has been a member of the Dayton Bakers' Beneficial association, and is a 460 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD member of the Eclipse club. Mr. Deger is a member of Emanuel Catholic church, which was organized by Rev. Emmanuel Thienpont in 1837. Thus it will be seen that he is promi- nent in society activities and has Jield many places of trust and honor through the confi- dence of his associates. Mr. Deger was married in 1880 to Miss Ada M. Feldmann, of Dayton. To this mar- riage there have been born nine children, as follows: Marie C. ; Charles M. ; Emma, de- ceased; Helen; Clara, deceased; Eddie; Adella; Vincent and Lucille. Mr. Deger's success in life has been the re- sult of industry and wisely applied business principles. He is a representative of the Ger- man thrift and sound judgment that have so largely contributed to the prosperity of Dayton. >HOMAS PENRYN EVANS, chief en- gineer at the national military home, of Dayton, Ohio, is a native of Den- bigh, Wales, and was born March 12, 1852. He lived in his birthplace until thirteen years of age, attending the public schools. His parents, Peter and Jane Evans, died in Wales — the father, who was a farmer, at the age of seventy-two years, and the mother at the age of seventy. Five sons and five daughters con- stituted the family, and of these Thomas P. and two brothers came to America in the year 1865; of these three brothers, John P. died while an employee, as engineer, at the home waterworks, and Peter D. is now filling the position thus made vacant. On coming to America, Thomas P. Evans passed two years on an uncle's farm in Delaware county, Ohio, and also attended school in the neighborhood. He then went to Columbus, Ohio, where he learned engineering, and then, having become competent, was employed as engineer at the deaf and dumb asylum for four years. Shortly afterward he went to California and erected the first granite polishing machine on the Pa- cific coast; the year following he was employed as engineer at the Xenia (Ohio) orphans' home, and then, for a year, at the blind asylum in Columbus. For six years thereafter he was engineer at the imbecile asylum in Columbus, and in 1883 came to the soldiers' home in Dayton, where he has since had charge of all the motive power machinery. Mr. Evans is a most ingenious mechanic, and is the inventor and patentee of an economical device entitled the Evans duplex oil burner, which has been approved and endorsed by scores of manufac- turing firms in Dayton and elsewhere. Mr. Evans was married at Columbus, in 1879, to Miss Carrie Wieler, a native of that city and a daughter of Capt. Wieler, a German and a soldier in the Mexican war. Of the two children born to the marriage of Thomas P. and Carrie (Wieler) Evans, Eva Elsie died at the age of sixteen months, and Edith Edna, now sixteen years old, is a student in Miss Arnold's wel-lknown young ladies' academy at Dayton. The mother of Mr. Evans is passing her declining days at his home. In his frater- nal relations, Mr. Evans has been a member of Columbus lodge, No. 9, I. O. O. F. , since 1873, and is also a member of Buckeye en- campment, No. 148, and canton Ohio, No. 1, of P. M. of the same order, at Columbus, and in this, as well as in the subordinate lodge, he has held various official positions; he is, beside, a member of Franklin lodge, No. 5, of Colum- bus, K. of P., and a member of Dayton lodge, A. F. & A. M., and of the order of Knights of the Mystic Shrine, No. 1 ; also of Ohio C. Y. C. , No. 1, of the World, and of Gem City senate, No. 11, K. A. E. O. Mr. and Mrs. Evans, with their daughter, are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics Mr. Evans is an independent re- publican. In 1890, he was appointed by Gov. &£* ' fp i^+Pet^,^ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 463 Campbell, a democrat, as trustee of the deaf and dumb asylum at Columbus, and in 1892 was re-appointed to the same position by Gov. McKinley, a republican, but resigned in 1895. at TLLIAM DENISE, was born in Butler county, Ohio, May 13, 1826, and is a son of John S. and Mar- garet (Clarke) Denise. John S. Denise, father of William, was born in New Jersey, a son of William Denise, a soldier in the war of 1812. The father of William was also named William, and came from France to America with the Marquis de Lafayette, served under him through the Rev- olutionary war, and, at the close of that great struggle, settled in New Jersey. The maternal great-grandfather of our subject was also a hero of the Revolution. John S. Denise was a pioneer of Darke county, Ohio, having set- tled there before the removal of the Indians, and there he and his wife ended their days, leaving, beside William, the following children: Aaron, now over seventy-one years of age, re- siding on the Darke county homestead; Ellen, now the widow Farra, residing on the same farm; Margaret, who is married to Elijah Mc- Connell, a business man of Greenville; Rhoda Jane, who never married and who lives with her brother Aaron; Obediah, unmarried, who also lives on the old farm; Mrs. Lottie Van Tillburg, who reared a family, and is now de- ceased. William Denise, after the removal of his parents from Butler to Darke county, lived with his paternal grandfather until the death of the latter, when he joined his parents, he being then about eighteen years of age. He learned his trade in Greenville, and later worked with his father at millwright and joiner work. He has construeted many a dwelling from the tree to completion, making the sash, doors, etc. by hand and understanding wood- work thoroughly, while his father could make anything of wood, from a spinning-wheel to a threshing machine. Mr. Denise was first married, in Greenville, to Miss Catherine Jarber, who lived one year only after the union, and four years after her decease Mr. Denise wedded Mrs. Maria (Price) McLean, this marriage also taking place in Greenville, forty-one years ago. Mrs. Denise was born in Dayton December 25, 1829, and has borne to Mr. Denise six chil- dren, namely: John Winner, Estella and Luella (twins), of whom the latter died at the age of fourteen years ; Catherine ; Fannie, now the wife of Gus Kimerling, railroad ticket agent in Hamilton, Ohio; and George, who died at the age of four years. Mr. Denise settled in Dayton in 1857, and engaged as a traveling salesman, handling farm machinery for two years. He next made an engagement with J. C. Drew, of Louisiana, and went to Erath county, Tex. Returning to Dayton at the outbreak of the Civil war, Mr. Denise engaged for some years in house building by contract. In politics Mr. Denise was formerly a whig, as were his ancestors, but he is now a strong republican. That the patriotic spirit of their ancestors has not died out in the Denise fam- ily is shown by the fact that Aaron, brother of William, served from the beginning to the end of the Civil war and was in forty engage- ments ; Obadiah, another brother, served four years ; and two cousins were killed at Chicka- mauga. The earliest recollection that Mr. Denise retains of the Indians dates from his fifth year, when he saw 1,700 red men that were being transferred by the government to a reservation prepared for them, and later saw about 1,500 wild Indians in Tesch Point. In clearing up the old farm near Greenville he plowed up the foundation of the block-house 464 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD built by Gen. Wayne, and saw, at Fort Recov- ery, skulls that were washed out of their shal- low graves and each bearing the marks of the Indian's tomahawk. >-j* OSEPH L. DEGER, member of the m Dayton city council and ex-United /• 1 States storekeeper in the revenue serv- ice, was born in Dayton, Ohio, March 13, 1852. His father, Joseph Deger, was a native of Hohenzollern, a province of Prussia, and reached the United States about 1848, coming direct to Dayton. By trade he was a stonecutter, following that occupation up to the time of his death, which occurred Febru- ary 16, 1864. His wife, whose maiden name was Scholastica Spitznagel, was a native of the grand duchy of Baden, and was married to Mr. Deger in the old country. She died in March, 1893. Joseph Deger and his wife were the parents of eight children, six of whom are still living, as follows: Louisa, widow of Henry Kastner, of Dayton; Anna, wife of Frederick Seiboldt, of Gabon, Ohio; Joseph L. ; Peter, of Springfield, Ohio; J. William, of Dayton, Ohio, and Rosa, widow of Henry Claude, of Dayton. Charles and Clara were the names of the two deceased. Joseph L. Deger was reared in Dayton, and was educated in the parochial schools. At the age of twelve years he began life for himself, working at different occupations until he reached his sixteenth year, when he began an apprenticeship to the stonecutter's trade. This trade he followed until he was twenty- three years of age, when he became salesman for C. A. Trentman, wholesale coffee and spice dealer, continuing thus employed until 1883. He then established himself in the grocery business, in which he has since been engaged. His place of business is at the corner of Haynes street and Van Cleve avenue, east end. Mr. Deger was married in 1873 to Mary Zimmerman, who was born in Baden, Ger- many, January 20, 1852, and came to the United States in 1854. Her parents were Cas- per and Katherine (Zugelder) Zimmerman, the former of whom died in New York soon after arriving in this country, and the latter in Day- ton, Ohio, shortly after she reached this place. The grandparents of Mary Zimmerman came to this country at the same time with her par- ents, and by them she was reared after the death of her father and mother. To the marriage of Joseph L. Deger and his wife there have been born six children, as follows: Joseph H., May S., Carrie L., Ver- nie R. , Leo E., and Urban J., the last two de- ceased. In April, 1894, Mr. Deger was elected to the city council from the Sixth ward, but since that time the wards have been so changed that he now represents the Eighth. On May 13, 1895, he was appointed, by Collector Dow- ling, storekeeper in the United States govern- ment revenue service, with headquarters first at Clifton Springs, Cincinnati, and later at Germantown, Montgomery county, Ohio. He resigned from the revenue service in April, 1 S96, to take the position of collector for the Nick Thomas brewery, which position he now holds. Fraternally Mr. Deger is a member of the Knights of Saint George, commanderies Nos. 104 and 131; of the Badenser Verein; Elsas Lothringen; and of the Independent Order of Foresters, court Dayton, No. 1000. He and his family are members of the Holy Trinity Catholic church, which, as an offshoot from Emanuel church, was organized in i860. For about twenty-three years Mr. Deger has been quite prominent in the Knights of Saint George, having served as captain of commandery No. 104, and also as captain of commandery No. 131, for several years. From October, 1892, to February, 1896, he served as colonel of the Seventh battalion of that order, resigning his OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 465 office at the date last mentioned. In all rela- tions of life, business, religious and official, Mr. Deger is thoroughly reliable, and performs all his duties with an eye single to the good of his society, his church and the community at large. HLBERT DHEIN, secretary of the board of health of Dayton, was born at Saint Mary's, Auglaize county, Ohio, August 30, 1868. He is a son of Philip and Anna (Laur) Dhein, both natives of Germany. They were married in Milwau- kee, and from that city removed to Dayton, Ohio. After living in Dayton a short time they removed to Saint Mary's, subsequently return- ing to Dayton, where they are now residing at No. 415 Oak street. By trade, Philip Dhein is a molder, and was foreman for John Dodds, manufacturer of hay rakes, for many years. To Philip and Anna Dhein there were born five sons, all of whom are living, as follows: Leopold P., Rudolph J., Henry J., Charles G., and Albert. Albert Dhein has lived in Dayton ever since he was six months old, and received his edu- cation wholly in the public schools of this city, except that he took a commercial course in the Miami Commercial college, and afterward a course in stenography in Beck's Commercial college in Dayton. Previous to taking these courses he had worked in his brother's foun- dry in the east end of the city for several years. He was appointed to his present position as secretary of the board of health, in Decem- ber, 1894, to fill a vacancy, was re-appointed in June, 1895, for one year, and again in 1896. Fraternally, Mr. Dhein is a member of Gem City lodge, I. O. O. F. , and politically he is and always has been a democrat, having taken an active part in city politics for a number of years. He is devoted to the prosperity of the city of Dayton, and is diligent and efficient in the discharge of the duties incident to his official position. OLIVER EDGAR DAVIDSON, presi- dent of the board of city affairs of Dayton, was born in German town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, on August 24, 1857, and is the son of O. G. H. and Charlotta (Grauser) Davidson, both na- tives of Montgomery county. O. G. H. Davidson was born at Germantown, Ohio, on November 28, 1827, and was the son of James J. and Harriet (Eichelberger) Davidson. He was a prominent man in the county, and held various official positions. In March, 1861, he became superintendent of the county infirm- ary, and in the fall of 1864 he was elected sheriff of Montgomery county, and removed to Dayton in January of the following year. He was re-elected to the sheriff's office, serving two full terms. Afterwards he was in the French burr millstone business for several years. He also held the office of land ap- praiser at two different times, and before his death, on December 29, 1893, he was engaged in the real-estate business in Dayton. His widow survives and resides in this city. To the parents four sons and four daughters were born, of whom two sons died in infancy. The father was a member of the I. O. O. F. fra- ternity and of the Lutheran church. Oliver E. Davidson was reared in Dayton and was educated in the public and high schools. He taught school in the country for a number of years. In March, 1887, he was appointed secretary of the Dayton police board, which position he held until April 19, 1894, serving under different administrations, and resigning to accept the appointment as a member of the board of city affairs. In 1 897 he was made president of that board. Mr. 466 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Davidson is a member of the K. of P. and B. P. O. E. fraternities. He was married, in 1880, to Miss Mattie Hosier, of Dayton, and one son has been born to their union. *-|- J EWIS P. EARNSHAW, M. D., phy- r sician and surgeon, of Dayton, Ohio, 1^^ with office at No. 1225 West Fifth street, was born February 23, 1872, at the national soldiers' home, near Dayton, his father. Rev. William Earnshavv, being at the time chaplain of that institution. Previ- ous to her marriage his mother's name was Margaret Hutchison. Rev. William Earnshaw was appointed the first chaplain of the Cen- tral branch of the national soldiers' home September 5, 1867, and served until his death, July 17, 1885. Prior to his appointment he had served in various places as minister and chaplain, achieving a high reputation in his profession. He was born in Pennsylvania, of English and Irish parentage. Before the war of the Rebellion he was a minister of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and during the Rebel- lion was chaplain of the Forty-ninth Pennsyl- vania volunteers. Then, for a year or two, he had charge of the national cemeteries, and finally was appointed chaplain of the Central branch, as above stated. He and his wife were the parents of five children, as follows: Minnie W., wife of B. F. Hershey, of Day- ton, Ohio; William B., secretary of the Day- ton Malleable Iron company; Margaret H., wife of R. H. Grubbs, of Pittsburg, Pa. ; Fred- erick, deceased, and Lewis P., the subject of this sketch. Lewis P. Earnshaw was educated in the public schools of Dayton and later at the Western university of Pennsylvania. Having completed his literary education he began reading medicine with Dr. George Goodhue, of Dayton, a biographical sketch of whom ap- pears elsewhere in this volume, afterward at- tending the Miami Medical college of Cincin- nati, Ohio, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1895. He at once located in Dayton and began the practice of his profession. He is devoting himself to gen- eral practice, and has met with gratifying suc- cess, being, as he is, one of the youngest members of the profession in the city. Dr. Earnshaw is a member of the Montgomery county Medical society, and of Grace Method- ist Episcopal church. He is one of the pro- gressive young men and physicians of the city of Dayton, and doubtless has a successful and useful career in store for him. at ILLIAM HAVELOCK CRAW- FORD, president of the Crawford, McGregor & Canby company, man- ufacturers of lasts, of Dayton, was born in that city, November 22, 1863. He is a son of Charles H. and Sarah (Thresher) Crawford, the latter of whom was a daughter of Ebenezer Thresher and a sister of E. M. Thresher, who is a prominent business man of Dayton. Mrs. Crawford's death occurred in 1880. A full biographical sketch of Charles H. Crawford may be found elsewhere in this volume. William Havelock Crawford was reared in his native city and received his preliminary education in the Second district school, subse- quently attending the famous Cooper academy and still later taking a course of study in Miami Commercial college. In 1883 he began work- ing in the last factory of Crawford, Coffman & Co. During the first four years of his serv- ice in this company he filled various positions, beginning as shipping clerk, and following this by working in all the departments of the factory, in order to qualify himself for the sub- sequent management of the business, in case OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 467 that responsibility should in time come to him. Having acquired a thorough knowledge of the business in all its phases he was taken into the office of the company as bookkeeper. While employed in this capacity he had charge of the sales of the goods to a considerable extent, and afterward traveled in the interests of the firm. Upon the death of Charles H. Crawford in 1887, William H. succeeded to his father's interests, taking general charge of the business, which during the past nine years has increased some tenfold, a growth which is largely due to the ability of the son. In 1886 the firm of Crawford, Coffman & Co. sold out to the firm of Crawford, McGregor & Canby, this partnership continuing until March, 1896, when the industry was incorpor- ated under the name of the Crawford, Mc- Gregor & Canby Co. , consisting of the three original members and W. J. Blakeney, O. A. Woodruff, and W. H. Kempert. The officers of this company at its formation were, and always have been, W. H. Crawford, president; John McGregor, vice-president and general manager; and W. J. Blakeney, secretary and treasurer. In 1884 Mr. Crawford was instrumental in organizing the Last Makers' National associa- tion, consisting of thirty-seven members, and of this association Mr. Crawford was the first president and has been twice re-elected. He is now filling the position of director in the Dayton board of trade, in the Computing Scale company of Dayton, and in the Homestead Aid association. Mr. Crawford was married November 4, 1886, to Miss Mary A. Cunningham, daughter of D. O. Cunningham, glass manufacturer of Pittsburg. Three children have been born to this union, viz: Marie Madeline, Charles Henry, and William Havelock. Mr. and Mrs. Crawford are members of the First Baptist church. Mr. Crawford is also a member of the Dayton club and of the Young Men's Christian association. The personal characteristics of Mr. Crawford, his love of right and duty, his strong business capacity, are only referred to in this connection, as they are more fully dis- cussed and developed in the biography of his father, Charles H. Crawford. ZENAS A. CRAIG, president of the Craig-Reynolds Foundry company of Dayton, was born in Richland, Miss. , on the ist day of April, 1864. His father was Robert Craig, who came to Day- ton in 1866, and was one of the well-known men of this city for many years. He was a native of the north of Ireland, and came to the United States when about eighteen years of age. He resided in the east for a time and then went south to Mississippi, where he en- gaged in mercantile business and in planting, conducting a large business and owning one or more plantations. He was succeeded in this business by his sons, Robert E., now of New Orleans, where he is president of the New Orleans Water Works company and identified with several of the Crescent City's banks, and W. C. and T. H., now of Yazoo City. Another son is John R. , a member of the Craig- Rey- nolds company. The father died in Dayton, April 1, 1894, and his wife January 3, 1891. Zenas A. Craig was reared in Dayton and educated in the public schools, at Cooper seminary and at Commercial college. After filling various clerical positions in retail stores, he, at the age of twenty-one years, became shipping clerk at the Farmers' Friend Manu- facturing company, which position he held for about three years, when he was promoted to the place of bookkeeper in addition. He re- mained with the above concern for five years, and in 1891 organized the firm of Marlay, Craig & Co., jobbing foundry men, which firm n;s CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD in 1893 was merged into the Craig-Reynolds Co., of which Mr. Craig was made president at the organization. He was married June 1, 1890, to Miss Carrie, the daughter of Thorn- ton Gilbert, Esq. , of Dayton. Mr. Craig is a member of the Buckeye Gun club, and of the National Union insurance order. -j*OHN GATES DOREN, retired journal- m ist, residing at No. 307 East Sixth /> 1 street, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Athens, Tenn., August 3, 1834, and is of French Huguenot and Scotch Covenanter origin. Immediately after the revocation, in 1685, of the edict of Nantes, the paternal an- cestors of Mr. Doren left their native country, sought refuge in England, and there founded the family from which our subject directly de- scends. His paternal great-grandfather came to America with Gen. Horatio Gates, whose sister was the wife of Mr. Doren. They were joint heirs to large estates granted by the crown of England in Virginia, of which province Sir Thomas Gates was the first colonial governor. Grandfather Doren died just after the close of the war of 1812, in Norfolk, Va., and the fa- ther of John G. , also named John Gates Doren, was born near Wytheville, in the same state. Both the Gates and the Doren families were extensive slaveholders in their day, but gave to all their slaves their freedom in the early part of the present century, Gen. Gates removing to New York. John Gates Doren, the elder, in early man- hood settled in Tennessee, where he married Jane Macartney, daughter of an ex-captain of the British navy, but who, after the close of the Revolutionary war, had settled in east Ten- U~ 4 9. err* \ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 479 nessee. Capt. Macartney was the youngest brother of Lord George Macartney, a distin- guished figure in English diplomacy and states- manship from 1769 until 1798, and who, dur- ing this interval, was a member of parliament, chief secretary for Ireland, British ambassador to Russia and China, and governor-general of India and the Cape settlements. It may here also be added that Mrs. Doren was a school- mate of Gen. Sam Houston. The mother of Miss Jane Macartney was a Murray, of the historical family of that name, and the young- est sister of Lord Dunmore, the last colonial governor of Virginia. The Murray family were Scotch Covenanters, and were bitterly opposed to the institution known as African slavery. The parents of John G. Doren, because of their anti-slavery sentiments, came to Ohio in 1847, and first located in a Covenanter com- munity in Greene county, but in 185 1 settled in Columbus, which may be called the family home. The children of these parents num- bered eleven — six sons and five daughters — of whom six only are now living, viz: Sarah L., a widow, residing at the family home in Co- lumbus; Horace H., for many years a journal- ist, but now retired, and also living in Colum- bus; Margaret and Henry C. , likewise at the homestead; Dr. Gustavus A., who founded one of the first institutions in the United States for the treatment of imbecile children, and who is at present the superintendent and physician of the original institution at Colum- bus, now under state government control, and of which he has been the head since its crea- tion; this asylum being rated as the best in the world, and having been visited by many com- missions from Europe, appointed to examine into its workings with a view to the improve- ment of home institutions of a similar char- acter. The name of the subject of this sketch closes this list. It may be added that all of this family were born in Athens, Tenn. John Gates Doren was primarily educated under private tutors, of whom his mother was the chief and most effective. For some years he attended Forest Hill academy at Athens, where he received a thorough training for that day and for his own age, and this he supple- mented by close and discriminating study through a course of years devoted to self- tuition, and, indeed, through life, to the present day. Mr. Doren was united in marriage at the old Collins homestead, Clermont county, Ohio, February 23, 1861, with Miss Elizabeth Brag- don, a native of Clermont, Ohio, daughter of Dr. George Hunt Bragdon, and granddaughter of Rev. John Collins, the pioneer minister, who preached the first Methodist sermon in Cincinnati, who also assisted in forming the first church in Dayton and organized the first Methodist church in either city, and who, dur- ing his first pastorate, received into the church Chief Justice McLean and other personages of note. The authority for this statement may be found in the Life of Rev. John Collins, written by John McLean (then one of the justices of the United States supreme court), and published in 1849 by the Methodist Epis- copal Book concern of Cincinnati. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Doren have been born seven children, viz: Electra Collins, now librarian of the Dayton city lib- rary; Elizabeth Bragdon, a teacher in the Day- ton city schools; Alice Macartney, who holds a similar position; Marian McSherry, now in her second year at Oberlin college; and three that died in infancy. Mr. Doren became a democratic editor at nineteen years of age and continued in that profession until 18S9, when he sold out and has since devoted himself to special work in the literary field, living a semi-retired life. He began his career as a journalist on the Ohio Statesman, in 1852, under Gov. Samuel Me- 480 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD dary, after having served a regular apprentice- ship at the printing business. From 1855 to 1857 he owned and edited the Gazette, at Hillsborough, Ohio. In 1857 he was elected official reporter of the Ohio house of represent- atives, on the nomination of the late Justice Woods, of the United States supreme court, who was the speaker of the house at that time, Mr. Doren receiving the votes of republicans as well as of democrats. This position he re- signed after a few months to accept an ap- pointment in the treasury department at Wash- ington. Still keeping up his connection with the Ohio democratic press, he established, in 1859, the Southern Ohio Argus (democratic), at Georgetown. Up to this time, from 1852, during such intervals of leisure as the busy life of a newspaper man afforded, he had been reading law under the direction of various pre- ceptors at different times, among them Hon. Samuel Galloway and Judge James F. Mat- thews, at Columbus, and Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, and Hon. Geo. E. Pugh, of Cincinnati, who, during the time Mr. Doren was in the treasury department, were holding official positions at Washington, D. C. — one as senator, and the other as commis- sioner of the general land office. As a result of this industry, Mr. Doren was enabled to graduate after one term of lectures at the Cin- cinnati law school and was admitted to the bar at Cincinnati in 1863. In 1864 Mr. Doren exchanged the Argos establishment for the Sun plant, at Batavia, in Clermont county, but sold the latter almost as soon as he acquired it, with a view to de- voting himself wholly to the practice of law. He then opened an office in Cincinnati for this purpose, but early in 1865 succeeded Geo. M. D. Bloss as managing editor of the Enquirer, Mr. Bloss becoming the writing editor. This position Mr. Doren held until his health failed, when he was compelled to retire for rest and recuperation. In the latter part of 1869 he came to Dayton at the solicitation of Mr. Val- landigham, and bought the plant of the old Empire, which paper he edited and published for twenty years, as the Herald and Empire and the Empire and Democrat. Upon this founda- tion Mr. Doren succeeded in doing what some very able men before him had failed to accom- plish — he built up a successful, influential and effective democratic newspaper. The list of failures preceding him includes some names as notable for ability as that of Mr. Vallandig- ham. Among those who early attempted to build up a democratic journal in Dayton, but grew discouraged, were three gentlemen, who, after the attempt, "went west and grew up with the country," the first — John Bigler, of California — winning the governorship of his adopted state; the second — DeLazore Smith, of Oregon — the United States senatorship, and the third — Thomas J. McCorkle, of Cali- fornia — the honor of being the first representa- tive of that state in congress after it was ad- mitted into the Union. Other brilliant men, like John R. Cockerill, of the New York World, Hiram H. Robinson, who built up the ■Cincinnati Enquirer, and Thomas and William Hubbard, also succumbed to discouragements in the attempt to establish a democratic paper in Dayton. These facts, and the other fact that Mr. Doren's party was in an apparently hopeless minority when he took charge of the party organ in Dayton, but soon attained a healthy majority, and maintained it as long as he owned and managed the paper, are some of the evidences of Mr. Doren's ability as an editor and publisher. Taken in connection with another fact, well known and much spoken of by Mr. Doren's brother editors — that he never edited a paper in any county which was not republican when he began, and democratic when he quit — his career is regard- ed as an instructive and significant one to all OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 481 editors. The characteristic feature of this career was the absolute fearlessness and direct- ness with which he always maintained his own convictions as to the honest interpretation and rigid application of his party's declared princi- ples, as against any and all truckling "poli- cies" of mere politicians, intent only on getting votes or winning and keeping offices. Such a policy always puts a partisan editor who ad- heres to it, in more or less antagonism with the local leaders, so-called, but the lesson of Mr. Doren's experience proves that it is the only one which can bring permanent success, and demonstrates that the political press need not be less straightforward, honest and inde- pendent because it is partisan. During the twenty years that Mr. Doren was editor of his party organ in Dayton, he was never a candidate for any office before the people, although he held one or. two by ap- pointments which came to him unsolicited be- cause of his special training or fitness for the duties required. He was journal index clerk of the national house of representatives from 1887 to 1889, inclusive, and was appointed by Gov. Foraker as a member of the board of state charities, a position which he held for six years, the last year as secretary of the board. The special characteristics of the Doren family are devoted to literary pursuits and learned professions, loyalty to the religious and political principles of their ancestors, and fidelity and integrity in all things. BIORINI & SHERER, a firm of Day- ton, Ohio, engaged in plastic d cora- tions, stucco work, wood carving, de- signing, modeling and drawing orna- mental patterns for interiors of buildings, with works at 134 and 136 East Fourth street, is composed of Henry Fiorini and Charles J. Sherer, the partnership having been estab- lished in 1895. Henry Fiorini, the senior partner, was born in Florence, Italy, in July, 1844, and is a son of Joseph and Catherine (Lotti) Fiorini. His elementary education was acquired in the common schools of Florence; he then entered the gymnasium and later passed to the acad- emy of fine arts, took lessons in plastics for three years, and graduated, with honors, in 1865. He next took part, as an Italian pa- triot, in the war against Austria, which result- ed in a united Italy, and in 1S68 came to America, where he found even a greater free- dom than that he fought for in his native land. Landing in New York, he worked at his art for twenty months; he then went to New Or- leans, La., where, for a year, he labored at wood-carving; he next resided for three months in Chicago, 111., and then went to Montreal, where he worked as wood decorator for the Pullman Car company. There he remained for eight months, going thence, in 1872, to Boston, Mass., where he was, for sixteen months, foreman of a furniture firm, design- ing the ornamental work. In the fall of 1873 he made a trip to Europe, and was there mar- ried to Miss Victoria Gori. He then returned to Boston, where he lived until 1878; then went to New York city and was employed at his art for eight years, and in 1886 came to Dayton, Ohio, where he has since been en- gaged in the various branches of his artistic profession, being for about six years in the em- ploy of the Barney & Smith Car works in deco- rative work, and since 1891 teaching a class in modeling and carving in the Y. M. C. A. of Dayton. In 1882 Mr. Fiorini had the misfortune to lose his wife, who died in January of that year, at the early age of thirty-two, the mother of four children, of whom two are still living — Alfred J. and Louisa. In politics, Mr. Fiorini 482 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD is a republican, and fraternally is a member of the Masonic order. Charles J. Sherer, the junior member of the firm of Fiorini & Sherer, was born in Day- ton, February 19, 1868, a son of Michael F. and Margaret C. (Sacksteder) Sherer, was ed- ucated in Saint Mary's institute, and was the first graduate from that institution of learning, this event taking place in June, 1885. He then served an apprenticeship at artistic wood carving and next made a trip throughout the eastern states, starting in the spring of 1889, and passing three years in that section, work- ing at his trade and adding to his knowledge of his profession. Since his return to Dayton he has conducted business on his own account, carrying on his trade in his own shop until the formation of his present copartnership. Mr. Sherer is recognized as an expert carver, and as a citizen and business man his name is with- out a blemish. In politics he is a democrat and in religion a Catholic, and, like his part- ner, is popular with his fellow-citizens of the city of Dayton. BENRY L. FERNEDING, of the law firm of Elliff & Ferneding, Callahan Bank building, Dayton, Ohio, is a na- tive of this city and is a son of Clem- ent L. and Barbara (Barlow) Ferneding, the former of whom has been for many years prom- inent as a manufacturer and citizen of Dayton. Henry L. Ferneding received his elementary education in the Dayton schools, after which he was entered as a pupil at Saint Mary's in- stitute, a Catholic college situated in the southern part of the city, where he remained for five years, graduating in the year 1890. The following year he continued his studies at the university of Notre Dame, near South Bend, Ind., finishing his course there two years later, after which he returned to Dayton to enter upon the study of the law. Mr. Fer- neding had the good fortune to prepare for the bar under the tutelage of Hon. John A. McMa- hon, of the firm of McMahon & McMahon, in whose office he remained for three years. In the fall of 1895 he alternated his time between his studies in this office and his attendance at the Cincinnati Law school, graduating from the latter institution and being admitted to the bar in the following spring. He continued in the office of McMahon & McMahon until No- vember 1 , 1 896, when he effected a partner- ship with Hon. Charles W. Elliff in the practice of law under the firm name above given. eDWARD W. HANLEY, secretary and treasurer of the Dayton Gas & Fuel company, was born in Dayton on Oc- tober 13, 1858, and is of Irish-Amer- ican descent, his parents being Joseph and Anna Hanley, both natives of Ireland. The mother survives and resides in Dayton. Ed- ward W. attended the public schools in early boyhood, but left his studies at the age of four- teen years and went to work for the firm of W. P. Callahan & Co. After a year spent in the shops of that firm, young Hanley went to the Barney-Smith car shops, where he spent five years. In 1879, having determined to educate himself more thoroughly, the young man left the car works and entered upon a course in the Miami Commercial college. In 1880 he entered the employ of Patter- son & Co., coal dealers, and later he was in the employ of the Southern Ohio Coal & Iron company, spending about four years in the coal business. In 1884 Mr. Hanley became deputy clerk under County Clerk George W. Knecht, of Montgomery county, which position he held until September, 1886, when he became first assistant postmaster at Dayton, where he re- mained until September, 1889. In November, 'Ttou*^* OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 485 1890, Mr. Hanley began the publication of the Sunday World newspaper, which he continued until July, 1891, when he disposed of the pub- lication and accepted the position of agent of the Dayton Natural Gas company. At there- organization of the above corporation, in 1893, Mr. Hanley was made a director, secretary and treasurer of both the Dayton Gas & Fuel com- pany and the Miami Valley Gas & Fuel com- pany, two separate organizations, but under the same control. Mr. Hanley also occupies the position of director and secretary of the Troy (Ohio) Gas company, and the same relation to the Troy (Ohio) Electric Light & Power com- pany. He is also a director in the Miami Loan & Building association of Dayton. Mr. Han- ley enjoys quite a reputation as a writer, and has contributed to numerous publications for the past ten years. He has also written quite a number of humorous and sentimental songs. As a reciter and general entertainer he also has quite a reputation. Mr. Hanley was married on December 7, 1881, to Miss Carrie J., a daughter of the late Thomas D. Hale. Mr. Hanley, in each of his varied occupa- tions, has made friends and built for himself a good and enduring reputation. His personal popularity grows not only out of his business ability and integrity, but from his unfailing geniality of disposition and sense of humor. • RENANIAN DUPUY, M. D., one of the prominent physicians and surgeons of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Lewis county, Ky., on June 17, 1864, and is the son of Richard and Martha Dupuy. The mother died shortly after the close of the late war; the father is still living and is eighty years of age. The Dupuys were among the early and prominent families of Virginia. Dupuy, or Du Puy, is a very ancient French name. In the first crusade Hugues Du Puy, a French knight, and his three sons, accompanied Gode- froy de Bouillon to Palestine, and in about the year 11 13 Raymond DePuy founded and was the first grand master of the military order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, after- ward styled the Knights of Malta. In later years the family was identified with the re- formed religion of France as Huguenots. Bar- tholomew Dupuy was the immediate progen- itor of the Virginia family. He entered the French army at the age of eighteen and served fourteen years, becoming an officer of the guards of the king, Louis IV. Shortly after the revocation of the edict of Nantes, which was followed by the persecutions which drove the Huguenots from France, he married the Countess Susanna Lavillon, also a Huguenot, and retired to his country seat. But he was now compelled to flee the country on account of the religious persecution mentioned. He and his wife resided for about fourteen years in Germany and about two years in England, and in the year 1700 they came to Virginia and settled in King William parish, on James river, above Richmond, on lands granted to Huguenot refugees. There the old Huguenot and his wife lived many years. Their poster- ity are found in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri, Ohio and other states of the Union. The grandfather of Dr. Dupuy was Moses Dupuy, a direct descendant of Bartholomew Dupuy. Dr. Dupuy was brought to Ironton, Ohio, by his -parents in the fall of 1865. He was educated in the public schools of that city, graduating from the high school in 1880. He learned the leather business with his father, who owns a large tannery in Ironton. He attended the medical department of the Miami university of Cincinnati, and graduated in March, 1889. He served as assistant surgeon at the Central branch National Military Home 486 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, from April i , 1S89, to March 31, 1890. He was the first resident physician and surgeon of the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors' Orphans' home, at Xenia, from September, 1890, to May, 1892, during which time the present fine hospital at that home was built. In September, 1892, Dr. Dupuy located in Dayton, where he has since resided and practiced his profession. Dr. Du- puy is a member of the American Medical asso- ciation, and of the Montgomery county Med- ical society, and is secretary of the board of examining surgeons for pensions at the national military home. On March 1, 1896, the doc- tor was elected an honorary member of the Union Veterans' union, in recognition of his services in the interest of the veterans of the late war, their widows and orphans, which honor has been conferred upon but two other persons in the history of the order. Shortly after being elected to this order he was ap- pointed aid-de-camp, with rank of colonel, upon the staff of the commander-in-chief. Dr. Dupuy was colonel of the Tenth regiment, uniform rank, Knights of Pythias of Ohio, for four years, and was then placed upon the staff of the brigade commander of that order. In politics Dr. Dupuy is a democrat, and is chair- man of the Montgomery county central com- mittee. He is unmarried, and resides at No. 120 South Ludlow street. *-j-» EWIS M. FANSHER, senior mem- F ber of the firm of Fansher Bros., soap Jl manufacturers, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Randolph county, Ind., Au- gust 4, 1854, a son of William and Emily (Gray) Fansher. William Fansher was a wagonmaker by trade, was an Odd Fellow fraternally and po- litically was a republican. His death took place in Memphis, Tenn., in 1863, from dis- ease contracted while serving in an Indiana infantry regiment in defense of the Union dur- ing the war of the Rebellion, he being at the time a corporal of his company. He was the father of four children, viz: Martin D., now deceased, Lewis M., William I. and Mary E. A., wife of George Baker, a farmer residing near Arcanum, Ohio. Mrs. Emily Fansher, after her husband's death, was married to George Booher, and is still living. Lewis M. Fansher, whose name opens this biography, passed his boyhood on an Indiana farm, was educated in the Farmland (Ind.) high school, and at the age of seventeen years began teaching in the district schools; when twenty years old he entered Antioch college, Yellow Springs, Greene county, Ohio, taking the preparatory course and two years of the college course, when failing health precluded further study; again he resorted to school- teaching, which he followed for several years, the last two being passed just east of Dayton. In 1884, in partnership with his brother William I., after two or three years of other business ventures, he embarked in the soap manufacturing business, in which he is still engaged. The firm produce a bar of soap, which is designed for domestic and general laundry purposes, and a laundry chip soap, for the use of steam laundries — the former being disposed of mostly in Dayton, while the latter meets with an extensive sale throughout sev- eral of the states; they also manufacture a compound known as the Anti-slip Pulley Dress- ing, which is the invention of Louis M. Fan- sher, and sold all over the United States as a preventive of the slipping of machinery belts. Lewis M. Fansher was married at New- castle, in Indiana, in 1874, to Miss Julia A. Swigart, the union resulting in the birth of three children, viz: L. Percy, Pearl and William. Of these the eldest is married to Miss Florence Lukinbeal, and is engaged in OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 487 the profession of photography in Dayton. Mr. Fansher has a quiet and handsome home at 417 North Broadway. In politics he is a pro- hibitionist, is a member of the A. I. U., No. 2, of Dayton, and is recognized as one of the enterprising business men of the city. William I. Fansher, junior partner in the firm of Fansher Bros., was born in Randolph county, Ind. , August 31, 1858, and is the younger brother of Lewis M. Fansher. He was educated in the public schools of his dis- trict and remained on the home farm until twenty years of age. He worked for a year or two at the carpenter's trade in Darke county, Ohio, and in 1881 came to Dayton, and for two years engaged in the manufacture of spring beds, in partnership with his brother Lewis, and for one year manufactured a hoisting-jack for wagons, William I. acting as salesman chiefly. In 1884, as related above, the soap factory was established, but on a very small scale and against strong competition. At times the brothers found it difficult to raise the means with which to purchase the stock from which the soap was made, and to meet the estab- lished trade of other manufacturers was a diffi- cult task; but, by persistency of purpose, in- cessant toil and excellence of production, they surmounted all obstacles, the result being that already narrated. In this business William I. has attended to the outside affairs, effecting sales, making, collections, etc., and proving himself to be a thorough business man. He is a member of the A. I. U., No. 2, of Day- ton, and in politics is in accord with his brother. William I. Fansher was married, February 5, 1884, to Miss Izora Leatherman, daughter of Frederick Leatherman, and to this marriage have been born three children, viz: Frederick W., Robert Gray and Susie May, the last two named being twins. The parents are mem- bers of the Summit street United Brethren church, in which Mr. Fansher is a steward, taking an active part in both church and Sab- bath-school work. His pleasant home is at 123 Summit street, in a part of the city which possesses every church and social advantage. ar ILLIAM HANBY FLACK, plumber and gasfitter, of Dayton, Ohio, is a native of this state and was born in Marion county, March 13, 1846. Rev. Peter Flack, his father, was an itiner- ant minister in the United Brethren church, and his home was therefore frequently changed, until about 1S61, when he located in Colum- bus, Ohio. He was a native of Prussia, but married, in the United States, Miss Lucretia Brooks, a native of Vermont, and to this union were born twelve children, of whom William H. was the eldest, and eight of whom are still living. Rev. Mr. Flack was a strong Union man during the late Civil war, and served his adopted country 100 days in the army during that conflict. He lost his wife in Moultrie county, 111., where she died in 1880, at the age of sixty-four years, while his own death took place in 1889, when he had reached his seventy- sixth year. William H. Flack was a lad of fifteen years when the family located in Columbus. Equally patriotic with his father, he first served for six months in the Fifth Ohio independent bat- talion of cavalry, and while in this service did guard duty in Kentucky, fought guerrillas and protected loyal citizens in their lives and prop- erty. In 1863, at the age of seventeen, he enlisted at Columbus in company K, Twenty- sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, the regiment being at that time at home on veteran fur- lough. The Twenty-sixth was assigned to the army of the Cumberland, and thence young Flack went under Gen. Sherman, to Atlanta, IS* CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD returning with Gen. Thomas to Nashville, Term., where the army confronted the rebel general, Hood, and drove him out of the state. The winter of 1864-65 was spent at Hunts- ville, Ala., and in the spring of 1S65 Mr. Flack accompanied Gen. Stanley, commander of the Fourth corps, on the expedition to Texas, and was mustered out at Victoria, Tex., after having served two years and a half under this enlistment. In the meantime the parental residence had been transferred to Illinois, but Mr. Flack returned to Columbus, where he resided until 1875, when he came to Dayton and formed a partnership with Rockey Bros., in plumb- ing, etc. In 1880 he withdrew from this firm and established himself on the West side, adding new features to his business as seemed to be demanded by his trade, and he now stands among the prominent business men of Dayton. Mr. Flack was united in marriage in Janu- ary, 1869, at Columbus, with Miss Josephine M. Rockey, a sister of his former partners in business, and a native of Franklin county, Ohio. This union has been blessed with three children, viz : Yida R., Willie and Mattie - the last two being twins, who are attending school. In his politics Mr. Flack is an active and energetic worker for the success of the republican part}' in national affairs, but locally he sustains good men in preference to doubtful measures. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and of the G. A. R.; and the church relations of the family are with the Methodist Episcopal church. The Flack ancestry were agriculturists for generations, of steady habits and temperate in all things, and consequently long-lived. The father of William H. was but two years of age when his parents came to America and settled in Frederick county, Md., where he was edu- cated and passed all his mature years in the ministry. The Rockey family are represented by Mrs. Flack as having settled in the mount- ains of Vermont at a very early date in the history of this country. (D ARION RICHARDSON DRURY. D. D., eldest son of Rev. Morgan S. and Elizabeth (Lambert) Drury, was born at Mendon, Madison county, Ind., December 27, 1849. His great- grandfather, William Drury, was a native of England and on coming to this country settled in Franklin county, Pa. There his grandfather, Arnold Drury, was born in 1793. William Drury removed to Henry county, Ind., in 1808 or 18 10. There his son Arnold enlisted in the service of his country and served during the war of 1 81 2. Morgan S. Drury was born in Henry county, Ind., August 31, 1826. In 1848 he married Elizabeth Lambert, who was born in Rock- ingham county, Va., June 30, 1826, of German parents and learned to speak the German lan- guage. When a child her parents removed to Madison county, Ind. She and her husband went to Iowa in the summer of 1853, and lo- cated on a farm in Winneshiek county. These were pioneer days in the west, and the early settlers there were subjected to the many pri- vations and hardships peculiar to a new coun- try. Here Marion R. Drury was taught the industries of the farm. From a very early age his summers were spent in farm labor and his winters in the neighboring village school. In March. 1866, it was decided that he should have the advantages of a higher education, and accordingly he was sent to Western college, a school of the church to which his father be- longed, located at Western, in Linn county, Iowa. Here he pursued the full curriculum in the classical department, graduating June 19, IK CLA^iTlA^ VK!.yf OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 491 1872, with the degree of bachelor of arts. Three years later, in 1875, he received from the same institution the degree of master of arts in cursu. June 20, 1872, Mr. Drury was married to Miss Lucinda Denny, of Waubeek, Iowa. They have two children — Florence Blanche, who was married to Herbert E. Foster, of Iowa, September 9, 1896, and Philo Walker, who is twenty years of age and a senior in Western college, now located at Toledo, Iowa. Mr. Drury entered the ministry of the church of the United Brethren in Christ — the church in which his father had been a minister for many years — in the autumn of 1 872, becom- ing a member of the North Iowa conference. After preaching one year in Fayette county, Iowa, he determined further to fit himself for his chosen work by taking a course of theolog- ical study. He therefore entered Union Bib- lical seminary, Dayton, Ohio, in October, 1873, from which he was graduated in May, 1875. During the last year in the seminary he served the Miami chapel congregation, near Dayton, as pastor. In the autumn of 1875 Mr. Drury returned to Iowa, and at the confer- ence held in Lisbon he was ordained by Bishop J. J. Glossbrenner. At that conference he was appointed pastor at Toledo, Iowa, where he remained for three years. His next pastorate was at Cedar Rapids. Here the church was weak and without a house of worship. Under his labors a commodious, well-located church edifice was built, and the present flourishing congregation of United Brethren in that city has been the happy result. In May, 1881, the general conference of the United Brethren church was held at Lisbon, Iowa, a town distant twenty miles from Cedar Rapids. Mr. Drury reported the proceedings of that body for the Cedar Rapids Daily Re- publican. His work as reporter was so satis- factory that before the conference had com- pleted its work he was offered the assistant ed- itorship of the Religious Telescope, of Dayton, Ohio, the chief organ of his denomination. This position he accepted after some weeks of deliberation, and early in July following he entered upon his new duties on the editorial staff of that journal. This position he held for eight years. In 1889 he was elected, by the general conference of his church, associate editor, which position he now (1896) occupies. Since residing in Dayton he has been secretary of the United Brethren Ministerial association and for three years president of the Dayton United Brethren alliance. In 1891 he became one of the founders of the Hartford street United Brethren church, of whose Sunday- school he has now been five years the super- intendent. In 1887 Mr. Drury and his wife took up the work of the Chautauqua Literary and Scien- tific circle, which furnished a four years' course of study on the university extension plan, graduating at Chautauqua, N. Y. , in August, 1 89 1, and receiving their diplomas from the hands of the Rev. Edward Everett Hale, D. D., of Boston. Mr. Drury is the author of a number of volumes, mostly of a practical character, some of which have reached a very large sale. These are: The Pastor's Pocket Record, the Otterbein Birthday Book, a Hand- book for Workers (issued in both English and German), a Pastor's Pocket Companion, At Hand, and a dedication service entitled, The House of the Lord. He is also the author of a prize essay on The Tobacco Habit, a tract on How to Deal with Inquirers, and has written some very valuable articles for cyclopedias. He has likewise been one of the book editors of the United Brethren Publishing house, of Day- ton, Ohio, for many years. Since 1890, when the Young People's Christian union of the United Brethren church was organized, he has been a member of its 492 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD executive council, and three years the editor of its literature. In 1S91 the degree of doctor of divinity was conferred upon Mr. Drury by the Western college, his alma mater, and also by the West- field college of Illinois. BREDERICK ECRI, a well-known citi- zen of Dayton, and treasurer of the Permanent Building & Savings asso- ciation, was born in Holmes county, Ohio, May 8, 1844, a son of Jacob and Cath- erine (Spreng) Ecki, natives of Alsace, France. The father, Jacob, had served a year in the French army, when he purchased his release, in order to come to America. He brought his family across the ocean in 1835 and settled in Holmes county, where he bought 160 acres of land, then practically in the wilderness, the woods abounding with all kinds of game. His means were somewhat limited, but he was in- dustrious and ambitious, set bravely to work with his ax, cleared up his land and built the primitive log cabin, and by dint of persever- ance cleared up his original farm, adding to it until he had accumulated 267 acres of arable land. He and his wife were members of the Evangelical association, and in that faith the father died in 1868 and the mother in 1881, the parents of twelve children, of whom five are deceased. Of the seven still living, three are residents of Dayton. Frederick Ecki was reared on the farm in Holmes county and inured to out-door labor, but found time to secure an education in the common schools, which were then quite well advanced in the methods of public instruction. At the age of eighteen years, in April, 1862, he came to Dayton and began an apprentice- ship at the machinist's trade with W. H. Pease, the establishment being now known as the Buckeye Iron & Brass works. While here employed, he enlisted in May, 1S64, in com- pany B, One Hundred and Thirty-first regi- ment Ohio national guard, under Capt. James Turner, which regiment was called out for the 1 OO-day service and did garrison duty at Fort Federal Hill, Baltimore, Md. On his return from this military service, he resumed his en- gagement with the Buckeye Iron & Brass works, with which he has since been uninter- ruptedly employed — making a total of thirty- five years in that service, with the exception of the three months that he was in the army. In April, 1874, he assisted in organizing the Permanent Building & Savings association, in which he has been a director for about sixteen years, and for nearly eight years the treasurer. Mr. Ecki was happily married, in Dayton, in 1867, to Miss Fredericka Kirschner, who was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, in 1845, and who, having lost her mother, was brought at the age of six years to the United States by her father. To this marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Ecki have been born seven children, in the following order: Clara, Ida, W. H. H., George F., Florence, Ellen (deceased) and Anna C. The parents are members of the Evangelical association, and in politics Mr. Ecki is a repub- lican. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the National Union, and socially he holds that high position in the esteem of his neighbors and the surrounding country which his indus- try and correct deportment as a citizen through life have so worthily won. W. H. H. Ecki, the third child and first- born son of Frederick and Fredericka Ecki, was born December 10, 1871, and was edu- cated in the common schools of Dayton, graduating from the high school in 1890; he then read law with O. F. Davisson, graduated from the Cincinnati Law school in 1893, and was admitted to practice in the same year. He has met with success, and has his office OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 493 with O. F. Davisson, one of the prominent lawyers of Dayton. Mr. Ecki is now the at- torney for the Permanent Building & Savings association. t*S~\ EV. E. LEE FLECK, pastor of the I /^ Second English Lutheran church, P Dayton, Ohio, was born in Blair county, Pa., September 8, 1856, and is of German extraction. Conrad M. and Mary (Crossman) Fleck, his parents, were born in Blair county and Indiana county, Pa., respectively, and Peter Fleck, grandfather of Conrad M. , was a hero of the Revolutionary war, his remains lying now interred in the cemetery at Culp post- office, or, as the place is known historically. Sinking Valley. Conrad M. Fleck was a mem- ber of the Twelfth Pennsylvania cavalry dur- ing the late Civil war, and sustained serious and lasting injuries in defense of his country's flag. The family of Conrad M. Fleck and wife comprised eleven children; of these Anna died in her third year; Benjamin C. is a teach- er, is married, and lives in Indiana county. Pa.; E. Lee is our subject; Bliss L. , twin of E. Lee, is the wife of Levi Knott, residing in Altoona, Pa.; Mary Catherine died at eighteen years of age, unmarried; Elmer Ellsworth died in childhood; Martha Ellen is married to Jacob Otto, and lives in Loco, Ind. ; Ethelbert died in childhood, her sister, Alice May, dying at the same time; Irene Gertrude, wife of Jacob Tate, resides in Altoona, Pa. ; and Sallie E. is now Mrs. Henry Emery, and lives in Sink- ing Valley, Pa. The mother of this family died February 25, 1895, on tne °ld homestead in Blair county, Pa., where the father still makes his home. E. Lee Fleck lived in his native state until 1875, when he went to Illinois, where he worked on a farm for one or two seasons, then went to Iowa, worked upon the railroad for a short time, and then resumed farming in Cedar county, in the same state. He next attended the high school at Clarence, Iowa, and then, in September, 1878, entered the Carthage col- lege, in Hancock county, 111. Here he com- pleted a six-years' collegiate course and passed his final examinations, but before the time ar- rived for the award of diplomas the institution collapsed under financial difficulties. Mr. Fleck then returned to Clarence, Iowa, but in the fall of the same year, 1884, came to Ohio and en- tered the Wittenberg Theological seminary at Springfield, from which he graduated in May, 1887. He immediately began the work of or- ganizing the Third English Lutheran congre- gation of that city, holding, at the same time, the pastorate of the congregation at Rockway, a suburb of Springfield. In March, 1888, Mr. Fleck married Miss Olive Hosford, who had been his classmate during his entire course at Carthage college, and was graduated in the same year; being a native of Hamilton, in the same county, she succeeded in securing her diploma and was properly entered on the catalogue, a fortune that did not fall to the lot of non-residents. In the fall of the year of his marriage the health of Mr. Fleck failed, and he was obliged to resign his ministerial duties and retire to Hamilton, 111., to recuperate. In August, 1889, having somewhat regained his health, he accepted the pastorate of a congregation at Sidney, Neb., where he remained until No- vember, 1893, when he was called to Dayton and assumed the pastoral charge of the Second English Lutheran church, although the church building had not at that time been erected. Mr. Fleck organized the mission, and during the summer of 1894 a handsome and commo- dious edifice was completed at a cost of $16,- 000, with a seating capacity for about 800 494 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD persons. The membership of the church is 150, and the Sunday-school enrollment is 240. On the organization of the congregation, eighty members were drawn from the First English Lutheran church, a proportionate number of Sunday-school scholars were similarly obtained and other communicants and scholars came from sundry outside societies. The parents of Mrs. E. Lee Fleck, Harlow and Mary (Wright) Hosford, were born in Ohio and Scotland, respectively — the father in Brookfield, Trumbull county, in 1824, and the mother near Edinburgh, in the same year. The Wright family came to America when their daughter Mary (Mrs. Hosford) was but fifteen years of age, and settled in Hamilton, 111., where Mr. and Mrs. Hosford were married. To this last-named couple have been born six children, viz: Harris Truman, a farmer, and married; Anna Elizabeth, wife of Monroe Hanson; Isaac Newton, married, and by call- ing a farmer; Edwin Wright, also a farmer; Harriet Olive, now Mrs. Fleck, and Mary Jane, the wife of Samuel Hyndman; all of whom, excepting Mrs. Fleck, live in or near Hamilton, 111. The mother of this family was laid to rest April 6, 1895, and the father, who had his experience in the outbreak against the Mormons at Nauvoo, 111., still lives near Ham- ilton, not far from the scene of the Mormon troubles of about the year 1846. To the happy marriage of Rev. and Mrs. E. Lee Fleck have been born three children, viz: Vera Mary Olive, in Hamilton, 111., Feb- ruary 1, 1 891 ; Harlow Conrad, in Sidney, Neb., December 28, 1892; and Irene Belle, in Dayton, Ohio, April 26, 1895. In his politics Mr. Fleck is independent of party lines, but is strong in his advocacy of temperance. He was one of the champions of the prohibitory amendment to the constitu- tion of Iowa, in 1882, and his proclivities are still in favor of prohibition, as that word is understood in party politics. Fraternally he is a member of the order of Sons of Veterans and of the Knights of Pythias. BD. BITTINGER, M. D., of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Elkhart, Ind., Feb- ruary 6, 1865. He is a son of George L. and Augusta (Johnson) Bittinger, both of whom are still living and are residing in Huntington count}', near Fort Wayne, Ind. The father is a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of New York state. Both went to In- diana during their younger days, and it was in that state that their marriage occurred. Dr. Bittinger was reared in Elkhart and Fort Wayne. His early education was ob- tained in the Fort Wayne public schools; later he attended Taylor university (then known as the Methodist college), at Fort Wayne, follow- ing which he began studying medicine, in that city, with Dr. G. A. Ross, a well-known phy- sician, as his preceptor. He took the regular course at the Hahnemann Medical college and hospital, Chicago, graduating from that insti- tution in 1888, and first entered upon the prac- tice of medicine in Chicago, where for a time he was associated with Dr. W. S. Harvey, one of the professors of Hahnemann college. In the summer of 1888, Dr. Bittinger located in Dayton, and, opening an office at his present location, No. 23 West Fourth street, began what has proved a most successful career in medicine and surgery. He is a member of the American Institute of Homeopathy, of the Ohio state Medical society, and of the Day- ton Homeopathic Medical society, being presi- dent of the last named body. Dr. Bittinger is surgeon for several of the street railway com- panies of Dayton, and a medical examiner for several well-known life insurance companies, among which are the Pacific Mutual, of San Francisco, and the American Union, of New ^/(^Mcatstffrr- fy. A OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 497 York city, and is chief medical director for the United Order of American Craftsmen. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias frater- nity and of the Present Day club. As a physi- cian and surgeon Dr. Bittinger ranks among the prominent members of his school in Dayton and Montgomery county. As a citizen he is progressive and liberal in his ideas, ready al- ways to lend his assistance to movements look- ing toward the advancement of the city and the public good. His career, both professional and private, has been not only successful, but consistent, and has earned for him a place among the representative citizens of the beau- tiful Gem City. Dr. Bittinger was married in the fall of 1889, to Mrs. Jennie Darrow (nee Emerick), a member of one of the old and influential fami- lies of Germantown, Ohio. To their union two daughters — Eugenia and Ruth — have been born, who, with one son, Willie, from the first marriage of Mrs. Bittinger, constitute the family circle. a APT. WILLIAM EDWARD FAY, commanding company Seven, Na- tional Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers at Dayton, was born at Franklin, Warren county, Ohio, on December 28, 1837. His parents removed to Cincinnati, where he grew to manhood under the parental roof, and received a liberal and thoroughly practical education, which was completed in the Kentucky Military institute, where he was graduated in 1859. This school was originated on a plan similar to that of West Point Mili- tary academy, and held a position second only to that institution. Anthony Fay, the father of William E., was a native of New England, who had made a liberal fortune in the lumber business at Cincin- nati, Ohio. He was a son of Massachusetts, 16 and was proud to trace his lineage back to Plymouth Rock. His wife, Mary Vail, was a native of the county where William E. was born, and her family was among the first to establish itself in western Ohio. Her father, Moses Vail, was a Quaker, and it is said that he refused to locate in Cincinnati, but kept on to Franklin, because he thought the former would never grow into a large city. He died when his daughter Mary was twelve years of age. The Vails were a numerous family, and it is said that at one time half the population of Franklin were, in one way and another, re- lated to it. Capt. Fay has two sisters and one brother now living, he being the eldest of the family. One sister, Mrs. Emma Hamilton, the widow of Samuel Hamilton, is now abroad with her son, who has just attained his majority. Mr. Ham- ilton was a very successful banker and real- estate dealer. George Anthony Fay, the youngest of the living children, is a resident of Dyersville, Tenn. , where he is engaged in an extensive lumber business. He made a very admirable record as an officer of the United States revenue department. The other mem- ber of the family, Mrs. Laura Pugh, has her home at Shelbyville, Ind. Capt. Fay began his mature life with an inclination towards the vocation of teaching; but almost immediately on his graduation, passed into the military service of the United States, for which he was so well prepared. Dur- ing the presidential campaign of i860, his name was prominently associated with the organiza- tion and training of the Wide Awakes, his company leading the great procession in the city of Cincinnati, that followed the election of Lincoln. He entered the army August 6, 1861, receiving the appointment of adjutant of the Thirteenth Missouri volunteer infantry, organized at Saint Louis. His regiment was in the western army, and participated in many 498 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD important and memorable engagements. At Fort Donelson it was the first regiment to place a nag on the captured fortifications. Here 15,000 prisoners were taken, and half as many more broke the lines and escaped. At Shiloh the Thirteenth was in the thick of the fight, and here Capt. Fay had his horse shot from under him, the animal falling upon him and causing an injury from which he has never recovered. He, however, remained on the field and accompanied his regiment to Corinth, where he was prostrated with typhoid fever, and sent to the hospital. Upon his re- covery, he reported for duty, and was with his regiment during the winter of 1862-3 in the vicinity of Corinth. In the early spring fol- lowing, he was ordered to Trenton, Tenn., where two companies of his regiment were mounted and served as scouts. Here a rebel colonel was captured, whom Capt. Fay ac- companied to Jackson, Tenn. , alone, and there turned him over to the proper authorities. After the war had closed the father of Capt. Fay went south and built a mill near where this officer (Col. Dawson) had his home, and the two families grew to be the most intimate friends. Capt. Fay took part in the siege and cap- ture of Vicksburg, being among those soldiers who were stationed at Haines' Bluff, on the Yazoo river, to protect the rear of the Union forces from threatened attacks by Gen. John- ston. After the fall of Vicksburg he was ordered to Helena, Ark., in Kimball's pro- visional division. By this time Adjutant Fay's ability and special qualifications lifted him into prominence, and he was successively appointed assistant adjutant-general and as- sistant inspector-general of the Second brigade of this provisional division, also known as the Arkansas expedition. The city of Little Rock was easily captured in September, 1863, and here the command remained until the spring of 1864, when it was started to join Gen. Banks' expedition against Shreveport, and had progressed as far as Camden, Ark., when word came that that movement had failed. It was confronted by a strong rebel force, and at once began a running fight to reach Little Rock. It had several encounters with the enemy, but finally was the first to reach and hold the city. Our subject formed his line of battle five times in one day on this forced march and was always ready to fight whenever opportunity was offered. The last battle in which he participated occurred in the march above described, and was fought at Jenkins' Ferry, April 30, 1864, on the Saline river. He was mustered out of service in November, 1864, with the rank of captain, being at home at that time seriously sick. Capt. Fay established himself as a lumber merchant at Saginaw, Mich., when his health had sufficiently recovered to admit of his en- gaging in active business. In 1870, after four years' labor in this line, he returned to Cincin- nati, and secured a political office, which he held for several years. He was then engaged as bookkeeper in the counting room of an ex- tensive wholesale hardware firm. Later on, this same firm put him in charge of its found- ries and shops, which position he resigned to enter the office of the Cincinnati exposition, where he served as chief clerk in the secre- tary's office, attending to its correspondence and advertising. He proved a very valuable worker for this corporation, and it was re- luctant to let him enter the service of the city, which desired him to act as inspector of street improvements. He, however, severed his con- nection with the exposition, and was in the employment of the city for several years, his duties being very agreeable to him, as they were largely in the field of civil engineering. Capt. Fay was then connected with the con- struction of a railroad in northern Georgia, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 499 where he acted as paymaster of the contract- ors, and confidential secretary of the manage- ment. When this road was completed, he returned to Cincinnati, and opened an office as estimating engineer, receiving plans from architects, and giving figures as to the cost of excavations, foundations, bridges, railroad work, and similar construction. In this he was highly successful until the depression of 1893 put an end to active work, and deprived him of remunerative business. He entered the home in May, 1896, and was almost immedi- ately put into the command which he now holds. Capt. Fay and Miss Laura Eugenia Dalton were married January 15, 1867. She was of Revolutionary stock, and her father, Joseph Dalton, true to the family traditions, was a soldier in the Union forces, enlisting from Oshkosh, Wis. No children were born to Captain and Mrs. Fay, and after an almost ideal wedded life of nearly twenty-nine years, he was called upon to mourn her death, which occurred September 16, 1895, a t Cincinnati. Capt. Fay is a member of Union Veteran Legion, No. 41, of Cincinnati, and has long been identified with the Christian or Disciples' church. He is an uncompromising repub- lican, coming of an old-line whig family for two generations back. Personally he is a gen- tleman of education and broad culture, whose companionship is a privilege to all who admire true character and genuine manliness. » m ELORA D. FLEMING, junior mem- J^T'C ber of the firm of Maxwell & Flem- M M ing, was born in Union City, Ind., February 20, 1870, and is the son of David and Catherine Fleming, both natives of Ohio. Mr. Fleming's paternal ancestors were Scotch, his great-great-grandfather having been a Highlander. His grandfather came to Amer- ica prior to the American Revolution, and was a soldier in that glorious struggle. Mrs. Cath- erine Fleming, whose maiden name was Allen, and who is still living, is descended from an old English family, which was first repre- sented in the United States by her great- grandfather, who settled, many years ago, in Virginia. The family of David and Catherine Fleming consisted of two children, William H., an engineer of Dayton, and Zelora D. Zelora D. Fleming was educated in Saint Mary's institute, Dayton, and the Dayton Com- mercial college, graduating from the latter institution. He then became a clerk with a mercantile firm of the city, in which capacity he continued until entering the service of the Illinois Central railroad, where he was em- ployed for eighteen months, becoming profi- cient in telegraphy during that time. For nine months he was an employee of the P., C. , C. & St. L. railroad, running between Chicago and Logansport, and in 1891 engaged in busi- ness for himself, teaming and furnishing teams for the Rathbone Lumber company, Chicago. He was thus engaged until 1893, in September of which year he disposed of his business at Harvey, 111. , a suburb of Chicago, and his head- quarters, where he purchased and still owns valuable real estate. He returned to Dayton, and after about eighteen months embarked in his present business, purchasing property for the purpose on National avenue. This busi- ness consists of handling cut and dressed stone of all kinds, obtained from the firm's quarries, to operate which requires the labor of from fourteen to twenty men during the greater part of the year. The annual output is as high as 288 carloads of stone, the greater part of which is disposed of in Dayton, though quite a large amount is shipped to other cities of Ohio and states adjacent. In addition to the business of the firm, Mr. Fleming is individu- ally engaged in handling coal and fuel of all 500 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD kinds, in which his success has been most encouraging from the beginning. On the 20th day of August, 1891, Mr. Fleming married Miss Fay Mary McCormick, who is a native of the county Mayo, Ireland, and was brought to the United States when eight years of age, her parents locating first in New York city, thence moving to Yonkers, where, in Mount Saint Vincent convent, she received a liberal education. Her brother, Michael McCormick, is a merchant tailor of Dayton, in which calling two other brothers are also engaged — James in this city and John in the city of New York; another brother, Dennis McCormick, is a resident of Indian- apolis, Ind., and her only sister, Delia lives in New York city. The father of Mrs. Fleming and two sons, Patrick and William, reside, at this time, in their native isle. Mr. Fleming has the mature judgment, sagacity and other qualities of the successful business man and citizen. He is independent in politics and liberal in his religious views. 8t 'ARREN E. BEEGHLY, one of the younger members of the Dayton bar, was born in Montgomery coun- ty, at the Beeghly homestead, near the soldiers' home. His parents were Abra- ham and Catherine (Wolf) Beeghly, well known and greatly esteemed in their community. Warren E. Beeghly received his prelimi- nary education in the public schools of Dayton, and afterward attended Ashland college for two years. He then entered the Miami Com- mercial college, graduating from that institu- tion in 1885. He next taught school for three years in district No. 12, Van Buren township. Then, attending the Cincinnati Law college, he graduated there in June, 1890, and on the 1st of September following began the practice of the law in the office of the Hon. George W. Houk. Since the untimely and lamented death of that distinguished gentleman, Mr. Beeghly has been in practice alone. Mr. Beeghly organized the Buckeye Build- ing & Loan association April 1, 1892, and has since been its secretary and attorney. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, of the K. A. E. O., of the Independent Order of For- esters, and of Mystic lodge, F. & A. M. In all these fraternities he is in good standing and is considered a useful member, as he is en- dowed with sound judgment, and with good business qualifications. Mr. Beeghly is as yet unmarried. a APT. JAMES R. FLETCHER, com- mander of company Twelve, Na- tional Home, D. V. S., was born in London, England, January 20, 1845; his parents, Samuel and Margaret (Castle) Fletcher, married in England, and came to the United States when he was eighteen months old, settling at Trenton, N. J., where the father for many years held a prominent posi- tion in the iron mills. Samuel Fletcher was a successful business man, accumulated a hand- some competence and, died in the city of Tren- ton at the age of fifty-five years; his wife sur- vived him and reached the ripe old age of eighty-two, before being called from the scene of her earthly labors. The early years of Capt. Fletcher were spent in Trenton, in the schools of which he received his first educational training and later obtained a knowledge of the higher branches of learning in an academy of the city, complet- ing the prescribed course of study. On the 5th day of June, 1862, he enlisted in company I, Fourteenth New Jersey infantry, and after the battle of Winchester, where his bravery under most trying circumstances attracted the atten- tion of the officers of the regiment, he was WARREN E. BEECHLY. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 503 promoted first lieutenant of company D, in recognition of meritorious conduct. He com- manded his company during the remaining years of the war, and proved a true soldier at the head of his men in many of the bloody battles in which the First brigade, Third divi- sion, Sixth army corps, participated. Among the more noted engagements in which he took part were the battles of the Shenandoah val- ley, Gettysburg, Fredricksburg, the Wilder- ness and Petersburg, and he was under Gen. Sheridan at the final surrender 'of the Confed- erate forces at Appomattox. He was mus- tered out of the service as first lieutenant, acting captain, in June, 1865, after gallantly serving his country for over three years, which covered the most trying and critical period of the war. His military career thus completed, he returned to the old home in New Jersey, where his mother was then living. After spending three years amid the scenes of his boyhood days, the captain went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he found employment as an iron worker, following his trade in that city during the greater part of fourteen years. He also filled a clerical position in the Cleveland post- office for some time, and later was an employee in the revenue department at the same place; he was also clerk at the Cataract House in Cleveland, being thus employed when failing health, superinduced by previous exposure while in the army, compelled him to retire from active life and to become an inmate of the national soldiers' home, at Dayton, for treatment. The date of his admission to the home is June 4, 1894, since which time he has filled various official positions, having had charge of company Twelve for about one year. The captain has been married, but at this time is alone in the world, his wife having died, and he having no living children. He is a member of the K. of P. fraternity, belonging to lodge No. 46, Cleveland, of which he is past chancellor, and he was for two years commander of Commodore Perry post, G. A. R., Cleveland. He is an adherent to the principles of the republican party, and was reared in the faith of the Episcopal church. ^* i 'OSEPH FRANK, ex-meat inspector of M the city of Dayton, and one of the {% J well known citizens of Montgomery county, was born in Bavaria, Germany, October 6, 1859. His education was received partly in the old country and partly in the United States. His father, Isaac Frank, brought the family to this country in 1871, coming at once to Dayton, Where he is now one of the oldest butchers of this city. Young Frank went to work with his father in the meat business when between sixteen and seventeen years of age, having previously been engaged in driving cattle to and from the stock yards. Remaining with his father till he was nineteen years of age, he then went to Cincinnati, where he was engaged for three years as a butcher. Returning to Dayton, he and his brother, Isa- dore, embarked in the grocery and meat mar- ket business, which they followed for about two years, when Mr. Frank engaged in butch- ering and dealing in cattle on his own account at Brookville, Montgomery county, Ohio, at- tending the Dayton market. He then spent a year in traveling for his uncle, Jacob Wein- reich, formerly president of the Dayton city council, and, upon returning to the occupation of butcher, he purchased the meat market of F. J. Schmitt, on Third street, and operated it for two years. In March, 1891, he accepted the position of city salesman with N. Jacobs & Co., which he still holds, and on May 1, 1895, he was appointed by the city council meat in- spector for the city for one year. Mr. Frank was married in August, 1888, to Victoria Mayer, formerly of Houma, Terre 504 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Bonne parish, La., and to this marriage there have been born three daughters and one son, as follows: Jennie, Bertram, Bertha and Sarah. Mr. Frank has served several years on the democratic county central committee and is treasurer of the committee and also of the Gravel Hall democratic club, as well as of several societies. He is one of the directors of the Old Men's Invalid home of Cleveland, Ohio; is a member of the Odd Fellows' en- campment and of the Knights of Pythias, and holds the position of commissary sergeant on Col. Coffman's staff. He is a member of the Jewish organization known as the O. K. S. B., and is the representative to the grand lodge of the order. In all these various orders and societies Mr. Frank maintains good standing and has the esteem of all the members. In business matters he has always been successful and is in every way a useful and worthy citizen. QICHAEL FREUDENBERGER, a retired farmer, living at 2612 East Fifth street, Dayton, Ohio, was born near Hesse-Darmstadt, Ger- many, November 25, 1826. He is a son of Christian and Sybilla (Blitz) Freudenberger, both natives of Germany. Two children were born to Christian and Sybilla, viz: Conrad and Michael. Christian Freudenberger was a farmer by occupation, and lived and died in Germany. His first wife, who was the mother of the above-named children, and who was like himself a member of the Lutheran church, died in 1S28, and he afterward married Miss Margaret Martin, by whom he had six children. Four of these are still living, as follows: George, John, Catherine, widow of John Kling, and Mary. The paternal grandfather of Michael was a farmer in his native country, in which he lived and died. He was a man of quiet disposition, reared a family of four children and bore an excellent reputation. The maternal grandfa- ther, Johannes Blitz, was also a native of Ger- many, reared a family of two children, and died in his native land when over seventy years of age. Michael Freudenberger was reared on his father's farm in Germany, received a good common-school education, and remained at home until his early manhood. In 1852 he sailed for the United States, landing in New York, and five weeks later came to Dayton, Ohio, where for the next two years he worked for George Harris in his dairy. For one year afterward he was in the employ of Pierce & West, and at the end of this time, established himself in the diary business, in which he was engaged for a period of thirty-two years. His dairy was next to his present place of residence, and was then entirely in the country, timber land extending as far as the present Linden avenue. On November 7, 1858, he married Miss Magdalena Sauer, daughter of Johannes Adam and Margaret (Eckert) Sauer. To this mar- riage there have been born twelve children, as follows: Magdalena, Louise, Celia, Elizabeth K., Christian, George, William, Emil, Albert, Bertha, August and Ida. Of these, Magda- lena, Christian, George, William, Emil and Bertha are dead. Elizabeth K. married Will- iam C. Kette, of Dayton, and has two children. Mr. and Mrs. Freudenberger are members of the German Lutheran church, and in politics Mr. Freudenberger is a democrat. At one time he owned eight acres of land in Dayton, which he platted, and sold off a large part in city lots. He also sold six acres to the Na- tional Improvement company, in the eastern part of the city. In 1891 he erected his pres- ent comfortable and attractive residence. He has been a citizen of Dayton for forty-five years and has done his share toward bringing OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 505 about its remarkable growth and development. Few men stand higher in the estimation of their fellow-men than does Mr. Freudenberger, who, although not a native of this country, is yet one of the most patriotic of citizens. aHRISTIAN FROMM, retired me- chanic of Dayton, Ohio, residing at No. 678 South Main street, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, April 18, 1838, and is a son of Christian and Mary Kath- arina (Seifried) Fromm, also natives of Wur- temberg. Christian Fromm, the father, was twice married, his first wife being named above, who became the mother of four children, viz: Christian, whose name opens this sketch; Mrs. Katharina Loudenschlager, now a widow and residing in Dayton; Mrs. Fredericka Nohr, who resides on West Fifth street, Dayton, and Mrs. Magdalena Meyers, who has her home in Louisville, Ky. The second marriage of Christian Fromm was with Maria Kopf, also a native of Wurtemberg, and to his marriage were born two daughters, viz: Mrs. Mary J. Darr and Mrs. Louisa Durr, both wives of farmers living in Montgomery county, Ohio. Christian Fromm, the subject of this no- tice, received a good common-school education in his native country, and at the age of fifteen came to America with his parents, who settled in Dayton, Ohio, in 1853. Here the father resumed his trade of stonecutting, which he had learned and followed in the old country, and which he here continued until advancing years compelled his retirement. His death occurred in Dayton, August 6, 1891, his second wife having died on May 8th of the same year. Christian Fromm, Jr., on coming to Day- ton with his parents, was at once apprenticed to the cabinetmaking trade, and followed that vocation until the opening of the Civil war, when he enlisted, in August, 1861, in company B, First Ohio volunteer infantry, which was assigned to the army of the Cum- berland. Mr. Fromm took part in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Miss., Perryville, Stone River, Murfreesboro, Kenesaw Mountain, in the siege and in the capture of Atlanta, where his term of enlistment expired, and the regi- ment was ordered to Chattanooga, where it was mustered out of the service. Mr. Fromm then returned to Dayton, where he entered the employ of the Globe Iron works, and there spent twenty-eight years, and in 1894 retired from active labor. The marriage of Mr. Fromm took place in Dayton, September 18, 1865, to Miss Lizzie Eberle, a native of Boston, Mass., and of Ger- man parentage. This union was blessed by the birth of five children, who, in order of birth, were named Otto F. , now a hardware merchant of Dayton; Bertha, Edith, Emma and Cora, the daughters being still unmarried and living with their parents. A peculiarity with the Fromm family is the fact that to every marriage that has taken place for gen- erations back, the first child born was the only son. The year 1891 was one of deepest sor- row to Mr. Fromm, for in that year he was bereft of father, step-mother and wife — the death of his wife occurring March 25th. In religion Mr. Fromm was reared in the faith of the German Lutheran church. His children are members of the English Lutheran church, of which his wife was also a devout member. Fraternally, Mr. Fromm is a mem- ber of Old Guard post, No. 21, Grand Army of the Republic, and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In politics, he entered the army as a democrat, but voted for Lincoln for the presidency in 1864, and has ever since been a republican. Mr. Fromm has ever lived an industrious life, and his retirement from active labor was 506 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD induced by the fact that his health was begin- ning to fail through encroaching years. He had charge of the millwright department of the Globe Iron works for many years, which is proof that his reputation as an excellent me- chanic was well earned. At one time during the long period of his employment by this com- pany he temporarily withdrew and engaged in the furniture business, for which his early ex- perience had well qualified him, but the panic of 1873 proved fatal to this venture; other- wise, he has enjoyed a prosperous career. He has the good fortune to be surrounded by a loving family and a host of warm-hearted friends, who highly esteem him, and his wan- ing days are passing in peace and comfort. BREDERICK P. BEAVER, founder and president of the Beaver Soap company, situated at the corner of Hopeland and Concord streets, Day- ton, Ohio, was born in this city, November 29, 1845. He is a son of J. N. F. and Caro- line (Snyder) Beaver, both of whom have died, the former in August, 1856, and the latter in March, 1861. They were natives of Pennsyl- vania, the one having been born near Cham- bersburg, the other near Lancaster, and were respectively of French Huguenot and Prussian descent. They came to Ohio before they were married, the mother in 18 19, and the father in 1835, and were married in Dayton, Ohio, in 1844. For some years J. N. F. Beaver was one of Dayton's active business men, being first engaged in the manufacture of candy, and later in selling coal and wood. Still later he became engaged in the wholesale notion busi- ness with Jacob Coffman, under the firm name of Coffman & Beaver, which style continued until the death ot Mr. Beaver. He was a dea- con in the Baptist church, and was a strong republican. His parents, Philip Beaver and his wife, came to Dayton a short time prior to their death, which occurred in this city. George Snyder and his wife, parents of Caroline Snyder, also came to Dayton and here died. The former for a time conducted a hotel where the present Cooper house stands. Frederick P. Beaver was one of a family of five children, as follows: Edward C. , of Frankfort, Ind., a railroad agent for the Van- dalia line; Hattie A., widow, of J. A. Crebs, of Dayton; Charles H., who died in infancy; Ida A., wife of Edward Canby, of Dayton, Ohio; and Frederick P. Frederick P. Beaver was educated in the public schools of Dayton, and at the age of sixteen was a paper carrier. Afterward he took a commercial course, and in 1863 accepted a position as bookkeeper with Chamberlain & Parker. On May 12, 1864, he enlisted in the 100 days' service, and, after serving his time in the army, returned to Dayton, re-entered the employ of Chamberlain & Parker, and re- mained with them until 1869. Then, going to Toledo, he carried on a branch store for them under the name of Frederick P. Beaver, being thus occupied for two years. Going then to Hopkinsville, Ky. , he became a mem- ber of the firm of Brownell, Orr & Co., the firm operating a planing-mill. Here he re- mained one year, when he returned to Dayton and purchased the interest of Edward Sweet, in the firm of Chadwick & Sweet, furniture dealers, the name becoming Chadwick & Beaver, and so continuing for five years. Mr. Beaver then established the Silver Star baking powder business, which lasted but a few months, and in which he lost most of his earnings; but, nothing daunted by failure, he started, in a small way and with but small capital, the Beaver Soap company, which, under the man- agement of himself and associates, has grown to its present prosperous condition. It was started in 1879 in a one-story frame building J^ u'X^^^i- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 509 on Commercial street, near Fifth, and the first year's output did not exceed 1,200 gross of soap. Since then he has made four removals, enlarging the business each time, or rather moving only when the increasing business ren- dered it necessary. The present plant has 400 feet street frontage and is seventy feet deep. The buildings have two and a half acres of flooring, and constitute one of the large manu- facturing establishments in the city of Dayton, which city is known all over the civilized world for the great number and excellence of her manufacturing industries. There are employed in these works some seventy-five hands, and the goods manufactured are sold all over the country — Grandpa's Wonder, Beaver's Pine Tar and Grandma's Laundry soap being the especial brands made by the concern. When the business was founded Mr. Beaver started alone. In 1883 he took in Robert Marsh, who, however, remained associated with him but a short time, and in 1885 he accepted as a partner W. D. Chamberlin, whose biograph- ical sketch appears elsewhere in this volume. The firm name then became Beaver & Co., and in September, 1893, the business was in- corporated under the name of the Beaver Soap company. The officers of this company at the present time are as follows: F. P. Beaver, president; W. D. Chamberlin, vice-president; and C. F. Snyder, secretary and treasurer. Mr. Beaver was married, November 29, 1893, to Miss Emma J. Thompson, daughter of Ralph and Mary J. Thompson, of Terre Haute, Ind. Mr. Beaver is a member of the First Baptist church, and resides at the north- east corner of Second and Perry streets. He is one of the liberal-minded men of the city of Dayton, is progressive, intelligent, well in- formed, and keeps himself fully abreast of the times. Socially and religiously Mr. Beaver enjoys high standing, possessing the sincere esteem of the entire community. >^r*OSHUA G. GALLOWAY, postmaster m of the national military home, Mont- (• J gomery county, Ohio, was born in Bal- timore, Md., July 30, 1843. He is a son of Joshua and Elizabeth (Gorsuch) Gallo- way, both natives of Maryland, and born, re- spectively, in 1 8 16 and 1822. Joshua Galloway, who was a coppersmith by trade, lost his life at the age of thirty-three years, at the Relay house, on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, in Maryland, he being at the time an engineer on the road. He was de- scended from a family of Scotch-Irish and Welsh extraction, who came to America prior to the war of the Revolution, in which war Aquilla Galloway, an ancestor, took an active part in liberating the colonies from the tyranny of Great Britain, and was also a soldier in the war of 1812. Of the four sons born to Joshua Galloway, William, the eldest, was killed at the battle of Beverly, in West Virginia, Octo- ber 29, 1864, when his brother, Joshua G., standing at his side, caught him in his arms as he fell from his death wound; John was a vol- unteer in the Twenty-fourth Ohio infantry, served through the Civil war, is now a resident of Dayton and is employed as assistant fore- man in the Globe Iron works; James was a soldier in the First Ohio volunteer infantry, and later in the Eighteenth regiment of volun- teer infantry from the same state, was wound- ed at the battle of Stone River before he was fifteen years of age, and is now engaged as a repairer of machinery in Dayton. Joshua G. Galloway was educated in the public schools of his native city, and also by private tutors. Upon coming to Dayton, Ohio, he began working in a paper mill when he was but eleven years of age. At the opening of the Rebellion he enlisted, in April, 1861, in com- pany K, Eleventh regiment, Ohio volunteer in- fantry, and served three months at Camp Den- nison, Ohio. He next enlisted, in September, 510 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 1861, in company G, Forty-fourth Ohio vol- unteer infantry, and served in the battles of the mountains of what is now West Virginia and in eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and in all of the engagements of his regiment, be- ing with Gen. Burnside at the siege of Knox- ville, Tenn., in the fall of 1S63. Having re- ceived his second honorable discharge, he again enlisted while in the field, January 4, 1S64, in the Eighth volunteer cavalry, com- pany G, and served under Gen. Phil Sheridan in the Shenandoah valley, going through with Gen. Hunter to the conflict at Lynch- burg. The scope of this biographical no- tice will hardly permit a full mention of the services rendered by Mr. Galloway as a soldier. Suffice it to say that, beside what has already been mentioned, he assisted at Cumberland Gap, fought against the rebel raiders, Rosser, Morgan, Jenkins, Moberlyand others, and on January II, 1865, was cap- tured by a band of Rosser's men at Beverly, W. Va., when the entire Thirty-fourth regi- ment of Ohio volunteer infantry was also cap- tured. After thirty-five days' confinement in Libby prison at Richmond, Va., he was re- leased on parole, and found his way to Camp Chase, Ohio, where he was granted a furlough to await notice of his final exchange. In May, 1865, he was ordered to report at Columbus, Ohio, where he received his final discharge, on June 19 following. After the war Mr. Galloway engaged with Barney & Smith as a painter in their car shops at Dayton, and subsequently became a molder in a foundry of the same city, a trade which he followed from 1870 until August, 1893. While thus employed he became deeply inter- ested in the affairs of laboring men, and iden- tified himself with the Iron Molders' union and for several years served as its president. Of this union he was a delegate to the national convention held at Saint Louis in 1888, and to the convention at Detroit in 1890; he also held the office of corresponding secretary of the Iron Molders' union for several years, and in every position proved himself capable and fully worthy of the confidence reposed in him by his fellow-craftsmen. Mr. Galloway was also appointed by the president of the Iron union of North America to represent that or- ganization in the grand conference with the Manufacturers' association at Chicago, and having been one of the organizers of the Iron union and for a number of years a member, his experience and ability made him a most efficient representative of its interests. The object of the formation of the Iron union is to secure the settlement of labor questions be- tween employers and employees by arbitration rather than by strikes and turbulence, and in the advocacy of this humane and effective method of settling these troubles Mr. Gallo- way stands prominent. September 12, 1865, Mr. Galloway was united in matrimony with Miss Clara J. Server, daughter of Jacob and Mary Server, residents of Montgomery county, Ohio, the father of Mrs. Galloway being a mechanic as well as a farmer. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Gallo- way have been born nine children, viz: Clara, employed in the post-office at the soldiers' home at Dayton; Lydia, a teacher in the Sev- enteenth district public school of Dayton; Et- tie and Mellie, both students in the Dayton high school; Robert, Frank and Mary, who are in the Twelfth district school; George, who died at the age of five years and three months; and James, who died at birth. The family are identified with the United Brethren church. In politics Mr. Galloway is a Jeffersonian democrat, but in the debatable field of taxa- tion he decidedly favors the single-tax system. His first public position was that of superin- tendent of the Dayton employment office, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 511 which came to him without solicitation, and which he filled for fourteen months; he was next appointed, August 3, 1893, as postmaster of the national military home, which office is rated as third class and gives employment to four persons. Fraternally Mr. Galloway is a member of Dayton lodge, No. 273, I. O. O. F. ; of Old Guard post, No. 73, G. A. R. , and is past colonel of encampment, No. 82, U. V. L. He has been identified with the Knights of Labor since 1876, is past master workman of district assembly No. 121, was its representative in the national assembly at Atlanta, Ga., in 1889; has been an active member of the Dayton Trades assembly since its organization in 1882, served four years as its secretary, and is ener- getic in establishing crades and labor assem- blies throughout the state of Ohio. Mr. Galloway's long and active connection with labor organizations has been instrumental in making him a careful and exact reader and a close student of finance, as also of parlia- mentary usage and of the perplexing labor problems of the day. He is an intelligent and enthusiastic advocate of the laboring man's rights — possessing the ability to present his views in such a manner as to carry conviction of his earnestness and sincerity. As a worker and public speaker among his co-laborers he stands in the front rank, as he did in defense of his country. eDWARD A. FRY, member of the firm of Berk & Fry, undertakers, 127-129 East Fifth street, is a native of the city of Dayton, Ohio, where he was born March 23, 1842. His father, Henry A. Fry, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Dayton about the year 1830 and here married Miss Sarah M. Snyder, who was also born in the Keystone state. Henry A. Fry was for some years a furniture dealer and undertaker and is remembered as a successful business man in the early days of Dayton. He died in June, 1847 ; his widow survived him many years, departing this life at a ripe age in 1890. The Fry and Snyder families are of German de- scent and representatives of both came to the United States in ante-Revolutionary times, locating in Pennsylvania near the cities of Chambersburg and Harrisburg respectively. The immediate family of Henry A. Fry consisted of two sons and one daughter, Ed- ward A. being the third in order of birth. Charles H., the eldest of the family, is, at this time, a jeweler at Fort Worth, Tex., where he has been engaged in business since about the year 1886. He went south when a young man of twenty and was conscripted into the rebel army, with which he served during the greater part of the war of the Rebellion. The second child, Clara S., married a Mr. Phelps, a resident of Dayton and an extensive manu- facturer of salt, his business being in the state of Kansas. Edward A. Fry was five years old when his father died and his whole life thus far has been passed as a resident of his native city. His educational advantages embraced the cur- riculum of the public schools and his inde- pendent business career began in 1865, in October of which year, in partnership with W. H. McGowen, he embarked in the livery busi- ness. After spending three years as a member of this firm, Mr. Fry disposed of his interest and built a barn of his own, which he stocked throughout and operated with encouraging success for about ten years, selling out in 1878 and purchasing an interest in the undertaking establishment of Berk & Waymire. This firm began business in Dayton in 1865, and is one of the leading establishments of the kind in the city, having much more than a merely local reputation as skilled and 512 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD competent undertakers. Mr. Fry succeeded Mr. Waymire, and the style of the firm became Berk & Fry. As a business man, Mr. Fry is gifted with good sense and judgment, and his success financially has been thoroughly deserved. His standing among the business men of the city is high, and he is warmly esteemed as a useful citizen and member of society. Across the street from his present business location, and upon the site of the old home where he was born, Mr. Fry has erected a fine four-story building for mercantile purposes, beside which he owns other valuable property in the city. In politics Mr. Fry has always been a re- publican, keenly alive to the best interests of his party, but aspires to no official position; he is a member of the fraternity of Odd Fellows, and with his family attends the First South church. Mr. Fry married December 3, 1868, Miss Sarah F. Warble, of Dayton, Ohio, daughter of Samuel and Caroline Warble. This union is blessed with two children — Fannie B., wife of John E. Weiffenbach, a wholesale grocer of Dayton, and Charles E., an employee in the electric department of the Dayton Fan & Motor company. **S~\ EV. JOHN BAPTIST FROHMIL- I /«^ LER, pastor of the Roman Catholic _^W church of the Holy Rosary, at Day- ton, Ohio, was born in Bavaria, Ger- many, in 1850, and at the age of two years was brought by his parents to America. He received parochial, seminary and college edu- cation, was ordained to the priesthood in 1875, an< 3 immediately thereafter was ap- pointed assistant priest of the church of the Holy Trinity at Dayton. He served in this capacity until 1888, when he organized his present congregation in North Dayton, which now comprises a membership of 1,185 souls as communicants, and a parochial school where 175 children are instructed in element- ary knowledge and receive wholesome relig- ious training. Since assuming his present pastoral charge, Rev. Father Frohmiller has erected a fine brick church edifice and parsonage at a cost of about $25,000 for the buildings and grounds. He, in person, superintended the construction of the buildings mentioned, and managed the financial expenditure necessary to carry for- ward the work to completion, and while he is too modest to claim any credit to himself for the good work already done, he is yet awarded great praise by the good people of Dayton for the noble task he has thus far accomplished and still continues to prosecute. The secular language of the church is German, and both German and English are taught in the school, and in connection with the congregation are the usual societies for the edification of the members and the promotion of true friendship and brotherly love. a APT. JOHN BIRCH is a familiar name in the business and commercial interests of the city of Dayton, espe- cially in real estate and insurance lines. Capt. Birch has his office in the Canby building, on South Main street. He is of English nativity, was born in Manchester, April 17, 1836, and came to this country with his parents when a lad of only eight years, and spent his youthful days at Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio. His parents were Thomas and Ann (Turner) Birch, both natives of Manches- ter, England. His father was a skilled machin- ist, and was engaged in England in the manu- facture of machinery used in cotton mills, and continued in the same business at Hamilton until 1852, when he removed to Brookville, ^1 ^,^J_ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 515 Ind., and engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1857. He then located in this city, retired from active business, dying two years later at the age of fifty-six, his wife living to be six years older, and passing away in 1868. They had ten children, five boys and five girls. Three sons and three daughters are now liv- ing, the captain being sixth in the order of birth. The remaining five are: Thomas, in the gas and steam-pipe business in Cincinnati, the firm with which he is connected being known as the Stacey Manufacturing company; Jeffrey, a machinist in Covington, Ky. ; Eliza- beth, the wife of Samuel DeVou, having her home in Hamilton; Jane, the wife of John Brady, living at Coalton, Ohio, where her husband is postmaster; and Louisa, who mar- ried Theodore Titus, a locomotive engineer at Fort Wayne, Ind. Capt. Birch learned in early life the ma- chinist's trade, which has been his mainstay for many years. He began it under his father's eye while the family were still residing in Ham- ilton, and continued it after the family had gone to Indiana, where he completed his apprentice- ship, so that when he came with his parents to this city he was ready to take a journeyman's position with Chapman & Edgar, only leaving their employ to enlist in April, 1861, in com- pany C, First Ohio volunteer infantry. The regiment was ordered to proceed directly to Washington, and was among the first troops to enter the Confederate territory. The young soldiers first heard rebel guns at Vienna, where their train was fired upon by an ambushed enemy. The regiment was in the disastrous rout at Bull Run, July 21, 1861, and its members relate with much gusto that it was one of the fleetest "runners" after the battle. This they can well afford to admit, for, with scarcely an exception, they after- ward retrieved their reputation on many a hard-fought field of slaughter. When the First had completed its term of enlistment, it was mustered out, nearly all its members re- enlisting in other organizations for the war, for by that time the serious character of the struggle in which the nation was engaged had become apparent. Mr. Birch returned to Dayton, and enlisted a number of men to be known as the Fremont body guards. But on reaching Benton barracks, it was found that not enough men had been called together for this purpose, so all that he had brought be- came a part of the Thirteenth Missouri, and he was commissioned as second lieutenant of company K. Later on, when credit for en- listed men was claimed by every community sending volunteers to the front, the regiment was designated as the Twenty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, and with this organization his name is found. At Fort Donelson the regiment was conspicuous for its determined gallantry, and here John Birch began a long and honorable military career. He was at Pittsburg Landing, or Shiloh, Corinth, Iuka, at the second battle of Corinth, at the capture of Vicksburg, and in several of the tremen- dous battles that preceded its surrender. The regiment was ordered to Little Rock, Ark., where it was engaged in guarding the railroad and in a general guerilla warfare with the scattered rebel bodies during the remain- der of its service. May 14, 1862, Lieut. Birch received promotion as first lieutenant, and in August of the same year he received his commission as captain of company B, Twenty-second Ohio. He was mustered out of service at Camp Dennison, November 18, 1864. During his stay with his regiment he was detailed to many important duties, such as mustering officer for five months at Camp Dennison, and on the general court martial at Little Rock. When Capt. Birch re-entered the ranks of the great army of peaceful labor, it was in the 516 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD capacity of machinist in the employ of Mc- Gregor & Callahan, of this city. After being with them for several years, he received the appointment of foreman at the Phoenix Iron works, where his stay was also protracted. He was then chosen superintendent of the J. R. Brownell Engine department, and here he was active for four years, and for a fifth year was purchasing agent for the same institution. This completed his connection with mechan- ical pursuits, and on the first day of June, 1896, he opened his present office, buying and selling real estate, and doing a brokerage and insurance business. The Birch family are strong, robust men, above medium height, and its members have generally taken a leading position wherever found. A brother of our subject, William, was a major in the Ninety-third Ohio infantry, and was killed in the battle of Missionary Ridge; another brother, Jeffrey, was also in the serv- ice, and was badly wounded in front of Atlanta; another brother, Joseph, died at the compar- atively early age of twenty-six. Two sisters lived to maturity, and were happily married. Both are now deceased, Mrs. Mary M. Stevens dying March 1, 1S96, at Louisville, and her remains resting in the cemetery at Dayton. The other sister, Mrs. Ann Bail, died at Turner Station, Ky. , and is there buried. Capt. Birch, while acting as mustering officer at Camp Dennison, was ''mustered" into the great army of matrimony, in September,' 1862, Miss Ellen Brady being associated with him in this enlistment, whose term of service was, "so long as you two shall live." She was a daugh- ter of Peter Brady, a well-known contractor of Dayton. Two children were born of this union, Clara May, the older, being the wife of Charles J. Geyer, business manager of the Dayton Evening Herald, and the mother of three children, Mercedes Grace, Bertram and Mary. Her brother, Thomas J., was a most promising and attractive young man, who lived to be only a little over twenty-one, dying July 20, 1888. Both were graduates of the Cen- tral high school, and the son had already won a good standing for himself as a traveling sales- man, when his fatal illness came upon him. Capt. Birch is a member of the order of Chosen Friends, and of encampment No. 145, Union Veteran Legion. He is independent in his po- litical affiliations, but, being an ardent temper- ance advocate, is desirous of the success of the party committed to that principle as its corner-stone. He was long associated with the republican party, but, of late years, has followed more closely the dictates of his per- sonal judgment. Mrs. Birch is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. ^"^EORGE H. GEBHART, member of ■ ^\ the Dayton bar, was born in this \^^M city, November 5, 1867. He is a son of George A. Gebhart, junior member of the firm of S. T. & G. A. Gebhart, of Dayton. His grandfather was Judge Her- man Gebhart, whose name is familiar to every one acquainted with the history of Dayton. George H. Gebhart was educated in the public schools and the high school of his na- tive city. Leaving the high school in the third year he entered the select school of John Trues- dell, which was established in the fall of 1885, for the purpose of fitting young men, with thoroughness, for such colleges as they might wish to enter. In this school young Gebhart prepared for Yale college, and afterward spent one year in that institution and returned to Dayton. In 1888 he entered the Cincinnati law college, remaining there until 1890, when he was graduated, and in the same year was admitted to the bar at Columbus, Ohio. He next entered the law office of Gottschall & Brown as a student, remaining with them until OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 517 1894, and engaged in office work for the firm. Beginning the practice of law in Dayton, he has since continued with credit and success. Mr. Gebhart was married in March, 1894, to Miss Daisie Brock, of Cincinnati, and to them a daughter has been born, named Elli- nor. Mr. Gebhart is a young man of industry and ambition, and, being well educated in schools and colleges of high standing, he is well equipped for the work of an arduous and honorable profession. @ EORGE H. GEIGER, M. D., is one of the well-known physicians and surgeons of Dayton, of which city he has been a resident since March, 1872. He is a native of Urbana, Ohio, was born April 14, 1849, and is a son of Judge Levi Geiger. Levi Geiger is of German extraction, but descends directly from an old American fam- ily, extensively known throughout the country as prominent in the learned professions, espe- cially in law, medicine and theology. He is most active as a member of the republican party; he has been a member of the bar of Champaign county, Ohio, for many years, and for five years has been an occupant of the bench. He married Miss Rosalinda Gleason, of Holmes county, Ohio, and by this union became the father of six children, viz. : Julia, wife of S. L. B. Stone, and Rebecca, wife of John Banta, both of Urbana; George H. ; Charles L. , who died in Urbana in 1895; Ida; still residing in Urbana, and Jessie (Mrs. Pat- ton) of Greensburg, Pa. Dr. George H. Geiger was educated in the public schools of his native city and at the Wesleyan university of Delaware, Ohio, and after graduating from the latter, entered a drug-store in Urbana, and later a store of the same class in Dayton, and was altogether about nine years in the pharmaceutical trade. He then read medicine with Prof. Pierce, of Urbana, attended the Starling Medical college of Columbus, and graduated from the latter in the class of 1872, when he at once located in Dayton and has since been one of the most active and useful practitioners of the city. Up to 1890 his time was given to general medical practice and surgical operations, and in this year he began to give especial attention to the treatment of disorders arising from the abuse of alcohol and of morphia. This branch of the profession he has since followed with a constantly increasing success. Dr. Geiger has an extended fraternal and societary connec- tion, being a member of the Miami lodge, Knights of Pythias, Dayton division, No. 5, and surgeon of the Fourth regiment, uniform rank, Knights of Pythias; a member of Dayton lodge, No. 15, Order of Chosen Friends; and also medical examiner for each of these bodies. He also holds the same relation to the Mich- igan Mutual Life Insurance company at Dayton. Dr. Geiger was married, June 21, 1869, to Miss Sallie A. Taylor, of Urbana. This mar- riage resulted in the birth of five children, in the following order: Frank L. , now a ma- chinist, of Middletown, Ohio; Charles H., a druggist, of Wheeling, W. Va.; Grace R. , Parker G. and Helen J. >Y*ONATHAN H. GERLAUGH, once a m prominent but now a retired farmer, /• 1 living on East Fifth street, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Beaver Creek town- ship, Greene county, Ohio, March 10, 1823. He is a son of John Adam and Catherine (Hanes) Gerlaugh, both natives of Maryland. They were the parents of ten children, five of whom are still living, as follows: Robert W., of Warren county, 111.; Arthur, of Greene 518 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD county, Ohio; Jonathan H. ; Frances, wife of Benjamin E. Clark, and Mary Jane, now Mrs. Emanuel Hawker. John Adam Gerlaugh, who was a farmer by occupation, and a patriot soldier of the war of 1812, removed to Ohio in the fall of 1807, settling in Beaver Creek township, Greene county, where he bought land and lived the rest of his life, excepting a very short time, dying in Illinois in 1856, when on a visit to his son. He was then sixty-eight years and eleven months of age. His wife, who died about five years before him, was a member of the Lu- theran church. Adam Gerlaugh, the paternal grandfather of Jonathan H., was a native of Maryland and came to Ohio about 1807, entering three quar- ter sections of land in Greene county for all of his children. He, however, lived in another part of the county from that where he entered this land and died at an advanced age. The maternal grandfather was a native of Mary- land, a farmer by occupation, and died in his native state. Jonathan H. Gerlaugh was born and reared in Greene county. Receiving his education in the common schools, he remained at home un- til he arrived at mature years. He began life for himself by renting land of his father in 1855, but as his father died the next year, the property was divided among the children, and Jonathan continued to farm in Mad River township, where he lived twenty-two years. Then, removing to a farm a little above Cham- bersburg, he lived there until July, 1877, when he came to Dayton, which city has since been his home. He at first lived at the corner of Third and Van Lear streets, but later removed to his present home, where he owns eight acres of land and two houses. He erected his hand- some brick residence in 1894. Mr. Gerlaugh owns two farms, one of 160 acres, well im- proved, in Darke county, Ohio, and one of seventy-seven and one-half acres about one and a half miles from Dayton, on the Xenia (Ohio) pike. March 1, 1855, he married Miss Catherine Jane Lantz, daughter of John and Catherine Lantz. To this marriage there were born no children. Mrs. Gerlaugh died March 3, 1876, a member of the First Lutheran church of Dayton. For his second wife Mr. Gerlaugh married Miss Margaret Davidson, daughter of William and Ann Davidson, of Chambersburg, Montgomery county. To this marriage there have been born two children — Jonathan and Morton. The latter died at the age of thir- teen. Jonathan is attending a commercial col- lege. Mrs. Gerlaugh is a member of Linden avenue Baptist church, and is a most excel- lent woman. Mr. Gerlaugh is a republican in politics, and as such served one term as trus- tee of Mad River township. For seventy-three years he has lived within five miles of Dayton, and has always been an active, industrious and useful citizen. aALVIN A. BONNER, M. D., of Day- ton, Ohio, was born about two miles from the city of Dayton, in Van Bu- ren township, on the 30th day of Au- gust, 1857, the son of John N. and Mary (Moler) Bonner, the former of whom died in 1884 — the mother still surviving. John N. Bonner was also a native of Ohio, having been born on the same farm where his son first saw the light of day. His father, John Bonner, was one of the early pioneers of the state and contributed his part in reclaiming the now prolific and beautiful section where he located so many years ago. Calvin A. Bonner was reared under the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the farm, and his preliminary education was received in the district school and supplemented by a course of study in the J/' Chtxruu^. OL- P cltf-Zs-z^iXsy — s OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 521 graded schools. When he was seventeen years old he was unfortunate in meeting with an accident while engaged in his farm duties, which rendered him a cripple for about three years. During the first two years he was treated at home, and while obliged to use crutches, he nevertheless made practical use of the forge which his father had erected on the farm, as well as of the carpentering tools, and thus manufactured many useful articles demanded in connection with the farm work. One of his early enterprises was in the manu- facture of Portland cutter sleighs, for which he found a ready demand. Being then sent to Indianapolis, Ind., for treatment, he there became a resident of the home of his uncle, who was a leading physician of Indianapolis, and under his effective direction devoted his attention to the study of medicine for the period of one year, after which he returned to his home and again resumed his connection with farm work and the forge. One day a casual visitor called on young Bonner, and found him at work at the forge. This caller, who was the proprietor of the Dayton Forge & Iron works, was impressed with the skill of the workman; and insisted on the young man's going with him to learn the business. He consented, and went to the city, where he was placed in charge of the engine and steam hammer in the above named establishment, thus becoming a competent operative. After a period of about a year he was taken sick with typhoid fever and sent home. Upon his recovery he took charge of a portable en- gine, and continued at this work until the D. H. Morrison Bridge company built their new plant in Dayton, when he secured employment in operating the portable engine which sup- plied the motive power of that plant for some time. When a stationary engine was secured, he was retained in the capacity of engineer, continuing his connection with the industry for 17 a period of about four years. The doctor is possessed of much mechanical ability, and his practical knowledge in this line would have insured to him a successful career in that di- rection had he chosen to devote himself to the same. During the time that he was employed in the Bridge works all his leisure hours were spent in continuing his studies in medicine, and during this time he furnished the capital to purchase a drug store in the city of Dayton, being associated in the enterprise with J. G. Sponsel, under the firm name of Sponsel & Bonner. He disposed of his interests in this establishment at the end of three years, hav- ing in the meanwhile devoted as much time as possible to the study of medicine, in connec- tion with his pharmaceutical work. He con- tinued as clerk in the drug store for one year after selling out, and then went to Milford, Ohio, and there assumed charge of a drug store, owned by a local estate, and conducted the business one year, after which he was for an equal length of time in charge of a drug store at Lawrenceburg, Ind. In May, 1884, at Saint Louis, Mo., Dr. Bonner was united in marriage to Miss Jeannette Charch, daughter of John S. Charch. In the latter part of the same year he returned to Dayton, and here, in the following spring, he effected the pur- chase of the drug business of W. E. Hooven, conducting it during a period of about five years. At the same time he continued his preparation for that profession which he had determined to adopt as his vocation in life. He pursued a thorough course of study in the Medical college of Ohio, in Cincinnati, grad- uating as a member of the class of 1890, most admirably equipped for successful practice as a physician and surgeon. In 1891 he disposed of his drug business and has since given his un- divided attention to his profession, having gained a representative practice and a large measure of success. 522 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD The doctor renders stanch allegiance to the republican party and its principles, and fra- ternally he is prominently identified with the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Foresters, the Knights of Pythias, Sons of Veterans, and the Patriotic Order Sons of America. He was one of the charter members of the Iola division of the uniform rank of the Knights of Pythias, and was the first member of the Dayton lodge to join the uniform rank of the Sons of America. Dr. and Mrs. Bonner became the parents of three children, two of whom are deceased, the survivor being a daughter, Mary Elizabeth. HE GEM CITY STOVE COMPANY, located on Linden avenue, in Dayton, dates its inception back to March 17, 1884, when the now important indus- try was founded by Messrs. Henry R., Charles M. and August M. Gummer. In May, 1885, the business was incorporated with a capital stock of $23,000, which has since been raised to $100,000. At the time of the company's incorporation Henry R. Gummer was made president, Charles M. Gummer vice-president, and J. Lee Natches secretary. The last named is now deceased, his successor as secretary of the company being A. J. Conover. The di- rectors of the company are H. R. , C. M., and A. M. Gummer, and S. D. and A. J. Conover. The enterprise now stands as the most exten- sive of the sort in Dayton, and the success which has attended it is the best voucher for the ability and the well directed efforts of its founders. When the industry was first estab- lished, the business was conducted on Taylor street, but in 1 890 the plant was removed to the present location on Linden avenue, where better facilities were afforded for the prosecu- tion of the business, which had largely ex- 1 its original proportions. This removal occurred' in August, and in the following De- cember the plant was destroyed by fire. Noth- ing daunted by this misfortune, the company at once began the work of rebuilding, and at the present time the great demands placed upon the institution cause the utilization of an aggregate floor space of nearly 125,000 square feet, the main building being five stories in height. The company manufactures the Clear- mont cooking and heating stoves, and the Per- fect gas ranges, the latter being in use from Maine to California, and the products of the establishment find sale in the most diverse sec- tions of the Union, the superior character of the output being such as practically to test the capacity of the plant in meeting the demands placed upon it. Employment is afforded to a corps of 200 operatives. When the Messrs. Gummer started in busi- ness, in 1884, they instituted operations upon a very modest scale, having only five men in their employ and personally giving their atten- tion to the various practical and mechan- ical portions of the work. From this small nucleus the business has grown to its present magnificent proportions, the pronounced suc- cess which has marked the successive stages of progress standing in perpetual evidence of the thorough . business principles upon which the enterprise is conducted. The average output of the establishment is 1,000 stoves each week, and this fact is indicative of the magnitude of the business controlled by the company. The three brothers are natives of Dayton, and in the public schools of this city they re- ceived their educational training. Early in life they entered upon that industry which has made their success in the business world, se- curing employment in the stove works of Greer & King, with whom they remained until 18S4, when they formed a partnership among them- selves and engaged in business on their own responsibility. They are recognized as among OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 523 the most active and energetic business men of Dayton. Messrs. S. D. and A. J. Conover were also born and reared in Dayton, and are among the well-known citizens of the Gem City. S. D. Conover is prominently identified with the coal business of the city, with which line of busi- ness A. J. Conover was also identified for several years. ^/^\ EY. FRANCIS JOSEPH GOETZ and I /«^ the Holy Trinity congregation. — The I W clerical life of Rev. Francis Joseph is so closely interwoven with the origin and development of Holy Trinity Catholic con- gregation, of this city, that neither one could be satisfactorily complete without a sketch of the other. The main facts in connection with the origin of this congregation are therefore presented herewith. As early as 1858 it be- came apparent that the rapidly increasing Cath- olic population could not be properly ministered to by the parent congregation, Emanuel's, which was founded as early as 1833. The de- mand for another German Catholic church became imperative. Saint Mary's, on Xenia avenue, then comparatively a farming district, was organized. The out-of-the-way location was unsatisfactory to many Catholics who lived in the central and northern portions of Day- ton, and they determined to have a congrega- tion of their own. At first seemingly insur- mountable obstacles presented themselves. But the sturdy and determined good men, under the leadership of the venerable pioneer Catholic, Henry Ferneding, who is now in his eighty-fifth year, seconded by Theodore Bar- low, were never discouraged and persevered until their efforts were crowned with glorious success. With such stanch supporters of the cause as Lawrence Butz, Sr. , Henry Hilge- fort, Bernard Alke, Theodore Husche, Frank Fritsch and many others, success was assured. The serious undertaking of establishing a new congregation was undertaken and pushed to completion. No sacrifice was too severe, no burden too heavy. In i860 the present site of the church, corner Fifth and Bainbridge streets, was purchased, plans drawn, the con- tract awarded to Bernard Lemper, and the erection of the present church, 60x135 Ieet in dimensions, and with a spire 200 feet in height, was begun. At that time these pro- portions seemed enormous, but the wise heads in the lead cared nothing for the adverse opin- ions of others, and since then the history of the church has fuliy vindicated them. Long before the church was complete, the Most Rev. Archbishop Purcell invited Rev. F. J. Goetz to take charge of the new congre- gation. The youthful priest arrived in Dayton in May, 1861. They were just putting in the pews and erecting a temporary altar. After that time, a grand organ was purchased, the side altars built, the steeple finished, and the pastoral residence and two school-houses erected, Father Goetz all the while making collections from house to house. In the beginning the congregation num- bered scarcely 1 50 families. The Sisters of Notre Dame were engaged to teach the girls' school, which has ever since been under their charge. The boys' school was taught for a number of years by lay teachers, succeeded by the Brothers of Mary of the Saint Mary's in- stitute, or Nazareth, of Dayton, Ohio. August 15, 1886, when the silver jubilee of the congregation was celebrated, it was out of debt. The past history of the congrega- tion can be summed up in the few words: "It is a grand triumph of true Christianity, and the Catholic faith which inspired the founders and lives in their progeny." The present trus- tees of the church are Henry Westendorf, John Ziegler, Jos. Lenz, George Lause, Theo- 52-4 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD dore Lienesch, secretary and treasurer. The first secretary and treasurer of the congrega- tion was Jos. Ferneding, who died in Novem- ber, 1862. He was succeeded by C. J. Fer- neding, who filled this position without com- pensation for a quarter of a century, when he resigned and the present incumbent was elected in January, 1887. In February, 1851, Francis Joseph Goetz entered the seminary of Saint Sulpice, Paris, where he completed his philosophical and theological studies, and was ordained a priest August 15, 1855, in the chapel of Saint Sul- pice, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop de Goesbriand. After celebrating his first mass in the village of his nativity, Sufflenheim, and preaching his first sermon there, he embarked for America October 22, 1855, reported to Archbishop Purcell, and was assigned to the congregation at Marges, Carroll county, Ohio, on February 1, 1856. From that time on he was active in the missions embracing Marges, Lodi, Canal Dover, Zanesville and Hessen-Huebel in Stark, Tuscarawas, Muskingum and Carroll counties, until September, 1858. The young but ener- getic priest overcame many severe trials in a heroic manner, until he arrived at Mount Saint Mary's of the West, Cincinnati, where he taught French, German and philosophy for several months. On the 15th of August, 1886, the congregation celebrated its silver jubilee, but prior to this, in 1871, Father Goetz was most instrumental in the organization of the order of the Knights of Saint George of Holy Trin- ity congregation. The care of the great con- gregation became now too much for one pastor. Hence, Rev. J. D. Kress was appointed assist- ant in 1872. He was succeeded by Rev. N. Nickels, of Saint Mary's institute, in 1874. In July, 1875, Rev. J. B. Frohmiller came and remained until 188S. He in turn was succeeded by Rev. B. Luebberman, who re- mained until 1890. The Revs. J. G. Franz and Herman Ellerbrock had charge of the congregation during a European tour of the rector. Rev. Ellerbrock remained until August, 1 89 1. Then came Rev. P. Sigisbert Zarn, O. S. B., who was assistant until 1894. The present assistant is Rev. Henry G. Kues. The merits of Rev. F. J. Goetz as rector of the Holy Trinity congregation were of such high order that the present archbishop of Cin- cinnati, the Rt. Rev. William Henry Elder, made him the permanent rector of Holy Trin- ity congregation in December, 1894. He is respected and beloved by thousands in Day- ton, regardless of religious creed, and all who know him wish Father Goetz, now past sixty-eight years of age, many more years of health and happiness and enjoyment of the fruits of his faithful and persevering labors in the vineyard of the Lord. f y ■ * ENRY CELLARIUS is a native of l^\ the old town of Schwarzburg-Rudol- F stadt, in the province of Saxony, Ger- many, where he was born on the 29th of November, 1831. His father, a man of eminent ability, was Rev. H. F. E. Cellarius, who held distinguished ecclesiastical prefer- ment as clergyman of the reigning prince of Schwarzburg. He was highly educated, was possessed of great literary attainments and thorough scholarship, being particularly well- read in the classical languages. A brother of Henry followed in the footsteps of his honored father, and is now a clergyman of the Lutheran church in Germany. Henry Cellarius was reared in his native town, being afforded the best of educational advantages, beside enjoying the beneficial in- fluences and surroundings of a home of culture and refinement. He began his studies as a child of five years, and completed his college course at the age of nineteen. In 1850, am- y y OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 527 bitious to make for himself a place in the world, he determined to seek his fortune in America. This project met with paternal op- position and discouragement, but the mother sympathized with the young man and lent her influence to aid him in effecting the object of his ambition. The first week of September, of the year mentioned, Mr. Cellarius landed at Castle Garden, in the city of New York. He recalls the fact that just an hour after the boat on which he took passage had reached that city, the great Swedish vocalist, Jenny Lind, arrived at the same place to begin a triumphal tour ever memorable in the musical annals of our nation. From the metropolis Mr. Cellarius made his way to Memphis, Tenn., where he re- mained about one year, having there secured employment in a grocery store. From Mem- phis he came to Ohio and located in Cincin- nati, in 1 8 5 1 , and there remained until 1858, filling a clerical position in a dry-goods estab- lishment. In August of the year last named he came to Dayton, and this city has ever since been his home. Upon his arrival here he opened a dry-goods store for Bouck, Aley & Co., the establishment being located at the corner of Fifth and Wayne streets. He suc- cessfully conducted this enterprise for a few years, after which he accepted a position as salesman in the wholesale dry-goods house of Perrine, Lytle & Shaw, with whom he re- mained about four years, when, by reason of impaired health, he determined to return to his old home in the fatherland for a season of rest and recreation. He remained in Ger- many for a year and a half, but within this time failed to receive the looked-for benefit in the recuperation of his strength. After his de- parture for his native land his wife engaged in the millinery business upon a modest scale, and she was successfully carrying on this en- terprise at the time of his return to the United States. After his health was restored Mr. Cellarius entered upon the same business, en- larging its scope and securing a representative patronage. He later engaged in the business of handling men's hats and caps and built up a lucrative trade, continuing operations in this line for a number of years. In the early 'sixties he became identified with the Dayton Building & Savings association, and was chosen presi- dent of the corporation. In 1870 he became secretary of the old Ohio association, and was successful in bringing its affairs into excellent condition before the business was brought to a termination, and afterward he was one of the chief promoters jf the new Ohio Building & Savings association, being chosen secretary of the same. The Permanent Building & Sav- ings association was organized April 4, 1874, and Mr. Cellarius was one of those chiefly in- strumental in its establishment. Of this asso- ciation, whose business is of extended and im- portant scope and has been conducted upon the highest principles of commercial integrity and according to the most approved methods, our subject became the first secretary and has ever since held this position, his well-directed efforts having been most potent in furthering the prosperity of the association and gaining for it the confidence and support of the public. The president of the association is John Geyer; vice-president, Joseph Straub; and treasurer, Fred Ecki — the entire official corps being rep- resentatives of the substantial business inter- ests of the city. In his political adherency Mr. Cellarius is a supporter of the principles and policies of the democratic party, while in his fraternal relations he is identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mr. Cellarius was united in marriage to Miss Mary C. Haessig, of Cincinnati, in July, 1858. Mrs. Cellarius is a native of Switzer- land, whence she emigrated to America with 528 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD her father, in 1852 or 1853. To this union there have been born seven children, of whom five are living, namely: Herman F., Fred J., Augustus R. , Lydia and Ida. The religious association of Mr. Cellarius and family is with the Lutheran church. WOHN GEYER, M. D., physician and A surgeon of Dayton, Ohio, with offices (•J at No. 330 South Wayne avenue, was born in Lindau, Austria, January 31, 1846, and is a son of Lawrence and Anna (Krater) Geyer. Dr. Geyer was well educated in the common and high schools of his native city, and at the age of twenty years emigrated to the United States, locating first in Boston, Mass. , removing afterward to Newark, N. J., where he began reading medicine with Dr. Hickey. Later he attended the college of Physicians and Surgeons, of New York, for two terms, and still later, in 1876, graduated at the department of medicine of the Wooster university at Cleveland, Ohio. From that time until 1878 he was engaged in the practice of his profession in Pittsburg, Pa., and he then removed to Lawrence, Mass., where he re- mained until 1880, when he went to Muscoda, Grant county, Wis., where he spent five years. In 1885 Dr. Geyer located in Portsmouth, Ohio, and there spent eighteen months, mak- ing his final move to Dayton in the spring of 1887. During all these years he has been engaged in general practice, and with success, especially since he came to Dayton. Dr. Geyer is a member of the Montgomery county Medical society, of the Ohio state Medical association, as well as of the Man- chester Medical society, of New Hampshire, and the Wisconsin state Medical association. He is also a member of the Odd Fellows order, of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and of the Independent Order of Foresters. He is medical examiner for the latter two frater- nities. In Dayton he has succeeded in building up a lucrative practice, being very popular with all classes, and especially so with the sick, because of his kindly and genial disposition. Dr. Geyer was married at Newburyport, Mass., to Miss Lina B. Moeller, a Boston lady, and a daughter of Dr. Frederick Moeller. He and his wife are the parents of five children, as follows: Emma L. , teacher of languages in Eufala, Ala., Union Female college, and a graduate of Wellesley college; Bertha; Albert, deceased; Annie and Carl. He and his wife are communicants of the Third street Luther- an church, and take an active interest in re- ligious matters. The doctor was the first of his family to come to the United States, but since he came three of his sisters have followed him and all are well pleased with their choice of a home in the land of the free. aURTISS GINN, M. D., one of the youngest physicians and surgeons of Dayton, was born in Miamisburg, Ohio, in 1872. He is a son of Dr. Charles F. and Harriet (Whitmore) Ginn. Dr. Ginn was educated first in the public schools, attended Oberlin college for three years, and after graduating from that institution went to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1890, and there entered the office of Dr. Biggar, with whom he was a student during his entire stay in Cleveland, being at the same time a student in the Cleve- land Medical university, from which he gradu- ated in 1895. His aim has always been to be a general practitioner, and with the careful preparation which he has made and the deter- mination which he brings into his profession, Dr. Ginn will doubtless prove a valuable addi- tion to the medical fraternity of Dayton. He has given much attention to surgery, and is a member of the Montgomery county Homeo- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 529 pathic Medical society and also of the Miami valley Medical society. Fraternally, Dr. Ginn is an Ancient Free & Accepted Mason. He is one of the progressive, active young physi- cians of Dayton, and is rapidly acquiring a good practice. He is the first interne of the Deaconess hospital, and has been connected therewith since April, 1895. He was appointed attending surgeon on the homeopathic staff of the Deaconess hospital in April, 1896. a HARLES O. GRAUSER, sergeant on the Dayton metropolitan police force, was born in Germantown, Montgom- ery county, Ohio, June 3, 1835, ar >d is a son of Christian and Margaret (Dininger) Grauser, both natives of Germany, who, when children of about fourteen years, came to the United States with their parents, and, on reaching mature years, were married in Mont- gomery county. Christian Grauser was a musician of more than ordinary merit and took his first lessons in this art in Germany, where, even in child- hood, he was organist in a church. His musical education was finished in this country, and he became proficient in execution upon many kinds of musical instruments. He pos- sessed a natural faculty for composition, his maturer years being largely devoted to the ex- ercise of this gift. He was a teacher of more than local reputation, and for many years conducted classes, in both vocal and instru- mental music, in Germantown. He and his wife were members of the Lutheran church, and in this faith he died in 1855. To Mr. and Mrs. Grauser were born eight children, in the following order: Lewis H., a cooper by trade and a resident of Germantown; Amelia J. was a blacksmith, and died, in 1892, in Detroit, Mich., where he had located with his family; Bianca is the wife of P. E. Bechtold, a shoe merchant of Germantown; Charlotte is the widow of O. G. H. Davidson, who was a prominent business man of Dayton, was sheriff of Montgomery county for four years, also tax commissioner, and whose son is now a city official; Mrs. Elizabeth Izor died in young womanhood, her husband, who was a grain merchant, being also deceased; Charles O. is the subject of this memoir; Augusta, now Mrs. Urschel, has been twice married, her first hus- band having been Cornelius Bitman, and her present husband being a farmer of Greenville, Darke county, Ohio; Melozina was first married to Cyrus Hiester, and after his death became the wife of Horace Hippie, a farmer near Germantown. Charles O. Grauser early learned the trade of shoemaking in Germantown and followed the business for about twelve years, and was also engaged in farming to some extent. In 1866 he came to Dayton and became turnkey of the county jail, his brother-in-law, O. G. H. Davidson, being at that time county sheriff; later Mr. Grauser served as deputy sheriff for eighteen months, and was next employed as sanitary policeman for two and a half years. March 19, 1874, he was appointed to the regu- lar police force, and now enjoys the distinction of being the oldest member, in point of serv- ice, of the Dayton police department, his term reaching nearly twenty-three years, during which period he has served in all positions from that of patrolman to the highest on the force. Mr. Grauser was first united in marriage in 1856, with Miss Julia Rowe, of Germantown, the union resulting in the birth of one child, Walter, who became a telegraph operator, was a bright and promising young man, but died at the age of seventeen years. Mrs. Grauser died on July 17, 1870, and in 1873 Mr. Grauser married Miss Susan Wright, a native of Miami county, Ohio, and to this marriage have been born two children: Earnest, who is a carriage- 530 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD trimmer by occupation, is unmarried, and is living at home with his father, and Clarence, who is a student in the city high school. Mrs. Grauser is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Grauser is a member of Friendship lodge, No. 21, Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows, of Germantown, and of the Dayton lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, No. 48; also a member of the Dayton Police Benevolent association, of which he was a charter member, and has been the president for three years. Mr. Grauser has been a most faithful officer, and as a citizen is universally respected. eLVIN HENRY COE, a representative insurance man of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Oakland, Oakland county, Mich., May 3, 1847, a son of Alonzo and Elizabeth Coe. Alonzo Coe, a native of Edinburg, Portage county, Ohio, was a physi- cian by profession, and at the outbreak of the Civil war entered a Michigan regiment as sur- geon, served in the Union army until the strife was over, and died in Mexico, Ind., in 1891. The mother, Elizabeth Coe, was born in Corn- wall, Canada, and died at the early age of twenty-two years when her only child, Elvin Henry, was very young. The paternal ances- tors traced their genealogy to England, and the maternal were of Irish extraction. Elvin H. Coe, after the death of his moth- er, was practically without a parental home, and was reared principally among strangers, although for a time he found a home with an uncle, William M. Olmstead, of Portage coun- ty, Ohio. After he entered his uncle's house he was permitted to attend the district school for three terms — the school-house being at a distance of three miles away, thus causing him a walk of six miles daily, beside which he was compelled to work at clearing early and late. While living with his uncle, Mr. Coe enlisted in company I, One Hundred and Fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, and his service was princi- pally in the First brigade, Second division, Twenty-third army corps; with this command he participated in the battle of Snow's Pond, Ky. , siege of Knoxville, Cumberland Gap, siege and capture of Atlanta, Lookout Mount- ain, Missionary Ridge, Spring Hill, Columbia, Franklin, Nashville, Fort Fisher, New Berne, N. O, and was with Gen. Thomas until the close of the war. " In the three years' service of the One Hundred and Fourth Ohio volunteer infantry they soldiered in five rebel states, participated in the annihilation of one great rebel army and received the surrender of another; fought in twenty-three different bat- tles, in which they captured more than 10,000 rebel prisoners, eighteen pieces of artillery, and twenty-five stand of colors; they marched more than 3,400 miles, rode 3,000 by rail, 1,300 by water; they uncomplainingly endured many hardships of hunger and thirst, cold and heat, disease and wounds, and laid hundreds of their comrades in the silent tomb." On being mustered out of the service at the close of the war, Mr. Coe went to Ravenna, Portage county, Ohio, and began work as brakeman on the Atlantic & Great Western railroad in July, 1865, but was shortly after- ward promoted to be conductor, and served in this capacity, with the same company, for twenty-five years. While yet a brakeman, however, he had an opportunity of demon- strating the truth of the saying, "bread cast upon the waters will return after many days." A penniless boy had appealed to him for trans- portation to Hudson, Ohio, in order to attend school, and Mr. Coe interceded for him with the conductor, and with success. Years later, when Mr. Coe had been overtaken with mis- fortune, was without money, and anxious to secure work however menial, the penniless OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 533 lad, now assistant general passenger agent of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad company, reading of the death of Mr. Coe's son and of other mishaps that had befallen Mr. Coe himself, came all the way from New York, and as the result of the interview ap- pointed the latter as agent in Ohio for the American Steam Boiler insurance company, at a salary of $25 per week. This led up to his present extensive business, and it is needless to say that Charles B. Squire and Elvin H. Coe are bound by ties equally strong as if they were brothers. January 27, 1876, Mr. Coe married Miss Catherine E. Jones, a native of Aurora, Trum- bull county, Ohio, the ceremony taking place in Ravenna. In 1878 Mr. Coe and wife came to Dayton and have resided here continuously ever since that time. To their marriage have been born four children, viz: George E., who was a traveling salesman, but, while tem- porarily employed on a railroad, was accident- ally killed in the twenty-second year of his age; Jennie A., who is her father's very effi- cient stenographer and bookkeeper; Minnie I., who is an accomplished vocalist, a member of the Third Presbyterian church choir, and is recognized as the best alto soloist in Dayton; Grace L., who is a pupil in one of the city schools. Mr. and Mrs. Coe are members of the Memorial Presbyterian church, in which Mrs. Coe is active in home missionary work, having been for years secretary and treasurer of the mission society attached to that congre- gation, and she is also prominent in other be- nevolent work. Fraternally Mr. Coe was made a Mason in Rockton lodge, No. 316, at Kent, Ohio, and still holds membership with that lodge; he is also a member of Old Guard post, No. 21, Grand Army of the Republic, and of the Garfield club, a political organiza- tion of Dayton. Mr. Coe has always shown industry and diligence in whatever he has been called upon to do, and has worked out his own success. Beginning with but a limited education, he found this fact a serious inconvenience; but he has traveled with his eyes and ears open, and has been a life-long student of men and their ways. He has been an omnivorous reader, and is now exceptionally well informed upon general subjects and upon insurance matters in particular. His railroad work carried Mr. Coe through Dayton for ten or twelve years prior to his permanent settlement in this city, during which period he made many warm friends, whom he still claims, and since coming here has made friends with hundreds of others, who hold him in high regard and esteem, both as a business man and in social life. HLBERT H. GRIM. — Among the rep- resentative business men of Day- ton is Albert H. Grim, president of the A. H. Grim company, proprietors of one of the leading furniture and carpet houses in the Gem City. Mr. Grim is the youngest of four children of Louis and Theresa ( Brodbeck ) Grim, and was born at Danville, Highland county, Ohio, on August 12, i860. He was reared in Ripley, Ohio, to which place his parents removed when he was but six years of age. He was educated in the public schools, and learned the furniture business with his father, with whom he remained until he was twenty-five years of age. In 1885 Mr. Grim came to Dayton and accepted a position as traveling salesman with the Stomps-Burk- hardt company, furniture manufacturers, re- maining with that firm for a period of eight years, during most of which time he traveled over fourteen states. On July 1, 1893, ne established the business of A. H. Grim & Co., which firm was incorporated into the A. H. Grim company in February, 1895, with Mr. 534 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Grim as president, A. F. Hochwalt as secre- tary and treasurer, and E. O. Pryor as a direct- or. Their business was located at No. 422 East Fifth street until in March, 1S96, when they removed to their present quarters at Nos. 122 and 124 East Fifth street, in a build- ing erected especially for them, which is one of the conspicuous business blocks in the city. This company carries a complete line of furni- ture, carpets, stoves and household goods, which is entirely new and especially selected for the trade. The company occupies four floors and basement, 45 x 99 feet, and has the model building of the city for this business. Mr. Grim is thoroughly equipped for and conversant with the business, having been reared to it from boyhood, and to his experi- ence, judgment and fine business ability is due, in a great part, the enviable position his company holds in the commercial world. He is progressive, wide-awake and enterprising. He gives his entire time and attention to the affairs of the company, and if he cherishes one ambition above another it is that of seeing the A. H. Grim company maintain its present standing in the business circles of the commu- nity. Mr. Grim is quite prominent in fraternal society circles. He is a member of Humboldt lodge, No. 58, Knights of Pythias, of court Harmon, No. 131 1, Independent Order of Foresters, and of Gem City council, No. 1, Fraternal Censer. Mr. Grim was married on May 1, 1883, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Miss Philipina Gross, daughter of Peter Gross, and to them have been born the following children: Elsie, Theresa, Huldah and Leona. The eld- est child born is deceased. The father of Mr. Grim is of German birth. From Danville he removed his family to Ripley, Ohio, in 1866, where he has since resided. For years he was successfully engaged in the furniture business, but is now retired, he being in his eighty-sixth year. His wife is of Swiss birth and is in her seventy-sixth year. They are the parents of four children, as follows : Louis, born Decem- ber 18, 1849, a furniture dealer of Ripley, Ohio ; Joseph, born in 1853, and residing in Ripley ; Emil, who died in childhood, and Albert H., our subject. >^OHN L. GUSLER, of Dayton, Ohio, ■ ex-sheriff of Montgomery county, was /• 1 born at Liberty, Montgomery county, Ohio, July 27, 1856. He is a son of Solomon B. Gusler, who removed to Mont- gomery county, in April, 1849, from Perry county, Pa., where he was born July 31, 1821. By occupation he has been a farmer all his life, and is still farming in Jefferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, where he has lived since 1850. He has never held political office, but is a thorough democrat in principle. His life has been one of honest and straightfor- ward dealing with his fellow-men, and he en- joys the well-earned esteem of his neighbors. He married Mary Ann Hoffman, who was born May 27, 1827, about four miles from Millers- town, Perry county, Pa., and who is still liv- ing. To their marriage seven children were born, four of whom are still living, and all resi- dents of Montgomery county, Ohio. John L. Gusler was reared on the farm in Jefferson township, and received his education in the public schools of Liberty. Upon arriv- ing at the age of eighteen years he began busi- ness life as a clerk in the grocery store of D. O. Kimmel, at Liberty, with whom he remained for two years, at the end of which period he went to Iowa, and worked for two years on a farm. Returning home, he remained two years on his father's farm, aud during this time served as constable of Jefferson township. This office he resigned to accept a position with A. D. Wall, successor to Samuel C. Schwarz, clothier, of Dayton. Mr. Schwarz then pur- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 535 chased the store from Mr. Wall, Mr. Gusler remaining with him until 1883. At that time he embarked in the clothing business for him- self in Dayton, and continued thus engaged until 1892. In that year he was elected on the democratic ticket to the office of sheriff of Montgomery county, and filled that office ac- ceptably to the people of the county for one term of two years. He was renominated for sheriff in 1894, but, with the entire democratic ticket, was defeated, running ahead of the rest of his ticket, however, about 1,100 votes. Retiring from the office of sheriff Mr. Gus- ler purchased, January 17, 1895, the Palace livery stables, located at Nos. 233 and 235 South Jefferson street, one of the largest and best arranged plants in the city, and conducted the same until September, 1896. Mr. Gusler is a member of the Knights of Pythias, of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, of the Elks, of the Eagles and of the Foresters. He was married March 6, 1 881, to Miss Emma Miller, a daughter of John Miller, of Jefferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio. To this marriage there have been born two children, Otho Evan, who died an infant, December 8, 1883, and Laura L. , who was born July 29, 1885, now with her parents. ^•y w * ILLIAM F. HAAS, who merits con- M m sideration in this connection by mj^J reason of being one of the repre- sentee young business men of Day- ton, the city of his nativity, is at the head of the firm of William F. Haas & Co., the most extensive dealers in bicycles and wheel supplies in this section, with headquarters at No. 115 East Third street. Among the leading bicycles handled by the firm are the Liberty, Rambler, Crescent, Ideal and Patee, all of which are known for their many points of superiority as attractive and serviceable machines. The firm also carry full lines of bicycle sundries and sup- plies and maintain a repair shop which is com- plete in all its equipments and in charge of competent workmen. The firm are immediate successors to A. W. Gump & Co., whose in- terests they purchased in 1895. The members of the present firm are William F. Haas, and L. W. Winters, both of whom have been asso- ciated with the business as conducted by their predecessors, being, therefore, fully conver- sant with all details relative to the successful management of the enterprise. They are young men who show the distinctive American push and progressiveness, and their correct methods, unvarying courtesy and unswerving business integrity have gained to them the measure .of success which is justly their due. William F. Haas, the immediate subject of this review, was born in the city of Dayton, on the 7th of April, 1864, a son of Henry and Christina (Fishbach) Haas, both of whom were born in Germany, whence they came to the United States in their early childhood. They became residents of Dayton prior to their marriage, and here the death of Henry Haas occurred in the year 1889, he having been for some time a well-known salesman in a leading mercantile establishment of this city. The mother is still living, retaining her home in Dayton. They became the parents of eight children, namely: Clara E., Mary J., Ella M., Arthur D. (deceased), William F., Walter E., Harry L. , and Ida M. The children are all unmarried with the exception of Harry L. , who was united to Miss Bertha Klugle. William F. Haas has passed his entire life in the city of his birth, and his educational opportunities were those afforded by the ex- cellent public schools of the place. At the age of thirteen years he entered upon his first business experience as a clerk in the establish- ment of D. W. Winters & Brother, with whom he remained for two years, after which he was 536 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD for an equal length of time in the employ of Legler, Prugh & DeWeese. His next move- ment was one which showed good judgment and grew out of his desire to acquire a knowl- edge which would be of reliable value to him as a resource. He entered the Buckeye Iron & Brass works for the purpose of learning the trade of a machinist, remaining in the employ of this company for a period of five years, after which he was for a time identified with his present business, finally passing from the posi- tion of an employee to that of proprietor. The success of the enterprise is one of which the firm may well feel proud, and the establish- ment enjoys a local popularity on a par with the high personal standing of the interested principals. In his fraternal relations Mr. Haas is iden- tified with Wayne lodge, No. 10, I. O. O. F., and is also a zealous member of the Y. M. C. A. In his religious associations he is connected with the Raper Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is a steward, as well as an assist- ant superintendent of the Sunday-school. His home is located at 213 Howard street. aHARLES HENRY CRAWFORD, deceased, formerly one of the promi- nent and valued citizens of Dayton, was born in Johnstown, N. Y., Jan- uary 16, 1820. His father and mother, Jona- than and Elizabeth Crawford, were the parents of four children, viz: William, deceased; Charles Henry, and two daughters, Mrs. M. N. Wheaton and Mrs. E. D. Payne, who resided for many years in Dayton, both of them women of excellent qualities and strong character. The family having in 1821 removed to Mil- ton Center, Saratoga county, lived there one year, and then removed to Rock City Falls, in the same county, where they remained until 1830. Of his boyhood at Rock City Falls Mr. Crawford always retained the most vivid and pleasant recollections. It was there that he acquired the rudiments of his education, in the little school-house on the edge of the vil- lage, with its rude writing desks and benches; and it was there also, when in his eighth year, that he received his first religious impressions, attending meetings in the houses of the neigh- bors with his mother. He ever remembered his Sunday-school teacher, Oliver Whitehead, with affection and reverence. In 1830 the family removed to Milton Stone Meeting House, where Rev. Thomas Powell was pastor, and where Mrs. Crawford had previously united with the church. Here they lived for about two years, when, on the death of Jonathan Crawford's father, they re- turned to the old homestead in Saratoga county. On the farm young Charles Henry, strong and active, became exceedingly helpful in the .work, his father's approval being to him a constant incentive to industry. During the winter months he attended district school about a mile away. Naturally of a studious disposition, he needed no other stimulus, made rapid progress in all his studies, and felt great pride in standing at the head of his class and in receiving the approval of his teacher. He also attended a singing class and thus began to cultivate a talent by means of which he added much to his own and others' happiness during the rest of his life. Arriving at the age of sixteen years he cheerfully assented to the proposition of his father that he learn a trade, and so was ap- prenticed to Paddock & Townsend, saddlers, of Troy, N. Y., with whom his brother, Will- iam, had been engaged two years. On March 1, 1836, he left home and was soon employed in his new position, and he ever afterward sup- ported himself. In 1829 Archibald and Ziba Crawford, uncles of Charles Henry, established them- foslsK^/ /i-mX (Z fr£r«-«r^" OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 539 selves in the manufacture of lasts and shoe pegs in Dayton, and in 1839 they extended to their young nephew an invitation to take a po- sition in their factory. The firm in Troy with which he was engaged failing about this time, he accepted the invitation. After a journey of eleven days and ten nights he arrived in Day- ton, November 4. His uncles had just com- pleted a new building for their factory, on the canal, a building which' is still standing. At the end of three years Mr. Crawford became a third owner of the business, and continued a member of the company most of the rest of his life. He became well known as a just and honorable business man, an amiable partner and unusually thoughtful in every time of trial and business care. The title of the firm changed several times, until at length it be- came, as stated in the sketch of William H. Crawford, the Crawford, McGregor & Canby Co., this title being assumed, however, sev- eral years after the death of Charles Henry Crawford. In 1839, soon after his arrival in Dayton, Mr. Crawford joined the choir of the First Baptist church, and remained a member thereof for forty years. In 1841 his mind became seriously interested in the subject of religion, and on the 10th of January of that year he joined the church, being baptized with several others by the pastor, Rev. John L.. Moore. From that time until the end of his life he was consecrated to the interests of religion and the welfare of his fellow men. Mr. Crawford was married September 15, 1846, to Miss Melvina Smith, of New Carlisle, Ohio, who had been his schoolmate in Saratoga county, N. Y. She was a daughter of Warren A. and Amanda Smith. She was a graduate of the seminary at Granville, Ohio, and a mem- ber of the Baptist church in New Carlisle. Their married life was an unusually happy one, but doomed to be cut short by her untimely death, which occurred in August, 1847. Three years later Mr. Crawford married Miss Sarah J. Comstock, of Hoosic Falls, N. Y. , who had been a teacher of music in the Cooper acad- emy at Dayton, Ohio, when E. E. Barney was principal. Two years after their marriage she died. In 1856 he married Miss Sarah N. Thresher, a daughter of Ebenezer Thresher, and for twenty-four years they lived together a gentle and affectionate life. They gave to their children the benefit of wise, patient and loving counsel, and of a pure and pious example. This wife died in 1880, after a lingering ill- ness, and thus Mr. Crawford was a widower for the third time. The business of his life was, however, not neglected, and his home was under the care of his daughter, Mrs. Charles W. James. Until a few weeks before his death he appeared to be in his usual health, when he became enfeebled by a slow malarial fever, and died November 25, 1887. The funeral serv- ices occurred the following Monday in the First Baptist church, and his remains were laid for- ever to rest in Woodland cemetery. Mr. Crawford was possessed of remarkable calmness and self-control. On one occasion, when his factory was burning, he was asked: "How can you take it so calmly?" he replied: "It will do no good to fret." On other and more important occasions he was equally self- controlled. He was nearly always at church twice on Sunday, and a regular attendant at Sunday-school and at prayer-meeting, and al- ways ready to perform his duty to his church and to the community in general. From April, 1866, until the time of his death, he was a deacon in his church, and for several years he was superintendent of the Sunday-school. He always sympathized with the young, and he was one of the trustees of the Young Men's Christian association, as well as of the Widows' home of Dayton. It was a habit of his life to be doing little deeds of kindness, and among 540 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the last acts of his life was one of thoughtful- ness for the poor. No mistake is made in say- ing that like Barnabas of old, the "son of con- solation," "he was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith." aOL. JOHN A. GORGAS was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pa., March 1 8, 1828, and is the son of George and Eliza (Ashtonj Gorgas, both na- tives of the Keystone state and of French and English descent, respectively. The colonel's ancestors, upon both sides, were among the earliest settlers in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and the names appear frequently in the early annals of Germantown and Roxborough. Mrs. Eliza Gorgas died in her native city of Phila- delphia, at the age of forty, and her husband departed this life at Newark, N. J., when sixty-three years old. These parents had a family of four sons and four daughters, who reached years of maturity, and two daughters who died in childhood. The eldest of the family, Edmund J., now seventy-eight years of age, was a soldier in the late war and served in the same regiment with his brother, John A.; George Gorgas, the second in order of birth, also served three years in the army and died in 1895, at Bridgeport, Conn.; Robert islivingin Philadelphia, and has been a life-long invalid; the sisters are all deceased. Col. Gorgas received a common-school education and early learned the miller's trade and coachmaking, in both of which he ac- quired much more than ordinary proficiency. He was successful in business from his earliest venture and was carrying on a very lucrative establishment at the breaking out of the war. Previous to that time, he had been identified with the militia service of his native state, hav- ing enlisted in the infantry corps, national guard of Pennsylvania, in 1850. On the re- organization of the corps, as the second regi- ment national guard of Pennsylvania, in i860, he was appointed corporal of company C, and later, at the first call of President Lincoln for volunteers for the three months' service, he was promoted first sergeant, com- pany C, Nineteenth Pennsylvania infantry; the regiment, having offered its services, was mus- tered into the army of the United States in 1 861. At the expiration of the term of enlist- ment, the government having no troops to re- lieve the Nineteenth, the regiment, on the appeal of Gen. Dix, voted to remain in the service until properly relieved. The colonel was mustered out with his regiment August 29, 1 86 1, and upon its re-organization for the three years' service as the Ninetieth Pennsylva- nia infantry, September following, he was com- missioned first lieutenant of company C. On the 7th of March, 1862, he was made captain of his company and served as such, taking part with the regiment in all of its many engagements until March, 1863, at which time he resigned his commission on surgeon's certificate of disability. Subsequently, at the call of the governor of Pennsylvania for volun- teers, he re-entered the service while still suf- fering from his wounds, and recruited com- pany B, for the Fifty-second Pennsylvania in- fantry, of which he was commissioned cap- tain, his commission bearing date July 1, 1S63. He was mustered out with the regiment Sep- tember 1st of the same year, and immediately thereafter was instrumental in organizing the One Hundred and Ninety-sixth Pennsylvania, of which he was commissioned and mustered in as major July 2, 1S64. He served in this capacity until the 17th day of the following October, when he was mustered out with the regiment, and received special orders to recruit a regiment for the Union legion of Philadel- phia. He succeeded in raising 1,500 men in twenty-one days. This regiment was or- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 541 ganized and became the Two Hundred and Thirteenth Pennsylvania, and Col. Gorgas was made colonel of the same, and as such was mustered into the service of the United States March 4, 1865. He received orders from the war department to report to the commanding officer at Baltimore, Md. , but, the command not being armed, he was unable to comply with the order. After ten companies were armed, he received further orders and trans- ferred two companies of 100 men each, with their officers, to the governor of Pennsylvania, leaving 300 men in excess of the 1,000 re- quired to fill the Two Hundred and Thirteenth, as a nucleus for the organization of the One Hundred and Fourteenth Pennsylvania; with these he reported to the commanding officer at Baltimore. In six weeks this regiment had its full complement of 1,000 men, fully armed and equipped. The colonel's command was divided; three companies, under Lieut. -Col. Jacob N. Davis, were ordered to Monocacy and Fort Dix, while the remaining companies, under Col. Gorgas, went to Annapolis, Md. , to relieve Col. Root, of the Ninety-fourth New York, and Brig. -Gen. Chamberlain at Camp Parole; later, after re- lieving Brig. -Gen. Graham, of the United States army, Col. Gorgas assumed command of the district of Annapolis, Md. It was a de- tachment of his regiment that captured, near Monocacy Junction, Atzeroth, the attempted assassin of Sec. Seward. Col. Gorgas was re- lieved by Maj. Werrel, of the Two Hundred and Fourteenth Pennsylvania, and ordered to Alex- andria, Va. , with his regiment, and dismantled the forts at that place and Washington. He was mustered out of the service November 18, 1865, but subsequently, upon the re-organiza- tion of the Second regiment, national guard, of Pennsylvania, he enlisted as private in com- pany C; was elected and commissioned cap- tain of company B, September 4, 1867. May 17, 1S69, he was commissioned major of the regiment, re-elected to the same position June 5, 1874, and on the 25th of January, 1877, was made lieutenant-colonel. He served with the regiment under Lyle in the Pittsburg riots of 1877, and resigned his commission as lieu- tenant-colonel in 1880. In 1888 the colonel came to the national home, D. V. S., and was soon afterward placed in command of company Eighteen, a position of responsibility, which he still fills. Col. Gorgas possesses rare mechanical skill, and since becoming an inmate of the home, has de- voted his leisure to manufacturing various ap- pliances for use in the construction of carriages, one of which is very valuable. His last device is a bicycle lock and holder, recently patented, which, with the appliances above noted, has won him recognition as a mechanical genius of high order. Col. Gorgas was married in 1852 to Miss Martha Crouse, of Philadelphia, who died in 1882, leaving two sons — John A., Jr., and William L. — the former born while his father was in the army. John A., Jr., is a young man of fine intellectual attainments, a lieuten- ant in the United States naval reserve, with headquarters at Camden, N. J., and at this time is second in command of the monitor Ajax. He is married and has one child, Josephine, by name. William L. Gorgas is a coach blacksmith at Sharon Hill, Pa. He is married and has a family of two children, both daughters. Col. Gorgas is a member of the I. O. O. F., K. of P., I. O. R. M., and G. A. R. In religion he is a Methodist. 'ILLIAM G. HAEUSSLER, clerk of the board of education of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, March 30, 1856. His parents, Jacob and Fredericka ( Maechtlen ) Haeussler, were m. 542 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD both natives of Wurtemberg, Germany, and came to the United States in 1848, locat- ing immediately in Cincinnati. There Jacob Haeussler was engaged in the grocery and daily market business for a number of years, gaining wide acquaintance and general respect, and died in his adopted city November 8, 1881. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, taking great interest in religious work. He was an active worker in behalf of the re- publican party, and was a member of the Odd Fellow fraternity. His widow is now living with her son, William G., in Dayton, Ohio, and is in her seventy-ninth year. William G. Haeussler was educated in Cin- cinnati, graduating from the public schools, and at the age of eighteen years entering Nel- son's Business college in that city. He gradu- ated from that institution in 1875, and soon after secured a position as bookkeeper for the firm of L. R. Hull & Co., commission mer- chants of Cincinnati, with whom he remained for some time, and later accepted a similar place with the furniture manufacturing firm of Meyer & Merkle. From this position he went to a similar one, in the employ of Louis & Co., continuing with this firm until 1885, when he came to Dayton, taking charge there of the office of I. & C. Van Ausdal, with whom he remained for six years. He next became the bookkeeper of the Farmers' Friend Manufactur- ing company, of Dayton, one of the largest manufacturers of farming implements in the country, and was with that company for three years, when the business was purchased by John W. Stoddard & Co. From this time Mr. Haeussler was the general agent of the Home Life Insurance company, of New York, for Dayton and Montgomery county, until April 18, 1895, when he was elected clerk of the board of education of Dayton, which position he still holds. In each of these responsible positions Mr. Haeussler has been faithful to his trust, hold- ing the confidence of his employers; and in the history of the Dayton schools no board of education has ever enjoyed the services of a clerk more efficient, more industrious or more courteous than the present incumbent of that important office. Mr. Haeussler was married, May 29, 1879, to Miss Bertha Dornbusch, daughter of Capt. Henry Dornbusch, a pioneer of Davton. To their marriage there have been born four chil- dren, as follows: Bertha; Henry, deceased; William, deceased; and Charles. Fraternally, Mr. Haeussler is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellow orders, and religiously he and his wife are faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church. y^V'RNST ZWICK, founder of the Zwick m 1 & Greenwald Wheel company, of \^^ Dayton, Ohio, was a native of Lob- ten, province of Schlesien, guberna- atoril district of Breslau, Germany, where he was born on June 16, 1822. He was reared to manhood in the old country, where he re- ceived his education. In 1852, when thirty years of age, he came to the United States. He landed at New Orleans, and came up the river to Cincinnati. Failing to find employ- ment in Cincinnati he came to Dayton, and here began to learn the wood-turning trade, at which he worked until 1859, when, with his savings, he engaged in business for himself, turning for furniture factories, finally getting into the hub and spoke business, and a few years later was engaged in the manufacture of wheels complete. During the war the firm of Zwick & Bookwalter was organized to carry on the above business, and was succeeded by Zwick, Bookwalter & Kneisly, and that firm was in turn succeeded by Zwick, Kneisly & Co., A. W. Pinneo being the company. The £ fr/z-nS>T~ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 545 last named firm was succeeded by Zwick, Pin- neo & Daniels, which continued until 1875, when Mr. Zwick withdrew from it. In 1881 Mr. Zwick established the firm of Zwick, Green wald &.Co., manufacturers of wheels, which firm was composed of himself, Jacob Greenwald, who had been with the old firm of Zwick, Pinneo & Daniels as superintendent for more than twenty years, Fred Rogge and Frank Kammann. Mr. Zwick died on No- vember 30, 1888. He was a prominent mem- ber of the Regular German Baptist church, and took great interest in church work, he and his wife having assisted in the organization of the first church of that denomination in Day- ton. Mr. Zwick was a devout Christian and devoted to his family and friends. He was of quiet, unassuming disposition, caring nothing for display or public office, and though a strong republican in politics, did not take part in public matters more than to make use of the ballot. In business affairs he was active and alert, progressive and enterprising, always looking to the advancement and building up of the business industries of which he was the head and controlling spirit, and always am- bitious to extend and increase their scope. When he came to America he was possessed of neither means nor trade, was already mar- ried and had a family, yet when he died he left a competency, all of which had been ac- cumulated by strict business methods, and which was left to his four sons. Mr. Zwick was married in Berlin, Ger- many, on June 29, 1849, to Sophie Wilke. Mrs. Zwick was a native of Lichterfelde, near Neustadt, Eberswalde, in the gubernatorial district of Pottsdam, where she was born on April 18, 1819. Her death occurred on Janu- ary 6, 1888. To Mr. and Mrs. Zwick seven children were born; the first was an only daugh- ter, Sophie, who was born in Berlin, and died on the boat en route from New Orleans to 18 Cincinnati. The other six were boys, all born in Dayton, two of whom died in infancy. The surviving sons, who inherited the father's large interests in the Zwick & Greenwald Wheel company, are Henry, Joseph, Samuel and William. ^y~|»ILLIAM W. HACKNEY is a general M M mechanic of the city of Dayton, \JL>^ where he has made his home for many years at 1700 East Third street. He is a son of Montgomery county, in this state, the date of his birth being August 27, 1832. He is a son of Josiah D. and Char- lotte (Smith) Hackney, his father hailing from New Jersey; his mother was born in eastern Ohio and reared in Randolph township, Mont- gomery county. The Hackney family is of the old Quaker stock, and traces its history back to the stirring times of William Penn. The original Hackney emigrants to America came from London, or rather from Hackney, a suburb of that great city. On his mother's side Mr. Hackney traces his family back to German sources, the Smiths having settled in Pennsylvania, where they remained for many years. The maternal great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolution, and was one of two men spoken of in history as losing their lives when Washington crossed the Delaware to attack the English and Hessians at Trenton. His name is lost to his descendants, but tra- dition fixes the fact beyond question. Josiah D. Hackney was a " bound boy " in New Jersey, and ran away, seeking a better and happier life for himself. He came into Montgomery county as early as 182S, crossing the mountains on horseback. He was a stone- mason and bricklayer, and found his services in great demand in this new and growing country. He married, in November, 1831, a niece of Dr. Jacob Weybright, a pioneer physi- 540 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD cian of the county. William W. was the eld- est of four children born of his father's first marriage, and of these but two are now living. Charles A. has his home in Kansas City, Mo. ; Mary C. , the wife of Elias Coates, is dead, and her remains are buried in Darke county, near Gettysburg; Henry Harrison was accidentally killed by falling from a wagon in 1874. The wife and mother died February 25, 1840. The father again married in 1 841 , his second wife being Miss Catherine Blackburn, who bore him seven children, three being still alive. John Bruff resides in Darke county, Ohio, and Susan Jane is a resident of the same county, being the wife of John Macarter, ex-postmaster of Arcanum; the other sister, Frances, is a resident of this city, and is the wife of William Lehman. Four of this family died either in childhood or infancy. The father died in Saint Mary's, Auglaize county, Ohio, Septem- ber 19, 1853, to which place he had but re- cently removed. Many of the most substantial brick houses of the northern part of Mont- gomery county stand as monuments to his industry. William W. Hackney received a common- school education, considered very good for the times, at Union, and worked on the farm until he reached the age of twenty. He then ap- prenticed himself to the gunsmith's trade un- der the instruction of Henry Sheets, in Union. He followed this trade one year in Union, and three years in Cincinnati, after he had com- pleted his apprenticeship, and came to this city in 1855, and here he has lived continu- ously for more than forty-one years. He was married in Dayton, January 1, 1855, by Rev. Father David Winters, to Miss Isabelle Minick, a native of Fairfield, Ohio. Her parents were Virginians, and she inherited much of the grace and beauty of the best Virginian stock. To this marriage were born a son and a daugh- ter, both of whom are in mature life. The daughter, Mary Virginia, is the wife of Henry S. Fuller, editor of the School, of New York city, and the son, L. W. Edward, is business manager of the same publication; both are residents of New York city. Mrs. Hackney died May 5, 1 87 1, in this city, at the present home, of the family. Mr. Hackney remained a wid- ower for nine years, but on June 17, 1880, he married Mrs. Caroline Bowers (nee Lydenberg). She was the widow of John Bowers, and is a daughter of John Lydenberg, born in Green- ville, but a resident of this city from the time she was two years of age. One son has come of this marriage, William W., born July 10, 1883. Mrs. Hackney's family is one of the old Knickerbocker stock. Mr. Hackney has been a life-long demo- crat, and has served in various official posi- tions in this city, having been land appraiser, assessor, for three terms a member of the school board, and also a member of the board of equalization. His religious affiliations have been along the lines of Universalism, though he has been a member of the Memorial Pres- byterian church for many years. He was ini- tiated into the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows in 1863, and has filled all official stations in his local lodge. * ^y w * ALTER E. HAAS, doing business MM under the firm-name of Walter E. \J^J Haas & Co., at No. 20 West Fifth street, Dayton, Ohio, is a native of the city, and was born June 5, 1866, a son of Henry and Christina (Fishbach) Haas. He was educated in the public schools of Dayton, and also at the Miami Commercial college, and early engaged in mechanical drafting and pattern-making, which gave him remunerative employment in his native city for six consecu- tive years. After having completed the learn- ing of his trades he was first employed by the OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 547 Callahan Manufacturing company and then by the Buckeye Brass & Iron works, which filled out the period of time mentioned, and next engaged in his present business, succeeding Henry C. Gump February 7, 1894, and in this he has achieved prompt success. He carries a full stock of the best makes of bicycles, in- cluding the Crescent, Tribune and Eagle, making of these a specialty, but also handling other makes or brands of wheels. In type- writing machines Mr. Haas makes a specialty of the Blickensderfer, which is probably the lowest-priced first class machine in the world, but other machines for type-writing are also carried by him. He has fully equipped repair shops, and repairs suited for his specialties. Mr. Haas is a young man of energy and progressive spirit, and is very popular. He is a member of Iola lodge, No. 83, Knights of Pythias, and also of Raper Methodist Episco- pal church, discharging fully his obligations to both church and society. His residence is in a most pleasant neighborhood, at No. 213 Howard street. If OUIS P. HAGEDORN, member of the city council of Dayton as repre- sentative from the Eighth ward, is a native son of this place, born Octo- ber 5, 1852, and is descended from German ancestors. The father of our subject was Henry Hage- dorn, who was one of the pioneer settlers in Dayton. A native of Germany, he emigrated to Ameriica when a young man landing at Bal- timore, Md., whence he proceeded to Wheel- ing, W. Va., from which point he made the overland trip by stage to Saint Louis, Mo. He then took up his residence in Dayton in 1832, and here he devoted his attention to work at his trade, that of blacksmithing, until the time of his death, which occurred in 1 86 1. He was a man of thorough in- tegrity and honored for his worth of charac- ter. His widow survived him until 1884. Her maiden name was Annie M. Wageman, and she, also, was a native of Germany. That her parents were among the pioneers of Day- ton may be inferred when it is stated that they here celebrated, in 1866, the fiftieth anniver- sary of their marriage in this city. Henry and Annie M. Hagedorn became the parents of ten children, four of whom are living at the present time: Josephine is the wife of Anthony Schumackers, of Dayton; Katherine is the wife of Henry Hummeldorf, of Cincinnati; Mary is the wife of John B. Kline, of Elm- wood, Ohio; and Louis P. is the subject of this review. Louis P. Hagedorn received his education in Dayton and Cincinnati, his mother having removed with her family to the latter city after the death of the husband and father. In the meanwhile Louis P. had been fitting himself for the practical duties of life, having learned the upholstering trade, through which he was enabled to earn the requisite money for con- tinuing his education. He completed a course in Bryant & Stratton's Business college in the Queen City and continued to work at his trade in Cincinnati until 1880, when he returned to Dayton, where he entered the employ of M. Ohmer's Sons, with whose establishment he has ever since been identified. In October, 1895, Mr. Hagedorn was elected to the city council, at a special election which was called to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James B. Wheeler. At the April election in 1896 he was re-elected by one of the largest majorities accorded any candidate on his ticket. In his political adherency he is a stalwart democrat, but in his efforts to further the best interests of the municipality, the ele- ment of partisanship has not manifested itself in his official acts. Mr. Hagedorn served as a 548 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD member ot the decennial appraisement board, to which position he was appointed by the council in 1890. He thus served for a period of about eighteen months, within which time he rendered effective aid in the re-appraise- ment of every piece of real estate in the city. In his fraternal relations Mr. Hagedorn is identified with court Cooper, Independent Or- der of Foresters, and with the Alsace-Lorraine society. He was one of the organizers of the Thurman democratic club, which has wielded considerable influence on political affairs in the city and county. Mr. Hagedorn has been twice married. His first wife died in May, 1873, and in No- vember, 1895, death again entered his home, taking from him his beloved second wife, who left seven children — Frank, Lillie, Ella, Ag- nes, Clara, Annie and Ida. In religion Mr. Hagedorn clings to the faith of his fathers, be- ing a devout member of St. Mary's Roman Catholic church. EUGO COOK, a prominent manufac- turer and inventor, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Dublin, Ind., in 1858, and is the son of Ignatz and Maria (Stuber) Cook, of German extraction. Hugo Cook was educated in the public schools of In- dianapolis, and in a technical school in Saint Louis, Mo. He also received instruction in mathematics and surveying from Prof. Ste- phens, of Indianapolis. After spending about three years in this line, Mr. Cook turned his attention to the manufacture of sewing ma- chines, in which he was engaged for several years, during which time he invented several machines and made various improvements thereon. He is practically the inventor of the first rotary shuttle machine. Following this period, he turned his attention to the invention of automatic machinery, and placed on the market various machines and devices of that character. For several years he manufactured special machinery, and turned out various automatic screw machines; also a successful machine for the manufacture of bicycle spokes, etc. He invented a cash register, a total add- ing machine, and in the fall of 18S8 came to Dayton with his machine and associated him- self with the National Cash Register company, for the manufacture of the same. This is to- day one of the greatest machines of its kind. The above company is manufacturing Mr. Cook's inventions and improvements on the above register, of which there are many. In 1895 a company was organized in Dayton for the purpose of manufacturing gas engines. This company was incorporated with Mr. Cook as president, and Charles A. Craighead and William Kinnard among the directors. The plant is located at No. 1 126 East Third street, and the goods manufactured are from the pat- ents of Mr. Cook. He is one of the most skilled and thorough men in the manufacturing business in Dayton; his inventions are practical and much sought after, and are covered by many patents. He enjoys a reputation in the business world for progressiveness and enter- prise, coupled with integrity and sound busi- ness principles. Mr. Cook is a member of the Masonic fraternity, being a Knight Templar and a member of Reed commandery. He was married, in 1879, to Miss Maria Wilmer. He resides at Oakwood, where he has an experi- mental shop, in which he spends a large por- tion of his time. WOHN A. HAHNE, clerk of the city of fl Dayton, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, A 1 in January, 1857, and is a son of Frank ^^^ A. and Theresa M. Hahne. In 1858 his parents removed from Cincinnati to Day- ton, taking up their residence on Franklin ^J&^rjr &*<{ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 551 street, where they have ever since lived. Frank A. Hahne has been retired from active business for about ten years. John A. Hahne was reared in Dayton from the age of one and a half years, and attended the parochial schools and the Saint Mary's institute, a college established in 1849, gradu- ating from the latter in 1 87 1. When fifteen years of age he began an apprenticeship in a drug store, that of the old firm of Kelso & Bennett, on the corner of Third and Saint Clair streets. With this firm he remained three years, and with its successor, J. B. Walters, ten years. He then established him- self in business, opening a drug store on the corner of Fifth and Commercial streets, which he operated for eleven years, thus being en- gaged in the drug business for a period of twenty-four years. In 1887 Mr. Hahne was elected to the city council from the old democratic Seventh ward, and was re-elected in 1889. In 1890 he was elected president of the city council, when that body was composed of thirty members, two from each ward, receiving the unanimous sup- port of the council. In 1891 he was elected city clerk, was re-elected in 1893, and was again re-elected in 1895, receiving on each oc- casion the unanimous vote of the council, democrats and republicans alike, he being a democrat. In 1893, owing to the increasing labor connected with his office, he retired from the drug business, in order that he might de- vote his entire time and attention to his pub- lic duties. Mr. Hahne has never married, owing to the untimely death of a lady to whom he was betrothed. Mr. Hahne comes of a prominent family. An uncle of his, Rev. John F. Hahne, was for many years pastor of Emanuel church, the first Catholic church established in Day- ton, and he is related in the same degree to Rev. Charles J. Hahne, the present pastor of this church. Rev. Charles H. Hahne, a brother of John A., is pastor of a Catholic church in Cincinnati, and another brother, Dr. H. A. Hahne, filled for two years the office of coroner of Montgomery county, retiring in January, 1895. Mr. Hahne is a member of the Knights of Saint George, of the Catholic Knights of Ohio, of the Independent Order of Heptasophs, and of several democratic clubs. The above brief recital of the principal events of his life is sufficient to show that he is un- usually popular, and that the confidence of the people of Dayton is his to a very great degree. %S^\ EV. W. A. HALE, D. D., pastor of I /^ the First Reformed church of Dayton, P was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, June 29, 1847. He graduated from Harlem Springs college in 1868, and imme- diately thereafter entered the ministry. For eight years he performed faithful duty at vari- ous points, meeting, through his fervor and eloquence, a success in itself remarkable and of great benefit to his several flocks and to the church in general. October 1, 1876, he was called to Dayton as pastor of the First Re- formed church, and here, for a period of over twenty years, his sermons have been a theme of wide comment and commendation. Per- sonally, he is a genial gentleman, popular with all classes of citizens. As a minister he is earnest, eloquent and logical, enjoying the confidence and esteem of his faithful con- gregation. The First Reformed church. of Dayton was organized in 1833 by Rev. David Winters, D. D. At the advent of Dr. Hale the congrega- tion numbered 184 members. After that, the edifice became so crowded at each service held by Dr. Hale that it became necessary to form other congregations, the result being that four additional Reformed churches now adorn 552 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD and bless the city of Dayton, viz: The Second, the Trinity, the Fourth and the Memorial. During the twenty years of Dr. Hale's pastor- ate he has admitted into his congregation 1,200 members, and the present membership is 725, notwithstanding the constant drains that have been upon it by the other congrega- tions now existing in every section of the city. Seldom indeed has it been, during recent years, no matter what the weather, that the attendance at the First church has not been large, and there have been special occasions when the edifice was not spacious enough to accommodate those desirous of attending; while the four other Reformed churches, the offspring of Rev. Dr. Hale's spiritual labors, are all in a most flourishing condition. ar ILLIAM HALL, deceased, who for thirty-one years was a resident of Dayton, Ohio, was born at Holly- wood, near Manchester, Yorkshire, England, June 16, 1827, and died in Dayton, Ohio, April 9, 1894. When but three years of age he was brought to America by his par- ents, James and Ann Hall, who settled in Cin- cinnati, Ohio. James Hall was a contractor and builder, and erected some of the most imposing churches, theaters and other public buildings in the principal cities of the United States, and at the time of his death had the contract to erect the Third street Presbyterian church building in Dayton. He was a quiet, conserva- tive gentleman, given to the exercise of broad charity, did much good in his day for the gen- eral public, and was officially connected with Saint Xavier college, of Cincinnati, Ohio. His family consisted of eight children, of whom four are still living, the subject being the third born of the family. William Hall, whose name opens this biog- raphy, was reared in Cincinnati, graduated from St. Xavier college, and adopted as his life-calling the art of ornamental plastering, and also the business of contracting, which lat- ter occupation he followed for two years after the decease of his father. In 1863 he came to Dayton, where he engaged in his calling as an ornamental plasterer until 1885, when he retired from active industry. He was married, in Cincinnati, to Miss Ann Case, who still sur- vives, and to this marriage were born chil- dren, in the following order: Mary; James and Elizabeth, deceased; Harry, who married Miss Agnes Donahue, and who is a resident of Helena, Mont. ; William, who is an electrician, and also in the bicycle trade in Dayton; Susie B., a stenographer, and Charles S., who is associated with his brother William in the bicycle business, both of these young men being noted for their activity and business enterprise. William Hall, whose name is mentioned above, was born in Cincinnati, June 16, 1858, but was reared in Dayton, and was educated in the public schools of the city. At fourteen years of age he began learning the locksmith's trade, which led him to the study and investi- gation of applied electricity, and in 1883 he began business on his own account as electri- cian and locksmith, which combined business he conducted until early in 1893. In that year Mr. Hall added bicycles to his stock in trade, and from the latter has developed a sub- stantial and remunerative source of income. Charles S. Hall, brother of William Hall, was born in Dayton, Ohio, January 4, 1874. He was educated in the Dayton public schools, and since 1888 has been associated with Will- iam in business. These brothers, being excel- lent mechanics and electricians, have built up an extensive and profitable trade, secured through their strict fidelity to the interests of their customers. In the bicycle line they carry the Columbia, Hartford and other makes, with OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 553 all bicycle repairs and sundries. The Hall brothers are members of the Young Men's Christian association, as well as of Christ Epis- copal church, while William is also a Knight of Pythias, being a member of Miami lodge, No. 32, and of Dayton division, No. 5, uni- form rank. The)' are young men of natural ability and high character, and enjoy an excel- lent reputation in the business community. a APT. JASPER NEWTON HALL de- scends from English people, who set- tled in Virginia in ante-Revolution- ary times; his grandfather was a cap- tain in the war of 18 12, and his parents, Thomas and Maria (Bousman) Hall, were na- tives of Ohio, where they lived and died. Two sons and one daughter comprised the family of Thomas and Maria Hall, Jasper N. being the first in order of birth; the second son, John, went to the Pacific coast in 1857 and is now a farmer and fruit grower of Douglass county, Ore. ; the sister, Anna, is a widow, who also resides in the above county and state. Capt. Jasper N. Hall was born near the town of Saint Paris, Champaign county, Ohio, October I, 1835, and passed his youthful years in assisting his father on the farm, attending in the meantime the country schools. He made the most of his opportunities, studied early and late, and such was his progress, that, at the age of eighteen, he was sufficiently advanced to teach in the common schools, and was thus engaged until the breaking out of the Civil war. He was one of the first to respond to the call for volunteers, enlisting in April, 1 86 1, for the three months' service, in com- pany H, Twentieth Ohio infantry, spending that period principally in guarding the B. & O. railroad, in what is now West Virginia. He re-enlisted in August, 1862, as first sergeant of company E, One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio infantry, and was assigned to duty in the army of the Cumberland under Gen. Rose- crans. In the many campaigns and battles in which his command participated, Capt. Hall bore a brave part; he was engaged in the ma- neuvers with Morgan's guerrilla band in Ken- tucky, participated in the battle of Franklin, Tenn., and on the 20th of September, 1863, was captured at the battle of Chicka- mauga and held a prisoner of war for nineteen months. He was first confined in Libby prison, Richmond, Va. , thence was removed to the Pemberton building, in the same city, and later was incarcerated in prison No. 4, Danville, Va. From the last named place he was re- moved in May, 1864, to the notorious Ander- sonville prison, where he endured sufferings be- yond description, until his removal to Jackson- ville, Fla., where he was liberated in April, 1865. Though the war was over when they were released, the prisoners were kept in ig- norance of the fact, and it was not until after being told to shift for themselves that suspicion was soon afterward confirmed, when they met a detachment of Union troops, by whom they were taken to camp and properly looked after. During his imprisonment, Capt. Hall upon three occasions succeeded in eluding his guards and escaping, once from Richmond, again from Danville, and lastly from Andersonville, only to be recaptured, being tracked and over- taken the last time by bloodhounds. While in prison at Danville he suffered from typhoid fever and smallpox, and at Andersonville was so reduced by disease that his life was depaired of. When taken prisoner his weight was 160 pounds, and at the time of his release he had become so emaciated as to weigh barely ninety- four. Few men possessed vitality sufficient to withstand such long-continued suffering and privation, yet the captain came through it all and still retains a remarkable degree of phys- ical vigor. 554 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD After his liberation he was taken to An- napolis, Md., where he received treatment, and, being sufficiently recovered, was dis- charged at Camp Chase, Ohio. The captain then turned his attention to the profession of teaching, which he followed for a livelihood in his native state until 1868, when he went to Oregon, where he was similarly engaged for a period of fifteen years. Abandoning the edu- cational field, he engaged in cattle-raising, which he followed with most encouraging suc- cess until 1888-9, when, on account of a very severe winter, he met with severe financial reverses, he and his partner losing cattle to the amount of $30,000. Out of this reverse the captain emerged with about $1,700, which he invested in mining in Colorado, only to seethe last of his earthly savings disappear, the ven- ture proving disastrous from the beginning. After disposing of his watch in order to pay a doctor's bill, he returned to Ohio, and for some time attempted, without avail, to secure a po- sition in the public schools. Being a stranger and having in his possession no recommenda- tion as an instructor, he was unsuccessful in his search for employment, and finally decided to apply for admission to the national soldiers' home; accordingly, in 1891, he became an in- mate, since which time he has had lucrative employment in the institution, first as superin- tendent of the annex and soon afterward as captain of company Twenty-four, which latter position he has held for four years. Capt. Hall's company numbers about 120 men, and he has discharged his official functions in a manner highly creditable to himself and to the satis- faction of the management of the institution. Capt. Hall was married in the year 1862 to Miss Lillie Whiton, of Boston, Mass., who has borne him four children, viz: John Court- land, a resident of Oregon; Pearl, a teacher in the public schools of Clarke county, Ohio; Mrs. M. Dibert, who resides in Dakota, and Thomas Vinton, a resident of Oregon, where he prac- tices medicine. The captain has a pleasant home in Dayton, where both himself and his estimable wife are highly respected. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1866, and is also an active worker in the G. A. R. and U. V, U. Politically the captain affiliated with the democracy until 1884, since which time he has been a supporter of the republican party. ^/\ ENNICK BROS., brass founders and 1 jobbers, located at Nos. 141 5 and /^J 141 7 East Fifth street, Dayton, erected their foundry in the summer of 1896, and do a jobbing business in heavy and light brass castings. The building is 33x96 feet, and the firm gives employment to five men, the members themselves, William and Herman Dennick, being expert artisans whose hands and brains are constantly em- ployed in the work. John Dennick, their father, is a Hessian by birth and came to America when a young man; his wife, who bore the maiden name of Anna Arnold, was born in Germany, and was but a little girl when brought to the United States by her parents. John Dennick served in the Union army during the war of the Rebellion and bravely defended the flag of his adopted country. He is a stone-eutter by trade, and for some years operated a stone-yard in Day- ton and was also engaged in contracting. To his marriage with Miss Arnold have been born five children, viz: Mary, widow of Albert Slus- ser; John; William, senior of the firm of Den- nick Bros. ; Sarah, wife of John Linkert, and Herman, the junior partner in the same firm. William Dennick was born in Lebanon, Ohio, February 15, 1S62, and Herman Sep- tember 16, 1 866, and both were educated in the public schools. At the age of eight years y/^T^T/l^sl '*A OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 559 William began to earn his livelihood by work- ing on a farm for four years, and then entered the employ of the Buckeye Brass foundry, of Dayton, at a compensation of $2 per week for two years, at all-round work. He was then apprenticed for two and a half years at the trade of brass molding, and after learning the art went to Cincinnati, and secured one of the best positions in the business, with the Lunk- enheimer Brass foundry, earning at the end of six months, $3. 50 per day. At the termina- tion of a period of five years he resigned his position as foreman of the brass foundry, passed two or three months in Dayton and then went to Chicago, where, after working about two weeks in a brass foundry, he was appointed foreman, which position he held for eighteen months; he next visited Greensburg and Pitts- burg, Pa., being employed about six months at his trade; next passed two weeks in Chicago, and finally returned to Dayton and started in business alone, with a capital of $65, in a small building at the corner of McLain and LaBelle streets, doing his work without an as- sistant. A short time thereafter he associated with himself his brother Herman, forming the firm noted at the opening of this sketch, and which is now doing the largest brass jobbing business in the state of Ohio. In their small shop 20x33 f eet . these brothers, in 1895, turned out over $17,000 worth of work and consumed over 250,000 pounds of brass. In their new and more extensive plant, with their energy and skill to back them, it is not at all unrea- sonable to foretell a more lucrative trade in the future through an increased volume of business. William Dennick was united in marriage, September 27, 1894, with Miss Nettie Clark, of Springfield, Ohio. They are members of the Baptist church and make their home at No. 440 May street. Herman Dennick was fourteen years of age when he entered the employ of the Buckeye Brass foundry, where he was first engaged as a utility hand for six months, in order that he might become familiar with the business, and for the two years following was employed as a coremaker. He was next employed by the Stoddard Manufacturing company, with which he remained for six months, and then for one year and nine months was employed in the Barney & Smith Car works, learning the car- penter's trade. For one season he worked at outside carpenter work, then went to Cincin- nati, where for nine months he attended to the smelting furnaces of the Lunkenheimer Brass foundry, and then returned to Dayton, where he was employed for nine months in the con- struction of the levee. After this he had charge of Wholler's Brass foundry for four years and a half, and then became associated with his brother William in the present business, as alluded to above. Herman Dennick is a member of the Im- proved Order of Red Men, and of the Fulton council, American Mechanics. He and his brother are republicans in politics, and, as business men, enjoy high standing. Herman Dennick was married November 12, 1896, in Dayton, to Stella Clark, who was born in Canton, Ohio, December 12, 1873, and is a sister of Mrs. William Dennick. The family residence is at No. 815 East May street. QHARLES J. HALL, official court re- porter and a member of the board of education of Dayton, was born in Butler township, Montgomery county, Ohio, February 3, i860. His parents, Austin H. and N. A. (Patty) Hall, were natives of Montgomery county, and during the progress of the late Civil war, in 1862, Austin H. Hall enlisted in the One Hundred and Twelfth regi- ment, Ohio volunteer infantry, which was, after 560 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the battle of Corinth, consolidated with the Sixty-third regiment. In the latter part of 1863 Mr. Hall was taken ill, and his superiors, thinking him sufficiently recovered to go to the front, refused him a furlough until, when finally granted, it came too late to be of any service to him, as he died on the boat, between Memphis and Cairo, the next day after start- ing for home. Charles J. Hall was reared on the farm in Butler township, in his fifteenth year removing to Dayton to attend school. From the high school he graduated in 1879, and afterward took a complete course of study in the Miami Commercial college. After teaching school in Miami county for one year, he made a more thorough study of shorthand with John Col- lins, the only court reporter in the county at that time, and in the spring of 1882 became stenographer for John W. Stoddard & Co. , in which position he remained until the spring of 1890. In the spring of 1891 he was appointed official court reporter, and in the spring of 1895 ne was nominated as a republican from the Third ward for a position on the board of education, was elected by a majority of fifty- five of the male vote and of 488 of the female vote, a total majority of 543 over his demo- cratic opponent, and was the only republican elected to office in his ward. He was chair- man of the committee on centennial • cele- bration by the schools,, and during his service on the board kept well posted as to the gen- eral policy and routine business of that body, being as strong an opponent of that which he thought wrong as he was earnest in his sup- port of all measures for the elevation of the standard of the school work. In December, 1896, he was reappointed one of the official reporters of the courts of Montgomery county, and as his term as mem- ber of the board of education was almost com pleted, he deemed it advisable to resign from the board so that nothing should interfere with his giving his time entirely to his profes- sional duties. Mr. Hall is a member of the Gem City Knights of the Ancient Essenic order and of Earnshaw camp, Sons of Veterans. He was married January 1, 1885, to Miss Alice Pierce, of Concord township, Miami county. To their marriage there have been born five chil- dren, four of whom are now living, viz: Rus- kin Pierce, Elizabeth Mary, Charles Ralph and Alice Lois. James Hall, the grandfather of Charles J., was one of the very earliest settlers of Mont- gomery county, coming here from South Caro- lina, in about 1804, with his father, William Hall. He was one of the lieutenants in the great Harrison demonstration which occurred in Dayton in the memorable campaign of 1840, and was also a captain in the Black Hawk war. His father, William Hall, did service for his country in the battle of the Cowpens, in South Carolina, during the Revolution, and died in this county in 1858, aged about ninety- six years. Charles J. Hall's grandfather, James Patty, was a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, of Quaker stock, and was one of the first school- teachers in Dayton. Thus it will be seen that on both sides of the family Mr. Hall is de- scended from pioneers of the county in which he now lives, and is therefore in a peculiar manner identified with this county's interests. Being a well-educated young man, he is pre- pared to advance the cause of education for the young, and is strongly devoted to religious movements as well as to educational progress, believing that these should go hand in hand, although not necessarily the public schools. While Mr. Hall's term of official service on behalf of the public schools was short, it was long enough to enable him to do much valua- ble work, not least of which was the intelli- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 561 gent and effective assistance rendered by him in the establishment of a revised course of study and the adoption of modern text books. a APT. EDWARD HAMILTON is a native of Dublin, Ireland, where his birth occurred on the 17th of March, 1838. He is of English and Scotch ancestry and combines in a very marked de- gree the rugged and sterling qualities character- istic of those two peoples. Capt. Hamilton was educated in his native isle and there served an apprenticeship at silversmithing, in which, in due time, be acquired considerable profi- cency, working at the trade until his immigra- tion to the United States in 1852. For some time after landing upon American soil, he carried on his chosen calling in New York city, but in 1855, yielding to a desire of long standing, he entered the military service, en- listing in the First United States dragoons, with which he bore a gallant part in the war against the Indians in Oregon and other regions of the far west. The roster of the above command contains the names of a number of men who have since figured prominently in the military history of the United States, and achieved national reputations. Among these were Gen. Grant, who at that time ranked as second lieutenant; Gen. Philip Sheridan, a first lieutenant of artillery, and Gen. A. J. Smith, who held a captain's commission, and with all three of whom Capt. Hamilton sus- tained relations of cordial friendship. Capt. Hamilton served with the First dragoons five years, the regular term of enlist- ment, participated in many bloody battles with the Indians, met with a number of thrilling adventures and had many narrow escapes from the savages. He was discharged at Fort Van- couver, W. T., March 28, i860, after which he returned to New York city, where he later re-entered the service as an unattached recruit. Subsequently he went to Carlisle barracks, Pa., where he was enlisted as sergeant, and his first duty was to drill a body of soldiers known as the Anderson body guards, a regiment organ- ized in Philadelphia by order of the secretary of war, with the stipulation that they be drilled by officers of the United States army. Early in 1861, the captain was stationed at Harper's Ferry at the time that military station was blown up, after which he returned to Carlisle, where he served as drill-master of recruits until 1864, in the spring of which year he joined the Fifth United States caval- ry, company E, serving with the same under Gen. Sheridan in the Shenandoah valley cam- paign. He was with this command through all the memorable Virginia campaigns, took part in the leading battles of the war, and after the surrender of Appomattox received his dis- charge only to enlist again, this time in the Twelfth United States infantry, with which he served two enlistments of three years each. He was first sergeant of company E, stationed at Camp Gaston, Cal., and had the priv- ilege of going to the scene of his military operations, on the western coast, on the first through train over the Pacific railroad. At the expiration of his second term of enlist- ment, in 1 87 1, Capt. Hamilton went to Massa-, chusetts, where he worked at his trade for four years, but so strong was his attachment to a military life, that in 1875 he again entered the army, enlisting in company E, Twenty-second United States infantry, with which he served for five years, the greater part of which time was spent at Fort Wayne, Mich. , and two years inTexas. He was honorably discharged in 1880, with the rank of sergeant, bearing with him, at the time, recommendations from all of his various enlistments, as a brave and gallant soldier and a most trustworthy and efficient officer. Immediately following this latter dis- 562 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD charge Capt. Hamilton re-entered the United States service at Columbus, Ohio, for five years, but by reason of disability was not per- mitted to remain with the army the full term, having been discharged in 1883; this service was in company G, Fourteenth United States infantry. Shortly after his discharge Capt. Hamilton went to Detroit, Mich., where his daughter at that time resided, and was appointed a guard of the house of correction in that city, holding the position for a period of four years. Re- signing this place, he next took the road as a commercial traveler, selling goods and collect- ing for a New Orleans wholesale house, in which capacity he continued until 1890, when he became an inmate of the Central branch, national military home for disabled volunteers, at Dayton. For some time after coming to the home Capt. Hamilton was sergeant of the "Firing squad" ; later was promoted captain and placed in command of barrack No. 7, designated as company Seven, which has an enrollment of ninety men. From the foregoing synopsis it will be seen that Capt. Hamilton's life has been one replete with duty, faithfully and patriotically done in the service of his adopted country, a record of which any man might justly feel proud. For a period of twenty-three years he gave his best energies to the nation, in whose behalf all the positions of preferment opened by other voca- tions were offered a willing sacrifice, and it is doubtful whether there is another man now in the home who has seen as much service or earned a more honorable record. For disa- bilities received while in the discharge of his duty at the front the captain is the recipient of a liberal pension, but his greatest compensa- tion is the reflection that he bore his part bravely and uncomplainingly through the try- ing period when the destiny of the nation was trembling in the balance. Capt. Hamilton married Miss Ellen Morri- son, of Carlisle, Pa., who has borne him three children, two living: Sarah, who married Joseph Yeager, sergeant of police, Detroit, Mich., and Edward J., a musician at the home. In political and in religious matters Capt. Hamilton is independent in all that the term implies. >-j*OHN FREDERICK DITZEL, carpen- ■ ter and contractor, of No. 313 Johnson (9 j street, Dayton, Ohio, was born near Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, June 15, 1848. He is a son of Frederick and Eva (Natt) Ditzel, both of whom were born in Ger- many. They were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters, five of whom are still living, as follows: John F. ; Eva, wife of Elias Breidenbach; James; Elizabeth, wife of Rolla Gallaher, and Alice, wife of Jackson Carroll. Frederick Ditzel was a butcher in early life, in Germany, and came to the United States about 1856, locating in New York city. After a year or two he located near Palmyra, Wayne county, N. Y., living there until the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, in 1 86 1. He enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixtieth New York volunteer infantry, in which regiment he continued for three years, within two months, his services to his adopted coun- try ending with his death in Baton Rouge, La., from the effects of a wound received at Fred- ericksburg, Va. He was then in his thirty- ninth year. His wife ..survived until April, 1 89 1, when she died in her sixty-fourth year. She was a member of the German Evangelical church, and Mr. Ditzel, while in Germany, was a member of the Lutheran church, but, upon coming to this country, both joined the Methodist Episcopal church. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 565 John F. Ditzel was about eight years of age when brought to this country by his par- ents. His early education he received in the state of New York, and in 1864 came to Ohio, soon after his father's death, and located at Alpha, Greene county, where he lived three or four years, working in a mill and in Harbine's still-house, or distillery. About three years were then spent on a farm, after which he re- moved to Dayton, where the first work he found was on the streets, after which he was employed by the contractor who was construct- ing the hydraulic race of the Dayton View Hydraulic company. For several years after- ward he was engaged in a tobacco factory, and then, on the advice of Dr. Crook, sought out- door occupation on account of ill health. After working thus for a painter for one year, he learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked two years for John Hoehn, and then entered the employ of the late John Rouzer. After remaining with this well-known con- tractor for eight years, Mr. Ditzel returned to Mr. Hoehn and remained with him a short time, or till his death. The entire business was then taken up by Mr. Ditzel, who has since been engaged in doing contract work on his own ac- count, and has met with most gratifying suc- cess. Among the buildings which he has erected are eight school-houses and several churches in Dayton, beside numerous resi- dences, all of which show honest, careful work. He also built a large school-house in Lebanon, Warren county. On December 25, 1872, Mr. Ditzel was married to Miss Catherine Klinkert, daughter of Mathias and Margaret (Oneth) Klinkert, the former of whom came from Alsace-Lor- raine, and the latter from Frankfort, on the Main. To this marriage there have been born six children, as follows: Henry Adam, Charles Edward, Bertha May, Bessie Savilla, John Milton, and Nellie Naoma. Bessie died when eleven years of age; Henry A. married Miss Lillie Frank, daughter of Judge Frank. Mr. and Mrs. Ditzel are members of the English Evangelical association. Fraternally Mr. Ditzel is an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias, and politically he is a republican. He has served as a director of the workhouse for five years, and as president of the workhouse board for three years. He erected his present home, at 313 John- son street, in 1875, though he has been a resident of Dayton for thirty-two years. After his father's death, John, the eldest son, sup- ported the family as they grew up, or until each was able to care for himself. He is now rearing to good citizenship a family of his own, fine children, healthy, strong and- intelligent. Mr. Ditzel and a few others organized the English Evangelical association, which began with a membership of twenty-six, and now has a Sunday-school attendance of 200. The as- sociation started with no financial strength, Mr. Ditzel raising $1,500 by mortgaging his own home, and with this money purchasing the lot on which the church improvements now stand. Mr. Ditzel also organized the Builders' exchange, starting its first subscription and writing its first rules of order. He is thus a public-spirited man, full of hope for the best in all things, and willing to labor in order that that hope may be 'realized. He is most genial and generous, with a character above reproach or suspicion, and has hosts of warm and ad- miring friends. Such men are the safety and the salvation of the city, state and country. >»y»OSEPH M. HAND, of No. 214 East ■ Fifth street, Dayton, Ohio, was born m J in this city October 2, i860, a son of John and Barbara (Keiffer) Hand, both natives of the town of Sarlonie, on the banks of the river Rhine, Germany. 566 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD John Hand, the father, came to the United States in 1849, and for a short time resided in Cincinnati, whence he came to Dayton and worked at his trade of shoemaking until his sight began to fail. In 1869 he purchased a tract of eighteen acres of land six miles south of Dayton, and engaged in gardening, in which he has been very successful. Mrs. Barbara Hand was born in March, 1822, and died July 23, 1884. Of the ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hand there survive but three, viz: An- gelica, wife of Julius Burgmeier; Mary, the wife of Henry Gross, and Joseph M. Joseph M. Hand was about nine years of age when his parents located upon the garden tract above mentioned, where for nine years he assisted his father in its cultivation, thus aiding the latter to pay for the property. At the age of eighteen years he was released from further home obligations and became a fire- man on the Toledo, Cincinnati & Saint Louis railroad, but a number of years later resigned his position in order to learn the barber's trade under Henry Gross. After some years he purchased the shop from his instructor, and has since been in business for himself, becom- ing one of the best known barbers in Dayton. The marriage of Mr. Hand took place Feb- ruary 13, 1884, with Miss Rose L. Sweetman, daughter of John and Rose Sweetman, both now deceased. This union has been blessed with three children, viz: Roselee, Lawrence J. and Walter J. The family are conscien- tious and devout members of the Sacred Heart Catholic church and in politics Mr. Hand is a democrat. He has for sixteen years been a member of the order of Knights of Saint John, and since joining has been an officer almost continuously, being now captain of commandery No. 132, and having passed through the minor offices of secretary, treasurer, president and lieutenant. He has won the captaincy through meritorious services, having been largely in- strumental in placing the commandery on its present substantial footing, both in its military and financial standing. He is also district or- ganizer of the Knights, having as the field of his labors the counties of Montgomery, Greene, Preble, Miami and Clarke. Mr. Hand is like- wise a charter member of Dayton court, Inde- pendent Order of Foresters, and for a number of years has been its treasurer. Mr. Hand's success in business is due to his own unaided efforts, to his industry and energy. eDWARD F. HAMM, plumber and gas-fitter, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Cleveland, April 30, 1861. Daniel Hamm, his father, was a native of Germany, born in 1833. While still a young man he came to America and settled in Cleve- land, Ohio, where he married Miss Margaret Schermer, also a native of Germany, but who, when a child, was brought to America by her parents, who located in Cleveland. Daniel Hamm was reared to milling, but since com- ing to America has been engaged in railroad- ing, being now employed by the "Big 4" company as foreman of car inspection. He first came to Dayton twenty-six years ago, and has ever since been a resident of the city, with his home at No. 129 Montgomery street. Edward F. Hamm is the eldest in a family of three children — his sister, Ella, being the wife of August Gummer, one of the proprietors of the Gem City Stove works, and his brother, Charles, being a plumber, in his employ. Ed- ward F. attended the Cleveland schools until the removal of the family to Dayton, and after this removal attended the schools of Day- ton for a few years, after which he was em- ployed, for a short time, in the table-slide fac- tory. He then took up railroad work and for the first year was a car inspector, and for four years thereafter a fireman. When a little over OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 567 twenty years of age he became an apprentice at the plumber's trade in Dayton, and after having secured a full knowledge of the busi- ness, he worked as a journeyman in Cincin- nati, Ohio, in Kansas City, Mo., and in Cleve- land, Ohio. One year was spent in contract work in Urbana, Ohio, when Mr. Hamm re- turned to Dayton and in March, 1893, opened his present plumbing and gas-fitting shop, in which he has established a prosperous and steadily increasing trade. Mr. Hamm was reared in the faith of the Lutheran church. In politics he is a repub- lican, to which party his father and brother also belong. He is not connected with any secret society, neither has he ever married. As an industrious, faithful and public-spirited citizen he enjoys the respect of all with whom he is brought into contact, either in social or business circles. eLLSWORTH C. HALTEMAN, pat- ternmaker, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city April 23, 1862. He is proprietor of the Central Pattern works, located at No. 26 South Saint Clair street. The business was established in 1892, under the above name, at the crossing of Wayne avenue and the railroad, and in 1895 removed to Nos. 10 and 12 North Canal street, and in April, 1896, removed to their present location. These works turn out all kinds of patterns and of the finest workmanship, the trade of the concern extending all through Ohio and Indiana. High grade work is made a specialty. The best patternmakers, both in wood and metal, are here employed, and drafts and models are also made and disposed of. Mr. Halteman is a son of Christopher and Margaret (Wagoner) Halteman. The mother has died, but the father lives at No. 386 North Main street, Dayton, Ohio. He is one of the best and most skillful patternmakers of Day- ton, and has resided in this city since 1841. He was born in Columbus, Ohio, October 31, 1839, and is a son of Tobias and Rebecca (Grady) Halteman, natives of Montgomery county, Pa., and of Pennsylvania-Dutch de- scent. The Halteman family have for several generations been mechanics, so that the sub- ject of this sketch comes naturally by his pecu- liar talent. Tobias Halteman, together with his wife and four children, removed to Dayton in 1 84 1. He was a weaver by trade, but after locating in Dayton followed various occupa- tions until his death, which occurred in 1849, his wife dying in 1855. They were members of the German Reformed church. They reared a family of nine children, as follows: Sarah, now deceased; Joseph, a shoemaker of Urbana, Ohio; Elizabeth, deceased; Abraham, deceased ; Nancy, deceased ; Christopher ; Henry, a farmer living near Eaton, Ohio; Aaron, deceased, and Hattie, wife of Henry Groeweg, of Dayton, Ohio. Christopher Halteman was early taught to labor, the father having died while the son was yet young. He had to assist in supporting not only himself, but the rest of the family. For some time he worked in a cotton factory, but later learned the cabinetmaker's trade, which he followed for some twelve years. He then became a millwright and patternmaker, and is still pursuing the latter vocation, in which, though self-taught, he is exceedingly proficient. He has been at work in the millwright depart- ment of the Brownell company's works for twenty-two years, and has been foreman of the department for fifteen years. As a repub- lican, he has taken an active part in political affairs. He served in the city council of Day- ton, from the Second ward, for one term, and was the candidate on the republican ticket for water works trustee. Fraternally, he is a member of Wayne Lodge, No. 10, I. O. O. F. r,c,s CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Mr. Halteman was married, first, in 1859, to Miss Margaret Wagoner, who died in 188 15. She was the mother of six children, as follows: William, a speculator at Port Townsend, Wash.; Ellsworth C. , the subject of this sketch; Elizabeth, wife of Frank Certner, of Dayton; Priscilla, wife of L. Landis, of Day- ton; Franklin, deceased; and Lee, a pattern- maker of Dayton. Mr. Halteman was mar- ried to his second wife, Miss Minnie Stone, in October, 1892. They now reside at No. 386 North Main street. Ellsworth C. Halteman was educated in the public schools of Dayton, and afterward at- tended Dennison university at Granville, Ohio, for one year. Prior to going to college he had learned the trade of patternmaker. Upon leaving Granville he went to Hamilton, Ohio, and there became an employee of Black & Clawson, manufacturers of paper-mill ma- chinery. After being there employed for one year, he went to Middletown, and remained three years with the Lotterratt Machine com- pany. Returning to Dayton he established the business of his own, whose nature and extent have been above noted. Mr. Halteman is one of the progressive young business men of Day- ton, and is rapidly pushing to the front as a manufacturer of the most reliable and most skillfully made patterns to be found anywhere in the state. His entire attention is given to his business. Mr. Halteman was married in June, 1890, to Miss Estella Moser, daughter of Alfred Moser, the jeweler. She was born in Dayton, Ohio, and is now the mother of two children, Alfred and Ruth. Mr. and Mrs. Halteman are members of the Baptist church, and reside at No. 326 West Fourth street. They are among the best of the citizens of Dayton, and are everywhere held in high esteem. Mr. Halteman has for years been an active mem- ber of the Young Men's Christian association, and, since 1895, has been teaching pattern- making in the manual training department of that institution. He was engaged for one year in teaching drafting in Middletown, and has always been earnest in all good works. >Y*OHN G. FEIGHT, contractor and m builder, of 1040 West Fourth street, (• 1 Dayton, Ohio, was born in Germany, August 31, 1 83 1, and in 1832 was brought to America by his parents, Frederick and Magdalena Feight, who first located in Pennsylvania, but in 1838 came to Dayton. Here Frederick Feight, though he had been a butcher in his native land, engaged in market gardening, being among the first here to enter upon that line of industry. His family con- sisted of six children, viz: John Frederick, a carpenter, but for the past five years an in- valid; Rebecca, wife of John H. Fickensher, a carpenter; Louisa, married to Jacob Kuntz, a barber; John G. ; Jacob Henry, a furniture dealer; and David, the keeper of a feed store — all residing in Dayton. The father of this family died in 1869, at the age of seventy-six years, and the mother a year later, aged sev- enty-eight. At the age of eighteen years John G. Feight became an apprentice under Daniel Coffin, a well-known carpenter of Dayton. He served two and one-half years as an apprentice, re- ceiving a compensation of $3, $4 and $5 per month, in accordance with his advancement in the knowledge of the trade and his increased usefulness to his employer. After completing his apprenticeship he went to Platteville, Grant county, Wis., where for nearly nine years he worked as a contractor and builder. While in that state he enlisted in company K, Forty-fourth Wisconsin volunteer infantry, and served in the Civil war from February, 1865, until the close of that great conflict, when he 6 f^-v-i, i/o^^A- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 571 was honorably discharged with the rank of ser- geant. December 28, 1865, he returned to Dayton, and has since been engaged at his present business, and if all the houses he has erected in this city and vicinity were concen- trated in one locality they would constitute a good-sized town. Mr. Feight was married in Wisconsin, Sep- tember 10, 1862, to Miss Eunice Harries, a native of Wales, who died January 1, 1892, in Dayton, leaving three sons, viz: Alfred G., of whom further mention is made in a bio- graphical notice following this; John E. , a pav- ing contractor, who married Miss Bertha Bru- ner, and is now the secretary of the Evening Press association of Dayton; and George Au- gustus, a carpenter, who is working with his father. Mrs. Feight, the mother of the above- named children, was an exemplary christian woman, a member of Christ Episcopal church, and was greatly beloved by all who had the privilege of her personal friendship. Mr. Feight has been quite active and influ- ential in political affairs in the city and county, was one of the organizers of the republican party of the county of Montgomery, and served as a member of the city council from 1876 to 1882. He is an honored member of the Ma- sonic order, and also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Alfred Grant Feight, county auditor of Montgomery county, Ohio, and son of John G. Feight, mentioned above, was born in Platteville, Wis., August 14, 1863, and was a child of three years when brought to Dayton, Ohio. His youthful days were spent in the city schools, where he attained the seventh grade, passed through the high school and also the Miami Business college, of Dayton, hav- ing in the meantime learned the carpenter's trade. At the age of nineteen years he be- came a bookkeeper in the wholesale hardware store of Tischer & Reisinger, in Dayton, re- 19 mained there three years, and then engaged in contracting and building, a business which he has followed for ten years. In 1890 he was elected by the republicans a member of the Dayton city council, and in 1895 was elected as county auditor. Fraternally, he is a mem- ber of the Masonic order. Alfred Grant Feight, in 1886, married Miss Lucy Webber, a native of Dayton and a daugh- ter of Henry Webber, a respected contractor and builder. Mrs. Feight is a highly accom- plished woman, was educated in the schools of her native city, and is to-day an ornament to the social circle in which she moves. VORUS E. HALL, member of the John F. Hall Coal company, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Jackson county, Ohio, September 2, 1861. His par- ents were John F. and Amanda (Stevenson) Hall, the former a native of England, and the latter of Pennsylvania. They were the parents of six children, as follows: Isaac, Vorus E., William, Charles, Frank and Nettie. John F. Hall came from England to the United States in 1836, landing in New York and remaining there for two years. In 1838 he came to Ohio, locating in Jackson county, and was there engaged for many years as a miner and shipper of coal. He was a man of enterprise, with correct business methods, up- right and honorable in his dealings with his fellow-men. His death occurred in January, 1895, when he was sixty-eight years of age. His wife still lives in Jackson, the county seat of Jackson county, where she and he had lived for so long, and where she now has many friends, who well remember Mi. Hall as a con- sistent Christian and as a firm supporter of the Christian church of that place, of which he was a deacon for many years, and of which Mrs. Hall is still a member. 572 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD The paternal grandfather of Vorus E. was a native of England and was born, lived and died in Derbyshire. The maternal grandfather, Isaac Stevenson, was a native of Pennsylvania, and the son of a German. An early settler in Jackson county, he endured all the hardships and trials of pioneer farm life; but being of a remarkably strong constitution, he lived to be i oi years of age. Vorus E. Hall was reared in Jackson county, and educated there in the district schools. Early in his youth he began to work with and for his father, and when he became of age was given by his father an interest in the business in which he was engaged. Ever since then he has been engaged in the coal business, travel- ing for his father for the eight years preceding 1892, in which year he came to Dayton and took charge of the office here. He and his brothers constitute the company of which he is president. This company gives employment on the average to about 500 men. The Day- ton office was opened September 2, 1892, and other agencies are located at Toledo, Detroit and Ironton. On September 12, 1895, the Dayton office was made general headquarters, and since then the business has been transacted mainly from this city. On December 25, 1882, Mr. Hall was mar- ried to Miss Hannah Griffith, daugther of Daniel and Mary Griffith. To this marriage have been born fourchildren, as follows: Annie, Frederick, Gracie and McKinley. Mr. Hall is a member of Salt Lake lodge, No. 416, I. O. O. F., Jackson, Ohio, and also of the United Commercial travelers, and of the Elks. Po- litically he is a republican, and while living at Jackson he served as member of the city coun- cil for two terms. Besides his coal business Mr. Hall is inter- ested in the real-estate business and in the gen- eral merchandise business at Coalton and at Mount Vernon Furnace, Ohio. He is a man well and widely known for his integrity and honorable business career, and also as a de- scendant of one of the oldest and best families in Jackson county. * w « * ENRY K. HARKER, M. D., of Day- l'\ ton, was born in Dayton, September \ P 25, 1853, and is a son of William J. and Susanna (Howell) Harker. The father is a native of Kentucky, having been born near Paris, in that state, and came to Dayton with his parents when he was about six years of age. In 1847 he removed to Cin- cinnati, but returned to Dayton in 1895. The mother was born in Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio, and both parents are now residing in Dayton. Dr. Harker was reared in Cincinnati, where he was educated in the public schools. He read medicine in Cincinnati and in Denver, Colo., and graduated from Pulte Medical col- lege, Cincinnati, in 1876. He began the practice of medicine in Cincinnati in the same year, and continued in the practice in that city until April, 1894, when he located in Dayton, where he has since continued his practice, his success being marked from the beginning. y*OHN W. HARRIES (deceased), one Jj of the pioneer inhabitants of the city of /• ■ Dayton, was born in 1783, in the town of Gebledewyll. in Csermarthenshire, Wales, a county bordering on the Bristol channel. He was a son of William and Cath- erine (Waters) Harries, both natives of South Wales. In 1810 John W. Harries married Miss Mary Williams, and soon afterward set- tled on a farm in the vicinity of his birthplace. There they lived until 1820, and there four sons and one daughter were born to them, as follows: Thomas, John, David, William and Ann. In the fall of 1823 they emigrated to the United States, landing in New York, where Mr. Harries embarked in the wholesale and retail grocery business, and there his wife, the mother of the above-named children, died. In 1826 he married Miss Mary Elizabeth Conk- lin, of Huntington, Long Island, daughter of Elkanah R. and Rebecca (Smith) Conklin, both of whom were natives of Huntington. The Conklins came originally from England. To this second marriage of Mr. Harries there were born in New York city Charles and Caro- line, and in Dayton, Ohio, Mary, Rosetta and Emma. In the spring of 1829 Mr. Harries, with his family, came to Ohio, arriving in Dayton on July 5th of that year, on the canal boat Ex- periment, having made the journey from Cin- cinnati by canal. The eldest son, Thomas, remained in New York, continuing his educa- tion, and the family that arrived in Dayton consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Harries and six chil- dren. Shortly after reaching Dayton Mr. Harries engaged in brewing, notwithstanding his means were limited, as well as his knowl- edge of the business. But by dint of perse- verance and considerable native ability he made a success of the enterprise, and continued to follow it actively until the last year of his life, dying February 22, 1873, in the ninetieth year of his age. In the accumulation of prop- erty he was unusually fortunate, and at the time of his death was one of the wealthy men of the city. He was a man of strong and marked character, and although he enjoyed few opportunities for intellectual development in his youth, yet his native ability and shrewd- ness, together with good common sense and an intuitive knowledge of men, compensated for his want of scholarship and learning; and it is possible that his life was a greater success through the aid of natural gifts than it would have been through acquired educational ad- vantages. He won the friendship of men by the frank, open generosity of his nature, and governed them by the strength of his will and by the originality and force of his character. The great secret of his prosperity was the promptness and accuracy of his decisions, which quality seemed to be with him intuitive. While others reasoned, and argued, and weighed the probabilities of a case, he promptly resolved and acted. Mr. Harries had great 574 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD power of concentration and of self-control, while his self-reliance was unbounded, and he was also capable of the most rigid self-denial. He was a man of many virtues. With a heart tender and warm, his hand was ever open, ready and willing to lend aid to charitable en- terprises, and no worthy cause ever appealed to him in vain. By reason of his high charac- ter, good deeds and noble example, he is emi- nently deserving of a foremost place in the annals of self-made men. His second wife died August 20, 1871. Of the children, mention maybe made as follows: Thomas, the eldest son, who remained in New York, was for more than forty years a pastor on Long Island. He is now deceased. John, the second son, is one of the well known and highly honored citizens of Dayton; David was for years engaged in the brewing business in Cincinnati, and is now deceased; William is now a resident of Montgomery county, Ohio, and Charles resides in Dayton; Ann is a widow and resides in Dayton; Caroline is also a widow residing in Dayton; Mary is dead; Rosetta is the wife of John H. Gorman, of Dayton, and Emma, now deceased, was the wife of William H. Simms. The following words, communicated at the time of his death, are wprthy of reproduction in this connection: John W. Harries is dead, and the places which knew him so long and so well shall know him no more forever. His friendly face, his familiar form, his cordial greetings, will never be seen or heard on earth again. On the 22d of February, at 1 : 10 p. M., he breathed his last. For several days he seemed on the point of dissolution, but such were his amazing tenacity of life and strength of will that he appeared to set death itself at defiance. Long and hard as the struggle was, however, he fell asleep at last, and a strong man passed away as peace- fully as a tired infant goes to rest in its moth- er's lap. Mr. Harries was a self-made man. Born in Wales, he came to this country in early manhood in quest of fortune, relying upon his character, his energy and his brains. His career strongly illustrates all the virtues, while it was far from most of the faults which characterize that remarkable class of brave men who rise by the inherent force of their own native and unaided powers. He earned his money by the sweat of his brow, and yet did not unduly estimate its value, nor pride him- self upon its possession. In its use he was as liberal as a prince. Poverty could not depress; fortune did not spoil him. Wealth made him neither ambitious of the countenance or ac- quaintance of the rich or great, nor forgetful of the rights and feelings of the poor. In all his relations or dealings with men he was sin- gularly just. He never forgot old friends or past favors. He had no false pride and never turned his back on a poor man. He was in many particulars a very remarkable person. Fixed in his convictions, he was in no wise in- tolerant of the opinions of other people. With few advantages of early education, native shrewdness, fine' common sense, and close ob- servation supplied the place of scholastic at- tainment. He was a reader of men, not of books. Without public position of any sort he was the best known, the most popular and influential man in the community in which he so long resided. aRIAH C. HARTRANFT, one of the prominent and scholarly members of the Dayton bar, was born in Dela- ware township, Northumberland coun- ty, Pa., near the village of Dewart. From the age of five years until he was nine years of age, he attended public and private schools, and for two years after that he worked on the farm in summer and attended common school in winter. He then attended Dewart academy regularly until February 9, 1861, soon after which date he enlisted as a private soldier in company D, Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry, and served with this regiment in the western armies until the close of the war. He was OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 575 mustered out of service at Macon, Ga., Sep- tember 23, 1865, as major of the First battal- ion of the regiment. He was a true and faith- ful soldier all through the war, ever ready to perform any duty, no matter how dangerous or unpleasant. In January, 1866, he re-organized the De- wart academy, and taught school six months, until the trustees found a teacher with sufficient "book learning," to carry it on. In Septem- ber, 1866, he entered Dickinson seminary at Williamsport, Pa., and continued a student there three years, and in 1870 removed to Day- ton, Ohio, where he has since remained. Upon arriving in Dayton, Maj. Hartranft entered the office of John Scott and read law under his instruction. He was admitted to the bar at Columbus, Ohio, October 15, 1871, and formed a partnership May 18, 1872, with Lewis R. Pfoutz, under the firm name of Pfoutz & Hartranft, which firm continued in existence until the death of the senior member, in May, 1892. On May 23, 1892, he formed a partner- ship with Daniel H. Pfoutz, a son of his for- mer partner, under the old name, and this firm continues at the present time. Mr. Hartranft is a member of Old Guard post, G. A. R., and of the Veteran legion. He is rec- ognized by his professional associates and by a large body of clients as a man of ability and learning, amply deserving of the success which attends his practice of the law. >-j»AMES OTTO HARTSHORN stands ■ among the leading photographers of (% 1 Dayton, and may be classed as among the prominent business men of this city. He is a member of the well-known firm of Anderson & Hartshorn, whose photographic studio, at the corner of Fifth and Main streets, is equipped with the most approved modern mechanical and art accessories, for both por- traiture and commercial photography, as well as for the work in crayon, India ink, water colors, pastel, etc. Mr. Hartshorn was born in Monroe county, Ohio, on the 8th of August, 1869. While quite young he was deprived of his parents, and for a number of years he found an abiding place in the homes of various friends, being a lad of but thirteen years at the time when he entered the serious conflict of life upon his own responsibility. He was employed on a farm until he had reached the age of eighteen years, availing himself of the limited educa- tional advantages afforded by the district schools. At the age last mentioned he came to Dayton and for a short time was employed in a cotton-batting factory. Having a predilection for photographic work, in February, 1888, he entered a studio in Dayton and for eighteen months applied himself zealously to familiarizing himself with the intricate processes of successful photog- raphy. At the end of this time he secured a position in the studio of Hollinger, the Dayton photographer, under whose effective direction he prosecuted his technical study and labor for nearly five years. On the 1st of February, 1894, he formed a partnership with Charles F. Anderson, and they opened their present stu- dio, at the corner of Fifth and Main streets, where they have built up a most successful business, by reason of their superior produc- tions and their unvarying courtesy. In politics Mr. Hartshorn is a member of the prohibition party. In his religious affilia- tions he is a member of the Central Baptist church. In connection with his business in- terests he holds a membership in the state association of photographers, taking a lively interest in its affairs. The marriage of Mr. Hartshorn was sol- emnized on the 19th of March, 189 1 , with Miss Ella M. Huesman, of Dayton. They 576 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD became the parents of three children, namely: Howard F., Grace and Ethel, the last named being deceased. %*/^\ ENJAMIN F. HATHAWAY, livery- lf*^ man, of No. 309 East Second street, J^9 Dayton, is a son of Elijah and Sarah (Jameson) Hathaway, and a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, born September 2, 1841. His paternal grandfather, Benjamin Hath- away, was a native of Maryland, but early came to Ohio, settled in Warren county, and there reared a family of ten children. Elijah Hathaway, father of Benjamin F., was born in Warren county, where he grew to manhood, and there married Sarah Jameson, a native of the same county. Soon after this marriage Elijah Hathaway and wife came to Montgom- ery county and settled near Brookville, on a farm of eighty acres, on which they passed the greater part of their lives, Mr. Hathaway pur- suing his vocation of agriculturist. He died at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. Mary Dunkan, in Harveysburg, Warren county, in the year 1886, at the age of seventy-five years. His widow survived until 1S94, when she died at the age of seventy-two years. To them two children were born — Mary, wife of Martin V. Dunkan, now of Dayton, and Benjamin F., whose name opens this sketch. Benjamin F. Hathaway was reared on the home farm and was educated in the common schools of his native county. After the age of twenty years he was engaged for some time in the sale of lightning rods, and then for nine- teen years was engaged in saloon-keeping in Dayton. Selling his place, he purchased the livery equipment of Renner & Long, and has since been doing a general livery business. In 1874 Mr. Hathaway married Miss Mary Blackburn, a daughter of Samuel Blackburn, of Dayton, and this marriage has been blessed with one child, Maud. The family residence is at No. 210 Brabham street. In politics Mr. Hathaway is a republican; as a business man he is enjoying the success which is earned by diligence and close attention to the demands of the public. ar ILSON S. HAWKER, one of the most active young business men of Dayton, was born June 14, 1853. He is now the head of the Dayton Pattern & Model works, located at the corner of Fourth and Saint Clair streets, the com- pany having been organized in January, 1896, by Wilson S. and Frederick Hawker. He is a son of Emanuel and Mary J. (Gerlaugh) Hawker, both of whom are living in Dayton. The Hawker family is of German descent and is located principally in Ohio, having come originally to this state from Pennsylvania. At the early founding of Dayton three brothers came to Ohio, their names being Frederick, Adam and Abraham, and established the Hawker settlement some six miles from Day- ton. Adam Hawker was a minister of the German Reformed church, to which he de- voted his life, and was one of the most promi- nent ministers of that denomination in this part of the country. Abraham and Frederick were farmers. Frederick, the grandfather of Wilson S., was the father of the following children: Perry, Simon, Emanuel, Martin, Rebecca, and two other daughters. Emanuel was reared to farm life, and followed the occupation of farm- ing until thirty-five years of age, when he re- moved to Dayton, and became engaged in the livery business on Fourth street, continuing in this occupation for a number of years. Re- moving to Illinois he lived there for a short time and then went to Wisconsin, where he OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 577 engaged in farming. He and his wife reared a family of four children, as follows: Murray W. ; Cora M., deceased; Wilson S. and Louella. Wilson S. Hawker was reared in Dayton, educated in the public schools, and at the age of eighteen entered the service of the Smith & Vaile company, where he acquired the trade of patternmaker. Here he remained for three years, at the end of which time he went to Springfield, and was employed by the Cham- pion Agricultural works for some fourteen months as patternmaker. Returning to Day- ton, he worked for the John W. Stoddard Manufacturing company for about a year. After spending a few months in traveling in the east, he located at Norwalk, Conn., where he passed a year in the employ of the Ray- mond Foundry company. Going from Nor- walk to Philadelphia, Pa., he spent some seven years there, engaged with four different con- cerns, among which were the Abraham Cox Stove company, and the Neafie & Leary Ship Building company. He was for a time man- ager of the pattern department of the Barr Pumping Engine company, and then with the Eynon-Evans Manufacturing company in the same capacity, returning to Dayton, Ohio, in January, 1895. During 1895 Mr. Hawker was engaged in the manufacture of specialties, and in 1896 he added to his business the man- ufacture of patterns and models, forming the industry of which he is now the head. He is one of the most progressive young business men of Dayton, and has three patented spe- cialties of his own devising. His is the largest plant of the kind in Dayton, and is most com- pletely equipped, furnishing employment to a goodly number of men. Mr. Hawker is him- self a practical patternmaker and a general mechanic, and his particular business is a val- uable addition to the little manufacturing world that comprises Dayton. Frederick Hawker retired from this firm on July 1, 1896, leaving Wilson S. as sole proprietor. Mr. Hawker was married July 19, 1887, to Miss Lois E. Bouton, of Ansonia, Conn., by whom he has two children, viz: Chester B. and Roland G. He is an attendant upon the serv- ices of the Baptist church, and is known as a business man and a citizen of high integrity. As will be seen by the reading of this brief sketch, Mr. Hawker is one of the men who has carved out success for himself, beginning at the lowest round and building up a business of his own which is now one of the prosperous institutions of Dayton. He is still a young man, and having had large experience and possessing unusual ability in his special field of invention and manufacture, the future prom- ises for him still wider prosperity. at INFIELD SCOTT HAWTHORN, one of the most extensive coal deal- ers of Dayton, was born January 24, 1850, in a portion of the city not then incorporated. His father, John Haw- thorn, an early settler of Montgomery county, was born in New Carlisle, Clarke county, Ohio, May 19, 1822, but became a resident of the suburb of Dayton, above alluded to, when a boy, and attended school with Robert W. Steele, Wilbur Conover and others, who after- ward became prominent' among the business and professional men of the city. He was a plowmaker in his early days, but later engaged in various kinds of occupations. For a short time he was a soldier in the One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and was stationed at Fort Federal Hill, Baltimore, Md. , on garrison duty. His death took place in Dayton, November 30, 1889, through an acci- dent of which further mention will be made. His wife, who, prior to marriage, was Miss 578 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Sarah R. Bertles, was born in Adams county, Pa., in 1 83 1, and is now a member of the family of her son Winfield S. Of the family of six children born to Mr. and Mrs. John Haw- thorn, Winfield S. is the eldest; Clara, now Mrs. John A. Fisk, resides in Toledo; David died in July, 1873, in young manhood; Will- iam is a merchant of Dayton, is married, and is the father of four children; Melissa died in February, 1873, at about seventeen years of age, and Bertles died at the age of twenty-six. Winfield S. Hawthorn was educated in the public schools of Harrison (his native) town- ship and early learned the carpenter's trade. For twenty years he worked at his trade, and for seven years of this time was a contractor and builder. He was then superintendent of the Dayton school buildings for three years; he next acted as solicitor for the Dayton In- surance company for three years, and in June, 1893, ne entered upon his present business, at No. 222 South Williams street, where he has established a large and lucrative trade. The marriage of Mr. Hawthorn took place in 1 88 1, in Dayton, to Miss Allie Black, a na- tive of Peru, Ind., and a daughter of Samuel Black, who, with his wife, died when their daughter, Allie, was but a child. In 1889 a disastrous gas explosion occurred at Mr. Haw- thorn's residence, through which every mem- ber of the family, save two small children, was more or less injured; one child was instantly killed, and Mr. Hawthorn's father, John Haw- thorn, died eventually from the injuries sus- tained at the time, while Mr. Hawthorn him- self was so badly injured that he will carry scars to the grave. This explosion made a complete wreck of the dwelling and utterly de- stroyed its contents. To Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorn have been born six children, of whom William, the eldest, was the victim of the explosion above alluded to; the others are still under the parental roof and are named John, Eugene, Helen, Plinney and Ruth. Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorn are members of the Presbyterian church, and in politics Mr. Hawthorn is a republican. Fraternally, he is a Freemason, an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias. In the Independent Order of Odd Fellows he is a P. G. of his lodge and a P. C. P. of his encampment and in his social and business relations he holds the well-merited es- teem of his fellow-citizens. BRANK CAREY GARRETT, secretary of the Odd Fellows' National Bene- ficial association, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city June 8, i860, and is a son of John and Rose (Winters) Gar- rett, who are natives of southern Pennsylva- nia. The family is a combination of several nationalities, with the German element pre- dominating. John Garrett, the father of Frank C. , was born on a farm and passed his early life there, afterward learning the trade of carpenter. Rose (Winters) Garrett was born and reared in Shippensburg, a beautiful village in the Cumberland valley of Pennsylvania. After their marriage they remained for some years in Pennsylvania, removing to Ohio in 1854 and locating in Dayton, where they have since resided. John Garrett, after being employed by several firms, associated himself with the John Rouzer company as foreman some thirty years ago, and has ever since been connected with this concern, by whom he is highly re- garded. In politics, he has been, since the organization of the party, a republican, but has never sought political preferment of any kind. He and his wife are the parents of five children: John, Alice, Lillie, Frank C, and Charles* W. Frank C. Garrett was reared in the city of F. C. GARRETT. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 581 Dayton and educated in the public schools, graduating with high honors from the high school in 1879. Soon afterward he devoted his time to teaching music, to which he has given much attention, having written a number of very fine and popular instrumental and vocal compositions. His musical abilities have won for him a high place among local musicians, and for a number of years he was organist of the First Presbyterian church. Later he held the same place in the Linden avenue Baptist church, but resigned in order to accept a position as tenor in the choir of the Third street Presbyterian church. This latter posi- tion he was compelled, because of multiplied official duties, to resign. After teaching for a short time he entered the office ol D. L. Rike & Co., as bookkeeper and cashier, remaining with them until July, 1884, when he engaged in business for himself for about a year. He then accepted a posi- tion as bookkeeper in the office of the Odd Fellows' National Beneficial association, which position he filled until the latter part of 1894, when he succeeded to the secretaryship of the organization. He is also grand scribe of the grand encampment, I. O. O. F., of Ohio — in both of these offices succeeding James Ander- ton. Mr. Garrett's politics are republican and of a pronounced character. Since 1885 his time has been devoted entirely to secret society work, in its many phases, and in this direction he seems to have a peculiar aptitude. He has been elected to numerous positions of trust and honor in the order of Odd Fellows, to which his time is devoted, and is at present repre- senting his district in the grand lodge for the second term. He is a member of Montgomery lodge, No. 5; Dayton encampment, No. 2; canton Earl, No. 16, P. M., I. O. O. F. He is also a member of Iola lodge, No. 83, K. of P. ; of Mystic lodge, No. 405, F. & A. M. ; and of Unity chapter, No. 16. He is a member of Dayton lodge, No. 58, B. P. O. of E. ; a charter member of Gem City senate of the Knights of the Ancient Essenic order and of kremlin Mos- cow, Imperial Order of Muscovites, at Cincin- nati, Ohio; and also has the honor of being chosen as a permanent representative to the supreme kremlin, I. O. M. Mr. Garrett was married June 28, 1888, to Miss El-Fleda Houser, a native of Troy, Ohio, to which union two children have been born — Earle and Edythe. As members of society, Mr. and Mrs. Garrett are held in high esteem. *-|-» EMUEL E. HECKER, M. D., phy- r sician and surgeon, of Dayton, Ohio, ^^ was born in Lancaster county, Pa., November 14, 1852. He is a son of John H. and Catherine (Eshelman) Hecker, the latter of whom is now deceased and the former is a resident of Lancaster county, Pa. On his father's side of the family Dr. Hecker is of German descent. The family has for sev- eral generations furnished members of the learned professions. John H. Hecker was himself a physician, but is now retired. He and his wife were the parents of children as follows: Jacob K., a chemist of Philadel- phia, Pa.; David F., an attorney-at-law of Lebanon, Pa. ; Samuel, a baker of Reading, Pa.; John H., a practicing physician of Leb- anon, Pa.; Lemuel E. ; George, a musician of Philadelphia, Pa.; Grant and Lucinda, living at home, and one now deceased. Lemuel E. Hecker was educated in public and high schools. After spending some years prospecting in California, he studied medicine with his father, who was in the active practice of medicine some forty-five years. He was a graduate of the Franklin College of Medicine at Philadelphia. Lemuel E. Hecker graduated from the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery at Cincinnati, as a member of the class 582 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of 1885, and first entered upon the practice of his profession at Lafayette, Ind., but owing to an accident to his wife he was obliged to give up his practice and to travel with her abroad for the benefit of her health. She, however, died in 1888, and after her death Dr. Hecker located in Dayton, where he has established himself permanently and successfully as a gen- eral practitioner. Dr. Hecker is a member of the Montgom- ery county Medical society and of the Ohio state Medical association. His first wife was named Mary Ross. By her he had one child, Lee Addison. He was married subsequently to her death, in 1888, to Miss Catherine Joe, of Dayton, Ohio. Both he and his present wife are members of the Memorial Presbyte- rian church, which was organized as a New School Presbvterian church in 1868. k/^\ OLLA O. HEIKES, one of Dayton's I ^Z representative citizens, is a native of \ P this city, and was born December 25, 1856, a son of Jacob and Catherine Heikes, and was here reared to manhood, re- ceiving his education in the city public schools, and at the Smithson college, at Logansport, Ind., and also at Ann Arbor, Mich. Going hence to Nebraska he for sometime conducted a cattle ranch, and then went to Utah, where he engaged in the same occupation. After five years of this life he returned to Dayton, and became associated with his father until 1886 in the nursery business, to which he had been reared. For the next three years he acted as advertising agent for the La Fevre Arms company; was then with the Hunter Arms company for three years, and then be- came salesman for the Winchester Repeating Arms company, his territory embracing the whole of the United States. He had himself always been fond of a gun, and began practice in its use at the early age of five years. In 1879 Mr. Heikes entered the lists as a crack shot, and at Brownville took his first prize at trap shooting, where he made the sec- ond best average in a class of forty competi- tors; at Corry, Pa., in 1889, he broke 181 straight targets, following this record on the next day with 170 straight. In 1893, at Day- ton, Ohio, he broke 500 targets thrown from five traps, using three double-barreled guns and loading the same himself, in thirty-seven minutes and forty seconds. He has made over a dozen runs of over 100 consecutive shots without a miss, and at an exhibition at Indian- apolis, Ind., in 1896, broke 100 targets, thrown from five traps, in four minutes and thirty seconds. These are but a few examples of his wonderful dexterity as a marksman, and his home is adorned with many valuable tro- phies won at shooting tournaments. For the past ten years he has devoted his entire atten- tion to this line of skill and sport, having ap- peared in all the principal cities of the United States, and has everywhere been triumphant. In 1890 Mr. Heikes was chosen by the United States Cartridge company as one of ten experts to travel, advertise and shoot against all competitors in forty of the largest cities in the country, and during the entire tour Mr. Heikes never missed an engagement. In 1891 he made his first record, making 450 targets in fifty-two minutes and fifty seconds, and be- ing the first ever to reach such a score; April 9, 1892, he surpassed this achievement, break- ing 500 targets in forty minutes and forty seconds; and February 22, 1894, he broke 500 targets in thirty-seven minutes and fifteen sec- onds. These three feats have never been ex- celled and all were accomplished with the Win- chester gun. At Lexington, Ky. , in 1893, he made 114 straight; at the Eureka Gun club contest, Chicago, in April, 1895, he made 117 OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 583 straight; at Saratoga, N. Y., in May, 1893, he made 100 straight. At Dayton, Ohio, in January, 1894, he made 468 hits out of a pos- sible 500; at Hamilton, Ont., in January, 1894, he made twenty live birds and 155 targets — a total of 175 straight. At Chicago, May 18, 1894, in the gold cup championship of Amer- ica, he scored eighty-one out of a possible 100, but at Columbus, Ohio, for the state cham- pionship cup, had scored forty-nine in a possi- ble fifty. At Elwood, Ind., June 24, 1894, he made a straight run of fifty; June 27, at Columbus, Ohio, he made 100 at unknown angles and at Chattanooga, September 19, made 137 straight. His record for 1895 is in keeping with his previous achievements. Feb- ruary 27, 1896, he made the world-beating record of 100 targets in four minutes and twenty seconds. Afterward, at an exhibition at the same place (Indianapolis, Ind.) of the Limited Gun club, of rapid shooters, targets were thrown up by hand — first two, then four, then six — but he broke all before reaching the ground. Mr. Heikes has won for himself a world-wide reputation as a marksman, and the people of Dayton follow his career with inter- est, knowing that his upright character and strict integrity, no less than his wonderful skill in his unique profession, reflect credit upon his native city. Mr. Heikes is a member of the Knights .of Pythias. On January 12, 1881, he was mar- ried to Miss Cora L. Warbinton, daughter of John Warbinton, one child, Hprace W., be- ing born to the marriage in 1881, and he and family reside at No. 304 Grafton avenue. >-j*OHN HOBAN is president of the city A council of Dayton, and foreman of the /• 1 brass foundry of the Buckeye Iron & Brass works, a business which was established in 1844, in a small way, by Geo. W. Hoglen and W. H. Pease. Mr. Hoban's father, Patrick Hoban, died about 1878. John Hoban was born in Dayton, May 31, 1857, and received his education in the public and parochial schools of this city. At the age of twelve years he left school and went to work for the Dayton Gauge company. After some time he became engaged in trimming carriages, and continued this line of work for about five months. Not being satisfied with this occupation, he became an employee with the Buckeye Iron & Brass works as cleaner of castings, and after a time became a core- maker and at last a molder. After serving four years at the molder's trade he was made foreman of the shops, a position which he has since held continuously for eighteen years, making a period of twenty-five years of un- broken employment in one establishment. This fact alone speaks volumes for the effi- ciency, faithfulness and skill of Mr. Hoban in a place of trust and responsibility. When he began working for this company there were but one molder and two boys employed, while at the present time there are sixty men in the shops, all under his supervision. Mr. Hoban was married in October, 1881, to Mary Mescher, of Dayton, and to them there have been born seven children, all sons, six of whom are still living, as follows: Charles, John, William, Edward, Albert and Harry. The other died in infancy. Mr. Hoban is a member of the Catholic church, of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, of the Knights of St.. John, and of the National Union. In. the spring of 1891 Mr. Hoban was elected a member of the city council of Day- ton from the Fourteenth ward as a democrat. In 1893 he was elected from the Seventh ward and in 1895 was re-elected from the same ward. He was chosen president of the council in 1895, ar >d is now filling that honora- ble position with credit and ability. 584 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Mr. Hoban's long period of service with the Buckeye Iron & Brass works, his repeated elections to the city council, and finally his elevation to the presidency of that body, are all indicative of a strong personality, of thor- ough integrity and of a persistant devotion to principle, that are alike admirable and valuable to the community at large. ^""V'AMUEL FLETCHER GEORGE, *^^^j* M. D., of Dayton, Ohio, was born in K. j Elmira, N. Y., on February 16, 1843. Dr. George's paternal grandfather was Lemuel George, who was the first of the family to come to America. He was a native of Wales, where he learned the tanner's trade, and was married. Upon coming to the United States he located at Utica, N. Y., where he established a large tannery, and accumulated quite a fortune. He was an Episcopalian in religion. To Mr. George and wife a son and daughter were born — Lemuel and Margaret. Lemuel George (the younger), father of our subject, was born in Utica, N. Y., in Febru- ary. l 799- He received a collegiate education, became a minister of the Methodist church, and followed that calling all his life, filling pul- pits in Albany, Seneca Falls, Ithaca, Geneva, Elmira, Horseheads, Corning, Bath, Syracuse and Oswego and other cities, all in central New York. He was an eloquent pulpit orator, strong and earnest, with great power to move his congregation. He was an extemporaneous speaker, full of magnetism, and met with won- derful success all through his ministerial work. He was married in Auburn, N. Y., to Rhosilla Lowell, who was born in Haverhill, Mass., in 1 801, a daughter of Simon and Cynthia Lowell, and a cousin of the poet, James Rus- sell Lowell. Her mother was Cynthia Stone, who was a sister to the mother of Gen. Benjamin Butler. Through the Stone family, Vice-president Arthur was a cousin to our sub- ject; thus it will be seen that Dr. George was a second cousin to several of our most distin- guished men, including Gen. J. B. Stone, late of Detroit, and others. The father of Dr. George died on July 15, 1872, at Seneca Falls, N. Y., to which city he had retired. The death of the mother occurred in Buffalo, N. Y., in February, 1892. To these parents the following children were born: William L., Henry S., Edward and Edwin (twins), Mel- vina C, Horace C. , Elizabeth E., J. Russell, Charles W., Mary H„ Samuel F., and Francis W. The boyhood days of Dr. George were spent in Elmira, Corning, Horseheads, and Syracuse, N. Y. He attended the public schools until he was fifteen years of age, and and then entered what was known then as the Knoxville academy, in Steuben county, N. Y. He was next at the Syracuse high school, making his home in that city with an uncle, a minister. About two weeks after Fort Sumter was fired upon, young George obtained money from his uncle and returned to his home, then in Elmira, his intention being to enlist. On account of his youth (eighteen years), his fa- ther would not give his consent to his entering the army. The young fellow was a natural tactician, and had had some training, and it was not long until he was employed by the state to drill recruits, at which he was engaged during all of 1861. In the spring of 1862 he organized a company, and entered the service as major. His enlistment papers were made out early in 1862, but it was not until August of that year that his father reluctantly signed them. He then became a member of the Fiftieth regiment of New York engineers. Until December of the above year he was on detail at Syracuse, and then left for the front, and five days after leaving home he was in the battle of Fredericksburg, Va. He was with avCvvfi^ , V> , OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 587 the army of the Potomac until the surrender of Lee, his regiment building all bridges and throwing all pontoons for the army. Though his clothes were often perforated by bullets, he did not receive even a scratch during the service. He was mustered out of service at Fort Barry, Va., in May, 1865. Returning to Elmira, where his parents were then residing, Dr. George remained for a time, and then going to Syracuse took up the study of medi- cine, at which he continued for about three years. He then entered the Reformed college at Macon, Ga. , where he graduated. In 1869 he gave up the study of medicine and took a position as clerk in a wholesale tobacco and cigar house in Syracuse, entering the establish- ment at a salary of $12 per week. Thirty days later he was head clerk and in a manner had charge of the business of the house. After holding this place for about one year, he left it to engage in the grocery business in an en- deavor to save money he had loaned to a gro- cery dealer; sixty days later, however, the grocery firm failed, and he lost all. This firm had an indebtedness of $2,250, but in the fol- lowing year he liquidated the entire amount. While in this business he read law and was ad- mitted to practice. His next venture was in the purchase of a lot in Syracuse on time; he borrowed money and erected a handsome resi- dence, which property he sold at a good profit and thus got on his feet again. He then en- tered Hobart college, to prepare himself for the ministry, and was graduated in the class of 1873. During the summer of that year he began the publication of a newspaper known as the Anti-Monopolist, at Buffalo, N. Y., Philadelphia, Penn., and Richmond, Va. , with headquarters at Buffalo. During this time he also published the Buffalo Sunday Transcript. At this he was engaged until 1875, when he sold out the Transcript, and, going to Philadel- phia, took charge as general manager of the Philadelphia Evening Chronicle newspaper. He continued as general manager of the Chron- icle for a period of six months, during which brief time he canceled an indebtedness of $80,000 against the plant, and sold the paper with a profit of $25,000 to the proprietors. Dr. George then suggested the plan of a morn- ing newspaper to Messrs. McClure, McLaugh- lin and other newspaper men, which resulted in the Philadelphia Morning Times, of which paper Dr. George became the manager. In 1876, however, he established the Camden (N. J.) Tribune, a morning paper, which was sold three months later. Dr. George then gave up newspaper life and returned to the practice of medicine in Philadelphia. In 1877 he removed to Harrisburg, Pa., and the fol- lowing year went to York, Pa., and continued his practice for a year. Then returning to Buffalo, N. Y. , Dr. George practiced until 1882, when he removed to Dayton, where he has since practiced. In 1886 Dr. George graduated from the Eclectic Medical college, of Cincinnati. Since coming to this city Dr. George has been connected with various en- terprises, among them the National Medicine Case company, of Dayton, of which he is president. Dr. George is a speaker of considerable ability and note, and frequently addressed audiences on the line of social economy and other subjects. In Independence square, Phil- adelphia, on July 25, 1875, he addressed fifteen thousand people. All his life he has been a warm friend and supporter of the people, and has never lost an opportunity of lifting up his voice in their behalf. Dr. George was a re- publican until 1880 when he joined the green- back-labor party. He affiliated with the dem- ocratic party until 1892, and then went to the people's party. All this time he never changed his views, however, and was always found with the party holding those views. During the :,.ss CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD campaign of 1896 he was quite active, deliv- ering numerous speeches. Dr. George was married in May, 1875, to Miss Elizabeth A. Abbott, who was born in Philadelphia, and is the daughter of Hezekiah Abbott, a contractor and builder of that city. To this union the following children have been born: Charlotte M., Benjamin Butler and William Van Buskirk. Dr. George is a mem- ber of the Masonic, Odd Fellows, Ancient Order of United Workmen and also of the Grand Army of the Republic fraternities, and of the Episcopal church. a HARLES HERBY, architect, of Day- ton, Ohio, with his office in room No. 27, Beckel building, was born in Northampton county, England, April 14, 1846, and in 1849 came to America with his parents, William and Elizabeth (Johnson) Herby, who settled on a farm seven miles west of Dayton. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Herby were seven in number, of whom three died in infancy, the eldest in England, while two boys and two girls lived to years of ma- turity. That part of the family which came to America was on the ocean twenty-one days and was twenty-two days in making the trip from New York to Dayton, overland traveling facilities at that early day being of the most meager description. The family home in Montgomery county was retained until 1880, when the parents removed to Newton, Harper county, Kan., where the father died in 1883, soon after which Charles brought his mother to his home in Dayton, where she died in Novem- ber, 1895. Charles Herby passed his earlier years on his father's farm, and was educated in the dis- trict schools. At the age of eighteen years he enlisted in company K, Thirty-first regiment, Ohio national guard, and performed garrison duty at Baltimore, Md., from May 4, 1864, until August 23, of the same year. Upon at- taining his majority, he apprenticed himself to the carpenter's trade, which he learned thor- oughly, and followed the business of contractor and builder for about twenty years without in- termission. About the year 1882 he became a resident of Dayton, and in 1890 decided to de- vote his time wholly to architectural work and is now ranked among the most successful drafts- men in the city. The marriage of Mr. Herby took place, in 1871, to Miss Sarah C. Cunningham, a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, and a daughter of Joseph and Emily Cunningham, the former of whom was a prominent farmer, and is now deceased. Of the ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. Herby, five died in infancy. Of the five survivors, Daisy is her father's housekeeper; Walter E. is a clerk; Roy is a carriage-trim- mer, and James A. Garfield and Wilbur are at- tending school. In politics Mr. Herby is a re- publican and his religious relations are with the Raper Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is a class leader, and is at present assistant superintendent of the Mission Sunday-school. HOMAS BABBITT HERRMAN, the junior member of the firm of Baggott & Herman, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city March 27, 1867, and is a son of Ezra A. and Margaret (Edgar) Herrman, both of whom were natives of Day- ton. Henry Herrman, the father of Ezra A., came from Germany to the United States when he was quite young. He was for many years a merchant and grain dealer, on Main street, in Dayton, and was one of the best known men in Montgomery county. Margaret Edgar was a daughter of Samuel D. Edgar, who was born in Montgomery coun- ty, and who was one of its prominent citizens, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 589 especially during the war of the Rebellion, when he was connected in many ways with work for the relief of families of soldiers absent in the army of the Union. He was a son of Robert Edgar, who was born at Staunton, Va. , February 8, 1770, settled in Dayton in 1796, at about the time the founders of the town arrived, and on September 17, 1798, married Mrs. Margaret Gillespie Kirkwood, a native of Philadelphia, born April 6, 1772. The ancestors of Robert Edgar came to this country from Ireland during the early settle- ment of the country, and located in Virginia, where Robert was born. He first came to Dayton on a surveying expedition in the inter- est of the government, and returned to Cin- cinnati, then Fort Washington, or perhaps Lo- santiville, but within a short time came back to Dayton, where he then remained. He came overland, the other settlers for the most part coming by boat up the Miami river, He built the first cabin in Dayton for Col. George New- corn, who served as a soldier in Wayne's cam- paign against the Indians, and in the war of 1812. This first log cabin stood just south of the original location of the Centennial log cabin, which now stands in Van Cleve park, on the river bank, and which Mr. Edgar also built for Col. Newcom. Mr. Edgar boarded with Col. Newcom, paying for his board by furnishing the table of Newcom Tavern with a deer once a week, and shooting the deer in the swamps near by. The contract for build- ing the second log cabin, referred to above, is in the possession of Mr. Herrman. Robert Edgar also erected, about 1800, the first saw- mill and the first gristmill in Montgomery county, and himself operated them. He died February 25, 1853. Ezra A. Herrman, the father of Thomas B. , was a tobacco merchant in Dayton for many years, and is still living, as is also his wife. Thomas Babbitt Herrman was educated in the public schools of Dayton. Leaving school in 1883, he went to South Dakota, and, with his father, engaged in farming and cattle rais- ing until 1887, when he returned to Dayton and traveled for the next two years as sales- man. In 1 89 1 he began reading law in the office of Judge Baggott, read for about a year, and again went on the road for a period of two years. Returning to Dayton he again took up the study of the law, and was gradu- ated at the Cincinnati Law college in May, 1895, and in June, 1895, became a partner of Judge Baggott in the practice of the law. While on the road Mr. Herrman was ap- pointed adjutant of the First battalion, Third regiment, O. N. G., in June, 1893, and served during the miners' riots at Wheeling Creek, in 1894, being honorably discharged in January, 1895. Mr. Herrman has an abundance of energy and application to business, and doubt- less will make his mark in the profession upon which he has so recently entered. ^y^VATRICK HICKEY, of the quarter- ly W master's department of the National M Military Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, at Dayton, Ohio, was born in Susquehanna, Pa., March 17, 1840, and when a babe was taken by his parents, John and Bridget (Hennessy) Hickey, to the city of Buffalo, N. Y. , where he was educated in the public schools. He was taught the carpenter and joiner's trade by his father, and while working at this trade he enlisted in company I, Twenty-first New York volunteer infantry, and served from May 1, 1861, to May, 1863 — the last year as second lieutenant, in command of his company — in the Fifth army corps, arrny of the Potomac. He took part in all the duties of his regiment, which were of a varied character, until the second battle of Bull Run, where he found his first general en- 590 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD gagement, under Gen. Pope, in the latter part of August, iS62. Here the captain and first lieutenant of his company were killed and Mr. Hickey was placed in command; he was at the battle of South Mountain, and, under Gen. George B. McClellan, was engaged in the bat- tle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, and was there wounded. December 13, 1862, he fought under Gen. Burnside at the battle of Fredericksburg, where about 13,000 Union soldiers lost their lives. On being mustered out of service, Lieut. Hickey enlisted in the Sixteenth New York cavalry and served until the ciose of the war. He was orderly sergeant of company B, and his duties were mostly of a special character, he being for many months under the control of no commander excepting the secretary of war. It was by a portion of his company that John Wilkes Booth, the as- sassin of President Lincoln, was subsequently captured. He was present at the grand re- view at Washington, D. C. , and on the con- solidation of his regiment with the Thirteenth New York cavalry he was commissioned an of- ficer and was mustered out. On his return to Buffalo, Lieut. Hickey worked at the carpenter's trade until 1882, when, by reason of his wound and the ravages of time on his general health, he availed him- self of the beneficent provision made by a grateful country and entered the national mili- tary home at Dayton. Here he was employed in various duties until the past two and a half years, when, as a reward for his commendable conduct and general capability, he was placed in his present position in the quartermaster's department. The parents of Lieut. Hickey were natives of Ireland, but were brought to America in their infancy. They were married in Geneva, N. Y., and became the parents of six sons, of whom four, Thomas, John, William and Patrick, served as soldiers in the Civil war. Of these, Thomas and John have died since the close of that struggle, presumably from the infirmities, incurred while in the service — and this is' thought more especially to have been the case with John, who had been for many months a prisoner at Andersonville. The par- ents died in Buffalo, N. Y. , the father's death resulting from injuries caused by a fall. Pat- rick Hickey was never married. He is a mem- ber of the Home post, G. A. R., and in politics is a life-long republican. He is a man of high character and standing, and is sincerely re- spected by each and every inmate of the military home. eMIL C. HAESELER, the well known dealer in furniture, carpets, mattresses, oil-cloths, etc., at No. 137 East Fifth street, Dayton, was born in Cincin- nati August 16, 1850, a son of Ernest and Louisa (Gross) Haeseler, who were of German birth, but came from Paris to America in 1848. Ernest Haeseler was a cabinetmaker of the highest class, and had followed his calling in Paris for seventeen years prior to his com- ing to the United States, and here, in 1850, he made for J. M. Brunswick & Bro. the first bil- liard table manufactured in Cincinnati, and probably the first one made in any part of the west. He came to Dayton in 1880, resign- ing his position with the Brunswick Bros., and accepted employment at the Barney & Smith Car works, as an expert cabinetmaker, execut- ing all the fine veneer work done in the shops. His wife died in 1882, in the faith of the Lu- theran church. They had a family of four chil- dren, born in the following order: Emil C, whose name opens this biography; Anthony, superintendent of repairs at the Amos Whitely Machine company, Springfield, Ohio; August, of the firm of Irwin & Haeseler, dry-goods OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 593 merchants on West Third street, Miami City (Dayton); and one child that died in infancy. The father had been a member of the I. O. O. F. since 1850; he was also a member of the order of Druids, and in religion had been born and reared a Catholic. His death was caused by an accident which befel him in the car works at Dayton, March 2, 1894, and in him Dayton lost one of the most artistic wood- workers that ever entered her borders. Emile C. Haeseler received his education in the common and intermediate schools of Cincinnati, and in 1862, when twelve years of age, began his first wage-earning in the lab- oratory of Dr. Roback, on Hammond street, during his vacation from school. The follow- ing vacation, 1863, he worked for John D. Sparks, and in 1864 entered the employ of Carroll & Co., booksellers and stationers, with whom he remained until the great fire of 1865. He next tried wood-carving, but disliked the employment, and eight months afterward, in 1866, entered upon an apprenticeship at up- holstering, requiring a service of four years, with A. C. Richards, No. 12 East Fourth street, Cincinnati. Emile worked one year as a journeyman, and in May, 1871, went to Fort Wayne, Ind.. thence to Chicago, where he worked for Thayer & Tobey, and after the great fire visited some of the western towns, returning to Chicago in 1872. In 1874 he re- turned to Cincinnati and worked for the Rob- ert Mitchell Furniture company until July, 1875, and then came to Dayton and entered the Barney & Smith car shops for a two-weeks' stay. He was prevailed upon to return, after an absence of six weeks, and was given charge of the upholstering department, which position he retained for upward of twenty years, mak- ing many advances and improvements in the class of work under his charge, and being the patentee of the spring-edge cushion, now universally adopted by railroad companies. 20 In 1895 he left the employ of the Barney & Smith company and engaged in the hardware business on his own account; but, not liking this, he three months later, November 1, 1895, embarked in upholstering at Nos. 1129 and 1 131 South Wayne avenue. February 15, 1896, he placed a large and varied stock of furniture at No. 137 East Fifth street, occu- pying three floors. At his factory he turns out every style and shape of upholstery, including sofas, couches, lounges, mattresses, etc. Mr. Haeseler is a stockholder and director in the Tivoli Fruit & Land company. He is a member of Saint John lodge, F. &. A. M. ;. Unity chapter, Rose Croix, No. 18, and is past chancellor, K. of P., and member of Humboldt lodge, No. 58, and Humboldt di- vision, No. 12, uniform rank, K. of P., and was the representative of his lodge in the grand lodge in 1893 and 1894. He is also vice-president of the Dayton Gymnastic club, and a great admirer of all athletic and field sports. He is public-spirited in a high degree, is a tireless and energetic worker for the good of the community, and it is largely due to his exertions as a member of the South Park Im- provement association, that this part of the city has been so much benefited by recent pro- gressive measures. In politics Mr. Haeseler is a sound republican. Mr. Haeseler was united in marriage, in June, 1878, with Miss Jennie Cramer, of South Wayne avenue, and this union has been blessed with two children — Charles and Ed- ward. Of these, Charles, the elder son, was born February 12, 1879, was educated in the Dayton public schools, and also graduated from Wilt's business college in November, 1895; he is now bookkeeper for his father. Edward, the younger son, was born Septem- ber 20, 1880, and is a student at Saint Mary's college, of Dayton. The family have their home at No. 108 South Bonner street, and are 594 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD among the mcst respected of the residents of Dayton. Mrs. Haeseler is a consistent mem- ber of the First Baptist church. >-j , ° SEPH E - HIMES, assistant in the M wound-dressing department of the na- m 1 tional military home, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Chester county, Pa., March 28, 1837, his parents, Benjamin and Eliza (Townsend) Himes, being natives of the same county. The father was a soldier in the late Civil war, and died of disease contracted while in the service, and the mother, who had been a nurse in the hospital at Philadelphia during the same turbulent period, passed away at her peaceful home in Chester county. Of their family of six children, a son and daughter are deceased; of the living, beside Joseph E. , his brother, Eleazer, served eight years in the marine corps of the United States and fought through the whole of the Civil war; James was in the volunteer army and served also through the entire Rebellion; Townsend was an emer- gency man at the time of the rebel invasion under Gen. Lee. Joseph E. Himes learned the carpenter's trade in youth, and worked at the trade many years afterward. He first enlisted April 18, 1 86 1 , for three months, in company G, Twenty- second Pennsylvania infantry, served out his term on guard duty in Baltimore, Md. , and was honorably discharged August 7, 1861. Three days later he enlisted, for three years, in company C, Seventy-second Pennsylvania volunteer infantry, and served the entire term in the army of the Potomac. He was on the Peninsula, under Gen. McClellan, and fought at Fair Oaks, May 31, 1862, and at Seven Pines, June 1. At the battle of Savage Sta- tion, June 29, he was wounded in the head. Joining Pope, the regiment took part in the second battle of Bull Run; then followed South Mountain, Antietam and first and second Fred- ericksburg; the regiment then started on the Gettysburg campaign, where it participated in the second and third days' battles. It was the corps to which Mr. Himes was attached that received the historical charge of Pickett's men at the Bloody Angle. The winter of 1863 was spent at Brandy Station, and in the spring of 1864 the memorable Wilderness campaign was begun, in which Mr. Himes fought in the battle of the Wilderness proper, at Spottsyl- vania. Cold Harbor and Petersburg. At the latter point the term of enlistment expired, and the Seventy-second lef.t the trenches and started for home. After his 'return from the field, Mr. Himes resumed his trade in Schuylkill county, Pa., and this he followed, in its various branches and in different parts of the country, until 1 891, being thirteen years of this time em- ployed in the Baldwin locomotive works, of Philadelphia. In 1878 he was sent, with thir- teen others, to Russia, to set up and start forty locomotives that had been sold to the government of that country, and was absent about four months. Mr. Himes was married in Schuylkill coun- ty, Pa., in 1 866, to Miss Sarah A. Bausman, who died, in Philadelphia in 1880, leaving three sons — Pierson G., Townsend J. and Charles — all machinists and all residentsof Philadelphia. In May, 1891, Mr. Himes came to the sol- diers' home, where he was first employed in the carpenter shops, but for the past two years has been in the hospital service. He is a member of encampment No. 82, Union Veteran League, of which he has been officer of the day for three years, and is also an Odd Fellow. In politics he is a life-long republican, and was an ardent supporter of McKinley and the sound money platform; and his father and brothers were members of the same political party. In religion he is liberal in his views, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. .7.1.-, and while he was reared a Baptist, his parents were of Quaker stock. Mr. Himes by his good qualities, has made many personal friends since he has been an inmate of the disabled soldiers' home. HLBERT F. HOCHWALT, secretary and treasurer of the A. H. Grim Co., is one of the well-known young busi- ness men of Dayton. He was born in this city December 24, 1869, and is the son of George and Theresa (Lothammer) Hochwalt. George Hochwalt was born in Hesse-Darm- stadt, Germany, in 1823, and died in Dayton in 1894 after an honorable business career, at the ripe age of seventy-one years. He came to America with his parents, Henry and Eva Hochwalt, in 1833, and his parents, after a short stay in Baltimore, came to Dayton, where they spent the remainder of their lives, dying at an advanced age. Their son George remained in Baltimore and learned the shoe- maker's trade. After completing his appren- ticeship he came to Dayton in 1840 and opened up a shop. His business prospered, and in 1844 he was the first to put in a stock of east- ern factory shoes, thus establishing the first shoe store in the city. He was in the shoe business for fifty years, and for forty-six years conducted the leading shoe stores of Dayton, retiring from active business in 1890, and dying four years later. The deceased was al- ways a devout Catholic, and was a trustee of Emanuel congregation, with which he affili- ated during his residence in Dayton. His wife, who is still living, is sixty-four years of age. She was born in Canton, Ohio, and is the second wife of George Hochwalt. To his first marriage five children were born, as fol- lows: Henry, of Dayton, a traveling shoe salesman; Mary, wife of Joseph Krebs, of Day- ton ; George W. , in the insurance business in Dayton; John, a shoe dealer in Chicago; Miss Josephine, residence in Dayton. From the second marriage there were also five children, viz: Edward A., secretary of the Schwind Brewing company, of Dayton; Emma J., wife of F. J. Burkhardt, of Dayton; Charles O, shoe dealer, Cleveland, Ohio; Albert F. and Dr. Gustave A. Hochwalt, of Dayton. Albert F. Hochwalt was reared in this city and received his early education in the paro- chial schools. When he was thirteen years old he entered Saint Mary's institute, where he graduated at the age of seventeen. He then associated himself with his father in the shoe business until 1890. After this he was with D. C. Arnold, shoedealer, until 1893, when he became connected with the A. H. Grim company, and in 1894 became one of the members of the company, to whose busi- ness he has since given his entire attention. Albert F. Hochwalt is well known'in society circles, being a member of Herman court, I. O. F., No. 131 1 ; also of A. S. C. colony. No. 4. He was married September 7, 1892, to Miss Adele Butz, daughter of Charles and Til- lie Butz. They have two children, Bert G. and Cyril E. All are members of Emanuel Catholic congregation. HEODORE HOLLENKAMP, one of the founders of the Dayton Ale brew- ery, was born in Hanover, Germany, November 2, 1834, a son of Henry H. and Kate (Gerling) Hollenkamp, and was reared on a farm. At the age of twenty-four years he came to America, and for thirteen years lived in Cincinnati, Ohio. Here, after working for some time at any available employ- ment, he found permanent occupation in the breweries of the city and thoroughly learned the business. He then went to Xenia, where he associated himself with an uncle in a brew- 596 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ery, continuing there in business for eleven years. The uncle died in 1871, and then Mr. Hollenkamp came to Dayton and has ever since lived here. In 1885 Mr. Hollenkamp, with John Ale- schleger as partner, established the Dayton Ale brewery, but the partnership lasted two years only, when Mr. Aleschleger was suc- ceeded by Henry Kramer, and this association was continued until July, 1895, since when Mr. Hollenkamp has been the sole owner. The output of the plant, which is located at the corner of Brown and Hickory streets, con- sists exclusively of ale and porter, with a pro- duction of about 5,000 barrels annually, mostly consumed in Dayton. The marriage of Mr. Hollenkamp took place in Cincinnati, November 22, 1870, to Miss Anna Tepe, a native of Hanover, Germany, the union resulting in the birth of six children, viz: Anna, Elizabeth, Lena, Katie, Theodore and Benjamin. The family are members of the Emanuel Catholic church of Dayton, and stand well in the esteem of the community in which they live. Mr. Hollenkamp has achieved a creditable success in business, having begun his life in Cincinnati without a dollar, and being now one of the solid capitalists of Day- ton. He is broad-minded and open-hearted, ever ready to give assistance to the needy and to aid all enterprises for the public good. In politics he is a stanch democrat, but has never been a seeker of public office. ^yry'ARREN E. HOOVEN, M. D., No. mm 1 60 1 East Fifth street, Dayton, is \JL/1 ;i most experienced physi- cians and surgeons of the Gem City. He was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, May 12, 1838, a son of John and Hooven McCahan) Hooven, both now deceased. John Hooven and his wife were natives of Juniata county, Pa., and when newly married came overland to Ohio, to find Dayton a small hamlet of but few houses, a store and a black- smith shop. Mr. Hooven purchased a tract of 160 acres of land near Brookville, Clay township, Montgomery county, and this he converted into a productive farm, on which he and wife spent the remainder of their life. He became one of the solid men of Clay township, was a local leader in public affairs, and for six- teen years was township assessor. Of Scotch- Irish extraction, he possessed all the hardihood of physique and mental tenacity of purpose of the combined races, and having been, in his early days, a school-teacher, he was ever an advocate of free and universal education. He and his wife were parents of children as fol- lows: Elliott and Eliza Ann died in early child- hood; John, a coal-dealer, died in Dayton about the year 1890; Susan, now deceased, was the wife of W. B. Marshall, who was killed at the battle of Shiloh; Frank M. is a resident of Marshall county, Iowa; Hannah is the wife of B. H. Reed, of Union City, Ind., and the youngest is Warren E., whose name opens this biography. Warren E. Hooven was educated in the common schools, and for five years was him- self a school-teacher. He read medicine un- der Dr. Robert Toby, at that time a resident of West Baltimore, Montgomery county; he next attended the Cincinnati college of Medi- cine and Surgery in 1859-60, then practiced with his preceptor until 1865, when he located in Ansonia, Darke county — in the meantime attending the Miami Medical college of Cincin- nati, from which he graduated in 1871. In 1883 he left Ansonia and came to Dayton, where his professional skill has gained for him a large list of patients. Dr. Hooven has been a member of the lo- cal board of United States pension examiners since August, 1893, ar >d is now its president. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 597 He is also a member of the medical societies of Darke and Preble counties; of the Dayton lodge of Free & Accepted Masons; of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, Dayton lodge; of the Greenville chapter, F. & A. M., and of Linden lodge, Knights of Pythias. In politics, he is one of the leaders of the democratic party, and in 1890 was appointed a member of the Dayton board of civil affairs, which office he filled for two years, during which period he was largely instrumental in bringing about much of the paving and sewer construction of the city, being both patriotic and progressive, and desirous of seeing Dayton improved by modern thoroughfares and better sanitation. The marriage of Dr. Hooven took place in Montgomery county, in i860, to Miss Marietta R. Riley, a native of the county, a daughter of George \Y. H. Riley and a second cousin of the poet. James Whitcomb Riley. To the marriage of the doctor have been born six chil- dren, of whom but two survive, namely: Edith, now the wife of Dr. E. B. Bayliss, of Parkers, W. Va., and Clement W., agent for the "Big 4" Railroad company at Anderson, Ind. , and one of the company's most trusted employees. Mrs. Marietta R. Hooven is a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the doctor, who has made a thorough success pro- fessionally and' financially, is one of the most highly respected citizens of Dayton. ^y w ^ ILLIAM P. HUFFMAN, deceased, MM who was one of Dayton's foremost \JL>^ citizens and bankers, was born in this city on October 18, 1813, and was the son of William and Lydia (Knott) Huffman. His grandfather, William, who was of German descent, and his grandmother, who was of English descent, emigrated to America from Holland, some time in the de- cade following 1730, and settled in Mon- mouth county, N. J., where their son, Will- iam, father of William P., was born on May 24, 1769, and where, on June 14, 1 801, he married Lydia Knott, who was born in the same county on January 19, 1779. One son and four daughters were born to their union. The family came west and settled in Dayton, where both parents died, the father January 23, 1866, and the mother March 21, 1865. William P. Huffman received a fair English education, and read law for a time, not with the idea of adopting that profession, but solely to acquire a more thorough business equipment. Early in 1837 he left this city and for ten years was occupied in farming; but in 1848 he returned to Dayton and for many years was extensively engaged in banking, real-estate and building operations. He was prominently identified with a number of en- terprises, among which were the Third street railway, Dayton & Springfield pike. Cooper Hydraulic company, and the Second National bank, of the last of which he was the organ- izer and president up to his death. For fifteen years Mr. Huffman was a member of the board of trustees of Dennison university, at Gran- ville. He was a member of the Linden avenue Baptist church. A man of clear, sound, practical judgment, and exceedingly conserva- tive and reliable in all transactions, the name of William P. Huffman stood as a synonym for wisdom and safety in the business circles of Dayton. As a man of integrity and moral worth, he was a strong factor in molding the Christian sentiment of the community of which he was so long a worthy and honored citizen. On October 18, 1837, Mr. Huffman married Anna M., daughter of Samuel Tate, of this county, and to this union the following children were born: William, deceased; Mar- tha Bell, wife of E. J. Barney, of Dayton; Lydia H., wife of James R. Hedges, of Day- ton; Charles T. , deceased; Lizzie H., widow 598 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of Charles E. Drury, of Dayton; Samuel, who died in childhood; Torrence, of Dayton; Frank T., of Dayton; George P. and Anna M. ar 'ILLIAM HUFFMAN, late of the firm of Huffman & Co., of Dayton and Piqua, limestone dealers, was born in Mad River township, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, September 5, iS38,ason of William P. and Anna M. (Tate) Huffman, natives of the same county. William P. Huff- man and his wife were the parents of ten chil- dren, as follows: William; Martha Bell, wife of E. J. Barney, president of the Barney & Smith Manufacturing company, of Dayton; Lydia, wife of J. R. Hedges; Charles, de- ceased; Lizzie, widow of Charles E. Drury; Samuel, who died in childhood; Torrence; Frank T. ; George P., and Anna M., the latter of whom lives with her mother. William P. Huffman was a banker and real- estate dealer. He assisted to organize the Second National bank, and afterward the Third National bank, being president of each in suc- cession, until he retired, in 1886. He was a trustee of Dennison university from 1867 until his death, which occurred July 2, 1888, when he was seventy-five years of age. Politically Mr. Huffman was a war democrat, and was, as his widow is, a member of the Baptist church. William Huffman, the father of William P. Huffman, was born in New Jersey, May 24, 1769. His ancestry were of German de- scent, but came to this country from Holland, somewhere between the years of 1730 and 1740. He was married June 14, 1801, to Miss Lydia Knott, a native of New Jersey. Mr. Huffman came to Ohio in 181 2, and was long engaged in business in Dayton. He built the first stone house in the place, either on the present site of the Third National bank or on that of the Beckel house. He was a volunteer in the war of 18 12, and marched to Fort Piqua for active duty, but, the services of the com- pany of which he was a member were not re- quired. He had one son, William P., and four daughters. He died January 23, 1866, in his ninety-seventh year. Samuel Tate, the maternal grandfather of the second William Huffman, came to Ohio from Pennsylvania in 1818, settled near Day- ton, and lived there until his death at eighty- three years of age. He was of Scotch- Irish descent, his ancestry coming from the north of Ireland. He was a distiller and a miller, and retired from business in the 'fifties. William Huffman, the subject of this sketch, lived on the farm in Greene county until he was ten years old. Then coming to Dayton he attended the common schools for a time. Going back to the farm he operated the same, also a sawmill for some years, and then re- turning to Dayton he engaged in quarrying and selling limestone, and was thus engaged until June 6, 1896, when his death occurred. Mr. Huffman was married January 30, 1862, to Miss Emily Huston, daughter of Israel and Elizabeth (Harshman) Huston. To this mar- riage were born fourteen children, nine of whom are living, as follows: Harriet, Emily, Daniel A., Elizabeth, Susan, W. P., McCurdy K., Eugene B., and Otto V. Harriet married R. M. Wickersham, of Cincinnati, and has one child. Emily married Whitney H. Brown, now of Webb City, Jasper county, Mo., and hasonechild. Elizabeth married L. P. Hazen, of Cincinnati, and has one child. Susan mar- ried Frederick T. Darst, of Dayton. Mrs. William Huffman died April 25, 18S5. She and her husband were members of Linden avenue Baptist church. Fraternally, Mr. Huff- man was a Mason, a Knight of Pythias, an Odd Fellow, and a Knight of Honor. He was in Masonry a Scottish-rite Mason, a Knight Tem- plar and a Shriner. Politically he was a demo- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 599 crat, and as such served two terms as a mem- ber of the city council, and as president of that body for one term. He was a member of the Dayton board of education for three years, and also served on the school board in the country district in which he lived for a number of years. He was police commissioner in Dayton four years, and for three years a trustee of the water works, and during his incumbency of the latter office was largely instrumental in placing this department of the city's business upon a paying basis. Under the new law creating a board of city commissioners, he was one of the first members of that body, and was actively concerned in securing sewerage and street paving. These improvements are among the most important in any city, and Dayton's rapid and extensive adoption of them is in great measure due to William Huffman's energy, public spirit and determination. Mr. Huffman held various offices connected with business concerns. At the time of his death he was manager of the Cooper Hydraulic com- pany, and of the National Improvement com- pany. He was a director in the City National bank, and in the Davis Sewing Machine com- pany, and was president of the Miami Building & Loan association. Mr. Huffman established his limestone business in 1873, and in busy seasons gave em- ployment to about 1 50 men, getting out build- ders and contractors' stone. He was not only successful in his business, but exerted a great influence in the political and public affairs of the city. He never lost interest in his early occupation as a farmer, and throughout his life owned and cultivated large tracts of land. Mr. Huffman was of a pleasant and genial disposi- tion, and drew about him a large circle of loyal friends. He lived his entire life in Montgomery and Greene counties, most of the time in Day- ton, and aided largely in the development of both county and city. HH. IDDINGS, M. D., a leading med- ical practitioner of Dayton, Ohio, was born at Pleasant Hill, Miami county, Ohio, January 1, 1840. When eight- een years of age he graduated from the Friends' academy, a local educational institution. He pursued the study of medicine while working on his father's farm, and during the winter of i860 attended his first course of lectures in the Cincinnati college of Medicine. Subsequently ■he took a course in Bellevue Hospital Medical college, of New York city, graduating there in 1866. After practicing five years in Arcanum, Darke county, Ohio, he located in Dayton, where he has since been engaged in the con- tinuous practice of his profession, a period of twenty-five years. He was appointed United States pension examiner at Dayton, serving in that capacity from 1884 until 1888. Beside a number of other local offices which he has filled, he has been health officer of the city of Dayton for eight years, and is occupying that position at the present time. Dr. Iddings is a member of the Montgom- ery county Medical society and of the state Medical association. He is a member of Saint John's lodge, F. & A. M., and also of Reed commandery, No. 6, and is a Knight Templar. Dr. Iddings has succeeded in a marked degree financially, being possessed of much valuable property. His residence, No. 344 South Main street, is among the desirable homes in the city, and was erected by himself. His office is No. 136 South Ludlow street. Politically Dr. Iddings is a stanch democrat. He has been a member of the school board for several years, and was president thereof for two years. For five years he was connected with Saint Elizabeth's hospital as physician, and for sev- eral years he has been physician at the jail. He is recognized as being among the most suc- cessful physicians of the city of Dayton, fol- lowing general practice. Dr. Iddings is of 600 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Scotch descent, and belongs to a family of great longevity. Davis Iddings, his father, is still living at Pleasant Hill, and is eighty-four years old. Mrs. Sarah Iddings (nee Hill), his mother, died January i i, 1896, at the age of seventy-eight, having lived upward of fifty-seven years in the house in which she died. They were both members of the Christian church. A. H. Iddings, the subject of this sketch, was married at Pleasant Hill, Miami county, Ohio, June 8, 1859, to Miss C. A. DeBra, a native of that county and a daughter of Daniel DeBra, and to this marriage there has been born one child, Vinnia Velantia. Mrs. Iddings is a member of the Grace Methodist Episcopal church, and both are members of a large and pleasant social circle. a man well qualified for the position he holds, or for any place requiring expert mechanical knowledge and skill. OLIVER PERRY HUTCHINS, su- perintendent of the Dayton infirmary, was born in Vinton county, Ohio, May 8, 1856. He is a son of Amer- icus and Elizabeth (Tremain) Hutchins, the former of whom was the son of a Scotch-Irish- man, O. P. Hutchins, was reared on a farm in Vinton county, Ohio, and was educated in the public schools of his county. For the past eighteen years he has been a machine worker. From Vinton county he removed to Miami county in 1876, and in 1886 he came to Dayton. For the past six or seven years he has been employed in the Barney-Smith Manu- facturing company's works in Dayton; that is, up to April, 1895, when he was appointed superintendent of the Dayton infirmary, which position he now occupies. Mr. Hutchins was married October 14, 1884, to Miss Irene Oilman, of Indiana, and a daughter of Aaron Oilman. Mr. Hutchins is a member of Iola lodge, No. 83, Knights of Pythias, and in politics is a republican. He is >"j*OHN HILLER, now living in retire- m ment at No. 601 North Main street, (8 j Dayton, Ohio, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., February 6, 1836, a son of John and Annie (Rush) Hiller, natives of the same county. Mr. Hiller's great-grandfather, John Hiller, was the founder of the American branch of the family, having come in 1682 from the Palati- nate of Germany. The father of the present John Hiller was born in 1788 and died in his native county in 1864; his mother was born in 1795 and died in 1858. Of their family of eight children all are living, and were born in the following order: Caspar, in the nursery business, at Conestoga, Pa., is married and has a family; Catherine is the widow of Jacob Myers and resides in Montgomery county, Ohio; Fannie is the wife of Michael Benedict, of Conestoga, Pa. ; Annie is married to God- fred Peifer, of Galena, 111. ; Barbara is the widow of Martin Whitmore, and lives in Lan- caster county, Pa.; Jacob is a carpenter of the same county; John, the seventh born, is the subject of this biography; Mary is the widow of a Mr. Eschleman, and has her home in the city of Lancaster, Pa. John Hiller was educated in the common schools of Lancaster county, Pa., and came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1S54, being then eighteen years old. He here began school-teaching and followed that profession until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted at Dayton, in May, 1861. and spent three months, within the borders of the state, in the Eleventh Ohio volunteer infantry. Sep- tember 5, 1 86 1, he enlisted in company C, Forty-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, and served one year in Crook's brigade, in West j^&. &t-»OSHUA R. McCALLY, M. D., physi- m cian and surgeon of Dayton, Ohio, was (% 1 born in Auglaize county, Ohio, August 15, 1863. He is a son of Albert and Sarah (Brackney) McCally, both of whom are now deceased. The family is of Irish and English descent, and is a numerous one in the central states of the Union. Albert McCally, the father of Dr. McCally, was a teacher and an agriculturist during his lifetime. He was a Methodist in religion, and quite active in poli- tics as a republican. He served in the army of the Union as sergeant for one year, toward the close of the war. His educational labors were performed principally in graded schools, in which he was unusually successful. He and his wife reared a family of six children, as follows : Lydia, wife of Frank Idle, of Au- glaize county, Ohio; Marco, a farmer of Shelby county, Ohio; Joshua R. ; Lyman, an insurance agent, with residence in Dayton ; Charles, a teacher in the schools of Wapakoneta, Ohio, and Gilbert, a student at Otterbein university, at Westerville, Ohio. The mother of these children died, and the father married a second time, by his second marriage having three children, as follows: Curtis, a telegraph opera- tor; Clifford, a student at Ohio Wesleyan uni- versity, and Homer, living at home. Joshua R. McCally, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the public schools, and afterward in the normal school of Valpar- aiso. Ind., and was in attendance for two terms at the Ohio Wesleyan university, at Dela- ware. Having secured a good education, he taught school for seven years. He began reading medicine while in attendance at the Delaware university, his preceptor being Dr. A. P. Van Trump, of Saint John's, Auglaize county, Ohio. Afterward he attended the Eclectic Medical institute at Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating in the spring of 1890. Immediate- ly afterward he located in Uniopolis, Auglaize county, Ohio, and remained there for three years, after which he removed to Dayton, Ohio, in July, 1893. Here he has established himself in a lucrative practice, and is one of the progressive and rising young physicians of the Gem City of Ohio. He is a member in good standing of Hamer lodge, No. 167, F. & A. M. On September 23, 1886, he was married to Miss Nannie Gnagi, a daughter of John and Susannah Gnagi, and to this marriage there have been born two children, Grace and Ward. Dr. and Mrs. McCally are members of the United Brethren church, active in religious work, and highly esteemed as members of society circles in Dayton. @EORGE C. LAUTENSCHLAGER, member of the Dayton city council from the Third ward, and who is one of the leading and best known citi- zens of North Dayton, was born in Dayton, March 17, 1862. His parents were George J. and Catherine (Fromm) Lautenschlager, both of whom were born in Germany. They emi- grated to the United States in 1855 and 1856 respectively, came direct to Dayton and were married in this city, where Mr. Lautenschla- ger was engaged in the furniture business for about fifteen years. He was a well known and respected citizen, and died in April, 1884, in his forty-sixth year. His widow survives him, and is now living in Dayton. George C. Lautenschlager was reared in Dayton and was educated in the public schools of that city. At the age of sixteen years he began his business life as a clerk in a drug store. In 1881 he went to Cincinnati and £*. Ao> c(/a^^ ^6£^>y^ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 637 took a course in the Pharmaceutical college, and returning to Dayton he opened and con- ducted a pharmacy on the corner of Brown and Oak streets. In 1892 he located in North Dayton and opened a drug store and phar- macy, and in June, 1S94, he removed to his present location, at No. 226 Valley street, his being the leading drug store in North Dayton. Mr. Lautenschlager was married, Novem- ber 14, 1883, to Augusta Roemhildt, who was born in Dayton, and is a daughter of Bern- hardt Roemhildt, a music dealer of this city. To this marriage there have been born three children: Harry, Thurman and Bessie. Mr. Lautenschlager has always been interested in political matters, and has taken an active part therein as a democrat for several years. In the spring of 1895 he was nominated for the office of councilman from the Third ward and was elected for a term of two years. Fraternally he is a member of the National Union, and also of the Jackson club, a political organization named in honor of Andrew Jackson. m. 'ILLIAM KUNTZ, engaged in the grocery business at No. 1405 East Third street, Dayton, was born about one-half mile north of the city, in Mad River township, Montgomery county, Ohio, March 28, 1866. Joseph Kuntz, father of William, was born in Alsace, France, February 17, 1S32,' came to the United States before he was twenty years of age, and settled in Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, where he had friends, and went to work at farming. October 7, 1855, he mar- ried Magdalene Wolf, a native of Germany, born July 16, 1834, who came to America about the same year her husband reached this country, and for two years lived in Cincinnati, whence she came to Dayton, where the two were shortly afterward married, the result 22 being the birth of ten children, viz: John, Joseph, Maggie, Katie, George, William, Frank, Magdalene, Mary and Clara, all living in Mont- gomery county, and all married excepting the youngest. After marrying, Mr. Kuntz pur- chased twenty-seven acres of land and began gardening, afterward adding a twelve-acre tract, situated on the city corporation line, and on which were two dwellings and a store. Mr. Kuntz now also owns several houses within the city limits, and is a substantial citizen. In politics he is a stalwart democrat, and has held the office of supervisor of Mad River township. In religion, he and his wife are Roman Cath- olics, and are members of the Holy Rosary congregation. William Kuntz was reared on his father's homestead and was educated in the parochial schools. November 13, 1888, Mr. Kuntz mar- ried Miss Annie G. Kinzig, who was born in Mad River township in October, 1868, a daugh- ter of Valentine Kinzig, a native of Germany, now residing in Dayton and in business as a butcher. Mr. and Mrs. Kuntz are now the parents of two children — Victor, born Decem- ber 4, 1889, and Leona, born December 29, 1893. Upon marrying, Mr. Kuntz settled in Dayton and opened a retail grocery store at No. 1 42 1 East Third street, remained there three years, and then purchased the property at the corner of East Third and Beckel streets, converted the dwelling thereon into a combined dwelling and store, and has been doing a suc- cessful business ever since. Mr. Kuntz is a member of the Catholic Knights of Saint John, commandery No. 104, was formerly paymaster of the Seventh battal- ion and also filled some minor offices, and since January 30, 1896, has been major of the Third Ohio regiment of the order, which was organ- ized at that date. As an indication of the es- teem in which Mr. Kuntz is held, it may be related, that, during the national convention r,38 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of the Catholic Knights of Saint John, held at Dayton, in June, 1896, a Dayton merchant offered a handsome gold-mounted sword and belt, to be voted to the most popular sir knight in Dayton. In this contest, 5,885 bal- lots were cast for Mr. Kuntz — the next highest vote being 4,464, and Mr. Kuntz carried off the prize. Commandery No. 104, the first Catholic uniform organization to be founded in the United States, celebrated its twenty- fifth anniversary April 24, 1896, and of its banquet Mr. Kuntz had the sole supervision. He has also represented the order as its dele- gate to its national conventions at Columbus, Ohio; Fort Wayne, Ind. ; Toronto, Can. ; Pitts- burg, Pa.; Buffalo, N. Y. ; Evansville, Ind., and Dayton, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Kuntz are members of the Holy Trinity Catholic congre- gation, and both are greatly respected within and without the pale of their church. @EORGE F. KRUG, the well known and popular grocer, at Nos. 28 and 30 South Main street, Dayton, has been a resident of the city since 1853, having been born in Minster, Ohio, a son of George and Barbara (Ruse) Krug, both natives of Germany. George Krug, the elder, was eighteen years of age when he came to America with his par- ents and their family, landing at Baltimore, Md. , whence he and his brother walked to Minster, Ohio, having in their possession a cap- ital of $3 at the time of their departure, and at the time of their arrival in Minster being still the possessors of $2. The remainder of the family came by stage and boat as far as Cin- cinnati, and thence they walked to Minster, where the father secured a small tract of land in the woods, on which he erected a small dwelling. The elder sons found work upon the construction of the Erie canal and the Dayton & Springfield pike. George next went to Cincinnati, near which city he was em- ployed as a gardener for several years, and for a few years longer carried on the same business on his own account. In 1853 he came to Dayton and bought a farm of 120 acres on the Wolf creek road, where he engaged in farming and gardening until 1870, when he purchased property in the city. Here he re- sided in retirement until his death, in 1876, at the age of sixty years, in the faith of the Roman Catholic church. His wife survived until 1888, when she died, in the same faith, at the age of sixty-three years. To George Krug and wife were born eight children, viz: Mary, now widow of L. H. Miller, of Indianapolis, Ind.; John H., a dairyman, on the old home- stead; Carrie, deceased; Frank L. , of Dayton; George F., whose name opens this biography; Elizabeth; Clara, who died in a convent, and Barbara, a nun, at Oldenburg, Franklin county, Ind. George F. Krug was reared on the nome farm and was educated chiefly in the parochial schools of his diocese. At the age of twenty years he began clerking in a grocery store in Dayton, and held his position for eight years, when, in 1878, he opened business on his own account at his present stand, but at that time occupied but a single room. By strict atten- tion to the wants of his customers and by an intelligent devotion to the details of his busi- ness, he was able, in 1883, to purchase the adjoining room and to throw the two rooms into one. This grocery he has made one of the best in Dayton, and carries a full line of staple and fancy goods, including baker's stock and confectionery, making a success seldom achieved in so short a time. The marriage of Mr. Krug took place in 1877, with Miss Tillie Stoffel, daughter of George Stoffel, this unoin resulting in the birth of three children, of whom George A. and OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 639 Albert L. are still living, and Marie is de- ceased. The parents are devout members of the Roman Catholic church, and have a de- lightful residence at No. 414 South Ludlow street. Mr. Krug deservedly stands prominent among the successful young men, of whom Dayton boasts so many in the avenues of trade. jAR. OSMER W. LOUNSBURY, Jr., I physician and surgeon, of No. 135 /^J West Fifth street, Dayton, Ohio, is a native of New York city, and was born September 1, 1867, a son of Osmer W. Lounsbury, Sr. , who is also a physician and is now practicing in Wyoming, Ohio. Dr. Osmer W. Lounsbury, Sr. , was edu- cated to his profession in the Cleveland Homeo- pathic college, and also graduated from the Pulte Medical college of Cincinnati, in which institution he subsequently held the chair of materia medica for five years; he practiced for two years in Dayton, then moved to Wyoming, where he has a large general medical practice, his experience extending through a period of over twenty-seven years. He is a member of the state and local medical societies, and en- joys high standing in the fraternity as well as with the public. A native of Connecticut, he married Miss Lydia E. Hotchkiss, who was born in the same state, and to their marriage have been born four children. Dr. Osmer W. Lounsbury, Jr., the subject of this memoir, was educated in childhood in the high school of Cincinnati, Ohio; he studied medicine with his father and was graduated from Pulte Medical college with the class of 1890, having studied five years in that well- known medical institute, and acquiring a thor- ough preparatory knowledge of his profession. Upon graduating, he first practiced in Dayton for about eighteen months, then moved to Dublin, Ind., where he passed another year in practice, thence moved to Eaton, Ohio, where he established a satisfactory practice, and where his skill was fully recognized. In No- vember, 1895, ne came to Dayton, where he has since resided. He is a member of the Montgomery county Medical association and of the Hahnemann Homeopathic Medical so- ciety, of Cincinnati, to both of which he has contributed a number of valuable papers on medical jurisprudence. The doctor's marriage took place in 1889, in Dayton, to Miss Sarah B. Lyon, daughter of ex-Postmaster E. B. Lyon. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church, and in politics the doctor is a republican. He was selected, while at Eaton, to fill the position of physician to the county infirmary, and also to the children's home. Dr. Lounsbury is a valu- able acquisition to the medical profession of Dayton, and has found a firm foothold in his practice, as well as in the esteem of the best citizens of the Gem City. >Y*UDGE JOHN W. KREITZER, ex- ■ judge of the Montgomery county pro- (% J bate court, and a prominent attorney of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Jackson township, this county, on January 17, 1852. His early life was spent on the farm in what might be well termed a fight for existence, as he was very poor. Early education was out of the question, and it was not until after he was nineteen years of age and had taken upon him- self the responsibilities of life by marrying, that he began a regular course in the common schools. This was at Farmersville, whither he removed after his marriage, and it was in the public schools of that village that he prepared himself for teaching. He taught common school for eight years, and later studied law in the office of Craighead & Craig- head, of Dayton. He was admitted to the bar 640 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD in October, 1888, and at once began active practice, meeting with early and continued success. Judge Kreitzer is a democrat in poli- tics, and has been quite prominent in the coun- cils of that party for several years. While residing in Jackson township he was elected to the office of justice of the peace, an office he held for ten years, and was also township clerk for seven years and assessor for five years. In 1S90 he was the nominee of his party for probate judge, and was successful at the general election of that year. His service as judge of the probate court was marked by ability and devotion to duty, giving entire satisfaction to the public and to his friends and fellow-attorneys. His term expired in 1895, since when he has given all his time and attention to the practice of his profession. He was married, in 1871, to Miss Emma Pof- fenbarger, and to their union four children have been born, as follows: Oscar, Dorsey, Herbert and Pearl. Judge Kreitzer is a master Mason. SICHARD J. McCARTY, the leading patent attorney of Dayton, was born in Augusta, Ga., January 24, 1852. His father, Jeremiah McCarty, was a native of Ireland, came to the United States about 1 8 12, and served all through the Black Hawk and Seminole wars. Subsequently he was a soldier in the Mexican war and afterward located in Baltimore, Md., and in Washington, D. C, holding a position in the ordnance de- partment of the government. In 1 848 he was sent to Augusta, Ga. , and remained a resident of that state up to and during the war of the Rebellion, his death occurring during the last year of the great conflict. Richard J. McCarty was reared in Georgia. His education was obtained in the public schools of that state. For a number of years he was connected with the Augusta Chronicle, and in 1874 removed to Washington, D. C, and was employed about the capital. During the time he was thus engaged he began the study of law, the first copy of Blackstone he ever read having been presented to him b}' the Hon. Alexander H. Stephens, known to his- tory as the vice-president of the southern Con- federacy. It was, in fact, upon the advice of Mr. Stephens that Mr. McCarty determined the choice of his profession. Subsequently he removed to St. Louis, Mo., where he com- pleted his legal studies, graduating from Wash- ington university with the degree of LL. B. He began the practice of the law in St. Louis, remaining there about three years, when he removed to Baltimore, Md. In 1883 he took up the patent law practice, in Baltimore and Washington, and has since then confined him- self to this branch of the profession. In 1891 Mr. McCarty located in Dayton, where he has built up a large and successful practice. He does all kinds of patent law business and solic- iting, and numbers among his clients many of the leading manufacturing firms of the city. Mr. McCarty is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Knights of Honor. He was married, in 1879, at Washington, D. C, to Miss Amy H. Toulmin, of Mobile, Ala., and to this marriage there has been born one daughter, Belle McCarty. ^y^VERRY M. KLEPINGER, secretary 1 m and treasurer of the American Fence company, Dayton, was born on a farm in Montgomery county, Ohio, Octo- ber 13, 1864, a son of William and Elizabeth (Bowser) Klepinger. He is by nature adopted to mechanical pursuits, although his early man- hood was passed on his father's farm. After receiving a sound preparatory education in the district schools of his native, county he took a OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY 641 course of lessons in the Mount Morrison nor- mal school, which included thorough instruc- tion in bookkeeping and commercial practice. He also learned telegraphy, and was for two winters employed by the Mutual Union tele- graph company; he then returned to the home farm, and for three years followed the pursuit of agriculture, and next came to Dayton, where for twelve months he was engaged in contract- ing for excavation work. In the spring of 1895 he disposed of his pending contracts and became one of the organizers of the American Fence company. This company was incor- porated in the year named, with a capital of $50,000, and its place of business located at Nos. 10 to 18 North Canal street, Dayton, where it employed about twenty men in the construction of lawn and farm fences and other light iron protective work for dwellings in the city and for suburban residences, its output being sent to all points of the United States. On September 9, 1896, this company was sold out, being purchased by William Klepinger, who has since continued the business. April 25, 1889, Mr. Klepinger married Miss Susie Lentzy, daughter of Lucas Lentzy, a prominent hotel-keeper of Dayton. Of the two children born to this union, the elder, Ethel May, is deceased; the son, Herschel L., still survives. Mr. and Mrs. Klepinger are members of the German Baptist church and both are active Sunday-school workers. The residence of the family is at 223 Fourth avenue. >Y* OHN p - LENZ - o{ Dayton, dealer in ■ stoves and tinware, was born in West /• 1 Libert}', Logan county, Ohio, April 22, 1862, and is a son of Peter Lenz, a na- tive of Germany. The Lenz family came to Dayton in 1 864, and here Peter Lenz for a number of years carried on his trade of tin- smith, in which he was succeeded by his son, John P., on retiring from business in 1889. John P. Lenz attended the public schools and also the brothers' school of Dayton, and, after securing a very fair education, learned the trade of tinner from his father, with whom he remained until twenty-four years of age, when he went to Cincinnati, and worked as a journeyman for two years. On returning to Dayton again he worked with his father, as a journeyman, until 1889, when he bought the business, and has since conducted it at No. 638 Wayne avenue, with success. The marriage of John P. Lenz took place April 22, 1886, in Dayton, to Miss Clara E. Meyers, daughter of Herman H. Meyers (deceased). In his politics Mr. Lenz has been a life-long democrat, and has been an active worker for his party. In the spring of 1895 he accepted the office, through election by the city council, of member of the board of health for the term of three years. Fraternally, he is a member of Humboldt lodge, No. 38, Knights of Pythias, the Dayton Turners' society and of the Harmonias. *y~* ERBERT W. LEWIS, ex-auditor of I^\ Montgomery county, Ohio, and a F well-known and popular citizen of Dayton, was born in Painesville, near Cleveland, Ohio, on July 29, 1S52. His par- ents, however, removed to Dayton when he was but one year old, and as he was reared and educated in this city, he is to all intents and purposes a Daytonian. He attended the public schools, securing a good English educa- tion. He early identified himself with the democratic party, and in 1889 he was that party's candidate for the office of county au- ditor, and at the election that year was elected for a term of four years. His administration was so successful and satisfactory that, in 1892, 642 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD he was again nominated by his party and re- elected. Mr. Lewis stands very high in fra- ternal societies, in which he takes a deep in- terest. He is a Mason of high degree, and in 1893 he was elected grand chancellor of the Ohio grand lodge, Knights of Pythias, which position he held for one year. 'HEODORE H. LIENESCH, an en- terprising manufacturer of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Fayetteville, Saint Clair county, Ills., January 7, 1861, and is a son of Theodore and Elizabeth (Lin- hoff) Lienesch. Theodore, the father, was born in Hanover, Germany, and died in Day- ton, Ohio, January 18, 1885, an ex-justice of the peace; Mrs. Elizabeth Lienesch, a native of Prussia, is still living. Theodore H. Lienesch attended the public and parochial schools of Fayettesville, 111., until eleven years of age, when he came to Dayton, Ohio, with his parents, October 1, 1872, and added to his early education by at- tendance at the Emanuel parochial school and Saint Mary's institute. For several years he assisted his father in his shoe shop by working on the bench, and his first outside work was in the planing-mill and sash factory of John Rouzer, where he learned the trade of machine hand. At this trade he worked for about seven years in the shops of John Rouzer, the Stod- dard Manufacturing company, Jacob Clemens and Peirce & Coleman. In the latter factory, in May, 1884, he met with an accident that necessitated a change of occupation, where- upon he entered the Miami Commercial col- lege and studied bookkeeping. He was then employed by Jacob Eckes, and later in the Stomps & Burkhardt Company's chair factory as shipping clerk; subsequently he entered the office of H. Ferneding & Son as bookkeeper, and with them he was employed for nearly ten years. May 1, 1895, Mr. Lienesch, in part- nership with William H. Gondert, purchased the Miami Valley Box factory of Adam Zengel, and this prosperous concern is now operated under the firm name of Gondert & Lienesch. Mr. Lienesch is prominent in local politics as a democrat, and served a short time on the board of education a few years ago, but was legislated out of office through the re-arrange- ment of the city wards. He has been at the head of a number of democratic organizations, having been at one time president of the Thur- man club. He is also prominent in Catholic circles, and has been secretary and treasurer of Holy Trinity Catholic church since 1888. He has been an active member of the Catholic Gesellen Verein since 1878, and in the latter has served as secretary, senior treasurer and second vice-president. He has been an active member of the Knights of Saint John for sev- eral years, is now president of commandery No. 104 of that order, and is also president of the league of commanderies of the same order in charge of Lafayette hall. He held the re- sponsible position of chairman of the executive committee in charge of the arrangements for the eighteenth annual convention of the Knights of Saint John, held in Dayton, June 24, 1896, and has represented commandery No. 104 at the annual conventions of the order for the past six years. Mr. Lienesch is also a member of the board of directors of the league of German societies of the city. He assisted in organizing Dayton colony, No. 4, American Sons of Columbus, of which he is the treasurer. Mr. Lienesch owes his business prosperity to his own unaided efforts, and that he is highly esteemed and very popular is evi- denced by his selection for many positions of trust, both past and present. He is as yet unmarried, and makes his home with his wid- owed mother, his brother, William, and sis- ters, Lizzie and Theresa. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 643 HEODORE C. LINDSEY, a popular general merchant, at No. 18 South Main street, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Franklin county, November i , 1 844, and lived on the home farm until six years of age, when his parents removed to Columbus, thence to Cambridge, and three years later to Cumberland, where they resided until 1855, when the family came to Dayton. Wilson Lindsey, father of Theodore C, was also a native of Franklin county, Ohio, born August 26, 181 7, a son of Wilson Lind- sey, a native of Pennsylvania, who spent his maturer years in Franklin county, Ohio, en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, but died while on a visit to Pennsylvania in 1830, his son, Wilson, being with him at the time. It is thought that he was of Scotch-Irish extraction and descended from ancestors long established in America. Wilson, the younger, married Miss Rebecca Frances Fulton, a native of Virginia, born in 182 1, the ceremony having been sol- emnized, near Columbus, in 1S37, by the bride's father, Rev. Daniel Fulton, a Presby- terian minister. After marriage the young couple located on a farm four miles south of Columbus, and there were born to their union seven children, the eldest of whom died in early infancy. The other six were born in the following order: Mary, now Mrs. Seafers, resides on a farm in Montgomery county; James W. , a mechanic in Louisville, Ky. , served three years in company H, Fourth Ohio vol- unteer cavalry during the late Civil war; Theo- dore C. is the subject of this biography; Emma is the wife of Moses Waters, a mechanic of Dayton; Susan A. A. is married to Sylvester B. Curry, a confectioner in Louisville, Ky. ; Samuel M., who passed the greater part of his life in mercantile pursuits, died in Louisville, Ky., January 10, 1889, at the age of thirty- two years. Wilson Lindsey, the father of this family, was for many years a farmer and stock dealer, but since 1855 has been a dealer in market products, handling fruits principally, and is still engaged in that business in Dayton. Theodore C. Lindsey, whose name opens this memoir, received a good common-school education in Dayton, and at the age of twelve years began an apprenticeship at printing in the office of the Daily Journal, finishing in a job-printing house. September 15, 1861, he enlisted in company H, Fourth Ohio volunteer cavalry, and served in the army of the Cum- berland under Gens. Thomas, Rosecrans and others, participating in many skirmishes and minor battles, beside the historical engagement at Chickamauga, and serving until honorably discharged, October 19, 1864 — a period of over three years. He then returned to Day- ton, and for a time was engaged in the fruit business. May 30, 1865, Mr. Lindsey was united in marriage with Martha Seitters, a native of Dayton and a daughter of Frederick and Christina Seitters, who were born in Germany, but in early life came to America and located in Dayton about the year 1840. The mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Lindse)' has been blessed with four children, viz: Harry W. , who is married, and is employed at his father's store; Anna Frances, wife of Harry E. Dill, a clerk for his father-in-law, Mr. Lindsey; Theodore C. , Jr., a student in the senior class of the Steele high school, and Elsie C, also a high- school student. Mr. Lindsey continued in the fruit business until 1 88 1, when he embarked in general mer- chandizing at his present location, where he is doing a prosperous trade. He is prominently identified with several of the social orders, in- cluding the Knights of Pythias, the Union Vet- eran Legion and the Grand Army of the Re- public. In the latter order he is aid-de-camp on the staff of National Commander Walker, with the rank of colonel. His church rela- 644 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD tions, and those of his children, are with the First Reformed church of Dayton, although his parents were reared in the Presbyterian church, in which faith his mother, who was of Irish an- cestry, died in 1859. The present Mrs. Wil- son Lindsey bore the maiden name of Sarah E. Fox. In politics Theodore C. treads in the footsteps of his father, who was one of the founders of the republican party, and, although he has neither sought nor held public office, he has been active in his party's councils and is a member of the Garfield club of Dayton. His social standing, like that of his children, is be- yond question, and his business integrity is recognized by the entire community. kS^\ EV. EZEKIEL LIGHT, D.D., chap- I /<^ lain for the National Home for Dis- P abled Volunteer Soldiers, at Dayton, Ohio, was born in Lebanon, Pa., March 19, 1834. Rev. John Light, his father, was born in 1802, was a minister of the United Brethren church, and during his mature years served in the itinerancy or as presiding elder, and died in 1845. R ev - J onn Light's father, Felix Light, was a Mennonite peacher, but without any special church connection. He was of Swiss descent, but of American nativity, and was a son of John Light, who was born in Switzerland. To John Light and his wife, Nancy Hoffer, there were born four children beside Ezekiel, viz: Rudolph, a clergyman of Erie, Pa. ; Ste- phen, a stove-founder of Lebanon, Pa. ; Job, a clergyman for over twenty years, and who suddenly died at Reading, Pa., December, 1888; Louisa, who is married to Levi Light, a carriagemaker of Lebanon. Ezekiel Light lived in his native city until about twenty years of age, and there received his early education; he then lived in Dayton, Ohio, until the outbreak of the Rebellion, when he returned to his native state, entered the One Hundred and Seventy-third regiment, Pennsylvania volunteer infantry, as chaplain, and served nine months in the army of the Potomac. After his service in the army he re- sumed his ministerial labors in Lebanon, and also edited the German literature of his church in that city, where he had charge of the United Brethren congregation. In 1885 he returned to Dayton, where, for some time, he edited the German literature for the publishing house of his church, and als"b officiated for the Ger- man worshipers at the soldiers' home, and in May, 1893, was re-elected editor of the Ger- man literature of the U. B. publishing house of Dayton. In August, 1893, he was appointed to his present position as chaplain to the in- mates of the home. His duties here include the teaching of a Sunday-school, preaching in English on Sunday at 10 A. M. , and in German at 2 p. M.; a gospel service at 3 p. M., largely conducted by the Christian workers of Day- ton, and services again by the chaplain at 6:30 p. m. ; regular prayer meetings, in English, are held every Wednesday, and in German every Thursday evening, and in the fall and winter additional gospel services are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The marriage of Rev. Dr. Light took place at Lebanon, Pa., September 24, 1863, with Miss Kate A. Bowman, a native of that city, and this union has resulted in the birth of eight children, viz: John J. B., who is a farmer, in Benton county, Ark.; Alvin L. , a medical student, living under the home roof; S. Ru- dolph, a graduate of the Dayton high school, and a student of electrical dentistry; Wilson H., now in his third year at the high school; Annie F., at home with her father; Jennie L., the wife of Rev. Luther O. Burtner, a mission- ary, and now with her husband in Africa; OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 647 Tacie M., an organist of the home church, and Matilda M., at home, a literary student. In politics Rev. Dr. Light was an ardent anti-slavery man, and at one time, while sta- tioned at Cleveland, Ohio, he used his church as a rendezvous for fugitive slaves escaping to Canada. From the organization of the re- publican party until recently he was active in its ranks, but is now a prohibitionist and a zealous laborer in the cause of that organization. BEV. MICHAEL LOUCKS, D. D., is a native of Fairfield county, Ohio, and is a son of Samuel and Christina Loucks. He was born near Canal Winchester, Ohio, May 28, 1850, and his boy- hood days were spent on the farm and about the old mill on Walnut creek. His early edu- cation was had in the district school. He was baptized in his infancy by Rev. I. S. Weisz. His father died when he was twelve years of age. September 25, 1865, he entered Heidel- berg college, at Tiffin, Ohio. He attended catechetical instruction under Rev. L. H. Ke- fauver, D. D., pastor of the First Reformed church of Tiffin, Ohio, 'and was confirmed by the same pastor, April 11, 1868. Thus he be- came a member of the Reformed church, the denomination to which his father and mother belonged — which church dates its origin to the time of the reformation under the teaching and preaching of the great reformer of Switzerland, Ulric Zwingli. This church has an honorable history of nearly four hundred years. The symbol of faith is the Heidelberg catechism, issued in 1563. One of the institutions of learning of this church is located at Tiffin, Ohio, where Mr. Loucks pursued a regular classical course, graduating in 1871. Two years were spent in the Theological seminary under the instruction of Dr. J. H. Good and Dr. H. Rust, two eminent professors of the school of the Prophets. He was ex- amined, licensed and ordained at a meeting of the Ohio synod of the Reformed church at Shelbyville, 111., May 18, 1873. He received and accepted an unanimous call from Grace Reformed church at Akron, Ohio, and preached his first sermon as pastor at Akron, June 1, 1873. At that time Grace Reformed church was a struggling congregation and passed through trying ordeals. Dr. Loucks labored here from June 1, 1873, till April 11, 1875, when he received and accepted a call from the Church of the Cross at Somerset, Ohio, preach- ing his first sermon as pastor, July 4, 1875. He labored here until December 21, 1879, when he closed his labors to accept a call from the Valley charge, in the vicinity of Dayton, composed of David's and Hawker's churches, originally a part of Mount Zion charge, under the pastorate of Rev. D. Winters, D. D. He preached his introductory sermon in these two churches, January 11, 1880. He labored in this charge until January 1, 1885, when, owing to throat affection, he ceased preaching for several years. In February, 1882, Dr. Loucks purchased the interest belonging to Rev. I. H. Reiter, D. D., in the Christian World, a weekly re- ligious paper, the organ of the Reformed church in the west, which was established in 1849, and in connection with his pastorial work also devoted part of his time to the edi- torial work of the paper, in company with Rev. E. Herbruck. In the spring of 1882, the Reformed Publishing company was organ- ized, with Rev. E. Herbruck, Rev. M. Loucks and John Blum constituting the members of the firm. Under this arrangement the busi- ness was successfully carried on until 1894, when Rev. Herbruck sold his interest to the other members of the firm, and Rev. Loucks assumed full editorial management of the Christian World, which position he still occu- 648 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD pies. In the winter of 1882, he issued his Church Register, which has had a large sale. In 1884 Dr. Loucks, in company with Dr. G. W. Williard and his son, Rev. E. R. Will- iard, and Rev. E. Herbruck, issued the popu- lar book, A Treasury of Family Reading. He has been honored by being a member of the board of regents, of Heidelberg uni- versity, the board of visitors, and also a mem- ber of the board of trustees of Heidelberg Theological seminary, of which he is the sec- retary. Beside these he has held various other responsible positions in his church, where most of his time is devoted. The honorary degree of doctor of divinity was conferred on him by his alma mater, June 17, 1891. In 1 89 1 Dr. Loucks published a very unique chart of the History of Christianity from the Apostolic Period to and including the Protest- ant Reformation. This chart is in the form of a tree, giving a correct and interesting bird's- eye view of the growth and development of the Christian church through those important periods of its formation. For several years after the publication of this chart his services were called for as a lecturer on church history. These lectures were instructive and interesting, as he took his audience through the thrilling incidents connected with the early history of the Christian church. The ancestors of Dr. Loucks came to this country from Europe in the seventeenth cen- tury. His father, Samuel Loucks, was a native of York county, Pa., the son of John Loucks, who, with his family, settled in Violet township, Fairfield county, in the early part of the cen- tury. Samuel Loucks died October 18, 1862, in his sixty-sixth year. Dr. Loucks' mother, Christina Loucks, was the daughter of Mi- chael Alspach. She lived to the old age of eighty-eight years, the date of her death being November 22, 1894. Dr. Loucks was the youngest of a family of nine children, most of whom died in their infancy, leaving himself with his only brother, George Loucks, and his only sister, Mrs. Catherine Shade, both of the vicinity of Canal Winchester, Ohio. Novem- ber 4, 1873, he was united in marriage with Miss Katie Stevenson, of Canal Winchester, Ohio. This proved a most happy union, as Mrs. Loucks possessed unusual talents and qualifications as a minister's wife, and it was largely through her influence and force of Christian character that his work was rendered pleasant and profitable. To her he ascribes far more than to himself what good may have been done by them in their work and service in the church. To them were born five chil- dren. Nevin Alpheus was born December 23, 1874, at Akron, Summit county, Ohio; Ed- gar Vincent was born September 15, 1877, in Somerset, Perry county, Ohio; Ethel Ger- trude was born March 29, 1882, in Washington township, Montgomery county, near Dayton, Ohio; Samuel Bryant was born January 2, 1884, in Dayton, and Mary Christina was born August 29, 1887, in Dayton. Thus a happy family surrounded these parents until Decem- ber 8, 1896, when the faithful, pious and de- voted mother was called away by death, a, brief notice of whose active life is here tenderly recorded, as written by her pastor: IN MEMORIAM. Sarah C. , wife of Rev. M. Loucks, was born near Canal Winchester, Ohio, October 24, 1855, and died peacefully December 8, 1896, aged forty-one years, one month and fourteen days. Having Christian parents, she was given to the Lord in the sacred covenant of baptism before she was five months old, un- der the ministry of Rev. Hennavvald. At the age of twelve, Rev. James Heffley admit- ted her into full membership with the David's Reformed church by confirmation. Her active Christian life began to develop at once. God had endowed her with rare musical gifts, which she consecrated to his service early, taking an active part in the public worship of OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 649 the sanctuary; and her delight in singing the praises of God seemed to increase as the years passed. While but a child herself, she began work with the children, training them for the Master and for usefulness in his church. Al- though her talents were varied above most of us, in this responsible and difficult work with the little ones, she seemed to exercise her best gift. Her father was taken away in her in- fancy, and her mother two years ago last sum- mer. Her five children, over whom she re- joiced and for whom she lived as a true Chris- tian mother, remain with the husband and many other relatives and friends to mourn their loss. But the church is bereaved also. Mrs. Loucks was gifted with the ability to lead, and so held executive positions in the woman's work of the classes and- synod, and in the gen- eral religious work of Dayton. She possessed varied talents, and none of them were laid away in a napkin. In all the manifold work of Trinity Reformed church she had a part. At the time of her death she was superintend- ent of the primary department in the Bible- school, president of the Woman's Missionary society, superintendent of the junior endeavor work and actively associated with the other organizations of the church. The King's Daughters always found a valued friend and advisor in Mrs. Loucks, and no one in the congregation has done more for the young men than did she. While her chief energies were given the children, there was place in her heart for all the work. Beside her duties at home and in organized Christian effort, she found time to visit and help the needy and un- fortunate. Of those who feel the keen loss of a true friend, none are to be regarded before the poor, who have shared so largely in her sympathy and substantial benefactions. In- deed, we know of no .good work in which she was not deeply interested. Happy is the serv- ant of Christ who has such a co-laborer. No work of hand or brain or heart was ever a hardship for her. She knew no such thing as toil — only joyful, happy service. To her duty was alway privilege and all work an oppor- tunity. Life was an inspiration, because of Loving surrender to the the good to be done. will of the Master and unselfish interest in hu- man souls is the secret of it all. Mrs. Loucks has built her own monument, not in brass or marble, not in the vain pleas- ures of the earth, not in the ways of wealth and position; but in humble human hearts, where she sought to represent and reproduce the life of the meek and lowly Nazarene. She has gone, but there abides with us a sweet memory — a communion and fellowship with Christ which cannot be broken. £*V*AMUEL MAROW LOGAN, a well- *\^KT known citizen of Dayton, Ohio, and p^^y now living in retirement at No. 417 West First street, was born in Wash- ington county, Md., March 28, 1828, a son of John M. and Mary (Widdis) Logan. The fa- ther, also a native of Washington county, Md., was born in 1790, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and was for many years a school-teacher, but retired about fifteen years prior to his death, which occurred in Topeka, Kans., in 1864. Mrs. Mary (Widdis) Logan was a native of Frederick county, Md., born in 1793, was of German extraction, and died in her native county at the age of forty years. Of the family of nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. John M. Logan, four only are now living, viz: Samuel M., who was the only representative of the family in the Union army during the Civil war; David, who lives in Pittsburg, Pa. ; Jeremiah, who is a resident of Arkansas City, Kans. ; and Catherine, wife of Edwin Scott, who is a resident of Ithaca, N. Y. Of the five deceased, all reached ma- ture years and were named, in the order of their birth, James, John, Daniel, Thomas, and Elizabeth (Mrs. Williams), who died in Ithaca, N. Y. James was a successful inventor, and died in England, while attending to his inter- ests; John, was a farmer in Pennsylvania; Dan- iel, was a weaver, and died in Ithaca, N. Y. ; 650 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD and Thomas, an attorney of Kansas, died in Saint Louis, Mo., in 1894. Samuel Marow Logan was educated in the academy of Hagerstown, Md., and was reared on a farm in his native state. He learned coach painting in Gettysburg, Pa., and in this calling traveled extensively through the eastern states, and then came west, finally, in 1852, settling in Dayton, Ohio, where he engaged in carriage manufacturing in 1853, and followed this vocation four years. He then sold his business and became a pupil of Charles Soule, an artist of great merit, for the purpose of learning the art of portrait painting. In 1862, Mr. Logan enlisted in company I, Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry, and soon afterward was promoted orderly sergeant of his company. He saw some service in Ken- tucky, and took an active part in the battles of Antioch Church, Tenn. , and of Murfrees- boro, Tenn. In the latter engagement he was twice wounded in the right arm, which injuries incapacitated him for further service, and he was honorably discharged, by reason of disa- bility, May 3, 1863. On his return to Dayton he engaged with I. M. Cochrane as traveling sewing-machine salesman, and was thus em- ployed until 1874, when he became manager of agencies for the Champion Machine com- pany, of Springfield, Ohio, with whom he re- mained for sixteen years, traveling through the south and west. Since 1890 he has lived in retirement, as before stated, enjoying the fruits of his early industry. The marriage of Mr. Logan took place in Dayton, October 3, 1854, to Miss Lovinia Bowman, a native of Pennsylvania, and this union has been blessed by the birth of three daughters, viz: Lillie C, who makes her home with her parents; Minnie, now the wife of Dr. Driscoll, a practicing physician of Kan- sas; Katie E., who is married to Harry S. Ohmer, and also lives in Kansas. Mr. Logan is a stanch republican in poli- tics. In religion he is independent of church alliance, being a free thinker, although reared in the Lutheran faith. His societary relations are confined to his membership with Old Guard post, No. 21, Grand Army of the Re- public. He has made many warm friends in his extensive travels, but he is nowhere more highly esteemed than he is by his numerous friends in Dayton. eB. LYON, of Dayton, Ohio, is a na- tive of Chaplin, Windham county, Conn.; was born on the 17th of De- cember, 1S40, and is a son of John W. and Sarah (Hagarj Lyon. When he was about ten years of age his parents removed to Massachusetts, and in that state he received the greater part of his education. E. B. Lyon enlisted, October 3, 1861, as a member of company K. Twenty- fourth Massa- chusetts volunteer infantry, and was in active service until October 8, 1864, when he was mustered out at Chapin's farm, having par- ticipated in twenty-four engagements, aside from numerous skirmishes. After the close of the war he came to Ohio and located in Day- ton, where he has since made his home, and where he has secured the esteem and confi- dence of the community. Upon his arrival here he secured employment in a paper mill, where he remained about a year, after which he became an attache of the freight depart- ment of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad. In 1868 he engaged in the manu- facture of trunk supplies and excelsior, laying at that time the foundation for his present prosperous enterprise, whose business extends into the most diverse sections of the Union, and also into foreign countries. The industry had a very modest inception, and was the first of the sort ever projected in Dayton. But OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 653 business sagacity, correct methods and per- sonal integrity, coupled with unceasing and well-directed labor, did not fail of their re- ward. The well-equipped plant occupies about an acre of ground, while the buildings and mechanical accessories are of the most available order, so that the work of produc- tion is facilitated in every department. The principal products of the establishment are trunk slats and handles, and the output of the manufactory finds a ready demand in the do- mestic and foreign markets. Employment is given to a body of about thirty-five skilled workmen. In 1 891 Mr. Lyon began the manu- facture of excelsior, and this branch of the business has come into equal favor. In politics Mr. Lyon renders an unswerving allegiance to the republican party, and has served acceptably as a member of the city council. On the 12th of March, 1891, he was appointed postmaster of the city of Day- ton, this office having been tendered him with- out solicitation, and in face of the fact that there were several avowed candidates in the field. Within the time of his incumbency of this office he instituted many improvements in the service, among which may be noted the establishment of the night-collection service and the utilization of special mail wagons. The annual business of the office was increased by some $60,000, and his administration gave exceptional satisfaction to the public, gaining him endorsement from all classes, irrespective of party affiliations. In his fraternal associations Mr. Lyon is conspicuously identified with the Grand Army of the Republic, being a member of Old Guard post, No. 23, in which he has passed all the chairs, having also served on the staff of the commander of both state and national departments. He is also a member of the Knights of Honor. On the 4th of April, 1866, Mr. Lyon was united in marriage to Miss Ella M. Broadwell, a native of Dayton, but whose death occurred in 1 88 1. In 1883 he married Miss Sarah B. Broadwell, a sister of his first wife, but death's summons called her into eternal rest in 1892. On the 24th of May, 1894, Mr. Lyon con- summated a third union, being then joined in matrimony to Mary A. McQuiston, who is the daughter of the Hon. John F. Patton, ex- member of the Ohio legislature, and founder of the Xenia Gazette. Three daughters were born of the first marriage, viz: Ella H., who is her father's capable assistant in conducting the detail office work of his business; Sarah B., wife of Dr. O. W. Lounsbury, and Bessie W. , deceased. Mrs. M. A. Lyon, who enjoys a wide popularity in the social circles of Day- ton, was the department president of the Ohio Woman's Relief Corps in 1891-2, and is now (1896) assistant national inspector on the staff of Mrs. Turner, of Boston, Mass. In his long business career in Dayton Mr. Lyon has so conducted his affairs and so lived as to gain the esteem and respect of the peo- ple of the community. He has been enter- prising, public-spirited and progressive, and his interest in the advancement of the material prosperity of the city has been manifested in a practical way, as he has been the pioneer in building, both for residence and manufacturing plants, in the east end. aOL WILLIAM McCLELLAN, clerk in the commissary department of the national military home at Dayton, Ohio, was born in Germantown, Pa., July 13, 1842, and is a son of William and Mary (Gillespie) McClellan, both of Scotch- Irish extraction. The father died when subject was but two years of age, and the mother, who never re-marned, survived until 1893, when she expired in the Baptist home at Philadel- 654 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD phia, aged eighty-six years, the mother of two sons and two daughters, of which family the colonel is the only survivor. Thomas, his brother, was killed in the battle of Gettysburg; his elder sister, Elizabeth, died at twenty-nine years of age, and the younger sister, Anna, died when thirty-four years old. Both sisters had married, but left no children. Col. McClellan was educated at Girard college, Philadelphia, and was then appren- ticed to a whipmaker in Wellsville, York county, Pa., being thus engaged when the Civil war opened. On May 8, 1861, he en- listed in company H, Seventh Pennsylvania infantry, known during the Rebellion as one of the regiments of the Pennsylvania reserves. He went through the peninsular campaign under Gen. George B. McClellan, his brigade at the time being in command of Gen. George G. Meade. Later, after the promotion of Gen. Meade, Gen. McCandless was placed in com- mand of the brigade, Gen. Crawford's division and Gen. Reynold's corps. Col. McClellan fought in all of the battles in which the army of the Potomac took part, with two exceptions. He was at second Bull Run, Antietam, Fred- ericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg, and also at the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee, having enlisted a second time, in 1863. Of his original company of 101 men, chiefly students and professional men, but eleven are now living. After the war was ended Col. McClellan was employed on the Philadelphia & Reading railroad for fifteen years, when, on account of failing health, he came to the soldiers' home, in 1 88 1, and was here employed fourteen years as timekeeper, until the spring of 1896, when he resigned because of the great respon- sibility of the position, and entered the com- missary department as clerk. Col. McClellan was married in Chester, Pa., in 1868, to Miss Emma Morris, the union resulting in the birth of five children, of whom two are now deceased. The survivors are William, Jr., a young man of twenty-six years and foreman of the tool-room of the Com- puting Scales works, of Dayton; George, eight- een years old, who is in the employ of the same company; and Mary, aged seven years, who is attending school. The two deceased were Mamie, who died at nine years, and Anna, who died when but three months old. On entering the home, the colonel brought with him his family, as he was furnished a residence by the management on account of his official position; but since the past spring the family have lived at No. 1637 West Second street, in Dayton. Col. McClellan was one of the organizers of encampment No. 82, Union Veteran Legion, and was honored by being elected its colonel for three successive terms. He is also a member of Dister post, Grand Army of the Republic, and his religious affilia- tion is with the First Reformed church of Day- ton, of which his sons are also members. In politics he is a stanch republican. SAMUEL B. McDERMONT, senior member of the firm of McDermont & Clemens, of Dayton, Ohio, which firm does a large business in gas-fit- ting, plumbing, etc. , was born in Newark, N. J., January 19, 1853. He was educated in the public schools of his native city, and there also served an apprenticeship at plumbing. In the fall of 1875 ne came to Dayton, Ohio, and here worked for Gibbons & McCormick until 1889, when he united in the business with F. J. McCormick. This co-partnership lasted until 1894, attaining during its existence a large degree of prosperity. In the year last mentioned Mr. McCormick withdrew, and Frank C. Clemens became the business asso- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 655 ciate of Mr. McDermont. The firm, as now constituted, gives constant employment to about thirty men, and carries a full line of supplies in all departments, both for their own use and for sale to minor firms engaged in the same line of trade. David McDermont, father of the subject of this memoir, was a chair manufacturer of Newark, N. J., and for ten years carried on business at No. 414 Broad street, and there died at the early age of thirty years. David McDermont was a son of Peter McDermont, whose parents came from the north of Ireland; Peter also carried on chairmaking in Newark for many years. David McDermont married Miss Eliza Hughes, a native of Dingman's Ferry, N. Y., and of Welsh ancestry. Mrs. McDermont died in 1871, the mother of Sam- uel B. and two other children — Sergeant L. , who is a well-known optician of Canton, Stark county, Ohio, and Frances, who was married to John G. Gillespie, in Narrowsburg, N. Y., but who died in Equinox, N. Y., while her husband died in Middletown, in the same state. Samuel B. McDermont was united in mar- riage in Troy, Ohio, in 1S81, with Miss Au- gusta E. Braunschweiger, a native of Troy and of German parentage. One child, only, has blessed this union — a daughter named Hannah, and now a bright little girl, aged seven years. In politics, Mr. McDermont for a long time followed the fortunes of the demo- cratic party, but at present prefers, in local matters, to vote for the honest and capable man who will act for the best interests of his constituents. He is, therefore, to be ranked as independent, as far as politics is concerned. He is, however, a member of of the democratic organization known as the Jackson club, and also occupies his leisure hours as a member of a social and literary club. In religion he was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian church, but his wife still adheres to the faith in which she was reared, that of the German Lutheran, and is now a member of the Third street church, of that denomination, in Dayton. Mr. McDermont has always been a man of industry and thrift, and through his own exertions has raised himself to his present independent po- sition in business life. His name stands with- out a stain, and he is honored and highly es- teemed by all who know him, either in busi- ness or social circles. QHARLES MacGREGOR, M. D., of Dayton, Ohio, was born in the city of Baltimore, Md. , on the 22d of No- vember, 1868, being the son of Rob- ert and Laura (Winters) MacGregor, of Scotch and German descent. The father died in the prime of his strong and useful manhood, pass- ing away in January, 1S77, when our subject was a lad of but nine years. Robert and Laura MacGregor were the parents of two children, Robert W. and Charles. Robert is a resident of Dayton, and is recognized as one of the progressive and influential business men of the city. The mother is still living and maintains her home in Dayton, where she is the recipient of the utmost filial devotion from her sons. The family took up their abode in Dayton soon after the death of the father, and here Charles continued his studies in the pub- lic schools, after which he entered the Michi- gan Military academy, at Orchard Lake, Oak- land county, where he remained until October, 1886, when he matriculated in the medical de- partment of Michigan's famous university, at Ann Arbor. He there prosecuted his technical studies with zealous interest, graduating as a member of the class of 1889. This would have represented a complete education to the average young man thus aim- ing to enter professional life, but Dr. Mac- Gregor's ambition was such that he could con- 656 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD sent to accept as final nothing less than the most complete preparation and reinforcement attainable. Accordingly, he went to New York city, in 1890, and there entered the col- lege of Physicians & Surgeons, a department of Columbia university, completing his post- graduate course and graduating in the year noted. Practical and effective experience was his for the ensuing year, during which he served as assistant surgeon at the national sol- diers' home, in Dayton. In 1892 he returned to New York and for several months devoted his undivided attention to the study of diseases of the eye and ear, prosecuting his work in this line in the New York Eye & Ear infirmary. In the fall of the same year he was enabled to go abroad for the purpose of profiting by study of foreign methods and investigations, having secured privileges in certain of the most re- nowned medical institutions of Europe. Dr. MacGregor was in Vienna, Austria, until the summer of 1893, when he proceeded to Mu- nich, where he studied and carried forward his observations in the leading hospitals and col- leges during a period of six months. He then returned to Vienna and there passed an equal length of time, returning to his home in Day- ton in the spring of 1894, thoroughly equipped for the successful practice of his profession, with special reference to diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, which class of disor- ders had been the particular subject of his for- eign study. He has built up a very excellent practice in his special lines and has established a high reputation for professional ability and excellence of personal character. It has been proved in his case that the old-time hostility against the young man in the medical profes- sion has grown obsolete, and that honor is granted where honor is due — even in face of the once humiliating characteristic of youthful- ness. Dr. MacGregor's office is located at 29 South Ludlow street, while he resides at 514 West Second street. He holds the position of oculist and aurist on the medical staff of the Deaconess hospital. In his political adher- ency he is identified with the republican party, while socially he enjoys a merited popularity in the city of his home, being genial in dispo- sition and endowed with that never-failing courtesy so essential to the successful physician. m. D. McKEMY, a prominent mem- ber of the Dayton bar, was born in Rockbridge county, Va., February 14, 1843, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Kirkpatrick) McKemy. Orig- inally the family on both sides came from the north part of Ireland, the McKemys being Irish and the Kirkpatricks, Scotch. John Mc- Kemy, the grandfather of W. D. McKemy, was the first of his family to come to the United States, he coming when a youth and settling in Virginia, where he lived the rest of his life. By occupation he was a farmer and served in the war of 18 12. His son, William, was born in Virginia and lived there all his life. William's wife was also a native of Vir- ginia, in which state she lived and died. She and her husband were the parents of eight children, but two of whom are still living, a daughter in Colorado, and our subject, W. D. McKemy. Judge McKemy was reared on his father's farm in Rockbridge county, Ya. , receiving such education as was afforded in that coun- try. He remained there until 1866, in the meantime serving in the Confederate army from August 5, 1861, untiljune 30, 1865, as a member of company H, Twenty-fifth regiment, Virginia volunteer infantry, which formed a part of Stonewall Jackson's bri- gade and division, being present when that general was killed. In the battle of the Wilderness, May 12, 1 S64, young McKemy /WmtL^. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 659 was captured, taken to Point Lookout, Md., and later was transferred to Elmira, N. Y., where he remained until his final discharge, in June, 1865. In 1866 he removed from Virginia to Darke county, Ohio, and in the spring of 1868 located in Dayton. His education wascontinued after the war in the common schools at his home in Virginia, and after coming to Ohio, he attend- ed the high school at Greenville, and grad- uated there in 1867, afterward teaching school for a year or two. He then took a position as deputy clerk to the probate judge of Darke county, and, after his removal to Dayton, acted in a similar capacity under Judge Dwyer. For three years he was deputy recorder under Johnson Snyder, and later was deputy sheriff and bookkeeper for.two years and a half under Sheriff Patton. Next he was deputy under H. H. Laubach, county treasurer, for three years. While in the treasurer's office, in 1877, he was admitted to the bar, and in 1878 was a candidate for probate judge, but in the elec- tion was defeated by a majority of only a few votes. He then began the practice of the law, and three years later was again a candidate for the same office, was elected and served three consecutive terms of three years each. At the expiration of his term in 1890 he returned to the law and has since been engaged in practice. Since retiring from the office of probate judge he has served for four years as a mem- ber of the county board of elections, and is now a member of the city board. Fraternally, he is a member of the Odd Fellows, of the Chosen Friends, of the Improved Order of Red Men, of the Fraternal Censer and of the A. O. U. W. , Miami lodge. Since 1894 he has been in partnership with J. M. Nutt, in the practice of the law. Judge McKemy was married in March, 1873, to R. Florence Haise, of Union City, Randolph county, Ind., by whom he is the 23 father of three children: Gertrude L. , John W., and Harry G. He and his family are among the most highly esteemed citizens of Dayton, thoroughly loyal to both friends and country. >*t*OHN W. McKEOWN, one of the m prominent young members of the Day- (• 1 ton bar, was born in Adams county, Ohio, December 28, 1854. Until he was six years old his parents lived in Mansfield and Crestline, Ohio, after which they removed to Adams county, and there he remained until attaining his majority. His elementary educa- tion was secured by attending district schools in the winter months, in his native county. He afterward attended the national normal university at Lebanon, Ohio, conducted by Mr. Holbrook. Beside this he attended a number of local normal sessions in his own county, and in several of them assisted in teaching. In 1876 Mr. McKeown began teaching school in his native county, first in country districts, and then in the public schools of West Union and Manchester. All of the money needed to pay for his own education he earned by teaching school and in working at $13 per month, receiving no pecuniary aid from any source. During a portion of the time covered by the above recital he served as school examiner for Adams county, being the youngest examiner ever appointed there. In 1883 he removed to Warren county and there taught school in country districts, and was afterward superintendent of the Springboro public schools, retaining this position for five years. Mr. McKeown was next the superin- tendent of the Amanda public schools for one year, 1889-90, after which he returned to Springboro, and remained there as superin- tendent of the public schools for three years 660 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD more. While in the latter place he secured a ten years' state certificate as a teacher. Mr. McKeown was married, in 1890, to Miss Elizabeth Michel, a daughter of Dr. R. B. Michel, of Montgomery county, Ohio. They have two sons, Stuart E. and Robert Bruce. During the last three years of his teaching, Mr. McKeown spent his leisure hours in read- ing law and entered the Cincinnati Law col- lege, from which he graduated in 1894. In August, of that year, he located in Dayton with the view of practicing law. Opening an office he has since continued in active practice, with gratifying success for the short time in which he has been so engaged. ^yy»ILLIAM C. MARSHALL, M. D., M ■ physician and surgeon of Dayion, \JL/I with offio lI thi northeast corner of Third and Broadway streets, was born in Lexington, McLean county, 111., July 7, 1859. He is a son of Robert F. and Agnes (Elder) Marshall, both now residents of Yellow Springs, Ohio. Robert F. Marshall is a re- tired farmer and stock-raiser, and the family are of much more than ordinary intellectual ability and influence. William C. Marshall is of German, English and Scotch descent. He was educated in the public schools of Clarke county, and later at- tended Wittenberg college, at Springfield, Ohio, and graduated from Antioch college, at Yellow Springs, in 1886. His first study of medicine was with Dr. J. M. Harris, of Yellow Springs, after which he attended the Ohio Medical col- lege at Cincinnati, graduating with the class of 1890. For a short time he was in practice with his preceptor, at Yellow Springs, Ohio, and then located at Trotwood, Montgomery county, where he remained until January 29, 1895. He removed to Dayton, where he has been engaged in the general practice of medicine and surgery. He is a member of the Montgomery county Medical society and of the Ohio state Medical association. He is a member of Yellow Springs lodge, No. 279, I. O. O. F., and of the Independent Order of Foresters. Dr. Marshall was appointed phy- sician to the county infirmary and was re-ap- pointed in 1896. Politically he is a republican, and in religious belief a Presbyterian. In his early life Dr. Marshall engaged in school-teaching, for two years after gradua- ting, and the money thus earned went to de- fray his expenses at college. He is one of the rising young members of the medical frater- nity, and is meeting with gratifying success. He belongs to the Present Day club of Day- ton, and also to the Garfield club, standing high in all the orders and societies of which he is a member. ^^r 9 IEUT. JOHN MARSHALL, de- f ceased, "the hero of Lookout Mount- ^A ain," was born in Paisley, Scotland, June 22, 18 1 5, received a good com- mon-school education, and at the age of nine- teen years married his first wife. At the same age he entered the British army as an artillery- man, served nine years, and during this time was stationed on many of the islands and in several of the provinces subject to the British crown, including the dominion of Canada. In 1847 Mr. Marshall came to Dayton, Ohio, and two years later was called to mourn the death of his wife. In 1S50 he wedded Miss Emily Thomas, a native of Zanesville, Ohio, who came to Dayton with her parents when she was but six years of age, and who still survives. She is a daughter of Evan Owen and Jane (Maze) Thomas, the former a native of Wales, born in 1795; at the age of twenty years he came to the United States, located near Delaware, Ohio, and there mar- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 661 ried Mrs. Jane (Maze) Hahnaman, a native of Zanesville, and in the fall of 1838 came to Dayton. To this marriage there were born eight children, viz: Mrs. Eliza J. Feicht; Emily, now Mrs. Marshall; Mrs. Martha Bar- telle (of Browntown, Ohio); Mrs. Laura Baker (deceased); William H., who died suddenly of heart disease in middle life; Harvey, now de- ceased; Evan Owen, present market-master of Dayton; and John W. , who had been eighteen years a locomotive engineer, and was killed in a wreck near Xenia, Ohio. To her first hus- band, John Hahnaman, the mother of Mrs. Marshall had borne three daughters, who are still living, viz: Mrs. Matilda Shamo, of Louisville, Ky. ; Mrs. Susan Rodkey, of Wi- chita, Kans. , and a twin sister of Susan; Mary, who married a cousin, named Maze, and is now a widow. To John and Emily (Thomas) Marshall were born a son and a daughter, viz: John W., who has been in the employ of Heathman & Co., cracker bakers, for the past twenty-seven years, and Maggie D., who is married to Frank E. Rouzer, a traveling sales- man for a Columbus wholesale firm, and has had four children, all now deceased. The fa- ther of Mrs. Marshall was a weaver by trade, and came to Dayton as superintendent of a carpet factory, and later carried on the same business on his own account; both he and his wife died in Dayton, the latter at seventy-six years of age, and their remains lie interred in Woodland cemetery. Mrs. Emily (Thomas) Marshall has been a member of the First Baptist church of Dayton for the past fifty years, being one of the old- est, in point of membership, of that congrega- tion; she is also chaplain of the Old Guard, G. A. R., Woman's Relief corps, of which she was a charter member. John Marshall, whose name opens this bi- ography, at the first call to arms at the opening of the great Rebellion, promptly offered his services as a Union soldier, and subsequently distinguished himself for his patriotism, sol- dierly coolness, bravery and ability. He first enlisted in company G, Eleventh Ohio volun- teer infantry, for three months, and at the close of this term re-entered the army as a pri- vate in company E, Twenty-fourth Ohio, with which he served until the termination of the war. Immediately after the battle of Shiloh he was commissioned lieutenant for a special act of gallantry on that field. Battery M, Fifth regiment, United States artillery, being in distress, Mr. Marshall volunteered, and was permitted by his officers to go to its relief; here his past experience as an artillerist came into play, and he saved the guns. This act is a matter of record in the archives of the war department at Washington, D. C. Subse- quently, however, Lieut. Marshall achieved even greater feats of soldierly bravery. In October and November, 1863, Hooker's army lay in the valley overlooked by Lookout mountain, which, in the latter month, was so gallantly stormed. Right on a spur of this mountain the rebel signal corps had established a flag station. From this point all of Gen. Hooker's movements could be seen, and intel- ligence immediately telegraphed by means of the signal flag to Gen. Bragg. It will be seen how important was the station to the enemy and how desirable to the Union forces that it be destroyed or swept away. Across the Ten- nessee river, at Moccasin Point, the sixteen- pound Rodman guns of the Eighteenth Ohio battery were planted. John Marshall's pro- motion had made him a lieutenant of this bat- tery. He could see that flaunting flag of the rebel signal station as it waved its intelligence of the movements of the Union army day by day, and it taunted him. He knew that he could cut it down with one of the Rodman guns, but his captain frowned on his presump- tion in pretending to know more than his supe- 662 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD rior officers. Gen. Branum, chief of artillery of the army of the Cumberland, had said that it could not be done. The removal of the flag was considered an impossibility, though very desirable, and so reported after a careful ex- amination of the surroundings, by Gens. Hooker and Branum, Col. Barnett and Maj. Menden- hall. They came to the conclusion that it was impossible to train a gun upon it. John Mar- shall watched the calculations with interest, and when the decision was announced he stepped up to Gen. Branum, and, touching his cap in salute, said, "General, if you will give me permission to try, I think I can shoot that flag off there." The general looked at him sternly a moment, and then said: "Go to your quarters, sir, under arrest." But this was not the end. The Eighteenth battery was attached to Gen. Whittaker's bri- gade, and bluff Gen. Whittaker took more stock in Lieut. Marshall than did the austere Branum. So certain was Gen. Whittaker that Lieut. Marshall knew what he was talk- ing abcut, that he went to Chattanooga and signed a security bond for $600, the value of the cannon, in case it should burst, and, return- ing, told Lieut. Marshall of his action. Mar- shall went to his quarters that night feeling that the hour of his triumph was at hand. The next morning he had his throughly-drilled gun squad on the ground long before the ar- rival of Gen. Whittaker. It was a moment of imminent danger, for should the gun burst by reason of its great elevation, not a man would escape. The first shot Gen. Whittaker re- ported to be a hundred yards above the flag. "Yes, sir; I know that, and the next will be fifty yards above it," said Marshall. The second shot proved the truth of his statement. "Now, General, this time I'll fetch the flag." The gun boomed, and a field glass, in the hands of Gen. Whittaker, was passed from one to another of the anxious little squad, but no flag could be seen. It had been shot from the staff at the third discharge, and the army's movements would not thereafter be reported to rebel headquarters. It is needless to say that Lieut. Marshall was the hero of the hour, and received the most profuse congratulations, even from the chief of artillery whose judg- ment he had so successfully overthrown. He was recommended for promotion to sun- dry high positions, but chose that of second lieutenant when he could have been a colonel as well. He was a man of modest and unas- suming character — loyal to the core, brave to a fault — but inclined to belittle his own achieve- ments. His education was somewhat limited, though possibly superior to that of many who held high military positions, yet he declined high office, believing that his lack of education would be a stumbling block to his success. He left a legacy to his children in his honorable and distinguished services for his country, more valuable than gold, and more lasting than title or crown. John Marshall, the patriot and soldier — the loving father, devoted husband, honored friend — departed this life March 2, 1895, and awaits the grand reunion in beautiful Wood- land. His comrades of Old Guard post, G. A. R., conducted the funeral obsequies, the funeral discourse being delivered by Rev. Dr. Colby of the First Baptist church. His widow remains at the lonely home where so many years of her wedded life were spent, at No. 236 South Allen street. John W. Marshall, son of Lieut. John and Emily (Thomas) Marshall, was born in Day- ton, Ohio, May 12, 1851. He is a man of fine business attainments and strict integrity, as his long continuance with one firm abund- antly proves. He is a man of temperate habits, and marked devotion to his home and family. By industry and economy he has ac- cumulated a competence, owns a beautiful OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 663 home, and is well and favorably known by the besl people in the city of his birth. He is prominently connected with the Knights of Pythias, the Garfield club, the Bakers' Benevo- lent association, and is a member of the A. O. E. K. On June 17, 1879, Mr. Marshall mar- ried Miss Alice E. Russell, of Zanesville, Ohio. In 1895, Mr. Marshall, in company with his wife, mother, Mr. and Mrs. E. O. Thomas, and Mrs. Col. Byron, visited Lookout mount- ain, Missionary ridge, Nashville, Louisville, and many other places and scenes of Lieut. John Marshall's military career, not mentioned in the sketch of that brave soldier's life. aLYSSES S. MARTIN, one of the young members of the Dayton bar, was born in Randolph township, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, March 4, 1866. He is a son of Christian Martin, who was born at Lewisburg, Preble county, Ohio, in 1830, and who removed to Montgomery county about 1856. By occupation he was a farmer; polit- ically he was a republican, took an active in- terest in public affairs, and such was his popu- larity that he served for three terms as trustee of Randolph township, although the township was normally democratic. The people then, as now, believed that in local affairs fitness for the position was a better qualification, in an official, than mere party affiliation. Mr. Mar- tin died in 1892, honored by all who knew him. His wife was Maria Frantz, born about ten miles northwest of Trotwood, Montgomery county, and is still living. Ulysses S. Martin was reared on the farm until he was eighteen years of age. He re- ceived his education in the public schools of his native county until he was sixteen years of age, and then for some two years he attended the high school of Randolph township, at Har- risburg. At this time he began teaching school in the winter time and attending the Western normal university at Ada, Ohio, in the summer season. This course he pursued for three years, and then began a course of study at Otterbein university, graduating from this institution as a bachelor of arts, in June, 1892. He taught school for another year, and then began reading law, in the spring of 1893, in the office of Carr, Allaman & Kennedy, of Dayton. As he had already begun to read law while engaged in teaching school, having had that profession in view, it was not neces- sary for him to spend as much time in prepara- tion for practice as would otherwise have been the case, and he was admitted to the bar in June, 1894. In July following, he opened an office in the Callahan Bank building, where he is now engaged in the active practice of his profession. Mr. Martin is a member of the order of Odd Fellows, of the Knights of Pythias, and of the Knights of the Ancient Essenic Order. He was married November 27, 1894, to Laura G. Denlinger, of Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Martin is a thoroughly educated man, well equipped for the successful prosecution of his profession, and, though but recently established, there is every reason to expect him to take a creditable place in the ranks of the leading members of the Montgomery county bar. ^V^V AVID M. MARTIN, superintendent I and secretary of the Dayton work- /^^_J house, was born in Clarke county, Ohio, September 20, 1848. He is a son of Henry Martin, who when a boy removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio, and lived in Clarke county until 1880, when he removed to Day- ton, where he is now living. Henry Martin was a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, being a member of the One Hundred and Fifty-third regiment O. V. I., and in the same 664 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD company there were also one of his brothers and three brothers-in-law. David M. Martin was reared in Clarke county, six miles west of Springfield, receiv- ing his elementary education in the common schools, and completing his education in the Miami Commercial college at Dayton. When he was eighteen years of age the family re- moved to Osborn, Greene county, Ohio, and there he clerked for some time in a general store. In 1873 he removed to Dayton, where, after attending commercial college, he filled a position as bookkeeper for fifteen years. In 1888 he was elected to the city council, and in 1889 he was elected to his present position, to which he has been annually re-appointed ever since. Mr. Martin is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias, lodge No. 83, American Legion of Honor, and a director of the Garfield club, a republican organization. He was mar- ried February 20, 1873, to Miss Lucy J. Jud- son, of Osborn, Ohio, by whom he has two sons and one daughter. The eldest son, George M. , is at the present time physical di- rector of the Young Men's Christian associa- tion, of Youngstown, Ohio, and the other son, Harry J., is a law student in this city. Mr. Martin is one of the highly esteemed citi- zens of Dayton, and is deservedly popular with all classes of people. >-j'OHN MATHIAS, manager of the Ma- m thias Planing Mill company, of Day- f» 1 ton, Ohio, is a native of Germantown ) Montgomery county, and was born October 5, 1 861, of sterling German parentage. His father, John Frederick Mathias, was born in Breslau, Prussia, in 18 10, and his mother, Rosanna (Volz) Mathias, is a native of Hessen Darmstadt, born in 18 18. They were mar- ried in Germantown, Ohio, where the father passed the greater part of his life as a farmer and butcher, and died April 29, 1890; the mother is still living and is passing her declin- ing years with her children in Dayton. John Frederick and Rosanna were parents of two children only — Jacob C and John. John Mathias, when about five years of age, was taken toSunbury, Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, by his parents, where for a number of years they made their home. There he re- ceived his early education, and later became a student in architecture in his native town, and there engaged in business; later, he came to Dayton and for several years worked as a con- tractor and builder. He then returned to Germantown, but finally, in 1890, permanently settled in Dayton, established the Globe Paper Mill & Lumber company and operated it until September 15, 1892. At that date the Mathias Planing Mill company was organized and in- corporated, with an authorized capital of $75,000, the incorporators being N. T. Bish, D. W. Allaman, Elmer E. Ganster, Benjamin E. Hocker, W. S. Zehring and Mr. Mathias. For the first year and a half after incorporation Mr. Mathias served as president of the com- pany, after which S. W. Hoover was elected and served until his death in 1895, although Mr. Mathias was always the efficient mana- ger of the concern. January 27, 1897, Mr. Mathias retired from the company, though still holding his interest in the same, and or- ganized a new company, which assumed the same name — i. e. : The Mathias Planing Mill company. The company does a general con- tracting business, furnishing lumber and mill work, and for the past three years the average output has been at the rate of $145,000 per annum. January 29, 1888, Mr. Mathias married Miss Sarah Main, a native of Liberty, Mont- gomery county, but of Maryland parentage. Four children have blessed this union and were OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 665 born in the following order: Joseph G., Flor- ence I., Edgar H., and Wilson. Mr. and Mrs. Mathias are consistent members of the United Brethren church, and in politics Mr. Mathias is an active republican. He is a thorough master of his business, attentive and obliging to his patrons, and has won the respect of a large circle of acquaintances throughout Mont- gomery county. SI •ARREN G. MATTHEWS, proprie- tor of the Dayton Floral company, was born in Chicago, 111., January 14, 1861, and is a son of Aaron G. and Nancy A. (Youngblood) Matthews. Aaron G. Matthews was born near Boone- ville, Warrick county, Ind., was a farmer by calling, and died in 1863; Mrs. Nancy A. Mat- thews is now a resident of Dayton, Ohio. There were but two children born to Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, viz: Warren G., and Eva, wife of John G. Weaton, of Chicago. Warren G. Matthews was educated in the public schools of his native city, and at the age of ten years began working in a floral establishment, com- pleting a thorough course of training in both the retail and wholesale departments of the mercantile branch of floriculture, and also learned landscape gardening, having ample practice in this branch through working in Lincoln park for a number of years. In 1883 he came to Dayton, and was employed by George R. Mumma for one year, but while so employed opened a store on Fifth street for the sale of cut flowers, and since his first year here has devoted his entire attention to this particular line of business. In 1887 he opened his present establishment, which is inclosed with 15,000 square feet of glass, and here he propagates an immense assortment of exotic and domestic plants of the choicest varieties, selling cut flowers for decorating purposes, and also dealing largely, both at retail and whole- sale, in bedding plants. His establishment is admirably constructed for the purpose to which it is devoted, being supplied with all the ap- paratus necessary for the successful culture of plants. Mr. Matthews has made a marked success of this industry, and this has been brought about through his own skill and prac- tical knowledge of the science of floriculture. Mr. Matthews is not a politician, but is a strong and active republican. He is a mem- ber of Iola lodge, No. 83, Knights of Pythias, and of Iola division, No. 26, uniform rank of the same order; is a member of the Ancient Order of American Knights, of the Patriotic Sons of America, and of the dramatic order of Knights of Khorassan. He was married, Oc- tober 1, 1884, to Miss Flora B., daughter of George R. Mumma, but has had the misfortune ,to lose his wife, who died March 21, 1893, the mother of three children, Walter G., Ruth M. and Florence M. Mr. Matthews is a mem- ber of the Second Evangelical Lutheran church, and enjoys the attachment of many warm friends and acquaintances. HLVIN LAWRENCE MENDEN- HALL, member of the Dayton bar, was born at Woodington, Darke county, Ohio, August 21, 1866. He is a son of Samuel T. and Catherine (Teeter) Mendenhall, the former of whom was born in Preble county, Ohio, and the latter in Bed- ford county, Pa. Early in life Samuel T. Mendenhall removed from Pennsylvania to Darke county, Ohio, and was there engaged in merchandizing for many years. He was a justice of the peace for fifteen or twenty years and died in 1875, a man of influence and standing in the community. His widow died in 1882. Alvin Lawrence Mendenhall lived at home 666 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD until the death of his mother, he being at that time a little more than fifteen years of age. From that time until 1895 he lived in Preble county. At the age of nineteen years he be- gan teaching school and followed that profes- sion for nine years in Preble county. In 1892 he began reading law and in 1894 was in at- tendance at the Cincinnati Law school, being graduated there in May of that year. In July, 1895, he located in Dayton and engaged in the practice of law, which profession he has fol- lowed here since that time. Mr. Mendenhall was married March 16, 1887, to Miss Anna C. Foos, of West Man- chester, Preble county, Ohio, and to this mar- riage there has been born one child, Irene, aged four years. BREDERICK C. MERKLE, president of the Staniland, Merkle & Staniland company of Dayton, was born in Wapakoneta, Auglaize county, Ohio, April 24, 1 85 1, a son of Charles and Anna Eve (Kitzenberger) Merkle, the former of whom is deceased and the latter a resident of Findlay, Ohio. Both parents were born in Germany, the mother in Bayern, whence she was brought to America when but two years of age. The father, who was born in Witten- berg, was twenty-two years old when he came to the United States. For some years he fol- lowed his trade of wagonmaking, but for the twenty years immediately preceding his death was the proprietor of the Union house in Wa- pakoneta. Their children were eight in num- ber, as follows: William, now deceased; Jolm, a police officer of Dayton; Frederick O; Charles, a contractor of Dayton ; Mary, de- ceased; Joseph C, chief engineer of water works at Dayton; Rosa and Adam, deceased. Frederick C. Merkle attended the public schools of Wapakoneta until sixteen years of age, and then entered the employ of J. H. Weller, assistant superintendent of the Day- ton & Michigan railroad, with whom he re- mained three years, taking in the meantime a course of study in the Wilts Commercial col- lege. He then began railroad work proper, commencing as brakeman on a freight train and reaching the position of freight conductor, remaining on the road for four years. In 1873 he went to Tippecanoe, Ohio, and opened a harness store, which he conducted for four years, and while in that city he married, March 24, 1874, Miss Elizabeth Pohlkotte. In 1880 Mr. Merkle came to Dayton and engaged as traveling salesman for the marble firm, which, through his indefatigable devotion to his duties, has reached its present large proportions. The plant was established in 1863 and is the oldest of its kind in Ohio, and when Mr. Merkle became connected with it occupied a small lot, 40 x 200 feet. In 1890 he became a member of the firm, which then assumed the style of Staniland, Merkle & Staniland, and in 1892 the concern was incorporated, when he became its secretary and treasurer. It manu- factures granite and marble monuments, mau- soleums, etc., and all kinds of marble furniture and plumbers' accessories. The plant is on Washington street near the railroad, covers two acres of land, and employs from thirty to seventy-five men. It is the best equipped plant in the west, being fitted with complete steam apparatus, traveling derricks and cranes, and all other modern improvements. The output of the company is disposed of through- out Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and parts of Illinois and Pennsylvania, and nine salesmen are kept constantly on the road. The capital stock of the company is $35,000, and its present officers are Frederick C. Merkle, pres- ident; C. A. Bonner, vice-president; J. Henry Merkle, secretary and treasurer. To Mr. Merkle too much praise cannot be OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 669 given for the skill and energy with which he has managed the affairs of his present firm, and indeed, for the successful manner in which he has conducted all his undertakings. He was but sixteen years of age when he started at the bottom of the ladder, and he now stands among the solid business men of Dayton. In politics he is a republican. Fraternally, he is a member of Tippecanoe lodge, No. 257, F. & A. M.; Buckeye lodge, No. 47, I. O. O. F., and he is also a Royal Arch Mason. Mr. and Mrs. Merkle have had four children, viz: J. Henry, who is secretary and treasurer of the Staniland, Merkle & Staniland company; George R., deceased; Anna and Edith. The family have their pleasant home at No. 26 High street, and are consistent members of the German Lutheran church. < y J OUIS MEHLBERTH, the efficient r and popular deputy sheriff of Mont- _^^ gomery county, Ohio, traces his line- age through a long line of German ancestors. His father, Bernard Mehlberth, was born in Germany and emigrated to Amer- ica in 1848, landing at Baltimore, Md., and proceeding thence to Pittsburg, Pa., where he remained but a short time, and then made his way to Cincinnati, Ohio, from which city he came to Dayton. Here he established himself in business, becoming one of the prominent and honored citizens and business men of the city, and here remained until his death, which occurred April 30, 1894, at the age of seventy- five years. He was successfully engaged in the manufacture of brushes for many years, and was well known and highly esteemed in the community. In his religious affiliations he was a prominent member of the German Meth- odist Episcopal church. His wife, whose maiden name was Pauline Fraas, was born in Germany, whence she came to America about the year 1855, her marriage to Mr. Mehlberth being solemnized in Dayton. She is still liv- ing, at the age of sixty-four years. The chil- dren of this union were five in number: Em- ma is the wife of Charles Schlemmer, of Day- ton; Edward is also a resident of this city; Louis is the immediate subject of this review; Ma- tilda is the wife of William H. Smith, of Day- ton; and Minnie is the wife of E. R. Lines, also of this city. Louis Mehlberth received his educational training in the public schools of Dayton, com- pleting the intermediate school course and graduating as a member of the class of 1880. He then entered the office of the Dayton Journal and served an apprenticeship of three years at the printer's trade. For a short time only he devoted his attention to work at the trade, and in 1883 he engaged in the grocery business in Dayton, continuing for a period of nine years, being associated with his brother on East Fifth street. He then disposed of his interest in this business, and entered Wilt's Commercial college, where he completed a course of study, after which he became a member of the firm of Wells & Mehlberth, dealers in hats and caps. He withdrew from this enterprise at the end of two years, and on the 7th of January, 1895, was appointed office deputy by Sheriff Anderton, and has since rendered most effective service to the county in this capacity. In his political adherency Mr. Mehlberth renders allegiance to the repub- lican party, and his personal popularity was such as to secure his election as a member of the board of education, in which he represent- ed a democratic ward from 1892 to 1894. He has always taken a particular interest in edu- cational matters, and his services on the board were of much value, while he has been pro- gressive and public-spirited in all matters bear- ing upon the welfare and prosperity of the city of his birth. In his fraternal relations Mr. 670 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Mehlberth is identified with Gem City lodge, No. 795, I. O. O. F. ; Linden lodge, No. 412, Knights of Pythias; and Gem City council, No. 1, Fraternal Censer, while he is also a mem- ber of the well-known Garfield club, a repub- lican organization. On the 8th of November, 1886, Mr. Mehl- berth married Miss Clara B. Vintree, daughter of Benjamin F. Vintree, of Dayton. They enjoy a pleasant popularity in the social cir- cles of the city, and their home is the center of a large circle of friends. >t-*OSEPH C. MERKLE, chief engineer m of the Dayton water works, was born (% 1 in Wapakoneta, Auglaize county, Ohio, February 8, 1858, and is a son of Charles Merkle, one of the oldest settlers of Auglaize county. In 1867 Mr. Merkle removed his family to Dayton, Ohio, and there Joseph C. attended the public schools until he was fifteen years of age. He began the practical work of life by learning the trade of a machin- ist, continuing at work in various establish- ments until 1 88 1, when he became foreman of the Stilwell & Bierce Manufacturing company, which manufactures heaters, roller mills, and turbine water wheels. This position he held for six years, and in the spring of 1887 he be- came assistant engineer of the Dayton city water works. This position Mr. Merkle held until 1894, when he was promoted to the po- sition of engineer in chief, upon the death of M. L. Weaver, who had been engineer in chief from 1873 to 1882, and again from 1887 until 1894, the year of his death. Mr. Merkle has two assistant engineers and four other employees under him. The water works have a capacity of 29,000,000 gallons per day, and it is probable that no city in the United States has a more constant or a purer supply of water than has the city of Dayton. The plant runs continually twenty-four hours per day the year round, and the position of chief engineer is one of trust and responsibility. Since holding his present position, Mr. Merkle has made many improvements, and reconstructed the plant materially. He has made connection with the whole system of wells, by which he can pump by direct suction in case of necessity. Mr. Merkle was married November 27, 1879, to Miss Mary C. Weglage, of Dayton, a daughter of Henry Weglage, deceased. To this marriage there have been born four sons and one daughter, as follows: William H., Charles E., Walter E. , Blanche M. and Fred- erick C. Mr. Merkle is a member of Dayton lodge, No. 273, I. O. O. F.; Riverdale lodge, K. of P. ; Dayton court of Foresters, and of the Jackson democratic club. He is a man of great force of character and of sterling integ- rity, enjoying the esteem and confidence of all who know him. ^V^VETER MEYER, funeral director and I M undertaker, No. 716 South Wayne street, Dayton, is a native of Ger- many, born on the 8th day of Sep- tember, 1850, in the kingdom of Prussia. His parents, Jacob and Elizabeth Meyer, were na- tives of the same country, and their bodies lie side by side in the old cemetery, where mingle the ashes of many generations of their ances- tors. Of a family of four children born to Jacob and Elizabeth Meyer, but two survive — Jacob, a resident of Dayton, and Peter. John, ' the eldest brother, died in 1871, and the only sister, Mrs. Katie Breit, died and was laid to rest in the fatherland. Peter Meyer was educated in the schools of his native country, and there served an appren- ticeship at the trade of blacksmithing, at which he worked four years in Prussia. Thinking to better his condition in a country which afforded OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 671 better inducements and larger opportunities, Mr. Meyer, when nineteen years of age, bade farewell to the land of his birth and came to the United States, locating in Dayton city, Ohio, where for a period of six years he worked at his trade with much success. Dur- ing the last three years of that time he oper- ated a shop upon his own responsibility, and then engaged in the livery business, which he carried on until 1885, when he added under- taking as a branch of the enterprise. In the spring of 1 89 15 Mr. Meyer disposed of the liv- ery business, and since that time has devoted his entire attention to undertaking, which, con- ducted with a wisely-directed energy, has borne results of a most satisfactory character. Mr. Meyer is a typical German-American, a man of the highest business and social stand- ing, and his reputation has been gained by a long course of honest and straightforward con- duct. He is a democrat in politics, and in re- ligion is a Roman Catholic, belonging with his family to Saint Mary's church of Dayton. He is charitably inclined, having always been noted for his liberality in behalf of the needy. In November, 1873, Mr. Meyer and Miss Rosa Steffen, of Dayton, daughter of Martin and Mary Steffen, natives of Germany, were united in the bonds of wedlock, a union blessed with the birth of three children — Charlie, Katie and Marie — all residing at this time under the parental roof. EENRY W. MEYER, foreman of the works of S. N. Brown & Co. , manu- facturers of wheels and carriage ma- terials, was born in the kingdom of Hanover, February 12, 1837. His parents, Henry W. and Elizabeth fOsterhaus) Meyer, were natives of Germany, and were the par- ents of four children, three sons and a daugh- ter. Three of these are still living, as follows: Henry W. ; John, of Dayton; and August, of Springfield. There were two children born to the senior Meyer by a former marriage, only one of whom is now living, viz: James R. , now engineer for O. L. Bouck, of Dayton. Henry W. Meyer, the father of our subject, came to the United States in 1837, located in Dayton, and there lived all his life, dying in 1880 at the age of eighty-one. From 1846 to 1854 he was sexton of the cemetery in Day- ton. He assisted to build the old Sears street Lutheran church and was a member of the church and one of its deacons for many years. His wife was also a member of this church, and died in 1846, when forty-six years of age. The paternal grandfather of the present Henry W. Meyer died in Germany, when his son Henry W. was fifteen years of age. The maternal grandfather, Henry Harmon Oster- haus, came to the United States, lived in Day- ton, and died in this city at an advanced age. Henry W. Meyer, whose name opens this sketch, was reared in Dayton, and was educa- ted in the public schools of that city. He began learning the trade of wood-turning at the age of fifteen, and entered the service of the firm for which he is still working, in June, 1852, so that he has been in the constant em- ployment of this one firm for forty-five years, and has been foreman of the works for thirty years. Mr. Meyer was married October 28, 1858, to Miss Elizabeth Kuhlman, daughter of Herman B. and Margaret E. Kuhlman. By this marriage he has had six children, four of whom are now living, as follows: William, Charles H., Mary and Emma. William H. married Miss Tillie Timmer, and has six chil- dren. Mary, who married G. A. Lange, prin- cipal of the Fourth district school, has two children, Florence and Herbert. Charles H. is secretary of the Germania Building associa- tion; and Emma is a successful teacher of in- strumental music. 672 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Mr. and Mrs. Meyer and all of their family are members of the Wayne street Lutheran church. Politically, he is an independent democrat, and as such served as a member of the city council for several years, representing the Fifth and Sixth wards. He lives in a comfortable home on the corner of Chestnut and Brown streets, among the highly esteemed and well-known citizens of Dayton. <^"\ AVID W. MILLER, superintendent I of construction at the national mili- /^^J tary home, at Dayton, is a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, born Au- gust 25, 1 84 1 , a son of Jacob and Susannah (Stoner) Miller, and was reared to manhood and learned the carpenter's trade in his native county. Jacob Miller, his father, was born in Dauphin county, Pa., February 13, 1809, and descended from a German family, who spelled the name Mueller, and who settled in Penn- sylvania prior to the war of the Revolution. Jacob Miller was a carpenter by trade, and in his early manhood came to Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, and here married, in 1835, Miss Susannah Stoner, a native of Maryland, born in 1817. To this marriage were born six sons and six daughters, of whom four died in in- fancy; William died at the age of fourteen years, and Jacob when eighteen years old. Of the five living, beside David W., Elizabeth is the wife of Noah Kinsey, a farmer residing seven miles north of Dayton; Michael B., a carpenter and contractor, lives in Riverdale, Dayton; Mary Ann is married to Adam Greene- wait, of Mansfield, 111.; Susannah is the wife of George Leattor, of Elgin, 111., and Henrietta Williamson lives near Dayton, Ohio. The mother of these children died on the Mont- gomery county farm, in 1S61, and the father took for his second wife Miss Hannah Stoner, a sister of his first wife, with whom he lived until his death in Montgomery county, in 1875; his widow now makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Williamson. David W. Miller enlisted, February 7, 1864, in company K, Sixty-third Ohio volun- teer infantry, and served until the close of the Civil war — his brother, Michael B., being a member of the same company. The scope of this memoir cannot be expanded sufficiently to permit mention of the numerous battles in which Mr. Miller took part; suffice it to say that he served in the army of the Tennessee, and participated in all the marches, skirmishes, and battles in which his regiment was engaged, including the march of Sherman to the sea and through the Carolinas to Washington, where he participated in the grand review in May, 1865, and received an honorable dis- charge in Louisville, Ky., in July of the same year, when he returned to his native county and resumed active work at his trade. January 10, 1867, David W. Miller was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Ann Lan- dis, a native of Montgomery county, and a daughter of David and Rachel (Welbaum) Lan- dis. David Landis was born in Lancaster county, Pa., in 18 16; his wife is a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, born in (821, and both are now living in Salem, in the latter county. They have had born to them a family of ten children, viz: John W., Jacob H., Jo- siah, Rachel, William W., Lucinda, Mary Catherine, Harvey, Dora Ellen and Theodore. Of these, John W. lives on the old homestead, near Salem; Jacob H. is a bookkeeper in a law office in Dayton; Josiah was a soldier in the Civil war, was married, and died in 1869, leaving one child; William W. , ateacher, died in 1868, in his twenty-first year; Lucinda died in young womanhood, and Mary Catherine is also deceased; Dora Ellen is the wife of H. C. Boyer, a farmer near West Milton, Ohio. CCA OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 675 To the marriage of David W. Miller and wife, seven children have been born, in the following order: Carrie May, who is the wife of H. H. Prugh, an attorney of Dayton; Lillie Ada, married to Rev. Freeley Rohrer, a Pres- byterian minister, of Paulding, Ohio; Wilbert Alfred, a notary public, bookkeeper and sten- ographer, and in the insurance business in Day- ton; Chester Earl, employed in Dayton; Daisy Ann, who died at the age of three years and six months; Mabel Maud, and Charles Howard; the youngest four living of these are still under the parental roof. Mr. Miller followed his vocation of carpen- ter and contractor, and that of superintending the business of Beaver & Butt, contractors, until 1888, when he was appointed to his pres- ent responsible position as superintendent of construction at the national military home. He has charge of twenty-six regular carpenters, beside a force of forty auxiliaries, and also of all the material used in the various depart- ments of construction and repair. Fraternally, he is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and also of the Old Guard post, Grand Army of the Republic. Mrs. Miller is a member of the Ladies of the G. A. R. , and also of the Woman's Christian Temperance union, and, with her husband, of Raper Methodist Episcopal church, being very active in both church and Sunday-school work. Socially, the family stands very high, and no one enjoys a fuller measure of esteem in the community than David W. Miller. V7*AMES R. MEYERS, engineer for O. L. m Bouck's planing mill, of Dayton, Ohio, A 1 was born in the kingdom of Hanover, Germany, December 22, 1825. He is a son of Henry W. and Eliza (Dorman) Mey- ers, who were natives of Germany. Henry W. and Eliza Meyers had two children, James R. and Christian R. , the latter of whom died May 27, 185 1. James R. Meyers is a half- brother of Henry W. Meyers, whose biograph- ical sketch appears elsewhere in this volume. James R. Meyers was eleven years of age when his parents came to Montgomery county and located in Dayton, in August, 1837. Reared in Dayton, he was educated in the pub- lic schools of that city. When he was in his fifteenth year he began working for the state of Ohio, on the repairs of the canal between Day- ton and Troy, and continued thus to work until he was married, which event occurred August 21, 1 85 1 . The maiden name of his wife was Martha Ann Baman, a daughter of Charles and Martha (Hill) Baman, who came from Virginia to Dayton in 181 1. To the marriage of James R. and Martha Ann Meyers there were born nine children, as follows: William, Henry, Albert, Frank, El- len, Miranda, Annie, Callie and Lillie. Will- iam married Minnie Staffin, and by her has two children, Clara and Louisa. William Mey- ers is a blacksmith by trade and occupation. Henry married Rose Miles. He is at the pres- ent time foreman of the O. L. Bouck planing mill. Albert married Ida Taylor. Frank mar- ried Clara Stowe. Ellen married O. L. Bouck, and has two children, Clifford and Margaret. Miranda married Frank Judson, who has been a clerk in the post-office at Dayton for more than twenty years. Mr. and Mrs. Judson have two sons, Arthur and Walter. Annie married Charles P. Foulkuth, and has onechild. Ivy Callie died at the age of twenty-four, and Lillie is keeping house for her father, her mother having died December 2, 1880, at the age of forty-nine. Mrs. Meyers was one of the good christian women of Dayton, a member of the First United Brethren church of Dayton, to which Mr. Meyers himself belongs. Polit- ically' Mr. Meyers is a republican, but has never sought official position. He has been en- .;:.; CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD gineer for the O. L. Bouck planing mill ever since it was established, a period of twelve years, and has earned a reputation for faithful and excellent performance of his responsible duties. For the past sixty years he has been a resident of Dayton, and has been an eye-wit- ness of this city's great and rapid growth and development as a manufacturing center. a APT. HERMAN C. MEYER, a resi- dent of the Dayton National Military Home for Disabled VolunteerSoldiers, holds the responsible position of cap- tain of company Eight. He is a native of Ger- many, having been born in Osnabruck, Han- over, September 17, 1840, and there he re- mained until he had reached the age of seven- teen, when he joined the great throng of the hardy and adventurous that were coming to America for those larger opportunities of living that the old world did not afford. He was educated with German thoroughness at the gymnasium in Osnabruck, and at the univer- sity at Gottingen, Hanover. On reaching this country he made his way to Allentown, Pa. , where he secured a good position in a rolling mill, through the influence of Senator S. S. Cox, whose acquaintance he had made while on the ocean. His stay in the rolling mill was measured by half a year, when he left it to go into the office of the Ohio & Northwestern Lumber company as bookkeeper and clerk. He was still in the employ of this firm when the fall of Fort Sumter startled the north. The rapidity with which the people rallied to the support of the government is evident from the fact, that though Mr. Meyer's enlistment came as early as May 17, 1861, he was enrolled in company A, Twenty-eighth Ohio volunteer in- fantry. He was mustered into the service at Cincinnati, and was at once attached to the arm}' of West Virginia, under command of Gen. Rosecrans. In a skirmish at Princeton, in that state, he received a disabling wound, being shot through both arms. He was in the hospital for long and dreary weeks, and when he left it was pronounced unfit for active serv- ice. But he was determined to be still at the front, and at his own request was transferred to the United States signal corps, and served with that organization until the close of the war. He joined Sherman's army at Rocky Face ridge, and went with it to Atlanta, Sa- vannah, and "the sea." He was with it on the memorable march through the Carolinas and to Washington, participating in the grand review of the victorious armies. From Wash- ington he was sent to Louisville, and from there to Brownsville, Tex., remaining in the service until August 6, 1866. Mr. Meyer immediately sought his old posi- tion with the Ohio & Northwestern Lumber company at Columbus, upon his retirement from the signal service, and with that firm he continued until failing health compelled him to cease active labor April 4, 18S5, and to seek medical relief. He was in the hospital at Buffalo under treatment for several months, and finding himself permanently unfit for active employment, he came to the Dayton home November 13, 1886. He was at once put in command of company Twenty-seven, and ad- ministered the duties of that position for nine years. But his health became so much im- paired that he could no longer act in that capacity. Accordingly he resigned in Febru- ary, 1896, and took a prolonged trip through northern Michigan. This so improved his health, that, on his return, he was appointed to the command of company Eight. Capt. Meyer is a member of Mystic lodge, F. & A. M., of the Germania society of Phil- adelphia, and of the Signal Corps organization at Detroit, of which there are known to be but fifty-seven members living. He is a Protestant, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 07^ confirmed in the German Reformed church while still a youth. He is a strong republican, and a man of intelligence and broad culture. He has had many thrilling experiences, and the story of his life would read like a romance, .with the added charm of being true. He comes of a family of soldiers well known in his native country. His father, H. V. Meyer, was colonel of the Second dragoons of Han- over, Germany, and spent his entire life in the army, dying of a wound received in the Schleswig-Holstein war of 1866. His mother, whose maiden name was May Viola Von Hess, was the daughter of Gen. Von Hess, well known in the military history of Austria, and is also deceased. She and her husband were the parents of nine children, five sons and four daughters, and of these but four are now living, Capt. Meyer being the youngest. His eldest brother, Laurens V. Meyer, resides near Berlin, Germany, and is on the retired list of the imperial army. He was in active service as brigadier-general of the First German cav- alry corps. The two sisters also married soldiers, and are widows residing in their native country. f\ EORGE W. MILLER, M. D., a suc- ■ ^\ cessful physician and surgeon of Day- \i^J ton, Ohio, was born in Cincinnati, . March 18, 1866. He is a son of Charles H. and Hannah C. (Combs) Miller, both of Cincinnati, of which city the family have been residents for many years. George C. Miller, the grandfather of Dr. Miller, was one of the early settlers of Cincin- nati, when it was but a small place, contain- ing then only about 3,000 inhabitants. He came from New Jersey, was of Revolutionary stock, and started the first carriage factory on this side of the Alleghany mountains. He turned out the first iron-tired buggy ever made in the west, forging the tires by hand from scraps of iron. He retired from business at an advanced age and was succeeded by his two sons. He was one of the founders of the Commercial bank of Cincinnati, and was also one of the founders of the Seventh Pres- byterian church of that city. He lived to a green old age, and died leaving a family of six children. Charles H. Miller, the father of the doctor, was for some time engaged in the manufacture of plows and carriages. George W. Miller is one of a family of five children. He was educated in the high school of Cincinnati, and afterward took a commer- cial course, in 1887 entering Pulte Medical college, from which he graduated in 1890. After practicing in Cincinnati for one year he was called to the chair of anatomy in Pulte Medical college, which chair he filled for two years. In 1893 he removed to Dayton and formed a partnership with Dr. Joseph E. Lowes, with whom he has since been associ- ated. Dr. Miller is a thorough physician and is rapidly advancing in the ranks of the pro- fession. He is a member of the Montgomery county Homeopathic Medical society, and of the state Homeopathic Medical association, of the Knights of Pythias, and of the B. P. O. E. ; is physician of the Dayton work house, and is medical examiner for the Knights of Pythias. He is a member of the Reformed Presbyterian church, is devoted to church work, and is in every way a worthy, public- spirited citizen. WOHN CHARLES MILLER, the well & known and popular pharmacist at No. /• I 504 East Xenia street, Dayton, Ohio, is a native of Clay county, Ind., was born October 3, 1869, and is a son of Rev. Jacob and Huldah (Pickhart) Miller, both na- tives of Germany. 678 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Rev. Jacob Miller was born in Martsheim, Germany, February I, 1833, and his wife, Huldah Pickhart, is a native of Hueckswagen, Germany, born November 29, 1834. They were married in Cannelton, Ind., August 12, 1854, the mother having come to America in 1848, and of their family of five sons and five daughters, two of each are still living. The father died October 9, 1891, at No. ngBoltin street, Dayton, where his widow still resides. Rev. Jacob Miller received his education in his native land, and there also learned the coopering trade. He embarked for America January 31, 1853, landed at New Orleans, came up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, and reached Evansville, Ind., April 5 of the same year. There he established a cooper shop and followed his trade until 1866, when he aban- doned it to enter the ministry of the Evangel- ical church. Though his services in this work were but poorly recompensed in that then frontier country, his heart was in the cause of the Master, and he continued to labor in his vineyard, in various sections of the country, until within three years of his death, when ill health compelled him to retire. John C. Miller, his son, was educated in the common schools and within the family circle, in the latter receiving a thorough train- ing in the German language, which has been of great value to him from a business point of view. July 5, 1S86, he became a clerk in a drug store in Fort Wayne, Ind., where he re- mained two years, and then entered the Illi- nois college of Pharmacy at Chicago, passed through a one-year course of lectures, and then, for about two years, clerked in a drug store in that city. In 1890 he came to Day- ton, and here, for a short time, was employed by a leading drug firm. From January, 1891, until January, 1892, he resided in Cincinnati, and while there passed an examination before the Ohio board of pharmacy, receiving his license as a pharmacist in the last named year — this license being reissued in 1895. Sep- tember 5, 1892, he opened business on his own account at his present location in Dayton, and now carries a well selected stock of drugs, patent medicines, toilet articles, etc. He compounds some of the standard proprietary remedies, and bears an excellant reputation, personally and as a careful, painstaking pre- scription druggist. He is doing an altogether prosperous trade, and well deserves the success attending him. May 11, 1892, Mr. Miller was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Kuebler, daugh- ter of Frederick and Elizabeth Kuebler, old settlers of Dayton. To this union have been born two children — Frederick John, who died when seven weeks old, and one that died in early infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are strict members of the Evangelical church, and Mr. Miller is a Forester. In politics he is inde- pendent, but is possessed of strong silver- republican proclivities. In social life, he and wife hold a high position and are greatly re- spected by all who know them. *y ■ * ARRY F. NOLAN, one of the best |f\ known of the younger members of the r Dayton bar, was born in this city on June 22, 1864, and is the son of the late Col. Michael P. and Anna Schenck (Clark) Nolan. Col. M. P. Nolan was born in Dublin, Ire- land, on June 28, 1823, and in the following year his parents emigrated to the United States, settling in Lancaster county, Pa., and in 1837 removed to Dayton. He was given but a limited education during his youth. He learned carriagemaking, at which trade he worked for some time, during which he did all in his power to educate himself. He entered a debating society, where he found a good li- &t^ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 681 brary, the books of which he read at every op- portunity. When a young man he com- manded a canal boat for a time. On Decem- ber 30, 1847, he married Anna Schenck Clark, of Miamisburg. He continued working at his trade, and at night read law from borrowed books, as he had made up his mind to become a lawyer. In 1 8 5 1 he was admitted to the bar. In April, 1861, at the breaking out of the late war, he raised company G, of the Elev- enth regiment of Ohio volunteer infantry. He became lieutenant-colonel of the Fiftieth regi- ment, Ohio volunteer infantry, and subsequently colonel of the One Hundred and Ninth regi- ment, Ohio infantry. During the war Col. Nolan was an active member of the Union League, and was president of that body for the Third congressional district of Ohio, and delegate from that district to the national convention at Baltimore that nominated Mr. Lincoln for president in 1864. During the summer of 1863 he assisted in organizing the " war de- mocracy" in Ohio, and took the stump for Gov. Brough. After the war he served for several years as United States commissioner at Dayton. In 1878 he was the congressional candidate of the greenback-labor party, which nomination he accepted with the full knowl- edge that he was to lead a forlorn hope. His death occurred in Dayton on Monday, No- vember 30, 1 89 1, of heart failure. December 1, 1891, the day following the death of Col. Nolan, the sad event was announced in court, and, on motion, Judge Dwyer ordered a recess to be taken and a bar meeting was at once convened. At this meeting a committee of six was appointed to draft resolutions, and the bar then adjourned until the next day, when, on re-assembling, resolutions of condolence and respect were adopted, and several speeches were made by the more prominent members of the bar, eulo- gizing the many noble qualities of the deceased. 24 Later, December 12 and 31, similar resolu- tions were passed by Dister post, G. A. R. , and by the members of the Hibernian Rifles. The press throughout the state was profuse in its commendation of the merits and the active life of the departed soldier and lawyer, several journals giving a more or less extended record of his virtues and work. Col. Nolan was a man of superior intel- lect, was kind, courteous and obliging, and extremely affectionate in his domestic relations. He was indeed a man of strong likes and dis- likes, a sterling friend who never forgot a favor, and seldom, if ever, forgot an injury. In point of wit, humor or sarcasm he was: without a peer at the bar or in society. His industry was unceasing, his discrimination quick and his judgment sound. His oratory was brilliant and his logic convincing. His reading had been deep and exhaustive, not- withstanding his lack of opportunity for an ed- ucation in his early days, and the words of Shakespeare, his favorite author, were ever at his command. As a lawyer, his counsel was safe; he was strong as an advocate before a jury, in which body he had great faith, and could hardly realize that a judge had any right to set aside a verdict that had once been ren- dered in his favor. He was a born soldier, and as far back as 1850 organized a company of state militia, and at one time was a captain of the old Montgomery guards. His Civil war record is given in a previous paragraph. In politics he was at first a democrat, as he fol- lowed the footsteps of his father in this partic- ular; but he had an inborn dislike of slavery, and, when old enough to think for himself, modified his views, and in 1848 voted for Martin Van Buren as the free soil candidate for the presidency, at a time when it required a great deal of moral courage to take such a step in Miami township, of which he was then a resident. Fraternally, he was a member of 682 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the G. A. R., and was also a Free Mason. He left behind him, to deplore his loss, his widow and five of his ten children, viz: Mary E., Sallie E. (wife of Samuel M. Kehoe), Dr. Charles N., of Greenville, Ohio; Louise B. and Harry F. Col. Nolan was strictly a tem- perance man, and in 1877 was elected presi- dent of the first Murphy organization in Dayton. Harry F. Nolan was educated in the Day- ton public schools, leaving the high school in 1879 to begin an apprenticeship at the trade of bookbinding at the United Brethren Publish- ing house. On January 12, 1882, he entered his father's office and began reading law. He was admitted to the bar May 6, 1886, when twenty-one years of age, and on January 1, 1887, a co-partnership was formed between his father and himself under the firm name of Nolan & Nolan. On April 8, 1890, Mr. Nolan was elected city attorney of Dayton, serving in that capacity for over two years, when he re- turned to his practice. After his father's death he succeeded to the law business of the firm and has since continued in practice. Mr. Nolan is a member of the Masonic fra- ternity, having received the Knights Templar degree, and is a member of the Elks. eROF. SAMUEL ARNOLD MIN- NICH, principal of the Fifth district public schools of Dayton, is a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, and was born near Brookville, September 7, 1847, and in this county he has passed his entire life, with the exception of about seven years, when teaching school — six years in Darke and one year in Preble counties. John and Barbara (Arnoldj Minnich, his parents, were born respectively in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and in the latter state the father, who was an agriculturist, died in Montgomery county, at the age of fifty-six years, while the mother, who is still a widow, now makes her home in Darke county, near Arcanum. The Minnich family traces its descent to Bavaria, the name being derived from that of the city of Munich, the capital of the kingdom; and the first of the family to come to America was Prof. Minnich's great-grandfather, who settled in Lancaster county, Pa. Prof. Samuel A. Minnich was the seventh in order of birth in a family of fourteen children, and grew to man- hood on his father's farm. His choice of a life-work was largely directed by an accident which occurred when he was twenty-one years of age, through which his left hand was severe- ly and permanently maimed, while he was feed- ing a circular saw in the preparation of fuel for the use of the family. He had intended to become a mechanic and had a strong predilec- tion for carpentry, but of course his desire in this respect was by this mishap defeated. He had recieved a most excellent education in the district schools and had begun teaching while still living on the home farm, al- though his teaching alternated with at- tendance at private schools. He final- ly entered the normal school at Medina, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1876. Fol- lowing this event, he resumed teaching, but later took a course of lectures on materia med- ica and graduated from the Long Island College hospital in 1882. For two and a half years he practiced medicine; but the profession proving to be distasteful to him, he again resumed that of school-teaching, and has ever since, with the exception of the period above alluded to, followed this vocation in Montgomery county with marked success, and in 1892 was elected to his present position of principal of the Fifth district public school of Dayton. The marriage of Prof. Minnich took place in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1885, to Miss Ida M. Mundhenk, a native of the county and of German extraction. Her father, John OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 683 Mundhenk, is now deceased, and her mother is a resident of Dayton. Mrs. Minnich was educated in the Pyrmont public schools and in the Lebanon normal school, became a teacher and was an assistant to Prof. Minnich at the time of her marriage. Prof, and Mrs. Minnich are consistent members of the United Brethren church of Dayton, and the professor, while not controlled by party lines, manifests a strong inclination toward republicanism. Fraternally, he is a Knight of Pythias, and socially he and his wife occupy a very prominent position among the citizens of Dayton. <*S~*\ EV. D. R. MILLER, D. D., general I /<^ manager of the Union Biblical semi- _W nary, at Dayton, Ohio, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, on June 13, 1835. In the same year his parents moved from Fairfield county to what is now Auglaize county, Ohio, where he was reared on a farm and secured a portion of his education in the district school. When quite young, however, he became identified with manufacturing in- dustries and mercantile interests, which ex- perience greatly aided in the development of his business qualities. While thus engaged he obtained further education through attending select and special schools, until he was fully equipped and obtained a certificate for teach- ing, which he followed for a time. Dr. Miller joined the United Brethren j church in 1848, and entered the ministry of that church in i860. For over thirty years he has been an active member in the Sandusky conference of this church, which conference embraces the larger portion of northwestern Ohio. With this conference he still sustains active relations, and has represented it in all of the general conferences since and including that of the year 1873. He was a member of the board of trustees of the Union Biblical seminary from 1873 to the time of his election as general manager in 1885. As manager of the seminary he has greatly improved the sur- roundings, and by personal solicitations and attention has secured to the assets and for current expenses of the institution, consider- ably over $200,000. He has been officially connected with Otterbein university as agent or trustee since 1863, and is president of the board of trustees at this time. He was a mem- ber of the board of trustees of the United Brethren Publishing house, at Dayton, for four years, and served eight years on the Sun- day-school board of the United Brethren church. The public career of Dr. Miller has been prominent. He served a term as chaplain of the Ohio penitentiary, and was also superin- tendent of the Girls' Industrial home, of Ohio, for several years. He likewise served for four years as a republican member of the Dayton city council, representing the Fourth ward, his term in that body expiring in 1894. While a member of the council his services were of great benefit to the city. For two years he was chairman of the committee on law, and he prepared or revised most of the ordinances pertaining to street railroad fran- chises, and was the principal author of the measure providing for the transfer system now in force governing street railways in the city of Dayton. He was one of the special com- mittee of the city council, instrumental in securing concessions from the Natural Gas company, which provided for an independent line for Dayton, a pumping plant, and a fixed pressure of two and a half ounces to be main- tained throughout the city and determined by recording gauges, or in default thereof, a pro- portionate rebate to customers. The price of the gas under this compromise was to be twenty cents per thousand feet. This adjust- ment was considered as the most favorable in 684 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD its terms of any contract ever obtained for the city of Dayton. But because of the peculiar excitement at the time, this compromise was defeated in the council. Dr. Miller was also one of the special com- mittee appointed by the council to determine the propriety of preserving the old log cabin and to superintend its removal from its former to its present location; and to this he gave special attention, in connection with other rep- resentative citizens, until the cabin was per- manently established on its new foundation. He was also appointed by the mayor as a mem- ber of the committee on ship canal, and gave much time to the investigation of that subject. For several years he has been greatly interested in the development and improvement of that part of the city known as the West side, and has been continuously the president of the West Side Improvement association. He has twice been a member of the republican exec- utive committee of Dayton, and was chairman of the same during one year. ^ yy -W 1 ILLIAM HARRISON MILLER, one a a of the well-known young members \_\^yl Dayl i bar, was born in the northern part of Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, November 15, 1862. His parents are Benjamin and Mary A. (Zeigler) Miller, both natives of Montgomery county. Benja- min Miller has followed farming to some ex- tent, and was one of the pioneer threshers of this section, he having operated a horse-power threshing-machine between Dayton and Green- ville for many years. He was also in the nur- sery business for a short time; and is at pres- ent engaged in mercantile business at Brook- ville, this county. To his marriage nine chil- dren have been born, eight sons and one daughter, one of the sons being now deceased. William H. Miller was educated in the common schools, Randolph township high school, Antioch college, Ohio Wesleyan uni- versity, and the Ohio normal university. He also took a law course at the last named insti- tution, graduating there in 1892, with the de- gree of LL. B. He taught school at different times for a period of about nine years, and during two summers taught the normal school at Greenville, Ohio. He began reading law with Julian Irwin, of Greenville, was admitted to the bar in Indiana in 1893, and in Ohio in October, 1894. He began the practice at Marion, Ind., came to Dayton in 1894 and opened an office, and has since continued in general practice. Mr. Miller was married June 7, 1893, to Esther C. Trump, of Castine, Darke county, Ohio, daughter of William K. Trump. Mr. Miller is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters, in which order he is the high counselor of Ohio. He is also a member of the Modern Knights' Fidelity league. All of the children of Benjamin Miller and wife who have attained their majority are fol- lowing professions: V. L. Miller, M. D., is a practitioner of Brookville, Ohio; H. W. and C. B. are druggists. >-j* M. MORGAN, M. D., physician and A surgeon, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Al Atlanta, Ga. , June 15, 1858. His father, H. M. Morgan, was a merchant of Atlanta, dealing largely in cotton and be- coming one of the largest cotton merchants of the south. He removed to the north in 1864, and is now living in Dayton, retired from busi- ness. The mother of Dr. Morgan was born in South Carolina, in 1825, bore the maiden name of Catherine Manguna, and is still living. Dr. J. M. Morgan received his literary edn- cation at Urbana, and at Springfield, Ohio. At the age of twenty-one he went to Cincinnati, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 685 to pursue the study of medicine, and in the last named city married Miss Alfarata M. Smith, daughter of C. W. Smith, M. D., at that time holding the chair of medical juris- prudence in the Physio-Medical college of Cin- cinnati. Dr. Morgrn graduated at Chicago in the spring of 1887; removed to Saint Louis, Mo. , in 1892, where he was appointed to the chair of orificial surgery, in the American Medical col- lege, and in the same year he removed to Day- ton, where he still resides. His office is located at No. 309 West Third street. (D ICHAEL MORAN, liveryman, No. 527 East Fifth street, Dayton, Ohio, was born seven miles from this city, on Hole's creek, June 6, 1857. He is a son of Michael and Johanna (Maher) Moran, both of whom were natives of Tipper- ary, Ireland. They came to the United States some time in the 'thirties, and lived a few years in New York state, but in 1842 removed to Cincinnati, lived there a few years, and then removed to the farm upon which their son Michael was born. Upon this farm the family lived for seven years, and then removed to the old Lovvery farm, four miles north of Dayton, where they lived until the death of Mr. Moran, which occurred in 1878, at the age of fifty- seven years. His wife still survives. They were the parents of seven children, three of whom are still living, viz: Michael, Margaret and Catherine. Both Mr. and Mrs. Moran were reared in the faith of the Catholic church, of which Mrs. Moran is still a devoted member. The paternal grandfather of Michael lived in Ireland all his life, and had but one child. By occupation he was a farmer. The mater- nal grandfather was Lawrence Maher. He also was a farmer, reared a family of nine children, and died in Ireland at an advanced age. Michael Moran, the subject of this sketch, was reared on the farm and received his edu- cation in the district schools. Remaining at home until he had attained his majority, he rented lands and carried on farming on his own account. He then removed to Dayton and engaged in trading. He was married Novem- ber 24, 1886, to Miss Mary Cahill, daughterof James and Catherine (O'Rourke) Cahill. Mrs. Moran died February 11, 1890, a member of the Catholic church. Mr. Moran is a member of that church, and is also a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and of the Knights of Saint John. As a democrat he served two years as supervisor of Butler township, not- withstanding that township was usually re- publican. After his marriage he returned to the farm, but upon the death of his wife he again came to Dayton, in 1890, and for two years was en- gaged in teaming. In 1892, Mr. Moran en- tered upon the livery business, being at first located at No. 2013 Fifth street, but in Octo- ber, 1893, removed to his present location. Having lived in Montgomery county for thirty- nine years, he is well and widely known throughout the county. >--r'OHN MULL, one of the representative m business men of Dayton, was born in /» 1 Warren county, Ohio, July 4, 1844, and is a son of Reuben and Catherine (Spindler) Mull, both of German extraction. Reuben Mull was born in Lancaster county, Pa., October 7, 1808, and in the same place Catherine Spindler was born October 3, 1809'. Reuben was a wagonmaker and farmer, and in May, 1835, came with wagons to Ohio, locat- ing near Lebanon, Warren county, where he followed his trade until 1851. He then rented a farm and followed agriculture until his death, June 24, 1873, his widow surviving until Sep- r„s<; CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD tember 7, 1892. The family comprised nine children, all of whom are still living, and are named Elizabeth, Isaac, Henry, Joseph, Ben- jamin, Mary, John, Charles and George. John Mull grew to manhood on his father's farm in Warren county, and was educated in the public schools. March 26, 1864, he en- listed in company A, Seventy-ninth Ohio vol- unteer infantry, and served in the Twentieth army corps, under Gen. Hooker. His first battle was at Resaca, Ga., May 15, 1864, where his regiment charged a rebel battery and captured four pieces of artillery; his next en- gagement was at Burnt Hickory, or Dallas, May 25, 1864; then New Hope church, June 15, where the regiment suffered severely; June 23 there was another engagement, and follow- ing this he was in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, June 27, and at the severe engage- ment at Peach Tree Creek, July 20. The battle of Atlanta followed, hut in this Mr. Mull was not generally engaged; he took part, however, in the siege of that city, which ended in its subjection, September 2, and followed Sherman on to the Atlantic coast, starting from Atlanta November 15, 1864, and taking part in many skirmishes and battles, including Savanna, Ga., and Averysboro, N. O, March 16, 1865. This was the last battle in which Mr. Mull took an active part. Passing through Goldsboro and Raleigh, N. C, and Richmond, Va., the regiment reached Washington, D. C, encamped near the Long bridge, and took part in the grand review, May 24, 1865. Mr. Mull was transferred to the Seventy-third Ohio in- fantry as a member of company D, was pro- moted corporal, and was honorably discharged at Louisville, Ky. , July 26, 1865, never hav- ing lost a day off duty during his very active, but comparatively brief term of service. On his return home he attended the Na- tional normal school nearly two years, and in August, 1868, was employed as clerk and book- keeper in a retail grocery in Lebanon. Twenty- three months later he bought out his employer, and for over a year conducted the business on his own account, closing out in August, 1871. On the 30th of September following he came to Dayton and opened a grocery at the north- west corner of Fifth street and Wayne avenue, but sold out in May, 1875, and went to Cin- cinnati, where he was employed as a traveling salesman, four years being passed in this ca- pacity, during which time he visited nearly every state in the south. In August, 1879, Mr. Mull returned to Dayton and formed a partnership with Charles E. Underwood in the wholesale and retail confectionery trade — the firm now doing an extensive wholesale busi- ness throughout Ohio. Mr. Mull was happily wedded, January 3, 1883, to Miss Katie E. Traebing, a native of Troy, Miami county, Ohio, and daughter of William L. and Katherine (Kline) Traebing, natives of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, but married in Troy, Ohio, in 1856, the maternal grandmother being of French origin. The Traebing children were three in number, Mrs. Mull being the eldest; Alice C. is unmarried, has been a teacher for about twenty-four years, and resides with her parents in Dayton; and Charles Henry is a confectioner by trade, with his residence in Columbus. Mrs. Mull gradu- ated from the Dayton high school and from the normal school of Dayton, and prior to marriage was one of the most successful pri- mary teachers in Dayton, holding one school for eleven years. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Mull has been blessed with two interest- ing little daughters — Ruth Alice, born July 4, 1889, and Lillian B., born April 22, 1891. Mrs. Mull is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is secretary of the Grace church Pastor's Aid society; she is also presi- dent of the society known as the King's Daugh- ters, and past president of the Old Guard OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 687 Woman's Relief corps, G. A. R. , No. 121. Mr. Mull is a member of Old Guard post, G. A. R., and has served as quartermaster. He became an Odd Fellow in 1875, and .at pres- ent is a member of Dayton lodge, No. 273, and Gem City encampment. He is a repub- lican of the best type. Mr. Mull has achieved business prosperity through his own energy and industry, having begun without financial aid. The monetary collapse of 1873 left him worse off than noth- ing; but, with true American grit, he started again and made a success, of which one of the tangible evidences is his present handsome residence, which was constructed in 1885, under his own supervision. He is a progressive, wideawake citizen, of generous impulses and liberal propensities, as well as refined tastes, being passionately fond of flowers and taking great interest in horticulture. BRANK W. MURPHY, M. D., of Day- ton, Ohio, and one of the successful young physicians of the city, was born near Dayton in 1870, of Scotch and Irish lineage, and is one of the four chil- dren born to Edmund and Mary Murphy. Un- til the age of fifteen years he passed his life on his father's farm, and was then permitted to enter Dennison university, where he expected to take an elective course and to prepare him- self for teaching. Having here finished his lit- erary studies, he entered mercantile life as clerk in a grocery, with the view of earning the money with which to defray his expenses as a student of medicine. He thus secured means sufficient to pay his way through the Pulte Medical college of Cincinnati, from which he graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1894, and has since been engaged in the active prac- tice of his profession in Dayton, meeting with most gratifying success. Dr. Murphy is a member of the Homeo- pathic Medical society of Montgomery county, Ohio, and of the Southern Iowa Medical soci- ety of Des Moines, Iowa. He is a frequent contributor to the New York Medical Journal and to the North American Journal of Home- opathy, and many of his articles have met with the emphatic approbation of the readers of these publications. The doctor is a Knight of Pythias and a member of the K. A. E. O. Dr. Murphy was married, June 30, 1896, to Miss Rhoda G. Brown, of Atlantic, Cass county, Iowa. He has both perseverance and energy, keeping abreast of the advances made in the healing art and the science of medicine, and the success which has already attended his growing practice gives promise of a prosperous professional career. @ EORGE NEDER (deceased) was born June 15, 1828, in a small ham- let in the kingdom of Bavaria, Ger- many. His education, received at several of the renowned colleges of Europe, was a most complete one, thoroughly qualify- ing him for the journalistic career which he afterward adopted. His first venture in this field was the founding and editing of the Wurzburger Journal, in 1854, which paper still exists. Earl}' in the 'sixties Mr. Neder came to this country, being first located at Buffalo, N. Y. , where he became the editor of the leading German papers. He came to Dayton in 1866, and immediately founded the Daytoner Volks- Zeitung, of which he remained the owner and chief editor up to his death. This paper was first issued as a weekly, then as a tri-weekly, and since 1876 it has been issued daily. Mr. Neder's career in the Miami valley was a most honorable one, and while he never be- came conspicuous in public life, his counsel 688 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD was ever sought and recognized. He served as a member of the 'board of education for two terms, and was for several years a mem- ber of the library board. His popularity and influence with the German population, through his paper, were, very great, and his journalistic services in their behalf were thoroughly appre- ciated. His support of any worthy cause was always the result of a sincere conviction, and earned for him the high esteem in which he was held. Mr. Neder was married, in 1849, to Miss Marianna Eckert, which union was blessed with eight children, four of whom survive and are residing in Dayton. His death occurred July 19, 1895, and his remains now lie in Cal- vary cemetery, beside those of his wife, who passed away in 1893. ar TLLIAM T. MOONEY, superintend- ent of the John Rouzer company, contractors and builders, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Jackson town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, June 23, 1848. He is a son of Wesley and Martha (Clemmer) Mooney, the former a native of Vir- ginia and the latter of Pennsylvania. They were the parents of seven children, two sons and five daughters, four of the seven children still surviving, as follows: Mrs. Minerva Grove, Mrs. Fannie Shank, William T. Mooney, and Mrs. Flora Alberts. Wesley Mooney was a farmer, came to Ohio at an early day and settled in Montgomery county, and carried on farming in Jackson township until his death, which occurred in 1856, when he was forty- eight years of age. His wife was a member of the Mount Carmel Reformed church. The father of Wesley Mooney was born in Virginia and was an officer in the war of 1812. He was one of the earliest pioneers of Ohio, and died in Miami county at the age of ninety- four. By trade he was a shoemaker, and fol- lowed this calling until the later years of his life. He had but one son, Wesley, the father of William T. He possessed many fine traits of character, and was highly honored by the community in which he lived so many years. Martha (Clemmer) Mooney's father, David Clemmer, was a native of Pennsylvania, of German descent and a farmer by occupation. William T. Mooney was reared on the farm in Montgomery county until he was fifteen years of age, and received his early education in the district schools. Afterward he came to Dayton and learned the trade of carpenter and builder, which he followed as a journeyman for some years. Then, buying an interest in the Rouzer planing mill, he was for eighteen years a member of the company owning and operating it. Selling his share in this business, he was actively engaged for five years in con- tracting, at the end of which time he again purchased an interest in the mill, accepting the superintendency of the establishment, which position he still retains. This mill fur- nishes employment for from seventy-five to 100 men and is one of the most successful and prosperous enterprises in the city of Dayton. On February 1, 1871, Mr. Mooney was married to Miss Martha J. Oldfather, daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth (Pence) Oldfather, the former of whom was a native of Pennsyl- vania and the latter of Virginia. To the mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Mooney there have been born four children: Iva M., Ernest V., Mary F. , and Arthur F. Both Mr. and Mrs. Mooney belong to the Fourth Reformed church and Mr. Mooney is a thirty-second degree Mason and belongs to Reed commandery of Knights Templar. He is also a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. When Mr. Mooney first arrived in Dayton he had practically no means whatever, while now OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 691 he is in comfortable circumstances and is one of the substantial business men of Dayton. His establishment has done some very import- ant work, including the erection of the court houses at Columbus, Springfield, Tiffin, and Sidney, Ohio, the opera house at Bellefon- taine, and the residences in Dayton of Mr. Joseph Clegg, Col. Piatt, R. N. King, H. C. Graves, Frederic P. Beaver, beside many other private houses and business buildings in this city. All of these are excellently built and are a credit to the capacity and skill of the company with which Mr. Mooney has his business connection. @AMALIEL C. MYERS, M. D., a well known physician and surgeon of Day- ton, Ohio, was born in Sharonville, Hamilton county, Ohio, September 23, 1848. His parents were Andrew S. and Jane (Crosson) Myers, natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. The grandparents of Dr. Myers on both sides came from Belfast, Ire- land. The father came to Ohio with his par- ents when a small boy, the family locating in Hamilton county. The father has followed farming all his life, and is now in his ninetieth year. The mother died in 1868, at the age of fifty-four years. Dr. Myers was reared in Sharonville and attended the public schools of that place until he reached his fourteenth year. In May, 1S62, before reaching his fourteenth birthday he entered company I, One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, as a corporal, and was mustered out at Camp Den- nison, Ohio, in September, 1865. After the close of the war he attended the Lebanon (Ohio) normal school and graduated in 1873, after a four years' course. He then taught school and at the same time studied medicine with Dr. Creager, of Lebanon, as his pre- ceptor. He graduated from the Cincinnati college of Medicine & Surgery in 1880, came to Dayton in the following year and began the practice of his profession, which he has since continuously followed. Dr. Myers has served two terms as a mem- ber of the city board of health, and one term as county coroner. He has been a member of the medical staff of the Deaconess hospital since the organization of that institution, and is a member of the Ohio state Medical society and of the Montgomery county Medical so- ciety, having served as president and secretary of the latter. Fraternally, he is a member of the F. & A. M., I. O. O. F. and of the K. of P. ; also of the G. A. R. and Ex-Prisoners of War societies, having been for eleven months a prisoner of war at Libby prison, Anderson- ville and Belle Island. Dr. Myers was married, in 1880, to Miss Delia Killoren, a native of Sligo, Ireland. To their happy union one daughter has been born — Genevieve. tV^"\ ORMAN S. NIER, carpenter and M builder of No. 104 North Broadway, r Dayton, Ohio, was born in LeRoy, Genesee county, N. Y. , February 1 1, 1833. His paternal grandfather was a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, was the founder of the family in America, and died when the fa- ther of Norman S. was seven years of age. Henry G. and Catherine (Shook) Nier, parents of Norman S., were schoolmates in Dutchess county, N. Y., and were reared and married in the same neighborhood. The fa- ther was a farmer, and to him and his wife ware born two sons and two daughters, viz: Catherine, wife of James Cashan, now resid- ing in Monroe county, N. Y. ; Sylvester, of Grand Rapids, Mich., died in August, 1896; Norman S. , the subject of this memoir, and 692 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Mary A., widow of John Van Valkenburg and now residing at Orchard Lake, Mich. Norman S. Nier was reared to manhood in his native county, received his education in its public schools and at the Lima, Livingston county, N. Y. , seminary, and in his young manhood learned the carpenter's trade, and also served an apprenticeship at the jeweler's business. August 5, 1862, he enlisted in com- pany I, Eighth New York heavy artillery, as the regiment was called at the time of his en- listment, being afterward known as the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth New York infan- try. This regiment was first assigned to gar- rison duty at Fort McHenry, Federal Hill, Baltimore, Md., and also to Forts Carroll and Marshall, until May, 1864, when it was ordered to join the Second army corps at Spottsylvania, Va. At this place Mr. Nier re- ceived a wound which confined him in hospital until the December following, but rejoined his regiment before Petersburg and remained at the front until the close of the war. He was honorably discharged at Bailey's Cross Roads June 5, 1865. The first marriage of Mr. Nier took place November 25, 1856, to Miss Catherine Shook, of Mount Clemens, Mich. She was born No- vember 25, 1835, and for several years before marriage was a school-teacher. She bore her husband three children, viz: Mary, married to Henry Bartlett and residing in Rochester, N. Y. ; Caroline, the wife of Joshua Webster, farmer and machinist, living in Monroe county, X V., and Edgar, who died in infancy. Im- mediately after his discharge from the army, Mr. Nier joined his wife and two children, then living in Genesee county, N. Y. , where he remained an invalid for three years. He then moved to Rochester, Monroe county, in the same state, where his wife died April 19, 1880. His second wife, whom he married No- vember 30, 1882, was a Mrs. Almeda Morden, and a native of Canada, where she married her first husband, who died in Elmira, N. Y. Leaving Rochester in 1892, Mr. Nier became an inmate of the national military home at Hampton, Va., but nine months later was transferred to the Central branch of Dayton, Ohio, and partially regained his health in this more congenial clime. He died December 25, 1896. As he was unable to engage in any se- vere physical labor, he was employed on the home force of carpenters, he being an adept in that trade; but his pleasant residence was with his devoted wife, at No. 104 North Broad- way. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Union Veteran Le- gion, politically a republican and in religion adhered to the Methodist Episcopal faith, be- ing a constant attendant of that church. Kf) EV. JACOB G. NEIFFER, pastor I z 1 ^ of Saint John's Evangelical English V Lutheran church, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Montgomery county, Pa., and is a son of Christian and Kathrina (Von Grabenstein) Neiffer, natives of Wurtemberg, Germany, of whom further mention will here- after be made. Rev. J. G. Neiffer received his preliminary education in the public schools of Philadel- phia; he acquired his literary education at the Pennsylvania college of Gettysburg, Pa., be- tween the years 1861 and 1863, and in the last-named year entered Franklin & Marshall college, Lancaster, Pa., from which institution he graduated in the classical department in 1865. He then entered the Evangelical The- ological (Lutheran) college at Philadelphia, pursued his studies there for three years, and June 10, 1868, was ordained to the ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran church. His first call was to Saint Mark's church, at Rich- mond, Va., where he officiated two years, and OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 693 then accepted a call to Saint John's church, at Salisbury, N. O, where he remained five years; he then came to Ohio, and for ten years had charge of Saint Paul's church in Lima. In May, 1885, he was called to his present work in Dayton. Here the labors of Mr. Neiffer have been of the most satisfactory character. When he assumed the onerous duties pertaining to Saint John's congregation, in 1885, now eleven years ago, the member- ship numbered about sixty, the congregation was about $3,000 in debt, and its most san- guine members were in a state of great dis- couragement. Since the advent of Mr. Neif- fer, however, this indebtedness has been can- celled, the membership has been increased from sixty to 500, and a new church edifice, to be one of the handsomest in the city, is in contemplation, and it is hoped that it will be completed within the present year, with a seat- ing capacity of about 700 persons. In 1894 Mr. Neiffer organized Saint Luke's English Evangelical Lutheran mission on Broadway and Germantown streets, West side, Dayton, and for this mission he preached during the first year of its existence; it now has a chapel of its own, and Rev. John Webber, of Lon- don, Ohio, was elected pastor and assumed charge January 1, 1897. It will thus be seen that Mr. Neiffer has not been idle since he has been a resident of Dayton, and that his labors in the Master's vineyard have not only been very great, but have been most happy in their results. Rev. Mr. Neiffer, also, had attained con- siderable eminence as a classical tutor prior to his entrance upon his ministerial duties, as from 1865 until 1868, while at the theological sem- inary in Philadelphia, he taught Latin and Greek in preparing students for the state uni- versity, and from 1880 until 1885 was profes- sor of the German language in the high school at Lima, Ohio, combining that work with his church labors. Neither has he been remiss in patriotic duty, for in the fall of 1862, during the invasion of his native state by Gen. Lee's army, he volunteered as a militiaman and served most faithfully until the Confederates were driven from Pennsylvania soil, when he resumed his collegiate studies. Christian Neiffer, father of Rev. J. G. Neiffer, married Miss Von Grabenstein in Wur- temberg, Germany. He was a soldier in the Napoleonic war, and came to America in 18 14, having left his native land on account of the political restrictions placed upon its subjects. He was a gentleman of high literary culture, and on reaching Pennsylvania established his home in the eastern part of the state, and en- gaged largely in the manufacture of pottery and also quite extensively in farming. There he died at the age of eighty years, and his widow at the age of eighty-five years. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Christian Neiffer numbered seven sons and five daugh- ters, of which family Rev. Jacob G. was the eleventh in order of birth. Of the sons, two served in the late Civil war, one being killed in the Wilderness campaign, and two others supplied substitutes. Four sons and fourdaugh- ters of the family are still living in the vicinity of Philadelphia, the sons being either physi- cians or lawyers, and the family is one of the most prominent and well known in eastern Pennsylvania. Rev. Jacob G. Neiffer has never married. HBRAM H. NIXON, manufacturer of spraying apparatus, was born within seven miles of Cincinnati, Ohio, De- cember 3, 1 81 3. He is a son of John Nixon, who was born in New Jersey, from which state he emigrated to Fayette county, Pa., where he was married and whence a few years later he removed to Ohio, coming down 694 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the Ohio river on a flatboat, and settling at the place where Abrarn was afterward born. Coming to Ohio at that time, John Nixon was one of the earliest pioneers of the state, which was then only ten years old. Some years later he moved about fifteen miles north of his first location, into Butler county. Here Abram was reared on a farm, his education being re- ceived in the district schools, which were then of a very inferior kind, as much inferior to those of the present day as were the log cabin school-houses, with their puncheon floors and greased-paper widows, to the finely adapted modern school structures. When nineteen years of age he went to Franklin, Ohio, and established himself in business, in the manufacture of cooper ware. Remaining in Franklin for two years, he then removed to Centerville, Montgomery county, where he carried on the same business for three years. At that time there was more pork packed in Centerville than in Dayton. In the spring of 1838, Mr. Nixon removed to Carroll- ton, Montgomery county, where he continued his business on a larger scale than ever before, using machinery in the manufacture of his wares, and being the first to introduce it for that purpose into the county. At that time it was the custom to go to the woods, cut the timber and haul it to the cooper shops in wagons; but Mr. Nixon soon found that to be too tedious and laborious a method, and con- ceived the idea of going into the forest, there cutting the trees up into staves, and hauling them to the cooper shop in canal boats. He was, in fact, the first to bring a canal boat load of cooper stuff to Carrollton. Mr. Nixon was married in Carrollton to Miss Mary Ann Cotterill. who was born in Brown county, Ohio. He continued to reside in Carrollton for nineteen years, and in 1857 removed to Dayton, where he has resided ever since. In 1852 he disposed of his cooper busi- ness and engaged in buying and selling leaf tobacco, which was then just beginning to be raised in Ohio. After locating in Dayton he continued in the tobacco business and has re- tired from active business only within the last three years. Mr. Nixon shipped the first car load of tobacco out of Dayton, over the Day- ton & Sandusky railroad. This was in 1853, when that was the only railroad in the city. Mr. Nixon, becoming interested in the manu- facture of spraying apparatus, was the first in the United States to make a specialty thereof. In i860 A. C. Nixon became engaged in the tobacco business with his father, since whose retirement from active business he has carried it on alone. Abram H. Nixon is the oldest dealer in cigar leaf tobacco west of the Allegheny mountains and is well known^ all over the country, as a man of probity and in- tegrity. A long career of honorable business activity has rendered Mr. Nixon's life a worthy example for the emulation of the young men of the present day. t/^ ARRY S. MURPHY, junior member 1/"^ of the law firm of Patterson & Mur- JK^9 phy, was born on a farm three miles east of Dayton, Ohio, August 26, 1863, and is a son of Dennis and Catherine Murphy, now residing in Dayton. For seven years he attended Saint Mary's institute, a Catholic school which was established in 1849, for the purpose of giving employment to three teachers then unemployed, and also to estab- lish a better school than any then in existence in Dayton. After the expiration of these seven years he entered the Dayton high school and was graduated there in 1882. After leaving school he accepted a position as reporter on the Dayton Daily Journal, at the same time attending commercial college in order to ac- quire a more thorough knowledge of business. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 697 After completing his commercial course he taught school for some time and then entered the office of Iddings & Iddings. Here he studied law for three years and was admitted to the bar in 1888. In 1889 the partnership now existing between himself and J. C. Pat- terson was formed under the name of Patter- son & Murphy, and their practice has been a prosperous and growing one. Mr. Murphy is a member of the society of Elks, of the Foresters, of the American Sons of Columbus, and of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. For two years he was attorney for the board of education, and in all legal connections and business he has proved him- self a conscientious and safe counselor. >^OHN M. NUTT, one of the well-known m attorneys at law of Dayton, was born A 1 in Sidney, "Shelby county, Ohio, Sep- tember 28, 1852, and is a son of Irwin and Barbara (Persinger) Nutt. Irwin and Bar- bara Nutt were old settlers of Montgomery county, removing thence to Shelby county about 1834. There Mr. Nutt died in 1880, a highly esteemed citizen; Mrs. Nutt still resides on the old farm in Shelby county, venerated and respected for her many amiable qualities by all who know her. John M. Nutt grew up on his father's farm, and secured his education in the common schools, and at Delaware, Ohio, where he at- tended college. For more than twenty years he was engaged in the grain business in Sid- ney, Ohio, Indianapolis, Ind., Quincy, Ohio, and other places, meeting with unusual success. Mr. Nutt was about this time injured by an accidental fall from a building, which incapa- citated him for further active employment, and he therefore selected a profession for his life- work. After reading law for two years he was admitted to the bar in 1888, removed to Day- ton, and there opened an office for the practice of his profession. He practiced alone nearly seven years, and in May, 1894, was appointed United States commissioner. He then formed a partnership with Judge McKemy, under the firm name of McKemy & Nutt, which con- tinues to the present time, and now stands among the prominent legal firms of Dayton. Mr. Nutt was married in 1875 to Miss Ella M. Smith, of Logan county, Ohio, and to this marriage there have been born four sons, as follows: Frank, now eighteen years of age; Irwin, aged fifteen; Cris, twelve years old, and Edmund B. , nine years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Nutt are consistent members of the Broadway Methodist Episcopal church, and, fraternally, Mr. Nuttis a thirty-second de- gree Mason, and also an active member of the Knight Templar commandery at Dayton. In politics, he is a stanch republican, but, while active and ardent in the support of his party and principles, has never sought public office. HLFRED K. OATES, a guide at the national military home, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Manchester, England, February 19, 1836, and when a child of nine years of age was brought to America by his parents, who settled in Allegheny City, Pa., where the father died at the age of eighty years, and the mother, some years later, at the age of eighty-three. The father had been a soldier in the British army, as had also been an uncle. Alfred K. was the youngest of a fam- ily of fourteen children, and of these he and a sister, Mrs. Eleanor Moseley, of Cumberland, Md., are the sole survivors. Alfred K. Oates learned the blacksmith's trade in his youth, and this vocation he fol- lowed until his enlistment, in New York city, April 22, 1861, under somewhat unusual cir- cumstances. Several companies had been WIS CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD formed in Pennsylvania and had offered their services to the governor; but he, believing that the war would soon be brought to a termina- tion, declined to accept additional troops; in consequence of this decision, two of these or- ganized companies paid their own fare to New York, where their services were accepted, and they were accredited to the New York quota, and assigned to company A, Fifth Excel- sior, or Seventy-fourth New York volunteer infantry, the regiment being placed in the com- mand of Gen. Heintzelman. It took part in the siege of Yorktown, Va., and in the entire peninsula campaign; was at second Bull Run, but missed the battle of Antietam, yet partici- pated in all the other battles of the army of the Potomac up to June 22, 1864, when it was honorably discharged. At Gettysburg, Mr. Oates sustained a wound in the head, and as a slight compensation for this injury was award- ed a pension. After being mustered out of the service Mr. Oates returned to Pittsburg, Pa., and resumed his trade, working for the Carnegie company eighteen years. In 1865, he married Miss Sarah Whittaker, a native of England, but reared from childhood in Mexico. She died in 1882, a true wife and the exemplary mother of two sons and two daughters. Of these chil- dren, George is a master painter for the Pitts- burg, Virginia & Charleston railroad company, and resides in Monongahela City, Pa. ; Mary is the wife of Miles Hollinger and lives in Pitts- burg, Pa. ; Elizabeth, twin of Mary, is now Mrs. Hawkes, of Irwin Station, Westmoreland county, Pa., and William, unmarried, is an employee of the Pittsburg, Virginia & Charles- ton railroad, with his home in Pittsburg. Mr. Oates entered the Central branch of the national military home, Dayion, Ohio, in September, 1892, for a short time was em- ployed in light labor, and three years ago was appointed to his present position, in which he has proven himself to be courteous and oblig- ing, giving perfect satisfaction to all concerned. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, of the Union Veteran Legion, and of the Knights of Maccabees. In politics he is a republican. lS^\ OBERT O'DONOGHUE is a member I /"^ of Hose company, No. 7, located on M . r Xenia avenue, Dayton, and is a na- tive of Ireland, having been born in county Cork, in the city of that name, March 2 7< Ii ^39- He continued on Irish soil until the year 1852, when he came to this country, and made his home in this city. He was brought over by a party of relatives, his par- ents having died when he was a child. He found his way to the home of an uncle, who lived in Greene county, six miles from this city, in the village of Kinsley, and was an in- mate of his family until the breaking out of the war. Then the Irish lad, now a sturdy young man of twenty-one, was among the first to offer his services for the protection of his adopted country. He enlisted among the 1 oo-day men, but was not called into active service. August 20, 1 86 1 , he enlisted in this city for three years, and was assigned to company F, First Ohio volunteer infantry, and with his regiment became a part of the army of the Cumberland, being under the com- mand of such distinguished officers as Buell, Rosecrans, Grant, Thomas and Sherman. Private O'Donoghue participated in every bat- tle and skirmish in which his regiment was en- gaged, never missed a roll call, and was never absent from his place of duty. After the bat- tle of Stone River he was promoted to be a ser- geant, and finally to the responsible position of first sergeant, which he held at the time the regiment was mustered out of service. At Chickamauga he was slightly wounded, but OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 699 did not leave the field. When its term of en- listment expired the regiment offered its serv- ices as veterans, but the close proximity of the rebel general, Longstreet, with a large force at the front in east Tennessee, kept them con- stantly busy, and the time for re-enlistment passed. The regiment was finally mustered out of the service at Chattanooga, Tenn., August 17, 1864. Mr. O'Donoghue spent the follow- ing winter at his home in this city, but early in the following spring enlisted for one year in the United States service, and was enrolled as a member of company D, One Hundred and Ninety-eighth Ohio. He served for a short time at Columbus, but was not called from the state, Lee's surrender having virtually termi- nated the war. Upon his final retirement he once more came to Dayton, and here he has made his home to the present day. Mr. O'Donoghue was employed for several years in a paper mill, and afterward in the dis- tilleries, this latter business having been mas- tered by him before the war. In 1876 he be- gan his service as a member of the city fire department, and his connection with it in vari- ous capacities has been continuous. He mar- ried Miss Ellen Gallagher, a native of Canada, in 1877. There have been born to them six children, all but one of whom are now living. Benjamin Franklin, the eldest, is an appren- tice to the plumbing business; Mary is in the second year in the Dayton high school; Hen- rietta and Nellie are in the city schools; Bes- sie died November 7, 1887, and Robert, Jr., is a young child at home. Mr. O'Donoghue is a member of Wayne lodge, No. 10, I. O. O. F. , the Old Guard post, G. A. R., and of en- campment, No. 145, Union Veterans Legion. He is associated with the Episcopal church, and adheres politically to the republican party, having always voted that ticket, except on the occasion of his first vote, which was cast for Stephen A. Douglas. >y*AMES P. O'NEILL, correspondent at J the soldiers' home, near Dayton, Ohio, A ■ for the Commercial-Tribune and the Post, of Cincinnati, was born in Phila- delphia, Pa., February 22, 1844, and in 1846 was taken by his parents to Pittsburg, where he was educated, primarily, in the parochial school of Saint Paul's cathedral, and at the age of thirteen years was sent to Saint Michael's seminary to be educated for the priesthood. While there engaged in study, Bishop Henry- Elder, of Natchez, Miss. — now archbishop of Cincinnati — visited the seminary, in i860, and requested that three students be selected, to be sent to Rome and educated in the American college in that city, and young O'Neill was selected as one — the time set for their de- parture being 1861. The Civil war being then imminent, the project was frustrated, and James continued his studies in the seminary until August 22, 1862, when he enlisted in company E, One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Pennsylvania volunteer infantry. The first battle in which he took part was at Fredericksburg, Va. , December 13, 1862, and the next at Chancellorsville; he was in the battle of Gettysburg, and next went on the Mine Run expedition. The winter of 1863-4 was passed in guarding the Orange & Alexan- dria railroad, between Centerville and Fal- mouth, Va. With the opening of hostilities in the spring of 1864, and after the three days' fighting in the Wilderness, he was disabled by a wound in the right groin, in the battle of Laurel Hill. He was in consequence trans- ferred as an invalid to the veteran reserve corps, as a member of company D, Ninth regi- ment, and stationed at Washington, D. C, but was soon afterward detailed as clerk in the office of Gen. H. H. Wells, then provost-marshal- general of the defenses south of the Potomac, and afterward military governor of Virginia, under the reconstruction act. Mr. O'Neill's 700 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD duty was principally the keeping of records of deserters apprehended for bounty-jumping, etc., a very pleasant position, as he had all the privileges of the life of a civilian. June 29, 1865, he received his final discharge from the service, and returned to the parental home in Pittsburg. In September, 1865, Mr. O'Neill entered the Cathedral high school as teacher, remain- ing one year, and the following year he was employed as brakeman on the Pennsylvania railroad. In September, 1868, he was ap- pointed telegraph editor and proof-reader on the Pittsburg Post, and was connected with that journal for about six years, the last two years as city editor. Following this, he worked as a reporter for almost every newspaper in Pittsburg, continuing in journalistic work until 1892. During this period he was also associ- ate editor of the Catholic Journal, with a corps of nine clergymen as editors, contribu- tors, etc. , and for several months was proof- reader for Rand, McNally & Co., of Chicago. August 19, 1892, Mr. O'Neill was admit- ted to the national military home at Dayton, where for the first six months he was engaged as clerk in the hospital, and then, for four or five months, as clerk in the Central depot. During the past three years he has employed his time principally as correspondent for the Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune and the Post. As a writer he has both wit and brevity, with the faculty for condensation which is so nec- essary to success in the reporter's work. Mr. O'Neill was married, in Pittsburg, August 24. 1870, to Miss Caroline A. Schell, a lady of German extraction, with whom he lived most happily until 1876, when Mrs. O'Neill became demented, and the succeeding seventeen years of her life were passed in an asylum in Pittsburg, where the end came in March, 1893. Of the three children born to this marriage, the youngest died in infancy and the two surviving were reared to manhood by their paternal grandmother. James J., the elder of the two, now twenty-five years of age, is a salesman and window-trimmer in a dry- goods house in Carnegie, Pa., and Charles J., aged twenty-three, is employed in the Home- stead steel works.' Fraternally Mr. O'Neill is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Union Veteran Legion, having joined encampment No. 1, of the latter order, in Pittsburg, on its organization, and having transferred its membership to encampment No. 83, at the soldiers' home, being the pres- ent adjutant of this camp. In 1868 he be- came a member of the Second brigade band, and served as its president and leader for five years. In his politics he was a democrat in his earlier years, and voted with that party until the defeat of Gen. W. S. Hancock for the presidency of the United States, since which time he had affiliated with the repub- lican organization. @EORGE W. OZIAS, attorney at law of Dayton, Ohio, was born January 28, 1863, at Farmersville, Montgom- ery county, Ohio, and is a son of David Ozias, a native of Lewisburg, Preble county, Ohio. When George W. was a child his parents removed to Kenton, Ohio, and there he was reared and educated, graduating from the Kenton high school when he was six- teen years of age. David Ozias remained in Kenton with his family until 1887, when he removed to Dayton. George W., almost im- mediately after graduating at Kenton, as above mentioned, entered the freshman class of the Ohio Wesleyan university, at Delaware, re- maining there throughout the regular four years' course, and graduating when he was twenty years of age. He then went to Cin- cinnati, and in the fall of 1883 entered the jUy >r_ /C ~^ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 703 Cincinnati Law school, taking a thorough course in law, and graduating from that institution in 1886. His expenses, while at Delaware, he paid by teaching school in vacations, and those incident to his attendance at the law school by working for Bradstreet's Commercial agency. Immediately upon completing his course in Cincinnati, Mr. Ozias located in Dayton, and there became the manager of Bradstreet's Commercial agency for the district whose head- quarters were in that city, and this position he held for five years. Severing his connection with this agency, on November 1, 1 891, he opened an office and began the active practice of the law on his own account. Later he formed a partnership with Benjamin F. Her- shey, which continued from January 1, 1893, to about January 1, 1895. This connection was then dissolved, and Mr. Ozias remained alone until March 1, 1896, when he formed a partnership with Judge Calvin D. Wright, formerly of Troy, Ohio, Wright & Ozias hav- ing since been engaged in general practice. January 4, 1894, Mr. Ozias was united in marriage with Miss Blanche B. Whealen, who was born in Dayton, March 2, 1873, a daugh- ter of Charles and Elizabeth (Corson) Wheal- en, natives of Montgomery county, Ohio. Mr. Whealen is district manager of the Amer- ican Strawboard company, and a well known citizen and business man, of whom mention is made on another page. Mr. Ozias is a republican in politics and a member of the Masonic fraternity. He is an able and ambitious young man, and has made a creditable record in his profession. ®L TLLIAM S. O'NEILL, wholesale dealer in and packer of leaf tobacco, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Franklin county, Pa., October 17, 1838. He is a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Sherman) 25 O'Neill, the former a native of county Antrim, Ireland, and the latter a native of Pennsyl- vania. To this marriage there were born seven children, three sons and four daughters, five of whom are still living, as follows: Mary, widow of Jacob Yost; Ann Elizabeth, wife of John Albright, of Kokomo, Ind. ; Dr. Salisbury Eugene, of Ottumwa, Iowa; William S., and Jennie, wife of Dr. Souders, of Beavertown. The two deceased children were John, who, during the Irish famine, went to Edinburgh, Scotland, as a representative of and reporter for the Philadelphia Ledger, and died there, and Marcellus, who died in infancy. Charles O'Neill was by occupation a con- tractor, and came to the United States in the interest of an English syndicate to superintend the construction of the Cumberland Valley railroad. Locating six miles east of Cham- bersburg, Pa., he lived there and in that vicin- ity until his death, which occurred about 1848, being induced by an injury which caused a hemorrhage. His wife survived him many years, and died at the home of her son, Will- iam S., in Van Buren township, Montgomery, county, when she was upward of sixty years of age. Mr. O'Neill was in politics a demo- crat, but never held or sought public office, though he was very fond of the study and dis- cussion of public questions. He superintended the construction of the old Tappewann rail- road from Gettysburg to the Caledonia Iron works, and was then in the employ of Thad- deus Stevens. Mr. O'Neill was a man of va- ried experience and learning. In his youth he was educated for the Catholic priesthood, but refused to act in that capacity. Arthur O'Neill, his brother, was educated to be a Catholic priest and served as such during his lifetime. The wife of Charles O'Neill was in her earlier life a Lutheran, but later became a Catholic. The paternal grandfather of William O'Neill was a native of Ireland, and lived and died in 704 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD his native land. The maternal grandfather, Salisbury Sherman, was a native of New Bed- ford, Mass. , where he was bound as an ap- prentice to a blacksmith. Afterward he learned the trade of cutler, and was foreman of a factory in Chambersburg for a number of years. Then uniting with a company at Gettysburg, he aided in establishing a factory there. At Gettysburg he was married to Cath- erine Whealen. After his marriage he removed to Franklin county, near Chambersburg, lived there sixty-five years, and at the time of his death was ninety-eight years of age. William S. O'Neill was reared a farmer's boy, and received a good education in the com- mon schools of Pennsylvania. For some time he worked for twelve and a half cents per day. In 1858, coming to Dayton, he went thence to Van Buren township, and hired out as a farm laborer on one of the farms which he now owns. Two years were spent in this way, the second year in raising tobacco, and in the win- ter following he chopped cord wood and split rails. In 1864 he purchased ten acres of land in Miami township, having, however, previously purchased property in Carrollton. The ten acres he soon sold and bought forty acres in Van Buren township. Afterward he purchased 160 acres in Mercer county, and still later 148 acres in Van Buren township, Montgomery county, upon which he had worked when he first came to the state. This he still owns, to- gether with thirty-one acres of the above-men- tioned forty, having sold nine acres thereof. For two years he carried on farming in Miami township, but otherwise has been engaged in farming in Van Buren township, with the ex- ception of the past five years, during which time he has lived in Dayton, his residence be- ing at No. 228 Warren street. Beside the land named above as owned by Mr. O'Neill, he owns 100 acres in Washington township. Mr. O'Neill was married, in March, 1863, to Miss Elizabeth Shroyer, daughter of Jacob and Mary (Himes) Shroyer. To this marriage there have been born five children, as follows: Carrie May, Amanda Ellen, Charles Shroyer, Harry Sherman, and Lizzie. Charles Shroyer died at the age of twenty. Carrie May at nine- teen and Amanda Ellen at twenty-one. Mr. and Mrs. O'Neill and their children are mem- bers of the Reform church in Van Buren town- ship, of which he has been a trustee for twenty years. Politically he is a democrat, but has never sought office or any kind of political pre- ferment. He has been a resident of Mont- gomery county since March, 1857, a period of forty years, and the history of his life is one in which may be found the success and prosperity that attend upon industry, thrift and strict integrity of character. ^y^V AVID A. ONKST, one of the leading I contractors and builders of Dayton, S^^J Ohio, was born near Bull's Gap, Greene county, Tenn., April 7, 1859, He is a son of William and Louisa (Thomp- son) Onkst, the former a native of Tennessee, and the latter of West Virginia. They were the parents of eight children, four sons and four daughters, six of whom are now living: Sarah Ann, wife of Jacob B. Martin; James T. ; Emiline, wife of Nathan Martin; David A., William P., and Charles H. Margaret was the name of one that died, and another died in infancy. William Onkst was a carpenter by trade. He removed in 1872 from Tennessee to Little York, Ohio, where he followed farming for one year. From that time on until he retired from active life he pursued his trade, and is now living at Greenville. His wife died in 1873, at the age of fifty-one, a member of the Dunkard church, and a most exemplary wo- man in every respect. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 705 The paternal grandfather, David Onkst, was a native of Germany, and coming to the United States, settled in Tennessee many years ago, dying in that state when upward of eighty years of age. The number of his chil- dren is not now definitely remembered, but it is known that there were at least six. The maternal grandfather, Archibald Thompson, was a native of Virginia, and, like the paternal grandfather, settled in Greene county, Tenn., many years ago, and there died at about eighty years of age. He was a minister in the German Baptist or Dunkard church. David A. Onkst, the subject of this sketch, was but thirteen years of age when brought to Montgomery county by his parents. His early education was received in Tennessee. Arriv- ing in Ohio, he worked on the farm, remain- ing at home until 1874, when he began life on his own account. For two years he worked for his brother-in-law, for his board and clothes, and afterward worked on a farm as a hired man for four years. On the 24th day of February, 1881, he married Miss Viola Den- linger, daughter of Israel and Mary Ann (Gar- ver) Denlinger. To this marriage there have been born two children, viz: Virgin L. and Ellis R. Israel and Mary Ann Denlinger are both natives of Montgomery county. The paternal grandfather was Abraham Denlinger, who was a native of Pennsylvania and was one of the first settlers of Montgomery county, Ohio. He made the first hay rake owned in this county. His wife was a Miller, also a native of Pennsylvania. Three sons and one daugh- ter were reared by the old people. Mr. and Mrs. Onkst are members of the German Baptist or Dunkard church, in which they are active and useful members. In poli- tics Mr. Onkst is a republican, and as such served one term as school director in Ran- dolph township. In the spring of 1889 he moved to Dayton, and for the past five years has been living at No. 31 East Hershey street. Ever since coming to Dayton he has followed street contract work, consisting of grading, graveling, guttering and making cement side- walks. He also has the present contract with the city for sweeping the paved streets. Mr. Onkst is one of those citizens who have done and are doing their full share to make the com- munity prosperous, and is highly esteemed and popular in both city and county. WOHN F. OEHLSCHLAGER, member J of the Dayton city council from the (% J Eighth ward, and proprietor of the Gem City Ale house, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 30, 1856. His parents, Fred- erick and Mary (Kriege) Oehlschlager, were natives of Germany, but came to this country while yet unmarried. They were married in Cincinnati, and in 1859 removed to Dayton, where the former died about 1871, and where the mother is still living. John F. Oehlschlager was reared in Day- ton, and received a common-school education. In 1 87 1, on account of the death of his father, he went to work on a farm in order to aid his mother in the care of the family. He was thus engaged for three years, when he returned to Dayton and went to work for his step-father in the draying business, at which he continued for three or four years. Subsequently he en- tered the employ of Greer & King, stove found- ers, as solicitor, and afterward the service of J. V. Nauerth & Son, wholesale grocers, as shipping clerk and solicitor. Afterward he be- came city solicitor for A. Tegeler, proprietor of the Eagle mills, and remained in this posi- tion for about a year. Mr. Oehlschlager then engaged in business for himself at Trebein's Station, Greene county, Ohio, where he re- mained for about six months, when he sold 706 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD his business and purchased a general store at Alpha, in the same county, at which point he was agent for the express company, ticket agent for the Pennsylvania lines, and post- master After being thus engaged at Alpha for five years he sold out, returned to Dayton, and purchased a half interest in the Dayton Ale brewery, on Brown street. Two years later he sold this interest and purchased prop- erty on the corner of Wayne and Oak streets, establishing himself in his present business. He is now wholesale agent and bottler for the Morrow Brewing company's ales, for the Xenia ales, and for the Schwind. company's beers. Mr. Oehlschlager was married, March 16, 1882, to Elizabeth B. Tegeler, of Dayton. To this union there have been born two chil- dren — William T., now twelve years of age, and Edna, nine years of age. In April, 1891, Mr. Oehlschlager was elect- ed to represent the Twelfth ward in the city council for a term of two years. In Decem- ber, 1894, he was elected to fill out the unex- pired term of Mr. Houser, for the Seventh ward, and in 1895 was elected from the Eighth ward for two years, his term expiring in 1897. Mr. Oehlschlager is a member of Humboldt lodge, No. 58, Knights of Pythias, of the Im- proved Order of Red Men, and also of the Saint Paul's German Evangelical church. He is one of the substantial and respected business men of the city. BRANK J. OTTER, well known as an architect and superintendent of con- struction, oof Dayton, Ohio, is a na- tive ofu London, England, born Octo- ber 19, 1862, and is a son of Joseph and Ann (Dixon) Otter. Joseph lOtter was born in February, 1830, learned his trade of carpenter in his native land, and in 1870 crossed the ocean to Canada, where he remained until 1889, when he fol- lowed his son, Frank J., to Dayton, where the family now reside. The children of Joseph and Ann Otter originally numbered eleven, of whom one died in infancy. Frank J. Otter was trained for his profes- sion in Canada under several of the most noted architects of that country, among whom may be mentioned Hancock & Townsend, of To- ronto; W. G. Storm, the designer of the uni- versity buildings of the same city, and James Connelly, the Roman Catholic church archi- tect. While in Toronto, Mr. Otter was for three years chief of the office of Mr. Storm — a position of great responsibility, and one in- dicative in itself of the advanced architectural knowledge possessed by him. On reaching Dayton, in 1887, Mr. Otter found a field open for the exercise of his archi- tectural skill and mechanical genius, and he at once formed a partnership with Charles I. Williams, and during the six years of its exist- ence this firm designed and superintended the erection of some of the finest buildings in Day- ton and other cities, among which may be enumerated the public library and the Meth- odist church structures in Indianapolis, Ind., the Callahan Bank building — the first business block of any architectural pretentions in Day- ton — the Sacred Heart Catholic church and the Trinity Reformed church edifices, and numer- ous fine private residences throughout the city. In 1893 the partnership between Mr. Otter and Mr. Williams was dissolved, and since then Mr. Otter, by employing a number of able as- sistants, has fully maintained the deserved rep- utation of the old firm, and has done an ever- increasing business, with his well-equipped offices located in the Firemen's Insurance building. Among the more recent plans for fine residences designed by Mr. Otter are those for James C. Reber, cashier of Winter's Na- tional bank; Edward Hochwalt, Gustave OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 707 Stomps, Daniel W. Allaman, Rolla Heikes, Gottlieb Kellner, Charles Moore and other prominent citizens of Dayton. At Miamis- burg he furnished the design for the residence of William Gamble, the banker, and for a busi- ness building for Aull Brothers, and at Dayton, later, the plans for the Hayner Distilling com- pany plant. The marriage of Mr. Otter took place in Toronto, Canada, to Miss Ethel Mounstephen, a native of England, but who was taken to Canada, when a child, by her parents. Three children have blessed this union, and are named Genevieve Ethel, Frank Mounstephen and Blanche Florence. The church relations of Mr. and Mrs. Otter are with the Congrega- tionalists. Fraternally, Mr. Otter is a mem- ber of the I. O. O. F. ; he is a past regent of the Royal Arcanum, and is also president of the National Union. aLIFTON LEANDER PATTERSON, M. D. , physician and surgeon of Day- ton, with office and residence at No. 219 West Third street, was born near Dayton, in Montgomery county, Ohio, Octo- ber 19, 1866. He is a son of William J. and Anna (Ford) Patterson, both natives of Lon- donderry, Ireland, a city beautifully situated on the left bank of the Foyle river, the siege of which is one of the most celebrated events in modern Irish history. Both remained in their native land until they had reached mature years, and then came to the United States, the former coming in 1850 and locating in Carrollton, where he met his future wife. In the common schools he obtained a thorough education, completing it, however, after com- ing to this country. About the time of his marriage he began teaching school, and at the same time engaged in farming on a small scale. This course of life he continued until he re- moved to Dayton, to take a position as princi- pal of the Thirteenth district school of the city, which he held for some time, and is now principal of the Seventh district school. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson are the parents of the following children : Joseph E. , a farmer of Montgomery county; Emma, the wife of Frank Wogaman; William F. , with the Ameri- can Express company; Marcie, wife of W. P. Rice; John C, attorney-at-law, all of Dayton; Rev. James A., of the First Presbyterian church of Fostoria, Ohio; Clifton L. ; Elizabeth, wife of Arthur Johnson, of Dayton, and Robert C, a law student. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson are members of the German Reformed church of Dayton. Clifton L. Patterson received his education in the common schools and at Heidelberg uni- versity. He then taught school for two years, after which he entered the office of Dr. George Goodhue, of Dayton, and after remaining there as a student until thoroughly prepared, he en- tered Starling Medical college of Columbus, Ohio, and graduated as a member of the class of 1893. He then located in the city of Day- ton, where he has since given special attention to diseases of the throat and ear, but also car- ries on a general practice. Dr. Patterson is a member of Miami lodge. Knights of Pythias, No. 32, and of court Cooper, No. 1,567, In- dependent Order of Foresters. He is also a member of Gem City council, No. 1, Fra- ternal Censer. For the last two orders he is examining physician. Dr. Patterson was married December 29, 1892, to Miss Carrie D. Jackson, a daughter of Benjamin and Mary Jackson, of Arcanum, Darke county. Two children, a daughter and a son, born to them, are now deceased. Dr. and Mrs. Patterson are esteemed members of the First German Reformed church, and of excellent standing in society. Politically Dr. Patterson is a democrat, but, like most physi- 708 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD cians, takes little active interest in political affairs. He is assistant surgeon of the Cincin- nati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad company, and is one of the promising physicians and surgeons of the city of Dayton. *y ■ * AMER W. PARROTT, secretary and 1^™^ treasurer of the Parrott Manufactur- P ing company, on Crane street, Day- ton, Ohio, is a native of this city, and was born April 30, 1853. William Parrott, Sr. , his father, was born in Talbot county, Md., January 7, 1799, came to Dayton, Ohio, in 1830, and in 183 1 mar- ried Margaret Ann Willis, also a native of Tal- bot county, Md. Soon after reaching Dayton Mr. Parrott engaged extensively in mercantile pursuits, and was widely known as a man of excellent business capabilities and of unflinch- ing integrity. The old Commercial corner, at the head of the basin, was at that time a noted place, and in that building William and Thomas Parrott commenced the sale of dry goods, when there were but seven stores of that character in the city, all in the same vicinity, away up-town. For several years just prior to his death, William Parrott was a director in the Dayton branch of the State bank of Ohio, and this position he filled with credit to himself and with profit to the insti- tution. After being successfully engaged in business for twenty years, Mr. Parrott retired, in 185 1, to enjoy in quiet the competence which was the reward of his earlier labors. After about seven years thus spent, his death took place January 7, 1858, and the loss of no business man in Dayton, up to that date, had been more keenly felt than his. To the marriage of William Parrott there was born a family of seven sons and four daughters, viz: George, who was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church for some years, but who, on account of a throat trouble, was compelled to relinquish the pulpit and turn his attention to business, and was for fif- teen years associated with the Parrott Manu- facturing company, and who died in 1892; Charles, who is an attorney and was also in the transportation business in Dayton, being a lessee of the canal from the state until 1874, when he went to Columbus, where he is still in active business; William, who was formerly engaged in the milling industry in Dayton, but who died in 1864 from disease contracted in the army; John, who was secretary of the board of public works for several years, with his residence at Columbus, and who also died of disease contracted in the army; Virginia, the wife of J. B. Smith, of Dayton; Henry R. , who was the principal proprietor of the Day- ton Furniture company, and died May 11, 1896; Maggie and Emily, of Dayton; Louisa, who died in 1886; Thomas, who was asso- ciated with the Parrott Manufacturing com- pany and died in 1883, and Hamer W., whose name opens this biography. Hamer W. Parrott received an excellent common-school education, and at the age of seventeen years entered the employ of the Aughe & Parrott Plow Manufacturing company and learned the business thoroughly, passing the forenoons in the shops and the afternoons in the office. In 1872 he took entire charge of the office work and filled the position until 1878, when he went to California, where he passed one year and then returned to Ohio, going to the Hocking valley, where he became secretary of the Union furnace, pig iron pro- ducers. Here he remained until 1882, when he went to Columbus, where, for three years, he was associated with the Ohio Pipe company and then disposed of his interest in that con- cern and returned to Dayton in 1885; for the three following years he was secretary of the Dayton Coal Dealers' association, and from OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 709 1 888 until December, 1892, was general man- ager for Crane & Co. , agents for the National Cash Register company. Mr. Parrott then again associated himself with the Parrott Man- ufacturing company, in which he is a stock- holder. Of this company, Charles Parrott is the president; Hamer W. Parrott, the secretary and treasurer, and Fred W. Nolt superintend- ent. The company manufactures all kinds of steel plows, but its special production is the Aughe plow. The concern also manufactures step-ladders and chairs, this feature having been added in the winter of 1893-94. It em- ploys a force of fifteen men, and its plows are in constant demand throughout the states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Mr. Parrott was married, September 22, 1885, to Miss Lizzie Fowler, daughter of Henry Fowler, an old resident of Dayton, and this union has been blessed with two children — Fow- ler Stoddard and Charles Willis. In politics Mr. Parrott is a republican, and as a business man, as well as socially, occupies a prominent place in the community. «V^VERRY R. PEASE, member of the 1 a city council of Dayton, Ohio, from the Fifth ward, and also a deputy in the office of the county auditor of Montgomery county, was born in West Car- rollton, Montgomery county, August 2 1, 1855, a son of Joseph and Sarah (Cotterill) Pease, natives of the same county. Perry Pease, the paternal grandfather of Perry R., was a native of Suffield, Conn., and came to Montgomery county, Ohio, somewhere about the year 1820, locating at West Car- rollton, where he leased the water-power of the canal, then in course of construction or just finished, and engaged in the milling and distilling business for many years. Joseph Cotterill, the maternal grandfather of Perry R. Pease, was also an early settler of Mont- gomery county, and for many years kept the hotel at Carrollton. Joseph Pease, father of Perry R., was engaged in business with his father until his death in 1861, at the early age of twenty-eight years, leaving his widow, now in her sixty-first year and a resident of Day- ton, and three children — Perry R., Harry (de- ceased), and Carrie, the wife of N. H. Rice, of Dayton. Perry R. Pease was reared in West Car- rollton until fifteen years of age, in the mean- time attending the public schools; he then en- tered the Miami Valley institute, a Quaker college nearSpringboro, Warren county, Ohio, where he was a student for three years, and then returned to West Carrollton and entered the general store of his step-father, being now fully qualified for the requirements of business. In this store he was soon admitted as a part- ner, and so continued for the period of twelve years, and then engaged in the cigar trade, in the same town, for two years. In April, 1882, he came to Dayton for the purpose of becom- ing a traveling salesman for a wholesale gro- cery, but this house having met with financial difficulties, Mr. Pease engaged with an uncle, William F. Fackler, in the painting and paper- hanging business, which proved so satisfactory that he continued to devote his attention to it, and for the past eight years has been a con- tractor in this particular industry. February 12, 1878, Mr. Pease was united in marriage with Louella Pease, born in West Carrollton, November 14, 1857, and a daugh- ter of Perry J. and Lucy (Renley) Pease. Perry J. Pease was born in Virginia and came to Montgomery county, Ohio, when a boy, with his father, Edward Pease, and is now a well-known auctioneer of Dayton. Lucy (Ren- ley) Peace was born in Dayton and is a daugh- ter of John Renley. To the happy union of Perry R. Pease and wife have been born three 710 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD children: Wilbur, born June 18, 1879; Fred- erick, December 29, 1888, and Ruth, Septem- ber 21, 1892. In politics Mr. Pease has always been a re- publican, and has ever been a popular man with his party, for which he has been an act- ive worker. In April, 1896, he was elected a member of the Dayton city council from the Fifth ward, and October 19, 1896, was ap- pointed a deputy in the office of the county auditor, and has faithfully performed his du- ties in both capacities. Fraternally Mr. Pease is a Knight of Pythias, and socially enjoys the esteem of a large circle of friends. eNOS PHILLIP ROBINSON, lecturer, and exhibitor of the cyclorama, Bat- tle of Gettysburg, at the .national mili- tary home, Dayton, Ohio, was born in West Fallowfield, Chester county, Pa., No- vember 27, 1847, and is a son of William and Margaret (Harris) Robinson. The father was also a native of Pennsylvania, and was the son of an English soldier who bore arms in the British army in the days of the American Revolution. William was a farmer in his native state, which vocation he followed until his death, which occurred at the age of seventy-five years; his wife was of Scotch parentage and died when seventy-two years old. Of the family of eleven children born to this couple, Enos Phillip is the ninth in order of birth and is one of the three still surviving, the other two being Mrs. Sallie McNeil, of Oxford, Pa., and Mrs. Serenah Keitel, of Kansas. Of the many young soldiers in the Union army during the late Civil war, not one has a more interesting history than has Enos P. Robinson. His enlistment took place August 7, 1862, in company H, One Hundred and Twenty-second volunteer infantry. He was then but fourteen years of age, and was proba- bly the youngest lad that ever entered the Union ranks for the purpose of bearing a musket. Others, equally young, may have been enlisted as musicians, etc., but it may be as- serted that not another as young as he enlisted to bear arms in defense of his country's flag. The first service to which Mr. Robinson was assigned, as a soldier, was with the army of the Potomac, under Gen. Phil. Kearney. He took part in the battles of second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancel- lorsville, and in the last-named battle lost his left leg, and for eight days lay on the battle- field unnoticed and without attention. At last, he was discovered by the Confederates and taken prisoner, and his leg was amputated by Confedrate surgeons on the field. He was exchanged and sent to the Union army at Aquia Creek, Va., whence he was sent to hospital at Alexandria, Va. When he was able to be removed, he was conveyed by car- riage from Alexandria to Washington, whence he was sent to Philadelphia. But, by reason the neglect of his wound at the time it was received, and for eight days afterward, gan- grene set in and two subsequent amputations became necessary, and these were performed in Philadelphia. After his recovery, the soldier boy was employed for a time in the clothing deparment of the United States ar- senal in the Quaker City. The records of the war department at Washington, D. C, showed that he was killed at the battle of Chancellorsville; but, twenty- five years later, while in Lancaster, Pa., he met Col. E. E. Franklin, who had commanded his regiment in the battle named. Having been personally acquainted with the colonel before enlistment, the families being intimate, the colonel had mourned the soldier boy as dead, and great was his astonishment when confronted by the living witness of his error. &C£ #££ 4&yz^ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 713 Upon leaving Philadelphia, Mr. Robinson attended school at Augusta, Me., for a year and a half, he being then an inmate of the soldiers' home at that point. The home being destroyed by fire, Mr. Robinson was detailed to escort fifty of the inmates to the Central branch home at Dayton, Ohio, where he re- mained two years, being first employed as ser- geant of a company, then as a member of the band, and then in the telegraph department. In 1870, a colony of seven soldiers, including himself, went to Kansas and located home- steads in Dickinson county, where for two summers Mr. Robinson was employed in herd- ing cattle and driving them through from Texas. Returning to Dayton, Ohio, he married, in December, 1871, Miss Hattie A. Snyder, a na- tive of the city, and a daughter of Joseph H. and Rebecca Snyder — the former a native of New York and the latter of Vermont. They were married in Dayton, Ohio, and had a fam- ily of seven children, two only of whom are living: Joseph H., a mechanic of Dayton, and Mrs. Robinson. After his marriage, Mr. Rob- inson was employed by the Third street rail- road company for eleven years, and next, for five years, by the Home avenue railroad com- pany. In 1886, the Dayton & Soldiers' Home Panorama company organized and opened the cycloratna of the battle of Gettysburg, and Mr. Robinson was placed in charge. His lecture evinces careful study of all the details of that turning point of the late Civil war, and is en- tertaining and instructive. Mr. Robinson also owns a photograph gallery at the corner of Fifth street and Wayne avenue, Mrs. Robin- son having the management of the same. Mr. Robinson has been very prominent as a secret society member. He organized the Hiram Strong post, No. 79, G. A. R. , and is its past commander; he is a member of and past grand in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a member of Hope lodge. No. 277, Knights of Pythias, and of division No. 32, uniform rank, of the same order; is ex counsel- or of Putnam council, Order of United Ameri- can Mechanics, and is also chairman of the Dayton Soldiers' Relief commission. In his pol- itics he has always been a republican, and was once elected justice of the peace of Harrison township at a time when that township usually gave about 200 democratic majority, and he has several times served as delegate to con- ventions of his party. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have been members of the First Reform church since 1875, an ^ no couple stand higher in the esteem of the community than the " boy sol- dier" and his amiable wife. HBRAHAM M. OSNESS, M. D., of Dayton, Ohio, although a compara- tively young man, is a physician and surgeon of ability aud skill. He was born in Berdichen, Russia, May 19, 1864, a son of Moses and Anna Osness, the former of whom passed all his days in Russia, and the latter, after the decease o'f her husband, com- ing to America to join her son, the doctor, and being now a resident of Dayton. Dr. Abraham M. Osness was reared in his native land until the age of seventeen, receiv- ing his education in the public schools of the city of Berdichen. At the age mentioned he went to Austria, where he passed one year, and in 1882 came to America and at once located in Dayton, where he learned the trade of ci- gar-making, at which he was constantly em- ployed until 1888. During these six years he was an earnest student, attended high-school and studied at home, and later attended a com- mercial college. He was a constant visitor at the public library, where he was able to add considerably to his stock of knowledge. In 1889 he was placed in charge of a fruit house 714 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD in Greenville, Ohio, as manager, bookkeeper, etc., and in 1890 went to Chicago, 111., to pre- pare himself for the practice of medicine, hav- iag already devoted twelve months or more to the study of that science. At Chicago he en- tered the office of Dr. Meyerowich, under whose preceptorship he pursued his studies, and also entered the college of Physicians & Surgeons, from which he was graduated in April, 1894. Immediately after receiving his degree of M. D., he returned to Dayton and established himself in his chosen profession. He is recognized as a young physician of ex- cellent parts, has already secured a remuner- ative practice, and has been appointed exam- ining surgeon for the K. of H., M. W. of A., the S. of B., and the Germania Life Insurance company. a APT. THOMAS N. PATTERSON is a native of the state of New York, born on the 24th day of February, 1835, in the city of Rochester. His father, Thomas Patterson, also a native of New York, was bona in 1804, of Irish parent- age, the ancestors of the family immigrating to the United States about the year 1791. The mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Jenkins, was born in the Empire state in 1808. These parents died in the years 1864 and 1843 respectively, after rearing two children, Thomas N. and a daughter, Hester, whose death occurred at the age of fourteen. When a small boy, Capt. Patterson was taken by his parents to Detroit, Mich., in the schools of which city he received his educa- tion. After serving an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade and working at the same for some years in Detroit, he went south and spent the four years immediately preceding the war of the Rebellion in the states of Texas and Louisiana. This, as all know, was a very critical period, and on account of his loyal sentiments, which he took no pains to conceal, Mr. Patterson received many broad hints to the effect that his society was no longer agree- able to certain southern gentry, and accord- ingly, in March, 1S61, he took counsel of his better judgment and returned north. On April 19 of the same year he enlisted in company G, Tenth Ohio infantry, in which he served as private for a period of four months. On the 1 ith of September following, he was promoted first sergeant of his company, became second lieutenant January 12, 1862, and on the 1 8th of the ensuing October was commissioned first lieutenant. Ten days prior to the latter pro- motion, Capt. Patterson lost his right arm in the battle of Perryville, Ky., and on returning from the hospital, he was made adjutant of the regiment, serving as such until the expira- tion of his period of enlistment. The cap- tain's army experience embraces some of the most noted campaigns of the war and he took part in quite a number of pitched battles, be- side numerous irregular engagements and skirmishes with guerillas. September 10, 1861, he participated in the battle of Carnifax Ferry, Va., and, during the greater part of the same year, his command was engaged in guer- rilla warfare in West Virginia, beside doing some fighting in old Virginia. The next bat- tle was that of Stone River or Murfreesboro, where his regiment suffered a loss of thirty- three men, though serving as rear guards at the time of the engagement; Chickamauga fol- lowed, where forty brave men bit the dust be- fore the aim of the enemy, and in the bloody battle of Perryvile, Ky., fully one half of the right wing, of which the captain's command formed a part, were killed or wounded. Capt. Patterson accompanied Gen. Sherman's army in the celebrated march to the sea as far as Kingston, Ga., where he was mustered out at the expiration of his term of service on the OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 715 17th day of June, 1864. On the 8th day of the following August, he re-entered the army as first lieutenant of company G, Ninth regi- ment, veteran reserve corps, and served as such at Washington city, where the regiment was stationed for guard duty until the latter part of the ensuing year. For seventeen months Capt. Patterson had command of the military patrols at the national capital and afterward commanded the force that had charge of the aqueduct bridge leading from Washington to Arlington Heights; he com- manded the patrols in Washington on the night of President Lincoln's assassination and had a guard at Ford's theatre when the fatal shot, which deprived the nation of its beloved ruler, was fired. From Washington he was sent to Cincinnati in December, 1865, and there remained until honorably discharged on the first day of July, 1866. For some time after severing his connec- tion with the army, Capt. Patterson was em- ployed in the United States revenue service, and for two years was inspector of distilleries. Later he accepted a position in the sheriff's office of Hamilton county, and was thus em- ployed until 1876, at which time he became an inmate of the Central branch, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, where, with the exception of about two years, he has since remained. For a period of twelve years Capt. Patterson was commissary sergeant and assistant steward at the home, and in 1888 was the republican candidate for sheriff of Montgomery county, having taken his dis- charge from the home on receiving the nomi- nation. Owing to the overwhelming majority of the opposition the captain was unsuccessful, and shortly after the election he went to Ten- nessee, where he made his home for about eighteen months. In May, 1891, he returned to the home, where he has since remained in an official capacity, his first command being company Twenty-nine, from which he was afterward transferred to company Sixteen. He continued in charge of the latter for four years, and on the first day of January, 1896, was placed in command of company Thirty, the largest in the home, a position he still fills most creditably. Capt. Patterson was married, October 20, 1866, at Cincinnati, Ohio, to Miss Frances Shield, a union blessed with the birth of eight children, namely: Frederick N., an employee of the home; Thomas Francis, an electrician at the home; Harry S., clerk in Hotel Atlas, Dayton; William C, tobacconist of Dayton; Blanch J., student in the Dayton high school, and Grace, Ruth and Madge, all attending city schools. The captain was reared in the Epis- copal faith, but of late years has been identi- fied with the U. B. church. He enjoys the distinction of being one of a very few men who served in the field after losing an arm, and his record as a brave defender of the old flag is without a blemish; he is a capable and pains- taking official, a worthy citizen, and all with whom he comes in contact, in any capacity, unite in pronouncing him a most courteous gentleman of the old school. aHARLES PHILIPPS, proprietor of the Riverdale bath and boat house, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Alsace, France, February 22, 1832, and is a son of John and Anna Marie (Fischer) Philipps. These parents were married in Alsace; of their family of two sons and one daughter, Charles is the only survivor. The daughter, named Mary, died in infancy, and Ferdinand, the other son, died near Buffalo, N. Y., at the age of sixty- five years. Charles Philipps was but five years of age when the family came to America and settled on a farm near Buffalo, N. Y., and here the 716 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD parents passed the remainder of their days, their remains being interred near the {arm. Ferdinand succeeded to this property, to which he added other lands, and passed his life on the farm, where, beside following agriculture, he was engaged to some extent in mechanical pursuits until his death. At the age of thirteen years Charles was apprenticed to shoemaking, and, having thoroughly learned the trade, was employed for some thirty years at fine work, and during this period visited many of the larger American cities. But the encroach- ments of improved machinery proved to be seriously detrimental to hand production of shoes and he relinquished his journeyings. He then purchased a place near Buffalo, where he carried on his trade in a small way for a num- ber of years, and afterward became a member of the Buffalo fire department; but by reason of one hand having been crippled by disease, he was at last compelled to abandon both his trade and his position. He then opened a sa- loon on the Terrace in Buffalo, and this he conducted for about seven years. He then built a floating bath house, which proved a source of profit for about ten years, when the structure was destroyed by a violent storm, en- tailing upon him a heavy loss. In 1888 he came with an excursion party to Ohio, and de- siring to adopt a new iocation for business, he came to Dayton and established his present bath and boat house. Here, during the season, hundreds of citizens of Dayton, of all ages, come to enjoy the boating and bathing, while every precaution is taken for their safety; it sometimes happens that bathers become over- bold, and Mr. Philipps has, since in business here, saved no less than eighteen persons from drowning. For these brave and valuable serv- ices he has received appreciative mention in the local press, and very often more tangible evidence of the gratitude of the rescued. Mr. Philipps was married, in Buffalo, to Miss Bertha Webber, who was born in Baden, Germany, in 1841, and this marriage has been blessed by the birth of four sons and three daughters. Of these William C. is a harness- maker and dealer in Dayton and is married; Rose is a dressmaker, and resides with her parents; Albert conducts a boating house at Dayton View; Ida is the wife of Aloysius W. Kling, foreman of Walker's lithographic estab- lishment in Dayton; Edward G. is an assistant to his father; Clara and Frankie are attending school. In their religious faith, the family are true Catholics. Mr. Philipps is a modest, un- assuming gentleman, courteous and attentive to his many patrons. He well deserves the success which now attends him, and is equally deserving of the high esteem in which he is held by the citizens of Dayton, with many of whom his occupation necessarily brings him into association. HNDREW PLOCHER, proprietor of the City Forge & Iron works, at 25 South Wyandot street, is a native of the kingdom of Wurtemberg, Ger- many, was born on the 19th of June, 1850, and is a son of John and Anna M. (Zeller) Plocher. The father passed his entire life in the fatherland, while the mother subsequently came to America and passed her declining years with her children, her death having oc- curred in Dayton, in the year 1882. John and Anna Plocher were the parents of six children, viz: John, a resident of Miamisburg, Ohio, where he is engaged in contracting and build- ing; Andrew, the immediate subject of this re- view; Christian W., who is engaged in the bot- tling business at Elyria, this state; Caroline, the widow of John Bitzer, of Crestline, Ohio; Lena, the wife of Jacob Holker, of the same place; and Jacob, whose present residence is not known to the other members of the family. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 717 The father, who was prominently engaged in business as a grain dealer in his native land, died at the age of forty-nine years. He was a zealous and consistent member of the Lu- theran church, and was honored for his ability and sterling worth of character. Andrew Plocher passed the first seventeen years of his life in the land of his nativity, re- ceiving his educational training in the excellent schools of Germany, and familiarizing himself with practical business affairs as an assistant of his father. At the age of seventeen years he emigrated to America, and soon after his arrival here made his way to Dayton, which has ever since been his home. For about eighteen months he found employment on a farm, after which he learned the blacksmith's trade, with which line of work, or that of a like nature, he has ever since been identified. In 1895 he established his present enterprise. The products of the establishment include varied kinds of light and heavy forgings, and in the well equipped works are also manufac- tured wrought-iron fence, railings, etc., of the most artistic design and superior construction, the output finding sale throughout a wide ter- ritory contiguous to Dayton. The mechanical equipment is of the most modern and approved sort, so that the work of manufacture is facili- tated in every possible way. The superior workmanship and thorough reliability of prod- ucts have given the business a marked im- petus from its inception. Mr. Plocher is him- self an expert mechanic, and he maintains a personal direction and supervision of all de- tails of the business. His character is one which commands the respect and esteem of all with whom he has dealings, and he is known as one of the alert and progressive business men of the city, and as one whose success is the just reward of well-directed efforts and un- flagging perseverance. Aside from the City Forge & Iron works Mr. Plocher has other considerable financial interests. He is the owner of much valuable realty in Dayton, and has erected two excellent dwelling houses be- side his shops. Mr. Plocher is a member of the democratic party, while his fraternal relations are with Humboldt lodge. No. 58, Knights of Pythias, and with the Deutschen Ordens der Harugari, in which latter order he was one of the organ- izers of the local body, Victoria lodge, No 67. In the year 1874 Mr. Plocher married Miss Eva Barnhardt, who was born in Wurtemberg, on the 6th of June, 1852, the daughter of John and Lenah Barnhardt. They have three chil- dren — John and Carroll, both of whom are employed in their father's establishment, and Flora, who is still at home. The family at- tend the Lutheran church, and their home is located at No. 1806 East Fifth street. (D AJ. ALPHONSO PETTIT, com- mander of company Twenty-nine, National Home, D. V. S., was born in the city of Belfast, county An- trim, Ireland, April 13, 1838, and is a son of Henry J. and Cornelia (Parsell) Pettit, both natives of the Emerald Isle. The family came to the United States in 1841, and lo- cated near Dayton, Ohio, thence moved to Troy, in which city the elder Pettit became a prominent political factor, having been hon- ored at various times with important official positions. By occupation he was a merchant tailor, and his death occurred in Troy in the year 1867. Mrs. Pettit died in 1844. Maj. Pettit and one sister are the only living mem- bers of a family of three sons and five daugh- ters; the sister is Mrs. Christian N. Copper, who resides at Urbana, Ohio. The others Zachary T., John E., Mary F., Anna M., Cor- nelia E., and Jane died in youth. The early life of Alphonso Pettit was spent 718 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD as a student and mercantile clerk, and he also worked for some years as a carpenter and joiner, which trade he learned while living in the city of Troy. On the 19th of April, 1861, he entered the three months' service in com- pany K, Eleventh Ohio infantry, and on the 28th day of August following, before the ex- piration of his term, he re-enlisted in the For- ty-fourth Ohio, which formed a part of the army of Gen. Rosecrans in the department of West Virginia. During his first service, the major participated in the battles of Red House and Pocotaligo in the Kanawha valley, and shortly after re-enlisting he accompanied his command to central Kentucky, and in 1863 joined Burnside's forces at Knoxville, Tenn. He took part in the battle fought at the last named place, assisted in the capture of Cum- berland Gap, and, in recognition of meritorious conduct, was promoted, March, 1862, second lieutenant of his company. In April, 1864, the regiment having veteranized, the Forty- fourth was re-organized and mustered into service as the Eighth Ohio cavalry, Lieut. Pettit being promoted first lieutenant of his company and adjutant of the regiment. He discharged his two-fold duties most acceptably until May, 1864, at which time he was pro- moted captain and. assigned to the command of company L, Eighth Ohio cavalry. The regiment was assigned that year to Gen. Aver- ill's division and joined Gen. Hunter in the Lynchburg movements, participating in the battles at Piedmont and Liberty, together with the several skirmishes on the advance and re- retreat from Lynchburg to White Sulphur Springs. After this, Maj. Pettit was given command of 500 dismounted men and ordered to report to Gen. Averill at Martinsburg, W. Va., and during the summer of 1864 he participated in all the fighting in the Shenan- doah valley, being on the extreme right of Gen. Sheridan's army in that memorable campaign. He was assistant adjutant of the First brigade, Second division, of Sheridan's cavalry corps and remained with the division, as aid, until after the surrender of Gen. Lee's forces at Ap- pomattox. He was mustered out of the service as captain of cavalry and brevet major, Sep- tember 28, 1865, having passed through nearly four and a half years of active service without receiving any disabling wounds or being absent from his command for any considerable length of time on account of sickness. Returning to Troy, Ohio, at the close of the war, the major engaged in the nursery business near that city, and continued the same with fair success until, in the year 1884, he be- came an inmate of the national home, at Day- ton. Since that date he has served four years as superintendent of national cemeteries at Chattanooga, Tenn., Beverly, N. J., and Fay- etteville, Ark., and, beside filling various offi- cial stations at the home, has been for some time commander of company Twenty-nine. During his connection with the home Maj. Pettit has won the confidence of all classes, and the good will entertained for him by the executive head of the institution is a compli- ment to a most deserving and capable official. Mr. Pettit and Miss Sarah M. Baker were united in marriage in 1874, a union cruelly severed by the death of the wife one year later; she left a daughter, Judith, now the wife of William McLean, of Galena, Ohio. The major is a member of the I. O. O. F., Knights of the Golden Eagle, I. O. R. M., and G. A. R. ; politically he is a stanch supporter of the democratic party. V^VROF. WILLIAM J. PATTERSON, 1 M late principal of the Seventh district public school of Dayton, Ohio, is a native of Ireland, of Scotch-Irish par- entage, and was born February 15, 1833. He OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 719 received his elementary education at Coleraine, Londonderry, and in 1 851 came to America, following a brother, Joseph, who had preceded him by two years. In 1854 he was followed by his parents, Joseph and Elizabeth (McVicker) Patterson, who first located in Dayton, but later removed to Oxford, where both parents passed the remainder of their days. The fam- ily comprised seven children, viz: Joseph, now the owner of a 600-acre farm in Coffee county, Tenn. ; William J.; Martha, wife of Henry Halteman, a farmer of Preble county, Ohio; Eliza, widow of John Dugan, and now a resident of Rockwood, Tenn., her husband having been killed in a railroad accident ; Annie, wife of Isaiah Douglass, a farmer of Oxford, Ohio; Mrs. Sarah Lindsay, of Nebraska; and Margaret, wife of Edward Weingardner, of First street, Dayton. Prof. Patterson has been a resident of Day- ton since 1 85 1 , when the city contained a popu- lation of but 16,000, with no buildings of any pretentions to architectural beauty or con- struction, or of any considerable monetary value; in fact, the majority of them were either log or frame, with an occasional brick struct- ure at the more populous or business points of the town. The most speedy means of com- munication and travel between Dayton and Cincinnati was by canal packet in his early residence here, and he was a witness to the laying of the first railway track to enter the city, that of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Day- ton road. As to the other great changes which have taken place during the interval of forty- five years, only those who survive from that early day can fully realize their magnitude. On first locating in Dayton, Prof. Patter- son attended school in Carrollton for two years and then began teaching. The first teachers' examination was held in the old academy which stood on the site of the present Central school building of Dayton, and which was the old Central high school site; the examiners were James Campbell and John Hall, both for many years afterward employed as teachers in the same high school. Prof. Patterson began his work as a tutor in a typical log school-house on the farm of Rev. Mr. Heineker, near Miamisburg, and has the unusual record of hav- ing been a school-teacher in the district and vil- lage schools of Montgomery county for over forty years. In 1890 he was elected principal of the Thirteenth public school district of Day- ton, in which he served most effectively for two years and a half, and was then appointed to a similar position in the Seventh district, which he has since filled with ability. The marriage of Prof. Patterson took place March 18, 1855, to Miss Anna Ford, who was born in Castlebar, Ireland, in 1833, and came to America an orphan child. This marriage has resulted in the birth of nine children, of whom Joseph Edward is a prosperous farmer, living near Dayton; Emma is the wife of Frank Wogaman and resides in the city; Will- iam F. is in the employ of the American Ex- press company; John Charles is an attorney at law and a prominent member of the Dayton bar; Rev. James Albert is a talented minister of the Presbyterian church at Fostoria, Ohio; Martha is married to William Rice, general agent at Dayton for the Jackson Coal com- pany; Dr. Clifton L. is a successful member of the medical fraternity; Mrs. Lizzie Johnson, whose husband is bookkeeper for the Buckeye Iron & Brass works, and Robert C. , a student in the Cincinnati Law school. The family are all members of the First Reformed church of Dayton, having been reared in the Scotch Presbyterian faith. Prof. Patterson has been always active in church and Sunday-school work; in politics he has invariably sided with the democratic party, although he has never been a partisan for personal ends. As an office-holder, he has 720 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD been content to serve seven years as a member of the board of county examiners of teachers — an office for which he is peculiarly well quali- fied — and as a patriot, he served ioo days in the One Hundred and Thirty-second Ohio vol- unteer infantry during the late Rebellion. Wl 'ILLIAM G. POWELL, one of the younger members of the Dayton bar, was born in Wayne township, Montgomery county, Ohio, Decem- ber 29, 1867. His parents are John and Esther (Wells) Powell, the former of whom was born in Gloucestershire, England, and the latter at Culpeper Court House, Va. They were married in Tippecanoe, Ohio, and moved to Montgomery county, where Mr. Powell engaged in farming about six miles north of Dayton, in Wayne township. There he is still residing and has served three terms as jus- tice of the peace of that township. He is a substantial farmer and a useful citizen, held in high estimation in that community. William G. Powell was reared on his fa- ther's farm and attended the neighboring dis- trict schools until he reached his fifteenth year. In 1883 he entered Otterbein university, and was there in attendance three years. For three years afterward he taught school in the country and in 1891 came to Dayton and en- tered the office of S. H. Carr, where he read law for one year. He was admitted to the bar in 1892, his short course of preparation for admission being accounted for by his hav- ing read law extensively while engaged in teaching, as he had the profession of the law in mind even at that early day. On August 8, 1892, he entered upon the practice of his profession, being alone until February, 1894, when he formed a partnership with George M. Leopold, the firm name being Leopold & Powell, which partnership still continues. In the fall of 1891 he was elected clerk of the county board of elections, serving one year. In 1893 he was elected to the office of deputy to the state supervisor of elections, and was re-elected in 1894, 1895 and 1896, holding the office at the present time. He is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias and also of the Garfield club, from which his political affiliations may readily be inferred. Mr. Powell is devoted to his profession, in which there is every promise of his achieve- ment of a gratifying success. aOL. HARLEY H. SAGE, of tb,e na- tional military home, near Dayton, is a native of Pickaway county, Ohio, was born February 23, 1835, ar, d pa- ternally is of Welsh descent. Two of his great-grandfathers were patriots in the war of the Revolution, and his father and father's fa- ther were soldiers in the war of 1812. Henry Sage, the father of the colonel, was an early settler of Pickaway county, was prominent as a Freemason and as a citizen, and died in April, 1865, at the age of seventy-one years; the colonel's mother, who bore the maiden name of Amanda Hayden, was a native of New York, and died in 1878, when eighty-four years old. Harley H. Sage grew to manhood in his in his native county, received a good academical education, attended Kenyon college one year, and read law in Circleville until fire was opened on Fort Sumter, when he enlisted in com- pany B, Thirteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, in April, 1 86 1, at the time the regiment was being re-organized for the three years' service, and was elected second lieutenant of his com- pany. About six months later he resigned his commission and assisted in recruiting the Forty-third Ohio infantry, serving as private from October 8 until December 29, when he J OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 723 was commissioned captain by Gov. Tod, and placed in command of company E, of the Forty-third, in which capacity he served until after the battle of Corinth, when, October 8, 1862, he was made major of his regiment. He resigned this commission in 1863, at Bolivar, Tenn., returned home, was actively employed in the recruiting service, and was elected colonel of the Ninety-second Ohio national guard; upon the re-organization of the camp of instruction, he was appointed commander and instructor at Athens and Portsmouth, Ohio, and filled this position until the call for 100- day men was made, when he reported at Camp Dennison. Here his recruits were consolidated with the Mahoning county battalion, and mus- tered in as the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Ohio volunteer infantry, of which regiment he was appointed colonel, and with this rank served until the close of the war. To recapit- ulate: In the Thirteenth, Col. Sage served in Virginia and took part in the battle of Carni- fax Ferry. With the Forty-third, he fought at New Madrid, Island No. 10, and Tipton- ville, was with Pope in his attempted capture of Memphis, and in the siege of Corinth. With the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth, he served in West Virginia, also in front of Richmond and Petersburg, Va. , and through the campaign of the peninsula; was with Butler at Bermuda Hundred and then had command of the en- trenched camp at Norfolk; he next took his regiment on a raid to Elizabeth City, N. C, marched down the bank of the Dismal Swamp canal, also having command of the artillery on this expedition. He then returned to Nor- folk, whence he was sent to Camp Dennison, Ohio, where he was mustered out August 27, 1864. He was next ordered by Gov. Tod to organize the One Hundred and Seventy-eighth Ohio infantry, but his services were more in demand at the front, and he was given com- mand of the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth 26 Ohio, then already organized, took part in the siege of Nashville, Tenn., where he had com- mand of a brigade during the two days' battle under Maj.-Gen. Thomas, after which he re- turned to Columbus, Ohio, and was finally mustered out June 18, 1865. The only brother of the colonel, Henry Tecumseh, served in the Mexican war, but died of yellow fever in New Orleans before the outbreak of the Civil war. Soon after his return from the war, Col. Sage was admitted to practice in the supreme court of Ohio, and opened a law office in Circleville; was city solicitor for that corpora- tion until 1878, when he came to Dayton as supervisor of the southern Ohio lunatic asylum, which position he held for two years; he was then appointed deputy clerk in the probate court, but resigned two years later and was elected justice of the peace in Dayton. During his incumbency of this office for six years, he never had a decision reversed on appeal, although he had transacted the major part of the justice's court business of the city during that period. He then resumed his law prac- tice, which he continued until failing health warned him that it was necessary to relinquish active labor. September 29, 1894, the colonel became an inmate of the soldiers' home, and by the 1st of November following had suffici- ently recuperated to assume his present posi- tion as captain of company Twenty-two. Col. Sage was first married, in Circleville, Ohio, to Miss Miss Nannie E. Campbell, who bore him seven children, four of whom died while he was in the army. His wife died about fifteen years after marriage, and for his second wife he chose Mary McLean, also of Circle- ville, who became the mother of two children, now deceased, and who herself was soon called away. In 1881, the colonel married Mrs. Anna Thompson, and they have their residence adjoining the soldiers' home. The colonel's only living children are J. Kirby Sage and Mrs. 724 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Mary E. Snyder — the son and son-in-law, both mechanics, being associated in business. Col. and Mrs. Sage have also an adopted daughter, Lulu, a young lady who still has her home in the colonel's family. In politics the colonel has always been an active member of the democratic party, and has been its nominee for the state legislature and for probate judge of Montgomery county. Fraternally he is a royal arch Mason, was a Son of Malta before that unique order became defunct, is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, of the Union Veteran Union, and of the Grand Army of the Republic. In the last named orders he has been especially prom- inent and active, as post commander of Dister post, G. A. R., and as an officer on the staff of the department commander, and in the U. V. U. as colonel of John A. Logan en- campment. The colonel is held in high re- spect by the officers and inmates in general of the soldiers' home, and also enjoys the warm friendship of a large circle of acquaintance, in Circleville, in Dayton, and all throughout the county of Montgomery. @IDEON F. POND, one of the repre- sentative ex-soldiers and mechanics in the National Home for Disabled Vol- unteer Soldiers, at Dayton, Ohio, was born in Holden, Me., January 20, 1848, and is a son of Philander L. and Emily W. (Billing- ton) Pond, natives of the same state, where they still reside. The children born to these parents were six in number, of whom Albert A. died in Bangor, Me., in February, 1896; Henry L. resides in Mount Chestnut, Butler county, Pa.; the third, Gideon F., is the sub- ject of this biographical notice; Marcia J. is unmarried; Myra A. is now Mrs. Rand, and Sarah E. is as yet unmarried. Gideon F. Pond was educated in his na- tive city and in Bangor, Penobscot county, Me., and was early apprenticed to learn the trade of carpenter and millwright. When in his seventeenth year he enlisted in company F, Twelfth Maine volunteer infantry, and was probably the youngest patriot soldier of the state. He served at camp Bevoy, Me., and at Galloup island, Boston harbor, Mass., chief- ly in guarding transports conveying troops, for about seven months, when he was discharged by reason of the close of the war. During this comparatively short term of service, however, he was taken ill from exposure and incurred a disability from which he has never fully re- covered. On returning to Maine he remained there, an invalid, for nearly three years, and then, in 1870, believing that a change of cli- mate would be beneficial, went to California, where for thirteen years he was employed as clerk, as letter-carrier in the San Francisco post-office, and at such other light work as he was able to perform. He then served five years in the United States marine corps, from 1878 to 1883, when he returned home on a visit, and in the following year came to Ohio. Here he worked at millwrighting and carpen- tering until December, 1891, when he relin- quished the futile effort at self-support under the very discouraging conditions then existing, and became an inmate of the Central branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Sol- diers. Since then Mr. Pond has been chiefly employed in light work, and of late has had charge of the lumber in the carpenter shops of the home. In this position he receives and distributes the material necessary for the re- pair of the home buildings, which is continu- ously going on, and thus his active mind finds occupation and is relieved of the monotony of camp life. Mr. Pond united with the Grand Army of the Republic in 1887, and is at present a mem- ber of Mart Armstrong post, No. 202, of Lima, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 725 Ohio. In politics he has been a life-long re- publican. In religion he was reared in the faith of the Congregational church. Of the three sons and one daughter born to his de- ceased brother, Albert A., the elder son, Bert C. , is secretary of the Christian Endeavor so- ciety in Philadelphia, and the younger, Fred- die, is secretary of the same association at Bangor, Me. Asa A. Billington, maternal grandfather of Mr. Pond, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and Mr. Pond still treasures as an heirloom the musket his grandfather carried through the war in defense of American liberty. The Pond family is of Plymouth Rock descent, and was well represented in the war of the Revolution. It will thus be seen that patriotism is an inher- ent quality in the present generation. HLFRED B. POWERS, of the National Park restaurant, Dayton, Ohio, a na- tive of Paducah, Ky., was born Sep- tember 7, 1839, a son of John and Naomi (Norris) Powers, both of whom were born in Indian Hill, a village near Cincinnati. After marriage they went to Paducah, Ky. , but when Alfred was a child of some four or five years of age they returned to Indian Hill, where John Powers was engaged in business for two or three years, and then located on a farm in that vicinity, where he and his wife passed the remainder of their days. They were of Pennsylvania descent, and had a fam- ily of nine children, who are now scattered throughout the country, although three or four of them still reside in the neighborhood of the old homestead at Indian Hill. The earlier manhood of Alfred B. Powers was spent in farming on the old homestead and in its vicinity. In 1883 he came to Dayton, and for the past four or five years has been engaged in the confectionery business, as well as restaurant keeping. At present he operates two stands, at the Third street and Fifth street entrances to the national military home, in which he caters to the wants of the hungry and thirsty visitors to that great institution. Mr. Powers was united in marriage, in 1S60, in Sharonville, Ohio, to Miss Melissa Price, a native of the place, and this union has been blessed by the birth of two daughters and one son, viz: Mollie, who is married to John Brannin, a clerk in the court house; Mag- gie, the wife of George Smith, who is engaged in the grocery business, and Edgar M., who married Miss Carrie Smith, and is now assist- ing his father in the restaurant and confection- ery business, and through these marriages Mr. Powers and his wife have been given eight grandchildren. In religion, Mr. and Mrs. Powers are of the United Brethren faith, and in politics Mr. Powers is a republican. When Mr. Powers started in his present business he was almost entirely without means, and for the first two years he and his wife lived in a tent, in which they also transacted their limited business; to-day, as has been stated, he has two establishments, giving con- stant employment to four assistants, beside keeping himself, wife and son occupied. >^T*ACOB A. PRITZ, proprietor of the J Acme Star laundry, Dayton, Ohio, is A j a native of Hanover, Pa. ; was born October 24, 1840, and is a son of Adam and Mary Pritz, natives, respectively, of Penn- sylvania and Maryland. They were married in Pennsylvania, and in 1840 came to Ohio, Jacob A. being then a babe and the third born in a family of eight children, of whom but five are now living. The father was a well-known manufacturer in Dayton, and here died in 1895, at the age of eighty-six years. The mother still survives and lives in this citv. Of 726 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the living children, beside the subject of this biographical notice, J. W., the eldest born, resides on a stock farm in Montgomery county; William H. served during the Civil war in the Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry, and is now a resident of Dayton; Mrs. Scott lives in Newark, Ohio, and Mrs. Hildt makes her home with her mother. Jacob A. Pritz received a good common- school education, learned the machinist's trade before the outbreak of the Rebellion, and was thus employed when he responded to Presi- dent Lincoln's first call for volunteers, when he enlisted in company A, Eleventh Ohio in- fantry, for three months. At the expiration of his term he at once re-enlisted, August 20, 1 861 , but this time in the Thirteenth Missouri volunteer infantry, of the exploits of which regiment an account will be found in the biog- raphy of Capt. John Birch, elsewhere in this volume. On being mustered out at the close of the war Mr. Pritz engaged in the manu- facture of harvesting machinery, in partner- ship with his father and two brothers, in Day- ton, and continued in this line until about 1880, when he sold his interest in the plant, and for eighteen months was in the milling business in Cincinnati. He then became gen- eral agent for the state of Ohio of the Saint Paul Harvester company, but three years later this company made an assignment, and Mr. Pritz secured a similar position with C. Ault- man & Co., of Canton, Ohio, with whom he remained for three years. His next engage- ment was with J. R. Brownell & Co., manu- facturers of boilers and engines in Dayton, with whom he remained six or seven years, or until February, 1896, when he purchased his pres- ent establishment, where he is doing a lucra- tive trade and employs fourteen persons. Mr. Pritz was joined in wedlock in 1865, at Dayton, with Miss Helen Field, of Provi- dence, R. I., by whom he had one child only, named Earle, who died at the age of six years. Mrs. Pritz is a devout member of the Baptist church. Mr. Pritz is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Union Veteran Legion. Politically, he is an ardent republican. Few men are better known throughout the state than Mr. Pritz, who en- joys, both at home and wherever he has trav- eled, the warm esteem of a large circle of admiring friends. >^r*OHN W. PRUGH, of the firm of a Prugh & John, funeral directors at No. A 1 410 South Wayne street, was born May 8, 1851, in Miami county, Ohio, son of John and Mary Jane (Davner) Prugh. The Prugh family is of German extraction, and came originally from the kingdom of Prussia. For many generations the Prughs were tillers of the soil, and quite a number of them were noted for longevity, Abner Prugh, the grand- father of John W., dying at the remarkable age of 100 years, one month and twelve days. The maternal branch is also German, and, like the Prughs, has generally been a very rugged and long-lived race. John Prugh was born in in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1827, was married in March, 1850, and died in Novem- ber of that year, a short time before the birth of his son. Subsequently, about i860, Mrs. Prugh became the wife of John John, a most estimable gentleman of Montgomery eounty, who has taken the place of a father to young Prugh in every possible way. To this second marriage have been born three children: Mad- ison, who died at the age of three years; Elmer E., farmer and stock-raiser, and Wilford John, who is the junior member of the firm of Prugh & John. The mother of these children died July 7, 1894, at the age of sixty-seven years. John W. Prugh attended the common schools in his youth, and later obtained a OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 727 knowledge of the higher branches in Hol- brook's Normal school, Lebanon, Ohio. He began life for himself as a farmer, following this useful calling until 1885, in September of which year he came to Dayton and accepted a position in the Barney & Smith Car shops, taking charge of the stock department and books relating thereto. Continuing with this concern until October, 1887, Mr. Prugh re- signed his position and went to Florida, where, for a limited period, he was in the employ of the Clifford Orange company. Returning to Dayton for a short time, he again went to Florida and resumed work with the Clifford company, spending nine months in charge of the packing and shipping department. For some months after quitting work in the south, Mr. Prugh was not actively employed, but later accepted the position of foreman of the yard department at the Farmer's Friend Agri- cultural works, Dayton, in which capacity he served most acceptably for over two years, the last year and a half as assistant on inside work. His next venture was in the mercantile line, handling groceries, and also giving considera- ble attention to dealing in bicycles, in both of which branches of trade he was successful. In company with his half-brother, Wilford M. John, Mr. Prugh engaged in the undertaking business on South Wayne street, in 1894, un- der the firm name of Prugh & John, a part- nership which still continues. Messrs. Prugh & John have a fully-equipped establishment, and have enjoyed a steady increase in patron- age from the beginning. They are also the proprietors of a large and well-stocked livery stand at Nos. 233 and 235 South Jefferson Stre3t, Dayton. On the 5th day of December, 1878, Mr. Prugh and Miss Nannie J. Barney, of Beaver Creek township, Greene county, Ohio, were married. Mrs. Prugh is the daughter of Rev. B. H. Barney, a well-known Baptist minister, and spent the greater part of her life in Greene county, Ohio. Politically, Mr. Prugh is a stanch member of the republican party, and in religion is a member of the United Brethren church, while Mrs. Prugh belongs to the Linden avenue Baptist church ot Dayton. e OSCAR PRYOR, a member of the firm of A. H. Grim & Co., Dayton, Ohio, is recognized as one of the most progressive, enterprising and energetic business men of the Gem City. He was born February 6, i860, in Pleasant Ridge, Hamilton county, Ohio, a son of Edward F. and Sarah Pryor. In November of the same year his parents established their residence in Dayton, and his father became one of the leading citi- zens, being closely identified with the hotel business and the growing industries of this city. E. Oscar Pryor was reared in Dayton, re- ceived his primary education in the public schools and graduated in the high school. His business training was completed in A. D. Wilt's Commercial college. At the age of nineteen he accepted the position of cashier in the freight depot and ticket office at the Third street crossing, maintained by the Dayton & Southeastern railroad, and this place he held from 1879 to 1880, when he resigned and as- sociated himself with his brother-in-law A. B. Ridgway as clerk and bookkeeper and later as steward in the Phillips House, in which ca- pacity he served for twelve years at different times. In 1886 Mr. Pryor was appointed to a clerkship in the post-office under the Cleveland administration, where he served with ability during three years, when his successor was ap- pointed. He then returned to the Phillips House as steward, continuing until 1891, when he formed a partnership with James A. Kirk and opened up the Lakeside Park at the soldier's home. Three years later he sold out his in- 728 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD terest in this enterprise and returned to the hotel business as manager of the Phillips House. He conducted this hostelry in an excellent manner until March, 1895, when he accepted a position as steward of the Hotel Atlas. One year later (March 6, 1896) he became a mem- ber of the firm of A. H. Grim & Co. He has made a decided success of every business en- terprise undertaken in his active career, and the present admirable system in our hotels is largely due to his intelligence and business qualities, inherited from his father, who was also prominent in hotel management. E. Oscar Pryor has always been an out- spoken democrat in politics. In lodge and society circles he is as well and favorably known as in the business world and stands in the front rank. He is a member of St. John's lodge, No.i3,F. & A. M. ; Unity chapter, No. 16, R. A. M. ; Reed commandery, No. 6, K. T. ; Ohio consistory, Cincinnati, Ohio, thirty-second degree. In 1 881 he entered the order and took the Scottish-rite degree November 12, 1883. In 1885 Mr. Pryor married Miss Helena Schaeffer, who died in 1891, leaving one child, Sarah. Two years later, in September, 1893, ' he was again married, his second wife being Miss Ella Fisher. This marriage was blessed with one child, named E. Oscar. Mr. and Mrs. Pryor are affiliated with the Lutheran church. a APT. MARTIN E. QUINN, com- mander of company Twenty-six, Na- tional Home Disabled Volunteer Sol- diers, is a native of Virginia, born at Culpeper Court House, December 25, 1846. His parents, John F. and Amelia (Reagan) Quinn, were born in Ireland, in which country they married and reared a part of their family, immigrating to the United States several years prior to the birth of their son Martin, and set- tling in Virginia. The family of John and Amelia Quinn consisted of eight children, four of whom were born in the United States; the parents both died in Virginia, but their bodies were returned to their native country for bur- ial and now lie side by side. After the death of the parents the children went to Chicago, taking considerable means with them from Virginia, and purchased prop- erty which served as a home for the family as long as the several members remained together. Martain E. obtained such education as the common schools impart, and in 1859 entered upon an apprenticeship to learn the printer's trade, with the Chicago Tribune; he soon be- came an expert typographer, but laid aside the "stick" at the breaking out of the late Civil war, and proffered his services to his country, enlisting in the Twenty-third Illinois, with which he served with Mulligan's brigade until captured at Lexington, Mo. He was soon paroled and discharged from the service, again entered the army, as sergeant of company A, Fifth Middle Tennessee cavalry, from which he was subsequently discharged in order to re- ceive promotion as first lieutenant in the Fourth Tennessee mounted infantry. One month after his promotion he was made captain of company D, same regiment, and as such served with distinction in the army of the Cumber- land under Gen. Thomas, and later did staff duty during Gen. Sherman's famous march to the sea. He was a participant in the exciting scenes of that celebrated military movement, took part in all the battles in which the cav- alry was engaged, and accompanied his com- mand from the sea through the Carolinas and on to Washington at the close of the war. Capt. Quinn was entrusted with many del- icate and trying duties and his adventures and escapes were both narrow and thrilling. He was instrumental in capturing the notorious guerilla, " Champ " Ferguson, whose name be- came a terror wherever heard, and who was OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 729 afterward hanged by the Federal authorities at Nashville, Tenn. Mr. Quinn was mustered out in November, 1865, with the rank of cap- tain, and immediately thereafter returned to Chicago, thence a little later went to Elkader, Iowa, where, for a period of four years, he was engaged in the mercantile business in part- nership with his brother, Michael Quinn. Un- fortunately this venture did not prove success- ful, in consequence of which the captain was compelled to dispose of his stock and turn his attention to another calling. During the years from 1873 to 1876, inclu- sive, Capt. Quinn was engaged in journalism at Friar's Point, Miss., publishing one of the two republican papers at that time in the state. The feeling against him, intense from the be- ginning, culminated in an incendiary fire in 1876, in which his office and fixtures were en- tirely destroyed, entailing a total loss of all property at the time in his possession. For nearly four years thereafter he was on the road as a commercial traveler, representing a New York clothing house, which business he abandoned in 1880 to accept a position in the office of the Chicago Tribune. Subsequently he went to Washington, D. C. , with S. P. Rounds, who was appointed public printer, and remained with him during the four years of his administration of the office; from the national capital, he went to Pittsburg, Pa., in which city he worked on the Dispatch until August, 1895, when he became an inmate of the na- tional soldiers' home, Dayton, Ohio, where he has since continued in an official capacity. The captain has never hesitated in giving ex- pression to his honest convictions upon all questions of a public nature when occasion for such expression presented itself. Politi- cally he is, and always has been, unseverving in his allgiance to the republican party, not- withstanding he numbers among his warmest friends many democrats. He is a member of the G. A. R., belonging to post No. 3, of Pitts- burg, Pa. Capt. Quinn was married in Pittsburg to Miss Maggie Savage, a native of Prince Will- iam county, Va., where her father was killed by rebel bushwackers during the war; the fruit of this union was one child, a daughter, Sadie, at this time a student in a Chicago convent; Mrs. Quinn died in Pittsburg in October, 1894. a APT. JAMES RATCLIFFE, a dis- tinguished ex-soldier and trusted offi- cial of the national soldier's home, was born at the town of Little Falls, N. J., March 12, 1838, the son of John and Margaret (Aldride) Ratcliffe, both natives of England. These parents were married in the old country, where the father learned the trade of carpet-weaving, and, after coming to the United States, located at Paterson, N. J., and later moved to Pittsburg, Pa. Subsequently the family located in Allegheny City, and when James was a mere lad moved west to Indiana, where both parents died. To John and Mar- garet Ratcliffe were born seven children; of these Mary, the eldest, was born in England, is married and resides in Topeka, Kans. ; Alice, widow of Edward Harrison, lives in the city of Washington, D. C. ; James is the subject of this sketch; John W. is a farmer living in the vicinity of Markle, Ind. ; Mrs. Elizabeth Man- ning is a widow, whose home is in Kansas, and Thomas is a farmer of Arkansas; one member of the family, Ellen, is deceased. Capt. James Ratcliffe enjoyed but limited educational advantages, and at the early age of nine years was put to work in the factories at Paterson, N. J. Later he turned his at- tention to other pursuits and for a number of years was variously employed, his principal occupation being farming and contracting. He assisted in clearing over 300 acres of forest 730 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD land in Indiana, and in making several farms, beside building wagon-roads and railroads, and general contracting in different lines. He was thus employed until 1862, in August of which year he enlisted at Markle, Ind., in company K, Seventy-fifth Indiana infantry, his first military experience being in Kentucky, in the pursuit of the noted guerrilla, John Morgan. From that state his regiment went to Tennes- see, thence to Alabama, and during this period of three years' service, Mr. Ratcliffe served in the commands of Gens. Rosecrans, Thomas, Grant and Sherman, taking part under the last named in the celebrated march to the sea. The battles in which he bore an active part included many of the bloodiest engagements of the war, besides numerous skirmishes and raids, a complete enumeration of which will not be attempted here. At the close of the war he took part in the grand review at the national capital. After his return from the army the captain and his wife, whose maiden name was Mary E. Manning, and whom he married in 1862, immediately after his enlistment, began house- keeping on a farm in Indiana. For sometime he gave his attention almost exclusively and very successfully to contracting, and was thus engaged until the panic of 1873, when he lost the greater part of his possessions and was obliged to turn his attention to other business. He then began dealing in lime, in Huntington county., Ind., and while engaged in this trade he met with a painful accident, which rendered him a cripple for life, his left arm becoming disabled. By reason of this disability, the captain, in 1888, removed his family to Day- ton, Ohio, and became an inmate of the Na- tional Military Home, D. V. S., where he has since remained, the greater part of the time in an official capacity. In March, 1892, he was promoted captain and placed in command of company Six, which at this time has a com- plement of 108 men. The captain has dis- charged his official functions in a most credita- ble manner, and has proved himself faithful to every trust reposed in him. Of his family of nine children seven are still living, viz: Nellie, wife of Joseph Overmeyer, a business man of Huntington, Ind. ; Cora, who married George Drafenstatt, also a resident of Huntington; Guy, a druggist of Dayton, Ohio; Millie and Ray B., who are engaged in the confectionery business in Dayton; Lettie, who resides in the state of Washington, and Sherman, the young- est, who is a student in the schools of Dayton. Politically Capt. Ratcliffe is a member of the republican party, and the Baptist church rep- resents his religious creed. Mrs. Ratcliffe's father, Rev. William C. Manning, now a resi- dent of Kansas, has spent a long life in the ministry. He began preaching at the age of twenty, is now eighty-five years old and still actively engaged in his saqred calling. >Y*ACOB WILLIAM SORTMAN, con- m tractor and brickmaker of Dayton, was A 1 born in Union county, Pa., May 20, 1842. He is a son of George and Maria C. (Bossier) Sortman, natives of Penn- sylvania and of German parentage. George Sortman, who was by trade a manufacturer of chairs, located in Dayton, Ohio, in 1853, and lived in this city to the close of his life, dying in 1 88 1, at sixty-nine years of age. His wife had died in 1875. Both were good people, religiously inclined, members of the German Reformed church, and highly respected by all who knew them. Jacob \V. Sortman, the subject of this sketch, was eleven years old when his parents brought him to Dayton. For several years thereafter he worked in the summer time and attended school in the winter season, thus re- ceiving a good education and becoming a prac- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 733 tical young man at the same time. When eighteen years of age he began learning the trade of brickmason, at which he worked until the war broke out. At Dayton, Ohio, Octo- ber 14, 1 861, Mr. Sortman enlisted in com- pany F, Birge's sharpshooters, which company was changed to company H, and to company G, western sharpshooters, April 20, 1862. His regiment was changed to the Fourteenth Mis- souri volunteer infantry, and changed from the Fourteenth Missouri, to the Sixty-sixth Illinois volunteer infantry, western sharpshooters, No- vember 26, 1862, by order of secretary of war, E. M. Stanton. Jacob W. Sortman was a good and faithful soldier, always at his post of duty in camp, on the march, on picket, and was in the battles of Mount Zion, Mo., December 28, 1861; Fort Donelson, Tenn., February 13, 14 and 15, 1862; Shiloh, April 6 and 7, 1862; Phillips' Creek, Miss., May 21, 1862; siege of Corinth, Miss., April 29 to May 30, 1862; Iuka, Miss., September 19 and 20, 1862; Corinth, Miss., October 3 and 4, 1862; the Hatchies, December 29, 1862; Whiteside's Farm, Miss., September 9, 1863; in the raid through north Alabama, November 2 to 12, 1863; Snake Creek Gap, Ga. , May 9, 1864; Su- gar Valley, Ga., May 11 and 12, i864;Resaca, Ga. , May 13 and 14, 1864; Lay's Ferry, Ga. , May 14 and 15, 1864; Rome Cross Roads, Ga. , May 16, 1864; Andersonville, Ga., May 17, 1864; Dallas, Ga. , May 25 to June 1, 1864; Lone Mountain, Ga., June 1, 1864; New Hope Church, Ga., June 2 and 3, 1864; Big Shanty Station, Ga., June 11, 1864; Brushy Mount- ain, Ga. , June 14, 1864; general assaults on Kenesaw Mountain, June 27, 1864; Marietta, Ga., July 3, 1864; Rupp's Mills, or Nickajack Creek, Ga., July 4, 1864; Howe's Ferry, Ga., July 7 and 8, 1864; Chattahoochie river, Ga., July 9, 1864; Decatur, Ga., July 19 and 20, 1864; Howard House, Bald Hill and Atlanta, Ga. , July 22, 1864; Ezra Church, Ga. , July 28, 1864; siege of Atlanta, Ga., July 26 to August 26, 1864; and Proctor's Creek, Ga. , August 4, 9 and 1 1, 1864. He was sent to the rear, Angust 26, 1864, his term of service having expired, and was mustered out at Chat- tanooga, Tenn., September 2, 1864, and dis- charged at Louisville, Ky., Septembers, 1864. After his return from the war, Mr. Sortman completed the learning of his trade, and was a journeyman until 1872, since which time he has been in business for himself. He erected the Pruden block, the Stoffel & Abbey building at the corner of Market and Main streets, the two Reibold buildings, Barney's five-story building on Fifth street, the Christian church building, and several public school-buildings in the city, among them the Steele High-school building. He also built many private houses, among them the beautiful residence of Col. J. D. Piatt. While foreman for Marcus Boss- ier, Mr. Sortman had charge of the erection of the new Montgomery county jail; and also, while acting in that capacity, erected twenty- seven buildings at the Soldiers & Sailors Orphans' home at Xenia, Ohio, and also a number of the finest residences in the city of Dayton. Mr. Sortman was married December 20, 1866, to Miss Adelia R. Gilbert, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Lehman) Gilbert. To this marriage there have been born six chil- dren, three sons and three daughters. Of these the following are living: Katie B., Bessie, Oliver P., and Oscar B., the two last named being twins. Katie B. married Clif- ford Turner, a bookkeeper for Wolf Bros. They have two children, a son and a daughter, Katherine and Robert. Mr. Sortman is a member of the German Reformed church and his wife is a member of the Methodist Episco- pal church. He is also a member of the Old Guard post, No. 23, G. A. R. ; of the Ancient Order of Druids; of Wayne lodge, No. 10, 734 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD I. O. O. F., and he is a thirty-second degree Mason. Politically he is a republican, and served four years in the city council from the Fourteenth and Eighth wards. He now lives in a handsome home at No. 59 Green street, the architecture being of a most pleasing style. Mr. Sortman is a man of resources, and has been most successful in business. His career has been one which, when contemplated by the young, can only inspire them to its imita- tion and can only lead them, when rightly fol- lowed, to a similar success. eDWARD D. REGAN, undertaker, whose business house is located at No. 829 East Fifth street, was born in Middleton, Ohio, November 18, 1862, son of Timothy and Mary Regan, both parents being natives of Ireland. Timothy Regan was born in county Cork, November 19, 1830, and his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Smith, was born May 14, 1863, in county Cavan. Both spent their youthful years in their native land, and in 1852, Timothy Regan, thinking to better his condition in a country where larger opportunities were offered, sailed for America, the land of promise, and settled in Dayton, Ohio, where he was subsequently married, his wife having come to the United States in 1856, in company with her brother, Rev. Father Joseph Smith, a priest of the Roman Catholic church. Shortly after his marriage, Timothy Regan moved from Dayton to Middletown, where he resided for several years, afterward returning to the former city, where he still lives. Mr. Regan served with distinction in the late war, entering the army as first lieutenant of com- pany I, Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry, and subsequently, for gallant and meritorious conduct, was promoted captain of the com- pany. He shared the fortunes of war for three and one-half years, during which period he participated in a number of campaigns and battles, in one of which, Chickamauga, he re- ceived a severe wound which necessitated his lying in the hospital for several months. In the winter of 1866 he was appointed to a po- sition in the United States mail service, which he still holds, enjoying at this time the distinc- tion of being the oldest railway postal clerk in the United States. Timothy and Mary Regan reared a family of six sons and three daugh- ters, Edward D. being the fourth in the order of birth. Edward D. Regan received his education in the public schools of Middletown and began life for himself as a clerk in the employ of the Atlantic & Great Western railroad, with which he remained for a period of nine years. Severing his connection with railroad work, Mr. Regan entered the employ of P. J- Sorg, the well known manufacturer of tobacco, and for three years represented that house as traveling salesman in Ohio and other states, making for himself a fine reputation as a busi- ness man. Not fully satisfied with the vocation of salesman and desiring to engage in business upon his own responsibility, Mr. Regan aban- doned the road and embarked in undertaking in Dayton, and has conducted that enterprise most successfully during the last three and one-half years. His establishment is fully equipped with all the appliances essential to the successful prosecution of the undertaking business, his stock is full and complete and his equipment is among the finest in the city. Mr. Regan manages his establishment upon strictly business principles and his prosperity is amply deserved. Mr. Regan was united in marriage Septem- ber 19, 1887, with Miss Frances H. Hartnett, of Dayton, the accomplished daughter of James and Mary Hartnett. Four children have been OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 735 born of this union, namely, Robert, Arthur, E. J. and Mary. Mr. Regan and family are members of the Saint Joseph Roman Catholic church of Dayton. He belongs to the Saint George A. O. H., Catholic Benevolent Legion and Catholic Knights of Ohio. In national affairs Mr. Regan is a republican and in local politics independent. \S~\ EV. GODFRED I. REICHE, hos- I z 1 ^ pital steward at the national military P home, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Cincinnati February 5, 1848. His parents, Gottlieb and'Augusta (Stibler) Reiche, were born in Saxony and Prussia, Germany, respectively, came to America in 1838, and settled among the Indians in Texas. ' But the savages were so hostile, and their depredations so frequent, that Mr. Reiche preferred to sac- rifice his 360 acres of land rather than risk the lives of his family by remaining. As he had been a Prussian soldier, he had assisted in drill- ing the Texan troops for the war with Mexico, and availed himself of government wagons re- turning from that war to bring his family to Cincinnati, Ohio. He died at the home of his son, Godfred, then in Rising Sun, Ind., in 1876, at the age of seventy years; the mother still survives, and lives with her son at his home in Dayton. Of their six children, Augusta was buried at sea, and her sister, Otilis, died of fright at the Indians, and was buried on the trip to Cincinnati. Of the sons, Theophilus is foreman of a brewery in Knoxville, Tenn. ; Joseph is a teacher of music in Sheboygan, Wis. ; of one no record is preserved, and of Godfred I, the following biography is given. Godfred I. Reiche received his elementary education in the public schools of Cincinnati, and when in his fifteenth year enlisted, in July, 1862, in company H, One Hundred and Eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, and served until the close of the war. He was attached to the Fourteenth army corps, and participated in all engagements from Chickamauga to the At- lantic ocean, and in those in the Carolinas, and also bore a part in the grand review at Washington, D. C. He never missed a day from duty while in the service, and was pro- moted when but fifteen and one-half years old. He was discharged at Louisville, Ky., in July, 1S65, when he returned to his former home in Cincinnati. Mr. Reiche now resumed his studies and entered Marietta college, passing to the third or junior year, and completed his education at the Mission House seminary, in Wisconsin, where he was prepared for the ministry of the German Reformed church. He was ordained in 1873 and placed in charge of the congrega- tion at Rising Sun, Ind., where he remained nine years, built three churches and organized one congregation. The church edifices spoken of were erected at Rising Sun, Aurora and Florence, Ind. Mr. Reiche next had charge of the congregation at Louisville, Ky., for eight years, this being one of the most promi- nent congregations in the conference. For two years he had a charge in Cincinnati, and was the trusted agent of the city for the distri- bution of funds for the relief of sufferers from the Ohio valley flood. In this capacity he dis- posed of over $100,000 to the worthy and needy, and holds a letter of commendation from prominent gentlemen of Cincinnati for his faithfulness in this matter. Mr. Reiche was also strongly recommended for the chaplaincy of the Ohio penitentiary, and could easily have secured the position, but was deterred from entering upon its duties through failing health. For this reason, also, he was compelled to retire from the active work of the ministry in 1894, after a continu- ous service of over twenty years. Leaving his mother in Louisville, Ky. , he came to the sol- 736 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD diers' home at Dayton to die. But through good care and rest, he so far recuperated as to become able to perform his present light duties. October I, 1896, Rev. Mr. Reiche was united in marriage with Miss Alvira Estray, of Van Wert, Ohio. Mrs. Reiche is a Meth- odist in her religious belief. Mr. Reiche is a member of encampment No. 82, Union Veteran League. In politics he has been a life-long republican. In 1894 he brought his venerable mother from Louis- ville, Ky. , to Dayton, Ohio, and the family have their happy and comfortable home near the soldiers' home grounds. c/^V ANIEL GEORGE REILLY, M. D., I practicing physician and surgeon of f^^J Dayton, Ohio, was born in the vil- lage of Thorndike, town of Palmer, Hampden county, Mass., August 29, 1863. He is a son of Patrick Reilly and Johanna (Wren) Reilly, both of whom were natives of county Kerry, Ireland, and came to the United States, the mother when she was two years of age, the father when he was eighteen. They met and married in Ware, Hampshire county, Mass., and are now living in the village of Thorndike, where their son, Daniel George, was born. The father was a cotton manufac- turer, but is now living retired from business. He and his wife were the parents of ten chil- dren, nine of whom are still living. Daniel G. Reilly was a child of seven years when he became an employee of a cotton fac- tory in Thorndike, owned by the Bliss-Fabian company, with whom he remained until eighteen years of age, in the meantime having filled all positions, from the lowest to the highest. Up to the time of leaving the factory he had had no educational advantages whatever, and he then began in the elementary branches in the district school in his native village, and, after remaining in the district schools four terms, entered Monson academy, from which institu- tion he graduated in 1887. Then entering Middlebury college, at Middlebury, Vt., a Con- gregational institution established in 1800, he there graduated in 1891, with the degree of bachelor of arts. Entering the medical de- partment of the university of Vermont, a Con- gregational institution established in 1 791, he graduated fram that school as valedictorian in the class of 1894. The expenses of these sev- eral courses • of study, in all of the above- named schools, he met through his own un- aided efforts. Dr. Reilly came to Dayton, Ohio, in August, 1894, an entire stranger to the people of the place. As in his pursuit of knowledge, so in his practice, he has been deservedly success- ful, and is one of the rising young physicians of the city. He is a general practitioner, and is county and examining physician for the In- dependent Order of Foresters of Dayton, of which he is a member. He is examing physi- cian for the Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance company, of Philadelphia, for the Mutual Bene- fit Insurance, of Hartford, Conn., the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the C. K. of O., the C. K. of A. and the Fraternal Censer. During 1895 Dr. Reilly was on the lecture staff of the Dea- coness hospital of Dayton. He is a member of the Catholic church. Too much cannot be said in commendation of the energy and per- severance manifested by Dr. Reilly in his efforts to advance himself, not only jn scholarship, but also in the acquisition of knowledge per- taining to his profession. E the ARRY E. RANDALL, one of the well-known young business men of Dayton, Ohio, and proprietor of one of the leading livery establishments of city, was born in Montgomery county, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 737 Ohio, May 21, 1868. He is a son of Will- iam C. and Catherine (Warner) Randall, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania. The parents came to Montgomery county in their childhood, were married in this county, and have ever since resided here. The father has followed farming all his life, and now resides on his farm in Butler township. Both parents are members of the Lutheran church at Van- dalia, Montgomery county. Harry E. Randall was reared on the farm, and received his education in the public schools in Vandalia. In 1889 he went to Lexington, Ky. , and engaged in the hotel business, re- maining there for two years, when he came to Dayton and engaged in the livery' business at No. 27 North Jefferson street, where he has since continued with much success. Mr. Ran- dall is a member of the I. O. O. F., the For- esters, and the A. E. O. fraternities, and stands equally well in the social and business circles of Dayton. c/^V P. RAMSEY, one of the well-known M citizens of Dayton, Ohio, and secre- _P tary of the S. R. K. T. and M. M. association, was born in Pittsburg, Pa., on May 30, 1848, and is the son of Joseph and Mary (Patterson) Ramsey, both natives of Pennsylvania. The Ramsey family came orig- inally from Scotland and were of Scotch-Irish extraction. They settled in Pennsylvania at an early day, and married and intermarried among the Quakers. The Pattersons were also of Scotch-Irish descent, and went to Pennsylvania from Harrodsburg, Ky. Joseph Ramsey and wife resided in Pennsylvania until during the 'eighties, when they came to Ohio and located at Wyoming, in Hamilton county, where Mr. Ramsey died. His widow survives and resides in Saint Louis. Of the children born to them the following are still living: Joseph Ramsey, of Saint Louis, who is vice- president and general manager of the Wa- bash railway company; John P. Ramsey gen- eral manager of the Sierra Madre Construc- tion company of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico; Rev. Alfred Ramsey, pastor of the Lutheran church of Minneapolis; Mrs. W. D. Holliday, wife of the assistant general freight agent of the C. , C. , C. & St. L. railway company, of Saint Louis, and N. P., our subject. Two sons and one daughter are deceased. N. P. Ramsey was reared in Pittsburg, and was educated in the public schools of that city. When a lad of fifteen years he left school and went to work in aglass-house, and later clerked in a grocery store for a time, during which period be attended night school and learned bookkeeping. He next took a position as bookkeeper for a wholesale grocery house in Pittsburg, in which he was employed until 1872. In that year he entered the railroad service, in which he continued until 1892, first as clerk, then as agent and assistant superin- tendent of Bell's Gap railroad, Pennsylvania, then as chief clerk of the B. & O. accounting department, then as general freight and pas- senger agent of the P., C. & Y. and P., N. Y. and L. E. railways, then as general manager of the C. & W. M. railway, and later as gen- eral agent of the Big Four railway. From 1885 to 1891 Mr. Ramsey had his headquarters in Dayton, when auditor of the D., F. W. and C. railway. In 1892 he accepted the secre- taryship of the Scottish Rite Knights Templar & Master Masons' Aid association, his pres- ent position. Mr. Ramsey is a member of Milnor lodge, A. Y. M., No. 287, of Pittsburg; of Mountain chapter, 187, of Pennsylvania; a charter member and P. C. of Ascalon com- mandery, No. 59, K. T., of Pittsburg; is a member of Reese commandery, No. 9, of Day- ton; Gabriel grand lodge of perfection; is G. H. P. of Miami grand council; of Dayton grand 738 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD chapter of the valley of Dayton, of Dayton; of Ohio grand consistory S. P. R. S., of Cincin- nati. He is also representative of the grand commandery, K. T. , of Ohio, to the grand commandery, K. T., of Pennsylvania. Mr. Ramsey was married early in life, and is the father of seven daughters, one of whom is happily married. *w * ENRY WILLIAM REQUARTH, su- |f\ perintendent of the F. A. Requarth ^ P company, at the corner of Sears street and Monument avenue, Dayton, Ohio, is a native of this city, was born December 12, 1864, and this has been his life-long home. His father, F. August Requarth, is a native of Germany, from which country he came directly to Dayton in 1847, here learned his trade of woodworker, and from i860 until 1886 carried on a turning shop. His son, Henry W., our subject, being then about twenty-two years of age, the two formed a partnership in the plan- ing-mill business — the nucleus of the present magnificent plant. Four years later the F. A. Requarth company was incorporated and its mills constructed, and unvarying success has attended it until the present hour. The com- pany does a general contracting and building business, but makes a specialty of stair build- ing, and its product is known and used in nearly all the states of the Union. The force em- ployed numbers about 125 men, the machinery is unsurpassed for the designed purposes, and the work turned out is first-class in every par- ticular. The ground and buildings belonging to the Requarth company cost not less than $40,000, the machinery and stock are valued at an equal amount, and the value of the out- put reaches at least $125,000 per annum. The present quarters have been occupied by the company since 1894, ar >d its office appoint- ments are everything that can be desired in the way of conveniences, embellishment and furnishings, which present a fair sample of the excellence of the company's handicraft. F. August Requarth, the founder of the company, is still active as president of the corporation and a member of the board of directors. F. August Requarth was united in marriage with Miss Regina Hueffelman, a native of Ger- many, who died in Dayton in 1870, the moth- er of eight children, viz: Anna, Amelia, Mary, Henry W. , Emma and Lewis, who are still living, and Herman and August, who died in childhood. Of the survivors, Mary is the wife of Charles Brumm, a carpenter, and Lewis is working as a wood turner in the Requarth shops. Henry W. Requarth was married, in 1890, to Miss Clara S. Feldman, a native of Columbus, Ohio, and this union has been blessed with three children: Harvey August, Florence Ella and Earl Lewis. In his politics Henry W. Requarth is a democrat, but he is not a partisan and prefers to devote his business faculties to the promo- tion of the interests of the extensive establish- ment of which he is the superintendent. His church affiliations are with the Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran congregation, of which his wife is also a member, and in the faith of which he is training his children. As a master of his business he is an excellent manager; as a Christian, his life has been upright and con- sistent, and as a citizen he has been useful in every department of civil life, and has thus won the approbation of the solid men of Dayton city and its environs. >^*ACOB RENNER, of Dayton, Ohio, is ■ one of those German-Americans whose /• 1 residence here has brought thrift and prosperity, loyalty and good citizen- ship. He was born on the Rhine, in the king- dom of Bavaria, February 20, 1836. His mi- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 739 nority was spent in his native country, where he enjoyed excellent educational advantages, first in the public schools, but principally as a student soldier in the army of Germany. At thirteen he became an apprentice to the bar- ber's trade, continuing that business until fif- teen, when he joined the army as a musician. The succeeding six years he spent in the serv- ice of his country, devoting much of his time to the study required by the governmental author- ities. In 1857 he emigrated to America — his two brothers having preceded him. His fa- ther, Carl Theodore Renner, was a mechanic, and died when Jacob was a child. The mother remained in her native country, where she died at a ripe old age. The family consisted of three sons, of whom John Adam was the eld- est. He died in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1881. Frederick, the youngest of the sons, is engaged in the wholesale paint business in Cincinnati. On coming to America Jacob resumed his trade as a barber, and spent two years as such on a passenger steamer on the lower Missis- sippi. At the outbreak of the great Civil war, he was among the first to offer his services to his adopted country, and was regularly en- listed within five days after Fort Sumter was fired upon. He became a member of company B, First Ohio volunteer infantry, and partici- pated in all of the important maneuvers of the army of the Potomac, including the first battle of Bull Run. His previous military training stood him in good part, and he was soon made a non-commissioned officer of his company. His term of enlistment expired on the heels of the national defeat at Bull Run. Returning to Dayton, where he had located in 1859, he soon after re-enlisted for the three years' serv- ice, in his old military organization, which had been maintained. Three years were spent in the service, following the varying fortunes of the Union cause, in company B, First Ohio volunteer infantry. During this period he was with the army of the Cumberland, under com- mand, successively, of Gens. Buell, Rosecrans and Grant. The principal battles in which Mr. Renner participated were Shiloh, Corinth, Murfeesboro or Stone River, and Perryville. It must not be forgotten, however, that the skirmishes and preliminary engagements leading up to these were one unceasing series of battles, often fought with great losses. At Murfreesboro he received a severe wound in the hand, and while en route to the field hospital for treat- ment was captured by the enemy. Presuming that their German-Yankee prisoner was disa- bled, they were somewhat lax in their duties as captors, and consequently he made his es- cape. His term of service expired in Septem- ber, 1864, and he did not again enter the army. Mr. Renner was married in Dayton, in 1 86 1, just prior to the war, to Miss Rachel Louise Hoerz, a native of Wurtemberg, Ger- many, who came to America in young woman- hood. To this union six children have been born, the eldest of whom, Emma, died in in- fancy. The eldest living is Jacob Frederick, who is now engaged in the real-estate business at Spokane, Wash. He was deputy sheriff of his county until recently, serving several years in that capacity. Frederick served five years in the regular army, being a musician in the First United States cavalry; his service was entirely on the Pacific coast; he was married by the post chaplain, and following his dis- charge located in Washington. Oscar L. is the assistant in his father's business; Eleanora Louise and Amelia Lillian are still under the parental roof, the latter holding a position as stenographer and typewriter in an extensive manufacturing concern in Dayton. Mr. Renner is a past commander of Dis- ter post, G. A. R., but now a member of Old Guard post, No. 23. He holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and 740 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Independent Order of Red Men, being past- sachem in the latter; is also a member of the Ancient Order of Druids, and past noble arch of the same. He is a prominent member of the Harugari society and of the German Pio- neer society. The latter is largely social. Membership in it requires continuous residence in Dayton of not less than twenty years, and no person will be admitted to membership who is not more than forty years old and able to pass a critical examination touching his char- acter and standing in the community. Mr. Renner is independent both in politics and religion. His motto is to deal justly by all men; to "visit the sick, relieve the dis- tressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan " are among the duties imposed by his ritual. He believes in voting for the men and meas- ures whose success would bring the greatest good to the greatest number. He has been fairly successful in business, owning a com- fortable home and business house at No. 246 Wayne avenue. Renner hall is a part of this property, where various lodges and societies hold regular meetings. IHOMAS A. SELZ, president and man- ager of the Pearl Laundry company, and one of the well known young busi- men of Dayton, was born at Camp Thomas, Franklin county, Ohio (now a part of the capital of the state), November 3, 1863. He is a son of Charles Selz, who is a native of Germany, and who came to the United States about 1850, landing at New York and going direct to Bucyrus, Ohio. Enlisting in the Fifty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, he served during the war as band sergeant. Mr. Selz was a bugler in Col. Joseph Dister's command, and when the order was issued disbanding the bands of the volunteer regiments, he joined the regular army, and became a member of the Eighteenth regiment's band. His service was in the west for three years, at Fort Lara- mie and other frontier posts. At the close of the war he returned to Ohio, locating at San- dusky, and was there for some time engaged in the manufacture of carriages. In 1876 he re- moved to Dayton, Ohio, and has ever since been a resident of this city. At present Mr. Selz is a member of the Third regiment band. The education Thomas A. Selz received was that furnished by the public shools, but leaving school when thirteen years of age he became a cash boy in a store in Dayton. Af- terward he was engaged for nearly three years in a photograph gallery, and at the end of this time he went to work in a laundry, in which he was an employee for nearly three years. In 1 88 1 he engaged in the laundry business for himself, beginning on a very small scale with a hand laundry, his plant consisting of one wash tub^nd a second hand cook stove. His partner in this enterprise was Charles A. Koch. Their business gradually increased in propor- tion from year to year until 1887, when they established a steam laundry, fitting up their plant af No. 1 1 1 East Second street. They continued to increase their capacity until 1893, when they organized a stock company with a capital of $25,000, with Mr. Selz as president and manager, and Mr. Koch as vice-president and assistant manager. In June, 1895, their present handsome building was completed at Nos. 106, 108 and 110 East Second street, it being erected especially for their laundry busi- ness. It is four stories in height, 60x60 feet in size, and is fitted up with the latest and most improved machinery for doing a general and special laundry business. To give some idea of the capacity of this establishment and of the amount of work done, it may be stated that the Pearl laundry uses 25,000 gallons of water daily, which is pumped from the com- pany's own wells. Their steam mangle, which OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 743 is one of the largest in the world, has a daily capacity of 32,000 pieces, and this company has the exclusive right to operate it in Dayton. Since 1886 Mr. Selz has been a member of the National Laundry association, and is 1895, at the convention held at Atlanta, Ga., he was elected president of the association, which position he still holds. Politically Mr. Selz is and always has been a democrat, and at the present time is treas- urer of the democratic city committee. He is a member of the B. P. O. E., of the Independ- ent Order of Foresters, of the Sons of Vet- erans, of the Dayton Bicycle club and has been treasurer of the Dayton Gymnastic club for years. Mr. Selz was married, in 1 891, to Miss Clara L. Clemens, daughter of Jacob Clemens, a retired contractor and builder of Dayton. He is a man of excellent business capacity, and through his own unaided efforts and careful management has built up a fine business, and ranks as one of the able and useful young busi- ness men of the city. ^y^V EWTON H. RICE, manager and M bookkeeper for W. S. Hawthorn, coal r and wood dealer, of Dayton, was born in Van Buren township, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, May 6, 1857, and is a son of James A. and Hannah (Opdyke) Rice. James A. Rice, a native of Frederick coun- ty, Md. , was born May 24, 1824, and is now residing on a farm in Jefferson township, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, where the parental home has been since 1861; Mrs. Hannah (Opdyke) Rice was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, August 18, 1826. To their marriage have been born eleven children, nine of whom are still living. Ten names of the eleven, in order of birth, are as follows: James Milton, who died at the age of two years; Charles W. , who is a farmer in Miami county, Ohio; Albert O, who 27 is a bookkeeper in Dayton; Oliver H., an en- gineer, went west in 1876, and has not returned; Newton H. is the subject of this memoir; a daughter died in infancy, unnamed; Wilson, who was a school-teacher, is now engaged in the coal business in Germantown, Ohio; Willie P. is a traveling salesman for the Wellston & Jackson Fuel company, of Jackson, Ohio; Ed- gar E. is a bookkeeper for a coal company at Glenroy, Ohio; Emma M. and Lillie O. are unmarried and at home with their parents. Newton H. Rice was educated primarily in the public schools, and this education was sup- plemented by courses in the Euphemia normal school and the normal school at Valparaiso, Ind. He was prepared for teaching, and fol- lowed this as a profession, from the age of twenty-one years, for eight years, in Preble and Montgomery counties. He was then as- sessor of Miami township, in the latter county, for two years, and in 1889 entered upon his vocation as bookkeeper, for the first four years with Mr. McClure, and since that time with Mr. Hawthorn. He is possessed of fine busi- ness abilities, is especially expert as an ac- countant, and is faithful and painstaking in the discharge of every detail of his duty. Mr. Rice was united in marriage in West Carrollton, Ohio, in 1883, with Miss Carrie M. Pease, a native of that place — her parents having been among the early settlers. She re- ceived an excellent education in the public schools of Carrollton and Miamisburg, and to her marriage with Mr. Rice there has been born one daughter — Lulu Ethel — now eleven years of age. Mrs. Rice is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Rice is a free contributor to all religious and charitable institutions. In politics Mr. Rice, like his father, is a democrat and is very popular with his party and with the public in general, hav- ing been elected assessor of Miami township by the almost unanimous vote of all parties. 744 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Fraternally Mr. Rice is prominent in vari- ous societies, being a member of Miamisburg lodge, No. 44, Knights of Pythias, and a char- ter member of uniform rank, Hope division, No. 32; a past grand of Wayne lodge, No. 10, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and mem- ber of Dayton encampment, No. 2, of which he is past chief patriarch; also a member of canton Earl, No. 16, patriarchs militant, and of court Cooper, No. 1567, Independent Or- der of Foresters, of which he has served as treasurer. He was also a charter member of the Fraternal Censers, Gem City council, No. 1, and is likewise a charter member of camp No. 3526, Master Workmen of America. WOHN B. RITCHIE, the popular plumb- M er and dealer in plumbers' supplies at A 1 No. 535 East Fifth street, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Beaver county, Pa., June 28, i860, and is a son of Alexander T. and Hannah C. (Brown) Ritchie, both natives of the Keystone state. Alexander T. Ritchie was born August 10, 1818, was a cooper by trade in his earl}' man- hood, but spent the latter years of his life in the butchering business, and died in Beaver county, Pa., September 19, 1886; his widow, who was born in 1824, survived until October 14, 1888, when she died in Venango county. The children born to these parents were seven in number, of whom John B. is the only sur- viving son; of the other six, Kelso died at the age of seven months; Perry Amasa was drowned May 16, 1886, when twenty-one years old; E.llen Elizabeth is married to Hugh M. Adams, a farmer of Venango county, Pa. ; Clementine C. is the wife of David B. Nelson, a farmer of the same county; Mary J., married to James VanCamp, a cooper, lives in Crawford county, Pa., and Parthenia is the wife of Homer Car- penter, of Venango county, in the same state. John B. Ritchie, in his youthful years, re- ceived a very good public-school education in his native county, and his early manhood was devoted to aiding his father on the home farm. After leaving the parental roof he went to Pittsburg, Pa., where he apprenticed himself to a plumber, and, after having thoroughly learned the trade, he worked for some years in that city as a journeyman. He first started for himself in business in Piqua, Ohio, but after one year's experience in that city, moved his implements, wares and fixtures to Dayton, and on December 21, 1888, located at his present place of business. Here he has pros- pered, being thoroughly skilled in plumbing, gas-fitting, steam-fitting and kindred work. The marriage of Mr. Ritchie occurred in Dayton July 21, 1889, the bride being Miss Ida E. Hall, a native of Ohio. To this union have been born three children — Perry L., Blanche Marie and Irene Hall. In his frater- nal relations Mr. Ritchie is an Odd Fellow, also a member of the uniform rank, Knights of Pythias. In religion, although reared in the United Presbyterian faith, he is not a mem- ber of any organization. In politics he is, as in religion, quite independent, his proclivities, however, tending toward republicanism. Mr. Ritchie is of Scottish origin, his paternal grand- father, Robert Ritchie, a native of Pennsyl- vania, having been of Scotch-Irish parentage, his remote ancestors, like hundreds of other Scots, having migrated from their native coun- try to the north of Ireland on account of re- ligious persecution. a APT. HENRY RILEY, an official of the national soldiers' home, near Day- ton, Ohio, was born in Mattituck, Suffolk county, N. Y. , March 23, 1844, and is a son of Philip and Mary (Mc- Donald) Riley, both of county Cavin, Ireland. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 745 The parents came to the United States in 1 83 1, settling on Long Island, N. Y. , where the mother died a number of years later. Philip Riley was by occupation a manufacturer of boots and shoes; after a long residence in the United States he returned to his native country, where he died. Philip and Mary Riley reared a family of three children, the eldest of whom was Thomas, a soldier in the British army, who fell in the Crimean war; Mary married a Mr. Dillon, of New York, and is now a widow living in Ireland, and the third child, Henry, is the subject of this sketch. Capt. Henry Riley passed his youthful years in his native town until 1857, at which time his parents removed to New York city, where he completed his educational training, attending the schools of that city for about two years only. In 1859 he entered upon an ap- prenticeship to learn the tailor's trade with an uncle, at Lafayette, Ind, and was thus em- ployed until 1 86 1, in September of which year he enlisted in company C, Fortieth Indiana in- fantry, which formed a part of the army of the Ohio, commanded by Gen. D. C. Buell. Later Capt. Riley's regiment was transferred to Gen. Wood's division, army of the Cumber- land, under Gen. Rosecrans, and during the year that followed its record is replete with laurels gallantly won on many of the bloodiest battle fields of the south. Capt. Riley shared with his comrades these honors, taking part in numerous hotly contested battles and minor engagements, among the most noted of which were Shiloh, Corinth, Perryville, Stone River or Murfreesboro, in the last of which he received a severe wound by the explosion of a shell, which cost him his right hand. This wound necessi- tated the captain's retirement from active serv- ice for some time, but after his recovery, he was transferred to the Ninety-fourth company, Second battalion, Veteran reserve corps, and did duty at the provost marshal's office, Terre Haute, Ind., until his final discharge, in De- cember, 1864. After retiring from the army, Capt. Riley engaged in the sewing-machine business at La- fayette, Ind., where he met with reasonably fair success, but removed two years later to New York city, at which place he was identi- fied with the mercantile trade until 1872, when failing health compelled him to retire, tem- porarily, from active life. In the year last named the captain became an inmate of the national soldier's home, Dayton, Ohio, where he remained for a short time, returning to New York and accepting the position of orderly in the Charity hospital, the duties of which he discharged in a highly creditable manner for about two years. Severing his connection with the above institution, the captain became an inmate of the home at Tagus, Me, where he continued until 1879, conducting in the meantime a co-operative store for the Patrons of Husbandry, which business was carried on in the immediate vicinity of the home. In 1879 he was transferred to the national home at Hampton, Va., thence, in 1881, to the Northwestern home, Milwaukee, Wis., where he remained until transferred, in 1882, to the Central branch, Dayton, Ohio, from which he took his discharge in September, 1886. In April, 1888, he returned to the home, where he has since remained. For six years and three months he served as chief clerk and com- missary sergeant, and on the 24th day of April, 1895, was appointed to his present po- sition — that of captain of company Sixteen, although he has, at different times since his connection with the institution, commanded eight companies. Company Sixteen is composed of 240 men, present and absent, from which the engineers of the home are selected. Capt. Riley pos- sesses fine military talent and executive ability of a high order, and his official functions have 746 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD been discharged in a manner creditable to himself and satisfactory to the management of the home. He is every inch a soldier, strict in discipline, active in behalf of the interests of the noble institution with which he has been so long identified, and is, withal, a most intelli- gent gentleman, popular with all with whom he comes in contact in official or social rela- tions. The captain was married December ii, 1886, to Miss Louisa Kimmerle, of Day- ton, a union blessed with the birth of one child, Henry J., who was born in the year 1890. The captain is a member of the Union Veteran Legion, and of the G. A. R., being past junior vice-commander of the latter, and he holds the position of quartermaster of encampment 82, U. V. L. He cast his first presidential vote, in 1864, for Abraham Lincoln, and has been a faithful and uncompromising adherent of the republican party ever since. ^yy»ILLIAM SCHULTZ ROCK, of the mm firm of Rock Bros., sign-writers, 39 WjL^J South [efferson street, Dayton, was born in Zanesville, Ohio, November 22, 1861, and is a son of John and Kate (Farrell) Rock. John Rock was born in Al- sace, Germany, came to the United States at the age of sixteen, locating in Zanesville, where he was a wholesale butcher and stock dealer until his death in 1866. Mrs. Catherine Rock subsequently married D. D. Vande- grift and is still living. Of the immediate fam- ily of John and Kate Rock there were six chil- dren, whose names are as follows: Mary, wife of J. C. Harris, of Zanesville, Ohio; John, a business man of Dayton; Thomas L. , the busi- ness associate of William S.; Flora E., wife of Walter J. Manley; William S. and Harry J., the latter a member of the firm of Bates & Rock, dry-goods dealers, of Dayton. The early years of William S. Rock were passed in his native city of Zanesville, where he attended the public schools, and when quite young manifested a decided taste for painting and decorating. He yielded to the desire to become a painter, and worked at the trade for some time in Zanesville. He later came to Dayton, and entered the employ of the Barney & Smith car works, where he remained for eight years. During this time he became pro- ficient in painting and finishing, but after leav- ing the shop discontinued his trade for a time and worked with his brother John, in the grocery business, for about two years. He then abandoned merchandizing, and in Janu- ary, 1893, in partnership with his brother, Thomas L. Rock, again engaged in painting, the firm giving its entire attention to sign work in all its branches. Rock Bros, do all kinds of work in this line, making wire, wood or can- vas signs, and being recognized as the leading sign manufacturers of the city. Their trade is very lucrative and the name of the firm is a guarantee for honest and artistic work. Will- iam S. Rock was married December 26, 1882, to Miss Carrie Hicks, of Springfield, Ohio, who died June 6th, 1886, leaving one child, Violet. November 20, 1888, Mr. Rock mar- ried his present wife, Katie Peters, of Dayton, Ohio, daughter of William Peters, a repre- sentative of one of the oldest and best known families of the city. Politically Mr. Rock is a democrat and in religion is liberal, not being bound by any church or creed. >Y*OHN ROCK, a member of the Dayton M city council, and one of the well known m J and highly respected business men of the city, was born in Muskingum coun- ty, Ohio, January 28, 1857. He is now a member of the firm of Herbig & Rock, manu- facturers of harness and dealers in carriages, wagons and bicycles, with their place of busi- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 747 ness at No. 31 East Fourth street. He was reared in Muskingum county and there received the elementary education usually supplied by the public schools. He early assumed the re- sponsibility of caring for himself, beginning when fifteen years of age to learn telegraphy, and being thus engaged for three or four years. In 1878 he came to Dayton and engaged in the grocery business on East Fifth street, con- tinuing in this occupation until 1891. In this year he engaged in his present line of business in partnership with George Herbig, under the firm name of Herbig & Rock. In 1889 Mr. Rock was first elected to the Dayton city council from the Fifth ward, as a democrat. Serving one term, he retired from that body in 1891. In the spring of 1895 he was again elected, this time from the First ward, and his term will expire in 1897. Mr. Rock is a member of Iola lodge, No. 83, Knights of Pythias, and of Iola division uni- form rank, Knights of Pythias. In November, 1885, he was married to Miss Jeanette Robinson, of Elmwood Place, Ham- ilton county, Ohio. The parents of Mr. Rock were John and Catherine (Farrell) Rock, the former born in Germany and the latter in Johnstown, Pa. The father died in Muskingum county in 1868, his widow still surviving and living in Dayton. John Rock, the subject of this sketch, is one of the substantial and influential citizens of Dayton, is vice-president of the city council, and is highly regarded for uprightness and in- tegrity of character wherever known. ^V'AINT MARY'S INSTITUTE, of Day- *^^KT ton, Ohio, was founded by Rev. K^ J Father Leo Meyer, of Alsace, France, who landed at New York city July 4, 1850, and thence went to Cincinnati on the 16th of the same month, where he joined four distinguished and reverend brothers, named J. B. Sitzi, M. Zehler, A. Edel, and D. Litz, who had reached the last named place in De- cember, 1849, and had taken charge of Trinity school. In January, 1851, Father Meyer was called to Dayton to aid Brothers Zehler and Edel in the care of unfortunates who were stricken with cholera, and while engaged in the performance of this charitable and self- sacrificing duty conceived the idea of estab- lishing Saint Mary's Institute. Father Meyer secured the land upon which formerly stood the old Stuart mansion, and here was estab- lished the nucleus of what is now the prosper- ous institution of education under considera- tion. These five enterprising brothers lived to see their efforts crowned with success, three however being now deceased, Brother Edel dying in July, 1891; Brother Zehler on March 24, 1893, both passing away in Dayton, and Brother Meyer dying in Europe at a date not accessible. From these feeble beginnings in 1850 has sprung the now prosperous and vigorous sodal- ity or order known as the Brothers of Mary, which is represented in nine or ten states of the Union, in Winnipeg and in the Sandwich islands, the efforts of the members being de- voted to the education of young men exclu- sively. In 1895 tne local institute of Dayton had under instruction 26$ students, an increase of treble its enrollment when the institute was regularly incorporated in 1878, and at least double that when it was authorized by the state legislature, in 1882, to confer upon its graduates the usual collegiate degrees. The curriculum is very comprehensive, as it begins, when necessary, at the foundation of primary instructions and carries the pupil to the culmi- nating point of "commencement day, "when he receives the diploma which authorizes him to adopt that one of the learned professions 748 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD which he may select as best suited to his abilities. The higher department of this most excel- lent institute is divided into three sections, designed to meet the demands of those students who desire advancement in literature, science or commercial training, and each section is most excellently well officered. Proficiency on the part of the students is recognized by a system of rewards given at competitive exam- inations, and a full record is kept of the stand- ing of each competitor, a copy of which is sent monthly to his parents or guardians. He has, also, free access to a chemical laboratory, to physical apparatus and to a cabinet of natural history, as well as to libraries for reference and libraries for circulation. Vacation is had only at the Christmas holidays. The discipline of the institute is vigorous but is based chiefly on moral suasion, and is calculated to train the students to habits of self-control and gen- tlemanly behavior, based on true Christian principles. The full-course students, as a rule, remain under the roof of the institute until graduated, forming one happy family and en- joying all the comforts and conveniences of their respective homes, while of course there are some few day-scholars who enjoy all the advantages, in an educational sense, of the permanent attendants. Music and elocution are not neglected, and as to the former the student may make choice between vocal and instrumental, or, indeed, avail himself of the benefits of both. He may, if he prefer instru- mental tuition, also select the instrument to which his taste may most incline him. In this connection it may here be mentioned that the institute choir now comprises seventy-five voices, and, under the direction of its pro- ficient instructors, " discourses most excellent music." Many hundreds of young men have gone forth from Saint Mary's, are now orna- ments to society and successful business men or eminent in the various learned professions. But it is meet that some mention be made of the grounds and buildings occupied by this in- stitution. The main college building is a large four-story brick structure and the chapel is a beautiful modern edifice, occupying a position midway between the principal and the second- ary college buildings. The grounds are remote from all contaminating influences, yet of easy access by street-car lines, and are located on an eminence overlooking the city and the sur- rounding country; they are handsomely laid out in drives and walks, ornamented with trees and shrubbery, and constitute a most homelike and inviting retreat. J. Schwind was foreman and Louis Schwind manager. The plant was enlarged to its present size and the business increased to its present volume, in 1883. This plant, as it stands to-day, covers a frontage of 275 feet, and the buildings extend back to the river from the street, a distance of about 230 feet. The main building is really four stories high. The ice machine has a capacity of fifty tons per day. The plant has the latest improved machinery, and taken all in all it is one of the model breweries of the country. The capacity is 60,000 barrels per year, and all the actual output is consumed in the city of Dayton, this firm manufacturing as much as any other concern in the city. In 1895 the output reached 25,000 barrels. In 1893 the company became an incorpor- ated one, with C. Schwind, president; Ed- mund J. Schwind, vice-president and general manager; Edward Hochwalt, secretary and treasurer. When Celestine Schwind died his wife succeeded to the presidenc)' of the com- pany. Having now outlined the business with some particularity it is proper to turn our at- tention for a short time to the individuals who have built it up from small beginnings. Celestine Schwind, deceased, was born in Stadtfrazelten, Bavaria, Germany, May 19, 1825, and was a son of Ignatz and Elizabeth Schwind. He came to the United States in 1850, and settled in Dayton, Ohio, where in 1854 he started a brewery on Logan street, which he conducted for fourteen years. In 1865 he founded the plant that has been de- scribed and which is to-day one of the most con- spicuous landmarks and one of the greatest in- dustries of Dayton. It is located in Dayton View, on the banks of the Miami river. When Mr. Schwind came to Dayton he was a poor man, but by dint of hard labor and strict econ- (56 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD omy he succeeded in building up an immense business and became a wealthy man. Mr. Schwind was married in Dayton, Au- gust 28, 1856, to Miss Christine Latin, also a native of Germany, and who survives her hus- band. To them there were born eleven chil- dren. Mr. Schwind was a member of the Or- der of Odd Fellows and also of the Society of Druids. He attended strictly to business all through his life, with the exception of the last few years, which he spent in travel and enjoy- ment. His death occurred April 24, 1893. He left a widow and nine children, as follows; Edmund J., vice-president of the Schwind Brewing company; Emma T. , wife of Edward Hochwalt, of Dayton; Edith, wife of Frank Cable, of Sandusky, Ohio, a shoe dealer; Ma- tilda, living at home; Mary, wife of William Makley, of Dayton; Josephine, living at home; Michael J., bookkeeper and director in the Schwind Brewing company; Clara, at home, and Anna L , also at home. Two sons are deceased. Edmund J. Schwind, vice-president of the Schwind Brewing company, was educated in the public schools, after which he spent some three years in traveling for the brewery. In 1882 he entered the employ of his father, as foreman, which position he occupied until 1893, when he was made vice-president of the com- pany. He has proven himself an efficient manager and under his direction the business has grown and prospered exceedingly. He has excellent business capacity and is now well known as one of the progressive and successful men of Dayton. V^^EORGE E. SHEPHERD, treasurer ■ ^\ of the National Cash Register com- ^^W pany, one of the extensive and rep- resentative manufacturing concerns of Dayton, is a native of Alexandersville, Montgomery county, Ohio, and was born Oc- tober 22, 1 85 1, a son of George and Sarah (Elliott) Shepherd, natives, respectively, of Indiana and Maryland. George Shepherd, the father, came to Ohio in early manhood, and located in Butler coun- ty, in which county he married Miss Sarah Elliott, and for many years kept hotel. In his later years he removed from Butler county to Alexandersville, Montgomery county, where he spent the remainder of his days, and died, not yet an aged man, in 1852, his widow sur- viving until 1 89 1. George E. Shepherd spent all his boyhood days in his native town, receiving his early education in the district school. He afterward attended the Lebanon normal school, and was there prepared for the active duties of busi- ness life. In 1870 he entered upon his career as bookkeeper for Mead & Nixon, paper man- ufacturers of Dayton, and that he had been well qualified for this, his first ve'nture, is proved be the fact that he held his position for the period of twenty-two years. January 1, 1892, he entered upon the duties of his present position, that of treasurer of the Na- tional Cash Register company, and this he has most satisfactorily filled, responsible as it is, and requiring a wise exercise of judgment in all the details of a complex financial system. In poliltics, Mr. Shepherd is a republican, and in religion a Lutheran. Fraternally, he is a member of the Royal Arcanum. Mr. Shepherd was first married, in 1874, to Miss Eva Harvey, daughter of Jackson Har- vey, of Dayton, to which union were born two sons and two daughters, viz: George H., who is now an able assistant to his father in the office of the National Cash Register com- pany, and Harry, Daisy, and Susie, the last of whom died in infancy. Mrs. Eva Shepherd was called from life February 28, 1895, and in August, 1896, Mr. Shepherd married Miss OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 757 Mary E. Spindler, daughter of Jacob Spind- ler, also of Dayton. Mr. Shepherd is quiet and domestic in his habits, but energetic in his business, and stands among the foremost of the accountants of Dayton, while in the community he is held in the highest esteem by all who know him, either in business or social circles. @EORGE W. SHROYER, of the firm of G. W. Shroyer & Co., of Dayton, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, September 26, 1865, a son of Andrew J. and Mary Ann (Oakes) Shroyer, the former of whom was a son of an original pio- neer of the county. John Shroyer, grandfather of George W., was the first of the family to come from Mary- land to this county when Dayton was but a mere village, the wants of the inhabitants being fully supplied by two small stores. Later, other members of the family also found a home in Montgomery county. John owned a large farm, two miles from Dayton, and here his son, Andrew J., was born December 29, 1 830, and grew to manhood. He was married, in 1852, to Miss Mary Ann Oakes, and this union resulted in the birth of five sons, viz: Edwin, who died in childhood; Oliver H. P. ; Clarke M., who died at the age of twenty years; George W., and Charles O., the latter now a resident of Texas. In politics Andrew J. Shroyer is a democrat and held the office of township treasurer and other local officers in Harrison township, where he continued farm- ing until 1882, when he removed to Dayton, having lost his wife in 1880. For the past five years he has been engaged in the manufacture and sale of certain medical remedies. He is a member of the First Reformed church, in which he has been an elder for many years. Oliver H. P. Shroyer was born on the homestead in Harrison township, Montgomery county, September 10, 1857, was educated in the district school, and at the age of twenty- two years came to Dayton, where he engaged in carpentering and house building for four years and then entered the employ of Barney & Smith, went to Buffalo, N. Y., under T. A. Bissell, and passed seven years in the finishing department of the Wagner Palace Car works. He is a very ingenious mechanic and has pat- ented several valuable inventions. This fac- ulty being well known to the Queen City Cycle company of Buffalo, he was employed, in 1891, by that company to go on the road and study the wheel, and he has done much toward im- proving and perfecting it. He is now asso- ciated with his brother, George W. , in the bi- cycle business in Dayton. November 5, 1879, Mr. Shroyer was united in marriage with Miss Margaret M. Bartholomew, and to them have been born nine children, viz: Bessie (deceased), Ellen, Ollie (deceased), Clarke, Robert, Grace, an infant son deceased, Margueritte and an in- fant daughter. The parents are members of the Reformed church and reside at No. 944 Steele avenue. George W. Shroyer, whose name opens this sketch, received a good common-school education in his native township, and at the age of fifteen years came to Dayton to assist his father in the agricultural implement busi- ness; when seventeen years old he took the road for the Minneapolis self-binders and har- vesters, his territory covering Missouri, Kansas and Texas, and for about five years did a very successful business; he then took the road for Joyce, Cridland & Co. , with whom he remained six years, traveling over the United States and Canada, selling railroad supplies. In Novem- ber, 1894, he opened up his present bicycle exchange at No. 23 West Fifth street, Dayton, under the firm name of G. W. Shroyer & Co. This firm handles the Gendron, Cleveland, 758 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Victor and Winton wheels, and also carries an assorted stock of attachments, supplies and repairs, and in the winter season canvasses the states of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, making a specialty of pushing the sale of Gendron wheels. Mr. Shroyer has made a success of his venture and is recognized as one of the foremost of the young and progressive business men of the city. Fraternally he is a member of Iola lodge, No. 83, uniform rank of the Knights of Pythias. His marriage took place, in 1887, with Miss Fannie R. Joyce, and this union has been blessed with two chil- dren — Hazel and Clifford. The parents are members of the Reformed church and reside No. 6 Quitman street. @USTAVE STOMPS, deceased.— Of those worthy of prominent mention in any biographical work on Dayton, both for their successful business ca- reers and for their sterling worth as men and citizens, was the late Gustave Stomps, presi- dent of the Stomps-Burkhardt company. Mr. Stomps was a native of Bocholt, Westphalia, Prussia, and was born on the 29th day of Sep- tember, 1827. His parents were also natives of that province, where for years his father was civil engineer and land appraiser for Prince Salm, the then reigning ruler of that principal- ity. After receiving the customary education in the excellent schools of his native land, Mr. Stomps learned the trade of leather tanning, and in 1848, during the political disturbances then agitating his country, and having lost his father by death, he came to the United States, landing in New York city in the spring of that year. Upon the day he landed he searched out some friends whose addresses he had, and the following day found him in quest of em- ployment. Not being able to find work at the tanning trade he took the next best thing he could get, and went to work crimping boots. He spent about six months in New York city, and then came west to Cincinnati, where his eldest brother, Joseph, who had preceded him to America, was living. There he found em- ployment in McCabe's tannery, in which es- tablishment he subsequently became a foreman, and so continued until he was taken ill with smallpox. During this time Mr. Stomps made his home with his brother, who had married some time before. After recovering from his illness, which occurred during the year 1850, Mr. Stomps gave up the tanning trade, and began to learn that of chairmaking, and in the latter part of 1851 he and his brother Joseph engaged in the manufacture of chairs at Law- renceburg, Ind., but the high water of the Ohio river in the following year drowned out almost the entire town, and the brothers, becoming discouraged, sold out their factory and came to Dayton. Mr. Stomps worked at the chairmaking trade for different employers in Dayton until 1859, in which year he became one of seven chairmakers who organized the Chairmakers' Union for the manufacture of chairs. In i860, however, Mr. Stomps disposed of his interest in the union, and established the firm of G. Stomps Bro. & Company, the other members of the firm being Joseph Stomps and Martin Brabec. Their chair factory stood on the site of what is now the west factory of the Stomps- Burkhardt Co.'s plant, and was the building formerly occupied by the firm of Estabrook & Phelps, Dayton's old-time wholesale grocers. On November 2, 1869 R. P. Burkhardt purchased Mr. Brabec's interest in the com- pany, and on December 2, of the same year Mr. Stomps bought out his brother Joseph's in- terest, and the firm became that of G. Stomps & Co. Then, for the first time, the firm put in a plant of machinery and power and began the manufacture of chairs by machinery in- /S^; >^^/^/ j£ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 761 stead of by hand. In 1890 the Stomps-Burk- hardt company was formed with Mr. Stomps as president and R. P. Burkhardt, Sr. , as vice- president and general manager, J. M. Kramer, secretary, Gustave Stomps, Jr., treasurer, and Charles Vogel, superintendent. Mr. Stomps continued president of this company until his death. In 1852 Mr. Stomps was married in Cin- cinnati to Miss Catherine Mahrt. Mrs. Stomps was born in Wetter, near Marburg, Hessia, Germany, on April 7, 1828. She came to the United States in 1850 in the company of friends, with whom she remained in Philadel- phia for some time. Her sister had preceded her to this country and had become the wife of Joseph Stomps. It being the desire of the sisters to be together, Mr. Stomps was dele- gated to go to Philadelphia and escort the newly arrived sister to Cincinnati. Thus they met for the first time, and their marriage soon followed. To Mr. and Mrs. Stomps the fol- lowing children were born: Mary Adelaide, born in Dayton, on August 27, 1853, who be- came the wife of R. P. Burkhardt, Sr. , and died on May 12, 1893; Catherine, who became the wife of Charles Vogel; Elizabeth, who be- came the wife of John Stengel; Theresa, who became the wife of John M. Kramer; Anna, who became the wife of H. C. Mahrt; Francis, Gustave and Rose. The death of Mr. Stomps occurred on the 26th day of June, 1890, away from home, and under unusually distressing circumstances, rendering, doubly sad the bereavement of his family and friends. His youngest daughter, a student at the Immaculate Conception, Olden- burg, Ind., was to graduate with first honors as valedictorian of her class, and it was to witness the exercises at the convent that Mr. Stomps, accompanied by his wife and Mrs. Burkhardt, left home never to return. The weather was extremely warm and Mr. Stomps 28 was overcome with the heat and died at Bates- ville, Ind., before reaching his destination, and without seeing his daughter. Mr. Stomps was in every sense of the word a self-made man. When he landed in New York city it was a but a few cents in his pock- ets. But his training had been of the right sort, to which was added a naturally industri- ous and frugal disposition. His was a life of unceasing application to business affairs, and so uniformly successful were his efforts that at his death he left a fortune. Mr. Stomps was of a quiei, calm, even temperament, not easily excited or confused, and he always kept his head under the most trying circumstances. He was a man of strong dislikes, warm hearted and genial, and when he won friends he kept them ever afterward. He possessed fine busi- ness talents, and was careful, painstaking and conservative in his methods. He was un- swerving in his honesty and integrity, just to friend and foe alike, and during all his life enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his busi- ness associates, and of all who knew him. He was a Roman Catholic in religion and for years was an influential member of Emanuel Catholic church of this city. HLFRED H. SHRY, a member of the engineer department, of the national military home near Dayton, was born in McArthur, Vinton county, Ohio, February 9, 1847, and was reared to manhood in his native town. Amos Shryand his wife, Mary (Bobo) Shry, of German descent, were natives of Virginia and were born, respectively, in 1808 and 18 10, were married in that state, and shortly after- ward removed to Ohio and settled in or near McArthur. To their marriage were born four sons and five daughters, and of this family of children five are still living, viz: William, who 762 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD follows the calling of his deceased father — that of farming — at McArthur; Catherine, Mar- garet, Harriet and Alfred H. The eldest born of this family of nine was Jonathan, who died at the age of eight years; Jacob, the third in order of birth, served in company D, second West Virginia cavalry, and died after the close of the Civil war; Mary the fourth in order of birth, died when sixteen years old. Alfred H. Shry was educated in the public schools of McArthur, but quit his school to become a soldier and he enjoys the distinction of having been one of the youngest soldiers who carried a musket in defense of his native land in the late Civil war. His enlistment took place April 25, 1862, at the early age, it will be perceived, of fifteen years, in company C, Eighty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, for three months, but served one month longer, when he was honorably discharged. His next enlistment took place June 15, 1863, in com- pany H, First Ohio volunteer heavy artillery, in which he served until the Rebellion was quelled. He served under Burnside in Ken- tucky and Tennessee and under Gen. George H. Thomas in the army of the Cumberland. A great part of the time during his second en- listment was spent in garrison duty in North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama, and he was finally mustered out at Greenville, Tenn., August 4, 1865. He then returned to the place of his birth, and was engaged in mer- chandizing for about fifteen years. In 1872 Mr. Shry married Miss Lydia A. Eakin, of Vinton county, Ohio — a union that has been blessed by the birth of four children, viz: Joseph A., who died at the age of eight- een months; Lottie M., Archie L. and Lucy F, — the latter three living in McArthur with their mother. By reason of failing health, Mr. Shry was compelled, November 26, 1886, to seek at the military home that rest and treatment which he had well earned bv his service in the army, and here he has ever since been employed in some light but lucrative em- ployment, although he has been permitted to enjoy a great deal of his time with his family. Mr. Shry in his political proclivities is a demo- crat. In religion he does not confine himself to the doctrines of any church, neither does he affiliate with any secret brotherhood, except the Union Veteran Legion. (D AJ. WILLIAM W. SHOEMAKER, ex-soldier, and court bailiff of the police court, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Berks county, Pa., January 31, 1839, an d is descended, on both sides, from ante-Revolutionary stock. He accom- panied his parents to Dayton at the age of thirteen years, and has lived in the same house, No. 141 South Williams street, for over forty- two years. His parents were Isaac and Han- nah (Maxton) Shoemaker, the former of whom was born in Berks county, Pa., in 18 10, where his parents, who came from Canada, had set- tled prior to the war of the Revolution. Isaac Shoemaker died in Dayton, Ohio, at the age of seventy-two years. The Maxton family was of Scotch ancestry, was also established in Pennsylvania previous to the Revolutionary war, and the maternal grandmother of the major had several times seen both Washington and Cornwallis. remembered many of the stir- ring events of their time, and died in Dayton at the age of ninety years. Mrs. Hannah (Maxton) Shoemaker, mother of the major, was born in Chester county, Pa., in 181 7, and died in Dayton, at the age of seventy-two, the mother of eight children, of whom two died in infancy; those who have lived to ma- turity are named Jacob, who was the first born of the family, is a printer by trade, served in the One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio vol- unteer infantry, and now resides in Dayton; OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 763 William W. , was the second born; Sarah is the wife of William Miller, and resides on a stock farm near Bardstown, Ky. ; Isaac K. was a soldier for three years in company K, Ninety-third Ohio infantry, was wounded at Chickamauga, and died in Dayton in 1893; Emma is the widow of George Martin, and has her home in the Gem City; Charles D., is a native of this -city and is a merchant. William W. Shoemaker was early taught the carpenter's trade and was engaged in this calling at the outbreak of the Civil war. He had joined the Dayton Zouaves in i860, and was thoroughly drilled when enlistment in the volunteer service became the order of the day, when he left the zouaves and on April 15, 1 86 1, joined the Dayton Light Guards (of whom further mention may be found in the sketch of Capt. Winder), and was thus one of the first to respond to the call for 75,000 three- months men. The guards were mustered in as company C, First Ohio volunteer infantry, went on to Washington, took part in the some- what extended skirmish at Vienna, Va. , and then in the great opening battle of the war at Bull Run, on the 21st of July. The term of enlistment had expired July 16, and the boys were invited to join in the fray, and it was al- most unanimously voted to do so. August 5, iS6i, Mr. Shoemaker re-enlisted, was elected second lieutenant -of company H, Fourth Ohio cavaly, and on the 1 5th was hon- orably discharged from his old company, and with his new company took part in its first battle, at Bowling Green, Ky. , under Gen. Mitchell; then went to Nashville, Tenn. ; and thence, with Mitchell's division, to Huntsville, Ala., where the regiment captured seven loco- motives, a large amount of stores, and prison- ers from the recent battle field of Corinth. They then crossed the Tennessee river on a burning bridge at Decatur, Ala. ; went as far as Stevenson, and then returned to Hunts- ville and joined Gen. Buell on his retreat into Kentucky; took part in the fight at Perryville, Ky. ; went to Lexington, near which point, on the previous day, at Clay's farm, the greater portion of the Ohio cavalry had been captured by the raider, John Morgan. Lieut. Shoe- maker was provost guard at Lexington, in command of 128 men, whom he had quartered in the courthouse. When called upon to sur- sender, he flatly refused, unless convinced that all the other cavalry had been captured. "What evidence do you require?" was asked. "Bring the colonels of the regiments you say you have captured," was the answer. On this request being complied with, Lieut. Shoe- maker surrendered his men. This action had been strongly urged by the mayor of Lexing- ton, who wished to save the city from being shelled and probably burned. An incident of this surrender, tending to show Lieut. Shoe- maker's tenacity, may here be related. He had been presented with a very handsome sword-belt, with which he refused to part, though threatened with death if he refused; while the controversy was going on, Gen. Breckinridge, the Confederate, rode up to as- certain the cause of the trouble, and, on learn- ing the circumstances, ordered the hot-headed Texan captor to restore the belt. The lieuten- ant was paroled on the spot and returned to Frankfort, and thence to Indianapolis. Having been exchanged, Lieut. Shoemaker returned to the front in time to take part in the battle of Stone River (December 31, 1862, and January 1 and 2, 1863). Later, while on staff duty under Gen. Turchin, and while on the Tullahoma campaign, in searching for a ford across Stone river, the lieutenant was shot through the shoulder, the ball coming out near the elbow; but he remaiued on Gen. Crook's staff until after the Chickamauga campaign; then returned to Tullahoma and thence went to Murfreesboro; at the battle of 764 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Farmington, while making a saber charge, he was shot through the right lung, the ball being removed from under the shoulder blade. He was conveyed to a private dwelling to- gether with seven wounded men, who where left there to die, and the next morning five of the seven were actually dead. He had but little hope of recovery, under the indifferent treat- ment of his rebel host; at the end of thirty days, however, he secured a horse and was able to ride to Wartrace station, on the Nash- ville & Chattanooga railroad, and take a train for Deckard, where he found the Federal cavalry headquarters, to learn that he had been reported as dead, and to encounter much difficult}- in convincing his fellow-officers that he, the dirty, emaciated soldier, was the former robust officer they had mourned as lost. He here received a furlough for thirty days, which was extended to sixty, but the wound was not entirely healed until two years later. Reporting to Gen. Crook at Pulaski, Tenn., Lieut. Shoemaker was appointed recruiting officer of the Second cavalry division and lo- cated at Nashville. This duty ended, he was mustered in as captain of company F, Fourth Ohio cavalry, and went home on a thirty-day veteran furlough, at the expiration of which he rejoined the army at Nashville, and the main army at Rome, Ga. , to enter upon the Atlanta campaign. At Decatur, Ala., he had a fight with the rebel, Roddy, and captured some prisoners; was detailed as assistant in- spector on the staff of Gen. Girard, at Decatur, and went on the Atlanta campaign; was on the Jonesboro raid, and with Kilpatrick in the rear of Atlanta. After the fall of that city, the cavalry division was placed under the corhmand of Gen. Thomas, at Nashville; Lieut. Shoemaker served on staff duty until Gen. Girard was relieved; returned to his regi- ment and remained with it until after the fight at Nashville: went to Eastport, Tenn., under Gen. Wilson; was detailed as aid-de-camp to Gen. Long, and remained with him until the battle of Selma, where Long was wounded; then returned to his regiment and took com- mand, he being the ranking officer; crossed the Alabama river at Selma, captured i, 800 prison- ers, and then moved on to Montgomery; thence went to Columbus, Ga. , and after a hard struggle captured that city; thence he went to Macon, where he captured Gen. Howell Cobb and his army. The Fourth Ohio cavalry was then constituted provost guard of Macon, and was upon this duty when the Con- federacy collapsed. Maj. Shoemaker then took part in the pursuit of Jefferson Davis, and was near at hand when he was captured by the Fourth Michigan cavalry. Maj. Shoe- maker then marched from Macon to Atlanta, visiting all battle fields en route, and at the latter city met Col. Thompson, who had been released from a rebel prison and who now took command of the regiment. Maj. Shoemaker was mustered out of the service at Nashville, Tenn., July 15, 1865, as captain, butwas sub- sequently enrolled by the war department at Washington as major of his regiment. Returning to Dayton, Ohio, Maj. Shoe- maker was married, August 10, 1865, to Miss Vesta J. Congdon, a native of Grafton, Mass., where she was reared and educated. This marriage has been blessed with two children, viz: William H., who is chief deputy of the common pleas court, and Edwin Stanton, who is a plumber, is married, and is the fa- ther of two children. In 1867, Maj. Shoe- maker was appointed to the police force of Dayton, on which he has since filled every po- sition, but for several years has been on light duty. When he was first appointed, there were but twenty-one men on this force; there are now over eighty. In politics, the major was formerly a whig, but has been a member of the republican party ever since its organi- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 765 zation; he has never been a seeker after office, however, nor ever held official positions, ex- cept as stated above. He is a member of Old Guard post, G. A. R., and also a Knight of Pythias, and he and his family are all mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. K^\ ERT D. SHROYER, loan agent of |(^^ No. 120 East Fifth street, Dayton, J^9 Ohio, was born in Mad River town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, Oc- tober 6, 1873. His parents, Ephraim and Mary Jane (Cotterill) Shroyer, were natives of Montgomery county. They were the parents of nine children, eight sons and one daughter, as follows: William Albert, Perry H., Rolla L. , Charles E., Anna May, Ellsworth B. and Elmer E., twins, Bert D. and Frank. Ephraim Shroyer was reared in Montgom- ery county, and for nine years was a member of the Dayton city fire department. He and his wife are still living in Dayton. Mr. Shroyer served his country as a soldier in the late Civil war, as a member of the Ninety- third Ohio volunteer infantry, and was for some months confined in Libby and Belle Isle prisons. Mrs. Shroyer is a member of Christ church, the oldest Protestant Episcopal church in the city. William Shroyer, the father of Ephraim Shroyer, was a native of Frederick county, Md. , by trade a blacksmith, and was a soldier in the war of 181 2. He came to Ohio soon after the close of the war, located in Mad River township, and served there for many years as a justice of the peace, dying in 1846. The maternal grandfather, Lorenzo Dow Cot- terill, was also a native of Maryland. He was among the first settlers in Dayton, and died about 1874, in his seventieth year. Bert D. Shroyer grew to manhood in Day- ton and in the vicinity. His education was received in the city schools, and he made the most of the excellent opportunities they af- forded him. He was married on January 13, 1893, to Miss Nora Loy, daughter of Jacob and Louise (Campbell) Loy, and to this mar- riage has been born one child, Earl McKinley, September 19, 1896. Politically, Mr. Shroyer is a republican. He is a descendant and a worthy representative of two of the oldest and best known families of the county. Of the brothers of Bert D. Shroyer, Al- bert married Miss Jennie Hemler, and has three children living, viz: William Albert, John and Victor. Rolla L. married Jane Butt, and has one child, Clyde. Charles E. mar- ried Martha Kendig, and has three children, Ralph, Frank and Anna. Ellsworth married Emma Traud, and has one child, Leona, and Perry Harrison married Miss Ann May Terry, and has two children, Perry and Charles. WOHN A. SMITH, house mover and M raiser, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Lan- A 1 caster, Pa., August 22, 1828. He is a son of Richard and Catherine (Allbright) Smith, the former of whom was a native of London, England, coming to the United States when he was seven years old, and the latter was a native of Pennsylvania. They were the parents of six children, four sons and two daughters, four of the six still surviving, as follows: John A., Isaac M., Jacob A., and David. Richard Smith was a teamster by oc- cupation, driving a six-horse team between Philadelphia and Pittsburg before there was any railroad in that part of the country. His death occurred in Lancaster when he was thirty-eight years of age. His wife survived him until 1880, and died at eighty-one years of age. Both were members of the Dunkard church, and both were people of excellent character and disposition. Richard Smith's 766 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD father lived to a good old age, dying in Eng- land. Richard was his only son. The maternal grandfather of John A. Smith was named Jacob Allbright. He was a native of Pennsylvania and married Miss Rebecca Moon. Both died near Efferty, Lancaster county, Pa. He was a brushmaker by trade and died when about eighty-seven, she dying when about sixty. John A. Smith was reared on a farm in Lancaster county, Pa., and when seven years of age his parents hired him to a Mr. Jacob Bolinger, a Dunkard preacher, for seventy-five cents per month. He remained with Mr. Bo- linger for seven years, in the meantime attend- ing school to some extent. When he was fourteen years of age he removed to northern Ohio, and went to work for an uncle in Seneca county, remaining with him for about five years. At the end of this period he entered the employment of Mr. Wallace, superintend- ent of the Mad River railroad, the first road built from Sandusky to Springfield, Ohio, his work being to measure the wood and timber for the road. He then served a three years' apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, after which he dealt for some time in horses. In 185 1 he went to Marshall, 111., and assisted in building there the Presbyterian college, and while thus engaged was married, June 27, 1852, to Miss Amelia C. Boyer, daughter of Rev. Joshua and Susannah Boyer of that place. To this marriage there have been born five children, as follows: Frances Loretta, Amanda Alfaretta, Dora Ellen, Dayton Wilbert and Hattie May. Frances Loretta married Jacob Haynes and with her husband lives in Dayton. Amanda Alfaretta died at the age of thirteen years. Dora Ellen married Martin Messier, and they have five children, viz: Grace, Ed- ward, Harry, Martha and John. Dayton Wil- bert married Miss Emma Bartel; they live in Dayton, and have four children, as follows: Mabel, Harry, Richard and Bessie. Hattie May married Otto Jones. They had two chil- dren. Mrs. Jones was killed by the cars in 1894 while driving across the railroad. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the United Brethren church, he being a trustee and treasurer of the congregation. He was a member of the Sixty-third Ohio volunteer in- fantry, company F, and served in the late Civil war for over three years. At the battle of Vicks- burg he was wounded in the left arm. He was also in the battles of Nashville, Corinth and Parker's Cross Roads. Having acquired some knowledge of medicine, he was engaged in the dispensary at Nashville twenty-one months, and it was while in that city that he received his discharge. The war having come to an end, Mr. Smith returned to Dayton and began building houses, continuing thus engaged for a few years, but for the last twenty years he has given his at- tention exclusively to moving and raising houses, having filled contracts on a large scale in various cities — in Cincinnati, Springfield, Troy, Piqua, Hamilton, and elsewhere, as well as in Dayton. After his marriage Mr. Smith in 1S52 came to Dayton and has lived in this city ever since — thirty-five years in his present home. Po- litically he is a republican, but is in no sense a politician or office seeker. t-»OHN H. STOPPELMAN, one of the m venerable and honored citizens of Day- /• 1 ton, Ohio, was born in the township of Dochren, parish of Riemsloh, amt Groenenberg, Osnabruck, Westphalia, king- dom of Hanover, on the 11th of August, 1826. His parents were Peter H. and Catherine Ma- rion (Hazelhorst) Stoppelman, the father being 790 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD a native of the same province where the son was born, the mother coming from West Kiloer, parish of Roedinghausen, amt Buende, Westphalia, kingdom of Prussia. The father died in his native land, on February 23, 1841, and his wife survived him until November 13, 1854. They were the parents of eight chil- dren, as follows : John Frederick died in Germany, in 1857 ; Mary Elizabeth, who came with the family to America in 1858, met her death as the result of an accident, in Dayton, on the 28th of December, i860, having been the wife of C. H. Althoff, who also is deceased ; Catherine Mary died in the fatherland in 1857, having been the wife of John F. Pape ; Her- man H. emigrated to America in 1853, but re- turned to Germany two years later and there died in 1S68 ; Catherine, who died in her na- tive land in 1873, was the wife of John F. Budde ; John H. was the next in order of birth; Flora became the wife of C. H. Kaeseman, and her death occurred in Germany in 1878 ; and Charles H. died November 10, 1892, on the old homestead. John H. Stoppelman was reared on the parental farm in Westphalia, and received his educational discipline in the excellent schools of his native land, remaining upon the old homestead until the time of his emigration to America. He landed in New York on the 5th of May, 1849, being the first of the family to seek a home in the new world. He pro- ceeded to Ulster county, N. Y., where he en- gaged in work on a canal boat. On December 6, 1849, he left New York for Cincinnati, Ohio, arriving in the Queen City on the 18th of the same month, making the journey by canal, stage, railway and the Ohio river. He remained in Cincinnati until June, 1850, when he went to Middletown, this state, where he was for some time in the employ of Adam Foster, a popular hotel keeper. In August, 1 85 1 , Mr. Stoppelman made his advent in the city of Dayton, which has ever since been his home and the scene of his earnest and useful endeavors. He secured employment with Daniel Beckel, beginning his labors in the humble capacity of hostler ; but such was his intelligence and his manifest capacity for af- fairs of greater breadth that he was given a position in Mr. Beckel's bank, where he acted in a clerical capacity. After the failure of this enterprise our subject continued in the employ of Mr. Beckel, becoming a salesman in a dry- goods establishment which his employer had opened. Mr. Stoppelman was faithful to his employer and for a period of two years, while Mr. Beckel was absent in Michigan, where he was building a railroad, his entire business in Dayton was committed to the charge of our subject, who handled the same to the entire satisfaction of his principal. He remained for nine years with Mr. Beckel, and was a trusted friend and confidant of the man who had thus given him an opportunity to secure a start in the world. In i860 Mr. Stoppelman became, to a cer- tain extent, actively concerned in local politics, and was elected a member of the school board of the city. He was next given a position in the office of the county auditor, in 1861, re- taining this place for one year. In 1862 he was elected a justice of the peace, in which ca- pacity he served for the full term of three years. He then engaged in the insurance busi- ness, being one of the projectors and organizers of the Teutonia Insurance company, of which he was the first secretary, holding that office for more than two years. Within this time he engaged in the brewing business, in company with William Sander, and they operated the City brewery for a period of five years. This venture proved unsuccessful, and through it Mr. Stoppelman lost considerable money. He next turned his attention to the life insurance business, in which he continued for four years. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 791 For over thirty years he has been a notary public, and since 1873 has given most of his attention to this calling. In 1870 and 1872 Mr. Stoppelman again served as a member of the board of education, and was returned to this important department in the centennial year. In the same year (1876) he was also elected a member of the board of equalization, in which capacity he rendered service for one year. In 1881 he was elected to the city council, and was re-elected in 1883, while in 1886 he was again elected a member of the board of equalization, and, in 1 89 1, to the decennial board of equalization. In the various official capacities in which he has served Mr. Stoppelman has been alert and conscientious, holding the interests of the pub- lic at heart and doing all in his power to fur- ther wise municipal government and general prosperity. His life has been one of unswerv- ing integrity and honor, and within the long years of his residence in Dayton he has not faiied to gain and retain the esteem and confi- dence of the community. The marriage of Mr. Stoppelman was solemnized on the 4th of October, 1855, when he was united to Miss Margaret B. Schirmer, of Wapakoneta, Auglaize county, this state, she being a native of the county mentioned. To this union ten children have been born, and of the number six are living, namely: Susan, wife of Henry F. Logel, of Dayton; Margaret C. , a teacher in the Dayton public schools; John H., Jr., secretary of the Weston Paper company; Charles F., in the employ of W. L. Adamson & Co., wholesale grocers of this city; William S., assistant secretary of the Dayton water works, and Daniel W., at home. Three children died in infancy, and Flora A., who was born August 27, 1875, died September 10, 1886. The religious connections of the family are with Saint Paul's Lutheran church, on Wavne street. >-TT»OSEPH STRAUB, merchant, of Day- M ton, Ohio, is a native of the city, a son A 1 of parents who were among the early settlers here and of the most sturdy German stock. He conducts a successful re- tail grocery at the corner of Boltin and McLain streets, where he has been located for a term of years. He was born September 25, 1854, in that portion of Dayton then known as Frenchtown. His father, Joseph Straub, Sr. , who is still living and who is honored as one of the patriarchs of Dayton, which has been the scene of his honest and active endeavors for so many years, was born in Baden, Germany, whence, in the early '50s, he emigrated to America. Upon reaching the United States the young German made his way directly to Dayton, which has ever since been his home, his arrival here dating back to 1852. In the fatherland he had learned the trades of cooper- ing and brewing, and soon after his arrival in Dayton he built the old brewery on Third street and operated the same for several years, after which he resumed work at the cooper's trade. In the war of the Rebellion he ren- dered loyal service in the Fifty-eighth Ohio vol- unteer infantry, being a member of Capt. Diston's company. The maiden name of his wife was Kunigunda Maier. By her marriage to Joseph Straub, Sr. , she became the mother of five children, all of whom are still living. Joseph Straub, Jr., the immediate subject of this review, passed his youthful days in Day- ton, receiving his education in the public schools, after which he assumed the practical duties of life by securing a clerkship in the grocery of John Wenz, in whose employ he remained four years, after which he held a sim- ilar position in the dry-goods establishment of Bunstine, Moses & Boyer for a period of three years. His next employment was as a sales- man in the clothing house of Chamberlain & Parker, with whom he remained only about 792 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD nine months, when he became identified with the wholesale notion trade in the establish- ment of C. C. Moses, with whom he remained for two years. He then engaged, on his own account, in the confectionery business, and continued this enterprise with increasing suc- cess for a period of five years, after which he disposed of the same and accepted a position with William Focke & Sons, meat dealers, with whom he remained for three years. In October, 1886, he established his present suc- cessful business by opening a well-equipped and attractive grocery at the location already noted, and here he has since continued, hold- ing a representative patronage and the best class of trade. He has other interests which demand a part of his time and attention, and among these it may be noted that for the past five years he has been a member of the direct- ory of the Permanent Building & Savings as- sociation, of Dayton, and for the past two years has been vice-president of the same. In his political faith Mr. Straub is a mem- ber of the democratic party. Fraternally, he is a member of the order known as the Amer- ican Sons of Columbus and is also identified with the A. O. U. W. and the C. K. of O. In the year 1876 was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Straub to Miss Josephine Clemens, a daughter of Nicholas Clemens, of Dayton. They are the parents of four daughters, viz: Henrietta, Ida, Marie and Helen. He and his family are members of Holy Trinity Roman Catholic church. at 'AYLAND P. SUNDERLAND, treasurer of Montgomery county, Ohio, was born near Centerville, Washington township, Montgomery county, Ohio, on February 11, 1853. He is a son of Aaron and Minerva (Irwin) Sunderland, both of whom were born in the same locality, the father in the year 1809, and the mother in 1 8 19. The father was a farmer by vocation, and died in 1872, at the age of sixty-three years. The mother is still living. The paternal grandfather of Wayland P. was Peter Sunderland, who was born in Penn- sylvania, of English descent, and was one of the earliest settlers in Montgomery county. The maternal grandfather was William Irwin, also an early settler of this county. Wayland P. Sunderland was reared on the farm. He attended the district schools and finished his education at the college in Leb- anon, Ohio. He followed farming exclusively for several years, and then turned his atten- tion to stock-raising, and for about ten years was one of the leading stockmen of the county. In the fall of 1894 he was elected treasurer of Montgomery county as the candidate of the re- publican party, and in 1896 was re-elected. He is also city treasurer of Dayton. In 1873 Mr. Sunderland was married to Lucy Reich- stetter, who was born and reared in Dayton. Mr. Sunderland is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity. a APT. CHARLES J. TERWILLI- GER is descended from families .of English and Scotch origin that have been represented for several genera- tions in the state of New York. His father was Charles Terwilliger, who died when the son, Charles, was a mere child", and his mother, Keziah Shaw, who has since re-married, is still living at an advanced age in her native state. There were four sons and one daughter born to Charles and Keziah Terwilliger, eldest of whom, Col. William H., is connected with the U. S. custom house in New York city; he was colonel of the Sixty-third New York in- fantry during the Civil war and fought with the celebrated Irish brigade in the army of the OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 793 Potomac; Thomas Peter, the second son, died in January, 1895, h' s place of residence at the time being Makanda, Ills. , where he was engaged in the manufacture of flour; Moses S. is station and express agent for the New York & Erie railroad at Susquehanna, Penn., and the only daughter, Sarah, wife of William Vedenberg, resides at Newark, N. J. Charles J. Terwilliger, the third in order of birth, first saw the light of day in the town of Bloomingburg, Sullivan county, N. Y. , on the 1st day of November, 1840. His early life was spent very much like that of other boys of his time, working at different occupations and attending school during the years of his minor- ity. He early learned the miller's trade and followed the same until the breaking out of the late Civil war, when he enlisted, in 1861, at Middletown, N. Y. in company C, Fourth New York cavalry, with which he served in the army of the Potomac under division com- mander, Gen. Blinker. He was first under fire at Rose Hill, Va., and in May, 1862, received a severe wound, which necessitated his removal to the U. S. general hospital at Grafton, Va., where he remained until the 22d of July following, when he was pronounced sufficiently cured to rejoin his command. The same year he re-enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixty-eighth New York infantry for nine months, which time he served with Gen. Keyes, doing garrison duty principally at Yorktown; subsequently he went further south with the Eleventh and Twelfth army corps under Gen. O. O. Howard, and was in Sher- man's army until the expiration of his term of enlistment, receiving his final discharge at Newburg, N. Y. In the fall of 1863, the captain again en- tered the army, enlisting in company E, Sixty- third New York infantry; this regiment was attached to the celebrated Irish brigade which formed a part of the famous Second corps under Gen. Hancock. Capt. Terwilliger was with his command in all the maneuvers of the corps during the final campaigns of the war, and took part in a number of celebrated bat- tles; he was present at the surrender of the Confederate forces of Gen. Lee at Appomat- tox, and took part in the grand review of the victorious armies of the Union at Washington, in May, 1865. It was during the period of his third enlistment that he was promoted from the ranks in January, 1864, first lieuten- ant of company E, and on the 2d day of April, 1865, was made captain, in which ca- pacity he served until the close of the war. In the grand review at the national capital the captain commanded the "color company" of the right. He held every position in the Sixty- third from private to captain, and at one time, by reason of the absence of other officers, he filled the positions of quartermaster and of ad- jutant; toward the close of the war, the right being weakened by casualties, promotions were not made to fill vacancies, as had formerly been the custom, which accounts for the im- portant places with which he was entrusted at different times. The captain received his final discharge July 8, 1865, at Hart's Island, N. Y., and shortly thereafter, turned his attention to railroading, finding employ- ment with the New York & Erie company, with which he remained eighteen years, filling during that time various positions, from that of section foreman to that of conductor. Severing his connection with the road, the captain next entered the employ of the War- der, Bushnell & Glessner Manufacturing com- pany of Springfield, O., and for several years traveled over the greater part of the United States, as an expert machinist. He was finally compelled to relinquish this arduous employ- ment on account of injuries received while in the service; these, intensified by advancing years, induced him in 1893 to become an in- 794 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD mate of the National Home for Disabled Volun- teers, where ever since his admission his worth has been recognized, and he has been entrusted with lucrative employment suited to his abili- ty. In November, 1895, he was appointed captain of company Thirty-one, which posi- tion he now holds. The captain gave the best years of his life to the service of his country, and his military record covers a period of over forty -two months of the most active period of the Rebellion; he proved true to every trust, was never known to flinch in time of danger, and now, in his declining years, while enjoying the comfort and protection of the government he so nobly defended, looks back to the stir- ring scenes through which he passed, as the most useful, if not the most agreeable, part of his life. He is a member of the Odd Fellows fraternity, an active worker in the G. A. R., and politically wields an influence for the democratic party. The captain was married, in his twenty-second year, to Miss Charlotte Wilson, who departed this life at Port Jervis, N. V., in 1870, leaving a daughter, who at this time is a resident of Springfield, Ohio. BRANK LEOPOLD SUTTER, archi- tect of Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city August 22, 1866, and is one of the four children born to Leopold and Adeline (Nowak) Sutter. Leopold Sutter, father of Frank L. Sutter, was born in the grand duchy of Baden, Ger- many, October 10, 1832, came to America in 1852, and for six months lived in Circleville, Ohio ; he then came to Dayton and at once en- tered the employ of Ladow & Winder, as a mar- ble cutter, and was thus employed for fifteen years, when he was made foreman of the works of Webber & Lehman, cut-stone contractors. This firm sold out to William Huffman, who, in turn, sold to L. H. Webber ; but Mr. Sutter was not disturbed in his position of foreman. In 1 88 1, however, Mr. Sutter engaged in busi- ness on his own account, with his eldest son, Benjamin, as a partner; but the son died in 1S90, when the father returned to Mr. Webber, by whom he is still employed as a cut-stone contractor. Mrs. Adeline ( Nowak ) Sutter, also a native of Baden, Germany, was born July 4, 1832, came to America in 1852, and married Leopold Sutter in Dayton in 1855. Of the three chil- dren born to them, beside our subject, one died in infancy ; Benjamin Bernard, alluded to above as having been the business partner of his father, died at the age of thirty-one years, leaving his widow with one son — the latter also now deceased ; Mary is the widow of Anthony Kramer, who was a merchant of Day- ton and died February 3, 1895, leaving, beside his widow, two children — Albert A. and Julia Marie — the former of whom is employed in the office of Mr. Sutter. Frank L. Sutter, after receiving a solid common-school education, at the age of six- teen years entered the office of Matthew Bur- rovves, architect, as a student ; five months later he entered the office of C. I. Williams, where he continued his studies and remained until 1889, when he embarked in business on his own account. On January 1, 1893, he entered into a partnership with Joseph C. Peters, which continued until September 1, 1896, when it was dissolved by mutual consent. The marriage of Mr. Sutter took place in Dayton April 30, 1889, to Miss Catherine Mun- ger, a native of the city and a daughter of George and Mary Munger. The mother of Mrs. Sutter tlied in 1881, and the father, who was a brickmaker, died in 1889 — the year of his daughter's marriage. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Munger were born eight children, viz: Martin, John, Frank, Joseph, George (de- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 795 ceased), Mary, Magdalene and Katie (Mrs. Sutter). Of this family, Martin is engaged in the real-estate and insurance business; John served three terms as county commissioner of Montgomery county, and is now living in re- tirement; Frank and Joseph are manufacturers of brick; Mary is the wife of Matthias Kammer, a manufacturer, and Magdalene is the wife of John Uschold. To the felicitous marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Sutter have been born four chil- dren, of whom Helen Margaret died when six months old, the survivors being Horace Ben- jamin, Ruth and Naomi — all three beneath the parental roof. Mr. Sutter is a member of the American Architects' association and of several of the secret fraternal societies of Dayton, and polit- ically is democratic in his proclivities. As an architect he keeps well abreast of his profession, is a subscriber to all the standard journals pub- lished in the interest of his art, and possesses a well filled library of works on architecture and collateral sciences. Previous to forming his late partnership he had designed the plans, ground and elevation, of several fine church buildings and private residences in Dayton and elsewhere, and had achieved a fine reputation as a master of his art. Allusion may also be made here to some of the stone work superintended or executed by Leopold Sutter, above named, which includes that in the Dayton public library building, the court house, the Huffman block, and Col. Mead's residence, in Dayton; the Warren county jail,' as well as in many structures in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus. He per- sonally laid the stone work of the Troy high school building, built the chapel at the na- tional soldiers' home, and, indeed, was con- nected with the erection of nearly all the churches and public buildings of the Gem City, and is still actively engaged in the prosecution of his life-long occupation. ^y^V ICHOLAS THOMAS, prorpietor of m the Hydraulic brewery, of Dayton, r Ohio, was born in Germany in 1825, the son of John and Rickey (Machias) Thomas, both of whom died in Germany. In 1848, at the age of twenty-three years, N. Thomas landed in New Orleans, came up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers by boat as far as Cincinnati, walking from that city to Dayton, and thence to the home of an uncle in Decatur, Ind., with whom he remained one winter. He then worked on the Wabash canal until the close of the following summer, when he re- turned to Dayton and worked for three years in the Dickey stone quarry, from which has been taken the stone of which many of the fine business blocks and residences of the city are constructed. He then, in 1852, engaged with Daniel Beckel in his teaming business, and was one of those who assisted in the work of excavation for the cellar of the Beckel house. In 1855 Mr. Thomas married Miss Mar- garet Higlerfoot, who was born in Oldenburg, Germany, in 1S25, and to them have been born three children — John H., Katie and Henry A., the last named being the only one married. In 1855 Mr. Thomas, having saved a sufficient sum from his earnings, purchased a team and for fourteen years drove his own wagon. He was then for four years appointed watchman of the Dayton banks. In 1873 he established a grocery and saloon, corner of Front and Third streets, conducting a success- ful business for some years. Mr. Thomas then took an important step, and one which has exerted a favorable influence upon his later fortunes. In 1881 he embarked his hard- earned capital in the present enterprise, the outcome of which might well have been con- sidered doubtful, as the plant where he located had been controlled during the previous eight years by three distinct firms. Its present sound condition is owing to the ability of one 796 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD man, who, meeting the sharpest competition, increased a business of 2,000 barrels in 1881 to 5,000 barrels in 1885, to 9,000 barrels in 1890, to 10,000 barrels in 1891, to 14,000 barrels for the fiscal year ending July 1, 1893, and to about 20,000 barrels for 1896. This business has been conducted without change of location since Mr. Thomas took it in 1 88 1. The first firm name was N. Thomas & Co., the present title being adopted in 1892. George Weddle, who was long connected with Mr. Thomas in the brewery, withdrew in 1892. He was a conscientious business man, of personal reliability, and secured his large knowledge of brewing wholly through his ex- perience and training in this plant. John H. Thomas, son of the proprietor, was born in Dayton in 1859. He was edu- cated in this city at the public schools, finish- ing at the Miami Commercial college. When seventeen years of age he assisted his father in the grocery and afterward in the office of the brewery, manifesting from the first decided financial ability. All his business experience has been with his father, who has found in hjm an apt pupil, and one who may be relied upon in the future to take up the work of carrying an already large business to even greater mag- nitude. Undoubtedly the continued success of this brewery depends to a large extent upon John H. Thomas by reason of the age of his father. Henry A. Thomas, brother of John H., was born in Dayton in 1864. Like his brother he has a public school education, at- tending also the Miami Commercial college. After acquiring a knowledge of business at the grocery and the brewery, being desirous to be- come an expert, he engaged in 1885 with the Herman Lackmann brewery, and afterward with J. G. Sohn & Co., being with these Cin- cinnati breweries four years. While manifest- ing great skill in the brewing department, he was so apt in mechanics that, in 1890, the machinery of the brewery of his father was placed under his contral. Conversant with all departments of the business, his skill and knowledge are invaluable in promoting the best interests of the concern. In politics Mr. Thomas is a democrat, and in religion he, and all the members of his fam- ily, are members of the Catholic church. His residence is at No. 1732 East Third street, and he is recognized as one of the most solid busi- ness men of the Gem City. (D AJ. MILTON McCOY, civilian and soldier, was born December 9, 1838, near Tarlton, Pickaway coun- ty, Ohio, and is descended from one of the earliest pioneer families of the county of Ross. His father, James McCoy, was a son of William and Drusilla (Brown- ing) McCoy, who emigrated from near Gettys- burg, Pa., to Flemingsburg, Ky. , in 1795, and in 1797 moved to the Northwest territory, settled north of Chillicothe, on the banks of Kinnikinnick creek, and there reared a family which has been identified with that part of the state for nearly if not quite a century. James McCoy married, in the county of Ross, Eliza- beth Entrekin, whose father, also a prominent pioneer resident, served with distinction in the war of 1 8 12 as lieutenant in what was known as the " Irish Gray" company. James McCoy and family emigrated about the year 1826 to Pickaway county, locating upon a farm not far from Tarlton, and in November, 1839, moved to the city of Circleville, where Mr. McCoy died January 10, 1 881, his wife having departed life on the 23d of August, 1872. Maj. McCoy attended, in youth, the public schools of Circleville, Ohio, and later com- pleted a course at South Salem academy. From boyhood his predilection was for a mili- tary life, and as soon as age permitted, he be- ^y^^r^L OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 799 came a member of the Ohio state militia organization, serving as second sergeant in the Pickaway guards until the breaking out of the late Civil war. When President Lincoln is- sued his first call for volunteers, Mr. McCoy at once responded, enlisting April 16, 1861, as a private, but upon the assembling of the company at Camp Jackson, Columbus, for the purpose of effecting an organization, he was chosen second lieutenant. The company designated as company G, was assigned to the Second Ohio regiment, which proceeded to Harrisburg, Pa., thence to Lancaster and Philadelphia, where some time was spent in company drill. From the latter city the regi- ment went to Washington city by way of Baltimore, Md., going into camp north of the capitol building and forming a part of the bri- gade commanded by Gen. Robert C. Schenck, the other regiments being the First Ohio and Second New York. This brigade was assigned to Gen. Tyler's division, which, on the same night that Col. Ellsworth was killed at Alex- andria, crossed the Long bridge into Virginia. At daylight on the following morning the com- mand went into camp near Alexandria, but soon afterward moved farther north along the railroad and established Camp Upton, Va. , where the regiment remained doing picket duty until the advance upon the rebels at Bull Run. While in Camp Upton, Lieut. McCoy was made provost marshal of Gen. Schenck's brigade, having under his command thirty men, one from each company in the brigade. On the 2 1st day of July, the provost guard being near the hospital, established on the Warrenton road, while having in charge a lot of prisoners, a charge was made by a company of Confederate cavalry, which he with the guard and quite a number of stragglers on the hunt for water, succeeded in repulsing after a sharp and sanguinary engagement. After the battle of Bull Run, the Second 30 Ohio proceeded to Columbus, Ohio, where it was mustered out of service several days after the expiration of its period of enlistment. Imme- diately thereafter Lieut. McCoy recruited a company for the three years' service, which was designated as company I, and formed a part of the Second Ohio, then being organized at Camp Dennison, and commanded by the late Col. L. A. Harris. This regiment moved into Kentucky as far as Paris, thence through the eastern part of the state under Gen. Nel- son, participating in a number of engagements during that memorable campaign, and advanc- ing to a point near Pound Gap, thence to the mouth of the Sandy river, where the troops took steamers and proceeded to Louisville, Ky., arriving there the morning of the 25th of No- vember, 1 86 1 . After remaining for a short time at the latter place, the command proceeded to a point south of Elizabethtown, going into winter quarters at Bacon Creek, Ky., and was assigned to a brigade commanded by Gen. Joshua Sill. In the early spring the troops took up their line of march for Bowling Green, Ky. , and Nashville, Tenn., under the command of Gen. O. M. Mitchell, commanding division, arriving at the latter place at the same time with the army which effected the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson; continuing the ad- vance they succeeded in capturing Murfrees- boro, Shelbyville, Fayetteville, Tenn., and Huntsville, Ala. At the last named place a large amount of rolling stock of the Memphis & Charleston railroad, consisting of seven- teen locomotives and nearly 400 cars, fell into the hands of the Federals, resulting in the cut- ting of the lines, thus preventing the enemy from transporting troops from Chattanooga, Tenn., to Corinth, Miss. Capt. McCoy served at the head of his company at the capture of Stephenson and the attack upon Bridgeport, Ala., and later was with Buell in the celebrated pursuit of the 800 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD rebel forces under Gen. Bragg. He was de- tailed with his company to escort batteries over the mountains from Battle Creek to Mur- freesboro, thence with his command to Louis- ville, where the regiment was placed in Gen. Rosecran's division, Gen. A. McD. McCook's corps. Proceeding in pursuit of the rebel Gen. Bragg, the two forces finally met October 8, 1862, on the bloody field of Perryville, Ky. , where Capt. McCoy received two painful wounds in the arm and hand; he also narrowly escaped being killed by a musket-ball which flattened itself against his scabbard, battering the latter so as to unfit it for further use. Capt. McCoy still has in his possession this old scabbard, which he carefully preserves as a memento of that bloody day of '62, and which he prizes more highly than any of his many relics of the war. On account of his in- juries he asked for and was granted a furlough, which was spent in the vain effort to obtain re- lief from suffering. In the spring of 1863, he returned to the regiment, but, after a careful examination of his wounds by skillful surgeons, at Murfreesboro, Tenn., they were pronounced very obstinate and exceedingly difficult to heal, and Capt. McCoy resigned his command and returned to the peaceful vocations of civil life. For some years following the war, he was en- gaged in farming, stock raising and shipping grain, in all of which he met with encouraging success. He followed agriculture until 1888, at which time he was chosen to the position of treasurer of the Central Branch, which he now occupies in the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Maj. McCoy has proved himself a capable and painstaking official, and since his connec- tion with the national home has discharged his duties in such a manner as to win the confi- dence and esteem of those under his charge and to gain the approbation of his superiors. He is a great lover of books, and his library, made up of the choicest products of the greatest minds in the field of literature, is one of the chief attractions of his delightful home. The major has given much time as well as considerable means in adding to his collection such books as have value on account of age, and a lover of books could desire no greater pleasure than to linger awhile among the old and rare volumes upon his shelves, some of which represent the earliest stage of the art preservative. Maj. McCoy was twice elected to the Ohio legislature from Ross county, serv- ing continuously from 1871 to 1875, the sec- ond term as speaker pro tern, of the house. He was elected as a democrat and took an active part as a member, serving on a number of important committees and carrying through important legislation, the wisdom of which has been abundantly demonstrated by the years which have since intervened. He intro- duced the first "school book bill" in an Ohio legislature. Maj. McCoy was married March 19, 1863, to Catherine Crouse, daughter of John and Lydia Crouse, and a native of the county of Ross, where the Crouse family settled as early as the year 1798. Major and Mrs. McCoy have three living children, namely: Alfred C, who married Mary Volmer and resides on the home farm in Ross county; Sarah M., wife of Dr. S. S. Wilcox, formerly first assistant surgeon in the Central Branch, and now of Columbus, Ohio; and Lincoln D., a student in the Cin- cinnati Academy of Music. The deceased members of the family are George \V. and Catherine, both of whom died in childhood. Maj. McCoy is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Loyal Legion, and the G. A. R. ; belongs to Dayton lodge, No. 147; Unity chap- ter, No. 16, and R. & S. M. council, No. 9, Ohio grand commandery. He was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian church, and, while not a member of any religious organiza- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 801 tion, is a liberal supporter of christian and moral movements. Mrs. McCoy is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. EENRY THEOBALD, Jr., secretary of the National Cash Register com- pany, at Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city September 28, 1865. His father, Henry Theobald, Sr. , is one of Day- ton's oldest citizens, is an ex-soldier, has been prominent in religious matters, and has always taken a keen interest in the development of the Gem City. Henry Theobald, Sr. , was born in Doncas- ter, Yorkshire, England, November 9, 1826, and was a son of William and Alice Theobald, natives of Nottinghamshire. The deaths of William and Alice occurred, respectively, at Doncaster in 1869 and 1873. Their son, Henry, came to the United States at the age of seventeen years, found employment in Mor- ristown, N. J., in 1844, at painting and grain- ing, and there remained for eighteen months. He went to New York city in the summer of 1846, but in the fall of the same year returned to New Jersey, following his calling of painter in Asbury, Warren county, in summer, and in winter teaching a district school at Broad- way, in the same county. May 4, 1848, he married Miss Sarah Maria Dunham, who was born in Asbury, June 28, 1827, a daughter of Cyrus and Mercy Dunham, also natives of New Jersey. After marriage Mr. Theobald returned to Morristcwn, where he remained until De- cember 23, 1848, when he came to Ohio and settled in Dayton. Here he was actively en- gaged in the painting business until 1862, when he enlisted, as a musician, in company A, Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry. At the battle of Stone River the band's instruments were captured by the enemy, from which time forward Mr. Theobald acted as a member of the ambulance corps, and also as bugler, and was present at all engagements in which his regiment took part. The night before the bat- tle of Franklin, while on a forced march and acting in his capacity of bugler, his foot was crushed and his ankle dislocated by the fall of his horse through a bridge, and he suffered for the thirty-six hours following before his wounds were properly treated. He was then sent to Nashville, Tenn., thence to Louisville, Ky., and thence to New Albany, Ind., where he was placed in hospital No. 8, and remained until honorably discharged in May, 1865, reaching Dayton May 28. Mr. Theobald was too sorely injured, however, to resume his trade as a painter, and on the 5th day of June, 1865, accepted a position as bookkeeper in the brewery of J. W. Harries, and remained there until August, 1877, when Mr. Harries went out of business. Mr. Theobald was then for a number of years employed as bookkeeper at the Phillips Cotton mill, after which he be- came secretary to George L. Phillips, who was at that time manager for the Bell Telephone company for the western and southern states. Mr. Theobald held this position until the office was transferred to Chicago, 111., since which time he has lived in comparative retirement, occasionally auditing accounts for various busi- ness firms in Dayton. Henry Theobald, Sr. , has four living chil- dren, viz: William D., of Canton, Ohio; John L., with L. D. Reynolds & Co., of Day- ton; Emma L. , school and music teacher of Dayton: and Henry, Jr., whose name opens this article. Mr. Theobald is prominent as a teacher of vocal music, and for forty years has been tutor of this art in the Sunday-schools of Dayton. Fraternally he is a member of Saint John's lodge, No. .13, F. & A. M. ; Unity chapter, No. 16, R. A. M.; Reese council, No. 9, R. & S. M., and Reed commandery. No. 6, K. T. In politics he is a republican. 802 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Henry Theobald, Jr., attended the public schools of Dayton and was graduated from the Central high school in 1882 with the highest honors, being valedictorian of his class. With the energy and determination which have always marked him, Mr. Theobald at once entered earnestly into business. His first position was that of assistant bookkeeper in a papermaking establishment. He soon re- moved, however, to Canton, Ohio, where he was employed again as bookkeeper. He did not find here, however, the opportunity of ad- vancement which he desired and returned to Dayton, where he took a thorough course in stenography and typewriting. When this course was completed, in Octo- ber, 1884, Mr. Theobald entered the employ of the National Cash Register company. His career since that time has shown what can be accomplished by hard work, steady application and a conscientious endeavor to do one's best under all circumstances. For two years Mr. Theobald served as a stenographer. At the end of that time his ability was recognized to such an extent that he was practically made corresponding secretary of the company, all of the correspondence being under his charge. In June, 1891, Mr. Theobald was elected gen- eral secretary of the company, which position he has since held, yet in addition to the duties of that place Mr. Theobald has devoted much time and work to the advancement of the com- pany's interests in other directions. About two years ago he temporarily left his work as secretary, and with the president of the com- pany devoted himself to re-organizing the fac- tory, and, as a result of their work, the factory of the National Cash Register company stands to-day as the model institution of its kind in the world. Mr. Theobald also spent some time in New York city organizing a sales agency for the company, but his most creditable work is the one which he has lately completed. In the early summer of 1895, President John H. Patterson and Mr. Theobald went to Europe, where for some time the company had done an irregular and somewhat unsatisfactory business. President Patterson remained but a short time and returned to America, leaving Mr. Theobald to execute the great work of or- ganizing the European trade: The results of this work were shown at the recent interna- tional convention of the sales agents of the company which was held in October last. At this convention sales agents were present from France, Germany, England, Belgium, Holland and Denmark. The favorable impressions which they produced is emphasized by the fact that the orders from European territories have been quadrupled since Mr. Theobald crossed the water. Mr. Theobald is again at the factory and actively employed as chairman of the executive committee, which, under the supervision of the president and vice-president, controls all this great business. Mr. Theobald was married on June 25, 1890, to Miss Mary J. McCullough, of Dayton, daughter of Rev. P. M. McCullough, one of the old citizens. To this union one son, Robert R. , was born December 7, 1891. eVAN OWEN THOMAS, superintend- ent of markets of the city of Dayton, was born in Newport, Ky. , February 7, 1836. His father, a native of Wales, was also named Evan Owen Thomas, and came from his native country to the United States in 1825. He was born in the year 1799 and learned the trade of weaver, becoming a practical factory hand in the old country. Upon arriving in the United States he located in Indianapolis, where he married Jane Mayes, widow of John Hamarman, who was born and reared near Delaware, Ohio. From Indian- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 803 apolis they removed to Zanesville, Ohio, and thence to Newport, Ky., finally coming to Dayton, Ohio, in 1838, to take charge of what is now the Kratochwill mill. Mr. Thomas was not only a practical factory man, but was also a man of genius and an inventor of note. He died in Dayton in 1892, his wife having died some time before. They were the parents of eight children, five of whom are still living, and beside these eight the mother had three children by a former marriage. Evan Owen Thomas, the subject of this sketch, was reared in Dayton, and was edu- cated in the excellent public schools of that city. In September, 1861, he enlisted in com- pany E, Fifty-ninth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, and served until mustered out No- vember 1, 1S64. He was captured at Cyn- thiana, Ky. , July 22, 1862, but after being a prisoner two days was paroled. In October, 1863, after the battle of Chickamauga, while guarding an ammunition train, he was again taken prisoner, but after three days was pa- roled at McMinnville, Tenn. Having returned from the war Mr. Thomas began working on December 26, 1864, for the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad com- pany as brakeman, was promoted to the posi- tion of conductor on a passenger train, and for twenty-eight years was in the employ of that company. On August 1, 1894, he was appointed superintendent of markets for Day- ton and was re-appointed in 1S95. Mr. Thomas is a member of the Old Guard post, No. 23, Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. Thomas was married December 20, 1854, to Isabella Marshall, of Newport, Ky. To this marriage there have been born four children, as follows : Albert, superintendent of the Dayton Electric Light company; Mary, who died in her twenty-first year ; John E. , of Toledo, Ohio, and Evan Owen, who died when seven years of age. Mr. Thomas is a man of intelligence and integrity, and is dis- charging the responsible duties of his office with personal credit and to the approval of the people of the city. *w * ENRY E. THOMAS, chief guide at l^\ the national military home, Dayton, j|^ P Ohio, was born in Medford, Burling- ton county, N. J., July 16, 1846, and is a son of Jacob and Eliza (Yost) Thomas, of whom the former was born in Lancaster county, Pa., in 1800, and the latter in New Jersey in 1802. They were the parents of five children, born in the following order: Esther, now Mrs. Hollingsworth and residing in Camden, N. J. ; Jacob, who served in the Tenth New Jersey volunteer infantry three years, and died in a southern prison pen after his term of enlistment had expired; Stephen, who served one year in the navy in the late war, and then for nine months in the Thirty-third New Jer- sey infantry; George, who served three years in the New Jersey cavalry, is living in Clayton, N. J., and Henry E., twin of George. Henry E. Thomas enlisted February 5, 1862, in company I, Second Pennsylvania heavy artillery, served three years, five months and twenty days, and took part in many of the severest engagements of the Civil war. He was attached to the Sixth army corps, and fought through the Wilderness, at Spottsyl- vania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg (battles and siege), was at the mine explosion in front of Petersburg, and on September 29, 1864, was shot through the right shoulder and left leg at the battle of Chapin's farm, being so severely wounded as to incapacitate him for further military duty. June 29, 1865, "he was honor- ably discharged by reason of his wounds and has ever since been a pensioner. His father died in 1861, and, upon his discharge, Henry returned to the home of his mother, who sur- 804 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD vived until July 3, 1873. Mr. Thomas worked in rolling-mills at various points until 1886, when he came to the national military home near Dayton, where he has ever since been em- ployed at light work, and for the past two years has filled the position of chief guide. This office is intended to gratify the curiosity of visitors and sight-seers, and Mr. Thomas is called upon[jto acquaint many hundreds with the beauties and interesting features of this un- rivaled institution. In January, 1894, Mr. Thomas married Mrs. Ella Craft, a native of Saint Louis, Mo. ; he has a pleasant home, purchased almost wholly with savings from his pension. He is an honored member of encampment No. 145, Union Veteran Legion, of Dayton, votes the republican ticket, adheres to the Methodist re- ligion, in which he was reared, and enjoys the sincere regard of all who know him. HLBERT THOMAS, superintendent of the Dayton Electric Light company, was born in Clermont county, Ohio, June 26, 1856, and is a son of Evan Owen Thomas, one of the old and well known residents of Dayton, and who is at the present time city market master. Evan Owen Thomas brought his wife and family to Dayton in 1861, having previously for many years been a con- ductor on the Dayton & Michigan railroad, his family residing either at Lima or at Toledo, according to the convenience and interest of Mr. Thomas. It was in the public schools of Toledo, Lima and Dayton that Albert received his education. While the family was living at Lima he began his career in railroading, taking a position as brakeman on the passenger train of which his father was conductor. At this time he was but thirteen years of age. After a short experience in this line he entered the grammar school at Toledo, then under the management of S. C. Crumbaugh, who had been a teacher in Dayton. Still later he at- tended the public schools in Toledo, afterward returning to the railroad as brakeman. In course of time he was promoted to a position as fireman on a locomotive under Master Me- chanic John Black at Lima. This position he held for five years and eleven months, and at the end of this period was promoted to the position of locomotive engineer on the Dayton & Michigan railroad. After two years' service in this capacity on that railroad, he accepted a similar position on the Nickel Plate railroad, then in course of construction, remaining on this road as an engineer for fifteen months. Retiring from railroad life, he came to Day- ton and established himself in the retail grocery business, which he conducted for three years, and then took a place as stationary engineer with the Troy Laundry company, remaining with this concern for about two years and a half. Upon the erection of the Dayton Elec- tric Light company's plant in 1S87, he became chief engineer for that company, and at the end of two years was promoted to the position of superintendent, which office he still retains. Thus it will be seen that steady promotion has been the history of the life of Mr. Thomas, which can have been the result only of faith- fulness and efficiency in the several positions he has filled. Mr. Thomas is a member of Iola lodge. No. 83, Knights of Pythias; of Iola division, uniform rank; of Earnshaw camp, Sons of Veterans; of the Knights of the Ancient Essenic Order, and of Mystic lodge, No. 405, F. & A. M. He was married October 25, 1877, to M' ss Maggie Kirby, youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Kirby, old citizens of Dayton. To this marriage there have been born four chil- dren, as follows: Mary, Isabella, Arthur and Albert O. Both sons died while young. Mr. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 805 and Mrs. Thomas are members of the First Baptist church of Dayton, which was organ- ized May 29, 1824. %y^\ EV. HENRY ADAMS THOMPSON, 1^ D. D., LL. D., of Dayton, Ohio, P was born in Center county, Pa. , March 2 3. 1 837, and traces his paternal de- scent to an old family of Tyrone, Ireland, the American branch of which was founded by his great-grandfather. John Thompson, the father of Henry A., was also a native of Center county, Pa., and was born May 13, 1798. He was early left an orphan and was reared by a Quaker family, whose religious tenets he adopted as his own. He became a leading man in his county and served two terms as its sheriff, being a demo- crat in his politics and strongly anti-slavery. He married Miss Lydia Blake, who was born March 19, 1799, and died in the Methodist faith May 7, 1871, the mother of twelve chil- dren, while his own death occurred January 22, 1876, near the place where he was born. Of their children, three died in infancy; of the nine that grew to maturity, six are still living. Henry Adams Thompson, having been fully prepared by a common-school and aca- demic training in his own county, entered Jeffer- son college, at Cannonsburg, Pa. (now Wash- ington & Jefferson college), in 1856, and in 1858 graduated with the degree of bachelor of arts. He then entered the Western Theolog- ical seminary, of Allegheny City, Pa., where he studied for two years. In 1861 he was made professor of mathematics in Western college, Iowa, and in 1872 became president of Otterbein university, at Westerville, Ohio — which dignified position he held for fourteen years. In 1873 his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of D. D., and that of LL. D. was conferred, in 1886, by the Westfield (111.) college. He has rendered much valuable service to his church, and was its delegate to the Methodist Ecumenical Conference held in Lon- don, England, at which he read a paper on the "Training of Children in Sunday-school and Church." Dr. Thompson has also de- voted much' of his time and talents to matters educational, outside of his profession. He delivered the dedicatory address of the Union Biblical seminary, organized the board of education within the church, designed to aid in preparing young men for the ministry; he has occupied the position of associate editor of the Sunday-school literature of the church since May, 1893, and in this line contributes to Our Bible Teacher, Our Bible Lesson Quarterly, Our Intermediate Quarterly, The Children's Friend, Lessons for the Little Ones, etc. In addition to this labor, he has found time to prepare a work, which will soon be published under the title of Women of the Bible, which will, no doubt, add to his former reputation as editor and publisher of A Demand for an Educated Ministry, The Schools of the Prophets, Power of the In- visible, and Our Bishops. Dr. Thompson has likewise written extensively for the relig- ious and reform press, and his contributions to the latter upon temperance topics have led him somewhat into politics. He was nominated by the prohibition party for lieutenant-gov- ernor of Ohio in 1874, was chairman of the national prohibition convention in 1876, was his party's candidate for governor in 1887, was on the ticket for vice-president in connec- tion with Neal Dow in 1880, and has been chairman of the Ohio prohibition executive committee for many years. In 1862 Rev. H. A. Thompson was united in the bonds of matrimony with Miss Harriet E. Copeland, a native of Galena, Ohio, and of New England descent. Mrs. Thompson was educated at the Granville Female college, 806 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD and was a trained artist and a teacher of draw- ing and painting in a female seminary near Cincinnati. To the felicitous union of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have been born three children, viz: Jessie Fremont, who gradu- ated from Otterbein university and from the Woman's Medical college of Philadelphia, and is married to Charles L. Bogle, an attorney, formerly of Springfield, Ohio, but now located in New York city; Clara Barton, who was also educated at Otterbein university, and is now the wife of Walter B. Huffman, bookkeeper for the Singer Sewing Machine company in Dayton; and Louis Agassiz, also a graduate from Otterbein and now a student in his sec- ond year at the Bellevue Hospital Medical college, New York city. Dr. Thompson is a profound scholar and is the possessor of a magnificent library, in which he passes much of his time with his books. He was one of the first members of the Ohio State Archaeological & Historical society, and has been a director thereof since its organiza- tion, in 1885; was the assistant secretary and aided largely in the preparation of the Ohio state exhibit at the late Columbian exposition, or world's fair, at Chicago, and has done much other public service in which erudition and sound judgment were essential factors. ^y-j»ILLIAM HENRY TOMLINSON, MM one of the recent additions to the \%J distingi hedbarof the city of Day- ton, was born in that city January 28, 1 86 1. He is a son of W. R. and Margaret (Needham) Tomlinson, both natives of Guil- ford county, N. C, who were taken early to Indiana by their parents, and there married, and removed to Dayton, Ohio, in i860. Mrs. Margaret Tomlinson died August 20, 1895, in her seventy-fourth year, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Tomlinson was for a number of years a merchant in In- diana, following that branch of business with success; and he was also an influential member of the Indiana state bar. He is still living in Dayton and is in his seventy-second year. William Henry Tomlinson was reared in Dayton, and received an excellent education in the schools of that city, attending first the ele- mentary and grammar schools and graduating later from the Central high school in 1 88 1 . He was an honor pupil of his class, having as- signed to him the salutatory oration. The year of his graduation was the first year of the honor pupil system. In the first part of the year 1882 he entered the law office of Hon. John A. McMahon, well known as having been for many years one of the leading and most able lawyers of the state, and remained there a student for two and a half years. Owing to ill health and other unfavorable circumstances, however, he did not continue his studies to the point of being admitted to the bar in 1884, as he otherwise would have done; but, instead, spent several years in other pursuits, having to earn his own living and assist others who were dependent upon him. Therefore he was not admitted to the bar until 1892. In 1890, however, he had been appointed mayor's clerk under the Hon. J. E. D. Ward, a posi- tion which he held for two years, or until April, 1892, when the office of mayor's clerk was abolished in Dayton, through the estab- lishment by the general assembly of the police court. Of this court he was elected the first clerk in the city of Dayton by the largest ma- jority of any candidate on the democratic ticket. This position he held for three years, and in April, 1895, he was nominated by the democratic party for the office of police judge, but was defeated by fifty-one votes, the candi- dates upon the ticket being defeated by major- ities ranging from 1,000 to 1,600. The day following his defeat he rented an office, and, >HillW f,ft '?« H ' lli: « l|llfjlf|tt 'llllili From "Early Dayton.' STEEL HIGH SCHOOL OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 807 as soon as his term of office as clerk of the police court expired, entered upon the practice of the law. Mr. Tomlinson is a Mason, a member of the Knights of Pythias, of the order of Forest- ers, of the Knights of the Golden Eagle, of the Improved Order of Red Men, of the Bicy- cle club and of the Comus club, fie was mar- ried October 12, 1892, to Laura L. Thorniley, she being the daughter of Capt. T. Wallace Thorniley, of Gallipolis, Ohio. At present Mr. Tomlinson is a member of the board of elections. His career as above briefly nar- rated shows that he is one of Montgomery county's trusted citizens, and that he is popu- lar outside of party lines. QHARLES R. THOMAS, a successful grocer, located at No. 428 East Fifth street, was born on Fifth street, be- tween Main and Jefferson streets, in what was then known as the Arnold row, Day- ton, August 28, 1858. Arnold row stood on the present site of the Park theater. The father of Mr. Thomas was William H. Thomas, who was a native of Ohio. For a number of years he was a shoe dealer on Jefferson street, and his death occurred in Dayton in June, 1 886, in his fifty-third year. His wife was Sarah Jane Ewing, a native of Indiana. She died in 1 871 in her thirty-fifth year. She and her husband were the parents of four children. The eldest was Rev. William N. Thomas, a Baptist minister of Lewiston, Me., who was educated in the public schools of Dayton, and afterward at Dennison university, Granville, Ohio. He completed his education at Hamil- ton college, a non-sectarian institution, estab- lished in 1822, and situated at Clinton, Oneida county, N. Y. After taking up his ministerial work he remained in the east. The other chil- dren were Hattie N., wife of George Bailey, of the Rike dry-goods house of Dayton; Charles R., and one who died in infancy. Charles R. Thomas was reared in Dayton and received his education in the public schools of this city. At the age of fourteen years he found employment in a grocery store, and afterward at various occupations until his sev- enteenth year, when he began working in a printing office. At the age of eighteen he be- gan an apprenticeship at the printer's trade, serving three years; but after completing his apprenticeship he decided not to follow that calling. For three years he was occupied as a confectioner, then became engaged with G. Durst in the grocery business, which he pur- chased from his employer after eight years' service. Under Mr. Thomas' careful man- agement his business has been marked with much success. In the spring of 1S94 Mr. Thomas was elected from the Second ward as a republican to the board of education for a term of two years. He is a member of Dayton lodge, No. 273, I. O. O. F., and of the Earnshaw camp of the Sons of Veterans, his father having served in the late Civil war as a member of company G, Second regiment, Ohio national guard, under Capt. W. H. Wells. He served three years and was mustered out of the service May 1, 1866. On February 20, 1884, Mr. Thomas was married in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Miss Josie Rome, who was born in Germantown, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, August 28, 1 861, and is a daughter of A. F. and Sarah (Coombs) Rome. Her father was a native of Germany, and at twelve years of age came to the United States with an aunt. Mr. Rome's father was one of the king's officers, and in 1876 came to visit his sons in this country, where he died. The father of Mrs. Thomas located in Mont- gomery county, when he came to the United States, but later removed to Cincinnati, where 808 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD for years he has followed the cigar and tobacco business. To Mr. and Mrs. Thomas there have been born two children, as follows: Ada Jane, born April 15, 1885, and Charles Russell, born March 12, 1S89. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are members of the First Baptist church, which was organized May 29, 1824. They reside in a comfortable home at No. 800 West Fifth street, and enjoy the respect and confidence of all their friends and neighbors. >-r , OSEPH ROBB THOMSON, justice ■ of the peace of Dayton, Ohio, was born <% J in Logan county, Ohio, August 3, 1833, of Scotch ancestry. He was reared on a farm and attended the common district school, but not more than two months in a year, that being the length of the school year when he was a boy. Remaining on the farm until he was twenty-one years of age, he then attended a select school in Union county, Ohio, for one term, and afterward graduated from Bryant, Stratton & Felton's Commercial col- lege in Cleveland, Ohio. Almost immediately after arriving at his majority, he began to learn the carpenter's trade, and having completed his apprentice- ship he began business for himself, and con- tinued to follow his trade until the breaking out of the war, when he enlisted in Union county, Ohio, in company H, Eighty-second regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, on Novem- ber 22, 1 86 1. He remained in the service about one year, being then discharged on ac- count of an injury received in the line of his duty. Returning to his home, and having suf- ficiently recovered from his injury, he taught two terms of school; but finding that profes- sion unsuited to his taste, he engaged in other business, subsequently going on the road as traveling agent for a boot and shoe house lo- cated in Dayton, which position he held for four and a half years, and for a year and a half thereafter he was similarly employed by a Cincinnati boot and shoe house. Then, on account of the ill health of his family, he re- tired from the road and engaged in contracting and building, for which his early experience had well fitted him. This occupation he fol- lowed for ten years, and in that time over 200 buildings in Dayton were constructed by him, among them some of the best in the city. Re- tiring from the building business, he engaged in buying and selling real estate, continuing thus engaged until 1S94, when he was elected justice of the peace for Dayton. This position he now holds. For thirty years Mr. Thomson has been a member of the Masonic fraternity, for forty years a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and of the Grand Army of the Repub- lic for many years. He was married February 12, 1S60, to Almira A. Davis, a daughter of Dr. A. S. Davis, of Summerville, Ohio. In politics he is a republican, and assisted in the organization of the party in his township. He was judge at the first election held in his town- ship in which the republican party took any interest, and he deposited the first republican ballot cast in that township. He has served as a member of the Dayton board of education, and in his present respon- sible position is most industrious and painstak- ing. He holds and deserves the good opinion of the members of the bar as well as of liti- gants who come into his court. s ents, AMUEL D. TRONE, plasterer and contractor, of 447 May street, Day- ton, Ohio, was born in York county, Pa., December 5, 1840. His par- John and Caroline (Melhorn) Trone, were natives of Pennsylvania. They were the OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 809 parents of five children, three of whom are still living, as follows : Cyrus, Mary and Samuel D. John Trone, the father, was a cooper by trade, and followed this calling all his life until he retired from active labor in 1884. He died in his native town, Hanover, Pa., in February, 1896, at eighty-five years of age. His wife died December 25, 1889, when she was seventy-nine. Mrs. Trone was a member of the Lutheran church, though both she and her husband attended the Methodist Episcopal Church. Jacob Trone, paternal grandfather of Sam- uel D., was of Scotch descent, but a native of Pennsylvania. By trade and occupation he was a cabinetmaker and undertaker. He reared a large family of children, eleven in number, and died in 1859, when sixty-eight years of age. The maternal grandfather, An- drew Melhorn, lived and died in Adams county, Pa. He was also of German descent and a cabinetmaker by trade. Samuel D. Trone was reared in Hanover, York county, Pa. In the early part of the Civil war he enlisted in company G, One Hundred and Sixty-fifth Pennsylvania volunteer infantry, and served eleven months as corporal of his company. He was slightly wounded at the battle of Fair Oaks and Black Water. Beside the above-named, he was in the battles of White House Landing, Sussex, Franklin, Suf- folk, Va., and many other minor engagements and skirmishes. After the war he returned to his home and for a time worked at his trade, that of plas- terer, and in 1867 came to Dayton, where he has ever since been engaged as a plastering contractor. August 16, i860, he married Miss Susan Heiss, daughter of Samuel and Lydia (Stabley) Heiss, of York county, Pa. To this marriage there have been born eight children, four sons and four daughters, as follows : Sarah, John, Anna, Carrie, William, George, Charles and Susie. The last named died in infancy ; Sarah married J. W. Mclntyre, of Cincinnati, and has one daughter, Irma; John, who has charge of the Smith & Vaile Manu- facturing company's works, married Miss Car- rie Dady, and has three children, viz : Ed- ward, John and Eugene ; Carrie married Frank Young, of Piqua, Ohio ; William married Sarah Reigel, and has one child, Lowell. Mr. and Mrs. Trone are members of the Lutheran church. He is a member of the American Insurance Union and of the Ameri- can Mechanics. He belongs to the Old Guard post, No. 23, G. A. R., and is, in politics, a republican. For two years Mr. Trone repre- sented the Seventh ward in the city council. When he first located in Dayton he was for some thirteen years foreman for Daniel Slentz, and thereafter, for seven years, the two men were in partnership. For the past eight years he has been in business for himself. In 1875 he erected his present substantial and com- fortable residence. While Mr. Trone does all kinds of plastering, he makes a specialty of ornamental plastering and terra cotta work. He is a stockholder and director in the Dayton Lumber & Manufacturing company. Beside his immediate interests in Dayton he is largely interested in the fruit business in Georgia and Kentucky, being a member of five different companies, as follows : The Albaugh com- pany ; the Ohio Fruit Land company ; the Diamond Fruit company, of which he is pres- ident ; the Kentucky River Fruit company, and the Woodstock Fruit company, of which he is treasurer. The first three companies have, in the aggregate, 3,200 acres of land, and the last two, 500 acres. These 3,700 acres of land have on them more than a quar- ter million trees. One pear orchard alone contains 10,000 trees. The fruit is shipped principally to New York, and in 1S95 there 810 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD were shipped as many as nineteen car loads in a day. When the season is favorable the business done by these five companies is very large, and correspondingly profitable. Mr. Trone has always been fortunate and success- ful, and is a man whose integrity of character has earned for him the confidence of all who know his true worth. IHOMAS EDWARD TUCKER, presi- dent of the Gem City Boiler com- pany, was born in Buffalo, N. Y., in 1864, the son of Thomas Tucker. While he was yet a child his parents removed to Erie, Pa. , and there he was reared, receiving his education in the public schools and later entering the Northeast college, in that state, where he completed a course of study and graduated with honors. Immediately after leaving college, with a view to acquiring that practical knowledge which he believed would best fit him for a successful career, he secured employment in a boiler manufactory in Erie, and devoted himself earnestly and intelligently to learning the trade. He made rapid progress in his chosen field of endeavor, and soon se- cured promotion to a responsible position as foreman of the Pennsylvania Boiler works at Erie, which place he retained from 1888 until 1892. In this year he came to Dayton, and upon his arrival in this city associated himself with the Brownell company in the work of contracting for and superintending the erec- tion of stand-pipes for water works systems, being thus concerned until the fall of 1895, when he organized the enterprise with which he is now identified as president and which has been pushed forward to notable success within a short time. In this business he is associated with F. D. Morrison, who is secretary and treasurer of the corporation. Both interested principals are practical and scientific experts in their line, and are able to pass judgment on every production of the establishment. All departments of the business are under their direct supervision, their principal output com- prising boilers and standpipes. The plant of the Gem City Boiler company is located at the corner of Third and Mont- gomery streets, and in its mechanical accesso- ries and equipments it has a capacity for turn- ing out the very best class of work with de- spatch. It affords employment to a corps of about sixty skilled workmen, and is in opera- tion night and day in order to meet ever in- creasing demands. It is equipped with the latest and most approved mechanical devices for expediting the work of production, and is located on the line of the Pennsylvania rail- road, so that its shipping facilities are unex- celled. The enterprise is young in years, but is forging rapidly to the front and its project- ors and operators are recognized as young men of business sagacity and integrity, whose suc- cess is the just reward of steady application and well-directed efforts. • Mr. Tucker's parents still reside in Erie, Pa., as do also their other children, there hav- ing been six in the family. Mr. Tucker traces his lineage to pure Irish sources, though the family history is one of long and close identification with American interests. In his fraternal relations Mr. Tucker is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Dayton lodge, No. 58; and of the A. S. of C. BRED L. TURNER, instructor upon the banjo, mandolin and guitar, Day- ton, Ohio, was born in Syracuse, N. Y., December 17, 1864, a son of Chauncey B. and Marial ( Horton ) Turner. The father was a minister of the gospel and died at the age of forty-two years, and the OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 811 mother soon followed, expiring from the shock occasioned by her husband's death, which oc- curred about 1868. Their three sons, thus early bereft of parental care, were soon separ- ated and were reared by relatives. The eldest, Charles W., was an artist by natural endow- ment, and is now married and living in Chi- cago, 111., while Frank, the second born, is located in Seattle, Wash. Fred L. Turner was only four years of age when he lost his parents, but he had the good fortune to fall under the care of Philonzo H. Palmer and wife, whom he remembers with feelings of gratitude for their unselfish kind- ness. Under their roof in Syracuse he was reared to manhood, and through them re- ceived his education. He had early manifested a taste for music, and in 1886 became a stu- dent under competent instructors, until he developed into an expert performer on the instruments of his choice. In the meantime he had found employment in the alligning room of the Smith Premier Typewriter factory, and continued in that occupation and in his musical studies until he came to Dayton, in 1895. Here he has since devoted his entire attention to the teaching of the use of the instruments named at the opening of this notice, being the only professional instructor in their use in this city. He has a large number of pupils and has established himself in a substantial and rapidly growing business. Mr. Turner was united in marriage April 4, 1893, with Miss Clara Van Duyne, a native of Syracuse, N. Y. , where she had always lived until coming to Dayton. Her parents are Henry Eugene and Augusta C. (Fisher) Van Duyne, and still reside in Syracuse, the father having passed the greater part of his life in the ministry. Beside Mrs. Turner they have two other children — both residents of Syracuse — viz: Ada F., married to Robert Rowe, and Arthur H., an electrician. Mrs. Clara Turner is also an accomplished musician, and as an assistant to her husband in his professional work has proven to be invaluable. Mr. and Mrs. Turner worship in the faith of the Baptist church, and in politics Mr. Tur- ner is a republican. They have gained many friends during their residence in Dayton, and their reputation as teachers of music is thor- oughly deserved. WAMES C. TURNER, a well-known ac- m countant and bookkeeper, of Dayton, (• J Ohio, is a native of this city and was born April 15, 1841, a son of William and Mary (Stockel) Turner, both natives of Kidderminster, England. William Turner, the father, was born in 1 801, came to America in 1834, locating in Dayton in 1836, and was the first superintend- ent of the first ingrain carpet factory erected west of the Alleghany mountains. About 1846 he went into the business on his own account and conducted it until his death, which oc- curred in 1 86 1, in Dayton, in which city his wife also died. These parents had born to them a family of eight children, five of whom are still living, viz: Hannah, now Mrs. Mont- gomery, of Rochester, N. Y. ; Jane, wife of Andrew Chamberlain, of Dayton, Ohio; James C. ; Richard, employed in the carriage manu- facturing business in Dayton, and Frances, wife of Isaac Moore, of the same city; the de- ceased children were named John H. (the eld- est), William and Samuel, all of whom died in Dayton. James C. Turner passed his youthful days in attending school and working in his father's factory. When President Lincoln issued his first call for volunteers for the Civil war, April 15, 1861, Mr. Turner enlisted, but the quota for three-months men had already been filled; in 1862, however, he succeeded in enlisting in Si 2 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD company I, Eighty-fourth Ohio volunteer in- fantry, was mustered in at Camp Chase, and soon afterward promoted to be orderly sergeant of his company. The regiment was assigned to Gen. Wool's division, was first stationed at Cumberland, Md., on guard duty, and five months later was ordered to New Creek, Va., and thence to Camp Delaware, Ohio, where, four months later, it was mustered out. Ser- geant Turner received a commission as first lieutenant, with authority to re-organize the company, but, through political chicanery, was superceded, and, as a consequence, he re- signed and quit the service. On his return to Dayton he was employed by the United States Express company, which he served in various capacities until 1891, with the exception of two years — 1882-84 — which were spent as tel- ler of the City National bank, of Dayton. Lieut. Turner was united in marriage, Au- gust 18, 1864, with Miss Aldah H. Snevely, daughter ofCapt. Christ and Sarah A. Snevely, early settlers of Dayton — the Snevely family having been represented in the war of 1812. To this happy marriage have been born four children: Catherine, who is unmarried and is stenographer for the American Strawboard company, at Chicago, 111. ; Idelette, a young lady of recognized musical and literary ability, and a teacher in the Dayton public schools; Joseph Brown, employed as clerk in Dayton, and Robert H., attending school in the city. In his fraternal relations Mr. Turner stands very high in the Masonic order, having at- tained the thirty-second degree, which is next to the highest under the Scottish rite; he is also active in the Knight Templar degree — the uniform rank of the same brotherhood. Lieut. Turner is likewise a member of Old Guard post, Grand Army of the Republic. Relig- iously, the relations of Mr. Turner and his family are with the Episcopalians, while in politics Mr. Turner is quite independent, al- though his proclivities are strongly democratic. The health of Mr. Turner is indifferent, and when employed his labors must necessarily be of a light character. For the past six months he has acted as accountant for the plumbing establishment of W. T. Stewart, and, being an expert, is never unemployed in his calling when his health permits him to labor. His father's family and that of Mrs. Turner's hav- ing been among the earlier residents of Day- ton, he is prominent in social circles, and has, beside, won many warm personal friends through his own intrinsic merits. >-j , AMES TURPIN, secretary and treas- m urer of the Kratochwill Milling com- rtt 1 pany, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city February 6, 1855, a son of James and Elizabeth (Griffith) Turpin, both natives of England, the father having been born in 1817 and the mother in 1820. The marriage of James and Elizabeth Tur- pin took place in New York, in 1841, after which they immediately came to Dayton, Ohio. James Turpin was a professor of music, and is credited with having been the first teacher of the art in the Gem City, teaching both vocal and instrumental music to private pupils and in the public schools. For many years he con- ducted a music store on Third street, and was well known throughout southwestern Ohio, being especially popular with the music-loving people of Dayton and this neighborhood. His death, which occurred when he was fifty-seven years old, was the occasion of great grief to his large circle of friends, who esteemed him as a man of bright and genial disposition, be- nevolent to a fault and free in the distribution of his means among the worthy poor. His widow, who is still a resident of Dayton, is highly honored by all who know her. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Turpin were OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 813 nine in number, of whom two died in infancy ; of the survivors, George is the eldest, is in the employ of the Kratochwill Milling company ; Clara is the wife of W. F. Gebhart, of the Simon Gebhart Milling company ; Jeanette is an accomplished and successful music teacher ; Fannie is married to Joseph Huston, a well-to- do agriculturist in a suburb of Dayton ; Kate is the wife of P. H. Gunckel, an attorney-at-law of Minneapolis, Minn. ; James is the subject of this memoir ; Harry B. is also a successful music teacher of Dayton. James Turpin, whose name opens this bi- ography, was quite well educated in the Day- ton public schools, and began his business life as a clerk in the banking house of Gebhart, Harman & Co., now known as the City Na- tional bank, and there passed eight months; he then entered the employ of Van Ausdal & Har- man, and for five years had entire control of the financial part of their extensive business; he next engaged, with two associates, in the manufacture of blank books and commercial stationery, and in this business he continued for five years. In November, 1887, the firm, which had been very successful, sold out, and Mr. Turpin purchased a third interest in the Kratochwill Milling company, which was in- corporated in that year and Mr. Turpin elected its secretary and treasurer. The capital stock of the company is $'100,000, the capacity of the mills 500 barrels of flour daily, and the employees number twenty-five, exclusive of the proprietors. Mr. Turpin's practical business associate is George P. Huffman, the president of the company. Mr. Turpin has also other business interests in Dayton and has been very successful financially. His prosperity is due entirely to his fine business abilities and care- ful management, as he began with no pecuni- ary aid and with no capital, and to-day, after a devotion of nineteen years only to business pursuits, he stands, while yet a young man, among the prosperous and successful citizens of Dayton. Mr. Turpin was married on October 26, 1 88 1, to Miss Louise M. Gebhart, daughter of Joseph R. and Maria (Hoagland) Gebhart. Mr. Gebhart is one of the wealthy and influen- tial business men of Dayton and a representa- tive of one of the early familes of the city, whose name appears on many of the pages of this volume. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Turpin have been born five children, of whom James Clifford, Helen Louise and Joe Gebhart still live to gladden the home, while Grace and Ellen died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Turpin are consistent members of the First English Lutheran church of Dayton, of which Mr. Turpin has been a communicant for twenty years, he and his wife being active workers in both church and Sunday-school. Mr. Turpin is a Freemason, but finds his chief enjoyment in the home circle. In politics he is a repub- lican, but takes little part in political affairs. *y* EONIDAS HAMLIN VAUGHAN, r contractor and builder, at the corner _^J^ of Wayne and Park streets, Dayton, was born in Bellbrook, Greene county, Ohio, November 3, 1854, and in his infancy was brought to Dayton by his parents, since which time he has always lived very near his present location. Harrison Vaughan, his father, was born in' Sugar Creek township, Montgomery county, in 1812, and was the son of a Virginian, whose father came from Wales. Harrison always lived in the county of his birth, with the ex- ception of the time he was serving his appren- ticeship in Chillicothe. He first married Miss Charlotte Snowden, who died within a year after the wedding ; his second marriage was with Miss Elizabeth Wilson, who was born in Waynesville, Warren county, Ohio ; this union 814 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD resulted in the birth of Leonidas H., their only child. Harrison Vaughan was also a contrac- tor and builder ; among other of his works he largely constructed the town of Centerville, and after fifty-eight years of industrious and intelligent devotion to his calling, he died in Dayton in April, 1890 ; his widow still resides at the old homestead, on Park street. Leonidas H. Vaughan was educated in the public schools of Dayton, and at the age of twenty years left the high school to learn the building business under instructions from his father. For about fifteen years father and son conducted the business conjointly, or in part- nership, and on the father's death Leonidas assumed entire control of the business of the former firm. This trade comprises contracting and building according to plans and specifica- tions ; and Mr. Vaughan, being an architect as well as builder, prepares many designs for others, and invariably prepares the plans and diagrams for those buildings which he con- structs under contract or erects on his own account for selling purposes. Since 1888 he has built and sold forty -nine houses — prompted by a keen foresight and close observation of the needs of the growing city. Beside con- tracting for and superintending the erection of a number of fine private dwellings and busi- ness houses, Mr. Vaughan has had a fair share of city work, having built the Eighteenth dis- trict schoolhouse and the houses for hose com- panies Nos. 8 and 9 ; also the superb twin dining rooms of the southern Ohio hospital for the insane. March 1, 1876, Mr. Vaughan married Miss Luella B. McLean, a native of Dublin, Ind. , but reared from infancy in Dayton, Ohio. She is a daughter of John and Mary (Swainey) McLean, who died in Dayton in 1893, but a few weeks apart ; her grandmother Swainey was the first white female child brought to Dayton, having come here with her mother at the age of nine years. Mrs. Vaughan was ed- ucated in the schools of Dayton, and gained all these schools could impart in the matter of instruction. To Mr. and Mrs. Vaughan have been born six children, named Charles H., Harry H., Florence M., Nellie Edna, Alice B. and Edith M., all of whom are attending school except the youngest. Incidentally it may be said that two of the teachers of these children were class-mates of their father in the high school of Dayton. Although his father was a local preacher in the Methodist Episco- pal church, Leonidas H. Vaughan and wife are members of the Oak street United Breth- ren church, in the faith of which they are rear- ing their children. Politically Mr. Vaughan is a stout republican. He is a member of the Dayton Builders' exchange, and, being a me- chanic of more than ordinary ability, stands high in the esteem of the other members of that influential business organization, as well as in that of the community at large. ^y-j»ILLIAM BELVILLE ANDER- Mm SON, one of the leading business \JL>f men ol Dayton, is not only conspic- uously identified with the manu- facturing interests of the city, being secretary of the Buckeye Iron & Brass works, one of the Gem City's most important industries, but is a representative of one of the old and hon- ored pioneer families of the Buckeye state and of Montgomery county, the family having been identified with the history of the common- wealth from the days when this section was still a wilderness. William Belville Anderson was born in Cen- terville, Montgomery county, Ohio, on the 30th of January, 1856, being the son of Robert M. and Elizabeth M. (Belville) Anderson, both of whom were natives of Montgomery county, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 817 the former having been born in the year 1827, and the latter in 1831. His grandfather was Thomas Anderson, a native of New Jersey, who emigrated to the west with his parents at an early day, locating temporarily in Kentucky, whence they made their way to Cincinnati, the journey being effected in the true pioneer style, with team and wagon. They even- tually settled near the present city of Dayton. Robert M. Anderson was engaged in general merchandizing at Centerville for a full score of years, having been one of the most prominent and influential citizens of that section of the county. He retired from active business pur- suits in the year 1870, and in the year 1871 took up his residence in Dayton, where he passed the remainder of his days, his death occurring January 6, 1889. He was a man of strong mentality and undubitable honor in every relation of life, and held the respect and esteem of all with whom he came in contact. On the 28th of February, 1855, he was mar- ried to Elizabeth M. Belville, daughter of Rev. John L. Belville (a Presbyterian clergyman) and Elizabeth M. Belville. Of the five chil- dren born to Robert M. and Elizabeth M. Anderson only two survive — our subject, who is the eldest, and his sister Cora B., who is the youngest. The mother died suddenly September 14, 1896, at Bemis Point, Chau- tauqua Lake, N. Y. William B. Anderson received his educa- tion in the public schools of Dayton and the Cooper academy, having matriculated in the latter institution after his second year in the high school. He continued his studies at the academy, under the guidance of Prof. J. A. Robert, until the year 1876, in June of which year he became connected with the Buckeye Iron & Brass works, with which concern he has ever since been identified. The following year he was elected to the responsible office of secretary of the company and has held this 31 place ever since, having done much to advance the prosperity of the enterprise. He has been signally alert and progressive in his business operations, and has important industrial asso- ciations aside from that above mentioned. He was the first president of the Dayton Fan & Motor company, with which corporation he was connected from the time of its organization until about 1893. In his political proclivities Mr. Anderson has always been a loyal member of the repub- lican party, but the only office he has ever con- sented to accept was that of a member of the board of police commissioners, to which position he was appointed by Gov. Campbell, and even this preferment he resigned at the expi- ration of three months. Mr. Anderson holds a leading rank in fraternal circles — particularly in the time-honored order of Freemasonry. He is a member of Dayton lodge, No. 147, A. F. & A. M., having been master of the same for two years; of Unity chapter, No. 16, R. A. M., and of Reese council, No. 9, R. cS: S. M., of which he is also past thrice illustrious master. He is also illustrious grand con- ductor of the grand council of Ohio. He re- tains membership in Reed commandery, No. 6, Knights Templar, of which he is past emi- nent commander, having held this office at the time of the great triennial encampment in the city of Washington. In the ancient and ac- cepted Scottish-rite he has attained the thirty- second degree, and is a noble in Syrian temple of the Mystic Shrine. For several years Mr. Anderson was prominently connected with the Ohio state militia, being a member of the Har- ries guard during the strike in the Jackson county coal fields, and later adjutant of the old Fourth regiment, previous to its disbandment, at which time he received an honorable dis- charge from the governor of the state. He is known as one of the public-spirited citizens of Dayton, and his influence is at all times 818 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD thrown in favor of any project which has as its object the advancement and stable prosperity of the city of his home. The marriage of Mr. Anderson was cele- brated, in Dayton, on the 14th of November, 1883, when he was united to Miss Harriet E. Cooper, daughter of the late David Cooper, one of Dayton's most influential and promi- nent business men, who had been in the whole- sale mercantile trade here for a long term of years. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are the par- ents of one son, Robert Cooper, who was born on the 1st of September, 1884. ^y-j»ILLIAM H. VAN RIPER, one of Ma the members of the board of infirm- \JL>fl an directoj of Dayton and a well- known citizen of the West Side, was born in Seneca county, N. Y., March 20, 1 S 5 1 , and is a son of Henry Van Riper, who was born in the same county in 1824, and who died January 3, 1863. Henry was a son of Garret and Ann Van Riper, and was one of triplets, all boys, and who, upon arriving at mature years, were each of remarkable stature and weight. Their resemblance one to another was so great as to make it difficult to distin- guish them. The two of the triplets that sur- vive are Richard and Peter. The grandparents of William H. Van Riper were natives of New Jersey, from which state they emigrated to New York, where they lived the rest of their lives. Henry Van Riper married Sarah Ann Gunn, who was a native of Ireland, and who came to the United States with her parents when she was nineteen years of age. She died in January, 1875, at the age of seventy- four years. William H. Van Riper was reared in the town of Waterloo, Seneca county, N. Y. , and there attended the common school. When fourteen years cf age he began serving an ap- prenticeship at the tinner's trade in Waterloo with I. N. Thorn, with whom he remained three years, after which he worked for Mr. Thorn for five years in Waterloo. At that time his employer removed to Dayton, and Mr. Van Riper came with him and continued in his employ for fifteen years more, thus mak- ing a continuous service of twenty years with one man. In 18S5 he retired from the employ of Mr. Thorn and engaged in the grocery business on the West Side, in company with his father-in- law, Christian Becker, and continued occupied for about two years. At the expiration of this time he purchased a tin and jobbing shop on West Third street, and in 1890 erected a shop on his home premises, at No. 127 South Williams street, where he now conducts a gen- eral tin, jobbing and contracting business. In this business he has been unusually successful. Mr. Van Riper has for years been actively identified with the public affairs of the city of Dayton, and has occupied a prominent position as a politician of the West Side. In the spring of 1875 he became a candidate for director of the city infirmary on the republican ticket, and after a heated campaign was elected by the largest majority of any candidate on the city ticket, viz: 810 votes. He took possession of his office April 10, 1895, and during the first six months of his connection with the board of infirmary directors, the expenses of running the infirmary were reduced forty per cent, showing that one man has sometimes great power for good. Mr. Van Riper was married Decembar 21, 1882, to Miss Isora Becker, a daughter of Christian Becker, of Dayton. She was born in Montgomery county, March 16, 1861, and her father was born in the same county in 1838. He located in Dayton in 1880, and for some years was engaged in the grocery busi- ness, but is now retired from active life. To OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 819 Mr. and Mrs. Van Riper there have been born two children: Clayton, born February 24, 1884, and Carrie, born March 18, 18S6. Mr. Van Riper is a member of Hope lodge, No. 227, Knights of Pythias, and both he and his wife are members of Saint John's Eng- lish Evangelical Lutheran church. In his business career, his reliance has been entirely upon his own industry and judgment, and he has made his way in the world without assist- ance from any quarter. Perseverance, enter- prise and determination to succeed have been his best capital. On public matters he is in- clined to liberality of view, and is always ready and willing to lend his aid morally and finan- cially to any public movement looking to the good of the community in which he lives. aHARLES H. WARFORD, dealer in building supplies and general con- tractor, rooms 17 and 18 Kuhns building, is a representative of one of the oldest and best known families of Dayton. His father, Henry S. Warford, was a native of Hunterdon county, N. J., and his mother, whose maiden name was Mary E. Slaght, was born on Main street, Dayton, where her parents located as early as 1812. Four children were born to Henry S. and Mary E. Warford, of whom Charles H. was the eldest, the others dying in early childhood. Charles H. Warford was born in Dayton, February 5, 1867, and grew to manhood in his native city, in the public schools of which he received a fair English education. He first found employment as a clerk in the Fireman's Insurance company, in which capacity he con- tinued three years. The succeeding seven years were spent in. the employ of the Third National Bank, of Dayton, where he began as a messenger boy and rose within a short time to the position of assistant bookkeeper. On quitting the bank, Mr. Warford embarked in his present business, handling pressed brick, structural iron and many other articles of furnishing, beside a general line of building material. Mr. Warford has met with well deserved success in his present occupation. The Pres- byterian church represents his religious creed, and ever since obtaining his majority he has acted with the republican party. He was united in marriage February 27, 1S96, to Miss Belle Case, of Boston, Mass. Mr. Warford's paternal ancestors settled in New Jersey many years prior to the Revolutionary war, in which state the ancestors on the mother's side, who came from Holland, also found homes at a very early period in the history of the colonies. The father of Mr. Warford departed this life in 188 1 ; his mother is still living in the city where all her life has been passed. The family of mother Warford is noted for longevity, her grandmother having died at the age of 100 years. Mrs. Warford is one of nine children, but two of whom, beside herself, are now living, Mrs. Sallie Rea, of Zanesville, and Miss Nancy Slaght, a resident of Dayton. eLIHU R. WATROUS, proprietor of the Glenview Pleasure resort, Day- ton, Ohio, was born in Middletown, Conn., December 8, 1843, and is a son of William and Eveline (Ackley) Watrous, both of whom were natives of the Nutmeg state and of Scotch descent. The latter died in Taunton, Mass., at the age of thirty-two years, and the former in Stone county, Mo., in 1875. Their children numbered four, of whom Elihu R. was the eldest. Two brothers, William and George, and one sister, Eveline A., constituted the remainder of the family. When a small' lad, Elihu R. Watrous im- bibed a liking for a seafaring life. The broth- 820 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ers of his mother were seamen and were chiefly engaged in coasting on Long Island sound, and these uncles, whose ancestors came over in the Mayflower, doubtless inspired Elihu with his desire for a seafaring life. He first shipped as a cabin boy on an ocean steamer, and later served before the mast on a sailing vessel, passing, all told, two years at sea, during which time he made two trips to the West Indies. Mr. Watrous later acquired a good com- mon-school education in his native state, and at the age of twenty, in 1863, enlisted as a musician in the Twenty-fifth Connecticut vol- unteer infantry, and served under Gen. Banks until nearly the close of the Civil war. While on the expedition up the Red river, he was wounded and taken prisoner, April 16, 1864, and sent to Jackson, Miss. Two or three times he essayed escape, was as often recap- tured, but finally succeeded, and was in hiding in a cave in Washington county, Va., when the war closed. He remained in that region for four or five years after the cessation of hostili- ties, and in 1 870 went to Missouri. From Missouri Mr. Watrous went to Kentucky, where he was employed as a trainer of trotting horses for some months, and in the fall of 1878 came to Dayton, Ohio. On reaching Dayton, Mr. Watrous worked at sign writing and ornamental painting for some years, and still occupies a part of his time in that manner, although the management of his riverside resort claims his chief attention. In September, 1890, he bought his present place, most beautiful and picturesque, on the bank of the Stillwater river. Here he has erected his dwelling and also summer quarters for visitors, and established a general pleasure resort for boating and picnic parties, where he has, during the summer season of each year, many guests who appreciate courteous and ef- ficient service and attractive surroundings. Mr. Watrous married Miss Eva Fackley, a native of Dayton, but to this union no chil- dren have been born. Mr. Watrous is a member of the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows and also of the Grand Army of the Republic. Politically he has been a life-long republican, but never an office-seeker. His religious views accord with those of the Baptists, while his wife is a de- voted member of the church of the United Brethren in Christ. eLMER E. WATSON, a deputy sheriff of Montgomery county, Ohio, was born about five miles west of Dayton, on the Eaton pike, August 22, 1868, and is a son of John W. and Elizabeth (Bow- ser) Watson, both also natives of Montgomery county — the former born near Liberty in 1843, and the latter in 1846. Ephraim Watson, father of John W. and grandfather of Elmer E. Watson, is a native of Maryland, born in 1 8 1 8 ; when a boy he was bound as an apprentice to the shoemaking trade, and while yet a young man came to Ohio, settled in Montgomery county and was here married. He is still living about two miles west of Liberty, has followed his trade all his life, and even now makes his own shoes and does his own repairing or cobbling. He married Miss Elizabeth Martin, of Springbor- ough, Warren county, Ohio, but whose par- ents came from Kentucky and were early set- tlers of the " dark and bloody ground." She died in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1889, in her sixty-third year. John W. Watson, father of Elmer E. , when nineteen years of age, enlisted in com- pany H, Fourth regiment, Ohio volunteer cav- alry, and served until the close of the Civil war, when he was honorably discharged with the rank of corporal. On his return he began OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 821 working at the carpenter's trade in Montgom- ery county, and in 1865 married Miss Eliza- beth Bowser, whose parents came from Penn- sylvania and are now deceased. To this mar- riage have been born five sons and five daugh- ters, in the following order: Edith, now Mrs. John S. Getter; Elmer E., Orlando, Henry Wilson (deceased), John E., Daisy E., Jessie Fremont, Hester, Josephine and Victoria. Elmer E. Watson attended the district school of his neighborhood in his youthful days, during the winter season, in the summer employing himself in farm work, until he reached the age of eighteen years, when he be- gan teaching school in Montgomery county, and followed this vocation for seven years. In September, 1894, he came to Dayton, having accepted a position in the county treasurer's office. This position he retained until the month of December following, performing ex- cellent service, and on January 7, 1895, was appointed a deputy sheriff by Sheriff Anderton, an office which he still fills. On Christmas day, 1892, Mr. Watson was united in marriage with Miss Zelina A. Dieter, a daughter of Charles W. Dieter, of Dayton. Mr. and Mrs. Watson are members of the First Reformed church, and are highly re- garded in both church and social circles. BREDERICK T. G. WEAVER, a well- known contractor and builder of Day- ton, Ohio, was born in Abington, Wayne county, Ind., February 18, 1S41, and is of remote German descent. John Weaver, his father, was born in Day- ton, Ohio, April 8, 18 10, and is to-day one of the best-known citizens of Montgomery county, and probably the oldest native-born resident thereof. The cabin in which he first saw the light in the backwoods of Ohio was one of the most primitive order, built of round logs, and consisting of one room only, which answered all the purposes of domestic life, being parlor, kitchen, bed-room, all in one. The floor was the bare earth ; the windows were apertures cut in the logs and covered with dressed deer skin. The pioneer subscription school of the neighborhood afforded him his education, and his attendance there was limited to three months. In 1835 he was elected and com- missioned by Gov. Robert Lucas ensign of the Sixth company, First regiment, First brigade, Fifth division, Ohio militia ; in October, 1836, was commissioned by Gov. Lucas captain of the Eleventh company, First regiment, First brigade, Fifth division, Ohio militia. In 1838 John Weaver went to Indiana, returned to Dayton in 1S58, and now resides within four miles of his birthplace. While in Indiana he dealt largely in real estate, and was also en- gaged in contracting, and was very successful, being at one time quite wealthy, although he began his business life with but moderate means at his command. The paternal grandfather of our subject was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, and was under "Mad" Anthony Wayne, when, with a force of 500 men against 3,000 Hes- sians, he captured the fort at Stony Point, N. Y. , at midnight, July 15, 1779, at the point of the bayonet, without firing a gun. Mr. Weaver was also at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, at Yorktown, Va. , in July, 1781. After the war he returned to his home in Berks county, Pa., where the family resided for sev- eral generations, both before and after the Revolution, but, in 1805, came to Montgomery county, Ohio. John Weaver first married Miss Eve Hocker, a native of Greene county, Ohio, born in 181 1. She died at the age of fifty-five years, leaving a family of ten children, viz : John Edward, Susanna, David, Andrew, Frederick T. G., Rebecca, James K. P., Jacob, Elizabeth and 822 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Franklin Pierce. The second marriage of John Weaver was with. Annie Dorsey, of Mary- land, who has borne him three children : Jennie May, Wilber and Maude. Frederick The Great Weaver, as he named himself at the age of seven years, was the fifth of the ten children born to John and Eve (Hocker) Weaver. His education was secured by a few months' attendance at a log school- house in Wayne county, Ind., but he has al- ways been an omnivorous reader, being espe- cially fond of historical and biographical works. His first independent effort at bread-winning was made as a clerk in his father's store, which also contained the post-office; he was next em- ployed in a dry-goods store, on a farm, in a sawmill and in a rlouring-mill. In 1863 he entered the army as a pioneer for ninety days, at Cincinnati, Ohio, under Capt. Wood and without oath ; but was detained seven months, and although not required to bear arms except as a matter of self-protection while at work, he not having taken the oath of a soldier, was not entitled to any of the privileges afforded to the enlisted men. He participated, however, in the battles of Lookout Mountain, Stone River and Nashville. In the spring of 1864 he started west to the gold fields of Montana, out- fitting at Saint Joseph, Mo., with ox-teams and mining implements, passing through Kan- sas to Fort Kearney, up South Platte to Jules- burg through the Black Hills, headed for Fort Vancouver and passing through Idaho. He was six months crossing the plains with ox- teams — fighting Indians all the way. After passing the winter in Boise City, Idaho, Mr. Weaver went into the Rocky Bar mining coun- try, traveling over tree-tops that were buried in snow from sixty to 100 feet deep. He passed through the great lava bed country in Idaho, which he explored to a very consid- erable extent. At Rocky Bar, Mr. Weaver, in partnership with John H. Guenther, of Dayton, who had been a comrade in the army and was his com- panion in this expedition, established a bakery, but, the mines failing, the enterprise was not successful. From Bar City, Idaho, Mr. Weaver passed around the headquarters of the Missouri river to Helena, Mont., there being at that time but three cabins in that city, which now has a population of over 20,000; thence he went to Confederate Gulch, or Diamond City, Mont., where he found the mines to be un- usually rich, and in thirteen months cleared $30,000, but invested this in mining stock and lost it all. In 1869 he went on a ranch near Bozeman, Mont., and in the fall of 1870 went into the Yellowstone country, traveling at night, in order to avoid the hostile Indians — this being before the National park and the lands environing the springs were reserved by the government. He was among the first white men to visit this romantic country, within forty miles of the springs. In 1 87 1 Mr. Weaver, late in the fall, faced homeward from Bozeman, Mont., and for forty days suffered intensely from cold and snow. On his arrival at home, he went into partnership with his father in carpenter work, employing from twenty-five to thirty men. In 1876 he went to Paris, 111., where he passed a year, and then returned to Dayton, Ohio, where, December 20, 1877, he married Miss Mollie E. Owen, a native of the Gem City, born June 13, 1852, a daughter of Benjamin and Hannah (Love; Owen. To this union have been born three children, viz: Eve Re- becca, born April 19, 1879; Charles Owen, born July 24, 1881, and Gracie May, born March 19, 18S7. After his marriage Mr. Weaver made Day- ton his permanent home, and at first worked as a journeyman; within two years his savings were sufficient to form the nucleus of his pres- ent thriving business. He employs from twelve OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 823 to twenty men, and within the last five years has done work amounting to $150,000. He works from his own drawings and specifica- tions, furnishes the material, and is recognized as one of the most solid contractors and build- ers of Dayton. Mr. Weaver is a member of Dayton lodge, No. 48, Ancient Order of United Workmen; of the Knights of Honor, of the Knights of Pythias, being a charter member of Linden lodge, No. 412, of the last-named fraternity; is also a member of Gem City lodge, No. 795, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; of Fidelity lodge. No. 83, Senior Order American Mechan- ics; Dayton council, No. 132, the National Union, and of the Select Knights of America. Mrs. Weaver is a member of Columbia lodge, No. 1280, Knights & Ladies of Honor. In poli- tics Mr. Weaver has served his fellow-citizens as the democratic member of the city council from the Seventh ward for one term, 1890-91. His father, who was an old-line democrat, was a member of the same body from the Sixth ward for three terms, 1866-68-70. BRANK W. WEGLAGE, member of the board of education of the city of Dayton, and also of the board of health, is one of the prominent busi- ness men of this important city. Mr. Weglage is a native Daytonian, and was born May 1, 1855. His parents were Henry and Mary (Bonenkamp) Weglage, both natives of Prussia. Their early life was marked by a pleasant romance. They left the fatherland in 1836, both bound for the United States; and, cross- ing the ocean in the same ship, they became acquainted, a mutual attraction followed, and shortly after landing they were married in the city of Rochester, N. Y. In that city the young husband learned the cooper's trade, and working at it with old-country energy, he was soon able to support his little family. After a time he removed to Cincinnati, where he made his home for nine years. But the growing possibilities of Dayton as a place of business were drawing enterprising spirits, and the young Prussian, now quite thoroughly Ameri- canized, came to Dayton in 1852. He first located his family in what was known as North Dayton, but afterward made his home on First street, where he and his wife resided for the remainder of their lives. The father died in 1870, at the age of fifty-four years, the mother surviving until 1886, and passing away in her sixty-seventh year. Mr. Weglage was a member of the Harugari lodge, and both he and his wife were honored members of the German Lutheran church. They were the parents of eight children, of whom Henry is the eldest and is engaged in the grocery busi- ness in Riverdale; Rudolph is dead; John and William are molders, making their home in North Dayton and in Riverdale; Frank W. is the subject of this sketch; Mary is the wife of Joseph Merkle, city engineer of the Dayton water works department, while the two younger children, Charles and Caroline, are dead. Frank W. Weglage spent his early life in Dayton, where he was a student in the public schools until he reached the age of twelve years. Then the necessities of a large family and hard times compelled his father to call him from school and to set him at work in the cooper shop. Later he spent two and a half years at the molder's trade. But this not proving what he had hoped, he sought an en- gagement with the Barney-Smith Car works, and was set to work in their paint shop. This was a labor that was more to his liking, and he has become an expert and proficient painter. In 1878 he spent a year in Missouri, going thence into Kansas, where the Sante Fe rail- road gave him employment for three years. Coming back to Dayton, he passed two years 824 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton rail- road, after which he again went into the car works, where he has since been employed. Mr. Weglage, on April 7, 1881, married Miss Lizzie Osterhaus, and this union has re- sulted in the birth of a daughter, Flora May, born February 12, 1882. Mr. Weglage has always taken an active part in politics, and has been thoroughly devoted to the support of true democracy. In May, 1895, he was appointed to the Dayton board of health, and in the spring of the following year was called to serve on the board of education. He is much inter- ested in all movements and organizations that look to the public good as the result of their efforts, and especially in those social orders cal- culated to weld their members in a closer brotherhood. He is now a member of the Masonic order, associated with Saint John's lodge, No. 13. He is also a worker in the Odd Fellows, his membership being in Mont- gomery lodge, No. 5, and is a member, beside, of Dayton encampment, No. 2, and of can- ton Earl, No. 13, P. M., of which he is cap- tain at the present time. ^/^VETER WEIDNER, a prominent Ger- 1 m man citizen of Dayton, and a mem- ber of the board of city affairs, is a native of Germany, born in 1839. He came to the United States when quite young, and received his education in this coun- try. He located in Dayton in 1853, and has since resided here. He enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixth regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, and was mustered out a captain, his promotions having been won by many acts of bravery upon the field of battle. Returning from the war he engaged in the butcher busi- ness, which he followed for several years with success. He has taken an active part in pub- lic matters and politics for many years, and has been prominent in the councils of the dem- ocratic party. He served as a member of the board of directors of the city workhouse from 1885 to 1890, and, in 1893, was appointed a member of the board of city affairs, which important position he now holds. Gen. Weid- ner has long been prominently identified with the uniform rank of the Knights of Pythias, his title of general coming from that source. HUGUST WEHNER, formerly a con- tractor and builder, living at No. 119 Zeigler street, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Bavaria, Germany, April 26, 1835. He is a son of Michael and Anna Mary (Grassmuck) Wehner, both natives of Ger- many, and the parents of three children, as follows: Agnes, deceased wife of Joseph Schwindt; August and Julius. Michael Wehner, the father, was a soldier and an officer in the German army for thirty- four years, in the service of the kings of Ba- varia. In 1854 he emigrated to the United States, locating in Dayton, but dying two days after his arrival, when he was sixty-one years of age. His wife died in 1876, at the age of eighty-two. Both were members of the Cath- olic church. The paternal grandfather of August was a tailor in his native country, and by reason of his superior skill and workmanship, he was called "schoen Schneider." He reared a family of three sons and two daughters, and was widely known and respected as an upright man and a good citizen. The maternal grandfather of August, Sebastian Grassmuck, was a surgeon in Germany, and lived to an advanced age. August Wehner was seventeen years of age when he came to the United States. Three years previously he began to learn the glazier's trade, and upon arriving in Dayton he went to work at the carpenter's trade, which he fol- DAYTON PUBLIC LIBRARY AND COOPER PARK OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 825 lowed for many years. In 1861 he went to Darke county, and for ten years followed farm- ing in Greenville township, working also at his trade of carpenter, during the entire time. Re- turning to Dayton in 1872 he worked as a journeyman for three years, and then began taking contracts on his own account. This he continued until 1894, when he retired from act- ive business life. Mr. Wehner was married June 1, 1857, to Miss Mary Helen Sifferman, daughter of John George and Catherine (Weaver) Sifferman. To this marriage there have been born twelve chil- dren, as follows: John Henry, George Jacob, Katie Genevieve (deceased), Joseph, William, Barbara Anna, Mary Agnes, Ida, deceased; Ed- ward, Amelia, Rosa Louisa, and Frank An- thony. Of these John Henry married Louisa Hermann, and has by her five children, as fol- lows: Luella, Mary, Elnora, Walter and Ber- tha. George Jacob married Elizabeth Reich- mann, by whom he has six children, viz: Maria, Julius, Carl, Oliver, Hubert and Albert. Joseph married Clara Brink and has two chil- dren, Raymond and Vincent. Barbara Anna married John Sackstatter, and has two chil- dren, Hugo and Norberd. Amelia married William Anderson, and has one child, Florence Louise. Mr. and Mrs. Wehner and their children are members of the Catholic church, and he is a member of the Liebersbund, a German Catholic benevolent society. Mr. Wehner is also a member of the Veisenverein fraternity — Freundschaftsbund. Politically he is a free- silver democrat, though he has not been a seeker after office or political honors. During his forty-four years' residence in Dayton he has contributed his share to the upbuilding and growth of the city. He assisted to build the first house in Browntown, and has built a great many structures in Dayton, among them some of the largest factories. Mrs. Wehner's father, John George Siffer- man, came to Dayton in 1832, and aided in digging the canal. At the same time there came to this city a number of families who afterward became well known in the place, becoming in different ways and degrees identi- fied with its interests and growth. Among them were the following: The Makleys, the Weavers, the Hodapps, the Kochs, the Zinks, the Pauls and the Suchers. Mr. Sifferman lived in Dayton a large portion of his time; but his death occurred in Darke county, when he was seventy-five years of age, his wife having died previously at the age of seventy-two. Mr. Wehner is one of the most popular of of the German-American residents of Dayton, having been a most successful business man, and having been during his entire career well- known as a square-dealing, upright and honor- able citizen. aHRISTOPHER F. WEINMAN, one of the active and leading business men of Dayton, Ohio, and well known as a wagon and truckmaker, is a native of this city, born January 8, 1855. Christopher H. Weinman, his father, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, and at the age of nineteen years, in 1853, came to America, settled in Dayton, and here married Miss Bar bara Werner, who was also a native of Wur- temberg. This marriage resulted in the birth of eight children, of whom four are still Jiving, viz: Christopher F. ; Christian J., formerly a machinist and vice-president of the Dayton Gasoline Engine works and at present a mem- ber of the firm of Weinman & Euchenhofer; William C, manager of the Postal Telegraph company; and Anna B., wife of Adam Menges, carriagemaker, of Dayton. The father of these children was a shoemaker by trade, and in 1866 opened a boot and shoe store in Dayton, m'i; CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD carried on this business for fifteen years and then retired to private life. Mrs. Barbara Weinman, who died March 30, 1889, was a devout member of the German Evangelical church, of which religious body Mr. Weinman is still a consistent adherent. Christopher Frederick Weinman, whose name opens this sketch, attended the public schools of Dayton until thirteen years of age, and then, for three years, worked in the cot- ton factory of T. A. Phillips & Son. He next served an apprenticeship of four years at car- riagemaking with DeCamp Brothers, of Day- ton, then worked for a year with Murray & Ogier as a journeyman, and for nine years fol- lowing was in the employ of W. W. Phillips as wagon-body builder. Mr. Weinman next had charge of the wheelroom of Pinneo & Daniels for five or six years, leaving that firm to form the partnership of Kramer & Wein- man, which carried on the wagonmaking busi- ness until 1894. The name was then changed to that of Kramer, Weinman & Co., but the business of this firm is now being closed out by Mr. Weinman. Although the original firm began with a small capital, the superiority of their trucks and wagons gained for them a widespread reputation, each member being an expert in wagonmaking, and, as an evidence of their skill, it may be mentioned that they constructed no less than ten hose carriages for the Dayton fire department. They employed an average of twenty men. Upon the close of active business by the above firm, on May 1, 1896, Mr. Weinman became a member of the firm known as the Pioneer Wagon works, he buying the interest of Mr. Pfeiffenberger, the firm becoming Weinman, Geiser & Co., manufacturers of wagons and trucks, and doing also general repair work. Fraternally, Mr. Weinman is a member of Dayton lodge, No. 272, I. O. O. F. ; Gem City encampment, No. 116; Patriarchs Militant, canton Daytonia, No. 82; Isaac and Rebekah lodge, Daughters of Rebekah, No. 178. He is captain of canton Daytonia, also a member of Humboldt lodge, K. of P., and is vice- president of the Franklin Building association. The marriage of Mr. Weinman took place April 27, 1S79, with Miss Sophia C. Wies- math, of Dayton, daughter of the late George Wiesmath. Three children have blessed this union and are named Emma C, Mar)- S., and Minnie C. The family worship at the German Lutheran church and enjoy the esteem of a large circle of friends. £~V*TARK & WECKESSER, who are *\^^fcT concerned in a mercantile enterprise N^J which is now one of importance in any city, that of dealing in bicycles, sport- ing and athletic goods and supplies, have their finely equipped quarters at No. 113 East Fifth street, Dayton, and though the business had its inception as recently as February 1, 1895, it has shown a rapid and gratifying growth. The members of the firm are William H. Stark and Albert A. Weckesser, both of whom are practical mechanics and thereby enabled to give direct attention to all the details of their business. The firm handle all standard makes of guns and sporting goods, while the list of bicycles for which they are agents includes the Dayton and other well-known makes. Aside from their retail trade the firm also conduct a large jobbing business all through this section of the state. Albert A. Weckesser is a native son of Dayton, was born on the 15th of November, 1870, and is a son of J. P. and Mary A. (Wenz) Weckesser, the latter of whom died in the year 1880. The father is a prominent clothing merchant of Dayton, where he has been established in business for many years. Albert A. was reared and educated in the city OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 827 of his birth, and when fifteen years of age he began the work of preparing himself for the practical duties of life by entering the employ of James Dodds, in the capacity of salesman and assistant in the repair shop. This place he retained until February, 1895, when he asso- ciated himself with Mr. Stark in the establish- ing of their present business. Mr. Weckesser is a member of the A. S. of C. and also of the Catholic organization of St. Joseph's Institute. His religious affilia- tions are with Emanuel Catholic church, in Dayton. His home is at 120 West Fifth street. SEV. EDWARD THOMPSON WELLS, A. M., presiding elder of the Dayton district, Cincinnati con- ference, Methodist Episcopal church, was born in Norwalk, Huron county, Ohio, July 29, 1842, and is a son of Rev. Wesley J. and Olive (Clark) Wells, the former of whom was a native of York county, Pa., born Octo- ber 14, 181 1, and the latter of New York state, born April 14, 1805. They were mar- ried in Sandusky, Ohio, in 1839, and there were born to their union two children, viz: Edward Thompson and a daughter, now Mrs. O. M. Cary — the latter a resident of Toledo, Ohio. The father was an itinerant minister of the Methodist church in the north central Ohio conferences for thirty-three years, when he retired to Toledo, where his death took place in August, 1885, and that of his widow in December, 1S90. Edward T. Wells was primarily educated in the common schools of the towns of Ohio, wherever his father happened to be stationed during his ministerial appointments, and his first independent efforts for a livelihood were made in Findlay, where he became a dry- goods clerk as well as a drug clerk. In his seventeenth year he entered the university at Delaware, Ohio, and while there, pursuing his studies, he enlisted, in May, 1862, in the Eighty- fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, under Col. Lawrence, in the three months' service, but filled out a term of four months, doing guard duty at Cumberland, Md., and then resumed his studies, graduating, in 1864, with the degree of bachelor of arts. In the summer of 1864, the quarterly conference of the Will- iams street church, of Delaware, licensed Mr. Wells to preach, and he immediately entered the Christian commission service and pro- ceeded to Nashville, Tenn., where he preached his first sermon. The duties of this position required him to visit the sick, to attend to the physical and spiritual wants of the wounded soldiers, and to lecture each Sunday; after a short time he was transferred to Rome, Ga. , where the same class of duties awaited him, and in the fulfillment of these duties he wit- nessed more suffering than if he had been himself in the ranks. These services were, of course, rendered without any remuneration of a pecuniary character. Returning to Ohio in the fall of 1864, Rev. E. T. Wells entered upon itinerant labor, and at the same time engaged to teach a school in Hancock county; but his parishioners objected to his performance of a double duty, and in consequence he resigned his pastorate — but did not relinquish preaching; on the contrary, he conducted a protracted meeting which resulted in the conversion of twenty-one souls. In the spring of 1865 he taught a school in Oceola, Warren county, and filled in his leisure hours with the study of law; but the latter was soon abandoned, as there arose a demand for his services as a local preacher. He next taught for two years at Newbury, Clermont county, opening a seminary at that place; he next went to Toledo, where he engaged in the real-estate business and also did some preaching. He here, through a recommendation from the 828 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD quarterly conference of Saint John's church, became a member of the Cincinnati conference, and in the fall of 1867 entered upon regular pastoral labors, his first charge being the East Pearl street church of Cincinnati, where he re- mained one year; his next charge was Grace church, at Piqua, where he remained three years, and here he also built a church edifice. While in the performance of his ministerial functions in Piqua, Mr. Wells was married Au- gust 3, 1869, to Miss Lucia M. Moorehouse, a native of Shelburne, Vt., a school-teacher, who graduated from the New Hampton insti- tute of Fairfax, Vt. Her parents were Frank- lin H. and Maria (Webster) Moorehouse, both natives of the Green Mountain state and born respectively in 1804 and 18 14. The father was a farmer and died at the age of fifty-seven years in Shelburne, Vt. , where, also, the mother died when sixty-three years of age. Of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Moorehouse. Ed- ward was conducting a sheep ranch in Texas when the Civil war broke out, was drafted into the Confederate army, but escaped into Mex- ico and enlisted later at San Antonio, N. M., in the Union army, served throughout the war, then went to Kansas, was elected to the legis- lature, and died at the age of sixty, in Topeka; Roderick Dhu entered the army as lieutenant, in Malone, N. Y. , rose to the rank of major, and is now engaged in mercantile business in Bos- ton and resides at Newtonville, Mass. ; Rev. George C. served in the Second Vermont in- fantry all through the war and is now an act- ive minister in the Methodist Episcopal church in Salem, N. Y. ; Jennie is the wife of Prof. George C. Edwards, of Boston, Mass. ; Clark W. is president of the New England & Bos- ton Christian alliance and is also engaged in evangelistic work. Reverting to the life work of Rev. E. T. Wells, it should here be stated that he was called from Piqua to the charge at Madison- ville, Hamilton county, and that during the year he officiated there, the noted woman's crusade took place, in which Mrs. Wells was an active participant. Rev. Wells was next called to the Central church at Springfield, and during his three years stay there conducted an extensive revival, through which over 200 ac- cessions were made to his congregation; his next charge was the Raper church, at Dayton, for three years, and following this he was for two years in charge of the First church at Xenia. Thence he was transferred to the Mulberry street church at Troy, and three years later to Grace church, Urbana, where he preached another term of three years; he then returned to the Green street church at Piqua for four years, the limit having been changed, and here, in 1892, was appointed presiding elder of the Dayton district, having supervi- sion of thirty-four appointments, with about sixty preaching places. The full membership of the Dayton district reaches 10,311, exclu- sive of 509 probationers; the number of church buildings is sixty -six, valued at $438,700; the parsonages number twenty-six, valued at $60,000; there are sixty Sunday-schools, with 1,094 officers and teachers, and a total attend- ance of scholars reaching 8,711. Rev. Wells conducts three quarterly meetings each Sunday for ten weeks, his manifold duties requiring a large expenditure of mental and physical labor. To the union of Rev. and Mrs. Wells have been born nine children, of whom four were lost in infancy ; the survivors are named Eth- elwyn Olive, who was born at Mechanicsburg ; Reginald Warren, who was. born July 4, 1878, in Dayton ; Paul Morley, Bertram Whittier and Lillian Frances. Of these Ethelwyn Olive graduated from the Piqua high school, finished her education at the Cook county normal school, of Chicago, and taught a private school for a time. Her death occurred June 12, 1896, at her home in Dayton. Reginald graduated OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 829 from the Steele high school, Dayton, in June, 1896, and is now a member of the class of 1900 of the Ohio Wesleyan university, of Del- aware, Ohio, and the other children are in attendance at school elsewhere. Mrs. Wells is ex-president of the Emerson club of Dayton, and is also president of the district branch of the Woman's Foreign Missionary society, of the M. E. church, and was president of the first woman's crusade of Hamilton county. Rev. Wells is a republican in politics, and is a member of the Old Guard post of Dayton ; but his chief interest lies in his church and his life is marked by an undivided attention to church and ministry. Since his incumbency of the position of presiding elder he has made his home in Dayton, and under his superin- tendency two new congregations have been organized — the Plainview and the Riverdale. Both are at present under one pastorate, but the time is not far distant when they will be erected into two separate charges. Rev. Wells' ministerial life, with the ex- ception of two years passed in Hamilton county, has been spent within a radius of three miles of Dayton, which fact speaks volumes for his popularity and efficiency, and the work of himself and his wife in the church and Sun- day-school, while highly commended, cann ever be fully appreciated except by their own per- sonal friends and by the friends of the church. aHRISTIAN J. WEINMAN, senior member of the firm of Weinman & Euchenhofer, machinists, Nos. 22-24 Canal street, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Dayton May 14, 1858, and is a son of Christopher H. and Anna B. (Werner) Wein- man, both of whom were natives of Germany, and of whom only the former is still living, Mrs. Weinman having been called to rest in March, 1889. Christopher H.Weinman came to this coun- try when a young man of eighteen or nineteen, and for a few years lived in Cincinnati, whence he came to Dayton, and for many years carried on a shoe store at No. 8 South Main street. In politics he has always been a republican, and in religion is a member of the Evangelical church, on Commercial street, of which he has been a trustee for years. To his marriage were born eight children, of whom four are still living, viz: Frederick, a carriage and wagonmaker; AnnaB., wife of Adam Menges; Christian J., and William C. , manager of the Postal Telegraph company, all residents of Dayton. Christian J. Weinman received his educa- tion in the public schools of his native city, and was about eleven years of age when he began working, during vacation, at anything he could find to do. At the age of sixteen he entered the Buckeye Iron & Brass works, served an apprenticeship, then worked as a journeyman until 1882 or 1883, when he es- tablished the Novelty Machine works on Third street, and a year later admitted Edward >E. Euchenhofer as a partner. This business was continued by the firm for about seven years, when it was made a stock concern under the name of the Dayton Gas & Gasoline Engine company. In March, 1895, the name was changed to the Dayton Gas Engine & Manu- facturing company, which was continued until May, 1896, when both Mr. Weinman and Mr. Euchenhofer sold out their stock in the com- pany and established their present business. Mr. Weinman is an inventor of rare ability and his patents have received the seal of public approbation wherever introduced, the produc- tions of the firm being welcomed in all parts of the United States, as well as in other countries. The marriage of Mr. Weinman took place June 28, 1888, with Miss Lizzie Darst, a daugh- 1 ter of Henry Darst, and to this union have 830 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD been born three children, named Edna, Leli and Bessie, the latter deceased. The family reside at No. 55 Perrine street, Dayton, and occupy a high social position in their quarter of the city. Fraternally Mr. Weinman is a member of lodge No. 273, I. O. O. F., of the Gem City encampment, uniform rank of Patriarchs Militant, and of the Rebekah lodge; in politics he is a republican, but has never sought for public office, being contented, rather, with the pursuit of the study of such labor-saving and economical mechanical de- vices as will inure to the benefit of mankind. j/'VROF. FRANK WERKMEISTER, |. M leader of the Metropolitan band, Day- ton, Ohio, was born in Saxony, Ger- * many, October 17, 1846, and received his education in the public schools of that country. His parents, Henry and Elizabeth (Rauh) Werkmeister, were also natives of Saxony. Henry Werkmeister was a teacher of music, in which he was proficient, was of robust constitution, temperate in habit, and never had occasion to call a physician until his death, which took place in 1873, at the age of seventy years. His widow survived until 1 893, and died in Germany at the age of seventy- eight years. Of their family of five children, Christina is married and is living in Saxony; George died at twenty-six years of age; Caspar is a merchant; Frank is the only member of the family to come to America, and Joseph died in early manhood. Prof. Frank Werkmeister received his ele- mentary musical training under his father, and later attended the Annaberg college of Saxony, which school was under the manage- ment of the government. His first specialty iwas the volin, but he afterward adopted the cornet, which is still his preference, although he readily manipulates any wind instrument. He filled several important engagements as a musician in his native country, and also one season in Denmark, and another season in London, England, and then returned to Ger- many. In the spring of 1877 he accompanied the Hessian band to America, and here the band remained one year, playing, under the management of Mr. Werkmeister, six months in Cincinnati, and the remaining six months in Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado and other western states. All of the members of the band excepting Mr. Werk- meister, then returned to Germany, and the cause of his remaining may perhaps be found in the circumstance that, in 1877, while giving concerts in Dayton, he formed the acquaint- ance of the lady who is now his wife. After seeing his comrades safely embarked for Ger- many, the professor returned to Dayton, which city has ever since been his home. In September, 1878, Prof. Werkmeister was united in matrimony with Miss Lena Ebel- ing. This lady is a native of Dayton, of Ger- man ancestry, and has borne her husband four children, Ella, Clara, Frank and Dora, the eldest of whom is a student in the Steele high school, while the other three are pupils in one of the district schools. Prof. Werkmeister, soon after settling in Dayton, became a member of the old Fourth regiment band, but after a year's experience therewith resigned, and organized the Knights of Pythias band, which he managed for four years. Finally the manager of the Fourth regiment band made a proposition to Mr. Werkmeister to consolidate the two organi- zations and to utilize only the best artists of each. This scheme was adopted, and the new organization was for a time known as the Knights of Pythias band, but this title was dropped, and that of Metropolitan substituted. About 1884, Prof. Werkmeister assumed con- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 831 trol of the consolidated band, a position which he still holds. In this capacity he has at- tended the conclaves of the Knights Templars at Chicago, Boston, Cincinnati, Akron, Lan- caster, Springfield, Indianapolis, Evansville, Sandusky, Columbus (a number of times), Wheeling, and at other places. On one occa- sion the Metropolitan band was paid the high compliment by Harper's Weekly, of being ' ' second to none in the western states. " This band has been awarded several valuable prizes in competition with other musical or- ganizations of note, and some of its members, who were selected from the parent band, are wealthy and prominent citizens of Dayton. In 1889, the Metropolitan was regularly enlisted as the Thirteenth regiment band, O. N. G., and at the centennial celebration ac- companied the regiment to New York city, where it was royally received by the musicians of the metropolis. On the return to Dayton, however, its members withdrew from the national guard. Prof. Werkmeister is a recognized author- ity in the musical circles of Dayton. He has been instrumental in leading the people to ap- preciate a high standard of music, and is thoroughly qualified to filled the prominent position he holds. He was selected to conduct the musical features of the centennial celebra- tion in Dayton in 1896. His work in this city has been rewarded in a practical way, and he has prospered financially. He is prominent, also, in various fraternal and social organiza- tions in Dayton, being a member of Humboldt lodge, No. 58, Knights of Pythias; also of the Improved Order of Red Men, the German Lutheran society, the Elsass Lothringer Un- terstuetzungs Verein, and of Tentonia lodge, No. 21, Ancient Order of United Workmen. The family worship at Saint John's German Lu- theran church, and in politics the professor is independent. Mrs. Werkmeister is one of the most ex- perienced and successful milliners in Dayton. She opened her present place of business at No. 337 East Xenia avenue when she was but seventeen years of age, and has profitably managed it for twenty-seven consecutive years, and it may be added that to her skill and taste are largely due the material prosperity of the estimable family. \S~\ ICHARD WHITCOMB, city weigh- I /^ master and wood measurer of Day- M P ton, Ohio; was born in the town of Dorchester, Suffolk county, Mass., August 15, 1 S 14. His parents were Richard and Susan (Littlefield) Whitcomb, the former of whom was a native of Massachusetts and the latter of Maine. Richard Whitcomb in his youth learned the trade of molder, but when nineteen years old went to sea as a sailor on board a whaling vessel bound for the Pacific whaling grounds. For twelve years he followed the sea, during which time he sailed twice around the world, and visited nearly every country on the globe. In 1S54 he came to Ohio, locating in Cin- cinnati, but some time later he went to Nash- ville, Tenn., where he lived for six years, and was there when the Civil war broke out. Leaving Nashville, he came to Dayton, and on November 25, 1864, enlisted for one year in company K, Sixtieth Ohio volunteer infantry, being mustered out of service at Washington, D. C, July 28, 1865. Returning to Dayton he began working at his trade, which he followed until 1886, and in April, 1894, he was elected to his present office for a term of two years. He was married December 31, 1839, to Anna Haller, who was born in Pennsylvania. To their marriage there have been born eight children, three of whom are still living, viz : 832 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Edward, a molder of Dayton, Ohio, was born June 7, 1842 ; Lydia, wife of Gerhard Lauten- schlager, a railroad man of Cincinnati, and Louis, who is now in the west. Mr. Whit- comb is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the American Protective asso- ciation. His wife is still living, and is in her seventy-sixth year. IHEOBALD D. EICHELBERGER, one of the representative business men of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Franklin county, Pa., August 6, 1822, and is a son of Daniel and Mary (Rowland) Eichelberger, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania — the father in 1768 and the mother in 1786, of German descent, the father of Daniel Eichelberger having been the found- er of the family in the Keystone state some- time in the seventeenth century. Both the father and the mother of T. D. Eichelberger were twice married. There were four sons and four daughters born to the fa- ther's first marriage — all being now dead. The mother's first husband was Jacob Gantz, by whom she became the mother of two sons and two daughters — all now deceased. To the marriage of Daniel and Mary Eichelberger were born three children — Theobald D., and two sisters; of these, Susan Higby is a widow, now living in Cincinnati; the other sister, Magdalene Hemrick, died at her brother's home in June, 1894, at the age of sixty-six years. The father died in Farmersville, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, in 1841, and the mother in Cincinnati, in 1869; our subject and his sis- ter, Mrs. Higby, are the only survivors of this old Pennsylvania family. Theobald D. Eichelberger was a mere child — not yet five years of age — when brought from Pennsylvania to Ohio by his parents, who settled in Montgomery county, in 1827, occupying a farm. He has a vivid recollection of the pioneer log schoolhouse which he at- tended in his infantile days — with its slab benches, puncheon floor and huge fireplace; he also remembers the homespun apparel of the pupils, while he has not forgotten the size and effect of the birches when wielded by the strong arm of the teacher. Mr. Eichelberger worked on the home farm until he reached the age of twenty years, al- though he was compelled to earn his living from his twelfth year, and also, at that early age, to assist in the support of his father's family. At the age of twenty years he came to Dayton and opened a cooper-shop on the corner of Fifth and Clay streets, where he had quite a successful trade in the manufacture of flour barrels in the winter; but worked at paint- ing, at home, during the summer, giving em- ployment to several men in both branches of his business. In i860, he entered into the grocery business with John W. Butt as a silent partner; this connection was maintained three years, or perhaps four, when he embarked in the real-estate business, in which he also met with great success. In January, 1879, he entered into cement- pipe manufacturing, which still occupies his attention, together with the handling of build- ers' general supplies, paving brick, cement for paving, etc., being associated in the business with two sons, Andrew W. and John W. The marriage of Mr. Eichelberger took place in Greene county, Ohio, April 8, 185 1, with Miss Melinda Wolf, a native of Bath township, that county, and daughter of John W. and Mary (Hawker) Wolf, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania, November 23, 1 791 , and the latter in Ohio, November 17, 1800. Mr. and Mrs. Wolf were married December 31, 1S1S, and became the parents of ten children, of whom the names of the T. D. EICHELBERGER. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 835 following nine are recalled : Israel, Andrew, Catherine, Abram, Susannah, George, Mary, Melinda and Louisa. Andrew, the only living son of this family, has been a resident of Stockton, Cal., since 1849 ; Catherine, now Mrs. Haynes, lives in Dayton, Ohio ; Susan- nah is Mrs. Snyder and resides in Indiana ; Louisa is married to a Mr. Visher ; Melinda is Mrs. Eichelberger ; Israel died at the age of fourteen years ; the others all lived to mature years, but are now deceased. The mother of this family died in Greene county at the age of thirty-six years, and the father died in the same county, June 25, 1877, in his eighty- fourth year. John W. Wolf, father of Mrs. Eichelberger, was a soldier in the war of 18 12, and on com- ing to Greene county, Ohio, assisted in cut- ting a road through the swampy country for the passage of a portion of the army over the spot where the Montgomery county court house now stands. The marriage of Mr. Eichelberger has been blessed with two sons — Andrew Wilford and John William — both associated with their father in business, as has already been men- tioned, and both married, with families of their own. Mr. and Mrs. Eichelberger have been church members from early youth. In 1840 Mr. Eichelberger joined the Lutheran church. At the age of fourteen years Mrs. Eichelberger united with the Reformed church, but after marriage withdrew from this body and joined the congregation with which her husband had united. Mr. Eichelberger is also a faithful member of the Y. M. C. A. Fraternally, he has been a member of the I. O. O. F. for about forty years ; and politically, has been a republican ever since the birth of that party, his sons also being stalwart in that faith. He has, however, always declined to accept public office, although positions of honor and trust have frequently been offered to him. 32 When Mr. Eichelberger became a resident of Dayton, in 1842, the city contained but 6,000 inhabitants, but he has lived to see it grow to a city of 85,000 population, and has grown with its growth, has been a factor in its progress, and now, after having made his home here for over half a century, maintains a proud position in business, social and religious circles. >Y*OSEPH C. WHALEY, well-driver and ■ dealer in pumps and well fixtures, of Al Dayton, Ohio, was born in Defiance, Ohio, May 13, 1855, and is a son of Albert and Martha (Taylor) Whaley. Albert Whaley was a native of Boston, Mass., but in early manhood became identified with Dayton and its interests. He assisted in constructing the Miami & Erie canal, which runs through this city, and ran one of the first canal packets placed thereon. After a life of industry and usefulness, he was called from earth in 1866. Mrs. Martha Whaley was a native of England, and in early childhood was brought to America by her parents, who set- tled in Dayton, her father, Jonathan Taylor, being still remembered by the old settlers of the Gem City. The parents of Joseph C. Whaley were married in Kentucky, whither they went for that purpose in conformity with a marriage contract prepared and approved by the bride's mother. Of the eleven children born to this union two only are now living — Jonathan T. and Joseph C. , the others having all died in infancy, except two — James S. and Lewis — who reached man's estate and died in Dayton. The mother of this family survived until 1890, when she, too, ended her days in this city. Joseph C. Whaley lived in his native town until the death of his father, and in 1866 ac- companied his mother to this city, where he was employed from 1867 until 1880 in operat- 836 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ing wood-working machinery. In 1881 he be- gan his present business of driving wells, at which he is more than an ordinary expert. About 1893 he began to deal in real estate, buying, building and selling, and has thus materially assisted in the improvement of the eastern portion of the city. In 1877, Mr. Whaley was united in wed- lock with Miss Amy P. McCandless, a native of Dayton and a daughter of James McCand- less, an early settler. To this marriage have been born nine children, of whom five are still living. The eldest, James Samuel, is now eighteen years of age, and is serving an ap- prenticeship with the Dayton Manufacturing company; Lewis W. is a polisher in the works of the same company; Martha Elizabeth, Jo- seph Harrison and Amy May Catherine Marie are at home or in school. The family attend the Baptist church, of which Mrs. Whaley is a consistent member. Mr. Whaley is a member of various trades unions. In politics he has been a life-long republican, of which party his father was one of the founders, he having previously been a whig and a knownothing. Jonathan T. Whaley, brother of Joseph C. , served for three years, faithfully and gal- lantly, in the late Civil war, and is now living in retirement in the city of Dayton. Joseph C. Whaley has always been an en- ergetic, hard-working citizen, whose own in- dustry and perseverance have brought him success and prosperity in his business life and the respect of the community, and has built up for himself a solid, prosperous trade. eLIAS WEINREICH, cigar manufac- turer of Nos. 1114-1118 East Fifth street, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Bavaria, Germany, September 19, 1857. He is a son of David and Phillipine (Katz) Weinreich, both of whom were natives of Germany, and who were the parents of twelve children, six sons and six daughters. Nine of these twelve children are still living, as follows : Rachel, Caroline, Lena, Isaac, Amelia, Wolf A., Mary, Joseph and Elias. David Weinreich was a cattle dealer and a butcher by occupation in his native country, and in 1870 emigrated to the United States, coming directly to Ohio and locating in Day- ton. He was then retired from business, and lived in Dayton until 1883, when he died, at the age of eighty-two years. His wife, who still survives, is eighty-four years of age. He was, and Mrs. Weinreich still is, a member of the Jewish church, and both belonged to that sturdy German class from which the people of this country draw so much of good citizenship. The paternal grandfather of Elias, Isaac Weinreich, died in Germany when his son David was quite young. The maternal grand- father, whose name was Elias Katz, lived and died in Germany. Elias Weinreich, when he was brought to the United States, was twelve years of age, and had received his education in his native land. In 1872 he began learning the cigar- maker's trade, following it for one year, and then established a buisness of his own. This business, started on a small scale, has so pros- pered and grown that at the present time Mr. Weinreich employs 1 50 persons, of both sexes. He manufactures goods for the jobbing trade, and that he has been successful is sufficiently indicated by the statement made above as to the number of people in his establishment. On April 28, 1880, Mr. Weinreich was married to Miss Rebecca Cohn, daughter of Samuel and Miriam (Israel) Cohn. To this marriage have been born six children, as fol- lows : Bertha, David, Solomon, Samuel, Miriam and Bessie. Mr. Weinreich is an Odd Fellow, a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and of the Commercial OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 837 Travelers' association, while Mrs. Weinreich is a member of the Jewish church or synagogue, of the Hebrew Aid society, and also of the Daughters of Rebekah. Mr. Weinreich is also a member of the Hebrew congregation. Kilo Kodish, B'Nai Jeshuren, which was organized in 1850. Politically Mr. Weinreich is a dem- ocrat, but has never sought office or any kind of political preferment. He has spent some time in traveling, having visited most of Europe and of the states of the Union. He is a thor- ough business man, and ranks among the lead- ing tobacconists of Dayton, his goods being popular in all parts of the country where in- troduced. It is not too much to say of Mr. Weinreich that he is one of the self-made men of the city of Dayton ; that he has been the architect of his own fortune. His home is at No. 27 Maple street, Dayton, where he and his family are surrounded by a large circle of ever welcome friends. aOL. WILLIAM J. WHITE, for the past eight years superintendent of the public schools of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Uniontown, Muskingum coun- ty, Ohio, April 1, 1844. He is a son of John R. and Isabella M. (Simms) White, both of whom were natives of Culpeper county, Va. They came into Ohio in 1801, and located first in Perry county, whence they removed to Muskingum county, where they lived until their death, the former dying in 1876, the lat- ter in 1874. John R. White was a lawyer by profession, and a successful and influential man. William J. White was reared in Muskingum county, and secured his early education in the public schools, and passed through the graded schools of his native town. In December, 1 86 1, he became a private soldier in the Fed- eral army, enlisting in company B, Seventy- eighth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, of which M. D. Leggett was colonel. His first experience of note was at Fort Donelson, Tenn., and his next at Shiloh, Tenn., his reg- iment being then in Gen. Lew Wallace's divi- sion. He went thence to Corinth, Miss., then to Iuka, Miss., and then to Bolivar, Tenn., where he became a member of what was known as the "mule cavalry." This was a body of fifty men selected from the regiment because of their fitness for special duty, or any emer- gency that might arise, requiring courage and discretion. Their first assignment was to the work of scouring the country in search of cot- ton burners and guerrillas, and they were to respond to the bugle call. For personal brave- ry and gallant conduct during an engagement with the rebel forces under Gen. Van Dorn, August 30, 1862, Mr. White was promoted to a position on the staff of Gen. Leggett, and remained with him through all the battles, skirmishes, etc., for some time, including the capture of Jackson, Miss., of Grand Junction, Tenn., La Grange, Tenn., the advance on Vicksburg, by way of Holly Springs, Miss., and to Water Valley, Miss. When at Water Valley it became Mr. White's fortune to be sent back with a com- munication to Gen. McPherson, commanding the Seventeenth corps, from Gen. Logan's di- vision, informing him of the fact that a large body of rebel cavalry was moving northward around the flank of the Union forces, which body of cavalry proved to be Van Dorn's, which captured Holly Springs, and cut off communi- cation with the Union army's base of supplies and compelled Gen. Grant to order a retreat to Memphis, Tenn. This communication Col. White carried through rebel territory, a per- fect wilderness for miles, in advance of the army. On this retreat the Union army was under constant fire from the pursuing rebels, and was compelled to subsist on parched corn. Memphis was reached in December, 1862, and 838 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD from there the Union forces went to Lake Providence, where they cut the levee, letting the Mississippi run into Lake Providence. They then attempted to go up Bayou Baxter, and by a roundabout course get into Vicksburg. This attempt, however, failed, and the only result was to flood the country. The army then went down the Mississippi to Milliken's Bend, above Young's Point, oppo- site Vicksburg, camping on the levee and await- ing the opening of Grant'scanal across Young's Point, which was expected to allow the trans- ports and gunboats to pass through. This failing, the command began the movement across Young's Point, early in April, 1863, to a point opposite Grand Gulf, on the Missis- sippi river, forty miles below Vicksburg and well fortified. At this time the transports were manned by volunteers from the division and ran the blockade with safety, landing on the shore opposite Grand Gulf. By means of these transports Col. White's brigade and di- vision were the first to cross the river, reach- ing the Mississippi side in the early morning of May 1, and proceeding to Port Gibson, a town some miles in the rear of Grand Gulf. Here a severe battle occurred, in which the Union troops were victorious, driving the rebels toward Vicksburg and compelling the surrender of Grand Gulf. The line of march was then taken up toward Raymond, fighting continu- ously with the retreating rebels in front. At Baker's Creek, on the 6th of May, a very se- vere battle took place, in which Col. White's regiment suffered greatly, but succeeded in driving the rebel forces in disorder from the field. Proceeding then to Clinton and thence to Jackson, where they found the rebels strongly fortified, they succeeded in capturing the city, together with a large number of pris- oners and an abundance of stores, on May 12. Turning then toward Vicksburg, with the rebel Gens. Johnston in the rear and Pemberton in front, the Union forces were harassed continu- ously, both in front and rear, but succeeded finally in driving Pemberton within the fortifi- cations at Vicksburg, passing through Clinton and reaching Edward's Depot on the night of the 15th, and on the 1 6th fought the battle of Champion Hills, famous as one of the decid- ing battles of the war. The division in which Col. White was then serving was on the ex- treme right of the line, and Gen. Hovey was on its left. The battle began about 9 A. M. and raged until 3 p. m. with great severity. Gen. Hovey's division on the left giving way before the terrible onslaughts of the rebel forces, and causing the division on the right to become a sort of nucleus for a reforming of the lines, both in front and flank. Through the bravery and gallantry of Gen. Logan, who rode between the retreating division of Gen. Hovey and the advancing rebels, triumphant up to that time, the broken ranks of Hovey were re-formed and were personally led by Gen. Logan to a successful charge upon the rebel lines, which sent them in confusion from the field. Following up this victory, the next day Gen. Pemberton was compelled to con- tinue his retreat, and on the night of the 1 8th was driven within the fortifications of Vicks- burg, and on the 19th Grant's army took up its position around the city and commenced the regular siege, Gen. Leggett being placed in command of Gen. John E. Smith's division, the latter taking command of Gen. McCler- nand's corps. On the 22d a general assault was made on the rebel works, with the view of carrying them by storm, Col. White's horse being shot under nim on this occasion, and a portion of the troops entering the fortifica- tions; but, being unable to hold them, the army settled down to a regular siege, which lasted from that day, May 19. to July 3, the troops being during all of that time under fire from the rebel forces within the city. On OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 839 the morning of July 3 a flag of truce appeared in front of Leggett's division, asking for an armistice. Here an interview took place be- tween the commanding generals, Grant and Pemberton, under what was afterward known as the Pemberton oak tree, a representation of which may be seen in the rotunda of the capitol at Columbus, Ohio. All the communi- cations between Grant and Pemberton leading up to and including the surrender of Vicks- burg were borne back and forth by Col. White. At noon of July 4, 1863, the Union forces inarched into Vicksburg, Gen. Leggett's divi- sion, in which Col. White was serving, in ad- vance, and receiving the surrender of the city, together with a vast army and military supplies. After the capture of Vicksburg, Col. White accompanied Gen. Leggett on an expedition to the Washita river to clear the country of rebels there collected. In December, 1864, Col. White received a commission as second lieuten- ant, and was afterward promoted to a captaincy in the Fifth United States heavy artillery, which regiment was assigned to the defense of Vicksburg, and there Col. White remained un- til the close of the war. He was appointed acting assistant inspector-general on the staff of Gen. Morgan L. Smith, commanding the fort of Vicksburg, and afterward was appointed aid-de-camp and acting assistant adjutant- general to Maj.-Gen. Thomas J. Wood, com- manding the department of the Mississippi. While on Gen. Wood's staff at Vicksburg, it became the duty of Col. White to escort Ben- son J. Lossing, the celebrated historical writer, over the battle fields in and around Vicksburg, while he was collecting data for his Field Book of the War, and other historical works. Two weeks were thus spent, Col. White point- ing out the different positions occupied by the several commands in the engagements referred to in this sketch. Mr. Lossing took prismatic views and made careful notes on the exact spot where each event took place, and thus a pecu- liar value was given to that historian's writing which is seldom found in such works. Mr. Lossing pays Col. White a very high compli- ment in his history of the war for these serv- ices, and Col. White was now given the rank of major by brevet by the president of the United States for gallant and meritorious con- duct during the war. After his retirement from the army he en- tered, in September, 1866, the Ohio Wesleyan university, at Delaware, Ohio, and so assidu- ous was he in his studies that he completed the five years' course in four years, graduating in June, 1870. In November, 1870, he was mar- ried to Miss Bertha A. Butterfield, of Bucyrus, Ohio, and in January, 1871, was appointed principal of the high school at Pana, 111., which position he held a year and a half, when he was elected superintendent of the schools of the same city. This position he held until June, 1874, when he was elected to the principalship of the high schools of Springfield, Ohio, where he had charge of 125 pupils, and taught all the subjects or branches of the high-school course, with but one assistant. In June, 1875, ne was elected superintendent of the public schools of Springfield, Ohio, which position he held con- tinuously until February, 1887, when he re- signed because of business arrangements which required his presence in North Carolina. Hav- ing adjusted affairs in that state, he returned to Ohio and was elected superintendent of the public schools in Dayton, in June, 1888, and since that time he has been continuously serv- ing, by successive re-elections, in this position. While in Springfield, Col. White was invited to the superintendency of the schools of Leav- enworth, Kas., but he did not feel at liberty to accept that position. Col. White has served as city, county and state examiner, being appointed to the state 840 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD board of examiners by Dr. John Hancock, who gave ten of the best years of his life, from 1874 to 1884, to the public schools of Dayton, as superintendent. Col. White was offered, by Gov. Foraker, the appointment of state com- missioner of public schools, upon the death of Commissioner Tappan; but having just then assumed the superintendency of the public schools of Dayton, he did not feel at liberty to accept, but recommended Dr. Hancock for the position, and he was appointed. Col. White has served as president of the County Teachers' association of Clarke county, as president of the Central Ohio Teachers' as- sociation, and also of the State Teachers' as- sociation. At present he is a member of the board of directors of the National Teachers' association. He has been continuously en- gaged in school work for the past twenty-five years, giving to that work all his time, energy and talent. He was elected colonel of the Seventh regiment, O. N. G., in 1885, and served in that capacity for five years. He was in com- mand of the regiment at Carthage at the time of the second riot in Cincinnati. He is a mem- ber of the Grand Army of the Republic, and of the Loyal Legion, commandery of Ohio. He has taken thirty-two degrees in Masonry, and is a member of all the Masonic orders. He is a member of Grace Methodist Episcopal church of Dayton, Ohio, and for years has been superintendent of its Sunday-school. eAUL WELDON WHITE, of com- pany Four, soldiers' home, Dayton, Ohio, was born in county Wexford, Ireland, August 15, 1832, and came to America with his parents when a child of four years. These parents, Nicholas and Mary ( Brown ) White, also natives of county Wex- ford, established their home, on reaching Amer- ica, in Baltimore county, Md., where the mother died in 1858, at the age of sixty-four years, and the father in 1868, aged about eighty years. Their children were seven in number and in order of birth were named Richard, James, Patrick, Paul, William, John and Anna Maria. Of this family James died on the voy- age to America and was buried at sea, and William was killed in the late Civil war. Paul Weldon White passed his early boy- hood in assisting his father, who was a dairy- man, and in his later youth was bound out to a gardener. He was in Virginia at the out- break of the Civil war, where he was arrested and imprisoned for expressing his Union senti- ments, but his extensive acquaintance with prominent secessionists secured him his liberty. About this time he was present at the execu- tion of John ( Ossawatomie ) Brown, who was hanged at Charlestown, (now) W. Va., De- cember 2, 1859, for his raid at Harper's Ferry, Va. Returning to Baltimore, via Washington, he went thence to Harrisburg, Pa., where he enlisted in company K, Forty-eighth Pennsyl- vania volunteer infantry, and was placed under the command of Gen. Burnside, then in the vicinity of Roanoke, Va. ; he accompanied this commander to the army of the Potomac, and participated in the battle at Cedar Mount- ain, and in the second battle of Bull Run, where Mr. White was wounded and taken prisoner. He was paroled on the field seven days later and sent to Annapolis, Md., where his wound was treated, and he was exchanged and sent back to his regiment in time to share in the battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862. On Burnside's being relieved of the command of the army of the Potomac, Mr. White accompanied his regiment to Kentucky and was detailed to guard duty at Lexington, then the headquarters of Gen. Wilcox, the camp being in close proximity to the estate of the notorious rebel raider, John Morgan. From OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 841 Kentucky an advance was made into Tennes- see, where Mr. White was in the battle of Greenville, in various skirmishes, and at the siege of Knoxville, and here he was again taken prisoner, but escaped before his captors could reach the rebel lines. The second enlistment of Mr. White was in January, 1864, at Blain's Cross Roads, Tenn., when he was granted a furlough of thirty days and visited his friends near Balti- more. He rejoined the army at Annapolis, thence went to Washington, where he was encamped on Arlington Heights across the Potomac, in Virginia, for a couple of weeks, had a fight at Catlett's Station in April, 1864, and joined the army of the Potomac in the be- ginning of the Wilderness campaign. He was at Spottsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, North Anna and South Anna rivers, but be- fore crossing the James river was prostrated by an accident in laying pontoon bridges, and was sent to the hospital in Philadelphia, at Chestnut Hill. After his partial recovery he was given employment in the hospital, and served as orderly, etc., until the close of the war, when he received his discharge in July, 1865. After the war was over he went to New Orleans and to other points in the south, working at whatever employment was most convenient, and at Lexington, Ky. , was en- gaged in gardening for about a year and a half. He then visited Cincinnati and Baltimore, and in 1870 was admitted to the soldiers' home at Dayton, and, in point of residence here, is now the oldest inmate. When a young man Mr. White was of strong constitution and great physical strength; but his injuries, a wound through the left leg, another dangerous wound in the forehead, and a leg crushed in the pontoon accident, although treated as being trivial at the time, all con- spired to render him unfit for life's battle. Although enrolled at the soldiers' home in 1870, he has not been continuously an inmate, as he is industrious and frugal, and has been employed outside the home for about half the time since his enrollment. Mr. White has never married. In his politics he is a radical republican, and in religion is a Catholic. Fra- ternally he is a member of encampment No. 82 Union Veteran Legion, and socially he bears the reputation of being a reliable, intelligent and trustworthy man. >-r* 0HN G - WILL - one of the popular m merchants of Dayton, Ohio, was born (% J at Harper's Ferry, Va., August 2, 1850, a son of John G. and Margaret (Hip- pier) Will. He attended the public schools of his native town until they were abandoned, completing his education by attending the schools of Baltimore, Md., and finally those of Dayton, Ohio. John G. Will, Sr. , was a native of Bavaria, Germany, born May 7, 18 12, and came to America in 1845. He found work in the ore mines of Maryland, and at the breaking out of the Mexican war enlisted and served through- out the struggle. He then located at Harper's Ferry, and married Mrs. Smithutz, a widow, to which union was born one child, the sub- ject of this memoir. Mr. Will worked in the arsenal at Harper's Ferry until it was destroyed by the Confederates, and then followed ex- pressing until September, 1865, when he came with his family to Dayton, Ohio, where he en- gaged in the liquor business, at the corner of Warren and Joe streets, until his death on May 9, 1 87 1, his widow surviving until Feb- ruary 1 1, 1896. John G. Will, whose name opens this biography, at the age of seventeen years began working in Barney & Smith's car shops in Dayton, where he was employed in different departments for twelve years. For a number 842 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of years thereafter he was engaged in the meat business at the corner of Warren and Joe streets, and in 1880 he purchased property at the corner of Franklin and Perry streets, erected a brick business block and dwelling combined, and here conducts a successful grocery business and meat market. The marriage of Mr. Will took place Oc- tober 20, 1874, to Miss Caroline Wise, a daughter of George and Barbara Wise, both of whom are now deceased. Seven children, all still living, have been born to this marriage in the following order: George Edward, Au- gust 25, 1875; Louisa Mary, June 12, 1878; Leo John, July 17, 1880; Cornealie Catherine, August 31, 1882; Charles Alvin, October 3, 1884; Elmer Vincent, November 3, 1887, and Viola Marie, June 2, 1890. The family are devout members of the Emanuel Catholic church, Franklin street, Dayton. Mr. Will is a member of the Knights of Saint George, com- mandery No. 115, of the Emanuel church, of which he was one of the organizers, and also a trustee for a number of years; he served as first lieutenant until the resignation of Capt. Schnieble, when he was appointed to fill the vacancy and served for eight years. Mr. Will is likewise a member of commandery No. 225, of the Holy Rosary church, and Knights of Saint George of St. John's church. At the na- tional convention of the Catholic Knights of Saint John, held at Dayton, in June, 1896, Mr. Will was honored with the position of colonel and aid-de-camp on the staff of the Third regi- ment — an evidence of his popularity with that organization. In politics Mr. Will is a demo- crat, in which party he is also quite prominent, and which he represented in the Dayton city council for a term of two years, serving as a member of the market committee, for which position he was peculiarly fitted. As a busi- ness man, Mr. Will has been very success- ful, through industry and sound judgment. His social position is a pleasant one, and he is rearing his family to become useful members of Dayton society. •""'V'AMUEL SEARS, member of the *^^%T Dayton board of education and a K^_y well-known dealer in wind engines and pumps, with his place of busi- ness at No. 319 East Fifth street, was born in Champaign county, Ohio, April 10, 1845. He is a son of John G. Sears, a native of Prince George county, Va. , who came to Ohio about 1830, locating in the southern part of Mont- gomery county. His wife, Elizabeth Winder, was a native of Ross county, Ohio, and was a daughter of Abner and Hope Winder, both of whom were natives of New Jersey. The grandparents of Samuel Sears were Paul and Hulda Sears, the former of whom was, a native of Virginia, and the latter of England. They were among the pioneers of Montgomery county, Ohio, were members of the Quaker church, and Hulda Sears was an active worker in that church and a preacher, her services in this capacity and her fame ex- tending over Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. She was also well known in England, as she preached in that country two years, as well as in Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Samuel Sears has several relics given as presents to his grandmother, such as a bull's eye watch, presented to her in England. All her labors were performed without compensa- tion, and without expense to her, the church taking care of her during her travels. John G. Sears and Elizabeth Winder were married in Champaign county, and came imme- diately to Montgomery county, where they re- sided for about six years, when they located on a farm near North Lewisburg, the farm being situated in the three counties of Champaign, Logan and Union. Their house was a station OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 843 on the "underground railroad " for many years before the war, and they assisted many slaves on their road to liberty. Samuel Sears re- members several instances of escaping slaves, one case, in particular, where dogs were used in tracking fugitives, the hounds tracing them to his father's house. John G. Sears died on the above-mentioned farm in 1850, his widow remaining on the farm until 1866, when she gave up her home and lived the rest of her life with her children, being with a daughter in Cleveland, Ohio, at the time of her death, which occurred in 1894. Samuel sears. Samuel Sears was reared on his father's farm in Champaign county, remaining there until his father's death, when he went to live with an uncle in Logan county, remaining with this uncle until he was fourteen years of age. Then going to Clarke county he spent a year and a half on a farm, and then he and his brother took charge of the old home farm. After this he went to the uncle with whom he had previously lived and worked for him a part of a year, but returned to his mother on the home farm. In 1864 he enlisted in company K, One Hundred and Thirty-second regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, serving until the following September. Up to this time, with the rest of the family, he had adhered to the Quaker church, but on account of his going to war, and because he refused to express regret for this action, he was disowned by his church. Subsequently he united with the Methodist Episcopal church. After the close of the war he remained on the home farm until 1866, when he went to Greene county, rented a farm and remained Mrs. Samuel Sears. there engaged in farming two years. While there he purchased the right for Montgomery county to a patent pump. Removing from the farm he located in Cedarville, Greene county, and was engaged in selling pumps one year, and in 1869 removed to Xenia, which place he made his home until 18S1, when he finally lo- cated in Dayton, and has been a resident of this city ever since. Politically Mr. Sears has always been a re- publican, but he has never sought office. While a resident of Greene county he was 844 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD elected constable; but the election was entirely without his seeking and was unanimous. In 1895, m order to maintain the ward organiza- tion, but without hope of success in the elec- tion, his ward being heavily democratic, he consented to accept the nomination for mem- ber of the board of education, and after quite an active campaign, was elected by a majority of four votes, for a term of two years, the nor- mal democratic majority being 326. Mr. Sears was married in Xenia, Ohio, June 20, 1870, to Leonora A. Martin, born February 5, 1849, a daughter of Isaac and Laura Martin. To this marriage there have been born the following children: Courtland M., deceased; Frederick H., member of the Dayton bar; an infant, deceased; and Walter E., now attending school in Dayton. Mr. Sears is a member of the Odd Fellows frater- nity and of the Grand Army of the Republic. He has always taken great interest in educa- tional matters, and is an earnest worker in the cause of good schools. In religious circles and in the business world he is in high standing, and his character is unquestioned for probity and integrity. Fred H. Sears, junior member of the law firm of Peebles & Sears, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Xenia, Greene county, Ohio, February 5, 1872, and is a son of Samuel Sears, the well-known citizen and member of the Dayton board of education, of whom men- tion is made above. Fred H. Sears was educated in the public schools of Dayton and at DePauw university, at Greencastle, Ind., entering that institution in 1890 and graduating in 1893. He read law with the regular course at DePauw, and while there was admitted to the bar of Indiana. In March, 1894, he was admitted to the Ohio bar, since which time he has been practicing his profession in Dayton, meeting with success, and establishing a reputation as one of the progressive, able and successful of the city's younger attorneys. Mr. Sears is a member of the Phi Gamma Delta and of the Delta Chi college fraternities, and also of the Ancient Essenic order. He is a republican in politics, but has never been an office-seeker. HLBERT C. WHITE, member of the Dayton city council from the Tenth ward, and clerk in the freight office of the Erie Railroad company, was born in Hillsdale county, Mich., August 2, 1844. His parents were F. S. and Amelia White, the former of whom was a native of Massachusetts and the latter of New Jersey. After their marriage in Ohio they removed to Michigan, and there, six months after the birth of the subject of this sketch, his mother died. In 1867 his father returned to Ohio, locating at Chillicothe. Later in life he went to Alabama, and died near Mobile, that state, about 1880. Albert C. White was educated in the pub- lic schools, and later spent two years in the Agricultural college in Michigan. In 1861 he received an appointment to a position in the United States treasury department in Wash- ington, D. C. , and in that city he spent the years of the late Civil war. In 1865 he was sent to Mobile, Ala., to take a place in the revenue department, his uncle, F. W. Kel- logg, an ex-member of congress, from Michi- gan, being at that time collector of internal revenue for the Mobile district. He spent two years in the south, returning north in 1 867 and joining his father at Chillicothe, Ohio, where he remained for nineteen years. During this time he filled various clerical positions. In January, 1886, he removed to Dayton, and in December following entered the freight office of the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio division OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 845 of the New York, Lake Erie & Western Rail- road company, in which position he is still retained. Politically, Mr. White has been a life-long republican, and has always taken an active in- terest in political affairs. In April, 1896, he was elected as a republican to the city council of Dayton from the Tenth ward, his official term expiring in the spring of 1898. While living in Chillicothe he was elected to the council from a democratic ward, notwith- standing that he was a republican, and he was one of the two republican members of that body. Fraternally Mr. White is a member of the Odd Fellows order, of the Knights of Pythias, and of the Junior Order of American Mechanics. He is a member of Saint Paul's Methodist Epis- copal church, located at the corner of Huff- man avenue and May street, and established in 1884. Mr. White was married in March, 1872, to Miss Jane Baldwin, of Ross county, Ohio, a daughter of Thomas Baldwin, deceased, a well known citizen of Ross county. To the mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. White there has been born one child, F. Clifford White, who was born in Chillicothe in 1875. He was well edu- cated in the public schools and is now in the employ of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad company, with his office in Dayton. •HOMAS WILL, engineer at the na- tion military home, near Dayton, Ohio, was born in Germantown, Wayne county, Ind., June 9, 1853, and was educated and reared to manhood in his native state. Thomas and Margaret (Senger) Will, his parents, were natives of the kingdom of Ba- varia, and immediately after their marriage came to the United States, and about 1845 settled in the village mentioned above. To their marriage were born ten children, of whom the eldest died in infancy, unnamed ; the others were born in the following order : Johan Henry, who is a mechanical engineer, residing at Minneapolis, Minn.; John and George Louis, «both farmers of Delaware county, Ind. ; Thomas ; Mary Annie, wife of William Lewick, of Delaware county, Ind.; Daniel, a traveling salesman, with his home in Minneapolis ; Samuel, who died at the age of about twenty-eight years ; Adam, a salesman and farmer, residing in Huntington, Ind., and Louisa, who died at the age of two and one- half years. Thomas, the father of this family, died in Indiana at the age of fifty-three years, and the mother at the age of forty-eight. Thomas Will, whose name opens this sketch, worked at farming until he attained man's es- state, when he learned engineering, and since 1873 has acted as engineer in sawmills, flouring-mills, wagon factories, and in other places where steam was used as motive power. In April, 1888, Mr. Will came to Dayton and was selected as fireman for the pumping ma- chinery of the military home, and this position he filled until 1891, when he was put in charge of the lake pump house, which position he has since filled. December 18, 1884, Mr. Will was united in marriage with Miss Louisa Adams, a native of Franklin, Ohio, the ceremony taking place at Winchester, Randolph county, Ohio. Two children have come to bless this union and are named Carl Edward and Albert Royce, both now at school. Mr. Will has a pleasant resi- dence near the military home, where he passes the hours of leisure and rest. He has not lost one day from duty since taking his present place eight years ago, although the managers allow ten days " off duty " each year with pay. In politics Mr. Will leans toward the 846 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD principles of the democratic party; and frater- nally he is a member of the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows. HLBERT MILTON WILLIAMSON, M. D., of No. 122 South Broadway street, Dayton, was born at Russell- ville, Brown county, Ohio, April 28, 1844. He is a son of John and Nancy J. (Henry) Williamson, the former a native of Kentucky, and the latter of Brown county, Ohio, and daughter of John C. Henry, who was born in this state of Irish parents. John Williamson, the grandfather of Dr. William- son, moved from Amwell, N. J., to Kentucky, and later removed to Ohio, settling in Brown county, where he died at an advanced age. He married a Miss Dalrymple, of New Jersey, who, like himself, was of English ancestry. John Williamson and Nancy J. Henry were married in Brown county, Ohio, and there reared a family of seven children, all of whom became useful members of society, namely: Albert M., of this mention; Martha E., wife of Amos McKinley, of Russellville, Ohio; J. Henry, deceased; A. Wilson, who is secretary and treasurer of the Peck-Williamson Heating & Ventilating company, of Cincinnati, Ohio; Samantha J., wife of John D. Seip, of Russell- ville, Ohio; Lizzie E., who became the wife of George E. Sidwell, of Russellville, and died in April, 1893; and William C. , who is president of the Helmig, Williamson Shoe company, of Cincinnati. The father of this family was for several years a successful farmer and speculator, but later in life engaged in hotel keeping. He died in Brown county, Ohio, January 29, 1888, at the age of seventy-one years. His widow is still living, and is an honored resi- dent of the county in which she was born. Albert M. Williamson was reared on a farm, receiving his elementry education in the public schools before the war, and afterward in higher schools. In June, 1862, being then but eighteen, he enlisted in the Fourth inde- pendent company of Ohio volunteer cavalry, in which he served with honor until the close of the war. During the last year of his serv- ice, he was on detached duty at the headquar- ters of the army of the Tennessee, commanded by Gen. McPherson, and later by Gen. O. O. Howard, and was the messenger who bore the dispatch to Gen. Grant, informing him of the battle of Champion Hills. He was a member of a detail to carry prisoners to the rebel lines in exchange for Gen. Grant's adjutant, Gen. Rawlins, who was captured at Holly Springs, Miss. He was mustered out of the service at Columbus, Ohio, after participating in the grand review at Washington, D. C. After being mustered out of service, young Williamson began preparation for his life work, attending high school, and later the Na- tional Normal university at Lebanon, Ohio, after which he engaged in teaching for a time. He began the study of medicine with Dr. J. N. Salisbury, of Russellville, and attended the Starling Medical college, at Columbus, Ohio. Thence he went to the Medical College of Ohio, at Cincinnati, receiving his degree from that institution in March, 1871. Soon after his graduation he located at Russellville, Ohio, and there successfully practiced his profession for sixteen years, and in May, 1887, removed to Dayton, where he has since been engaged in practice. Dr. Williamson is a close student of his profession and keeps himself well abreast of the times. He is a member of the Brown county Medical society, of the Montgomery county Medical society, of the state Medical association, and of the American Medical as- sociation. The doctor was the last surgeon of the Thirteenth regiment, O. N. G., pre- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 847 vious to its consolidation with the Third regi- ment. In social and fraternal orders he takes an active interest, being a member of Russel- ville lodge, No. 166, F. & A, M. ; of George- town chapter, No. 52, R. A. M. ; of Fraternal lodge, No. 510, I. O. O. F. ; of Hope lodge, No. 277, Knights of Pythias; and of Hiram Strong post, No. 79, G. A. R. , of Dayton. Politically, he is a republican, and has held several minor offices, serving for six years as a member of the city board of health. Dr. Williamson was married, March 23, 1 87 1, at Russellville, to Miss Emma Salisbury, a daughter of Dr. Salisbury, and a native of that city. To this union three children have been born, namely: Frederick E., who is en- gaged in business in Dayton; Pliny W., a stu- dent at Oberlin, and Florence, at home. Dr. Williamson and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, and take an active inter- est in all religious work. The doctor is es- sentially a self-made man, and his success in life is the result of his enterprise, industry and integrity. He is a valued citizen, who enjoys the respect and confidence of the community in which he lives. ISAIAH B. WILSON, M. D., physician and surgeon, of Dayton, Ohio, with his office at No. 66 East Jones street, has been a resident of the city for the past nineteen years. He was born in Montgomery county, December 28, 1853, and is a son of Bartholomew and Margaret A. (Brenner) Wilson. Isaiah B. Wilson was educated at the Otter- bein university, Westerville, Ohio, and after- ward studied medicine with Dr. A. R. Moist, now of Dayton, Ohio, but then of Sulphur Grove, Montgomery county. Afterward he attended and graduated from the Miami Med- ical college, of Cincinnati, Ohio, being a mem- ber of the class of 1877. He immediately afterward located in Dayton, on Jones street, where he has ever since been engaged in gen- eral practice, and has met with much success. Dr. Wilson was married February 5, 1891, to Mrs. Emma Giles, a daughter of Absalom Westfall. She was born in Shelby county, Ohio, and is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church. Dr. Wilson is one of the broad- minded, practical citizens of Dayton, and is doing his part in advancing her best interests. (D ILTON E. WILLIAMSON, M. D. , residing at 126 North Jefferson street, Dayton, and one of the rising young physicians of the state, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, August 29, 1859, and is a son of Eleazar and Eliza (Aber- crombie) Williamson, both members of Mont- gomery county's oldest-settled families. Milton E. Williamson's early boyhood and manhood were passed on his father's farm, as- sisting in arduous agricultural labor, developing his muscle and expanding his brain. After a full preparatory course of education in the dis- trict schools he attended Xenia college two years and also spent three years in the Wes- leyan university, Delaware, Ohio, meanwhile reading medicine under Dr. John Turnbull, of Bellbrook, Ohio. He then entered the Ohio Medical college, at Cincinnati, from which he was graduated March 5, 1885, at the head of his class, having devoted all of ten years of hard study in preparing himself for his chosen profession. He then took a special course in the study of diseases of the eye, in the treat- ment of which he has since met with decided success and established for himself a most enviable reputation. He first opened his office for practice in New Paris, Preble county, Ohio, where his ability soon won for him a large patronage in general practice, and where 848 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD he performed a number of complicated and difficult operations in surgery, being at the time surgeon for the Pennsylvania railroad company. But the field of his practice was somewhat cramped, and, with a view of enlarging its scope, he, on March 19, 1889, came to Dayton, where his recognized skill has gained for him a large and lucrative list of reliable and constant patrons. The doctor is a member of the interna- tional congress of physicians and surgeons; is examining physician for the Prudential Life Insurance company; and also chairman of the district examining board. He is a strong advocate of morality in all its phases, and is ever ready to direct the young in the paths of virtue and right. In politics he is a repub- lican, and in religion affiliates with the Third street Presbyterian church. His popularity in his profession has been and is of steady growth, and in Dayton's social circles he is always a most welcome visitor. at TLLIAM L. WINCHELL, residence 1 326 Wayne avenue, one of the old- est and best known citizens of Day- ton, Ohio, was born in North East, Dutchess county, N. Y., August 31, 1827, and is a son of William and Laura E. (Lawrence) Winchell, of English ancestry. The father, William, was a merchant, and lived to the ad- vanced age of ninety-two years, and the mother lived until eighty-two years old, both dying in Springfield, Ohio. Their family comprised, beside William L., two sons and two daugh- ters, viz: James Frank, of Springfield, who is noted for his many inventions of farming implements and mechanics' tools; Flora A., a member of the family of her brother William since the death of her parents, whom she fili- ally cared for until their end; Elizabeth, who was married to E. P. H. Capron, a contractor in machinery, but died in Norwalk, Conn., in May, 1896; and Helen, the wife of Capt. J. V. Davis, who has had charge of the National cemetery, at Alexandria, Va. , for twenty-three years. William L. Winchell was educated at the Sheffield Collegiate institute. Conn., studied medicine, but did not enter upon its practice; he then prepared himself for the profession of teacher, and for twelve years taught school in his native state. He was then elected county superintendent 'of schools of Dutchess county, held the position for about five years, when he resigned and came to Ohio, in 1853, locating in Yellow Springs, Greene county. Here he took charge of the Christian Publishing house for two years, being for a portion of that time editor of the Gospel Herald. He then came to Dayton and married Miss Lidie A. Reesor, daughter of Jacob Reesor, a pioneer business man, extensively engaged in packing and favor- ably known to all the old residents of Dayton. This marriage was solemnized October 18, 1855, and the following six months were spent in traveling throughout the east. On his re- turn Mr. Winchell joined his father-in-law in business, which connection continued until about i860. War being now imminent, in i860 Mr. Winchell joined the Dayton Light Guards, and was engaged in drilling recruits for the front until 1863, and of thirty-five men who passed under his instruction, twenty-eight afterward held commissions above the rank of captain. In 1864 Mr. Winchell entered the service as first lieutenant of company B, One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and was sent to Baltimore, Md., where he was at once detached from his company and placed on the military commission authorized by the president for the trial of deserters, bounty jumpers, and traitors who aided the enemy, and his entire term was spent in this service. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 849 On his return to Dayton he entered on his duties as a member of the board of education, to which position he had been elected and qualified prior to his enlistment. He served ten years on this board, and during this period edited the first manual or graded course of study for the city schools ; also prepared a graded course in German — intermediate and higher — which is still in force. He was dep- uty county auditor in 1864, and had charge of the school department ; in 1867 or 1868 he was elected clerk of the first metropolitan police force, but the law authorizing this or- ganization was repealed two years later and the city returned to the old police system. Mr. Winchell also served as police clerk under Mayor Baumann and then under Mayor Morri- son, and was next made chief deputy under Recorder Owen for three years. For the past eighteen years he has been engaged in book- keeping, principally for the undertaking firm of Berk & Fry, but is frequently employed as an expert in adjusting complicated accounts. Mrs. Lidie A. Winchell was called to her final rest in 1889, leaving surviving her four sons and one daughter, viz : Charles R., a machinist, who has .been employed by Smith & Vaile for the past fifteen years, and is mar- ried ; Jennie L. , wife of Jacob Perrine, a pat- ternmaker; Ward P., a graduate of Annapolis Naval academy and past assistant engineer of the United States navy, now making a trip around the world with fifty cadets ; Willie T., a trunkmaker by trade, married, and a resident of Columbus; Harry L., of Dayton, married, and a painter and decorator by trade. Mr. Winchell has been an active and prom- nent member of the I. O. O. F. for twenty- eight years, and has filled all the chairs of the subordinate lodge ; he has also been a repre- sentative to the grand lodge of Ohio two terms, and holds membership at present in Dayton lodge, No. 273, and Gem City encampment, No. 116, of which he is a past-chief patri- arch ; he is also a member of Old Guard post, G. A. R. , of Dayton. He has been a member of the city board of health, and no man in Dayton has taken greater interest in educa- tional matters. He united with the Baptist church, in his native state, in 1842, and trans- ferred his membership to the First Baptist church of Dayton, in 1853. a APT. JOHN H. WINDER, a retired business man of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Funkstown, Washington coun- ty, Md., October 22, 1832. His par- ents, John and Rebecca (Schlencker) Winder, were also natives of Maryland, and of German descent. John Winder was born in 18 12 and his wife in 1808, and in 1835 they came to Ohio and located oh a farm twelve miles north of Dayton, whence they removed to Center- ville, Ind., but returned to Dayton in 1847. Of their children, beside John H., one son and one daughter are still living — Silas D., a brick- layer, and Julia A., widow of William Snell, both residents of Dayton. The mother of these children died in this city in 1888, but the father survived until 1892, when he, too, was called away, both, it will be seen, having lived to the advanced age of eighty years. John H. Winder was a mere babe when brought to Ohio by his parents, and a lad of about fifteen years when they settled in Day- ton permanently. He was educated in the public schools of Indiana and of this city, and his earlier business life was begun in the whole- sale shoe and notion business, under the firm name of Coffman, Winder & Co. His first enlistment took place in April, 1861, for the three months' service with the Dayton Light Guards, with which organization he had been connected for ten years prior to the opening 850 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of the war, and which was one of the first militia companies to leave Dayton for the front as Ohio volunteers. Mr. Winder was made orderly sergeant of his company, and when mustered into the United States service at Lancaster, Pa. , was commissioned first lieu- tenant. The company was the first to report to the governor of Ohio and was given the position of honor — that of company C, First Ohio volunteer infantry. The First and Sec- ond Ohio regiments were the only ones repre- senting the west at the first battle of Bull Run, and, in this opening fight of the great Rebel- lion, Lieut. Winder covered there treat in line of battle from Manassas to Washington. After the expiration of his three months' term, the lieutenant returned to Dayton, sold out his business, and accepted a position as clerk in the office of the county treasurer, but kept up the Light Guards organization. Early in 1862 Lieut. Winder re-entered the army as captain of company I, Eighty- fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, also for three months, served chiefly in guarding the fords along the upper Potomac river, and was in Cumberland when the rebels made a dash and captured Gen. Kelley at a hotel in that town. In 1863 Capt. Winder entered the Fourth in- dependent battalion, Ohio volunteer cavalry, known as Tod's Scouts, to serve six months; but the duty, mostly scouting, was extended to nine months. He commanded company B, of this regiment, having declined a major's commission, feeling in honor bound to stand by the company with which he had entered the regiment. The service of this regiment was chiefly rendered in the vicinity of Cumberland Gap, and Capt. Winder commanded the first Union force that ever entered Tazewell road, in southern Virginia. These three enlistments, which were nominally to cover one year only, were prolonged to a period of about one year and a half. On his return to Dayton, Capt. Winder engaged in the marble trade until 1876. In 1876-77 he served as chief of the Dayton fire department, and then, as a mem- ber of the firm of Huber & Winder, he en- gaged in mercantile business until 1881, when he sold out his interest, and the following year was one of leisure. He then engaged as book- keeper and superintendent of a wholesale and retail furniture establishment until April, 1895, when the proprietor died and the business was discontinued, since which time the captain has lived in retirement. Capt. Winder was most happily united in marriage September 1, 1853, with Miss Joanna Kinney, a native of Clear Spring, Va. , and a daughter of Jonathan Kinney, a former resi- dent of Dayton. This union resulted in the birth of two children, viz: Charles A., who is married and carries on a collection agency in Dayton, and Ella M., who is still under the parental roof and unmarried. Both these children have enjoyed very superior educa- tional advantages. Capt. Winder is very prominent in his so- ciety relations, being a member of Old Guard post, G. A. R. ; Dayton lodge, No. 273, I. O. 0. F., of which he is a past grand ; is also a member of the encampment ; has been a mem- ber of Miami lodge, No. 32, K. of P., for twenty-five years, and has been commander of Dayton division, No. 5, uniform rank, for the past eight years; he held membership with the 1. O. R. M., and is a past grand officer in the Knights of Honor ; he also affiliated with the order of American Mechanics while that organi- zation existed ; of the last-named order he was the first candidate initiated in Dayton lodge. No. 273, and during his forty years' member- ship was never reported sick. In politics the captain is an active-working republican ; in religion, Mrs. Winder is a member of the Bap- tist church, while Miss Winder is a member of the Reform church. Socially, the family stand OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 85$ very high, and the captain is regarded as one of the most useful and substantial of Dayton's soldier citizens. ar 'ILSON G. TANNER, late of the shoe firm of Diers & Tanner, of 104 South Main street, Dayton, was born in Preble county, Ohio, April 7, 1857, and is a son of Michael L. and Mary (Banta) Tanner, the former of whom is now deceased. Michael L. Tanner, a Virginian, was a mer- chant of West Manchester, Preble county, Ohio, for a number of years, and in 1865 came to Dayton, where he was employed as a trav- eling salesman for a wholesale grocery house, and in this employment he passed the re- mainder of his days, dying in May, 1871, being reputed one of the best salesmen that ever traversed Ohio and eastern Indiana. He was very prominent in the circles of Odd Fellow- ship, and in politics was a republican. His children were four in number and were born in the following order : Wilson G. ; William H . , a conductor on the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad ; Charles F., floor manager for Diers & Tanner ; and Flora, deceased. Wilson G. Tanner was reared in Dayton, and attended the public schools until sixteen years of age, although at the age of twelve he began clerking during the summer months, or vacations, and from fourteen until eighteen was engaged in farming. At seventeen he began teaching during the winter months, fol- lowing this life for three years, and at the age of twenty years entered the employ of Ander- son & Maxton, as bookkeeper, which position he retained three years. For the following eight years he had charge of the books of the United Brethren Publishing company, and was then, for four years, cashier for the Mutual Home & Savings association. In 1892 he 33 formed a partnership with August F. Diers, ini the shoe trade, at the corner of Fifth andf Jefferson streets, whence the business was re- moved, in 1893, to its present quarters, at 104 South Main street, this salesroom being mod- ern and commodious and stocked with the largest assortment of the various styles of foot- wear to be found in Dayton. Here a very active and prosperous trade has beerrbuilt up through the united energies of the two young partners ; but a short time since Mr. Tanner was obliged, by reason of ill health, to retire from the firm, selling his interest to Mr. Diers. For fifteen years Mr. Tanner was recording secretary of the board of directors of the Young Men's Christian association, and is still a mem- ber of the board ; he is a Knight Templar in the Free & Accepted Masonic fraternity, is an Odd Fellow and a member of the Independent Order of Foresters, having passed all the chairs in the latter order ; is a member of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, of the Garfield club and of the board of trade. The marriage of Mr. Tanner took place April 20, 1882, to Miss Emma Miller, daughter of William C. and Mary ( Shuey ) Miller, the union resulting in the birth of two children — Mary, now deceased, and Flora. Mr. and Mrs. Tanner are members of the High street United Brethren church, in which Mr. Tanner is chairman of the board of trustees and is also a class leader. The home of the family is at No. 37 High street, where their social com- panionship is of the most agreeable character. >^OSEPH MILTON WINE, M. D., phy- ■ sician and surgeon, of Dayton, having (9 1 his office at No. 1833 East Fifth street, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, December 11, 1865. He is a son of D. D. and Susie (Miller) Wine, both of whom are 854 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD living in Covington, Miami county, Ohio, the family being one of the oldest in that county. D. D. Wine was born in Harrisonburg, Rockingham county, Ya., in 1839, and be- longed to one of the oldest families in the state. He was living in Virginia when the war broke out, and was a Union man; but being drafted into the southern army he fought only until he had an opportunity to desert, when he took advantage of his opportunity and came north in 1862. He settled in Mont- gomery county, Ohio, one mile west of Day- ton, and there engaged in farming. He mar- ried Miss Susie Miller, of Dayton, on February 1, 1865, she being the daughter of Joseph and Catherine Miller, old settlers of the county. Mr. Wine continued to follow farming in Montgomery county until 1874, when he re- moved to Miami county, locating south of Cov- ington, where he has ever since resided. He is one of the prominent men of his locality, being president of the Crescent Metallic Fence company, of Covington, Ohio, and of the Ger- man Baptist Mutual Insurance company, of Covington, Ohio. D. D. Wine and his wife are the parents of eight children, as follows: Joseph M. ; Wilford, a physician of Troy, Ohio; Mary, a teacher in the public schools, living at home; Bertha, Martha, John, Alice and Grace. Joseph M. Wine was educated first in the public schools, and afterward attended the Western Normal school at Ada, Ohio. After teaching school for three years, he began the study of medicine, reading with Dr. A. S. Rosenberger, of Covington, Ohio, and then at- tended the Chicago Homeopathic Medical col- lege, graduating from that institution in the class of 1 89 1. He was then, for eighteen months, intern, or physician and surgeon, of the Cook county hospital, securing the position in a competition by himself and eight others. His class contained sixty-six members, and in this class Dr. Wine stood second at graduation. He received a diploma of honor for services in the hospital. In the fall of 1892 he went to Toronto, Ontario, where he served as house physician in a hospital for six months, after which he spent six months in practice in Cov- ington, Ohio, and in the fall of 1893 located in Dayton; in this city, in the comparatively short space of two years, he has succeeded in building up a flourishing practice. Dr. Wine is a member of the Dayton Homeopathic Medical society and also of the Miami valley Homeopathic Medical society. He is a mem- ber of the First German Baptist church, takes great interest in its work and success, and is one of the public-spirited and enterprising young men and physicians of Dayton. a APT. WILLIAM J. WINTER is the son of Thomas Winter, a native of England, whose birth occurred in the year 1784 and who came to the United States in 1819, locating near Cincinnati, Ohio. Here he married Mary Ann Wingert, a native of Pennsylvania, and for a number of years followed the tailor's trade, and later ac- cumulated a competence in mercantile business. Thomas and Mary Ann Winter reared a family of four children, one son, the subject of this sketch, and three daughters, all of whom are living at this time. The eldest daughter, Eliza- beth S., widow of Edwin S. Winter, resides on Price's Hill, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio; Mary A., wife of Capt. S. C. Mclntyre, lives at Rossmoyne, Ohio, and Ella H. is the wife of Frank Monroe, head entry clerk in the ex- tensive mercantile house of John Shillito & Co., Cincinnati. William J. Winter was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, August 5, 1839, and received his educa- tion in the public .schools of the city, which he attended at intervals until early manhood. His first employment was in the Cincinnati post- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 855 office, and covered a period of about five years. Later, he spent two years in the general ticket office of the O. & M. railway, where he was engaged at the outbreak of the Civil war. With patriotic valor, he resigned his place and responded to the first call of President Lincoln for three-month volunteers, enlisting on the 19th da}' of April, 1861, in company G, Fifth Ohio infantry. The period of enlistment was spent principally at camps Harrison and Den- nison, and, at the expiration of the term, the regiment re-enlisted at the latter place for three years. For some time the regiment re- mained unassigned, but was finally attached to the command of Gen. Shields and saw its first active duty in the Shenandoah valley, partici- pating in the battle of Winchester. August 11, 1862, Capt. Winter was ordered to Co- lumbus, Ohio, for the purpose of assisting in the recruiting service, and later he was con- nected with the general engineering corps, his duty being the taking of photographs and mak- ing maps and drawings of fields, buildings, de- fenses, etc. During this important service, in which he was engaged until the close of the war, he was often in possession of information not generally had by subordinate officers, and he rendered valuable assistance to his supe- riors along the line of the secret service. Following his discharge, which he received at Louisville, Ky., in 1865, Capt. Winter was a bookkeeper in Cincinnati until his father's death, at which time, 1866, he re- moved to Springfield, Ohio, and engaged in photography. He continued business until defective eyesight compelled him to dispose of his gallery, when, in February, 1891, he came to the National Home, D. V. S., to have his ailment properly treated. As soon as his eyes were sufficiently benefited, he was placed in command of company Twenty-nine, and had charge of the same until transferred in August, 1892, to the command of company Two, his present position. The captain has 1 1 1 beds in his ward and carries the names of 1 50 men upon the books of the company which he com- mands. His record while in the active serv- ice of his country is all that could be expected of a brave and conscientious soldier, and since entering upon official life, he has discharged his duty with commendable fidelity and proven himself worthy of the confidence of his supe- riors. In politics the captain is a democrat, but not an aggressive partisan; he was for some time a member of the G. A. R., in which he held the position of adjutant-general of Ohio for three years, but at this timeheisnot identi- fied with any social or secret organization. He is a widower and the father of two children — Mary, wife of Samuel W. Hornbrook, a con- tractor and builder of Maplewood, Ohio, and Frank A., assistant foreman in the office of the Inter Ocean, Chicago. ^ EWIS W. WINTERS, who is a I member of the successful firm of W. ^^ F. Haas & Company, dealers in bicy- cles, in Dayton, Ohio, is to be noted as one of the enterprising and capable young business men of the city. A native of Carlisle, Warren county, this state, Mr. Winters was born on the 22d of August, 1874, his parents being John C. and Sarah Amanda (Hendrickson) Winters, repre- senting respective ancestral lines of German and Scotch-French extraction. They still re- side in Carlisle. The father has been engaged in railroading and express business the greater portion of his life. He began work as a tele- graph operator when he had attained his ma- jority, and from that time he was promoted to higher positions of trust in connection with railway affairs, being employed in various ca- pacities. For two years he was agent of the Erie Express company in Dayton, and for 856 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD an equal length of time acted as cashier of the Dayton office of the United States Express company. During many years he has made Carlisle his home, though his duties have de- manded his frequent and continued absence. At the present time he is the agent of the Cin- cinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw railroad in Frank- lin, Ohio. He was born June 17, 1846, and his marriage to Sarah Amanda Hendrickson was consummated in Carlisle. Lewis W. is the only child born to them. Lewis W. Winters passed his childhood years in the town of his birth, where he at- tended the public schools and gained the rudi- ments of his education, supplementing this by a course of. study in the schools of Dayton. At the age of seventeen years he entered the employ of the Cincinnati, Jackson & Macki- naw railroad in the capacity of telegraph oper- ator at Franklin, this state, and occupied that position for one year, after which, in the spring of 1894, he came to Dayton. Here he was employed as bookkeeper in the establishment of A. W. Gump, with whom he remained until the time when he associated himself with Mr. Haas in the purchase of the business with which he had been connected; and he has since had the management of the enterprise, which he has brought to a highly successful condition, by reason of his interest, progress- ive spirit and well directed efforts. He is recognized as one of the live and energetic young business men of the city, and one whose every action is guided by principles of integ- rity and honor. Mr. Winters is an active and zealous member of the Y. M. C. A., and his religious affiliations are with the Presbyterian church. He enjoys a large acquaintanceship in Dayton, and his genial nature has secured to him a distinctive popularity. Of the busi- ness enterprise with which he is identified specific mention is made in connection with the sketch of the life of his associate, Mr. Haas. (D ILTON WOLFE has been a resi- dent of the city of Dayton since the centennial year — 1876. He is a native son of Ohio, having been born in Logan county on the first day of the year, 1848, the son of George and Olive (Hen- dricks) Wolfe, who were respectively of Ger- man and New England stock and lineage. The father was a substantial and honored farmer in Champaign county, Ohio, and there his son Milton was reared to the sturdy and invigorat- ing work of the farm, receiving his educational training in the district schools of the vicinity. He remained at home until he was about six- teen years of age, when, after successfully teaching a district school for one term, he went to Youngstown, Ohio, where he devoted him- self to the study of the photographic art, in which he became highly proficient. In 1867 he went to Chicago, where he entered one of the leading studios, whose work represented the maximum of excellence in photographic processes. He remained in Chicago for about three years, during which time he attained a high degree of skill in every branch of the artist's work. Mr. Wolfe made his initial business venture by opening a studio at Richmond, Ind., and success attended his efforts in this old Quaker city, where he continued for about four years, after which he came to Dayton and effected the purchase of the business which he has since continued without interruption He stands to-day in the front rank of his profession in Dayton, having achieved marked artistic and business success. He does all kinds of photographic work and his productions com- pare favorably with those of the leading met- ropolitan studios. In 1888 he began the manufacture of screen plates for use in half- tone photographic engraving processes. At that time there were but few engaged in this line of manufacture, as the reproductive pro- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 857 cess was as yet in its infancy, and at the pres- ent time Mr. Wolfe's plates are known throughout the Union for their superiority, be- ing of special design and construction. In fact, the Wolfe screen plates are known in every section of the world where engraving is being done by the photographic process. He has built up a most extensive business in this di- rection, and has found it expedient to give his attention very'largely to this branch of his en- terprise. In 1895 he still further increased the facilities of his establishment by engaging in the manufacture of plates for use in the three- color process, utilizing methods which have been the result of his personal investigations and experiments. The results secured have been gratifying in the extreme, and he is pro- ducing some most excellent work in this ortho- chromatic photography, the same being prin- cipally utilized for commercial purposes. The accessories of his studio are of the most mod- ern and approved order, and he retains in his employ only the most capable of assistants. In his fraternal associations Mr. Wolfe has advanced to high degrees in the Masonic order, having taken the thirty-second degree of the Scottish rite. He is a member of Mystic lodge, No. 405, A. F. &A. M. ; Unity chapter, No. 16, R. A. M., and Reed commandery, No. 6, Knights Templar. He is also identified with the Knights of Pythias, being a member of Iola lodge, No. 83. Mr. Wolfe is one of the progressive and public-spirited business men of Dayton, whose advancement and material prosperity he has closely at heart. @EORGE H. WOOD, member of the Dayton bar, was born in Dayton, Ohio, on November 3, 1867, and is the son of Gen. Thomas J. Wood, United States army, retired, one of Dayton's most distinguished citizens. After obtaining his preliminary education George H. Wood entered the Sheffield Scientific school of Yale university, where he was graduated in the class of 1887. He next entered the Cincinnati Law school, where he was graduated with honors at the head of the class of '89. He was ad- mitted to the bar in February, 1890, and spent two years following in the office of the law firm of Young & Young and of R. D. Marshall, of Dayton, since which time he has practiced law alone. Mr. Wood is a member of the Loyal Legion, of the Sons of Veterans and of the Dayton club. m ILLIAM F. WOLLENHAUPT, mail carrier, of Dayton, Ohio, is a native of this city, and was born December 10, 1854, a son of Henry A. and Carolina C. L. (Waltemathe) Wollen- haupt, old residents of Dayton. Henry A. Wollehaupt was born in Ger- many in 1830, and was a boy when brought to America by his parents, who came direct to Dayton. He received a common-school edu- cation in Germany, and on reaching Dayton worked at tailoring until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in company B, First Ohio volunteer infantry, for three years. His brother, Christ, who enlisted at the same time and in the same company, was killed in the battle of Missionary Ridge, in November, 1863, but Henry A. lived to take part in all the battles in which his regiment was engaged, and at the end of his term of three years was honorably discharged. On his return to Day- ton he found employment with the Dayton Car works, with which he remained several years, when he was employed at the works of the Farmers' Friend company, manufacturers of agricultural implements, but now known as a part of the Stoddard Manufacturing company, 858 CENTENNIAL. BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD and with this company he worked until 1892, when he retired from active labor. The marriage of Henry A. Wollenhaupt took place in Dayton, May 15, 1S51, to Caro- lina C. L. Waltemathe, who was born July I, 1833, at Krainhagen by Obernkirchen Kurhes- sen, Germany, and died in Dayton, Ohio, Oc- tober 16, 1896, themotherof sixteen children. Mr. Wollenhaupt is a member of Saint John's Lutheran church and of the Grand Army of the Republic. William F. Wollenhaupt received a lim- ited education in the public schools of Dayton, and at the age of nine years began work in the T. A. Phillips & Son's cotton mills, where he remained until the fall of 1869, when he en- tered the cigar factory of Munday & Laubach as an apprentice; was one year confined to stripping tobacco, and then advanced to the position of cigarmaker. He worked for this firm until 1874, when, having learned the trade, he was offered the foremanship of the Hanna Bro.'s cigar manufactory, which he accepted and retained until October, 1889. November 1, 1889, he received his appoint- ment as mail carrier under the Harrison ad- ministration, and is still faithfully performing the duties of that office. Mr. Wollenhaupt was married, May 15, 1877, to Miss Anna C. Lang, daughter of George and Theresa (Sebald) Lang, who were both born in Germany. Mrs. Wollenhaupt was born in Dayton, Ohio, December 27, 1857, and was educated in the common and parochial schools. To this union have been born five children — Blanche Emma (deceased), Laura Agnes, Clarence Eugene (deceased), Ralph Joseph, and Irene Antoinette. The parents are members of Holy Trinity Roman Catholic church, and Mr. Wollenhaupt is a member of the Knights of Saint John, being treasurer of commandery No. 104 of Holy Trinity church, having held the office since 1891. February 25, 1896, he was elected second vice-commander of commandery No. 104, uniform rank. He was a delegate to the twelfth annual convention of the order at Co- lumbus, Ohio; also to the seventeenth annual convention at Evansville, Ind., and the eight- eenth annual convention at Dayton, and has also attended other conventions of the order. He is a member of the Sons of Veterans of Dayton, and was the delegate of that order to the convention held at Hillsboro, Ohio, in February, 1896. He is likewise a member of Court Cooper, Independent Order of Forest- ers, and of the Catholic Gesellen Verein. Mr. Wollenhaupt is also a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers of Dayton; was elected at their first meeting as financial secre- tary, and later chosen to represent the Dayton branch at the seventh annual convention, held at Grand Rapids, Mich., in September, 1896. In politics he is a republican. Mr. Wollenhaupt resides with his family at No. 353 East Xenia avenue. He owns his home, and also the old home of his wife. No. 250 South Henry street. He and his family stand in high estimation in society and church circles, while as a citizen his name is with- out a blemish. a APT. FRANCIS MARION WORK was born in Perry county. Pa. , No- vember 14, 1840, and his genealogy is directly traceable to ante-Revolu- tionary times, and to relationship with noted actors in that celebrated struggle for independ- ence. The paternal branch of the family, which is of Scotch-Irish origin, settled near Chambersburg, Pa., as early as 1760. The Works and Marions were closely related, and it was after a member of the latter family, Gen. Francis Marion, a patriot of national reputation, that the subject of this sketch was OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 859 named. In the annals of the war of 1812, the name of Work appears frequently upon the numerous muster rolls, and, as far back as the history of the family can be traced, the ancestors appear to have been men of great personal bravery and soldier-like qualities. Andrew Work, the father of Capt. Work, was born in Pennsylvania and in that state married Hannah Miller, whose ancestors came to America from Germany at a period long antedating the Revolutionary struggle. An- drew Work enlisted in the Eighty-second Pennsylvania infantry and died near Washing- ton city, D. C, in 1862, at the age of fifty- seven years; his wife departed this life in 1849. They had a family of seven children, the eld- est of whom, Alexander, died in 1848; Joseph, a soldier in the Sixty-second Pennsylvania infantry, died while in the army; Henrietta died in early youth; William H. H. died while young; Rebecca Jane married Daniel Harman, deputy United States marshal for the northern district of Ohio, and the youngest child died in infancy, unnamed. Francis Marion Work was fourth in order of birth, and received his education in the com- mon schools, though he is largely self-educated. When of sufficient age young Francis entered upon an apprenticeship at Beaver, Pa., to learn the molder's trade, and, after becoming proficient in the same, worked for some time in that city, and later, about i860, engaged in the oil business on the Little Kanawha river, in Virginia, where he remained until the break- ing out of the Civil war. In May, 1861, he became a member of Hill's Rangers, a mili- tary organization for home protection, which afterward became company C, of the First Vir- ginia cavalry, the muster dating from August 28 of that year. Capt. Work's military ex- perience began in the winter of 1 861-2 under Gen. Milroy on the Fremont campaign in the Shenandoah valley, during which time he served as sergeant of orderlies at the general's headquarters, discharging the duties of the po- sition in a most acceptable manner. He con- tinued in the valley during the Peninsula cam- paign and participated in the second battle of Bull Run, was under Burnside at the battle of Fredericksburg, served under Hooker at Chan- cellorsville, and was with Gen. Kilpatrick's cavalry at Gettysburg. In the winter of 1863 the regiment re-enlisted, and took part with Gen. Sheridan in the battles of the Shen- andoah, including Winchester, Cedar Creek, and numerous other engagements oi that memorable campaign, which resulted in the final reduction of the Confederacy. The battle list during this period is a long one and the captain's record is replete with duty well dis- charged and with gallant conduct which won the approbation of his superiors. He was with Sheridan from Winchester to Appomattox, took part in the battle of Sailor's Creek and Five Forks under the immediate command of Gen. Custer, and was an eye-witness of the final surrender of the rebel chieftain, which terminated the war of the Rebellion. He passed through the various official stations from private to captain, and at the battle of Gettysburg was put in command of a squadron consisting of two companies. He was mustered out with the rank of cap- tain July 8, 1865, and immediately thereafter returned to Pittsburg, but did not long remain in that city, going thence to Saint Louis, Mo., where he worked at the molder's trade until 1867. In January of that year he enlisted in company H, Thirty-sixth United States infan- try, with which he served at Forts Sanders and Bridger, Wyo., a part of the time as clerk in the adjutant's and quartermaster's department; on account of injuries received during his previous service, he did not complete his pe- riod of enlistment, but received his discharge on the 2 1st day of April, 1869. On leaving •860 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the army the captain became a member of the engineer corps of the Union Pacific railroad, and while thus engaged was employed to meas- ure and receive all the lumber used in the con- struction of snow fences along the line between Cheyenne and Ogden. He continued in the employ of the company until the completion of the road and its acceptance by the govern- ment, after which he was in the employ of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe road for about one year during the construction of that line through Kansas. From the latter state he went to Michigan, where he was for some time bookkeeper for N. B. Day & Co., contractors on the Menominee extension of the C. & N. W. railway, and later was a member of the en- gineer corps, having in charge the surveying and constructing of short lines of road in the Ishpeming country to the iron mines. Retiring from railroading, the captain aft- erward followed agricultural pursuits and cler- ical work for several years, and for some time resided in the city of Toledo, not actively en- gaged in any kind of employment. Subse- quently he worked at his trade in Pittsburg for a limited period, and afterward sold agricul- tural implements, following the latter business the greater part of the time until 1886, in which year he entered the southern branch of the national military home at Hampton, Va. , where he soon became commander of a com- pany. In this capacity he continued until transferred two years later to the northwest- ern branch, Milwaukee, Wis., where he ac- cepted a clerical position in the quartermas- ter's department. In addition to his duties as clerk, the captain was also sergeant-major in the Milwaukee branch for about two years, and, at the end of that time, took a discharge and visited the eastern states, where for a pe- riod of one year he worked at various kinds of employment. Finally he went to the sol- diers' home at Marion, Ind., and was made captain of the hospital and colonel of the Union Veteran Legion, remaining there until transferred, in March, 1894, to the Central branch, Ohio. Capt. Work has held various official positions: First, as wardmaster; and later, in September, 1S95, as captain of com- pany Seventeen, by promotion, the duties of which office he has since discharged. As will be seen from the foregoing brief sketch, Capt. Work has had a varied experience, his record as a soldier being one of which he feels justly proud. In his official station he has proved faithful and competent, and the home numbers among its inmates no more painstaking and conscientious public servant. >j*OSEPH A. WORTMAN, lawyer, of J Dayton, Ohio, was born in Berlin, /» 1 Prussia, September 11, 1863. With his parents he came to the United States in 1868, they coming direct to Dayton, and in this city Mr. Wortman has since re- sided. He was educated in the public schools and graduated from the Central high school in June, 1 88 1, when he was seventeen years old. He then took a course of study at the Miami Commercial college, A. D. Wilt, principal, after completing which he began reading law in the office of James Linden, of Dayton, and upon the removal of Mr. Linden, from the city, Mr. Wortman went into the office of O. F. Davisson, with whom he remained until 1889, having been admitted to the bar in 1884. In 1889 he began the practice of law by himself, and has since thus continued with most gratifying success. Mr. Wortman is a republican in politics, and as such was a can- didate for mayor of Dayton in the spring of 1 891, and upon the first count of the votes cast was declared elected by a majority of two votes ; but upon a recount of the ballots he was declared defeated by an adverse majority OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 861 of two votes. He has, however, served two years as tax commissioner of Dayton. Mr. Wortman is a member of all the Masonic bodies — is a Knight Templar, a member of the Scottish-rite Masons, a .thirty-second degree Mason, and is also a Knight of Pythias. He was married January i, 1885, to Miss Cornelia Woodhull, of Dayton, a daughter of Lam- bert Woodhull, who was a member of the firm of L. & M. Woodhull, otherwise known as the Dayton Buggy company, which is one of the largest concerns of the kind in the state of Ohio. Mr. Wortman has five children, viz : Adolph, Robert P., Joseph A., Jr., Marguerite and Cornelia. The family are connected with the Memorial Presbyterian church. Mr. Wort- man was one of the organizers of the Teutonia National bank, and a stockholder and director for several years ; he is also secretary and at- torney of the Mechanics' Loan & Savings as- sociation, and is also largely identified with the building up of the northern end of the city, known as North Dayton. K^~\ fSHOP MILTON WRIGHT, D. D., If'^L of the United Brethren church, and JK^J at present a resident of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Rush county, Ind., No- vember 17, 1828. He received his preliminary education in the common schools and later attended Harts- ville (Ind.) college. In 1853 he was admitted into the White River conference of the United Brethren church and was ordained minister in 1856. Soon after this event he was sent by the board of missions to Oregon, where for a time he was principal of Sublimity college, Marion county, that state, and in 1859 re- turned to Indiana, and in the same year mar- ried Miss Susan Catherine Koerner, a resident of Union county. He passed several years as pastor and presiding elder in the White River conference, and in 1869 was elected by the general conference to the editorship of the Religious Telescope, which position he filled with marked ability for eight years. In 1877 he was elected bishop ; the degree of doctor of divinity was conferred upon him in 1878, by Westfield college, and he continued to perform the functions of bishop until 1881. In that year he became the editor and publisher of the Richmond ( Ind.) Star, but terminated his connection with that journal in 1885, when he was elected bishop of the Pacific coast. In 1889, with fourteen associate ministers, he re- fused to accept as being lawful the action of the general conference at York, Pa., in pass- ing under a new confession of faith and consti- tution, and with them claimed to continue the true general conference of the church. This schism of the general conference resulted in two churches, both claiming precisely the same name. At this conference in 1889 he was elected bishop, and publisher of church litera- ture. At the general conference at Hudson, Ind., in 1893, he was re-elected bishop, which position of honor and prominence he has now held for fifteen years. Dr. Wright has attend- ed every general conference of his church since 1865, has been a member of the board of mis- sions, of the board of education, and a trustee of the Union Biblical seminary, and, in fact, has been a zealous worker in the church ever since 1855. The parents of Dr. Wright were Dan and Catherine (Reeder) Wright — the name Dan. being that also of his grandfather, Dan Wright. His father was born in Orange county, Vt. , September 3, 1791, and was reared a farmer. At the age of twenty-five years he moved to the state of New York, where he passed one year, and then, in 18 16, came to Ohio, and resided in Montgomery county until 1821, when he moved to Indiana and cleared up a farm in the wilds of Rush county, and nineteen 862 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD years later he removed to a farm in Fayette county, where he passed the remainder of his life. There were born to Dan Wright and wife six children, beside Milton, the subject of this sketch, of whom three sons and one daughter lived to raise families. Of these, the eldest, Samuel S., was a teacher, who died at the early age of twenty-three years ; Rev. Harvey lives on his farm in Rush county, Ind. , and has been a Baptist minister for over forty- five years ; Rev. William was a minister in the United Brethren church and died in 1868, at the age of thirty-six years, and the daughter, Mrs. Sarah Harris, was a resident of Franklin county, Ind., at the time of her death, which took place in 1868. The Wright family are of English origin, but for several generations have lived in Amer- ica, the family name having been established in Springfield, Mass., by Samuel Wright, about the year 1639. Dan Wright, paternal grandfather of the bishop, was a farmer and carpenter, and one of the heroes of the Amer- ican Revolution, having taken part in the bat- tle of Saratoga. His wife bore the maiden name of Sarah Freeman, and was a native of New Hampshire, having descended from one of the most eminent New England families. The Reeder family, the maternal ancestors of Rev. Dr. Wright, were of German descent, but went to England previous to the year 1600. They came to America (Long Island) about the year 1650. George Reeder, the subject's maternal grandfather, was captain of militia and baggage-master in the early days of Ohio. George Reeder was born on the James river, Va., and about 1792 settled in Hamilton county, Ohio, at Columbia, now a suburb of Cincinnati. John Van Cleve, Bishop Wright's maternal great-grandfather, was descended from a Holland family that settled in New York eight generations back. He was also a soldier of the war of the Revolution, and while in the battle of Monmouth his dwelling was burned by the retreating British. During this battle, or just previous to it, Mrs. Van Cleve escaped from the house with her three children, but all else was left behind and car- ried off or destroyed by the British excepting a few minor articles that had been placed in concealment. One of the three children alluded to above as having been rescued by their mother, was Benjamin Van Cleve, for many years afterward county clerk of Montgomery county, Ohio. In the early part of 1790, John Van Cleve came to Ohio and located at Cin- cinnati (then Losantiville), but met with an untimely death at the hands of the Indians on June 1, 1 791. His widow was married to Samuel Thompson two years later and left Cincinnati in a keel boat with her husband and her children, and settled in Dayton, ar- riving here April i, 1796, and, with the New^ com family, erected a double log cabin — prob-. ably on the site of what is now known as Van Cleve park. Here her death occurred in 1837, but her descendants are still well known and prominent citizens of Dayton. Mrs. Susan Catherine (Koerner) Wright was born in Loudoun county, Va., in 1831, but was reared from childhood in Indiana. Her father was a native of Saxony, and her mother a Virginian by birth. To the marriage of the bishop have been born seven children, of whom there are living four sons and one daugh-* ter: Reuchlin, now married, is a clerk in a general railroad office in Kansas City, Mo. ; Lorin is bookkeeper in the office of the John Rouzer Manufacturing company; Wilbur and Orville, now engaged in job printing and in conducting a bicycle store, still make their home under the parental roof, and Katherine is in her fourth year's course of study, at Ober- lin college. The mother of this family died July 4, 1889, and her loss was most keenly felt in the home circle and deeply mourned by her OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 863 many acquaintances. She was a lady of edu- cation and refinement; of a quiet, unassuming disposition; ready of speech and an able coun- selor, whose advice was always sought and heeded by her husband. She died in the faith of the United Brethren church, of which she had been a pious and consistent member since early childhood. In politics, Bishop Wright has always been allied with the republican party, and his church record, of which the salient facts have been given in this memoir, furnishes its own best commendation. WOHN A. WRIGHT, a deputy sheriff m of Montgomery county, was born in *I Springfield, Ohio, June 28, 1857, a son of Robert and Catherine (Ritter) Wright. Robert Wright, a native of England, came to the United States at the age of sixteen years, located in Ohio, and here married, and became a successful and well-known railroad man, rising from the place of section " boss " to that of roadmaster of the old C. S. & C. railroad. The latter position he held until the time of his death, at Osborn, Ohio, in 1868, his widow being now a resident of Dayton, and there having been born to their marriage five children. John A. Wright was about one year old when his parents came fron Springfield to Dayton, and here he grew to manhood and has passed his entire life, with the exception of about nine years, which were spent at Os- born, where his father died. He was educated in the common schools of both Dayton and Osborn, but had early to relinquish his studies, and, after his father's decease, worked on a farm for a year and a half, in order to reduce the family expenses of his mother, who had been left in widowhood with three of her five children. He was next employed in a nursery, where he passed three or four years, and in both situations was faithful and attentive to his duties. His next step was the learning of the machinist's trade at the Globe Iron works in Dayton, where his devotion to the interests of his employers secured him constant work for the long period of twenty-two years. Jan- uary 7, 1894, he was appointed, by Sheriff Anderton, as one of his deputies, a position he has since filled to the satisfaction of the sheriff and of the general public. Mr. Wright was married, October 17, 1878. to Miss Phebe Tressler, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Tressler, well known residents of Dayton. To this union there have been born three children, Effie, Edward O., and Ambry Irene, all of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Wright are attendants of the First United Brethren church of Dayton, of which they have long been members, and to the tenets of which they strictly conform. Fraternally, Mr. Wright is a member of. the National Union and of the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America, also of the Interna- tional Association of Machinists. He served as president of the Dayton Trades & Labor assembly in 1892 and 1893, and has ever held dear to his heart the material interests of the workingman as well as his moral welfare. He and his family have a pleasant place in social life, and the respect paid them is well deserved. BREDERICK WUNDERLICH, a member of the firm of Wunderlich Bros. , sculptors and manufacturers of and dealers, in granite and marble monuments at No. 1225 East Fifth street, was born in Dayton, Ohio, September 15, 1864. His parents, Henry and Elizabeth (Kupp) Wunderlich, were born in Germany, the for- mer coming to this country in 1847, the latter in 1862. Henry Wunderlich first settled in 864 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Auglaize county, but came to Dayton in March, 1848. He was a stone-cutter, and followed this trade until 1873, when he established the business now being carried on by his (our sons. His death occurred in Dayton, February 23, 1889, in his seventieth year. He was a mem- ber of the order of Odd Fellows, of the en- campment, and was also a member of the German order of Druids. He was a successful, honorable man, and one of the best known and highly esteemed citizens of the east end of the city of Dayton. His widow died in March, 1896, in her seventy-third year. At the time of his death Mr. Wunderlich left four sons and one daughter, the latter being the wife of Otto Alstaeter. The sons are John, Henry, Fred- erick and William, comprising the firm of Wunderlich Bros. Frederick Wunderlich was educated in the Dayton public schools, and, having completed his education, learned of his father his present business. The firm was first known as Wun- derlich & Sons, but upon the death of the fa- ther the name was changed to Wunderlich Bros. This enterprise has been built up from a small beginning, and it is by strict attention to business and by fair and honorable dealing that the firm has established its reputation and acquired its present high standing and large and prosperous trade. Mr. Wunderlich has always been a repub- lican in politics and for many years has been a leading member of that party in the Ninth ward. In April, 1895, he was elected to the board of education for a term of two years, taking his place on the board in May. He was married in May, 1887, to Miss Emma Gayer of Riverdale, and to this marriage there have been born two sons, Elmer O. and Howard F. Mr. Wunderlich is a member of all the branches of the Odd Fellows fraternity, and of the Gem City senate Knights of the Ancient Essenic order. He and his family are members of the Third street, or Saint John's, German Evan- gelical Lutheran church, which was organized in 1838 or 1839. Mr. Wunderlich and his brothers are among the most highly esteemed citizens of the Gem City. HOMAS YENNY, of Dayton, Ohio, is a native of Switzerland, born July 27, 1844. He came to the United States in the year 1866, and is the only member of his family who ever came to America. Before leaving his native land Mr. Yenny had secured a good education in the common branches of study, and had also prepared him- self for the practical duties of life by learning the carpenter's trade. He passed the summer of 1866 in Pittsburg, Pa., where he found em- ployment at his trade, and in the fall of the same year he came to Dayton, Ohio, where he has ever since lived, and where he has been continuously employed at his trade, being an expert workman and recognized as a skilled mechanic. He secured a position in the Barney-Smith Car works on his arrival in Day- ton in 1866, and has remained with that con- cern until the present day, with the exception of the interim from 1872 to 1879, when he was employed in the shops of the Farmers' Friend Manufacturing company. His industry and good management have brought to him a due measure of success, and he is well known and highly esteemed in the city where he has made his home for so many years. At the time Mr. Yenny left Switzerland both of his parents were living, but are now deceased. Two sisters and one brother still remain in the land of their birth, and he him- self has twice visited the home of his childhood — once in 1869, and again in 1890. On the 20th of December, 1871, Mr. Yenny was united in marriage to Miss Mary OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 865 Freitag, who was born in Milwaukee, Wis., and to them has been born one child, a daugh- ter, Mary Margaret. All of the family are de- voted members of St. John's German Lutheran church. In his fraternal relations Mr. Yenny is identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Druids. In politics he has been a loyal sup- porter of the democratic party and for six years served as a member of the school board of Mad River township. The esteem and confidence in which he is held by his fellow-citizens was also shown in April, 1896, when he was elected a member of the city council from the Third ward, as the candidate of the democratic party. K^~\ RUNO ZIMMERMAN, timekeeper at 1/^^ the national military home at Dayton, J^_J Ohio, was born in Saxony, Germany, November 23, 1827, and was educated in an agricultural college. He was the only child born to his parents, and when about six- teen years of age, in 1843, ran away from a pleasant home and came to America. Here he employed himself in any honest labor his hands could find to do, first working for some time in New York and then going to Connect- icut, whence, in 1853, he went overland to California, where he drove a United States mail coach, on the Santa Fe route, for three years. This task was beset with dangers, and finally a train of several hundred wagons, to whicn his vehicle was attached, was attacked by ambushed Indians, and in the battle which ensued Mr. Zimmerman received a severe wound in the head, which rendered him un- conscious for several weeks and disabled him from further service as a mail coach driver. On recovering from his wound he went to Cincinnati, where he engaged in teaming. He enlisted in April, 1861, for the three months' service, and acted as orderly on the staff of Gen. Planker. Immediately after the expira- tion of this term of service he enlisted in Huff- man's Ohio battery, in which he became first sergeant. He filled out his two years' term with this battery and then re-enlisted in the field, becoming a member of the One Hundred and Eleventh Pennsylvania infantry, company B, from which he received his final discharge. Mr. Zimmerman served in the Eleventh and Twelfth army corps, and took part in many of the sanguinary battles under Gen. Hooker, among which may be mentioned that of South Mountain, where he was wounded. He was also at Antietam and Fredericksburg; went with his command to the southwest, where the Eleventh and Twelfth were merged into the Twentieth army corps, and took part at Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain and Ringgold. June 15, 1864, at Pine Mountain, Ga., he received a disabling wound through the leg and ankle, and for this reason was honorably discharged at Camp Dennison, Ohio, in August, 1865. After his discharge, Mr. Zimmerman went to Kentucky, where he engaged in the grain and coal business. He there found among the discharged rebel soldiers many warm friends, and, disabled Yankee soldier though he was, they apparently thought none the less of him. But disaster overtook him, and in 1882 his property and business were destroyed by fire, and he sought refuge in the military home at Dayton. Here he was first employed as bread- cutter, then as clerk and store-keeper in the tailor shop, next served as assistant timekeeper for several years, and since February, 1896, has been timekeeper. The first marriage of Mr. Zimmerman was with Miss Emma Sarah Meade, a native of Connecticut, and to this union were born twelve children, of whom seven are still living. Two of these reside in Chicago, 111., and three in 866 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Buffalo, N. Y., while the location of the other two is not known. The second marriage of Mr. Zimmerman took place in Lexington, Ky. , in 1876, with Mrs. Katherina Piot, a soldier's widow, but to this union no children have been born. Mrs. Zimmerman was the mother of five children by her first marriage and these have been reared in the Zimmerman house- hold, which occupies a very pleasant home on Fifth street, Dayton. Mr. Zimmerman is a member of Dister post, No. 444, Grand Army Republic, of Day- ton, and was a charter member of encamp- ment No. 82, Union Veteran Legion. In re- ligion he is a devout Roman Catholic, and in politics has always been a republican. He is a typical German, is frugal, and during his earlier and more productive years economized sufficiently to enable himself to provide the means for a good and comfortable home for his family. WOHN FOWLER YOUNG is a native M of Dayton, Ohio, was born April 28, /» 1 1840, and is a son of Henry and Eliza- beth (Fowler) Young. The father was born in Germany, served under Blucher in the war with Napoleon Bonaparte, and was still a comparatively young man when he came to America. Henry Young was a gardener and nursery- man, and for a time was an overseer on a plantation in Louisiana; he came to Dayton about 1838, and was soon afterward married to Miss Fowler. He owned a tract of three acres in North Dayton, on which he carried on his business as a gardener until his death, which took place in 1846. His widow sur- vived until 1883, when she was called away at the age ot eighty-three years, dying in the faith of the German Reformed church. Abel Fowler, the maternal grandfather of Mr. Young, was a miller by trade, and brought his family from Reading, Pa., to Dayton, Ohio, about the year 1835, or soon afterward. He purchased a farm of forty acres in what is now known as Dayton View. There were five chil- dren in his family, of whom four came with him to Dayton, and here his daughter Eliza- beth was married to Mr. Young. Mr. Fowler died about the year 1852, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. John Fowler Young was reared to garden- ing in Dayton, to which he devoted himself until 1876, when he opened business as a flor- ist, locating his greenhouse at Dayton View. In November, 1868, he married Miss Eliza- beth Herby, daughter of George and Lydia (Corby) Herby, natives of England. Mrs. Herby and two of her children died in Eng- land, and in 1853 Mr. Herby and his only re- maining child, now Mrs. Young, came to America, from Earls Barton, England, where the father had been employed in a large mill. On reaching Dayton Mr. Herby engaged in teaming, draying, etc. His life here, how- ever, was very short, as he died in 1858, at the early age of thirty-seven years, leaving his daughter, then but fourteen years of age, alone in a strange land. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Young have been born six children. The home and greenhouse of Mr. Young are at No. 105 Holt street, and he also has a fine piece of property on the corner of Holt street and Young avenue; the store is at No. 21 East Fifth street, where Mrs. Young has charge of the cut flowers and takes care of the office business, while Mr. Young cares for his well- equipped greenhouses, supplying all kinds of floral decorations. The Young family are members of the Lutheran church, and frater- nally Mr. Young is a member of the A. O. U. W. They have a pleasant home in Dayton View, and enjoy the association and esteem of a large circle of friends. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 867 OTTO ZEIL, engraver in metal, die sinker, etc., and one of the most suc- cessful mechanics of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Baden, Germany, De- cember 10, 1844, and was a lad of eight or nine years of age when he was brought to America by his parents, Joseph and Anna Zeil, who were also natives of Baden. Joseph Zeil was a weaver of woolen goods, and after set- tling in Cincinnati, Ohio, on his arrival in this country, followed his calling until advancing years made it necessary for him to retire. He lost his wife in Cincinnati in 1862, and in that city his own death occurred some years later, at the age of eighty-one years. There were but two sons born to Joseph and Anna Zeil, Otto and his brother Joseph, the latter now a farmer in Indiana. Joseph Zeil served entirely throughout the Civil war, first enlisting in the Eighth Indiana volunteer infantry, and later in the Sixty-ninth Indiana infantry, and since the war has served three years in the regular United States army. Otto Zeil received a very good common- school education in Cincinnati and was then apprenticed to the general (metal) engraver's art, and while thus engaged enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixth Ohio volunteer in- fantry. He was sent to the front, and with his regiment was taken prisoner at Hartsville, Tenn., but was paroled and sent to Columbus, Ohio, for exchange. Here Mr. Zeil was pros- trated by sickness and was discharged for dis- ability; but on recuperating he enrolled himself as a member of the Tenth Ohio militia, which was later called into active service for 100 days and was placed on guard duty over pris- oners at Johnson's Island, Lake Erie, Ohio, and at Cumberland, Md., and elsewhere. At the conclusion of this service he returned to Cincinnati and re-.engaged in his early vocation until April, 1890, when he came to Dayton and established himself in business. Mr. Zeil was married, in 1869, to Miss Sophia Troendle, a native of Germany, and to this marriage have been born five children, viz: Otto, a partner with his father in busi- ness; Louis, a resident of Cincinnati; Tillie, Albert and William, still at home with their parents. Mr. Zeil is a member of Old Guard post, G. A. R., of Dayton. Otto Zeil, Jr., son of Otto and Sophia Zeil, and the partner of his father, under the firm name of Otto Zeil & Son, is almost the equal of his father in the art of metal engraving. The firm turn out to order, as specialties, em- bossing plates for book-binders; blank gilding rolls and tools; box pirnting plates; copper plates; steel stamps and everything pertaining to die sinking and stamping known to the art. Both father and son are skilled in the calling, and control almost the entire trade in their art in southwestern Ohio and adjacent territory. HUGUST ZWIESLER, superintendent of the Burkhardt Furniture company of Dayton, is a native of the city, born on the 20th of July, 1859, and is a son of Constantine and Marguerite (Schimel) Zwiesler, the former of whom is still living, at an advanced age, while the mother passed away in the year 1893. Constantine Zwiesler was born in the province of Bavaria, Germany, in May, 1820, and at the age of twenty-six years emigrated to America and forthwith made his way to Montgomery county, Ohio, where he has ever since resided. He is a tailor by trade and followed this vocation until he was fifty- five years of age, when he retired from active business. In the early years of his residence here he held for some time the office of assess- or. He has long been a zealous member and communicant of the Catholic church. Constan- tine and Marguerite Zwiesler became the par- ents of six children, of whom Christina is the stis CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD wife of Michael Wise, of Dayton; Charles J. died in May, 1885; John H. is a resident of the state of Washington; Lewis lives at Kansas City, Mo. ; August is the immediate subject of this review; and Annie still remains at the pa- ternal home. August Zwiesler received his early educa- tional training in the excellent Catholic schools (Saint Mary's parish), of Dayton, and at the age of thirteen years he entered the employ of the Stomps-Burkhardt Chair company, where he remained for eleven years. He was then for two years in the service of Parrott & Gil- bert, and subsequently for eight years with John Stengel & Company, resigning his posi- tion with this concern to become one of the organizers and incorporators of the Burkhardt Furniture company. Mr. Zwiesler is one of stockholders of the corporation and its super- intendent. He is a member of Saint Joseph's Orphan society, and is identified also with the Knights of Saint John, of Emanuel Catholic Knights, and a member of Holy Rosary church. Mr. Zwiesler was married on the 19th of February, 1888, to Miss Philomena Hunn, daughter of Adolph Hunn, and they are par- ents of four children, Aloyes. Joseph, Elenora and Charles. aHARLES WORTHINGTON RAY- MOND, second son of George M. and Eliza (Bonte) Raymond, was born in Dayton, Ohio, on the 17th day of January, 1851. George McMullen Raymond, his father, was an Ohioan whose place of na- tivity was near Cincinnati, and who married Eliza Ann Bonte, of Cincinnati, some time in the 'twenties. To them were born five chil- dren, all of whom reside in Indianapolis ex- cept Charles W., who lives in Dayton. George M. Raymond was well known in former days as a leader of music and was an unusually sweet singer. He was the first per- son to introduce in Dayton what are known as round notes. He was a member of Wesley chapel, Methodist Episcopal church, and later one of the founders of Raper chapel, of East Fifth street; was the first Sunday-school super- intendent of that church and always an es- teemed member, as well as a faithful christian citizen. He was a member of Wayne lodge, No. 10, I. O. O. F., also of the encampment, and represented his lodge at one time in the grand lodge. He died in Indianapolis on the 1 6th of August, 1893, six years after the death of his wife. Charles W. Raymond was educated in the public schools of Dayton. After his school life he associated himself with his father in business. He learned the trade of blacksmith- ing and wagonmaking, which trade afterward proved the foundation upon which his exten- sive business interests were built. In early life Mr. Raymond developed an unusual fac- ulty for business, and this, with an inventive mind and habits of application, soon gained for him recognition as a prudent, careful busi- ness man, and success early crowned his efforts. During his entire life Mr. Raymond has been an ardent devotee of out-door and athletic sports, and has done much to foster harmless amusements of this class among the younger generation. He has always been a lover of music, inheriting this taste from his father, and for many years affiliated with the various musical societies of the city. Fraternally Mr. Raymond is a member of Wayne lodge, No. 10, I. O. O. F., also of the Essenic order; likewise a charter member of Linden lodge, K. of P. He is an influential member of the board of trade, associated charities and other kindred organizations. He has done as much towards the material and industrial progress of the city of Dayton as any man of his age. Besides his extensive /^ T^T^Y^^^^^-- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 871 manufacturing interests, Mr. Raymond is the owner of ten or twelve business and residence buildings in Dayton. As a citizen and a busi- ness man, his standing in the community is very high, he being widely esteemed for his strong integrity and reliability. It is but just to say that Mr. Raymond inherits from both his father and mother a disposition of unusual energy and perseverance, which was character- istic of both families, tje was married, in 1872, to Miss Viola Palmer, also of Dayton. To them were born three sons and one daugh- ter: Ellis Palmer, Eliza Ann, George McMul- len and Charles Herbert. Ellis, the eldest son, is associated with his father in business and has proven himself of great value, being the inventor of several very useful machines. He is also a musician of much merit. George has also started at the beginning, and promises a successful business career. Herbert, the youngest son, is pursuing his studies in the Steele high school of Dayton. In 1880 George M. Raymond and his son, Charles W. Raymond, established the present brick machine works, under the firm name of G. M. Raymond & Son. Upon the retire- ment of G. M. Raymond in 1888, by reason of age, Charles W. Raymond bought his interest and established the business under the name of C. W. Raymond & Co., clay working ma- chinery, with shops on the corner of First and Taylor streets. Entering the market with a machine, a re- versal of old ideas, and an addition of new ones, at a time when the market was ripe for it, he soon reaped the merited reward of his ingenuity, and to-day is at the head of a busi- ness, which manufactures machinery for the production of building brick, fire brick, pressed and ornamental brick, and terra cotta, also brick for the paving of streets, and shingles for the roofing of houses. Mr. Raymond's first invention, in 1886, was a machine for 34 pressing terra cotta and ornamental brick, in- stead of making them by hand as formerly, which increased the production of thirty pieces per day to about 3,000 pieces per day; later he invented a power re-press for the manufacture of paving blocks, by which 10,000 blocks per day were produced, and still later he invented the Columbian special re-press, capable of pressing 30,000 paving blocks per day, a won- der in this line of work. These, however, form only a small part of his inventions, which followed closely one upon another. It has been his good fortune to design and invent much of the machinery which now goes to make up a modern brick plant. The output of the Raymond factory is dis- tributed throughout the United Slates and it has also a large export demand. The firm takes contracts for equipping the largest plants with all necessary machinery, which is set up and guaranteed, and no charge is ever made of inadequacy to do all that is claimed for it. This is the only concern of the kind in Dayton, and the ingenuity of Mr. Raymond has secured to it almost a monopoly of its pe- culiar products. >-j*OSEPH ZIZERT, contractor and m builder, of Dayton, Ohio, was born /» 1 near Salem, Ohio, October 16, 1859. He is a son of Christian and Elizabeth (Pflum) Zizert, both natives of Germany, and who were the parents of eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, ten of whom are still living, as follows : John, Joseph, Christian, David, Samuel, Henry, Charles, Emma, Nettie and Mary. The one that is dead was named Lizzie, and she was the eighth in order of birth. Christian Zizert was a farmer by occupa- tion, and, coming to the United States, located twelve miles west of Dayton, where he lived 872 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD until 1848, when he made an overland trip to California, traveling by means of an ox-team, and requiring 105 days to make the journey. Remaining there until 1851, engaged in gold mining, he returned by water to New York, and thence came again to Dayton, and located on the old farm at Salem, where he died in 1882 at the age of sixty-nine. His wife is still living on the old homestead. Her husband was, and she is, a member of the Lutheran church, standing high in religious circles and in gen- eral society. The father of Christian Zizert was a stone- cutter by trade, and lived in Germany all his life, dying when nearly eighty years of age. The maternal grandfather of Joseph Zizert was named Charles Pflum, and also died in Germany. Mrs. Mary Piium, his grandmother on his mother's side, died in Montgomery county in 1872, when she was nearly seventy- four years of age. She was one of the excel- lent women of pioneer days, and, dying, left many sincere friends to mourn her loss. Joseph Zizert, the subject of this sketch, was reared upon the farm and received his early education in the district school. At the age of sixteen years he began learning the car- penter's trade, working eight years for Daniel Stouffer. After retiring from the employ of Mr. Stouffer he was a journeyman workman until 1890, when he removed to Dayton and began contracting upon his own account. Dur- ing the time he has lived in Dayton he has erected many substantial residences and other buildings in this city. In August, 1888, Mr. Zizert was married to Miss Kate Beekler, daughter of Henry and Matilda ( Bouser) Beekler. To this marriage there have been born three children : Lottie, Charles and Robert. Mr. Zizert is a member of Riverdale Knights of Pythias, No. 639, and in politics is a democrat. Mr. Zizert and his family are among the substantial citizens of Dayton, standing high in all relations, and enjoy the confidence and respect of all that know them. ^Y H. BROOKINS, member of the Day- ■ ton city council from the Fourth ward, r and secretary and treasurer of the Mathias Planing Mill company, was born in Madison township, Montgomery county, Ohio, October 14, 1858. He is a son of Rich- ard R. and Christina (Holsapple) Brookins, the former having been born in Maryland of Scotch parents, and the latter in Madison township, Montgomery county, Ohio. Richard R. Brookins came to Montgomery county when a boy, and here grew to manhood. He was engaged in the saw-mill and brick man- ufacture until his enlistment, in 1861, in com- pany I, Ninety-third regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry. On the first day's fighting at Chick- amauga he was taken prisoner and was incar- cerated in Libby prison at Richmond, Va. , where he died January 21, 1864. His wife survived him until July 21, 1893. There were five children born to the parents, three of whom are now living: Joseph H., of Anderson, Ind.; Martha A., now the wife of A. F. Allaman, of Montgomery county, Ohio, and our subject. N. H. Brookins was reared on a farm in Madison township, and was educated in the public schools; he also attended the National normal college at Lebanon, and while there taught school during the winters. At the age of nineteen years he began teaching, and con- tinued for nine years, in Montgomery county. While teaching he learned bookkeeping and shorthand at A. D. Wilt's Commercial college, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 875 and in 1889 took a position with S. N. Brown & Co., of Dayton, where he continued until 1893, when he became interested in the Ma- thias Planing Mill company, being made sec- retary and treasurer of the company. Mr. Brookins was married in 1880 to Clara Belle Spitler, of Perry township, Montgomery county. To them four children have been born, viz: Alpharetta, John C, Walter R. and N. Orville. Mr. Brookins was first elect- ed to the Dayton city council in the spring of 1894, for the term of two years. He is a member of Hope lodge, No. 277, K. of P., and of Oak lodge, I. O. O. F., of New Leb- anon, and of Dayton lodge, No. 147, F. & A. M. Mr. Brookins is one of Dayton's de- servedly successful young business men, and, in his service in public office, has become known as one of her most useful and reliable citizens. He and his family occupy a pleas- ant and prominent place in the social life of the West Side, which is almost a city by itself and whose people are among the most pro- gressive and prosperous to be found in Dayton. kS^I ENJAMIN F. McCANN, attorney, of 1^*^ Dayton, was born near Zanesville, J^J Muskingum county, Ohio, January 22, 1 861, and is a son of Thomas A. and Jane (McKee) McCann. The mother was born near Cadiz, in Harrison county, and the father in Muskingum. Both parents are now deceased. Their grandparents came from the old country. Benjamin F. McCann was admitted to the bar of Ohio in June, 1890, and then went to Europe, remaining until the following October, when he returned and began practice. He was appointed police prosecutor of Dayton in 1892 and re-appointed in 1895, the term of the office being three years. Mr. McCann is one of the best known of the younger members of the Dayton bar and enjoys not only a high professional standing, but a position of strength and influence in the general community. His discharge of the duties of his office has been marked by fidelity and efficiency, and his se- lection by the board of police directors for a second term met with public approbation. ax ILLIAM L. DARROW (deceased), who resided in Dayton, Ohio, for more than fifty years, was born in Portage county, Ohio, October 15, 1 8 16. He was a son of James and Betsey (Pease) Darrow, both natives of western New York. They were the parents of four children, one of whom is still living, viz: Harriet, widow of Jonas Butterfield of Cincinnati. James Darrow and his wife were members of the Baptist church. W. L. Darrow's mother died when he was fourteen years old, his father living for many years in Warren county, where he died June 11, 1875, at the age of eighty- six. He was a soldier in the war of 18 12, and a farmer by occupation. The Darrow family is of Scottish origin, and the earliest ancestor in this country settled in New Lon- don, Conn., in 1696; thence the family moved to western New York, where most of the de- scendants now reside, and where they hold an annual reunion. William L. Darrow was reared in Warren county, Ohio, until he was sixteen years of age, as a farmer's boy, and then began the serious work of life for himself. He started a tan- nery on Jefferson street, Dayton, Ohio, and continued this for some years, also operating another tannery in Marion. On account of scarcity of bark in this region he removed his tannery to Vanceburg, Ky., where his brother, James, managed the business for him. While the business was being conducted in Kentucky, William L. Darrow continued to reside in Day- 876 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ton, where for forty-five years he also had a leather store. His death occurred in this city, February i, 1891. William L. Darrow was married to Miss Permilla John, daughter of John and Virginia (McFarland) John. To this marriage there were born six children, as follows: James Madison; Harriet A. E., who died while at- tending high school in Dayton; Millie, wife of John R. More, formerly of St. Louis, but for the past ten years of Dayton; Lucretia, who died in infancy, William J., who died March, 1877. The wife of William J. Darrow, who still survives him, resides in Springfield, Ohio, and has one child, Millie, wife of Harry H. Sellers, of Springfield, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Sellers have two children, Darrow and Joseph. The youngest child of William L. Darrow, Harmon P. Darrow, died in 1884, leaving one son, Willie H. Darrow, of Dayton, Ohio, now the only living descendant of W. L. Darrow, who bears the name. Mrs. Permilla Darrow died in 1867. Her father, John John, was a son of Thomas John, who was a native of Wales, and who came to America in 1750, settling first on Welch Run, in Chester county, Pa. Thomas, Jr., the youngest son, married Elizabeth Pierpont, of Pennsylvania, and lived near Morgantown, now in Berks county, Pa., and there they reared their family of ten children. They re- moved to Ohio in 1797, purchased a section of land in Greene county, from the government, at $2 per acre, later located six miles east of Dayton, and lived there until their death, Mr. John dying in 1S01. At his death the prop- erty was divided among his ten children, John John remaining on the part that fell to him until his death. John John served in the war of 1812, having enlisted at Dayton; the gun he carried is still preserved. There is still living on his farm his daughter, Rebecca John, a maiden lady, eighty-eight years of age, the only one of the family remaining in this part of the country. William L. Darrow was married to his second wife, Miss Sarah R. Stewart, January 20, 1870. She was a daughter of Alexander and Rebecca (Clark) Stewart, the former of whom was a native of South Carolina, and the latter of English and Scotch descent. The name Stewart was originally spelled Stuart. Mr. and Mrs. Darrow were members of the First Baptist church, and she is still a mem- ber. She resides at his late residence, No. 390 West First street. Her grandmother Clark came to Ohio in 1805, when her mother was a young woman. Her grandfather Stuart, or Stewart, also came to this state about the same time, both families settling in Warren county, where her father died. Mrs. Darrow's mother, who was a widow for a number of years, died in Dayton, Ohio, when ninety-six years and six months old. Mr. Darrow was unusually modest and re- tiring; but, notwithstanding this, he had a large acquaintance and was well and widely known as one of the most substantial and in- fluential men in Dayton. He was very suc- cessful in business, and his death was deeply mourned by a large circle of friends aside from the members of his family. Maj. John R. More, who married Miss Mil- lie Darrow, was formerly a wholesale grocer of St. Louis. When Mr. Darrow's last son died, Mr. and Mrs. More removed to Dayton. Mr. More then became associated with Mr. Darrow in business, and so continued until the latter died, Mr. More becoming his successor in the leather business. Mr. and Mrs. More live on the old home place occupied by Mr. Darrow, at No. 400 First street. They have two children, Mildred and Richard. Mildred is now the wife of Harvey Conover, and has one child, a daughter, named Dorothy. Mr. Darrow's son, James Madison, was a OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 877 soldier in the late Civil war, and after serving a few months died from the effects of a severe cold contracted while in the line of his duty. He was a member of the Dayton zouaves, and served under Col. King. The mother of Mr. Darrow, Betsey Pease, was a daughter of Capt. Abner Pease, of the northern part of Ohio. He married Abigail Blackman, daughter of Maj. Blackman, a soldier of the Revolutionary war. Thus it will be seen that the family of Mr. Darrow, in all its relations and connec- tions, was full of patriotism, and that it repre- sented the noble stock of the pioneer, now seldom found, except in the western states, but to whom the state of Ohio owes so much of her present development and prominence in the affairs of the nation and in the eyes of the world. WOHN WESLEY MUNDORFF, super- ■ intendent of the Foglesong Horse Col- m 1 lar Machinery company, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., November 2, 1847, and is a son of Adam and Mary (Young) Mundorff, both also natives of the Keystone state. Adam and Mary Mun- dorff are the parents of two children, Eliza, wife of D. H. Hensley, and John Wesley. Adam Mundorff was a carpenter by trade, was a Baptist in religion, and died in Lancas- ter county, Pa., in 1850, aged thirty-two years. His wife, who is a member of the Baptist church, still survives. William Mundorff, the paternal grandfather of John Wesley Mundorff, was also a native of Pennsylvania, a teacher by profession, teaching school twenty-eight winters in succession, and served in the Mex- ican war. He and his wife reared a family of eleven sons and three daughters, and he died at the age of sixty-two years. The maternal grandfather was also a native of Pennsylvania, but little is now remembered of him. The mother of John Wesley Mundorff, after the death of her husband, married, for her second husband, William Hamil. To this marriage there was born one child, William, who is at the present time superintendent of the gas company at Hamilton, Ohio. Mr. Hamil died in 1890, and Mrs. Hamil, his widow, now sixty-nine years of age, resides at Hamilton, Ohio. John Wesley Mundorff spent his youth chiefly in Cumberland county, Pa., receiving there a good common-school education. At the age of sixteen he began learning the trade of machinist at Hamilton, Ohio, remaining at that place until 1866, when he came to Day- ton, Ohio. For five or six years previous to his present employment he was foreman of the Davis Screw company, and for the past eight years he has filled his present position, that of superintendent of the Foglesong Horse Collar Machinery company. During the thirty years of his residence in Dayton he has earned the reputation of being a careful and competent man and has discharged every duty with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his employers. December 24, 1861, Mr. Mundorff was married to Mary Jane Marts, daughter of Solo- mon and Elizabeth (St. Clair) Marts. To this marriage there have been born three children, as follows: Elmer A., Earle Augustus, and Flora. Elmer A. was killed in 1892 by the White Line street railway cars, when he was nineteen years of age. The other children are living at home. Mr. and Mrs. Mundorff are excellent citizens and are members of the Hartford street United Brethren church, as also are the children. Mr. Mundorff is stew- ard and treasurer of his church. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, of the Odd Fellows and of the American Mechanics. Politically, he has al- ways been a republican. His residence is at 878 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD No. 25 Portland avenue, where he lives sur- rounded by many sincere friends who appre- ciate the value of Mr. Mundorff as a citizen, and of his family as members of the church and of general society. eLIHU THOMPSON, member of the Dayton bar and president of the city board of police commissioners, was born about ten miles north of Dayton, in Randolph township, Montgomery county, Ohio, October 13, 1837. He is a son of James F. and Mary Ann (Riley) Thompson, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania and were brought to Montgomery county by their par- ents about 1820. James F. Thompson was a son of Aaron Thompson, of Allegheny county, Pa., and Mary Ann Riley was a daughter of Isaac Riley, who died in Bedford county, Pa., his widow afterward removing to Montgomery county, this state. James F. Thompson was by occupation a farmer, and was a very prominent and useful citizen. For about fifteen years he served as constable for Randolph township, and was justice of the peace for six years in Jackson township. He was twice land appraiser and once a member of the Ohio legislature, all of which indicates the respect in which he was held by his fellow -citizens, and the confidence they placed in him. His death occurred De- cember 10, 1890, when he was nearly eighty years of age. His wife died in 1887, aged seventy-four years. Elihu Thompson was reared on the farm until he was eighteen years of age, his early education having been secured in the country schools. Afterward he attended the National normal school at Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio, and when nineteen years of age began teaching school, following this profession for eight years, and attending school during his va- cation. While teaching and attending school, having provided himself with law books, he fitted himself largely by private study for the legal profession, entering the law college at Cleveland, Ohio, where he was graduated May 26, 1862. On August 4, 1862, he enlisted at Miamis- burg, Ohio, in company E, Ninety-third regi- ment Ohio volunteer infantry, and was cap- tured at Lexington, Ky. , when the Union forces were defeated by Gen. Kirby Smith, Mr. Thompson being at the time an inmate of the hospital. After being held a captive for about a week he was paroled, but was held within the rebel lines for ten days longer. At length he made his way out of their lines, being at the time near Patriot, Switzerland county, Ind. , whence he made his way to Columbus, Ohio, reporting at Camp Chase, and was honorably discharged on account of physical disability, October 29, 1862. On December 9, 1863, he was commissioned by Gov. Tod as adjutant of the Second regiment of Ohio militia, with the rank of first lieutenant, and that position he held as long as the organization was maintained. Soon after graduating from the Cleveland Law school Mr. Thompson was admitted to the bar, and, after returning from the war, opened an office, March 10, 1864, for the practice of his profession at Dayton, and has practiced continuously since that time. He was in partnership for five years with W. H. Belville, for three years with James P. Whit- more, and for about one year with James A. Mumma, and since the dissolution of the last partnership he has been practicing alone. In politics, Mr. Thompson is a democrat, and as such was elected, in 1869, prosecuting attorney for Montgomery county, and was re- elected in 1 87 1, thus holding the office for four years. He has twice been a member of the board of education of the city, is now a member of the city board of police OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 885 compelled him to relinquish all active pursuits. He came to Dayton from Maryland in 1806, located southeast of the place, and lived there until April, 1825. He lived in Dayton until he was over eighty-nine years of age, his wife having died in 1864, in her seventy-first year. She was one of the good, motherly pioneer women of the early day, and was a member of the Methodist church. The paternal grandfather, John Ensey, was born in Maryland, reared a large family of children, and died in Ohio, near Beavertown. The maternal grandfather was Samuel Thomp- son. He was a native of Pennsylvania, moved to Cincinnati and there married Mrs. Cather- ine- Van Cleaf, widow of Capt. Van Cleaf, who was killed by the Indians. In 1796 he and his wife came up the Miami river and settled in Dayton. Afterward he was drowned in Mad river, just above its mouth, and his wife sur- vived him until 1837. when she died. Dennis Ensey grew to manhood in Dayton, and, with the exception of three years, has lived there all his life. He was educated in the public schools of that city, and there learned the bricklayer's trade, which he fol- lowed for some years, after which he engaged in contracting. He was one of the contractors for the erection of the first of the asylum buildings, and beside this he built many of the substantial structures of Dayton.. On April 10, 1845, ne married Miss Mar- garet Wilson, daughter of James and Jane (Shirley) Wilson. To this marriage there were born four children, as follows : Lila G. , Orvis B., Charles W. and Jennie S. Lila G. married Thomas De Armon, and has three children, viz: Margaret, Helen and Robert. Orvis B.and Charles W. are also married, and Jennie S. is single, and is living at home. Mr. Ensey formerly was a very active Mason, but of late years, on account of failing eyesight, has been compelled to forego attend- ance on the meetings. His present home was erected in 1852, a handsome brick residence at No. 35 South Tecumseh street, where he and his wife have lived since June, 1855. Mrs. Ensey is a member of the Third, formerly the Park, Presbyterian church, and is a most excel- lent woman, wife and mother. Mr. Ensey can remember when most of the present site of the city of Dayton was covered with timber, and he has seen it grow up from the condition of a wilderness to that of a large and prosper- ous manufacturing city. His great age and his remarkable physical strength, together with his knowledge of the history of the country, tend to render him an object of great interest to all citizens, young and old, and all manifest toward him that tender regard and friendship to which his character and useful career so clearly entitle him. s AMUEL W. HOOVER was born April 16, 1837, near Liberty, west of Dayton, Ohio, and thirty years of his life were spent in that vicinity as a farmer. January 26, 1857, he was married to Cath- arine Basore. To them were born three sons — Anthony Webster, Oliver Perry, and Will- iam I. T. Anthony died in infancy; the other two and the mother survive, and the latter oc- cupies the family residence on the West Side, Dayton. In 1 87 1 Mr. Hoover entered into part- nership with J. W. Gaines in the nursery business, at Kinsey, Ohio, the two previous years having been spent in the employ of Kin- sey & Gaines. Ten years later they were able to purchase the present fine site on the West Side, known as Star Point. To this place the plant was moved in August, 1879. The firm was incorporated into the Hoover & Gaines company in January, 1882, and of this com- 886 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD pany Mr. Hoover remained the president until his death. He was president, also, of the Mathias Planing Mill company. This change marked the end of his active business life. He had entered the ministry of the Brethren church in August, 1882, and this was the be- ginning of the third period of his life — first a farmer, then a business man, and last a minis- ter of the gospel. Although now well ad- vanced in years, he took into the pulpit the en- ergy of youth, and an indomitable spirit. His voice gave no uncertain sound, "growth," "progress," "development" — these were the key-words of his sermons. He saw clearly the needs of his church in missionary and educa- tional lines. He embraced these causes whole- heartedly and set to work to create sentiment in favor of advancement. His active ministry was spent as pastor of the West Dayton Brethren church. The pastoral duties re- quired much time, but he gave all absolutely without compensation, and contributed regu- larly to the church needs beside. In the church council he was prompt and fearless in asserting the right of individual opinion. He made no boast of his independence, yet in the highest sense was independent. If for the time he submitted to the judgment of others, in spirit he never yielded the cause he sought to advance. Whatever were the reforms he advocated, whatever were his failures in judg- ment or expedients, never can it be said that he contended for anything unworthy. He was chief in organizing the Brethren's book and tract work. The general confer- ence located it at Dayton, Ohio, but without any means to begin the work. A few solicit- ors were appointed to secure contributions in the churches of the brotherhood, some of whom refused to act at all, others did but lit- tle, while the majority cried failure, but he se- cured a sufficient sum from friends outside the fraternity to print a few tracts; and in five years the endowment fund reached over $50,- 000. He was president of the institution until its consolidation with the general mission board in 1894, whereupon he became a mem- ber of its executive committee and subse- quently the board placed him in charge of the mission's large orange farm in California. He served one year also as president of the Nur- seryman's Protective association. One of the fundamental principles of faith of his brother- hood, is, that the members do not use the civil laws against each other. Their differenced are adjusted among themselves on the basis of Matthew, xviii, or by arbitration, and many were the times that he was called to adjust some unpleasant case in family or church, and rarely did he fail to reach an amicable settle- ment. The day previous to his death was spent in thankless work of this kind. The case was aggravated, but he returned home that evening with a happy heart because he had brought peace to an unhappy family. His strength was almost exhausted, yet in this condition he dared to prepare for the morrow's services, which proved to be too much for his mortal powers. Rising from poverty to wealth did not close his heart to the needs of the unfortunate. He gave liberally and no one was ever turned from his door hungry. He gave a handsome en- dowment to the missionary interests of the church, and aided five colleges in all. He had the ability to make money, and no doubt would have become wealthy, if he had not left busi- ness for the church's work. He had a large circle of friends, who will remember him for his genial social qualities. Children were his fast friends, in whom he took great delight. With all his social qualities he was not a home man in the full sense of the word, but withal took a pardonable pride in his family. His active life either took him from home, or he spent it in reading, study or OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. ss7 attention to other duties. If for these reasons his home life was imperfect, yet his best influ- ences were not lost in his children — both sought eagerly a college education, which he gave them, and both entered the ministry of his church. When he saw clearly a principle involved, he contended firmly for it and the triumph of the cause was a vindication of his purposes. It was his delight to preach, and he sought the opportunity, though he well knew that he was no sermonizer. Most men would have considered that old age had set in when he entered the ministry, but he- entered upon that sacred calling with the vigor of youth. What he lacked in manner he gained in practicability, for if he was not earnest and practical he was nothing. He had no teach- ers, he imitated none, his methods were his own. During the earlier years of his ministry he conducted revivals during the winter season, and met with -fair success. No preacher is equally strong in all lines, so he gave up re- vival work, after becoming a member of the general missionary board, finding that work more suited to him. The one word which expresses best the sum of his characteristics, is action. He did nothing slowly, .and knew not how to conserve his powers. He would press on to the point of exhaustion if he saw that anything depended upon him. He was always a prominent figure on the street, because of his quick step. His outward activity was the reflex of a life within. He lived and worked faster than most men, and thus reached his end before the allotted length of life. He was not great as men look upon greatness, but he filled an important po- sition, and was a leader among his people. He was not overtaken by old age or in- firmity. He was not ripe for the grave. He was pressing on with indomitable will into larger usefulness. He had often expressed a desire to die in active work, but never did he suppose that his would be a tragic end — not to say sacred, for God had erected a pulpit for his death-bed. On that last Sunday, March 10, 1 89 5, he preached with unusual energy in the morning. The afternoon was spent in study for the evening service, upon which he entered somewhat weary, but with the energy and will that were so characteristic of him. His text was, ' ' Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he reap." As he was nearing the end his words became prophetic, "One by one we are passing over, " and in an instant his great soul stepped into the eternal world. Two weeks later, after the return of his eldest son from the university at Leipzig, Ger- many, his body was laid away in the family burying-ground. Jacob Hoover, born in 181 3, died in 1895, the father of S. W. Hoover, was a pioneer in Montgomery county. He came from Morri- son's Grove, Pa., in 1821, and settled west of Dayton. His first wife died thirty-two years ago. The last few years of his life were spent with his daughter, Mrs. S. Bock, of the West Side. He died October 22, 1895. Mrs. Cath- erine Hoover, wife of S. W. Hoover, was born May 31, 1S41. She occupies the home residence on the West Side. Oliver Perry Hoover, to whom the pub- lishers are indebted for this memoir, born March 31, 1864, was the second son of S. W. and Catherine Hoover. He married Ida Alice Klepinger March 3, 1886; entered the ministry of the Brethren's church July 31, 1890, grad- uated at DePauw university, Greencastle, Ind., in June, 1894, and later studied in the uni- versity of Leipzig, Germany. He is now a teacher and pastor of West Dayton Breth- ren's church. His residence is on North West- ern avenue. William I. T. Hoover, born March 8, 1869, was the third son of S. W. and Catherine Hoover; he married Carrie May Yundt, June 888 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 1 6, 1892; entered the ministry of the Breth- ren's church April 30, 1892; graduated in June, 1894, at DePauw university, and is a teacher and preacher. His residence is on North Western avenue. HOMAS J. FARRELL, superintend- ent of police of Dayton, Ohio, whose efficient discharge of the duties of his office has done much to advance the police department of this city to a leading po- sition in the state of Ohio and in the country, has had a life long experience in his profession. He first became identified with police work some twenty years ago, when he entered the service of his uncle, Capt. M. J. Farrell, of New Orleans, the founder of the Farrell Detective agency. He remained with the Farrell agency until the death of his uncle in 1883, when he joined the Pinkerton service of Chicago, and at once sprang into prominence in the north by his success in various cases. In 1888 he made a wide reputation by his suc- cessful work in the famous tally-sheet forgery case, at Columbus, Ohio, in which a number of politicians of that city were arrested and indicted for participation in the crime, which aimed at the overthrow of the Hon. John Sher- man, then United States senator from Ohio. It was hoped to prevent the election of Mr. Sherman to the United States senate, by forging the tally sheet and thus seating enough members in the legislature to render it numer- ically democratic. Mr. Farrell has been identified with some of the most important cases with which the Pinkerton agency has had to deal, and his work in this respect is reported as being of the highest character. He has been detailed very often upon train robberies in the southern states, and also upon difficult cases in the mining regions of Colorado and Montana. Mr. Farrell was appointed to the position of superintendent of the police department of Dayton, May 3, 1892, while he was yet in the employ of the Pinkerton agency, and while engaged elsewhere throughout the country, an honor seldom conferred upon an officer outside of the city in which he may live. He is forty years of age, having been born in the province of Leinster, Ireland, and came to the United States at the early age of ten years. He set- tled with his people in New Orleans, where he entered school and was educated at Saint Vincent's academy, which is located at Jeffer- son City, La., and afterward, as indicated above, he entered the employ of his uncle, Capt. M. J. Farrell, of New Orleans. The career of Mr. Farrell is illustrative of the fact that energy and an eye single to the purpose in hand, must necessarily lead to suc- cess and recognition. >-j*OHN O'CONNOR, one of the well- J known citizens of Dayton, and for the ft 1 past ten years superintendent of re- pairs of the middle division of the Miami & Erie canal, was born in county Lim- erick, Ireland, on January 11,. 1836. He was reared at Abbeyfeale, and was educated in the parochial schools. In 1851, when the famine came on in Ireland, the family were evicted from their leased lands, and removed to Eng- land. Our subject worked on a farm in Eng- land until 1854, when he joined the English navy at Chatham. The same year he went with Admiral Napier's fleet to the Baltic sea, and was with the naval brigade that attacked Bomasund, in July. His ship returned to Eng- land in November, and he was transferred to the Hannibal, commanded by Capt. Dalrymple, which dropped anchor, in the following De- cember, in front of Sebastopol. He remained with the Black sea squadron, his vessel taking OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 891 part in the engagement with the allied fleet in the sea of Azov. He was at Constantinople, Smyrna, and the Ionian islands, returning to England in the winter of 1856. Mr. O'Connor has two medals and the Se- bastopol clasp from the British government for services in the Crimean war, and a medal from the Turkish government. Mr. O'Connor was married in England in 1 86 1 , and in 1 862 came to America and located first at Lima, Ohio, where he was in the em- ploy of the railroads. In 1866 he went to Can- ada as first lieutenant in Capt. Lawlor's com- pany, but returned ten days later, the invasion having come to an end. He came to Dayton in 1869, and secured the contract for building the Big Four railroad between Miamisburg and Carrollton. He subsequently had a similar contract on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chi- cago and Lake Erie & Western roads. In 1 886 he was appointed to his present position. Mr. O'Connor was president of division No. 1, Ancient Order of Hibernians, for the first three years after that order was organized, and is still a member. He is also a member of the Emmet club, and a member of the Sa- cred Heart Catholic church. Mr. O'Connor was married, as stated, in England, June 29, 1861, to Miss Catherine Brennan, who was a native of Athlone, Ireland. To them ten chil- dren have been born. >j , OHN HENRY PRINZ, the well-known A contractor and builder, of 142 East (• / Jones street, Dayton, Ohio, is a Hes- sian by nativity, and was born Novem- ber 2, 1838. His parents were John and Marie ( Gungles ) Prinz. The father, in (lis early manhood, was also a mechanic, but in later years became a farmer, and was engaged in that calling until his death, which occurred in 35 Germany some little time after the arrival of his son, John Henry, in America ; the mother had died prior to the departure of the- son for this country. Of their three living children the history of John Henry is given in this memoir ; George, a carpenter, resides in Day- ton, and Adam is a cabinetmaker, living in California. John H. Prinz received his elementary edu- cation in the excellent public schools of his native land, and on coming to the United States, in 1854, at once settled in Dayton, where he learned both the cabinetmaker's and carpenter's trades.' For a number of years he worked as a journeyman, at either or both of these, and finally drifted into the contracting business, which, for the past twenty-three years, he has followed with unvarying success, erecting some of the finest edifices in the Gem City. Commencing without a dollar, save that earned by his own labor, he now owns four fine residences in Dayton. In 1863 Mr. Prinz married Miss Minnie Degenhardt, who was born in Germany, but was a child when brought to America by her parents, who settled in Dayton and here passed the remainder of their days. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Prinz have been born nine children, viz : George B., an architect, living in Omaha, Neb., and a widower; Louis, a carpenter, working with his father ; Charles, a wood carver, working for the Rouzer Manu- facturing company, of Dayton ; Harry, a jew- eler, of New Castle, Pa. ; Conrad, a machinist in Dayton ; Arthur, at school ; Annie, wife of John Wahn, of Cincinnati ; Caroline, married to Mr. Schubert, a cabinetmaker, and living in Dayton, and Lizzie, who is stili under the parental roof. The Prinz family attend wor- ship at Saint John's German Lutheran church, connected with which is a benefit order, known as the Saint John's Men's association, of which Mr. Prinz is a member. He is also an Odd 892 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Fellow, and a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and politically has always been a democrat. Wl ILLIAM L. BATES, one of the well- known citizens of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1844, and is a son of Richard and Nancy (Trotter) Bates. Richard Bates was a native of Lincolnshire, England. He was one of the old time merchants of Cincinnati, having been the proprietor of the first whole- sale grocery house on Walnut street, in that city. His death occurred in Clifton, a suburb of Cincinnati, in 1855. Nancy Trotter was a native of Steubenville, Ohio. In 1S58 she, with her family, removed to Dayton, her eldest daughter having previously married John H. Winters, the prominent citizen and banker of this city. Mrs. Bates's death oc- curred in Dayton in 1870. She was a woman of unusual attainments, and charity and be- nevolence were among her strong characteris- tics. She was the founder of the first orphans' asylum in Dayton, and she and Mrs. Parrott, mother of Col. E. A. Parrott, raised the money by subscription to purchase the land (the pres- ent site of the Deaconess hospital) upon which the orphans' asylum was situated. The num- ber of inmates became so large that Mrs. Bates was instrumental in having a bill passed by the Ohio legislature establishing a county orphan asylum, and the original asylum was removed to the West Side and made a county institu- tion. The widows' home was subsequently established upon the site of the orphans' asy- lum, and of that institution Mrs. Bates became first president, and so continued until her death, being succeeded in the presidency by her daughter, Mrs. Winters. In 1868 the in- creasing number of inmates of the widows' home necessitated the establishment of a new and more commodious home, and following its removal to another location the present Dea- coness hospital was erected on the site of the first orphans' asylum. Three sons and two daughters were born to Richard Bates and wife, as follows: Rich- ard J., Adolphus S., William L., Susan and Ella. The eldest daughter married John H. Winters, and the youngest married Charles T. Huffman. All of the children reside in Day- ton except Adolphus, who is a resident of Saint Paul, Minn. W. L. Bates was educated in the public schools of Cincinnati and Dayton. At the end of his third year in the high school, in 1 862, he en- tered the army. After the war he returned to Dayton and became interested in the grocery business, and has ever since been associated with that industry. He engaged in the broker- age business in 1877. Mr. Bates was made a master Mason in Mystic lodge, in 1871. He was made a Knight Templar of Reed corn- mandery in 1874, and received the Scottish- rite thirty-second degree in 1881. He served as commander of Reed commandery in 1885, and as captain-general of Reed commandery for eleven years. He was elected presiding officer of Dayton chapter of Rose Croix, Scot- tish rite, in 1891, and served as such until 1894. He was elected grand warden of the grand commandery of Ohio in 1893, and has been promoted each year since and is now grand junior warden. He is a member of Old Guard post, G. A. R. Mr. Bates was married in October, 1868, to Belle, daughter of the Hon. Warren P. Noble, of Tiffin, Ohio. >-j*ESSE BOOHER.— This venerable na- m tive-born citizen of Dayton first saw the A 1 light in the embryo days of what is now a great center of trade and population. His father, Samuel Booher, settled in Dayton OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 893 in 1806, was a wagonmaker by trade, and died in 1857 at the age of seventy-five. He married Miss Susan Lehman, who was the first person baptized into a church in this city, and was connected with the Christian church the remainder of her life. She became the mother of thirteen children and died at the age of eighty-four years. Of her large family four are still living. Gideon is a farmer in Kansas; Mrs. Catherine Ware, the widow of Thomas Ware, has her home in this city; Mrs. Susan Beachler has her residence in Salem, in this county; and the fourth is the subject of this biography. Jesse Booher's birth occurred February 15, 1821, in a frame structure which stood on East Second street, next east of the present Windsor hotel, and which was later known as the Schieble house. Being only a quarter of a century behind the birth of the city, he has had the privilege of watching its growth from an insignificant village of less than a thousand people to its present proud place as the fifth city in the state of Ohio. Mr. Booher is a man of clear mind and ob- serving eye, and there is no one better in- formed upon Dayton affairs. He enjoys the distinction of being the oldest living male born within the boundaries of the city. It is cur- rently believed and reported by the younger residents of the city, those who get their infor- mation from tradition, that the old Newcom tavern was the first house erected upon the present site of Dayton. This, Mr. Booher says; is not true. He states from positive knowledge that the first house erected here was brought on a raft by a Marylander named Watson, and was located on the east part of the ground now occupied by the Steele high school. Mr. Booher has been a carpenter and mas- ter mechanic all his days, occupying the same shop on Booher alley for half a century. For the centennial celebration of April, 1896, he constructed, out of timber taken from the huge logs of the Newcom tavern, a miniature cabin which remains an heirloom in the hands of John Cotterill, the owner of the old tavern at the time of its removal to Van Cleve park. Mr. Booher, when a mere boy, had the opportunity of seeing a steamboat, then a new invention, and an object of curious interest to a person of his inventive genius. He was given a lithograph of the boat; and from this, after a year's toil, he succeeded in producing a model. This he named Lucretia, No. 2, the original having been Lucretia, No. 1. This model frequently changed hands, and is now preserved in the Dayton Library & Museum building in Cooper park. The Booher family was a sturdy one, inured to toil, and generally of long life. The ma- ternal grandmother of Jesse Booher attained the remarkable age of 100 years, lacking only- two weeks. Our subject is a man of fine physique, though not above the medium height. He is the embodiment of bodily health and endurance. Though past seventy-five years of age, he still takes delight in skating, in which art he has been the envy of the boys of three generations. During the dark days of the Rebellion, he was among the first to enter the three months' service. He enlisted under the president's first call for volunteers in company A, Eleventh Ohio volunteer infantry, serving four and a half months. He offered himself for enroll- ment in the three years' service, but was re- jected on account of a crippled hand. Mr. Booher was married in this city, April 26, 1 841, to Miss Cynthia Ann Reynolds, a native of Philadelphia, born in 1822. To this union there have come seven children, four of whom are still living, viz: Lucretia Creamer, the wife of a conductor in Indiana; Belle, now Mrs. Gager of New York city; Emma Rule, living in Portland, Ore., and William Orvis, 894 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD who is connected with a circus. Mrs. Booher, who is still living, is in feeble health, largely as the result of a fall. Mr. Booher is a member of Old Guard post, G. A. R. Politically he is a republican, served for twenty-eight years as city sealer of weights and measures, and has held other official positions. In 1852 he made the journey to California via Cape Horn. On the way out he visited the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Valparaiso. He returned to Dayton in 1854, and engaged in pine coopering, which he followed very ex- tensively for several years, employing as many as forty men at times; but he could not make head against labor-saving machinery, and after a time retired from the business. He prepared a model for a steam fire engine as early as 1849, thus being among the first to discover a practical way of fighting fire. This model was destroyed in a fire in Cincinnati, and the idea was never patented by him. @EORGE W. HOUR.— The ancestors of George W. Houk came from Hol- land to Cumberland county, Pa., where his grandfather and father were born. The former was a man of large prop- erty for that day, owning five or six adjoining farms, skirting the Alleghany mountains upon the east, and also opened iron mines and built a forge at a cost of $60,000. His wife, Salome Line, was of French ancestry. They had a large family. Adam, the third son, married Katherine Rnisely, a beautiful girl, educated at York, the nearest city to the Cumberland county farms, affording the best educational advantages at that time. They had four chil- dren, Mary, Adam, David and George. Dis- satisfied with financial and educational pros- pects, and averse to rearing his children to horse and hound — the rude though manly sports of the mountains — deer hunting being the favorite past- time, Adam Houk and his wife started on horseback for the Ohio valley. Graceful and fearless in the saddle, the mother carried George before her, the other children, with the house- hold wares, following in the wagon. After several weeks of varied experiences through fields and forests, over mountains and rivers, they crossed Mad river, near Dayton, upon George's second birthday, September 25, 1827, wintering at Knisely's Mills and coming into Dayton the following spring. George began his studies in the public schools, but attributed his love for study and intellectual pursuits to the admirable training of E. E. Barney, who had the rare faculty of imparting an ardent desire for learning. He inculcated the principle, that as the Creator and His creature are infinite, the text books of school days were but to initiate gleams of thought in each branch, which were to be fol- lowed up by life-long progress — to continue through the great forever — for only eternity could suffice to follow in this infinite pathway of Life, Truth and Love. Thus equipped for a beginning, George be- came a teacher before he was eighteen years of age. In the summer he assisted his father in his work as superintendent of the construction of the Miami canal, through the Montgomery county division. In early manhood he was distinguished for graceful, accomplished horsemanship, and for athletic feats and vigor of mind and body. Lithe, and tall and slender, he could bend back- ward and pick up a small coin from the Moor with his mouth — a striking contrast to his form in later years. Mr. Houk studied law in the office of Peter P. Lowe, was admitted to the bar in 1847, an ^ formed a partnership with his preceptor. Later he was associated with the Hon. George B. Holt. In 1S60 he formed a partnership with the Hon. John 7 -s. ■ Id i;-"- . 1 , I Jr Pa., : the i i ii financial i ihe.motl' and it- : i ■. e for si le admii n i n g are facult; He that as the Creator the text books of sc re but to initiate gleai^ ach branch, .. to be fol- | i eternity could suffice to 1 this infinite pati Thi: reorge be- In the sumn of tl , i d for ind and body. r, he could bend back r ill coin : i his form irs, Mr. Houk studied law in the was ad I formed a partnership ptor. Later he ^AZ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 895 A. McMahon, which lasted for twenty years, and from 18S0 Mr. Houk practiced on his sole account. In 1852, though but twenty-seven years of age, Mr. Houk was sent to the Ohio legisla- ture, and was distinguished by being made chairman of the judiciary committee. In i860 he was sent as a delegate to the national dem- ocratic convention at Charleston, S. C. , at which Stephen A. Douglas was nominated for president. In 1876 he was a delegate to the democratic national convention at Saint Louis, when Samuel J. Tilden was nominated for the presidency. In 1884 he was nominat- ed a district elector. In 1S90 Mr. Houk was elected to congress from the Third Ohio dis- trict, and in 1892 was re-elected. His death occurred suddenly in Washington, on Febru- ary 9, 1894, during the period of his second congressional term. December 25, 1856, Mr. Houk was mar- ried to Eliza Phillips Thruston, daughter of Robert A. Thruston, a grand-daughter of Hor- atio G. Phillips, and a sister of Gen. Gates P. Thruston, of Nashville, Tenn. Mr. Houk left this lady a widow with three children, viz: Mrs. Harry E. Mead, who resides at Runnymede, her father's residence for thirty-eight years, overlooking a wide, beautiful stretch of the Miami valley and the city of Dayton; Mrs. Harry E. Talbot, and Robert Thruston Houk, residing near the homestead, south of the city's limits. Mr. Houk's brother, David, is still living. He has had repeated calls to positions of trust and honor, and is distinguished as a criminal lawyer, for true nobility of character and un- impeachable integrity. His brother, Adam, died in his country's serv- ice in September, 1864. He has one son — now living in South Dakota. His sister Mary, who married William Ramsey, has passed to her reward after a most exemplary and useful life, her warm-hearted benevolence, intelli- gence and practical interest in all good works endearing her to many friends. George W. Houk was possessed of strong intellectual powers and of literary tastes and ability, which manifested themselves in the writ- ing of essays, philosophical treatises and public addresses upon subjects covering a wide range. Much of his best work of this character was done solely for the love of writing and in order to fix in his mind the result of his extensive reading. While, therefore, some of his most valuable literary productions remained in man- uscript and without publication, his fine gift of expression and wealth of knowledge were known, outside his library, chiefly through his addresses upon public occasions. In this di- rection, his dignity, his fine presence, his rich fund of information upon public questions, and his thorough command of the best graces of oratory, combined to make George W. Houk one of the most prominent figures in the past fifty years of Dayton's history. Added to his equipment as a scholar and thinker were most delightful social qualities, humor, urbanity, unfailing courtesy and genuine hospitality. In both private and public life Mr. Houk was a fine type of the high-minded, upright, useful citizen. His sudden death came as a severe blow upon the community in which he had so long been loved and honored, bringing the sense of personal loss to a great circle of friends and acquaintances whom for many years he had charmed with his personality and im- pressed with his strength of mind and high moral character. OBED W. IRVIN, judge of the pro- bate court of Montgomery county, and one of the most prominent of the younger citizens of Dayton, was born in this city January 12, 1866, and is the S'.Hi CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD son of James B. and Ellen (Montfort) Irvin. Judge Irvin passed through the public schools of Dayton, and in 1883 entered Yale college, from which institution he was graduated in 1887. Following this he accepted a position as teacher in the Dayton high school, being thus engaged for four years, and having charge of classes in mathematics and Latin. In 1889 he entered the senior class of the Cincinnati Law School, where he was graduated in the spring of 1892. He at once began the prac- tice of law in Dayton, but in 1893 was nomi- nated by the republican party for the office of probate judge, to which position he was elected in the following fall, overcoming at the time a large democratic majority. The administration of the office by Judge Irvin was endorsed in 1896 by a renomination and re-election by an increased majority, and he is now serving his second term. K^\ EV. EDMUND SIMON LORENZ, l/^ A. M., D. D., of Dayton, Ohio, is the _9 eldest son of Rev. Edward and Bar- bara (Gueth) Lorenz, of whom a me- moir is given on page 351, and was born in Stark county, Ohio, July 13, 1854. His ele- mentary education wa'S received in the public schools of his neighborhood and at the Toledo high school, from which latter he was gradu- ated in 1870. He then engaged in teaching for some time; in 1880 he was graduated from Otterbein university with the degree of A. B., followed in 1883 with that of A. M.; from 1880 to 1 88 1 he was a student in Union Bib- lical seminary of Dayton, and from 1881 to 1883 in Yale Theological seminary, receiving from the latter the degree of bachelor of di- vinity; from 1S83 to 1884 he studied in the university at Leipzig, Germany, giving special attention to philosophy and church history. Mr. Lorenz joined the United Brethren church in 1871; in 1877 he was licensed to preach by the Miami conference, and ordained in 1882. After his return from Europe he rilled the pastorate of the High street church of Dayton from 1884 to 1886, and during the following year served as German Protestant chaplain of the national military home near Dayton. In 1887 he was chosen president of Lebanon Valley college at Annville, Penn. He entered upon this work with zeal and de- votion, to which was dui; great progress in the development and usefulness of the institution. During his first year he secured an attendance of over fifty per cent, above that of any pre- ceding year. But his physical constitution, undermined by his double work during his col- legiate and theological training and the sever- ity of his pastoral duties, suddenly gave way in 1888, and he was completely prostrated. The next three years were passed in weary invalid- ism, and he is still a sufferer, being compelled to relinquish all public ministerial labor and to avoid general society. He turned his atten- tion to music, which had been his diversion previously, and in the theory of which art he had been thoroughly grounded. Issuing his first book in 1875, Mr. Lorenz has published many musical compositions, which have been hailed with gladness in hun- dreds of thousands of homes, not only in America, but in England and Germany. His books are wholly of a religious character. Some of them were prepared in conjunction with other gentlemen of acknowledged talent; as, for instance, in conjunction with Rev. W. H. Lanthurn, Praise Offering; conjointly with Rev. I. Baltzell, Heavenly Carols, Songs of Grace, Gates of Praise, Holy Voices, Songs of the Kingdom, Notes of Triumph, Songs of Re- freshing, Garnered Sheaves, Songs of the Morn- ing, and The Master's Praise; with W. A. Og- den he was joint editor of Notes of Victory; was associated with President J. E. Rankin, of OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 897 Howard university, in the publication of Mur- phy's Temperance Hymnal; with Kev. W. F. McCauley, in the Christian Endeavor Hymnal, Songs for Christ and the Church. Beside these, Mr. Lorenz has issued alone, Songs of the Cross, Missionary Songs, Otterbein Hym- nal (the authorized United Brethren Hymnal), The People's Hymnal, Tried and True, Spirit and Life (Nos. i and 2), the anthem books Gloria, Festal Anthems, and the Anthem Prize, an infant class song book in English and one in German and two books for male voices. He has also issued scores of exercises for Christmas, Easter and other special occasions, of which millions of copies have been sold, and publishes two periodicals in this interest, one entitled Festal Days in English, and a Ger- man one, Fest-Tage. In 1886 Mr. Lorenz projected a series of books on revival work, and in 1887 issued the Coming Revival, a handbook for laymen, and also the Gospel Worker's Treasury of Hymns and Revival Anecdotes, which also contains suggestive revival texts, sermon outlines and Scripture readings, and this work is now a standard with preachers of all denominations. In 1 888 appeared his Getting Ready for a Re- vival, which also occupies a high place in re- vival literature. After somewhat recovering from his nervous collapse he began the publi- cation of sacred music in a small way under the firm name of Lorenz & Co., and this firm is now one of the leading houses in its line in the country, its trade extending from ocean to ocean and into foreign lands. In 1894 he founded the Choir Leader, a monthly period- ical, devoted, of course, to choral music, and this is now recognized as being the leading publication of its class in the world, and has at this time over 10,000 subscribers. Rev. E. S. Lorenz was united in marriage, October 1, 1877, with Miss Florence L. Kum- ler, daughter of Henry F. and Catherine E. (Zehring) Kumler and granddaughter of Bishop Henry Kumler, of the United Brethren church. She is a native of Lewisburg, Ohio, was for some years a student in Otterbein university, is a lady of fine social spirit, and a companion meet for her husband. Of the six children born to this happy union four are still living — Karl Kumler, Justina, Mary and Edward Henry; Paul Shuey and Catherine E. died in early childhood. Politically, Mr. Lorenz des- ignates himself as an independent republican. Personally, Mr. Lorenz is extremely genial and companionable. Intelligent, earnest and discriminating, an hour spent in his company is both enjoyable and profitable. Of many of his best songs he is author of both words and music. His hymns, which always appear un- der a nom de plume, are free from the com- monplace jingle that has been too common in recent years, showing thought and a cultivated mind, and breathing a spirit of worshipful de- votion that naturally commends them to those who desire to use music which can be sung " with the spirit and with the understanding also," and thus are very popular. SEV. EDWARD HERBRUCK, DD., Ph. D., is a son of Rev. Peter Her- bruck, DD., late of Canton, Ohio. His father's life was one of constant activity in the ministry, retiring at an advanced age only when compelled to do so by the in- firmities of his years. Rev. P. Herbruck was probably one of the most widely known minis- ters in Ohio, and his labors in the Reformed church were most flatteringly successful. He was born in Hengsberg, Germany, February 8, 1 S 1 3 . From early youth he had decided upon the ministry as his life work. At the age of eighteen years he came to America, and, after many hardships, finally reached Canton, Ohio. He lived with a family named Wirt, a 898 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD short distance west of the then hamlet of Can- ton, and taught school during 1831. Hi pastor, Rev. Faust, saw the possibilities of a preacher in the young man, and aided him in his education, Riving him private instruction in theology. Rev. Faust died in the latter part of 1832, and young Herbruck was elected his successor, and, at the age of nineteen years, became the pastor of a church, and from 1833 until 1883 hj was pastor of the same church by regular appointment — a period of fifty years — and served the same, periodically, for sev- er?.! years later. During that time he per- formed 2,611 marriages, attended 2,560 fu- nerals, baptized 5,938 people, and confirmed 2,917 novitiates. He was married, in 1832, to Miss Sarah Holwick, and of the thirteen children born to them, ten are living, several of them being ministers of the gospel; othere are business men and all honored and respected citizens. The death of Rev. Herbruck occurred at Can- ton, September 22, 1895; his widow still re- sides in Canton, she being a native of Stark county, Ohio. Rev. Edward Herbruck was born in Can- ton, Ohio, May 11, 1849. His elementary education was acquired in the public schools of Canton and his collegiate education in Heidelberg university, Tiffin, Ohio, from which he was graduated in 1868, as valedictorian of his class. As a minister, he was stationed four years at Akron, and eight years at Can- ton. In 1 88 1, he was elected by the synod of the Reformed church as associate editor of the Christian World, continuing thirteen years in this work. Since 1884 he has devoted his time and attention to researches into the his- tory of Egypt, and lecturing upon the land of the Pharaohs, or the story of a Long Lost Nation. He has not only visited Egypt personally, but has given many years of study to the subject. Being one of the honorary local secretaries of the Egypt Exploration society, he is in position to obtain all the latest facts regarding the discoveries made by that society. The lecture abounds in graphic descriptions of the land of the Nile, and its buried cities, as it was four thousand years ago. The life and literature of that ancient people, and the won- ders which have been turned up by the spade of the excavator, bear witness to the fact that Egyptian civilization was not surpassed by that of any other ancient people. Dr. Herbruck was united in marriage, No- vember 21, 1872, with Miss Clara A. Burrowr>, daughter of J. A. Burrowes and granddaughter of the reverend pastor, D. Winters. She is a native of Fairfield, Ohio, and was educated at Springfield Female seminary. Dr. and Mrs. Herbruck have three children: Nellie B., Ralph and Hilda; the former, a graduate of Dayton high school, attended Wilson college one year; Ralph is a commercial student, and Hilda is a student in the city schools. Dr. Herbruck is devoted wholly to literary pur- suits, and from the many press and individual criticisms and notices of his scholarship and lectures, the following clipping is made: The Rev. Dr. E. Herbruck enjoys the very high esteem of the clergy of Dayton, Ohio. His ripe scholarship, his finished oratory, his wide travel, with the most decided success of his lectures on ancient Egypt, have confirmed his position in the very front rank of platform speakers. It is with much pleasure that we have witnessed Dr. Herbruck's growth, both as a close student and in increasing favor with the public. It is the reward of honest toil, and our good opinion, formed of our friend and brother twenty-five years ago, has only inten- sified as the years have passed. We confi- dently predict that he will always please and instruct, and the preacher who has always met the demands of the occasion will more than please the scholarly and cultured audience. Wm, A. Hale, Pastor First Re formed Church. Dayton, Ohio, May 22, 1895. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 899 At the meeting of the synod of Ohio of the Reformed church in October, 1896, Dr. Her- bruck was elected professor of historical the- ology for Heidelberg theological seminary. BREDERICK BRENNER, senior mem- ber of the firm of Fred Brenner & Son, proprietors of cooperage works, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Wurtem- berg, Germany, December 31, 1842. He is a son of Michael and Christina ( Rau ) Brenner, both natives of Germany, and who were the parents of seven children, three of whom are still living, as follows : Jacob, Rosanna and Frederick. Michael Brenner was a cooper by trade, as was his father before him. He died in Germany at the age of sixty-eight, his wife dying in 1861 at the age of sixty-three. Both were consistent members of the Lutheran church. The paternal grandfather of Fred- erick was John Brenner. He and his wife were the parents of six children, and he died when well advanced in years. The maternal grand- father of Frederick Brenner was named Michael Rau, and he also lived to an advanced age. Frederick Brenner was reared in Germany, receiving there the education commonly given the youth of that country, and also learning the cooper's trade. In i860 he came to the United States, settling in Cincinnati, and car- rying on the cooper's trade until 1892, with the exception of the time he spent in the army of the Union in the late Civil war. He en- listed in 1 86 1 in company C, Twenty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, serving three years and two months. He was in some of the most important battles of the war, among them those of Carnifax Ferry, Lookout Mountain, Troop Mountain, Frederick, Md. , South Mount- ain, Antietam, and Piedmont, W. Va., beside many others of minor importance. When the war was over Mr. Brenner re- turned to Cincinnati, and there for a time worked in a brewery cooperage shop, at length, however, starting a shop of his own. In 1892 he removed to Day ton, Ohio, where he has since resided and carried on a successful business. On July 15, 1865, he was married to Miss Margaret Kimmerlin, daughter of Mathias and Dora ( Schenck ) Kimmerlin. To this mar- riage there have been b'orn eleven children, five of whom are still living, as follows : Jo- hanna, John, Caroline, Dora and Michael. Mr. and Mrs. Brenner are members of the Lutheran church, and active workers in aid of the church organization. Fraternally, Mr. Brenner is a member of the order of Odd Fel- lows and of the Knights of Honor. Politically, he is independent, taking greater interest in the success of proper principles than in the success of either party at the polls. Mr. Brenner employs from sixteen to twenty men and makes a specialty of the manufacture of large casks, storage vats, tubs, tanks, etc., his work in this line being noted throughout the country for its excellent construction and workmanship. He has also recently furnished large casks and storage vats for Mexican and South American breweries and wine cellars. ?^~\ R. LEE CORBIN was born April I 18, 1845, on a farm near Point /^^J Pleasant, Clermont county, Ohio. He, like other country boys, went to school in winter and helped on the farm in the summer. He trudged along to school with his elder brother (now Col. H. C. Corbin, U. S. A.) over a road three miles long, and as bad as could be found among the Ohio river hills. The winter school days and summers on the farm came and went until the war times of the '60s. By this time young Corbin was in his "'teens," and having passed through the course of the district schools, was now at 900 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Clermont academy, Prof. James K. Parker, proprietor and principal. As the war pro- gressed the big boys enlisted in twos, threes and squads, until the school might very prop- erly have been termed a girl's academy. Lee Corbin, though somewhat tardy in enlisting (on account of age), did don the blue and was off for the war, where he remained until he was mustered out by reason of the close of the war. He came home with the rest of the boys and again took up his books, teaching and going to school for about ten years. During the last three, years of his pedagogic experi- ence, which was at Osborn, the thriving vil- lage to the north of Dayton, he read medicine, his chosen profession. On the 2nd day of March, 1876, he grad- uted as one of the prize winners of a class of 102, at the Medical college of Ohio, at Cin- cinnati. Soon after completing his medical course Dr. Corbin was married to Annie A. Martin of Osborn, Ohio, and commenced housekeeping as well as the practice of medi- cine at Hamilton, Ohio. His wife died one year afterward and he continued practice in Hamilton for two years longer. He then married Bell Robison, of Warren county, Ohio, and located anew at the village of Vandalia, in the northern part of Montgomery county, nine miles from Dayton. Here he played the part of "village doctor" for ten years, varying the monotony of practice by mixing in local politics, being an active republican. Under the Harrison administration Dr. Corbin re- ceived the appointment of pension examiner, his being one of the appointments made by ex-CommissionerTanner during his brief period of office. This appointment necessitated the removal of the doctor to Dayton, which took place in the late autum of 1889. The pension board of which Dr. Corbin was a member probably examined more applicants for pen- sions than any other board in the United States. It was known as the soldiers' home board. In the fall of 1894 Dr. Corbin was nominated and elected coroner of Montgomery county, for two years. He was renominated and re-elcted in the fall campaign of 1896, and is now serving his second term. When the doctor came to Dayton he located in the thrifty suburb of Riverdale and built a com- fortable home, No. 625 North Main street, where he now resides, enjoying an extensive practice, and surrounded by a happy family. Dr. Corbin has, since the close of the war, taken an active part in G. A. R. matters. He is an ex-post commander and has for sev- eral years filled the chair of surgeon in Old Guard, one of the largest posts in the state. ^^USTAVE A. HOCHWALT, M. D., ■ ^\ a rising young physician of Dayton, ^lW Ohio, was born in this city May 13, 1872, and is a son of George and Theressa (Lothammer) Hochwalt, the former of whom was a native of Germany and the latter of Canton, Ohio. They were married in Dayton, and here George Hochwalt was for many years one of the most successful shoe merchants of the city, as well as one of the earliest established in that industry. He was attentive to his business, realized a compe- tence, and retired from the cares of active life in 1890. His death occurred April 25, 1894, and his widow still has her residence in Day- ton. Of the six children born to George and Theressa Hochwalt, the doctor is the young- est. In order of birth they were as follows: Edward A., who resides in Dayton; Charles C. , of Cleveland; Emma, wife of Frank Burk- hardt: Anna, deceased; Albert, of the Grim Furniture company, Dayton; and Dr. Gus- tave A. Dr. Hochwalt received his elementary edu- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 901 cation in the Brothers' school of Saint Mary's, in Dayton, from which he graduated in his eighteenth year. He then entered the office of Dr. George Goodhue, an experienced phy- sician of Dayton, under whom he read assidu- ously for two years, qualifying himself to enter Starling Medical institute, of Columbus, in 1892, and from this institution he graduated after three years of faithful study, receiving his diploma in 1895. He at once returned to Dayton and entered upon practice, in which he has been very successful. The Hochwalt family are all devout Cath- olics, and are members of Emanuel parish, and socially stand very high in the esteem of the community. In politics the doctor is a democrat, but is not a partisan, being more concerned in the study of his profession than in any interests foreign to it. HS. BYRNE NELLIS, M. D., phy- sician and surgeon of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Mount Vernon, Canada, October 5, i860, and is a son of Will- iam G. and Mary E. (Byrne) Nellis, both now residents of Dayton. Dr. Nellis resided in Canada until sixteen years of age, receiving in the meantime his ele- mentary education at the district school and at Wesleyan college of Tilton, N. H., and was thus prepared for the study of medicine under Dr. William Nichol, of Brantford. After a due course of reading under this capable preceptor, young Nellis entered the university of Michi- gan at Ann Arbor, and after a special course of study in the medical department of that famous institution, completed his medical studies at the Homeopathic college of Chicago, from which he graduated with the class of 1882. He then began practice at Knightstown, Ind., where his initiatory experience was quite satis- factory, and in October, 1883, came to Dayton, where he has met with abundant success, not only as a general practitioner but as a special- ist in the treatment of throat and lung affec- tions — having taken a post-graduate course of study in this branch of therapeutics in a New York hospital college in 1895. He has been honored by being selected physician to the Deaconess hospital of Dayton, and he also holds membership in the Montgomery county and Dayton Medical associations. Fraternally he is a Knight of Pythias. The marriage of Dr. Nellis took place in Brantford, Canada, February 27, 1889, to Miss Hattie Lyons, a daughter of Woods and Abbie (Colder) Lyons, and this union has been blessed with one child — William Lyons. The doctor and his wife are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, of which he is a re- spected official. t y^V ARIUS WETZEL, carpenter and con- ■ tractor, of Dayton, Ohio, was born J^^f in Frederick county, Md., June 4, 1839, came to Dayton with his par- ents in 1847, and this city has ever since been his home. He here learned the carpenter's trade in his youth, and enlisted, April 14, 1861, in company B, First Ohio volunteer infantry, for the three months' service. At the expiration of his term he re-enlisted, in July, 1861, this time in company E, Sixtieth Ohio volunteer infantry, but on March 17, 1864, was trans- ferred to the Seventy-fourth Ohio infantry, company E, in which regiment he served until July 10, 1865. He was mustered out at Louis- ville, Ky., as sergeant — having served over four years. Among the many severe engagements in which Mr. Wetzel took part during this long period of service, the most important may be 902 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD thus enumerated : Stone River, Mission Ridge, Chickamauga, Kenesaw Mountain, Resaca, Dalton, Atlanta, Savannah, Goldsboro, and Jonesboro (N. C). He served faithfully in all the marches, skirmishes and engagements in which his commands took part, and passed through all without a wound. On his return to Dayton, Mr. Wetzel resumed, and has ever since followed, the peaceful pursuit of his trade. Daniel and Mary A. ( Coover ) Wetzel, the parents of Darius Wetzel, were natives of Maryland, and of German descent, Jacob Wetzel, the father of Daniel, being the foun- der of the family in America. Louis Wetzel, an uncle of Darius, was the founder of Louis- ville, Ky., and maternally Darius is a nephew of Daniel Boone, the famous Kentucky pioneer. Darius Wetzel was united in marriage, March 4, 1861, with Miss Mary C. Tobias, a native of Greene county, Ohio. To this mar- riage have been born six children, viz : Luella, wife of John B. Ankeney, a carpenter and build- er, of Dayton; John H., who is a carmaker, in the employ of Barney & Smith ; George B., an architect and foreman for his father; Charles Edward, a graduate of Miami Commercial col- lege, and now bookkeeper for a mercantile house in Dayton ; Mary O, who is an organist, a member of the Woman's Relief corps, and living with her parents ; and Darius, working with his father as a carpenter. The family are members of the Reformed church, of which Mr. Wetzel has been a deacon for many years. In politics Mr. Wetzel is a republican, and for twelve years served as constable in Dayton. Mr. Wetzel has been identified with the Grand Army of the Republic, as an active and enthusiastic worker in the order, and for two years has been commander of Dister post, No. 446. He is a member of Harris lodge. No. 331, I. O. O. F., having united with the fraternity many years ago, and is the present past grand of his lodge. *rj»ONATHAN WEAVER, D. D.— This &3 venerable pioneer in the history of the rtj ■ Inited Brethren church enjoys the dis- tinction of having served the church for a longer period of time than any other living bishop. In fact, it is doubtful if any layman or preacher can far exceed him in actual years of service. But this is not by any means Bishop Weaver's only distinction. Coming into existence before the first quarter of this century was completed, born of humble par- entage in the thick backwoods of Ohio, he has successfully arisen through the various grada- tions of life, and has fully demonstrated that " there is always room at the top of the ladder of fame." His birth occurred on the 23d of March, 1824, in Carroll county, Ohio, and he was the youngest of twelve children, all of whom save himself and one sister have passed to the eternal beyond. His parents were both natives of Washing- ton county. Pa., and both were born the same year — probably about 1775. No reliable fam- ily records were kept, as the parents were un- educated save in the elements of the German language, and, like their pioneer neighbors, gave little heed to anything except the clear- ing up of their farm and providing for the com- fort of their large family. The paternal grandfather came from Ger- many about the year 1750 and lived for a time in Lancaster county, Pa. About 1752 he moved to Washington county, Pa. , where he died. The maternal grandfather was born in this country, of German origin, and also set- tled in Washington county, Pa., in an early day. The parents of Bishop Weaver were married in Washington county, Pa., about 1798, and immigrated to Ohio twelve years later. The father was a moral and upright man, but never professed religion until he was sixty years of age. and died three years later. The mother was converted at about the same OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 905 age, though she had always been religiously inclined and was a faithful and persistent Bible reader. After her conversion she was a very devoted and earnest Christian; and during the declining years of her life, spent much. of her time in reading and prayer. She was excep- tionally well informed upon the fundamental doctrines of the Scriptures and rendered much valuable assistance to her son as a young Christian and embryonic minister, he inherit- ing her temperament and much of her nature. The mother died in her eighty-seventh year. Jonathan Weaver was reared on a farm amid the trials, privations, ignorance and hard labor of early pioneer days. There were no social castes in those days; all were upon the same level, equal in possessions, equal in am- bition, and equal in incentives to hard labor. Amid these conditions young Weaver grew to manhood, having, as associates, the farmers' sons and daughters of the neighborhood, most of whom had no aspirations beyond those in- duced by their surroundings. The school- houses of those days were built of round logs, with a huge fire-place across one end of the school-room and light admitted through greased paper pasted over apertures left in the walls. The prevalent garb of the students was the red "womus," and other garments made of the product of the home loom, which was placed in the "parlor" of nearly every cabin. The scholars stood around the huge fireplace, filled with blazing logs contributed by the patrons of the school, and studied their lessons from the United States Spelling-book, or the West- ern Calculator, according to advancement. The little ones sometimes had their A. B. C's pasted or printed on a paddle and were ex- pected to study diligently. The teachers made no pretentions to teaching any subject except those included in the "three R's," and a scholar was presumed to have graduated when he could figure through the single rule of three. Discipline was maintained by the ap- plication of birch or hickory "oil," and the stronger th^ teacher or master, the better the discipline. Often there was no floor except the earth, and the seats consisted of slabs or puncheons, smooth side up, with holes bored in the bottom corners at proper angels, and wooden legs driven in. It did not matter, then, ifthe feet of the littleonesdangled afoot or two from the floor. In a school of this kind our subject learned to read, write and cipher. He early cultivated a taste for reading, and occa- sionally saw a newspaper, but books were scarce, and those to be had were not suited to young minds and desires. There were no churches within reach, so that he never attended church or Sunday- school until he was fourteen years of age. Occasionally a Methodist or United Brethren circuit rider would preach in some neighbor's cabin, often in his father's; but their discussion of spiritual affairs only mystified him; he could not understand the plan of salvation, and though sincerely seeking the light, he knew of no one to whom he could go for counsel. By reason of his father's misfortune in his financial affairs it became necessary for the fam- ily to seek a new home, and this change neces- sarily brought a change of surroundings, and while the loss of the old home was considered a great calamity to the family, it nevertheless proved a blessing in disguise to the young man. The change brought him in contact with rather better schools and decidedly better teachers. By reason of the family reverses, his labors were more than ever required on the little farm which they were able to purchase with the remnant of the proceeds of the sale of the former and larger one; but he managed to get three months' schooling each year, and em- ployed all his leisure moments in reading and study. When he was about twenty-one years of age — his father being now dead — his mother 906 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD increased his little store of funds until he was able to attend a five-months' term at a Pres- byterian academy, located at Hagerstown, Ohio. This was the sum total of his education as far as the schools were concerned, though he never relinquished his efforts to inform himself at all times, and of course it is need- less to add that he is to-day a man of extensive reading and general information. His religious career took tangible shape in his seventeenth year, while he was attending a camp-meeting. The first time the " mourners' bench " was of- fered, he accep'ed the invitation without solic- itation, being himself scarcely able to tell why he went. During the progress of the meeting he became a member of the United Brethren church. His religious life for several years following was not satisfactory to himself, and he had no one to whom he could go for much needed counsel. Within a year after he began his religious life, he had the great satisfaction of seeing the most of his father's family con- verted and united with the church. When about nineteen years of age Mr. Weaver was elected class leader and served for two years. From the time of his conversion (in 1841) he felt that he ought to enter the ministry, but realized that he had no special qualification for the high calling; yet in those days an educated ministry was neither re- quired nor desired among the common people. Fortunately he had a brother-in-law who was a young minister, and through his help he re- ceived some light on the doctrines of the gos- pel. He read what he could and studied more or less when about his work. When twenty years of age he was licensed to exhort, and six months afterward was licensed to preach the gospel. His first exhortations and first sermons — if sermons they could be called — were studied for the most part while following the plow. The conviction grew upon him that he must give his life to the ministry, but how creditably to fill that place he could not see. He had little to start with, except good health, a strong voice and an abundance of zeal — all desirable qualifications in the preacher. His term at the academy, which gave him a little start in educational matters, had also enabled him to form better habits of systematic study, or, rather, had taught him how to study. In 1845 he was placed on a circuit by the presiding elder to fill a vacancy. During 1846 he taught school for a few months, studied, and worked on the farm the balance of the year ; in February, 1847, he united with the Muskingum conference, under Bishop Russell ; at this conference he received his first regular appointment, the name of the charge being Lake Erie mission. The mission was 200 miles round, had seventeen appointments, and there were twenty-three members. He says: "When time came to start for the mission, which was distant over 100 miles, I felt some misgivings, but would not suffer even my mother to know that my mind was in the least cloudy. I packed up my effects in an old- fashioned pair of saddle-bags, and took a hasty leave of home and friends and set my face toward the north." He soon increased the number of appointments to twenty-three, and rilled them every three weeks. Eighty mem- bers were received into the church during the year, and eighty dollars was paid him for his year's work. Though a young man of robust constitu- tion, the rigors of the winter spent on this work have never been forgotten. It was a year of trials and struggles, yet of great profit. At times, when awakening in the morning, he would find a half inch or more of snow spread on his bed, which had drifted in through the crevices in the cabin walls. Yet he was buoyed up with the knowledge that, in his own distant home, a dearly beloved mother was praying for him. He says : " You may call me weak, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 907 but during all the years I have spent in the ministry, I have always held sacred in my memory this thought : Mother prays for me. I presume to go to my grave with the fond and closely cherished recollections of a kind chris- tian mother." Bishop Weaver continued to serve the church of his choice as an itinerant minister until 1 85 1, when he was elected presiding elder, and was three times re-elected, declin- ing a fourth re-election. As a pastor he was always more than ordinarily successful, his manner as a pulpit orator and companionable friend being such as to draw people to him and through him to seek for a higher life. In 1857 he was a delegate to the general conference held at Cincinnati, and was by that body elected soliciting agent for Otterbein university. Having been a friend of the uni- versity for some years, he well knew its needs, and was very successful in raising the funds to perpetuate its existence. Though not entirely in sympathy with the management of the insti- tution at that time, he was usually able to defend its policy and to show that it was the best that could then be done. He has always taken a firm stand on the question of higher education, and earnestly advocated the estab- lishment of a church theological school long before that was thought possible. In fact, it is believed that the Union Biblical seminary is largely the outgrowth of his earnest labors. His first election to the office of bishop occurred in 1861, but he resigned the office without entering upon its duties on the Pacific coast. In 1865 he was again elected and was placed upon the east Mississippi district, com- prising the states of Indiana, Illinois and Mich- igan. Four years later he was placed in the east district, which comprised the states of Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, Maryland, Ten- nessee and Virginia. During this quadrennial he visited the Pacific coast, and held confer- ences in California, Oregon and Washington territory, traveling about 1 , 300 miles by stage. At the general conference, held in Dayton in 1873, he was again elected to the bishop's office, Ohio district, which included the states of Ohio, Kentucky, and the dominion of Canada. In 1877 he was elected to the same office and placed in the east Mississippi dis- trict. In 1 88 1 he was elected and assigned to the northwest district — the districts having been changed since the last conference. This district extended from Detroit, Mich., west, including Colorado. His sixth election occurred in 1885, and he has been elected at each quadrennial period since, having served over thirty years as one of the official heads of a great and prosperous church. Bishop Weaver is still in active work, though, in deference to his age, his labors are made as light as possible, he having, in 1893, been elected bishop emeritus; however, in 1895, he held conferences on the Pacific coast and was active in his official duties. It will thus be seen that his ministerial work has ex- tended over a period of fifty years in all, dur- ing which time he has traveled nearly all over the United States and Canada. Bishop Weaver has been officially connected with the legislation of the church for over thirty years, and perhaps no man in the United States is better informed upon its history than he. His policy has always been conservative and con-, ciliatory, though firmly believing in and aiding in the recent reforms and changes in the con- stitutional law of the church. He believes that the period of prohibition of Freemasonry with- in the church has passed, though convinced that the time was when it was a wise provision of the church curriculum. As a writer, Dr. Weaver is plain and terse. No one can mis- understand his meaning. Beside being a regular contributor to the different church papers, he has written some pamphlets and 908 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD several books which have been published in permanent form. The first of these was on the Resurrection of the Human Body; the second was entitled Divine Providence, a smaller volume Veated of Ministerial Salary; while Universal Restoration is the title of another. He is the author of a work on Christian Baptism, and of another on Christian Theology. Throughout his writings ings there is apparent a vein of the humorous, which makes his work readable with that large class who are not specially interested in ab- stract theology. A characteristic of the man is his entire freedom from formality. He will meet, with a pleasant smile and hearty hand- shake, the lowest of God's creatures, and seek to win them to a new life by acts of love and brotherly kindness. Bishop Weaver has been twice married. The bride of his youth was Miss Keziah L. Robb, of Mahoning county, Ohio, whom he wedded on the 24th of February, 1847. They lived together pleasantly and happily until she was removed by death about four years after marriage, leaving two daughters. In 1854 he married Miss Mary E. Forsyth, of Canton, Ohio. She is a most estimable lady and a valued helpmate. Nine children have blessed this second marriage. In his younger years, the bishop had been a most perfect specimen of physical manhood, and although now past the ' ' threescore and ten years" allotted to man, he stands erect, and shows his full stature of six feet four and a half inches, and bids fair to continue his useful labors for years to come. K^% ERNHARD MESCHER, of Dayton, I C^L was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, June g^^_J 10, 1855. His parents, Joseph and Mary A. Mescher, were natives of Germany, and came to this country while young, their marriage occurring in Cincinnati, whence they came to Dayton in 1856. The father engaged first in the shoe business on Second street the same year, but in 1869 re- linquished the shoe trade and opened a gro- cery on Washington street. In 1890 he closed out his business and retired, and in July, 1891, his death occurred. He was a member of St. Emanuel's Catholic church. His widow still lives in Dayton, residing at 1 J} Washington street. To the parents nine children were born, six of whom are still liv- ing, as follows: Bernhard; Mary, wife of John Hoban, ex-president of the Dayton city coun- cil, and at present a member of that body: Joseph, a molder of Dayton; Clara, wife of Raymond Lachey, a brass finisher; Henry, also a brass finisher, and George, a machinist, all of Dayton. Bernhard Mescher was reared in Dayton, and was educated at St. Emanuel parochial school. He learned the machinist's trade with the Davis Sewing Machine company, and after three years' time was made shipping clerk and foreman of the sorting and packing department of the works, remaining with that company seven years. In the spring of 1876 he left Dayton, going to Cincinnati, where he took a position as clerk in the clothing house of J. H. Richter, with whom he remained nine years, being manager of one of the departments the last two years of that time. In the fall of 1885 he returned to Dayton, and took a half interest in his fath- er's grocery business on Washington street, and thus continued until the fall of 1887, when they dissolved, and he went into the grocery business for himself on the northeast corner of Cincinnati and Albany streets. He conducted that business until the spring of 1888, when he sold it out, and opened his present business in the fall of the same year at the southeast corner of the same streets. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 909 Mr. Mescher was married on October 13, 1880, to Miss Annie M. Kemper, daughter of Henry and Margaret Kemper, of Cincinnati, Ohio, in which city she was born February 22, 1 861 . To this marriage two children have been born, as follows: Joseph, August 13, 1881, in Cincinnati; and Louis, June 10, 1884, in Covington, Ky. Mr. Mescher has always been a member of the democratic party. In 1891 he was ap- pointed a member of the Decennial Equaliza- tion board of Dayton, which board inspected every piece of property in the city. He is a member of St. Emanuel's Catholic church, and of Carroll commahdery, No. 225, Catholic Knights of St. John; also of the St. Joseph's Catholic Orphans' society. In September, 1894, he was appointed by Mayor McMillin to the board of city infirmary directors, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Charles Spatz, and served until the following spring. •~>TAMUEL CRAIGHEAD, late a dis- •y^^kT tinguished member of the bar of Mont- \^J gomery county, Ohio, was born June 16, 1 S 1 7, in Cumberland county, Pa. In his youth he went to New York city, where he was for several years in the employ of a large publishing house. He prepared himself for the profession of the law, was admitted to the bar of Ohio, and became a resident of Dayton in 1844. Here he at once entered upon the practice, and in 1848 was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney, which he filled for two terms. Mr. Craighead speedily attained promi- nence and wide reputation as a criminal law- yer, and during a period of forty years he was engaged upon one side or the other of well- nigh every criminal case of importance in the courts of this county, his practice extending also to other portions of the state. In about 36 1854 he formed a copartnership with Wilbur Conover, and this became, and for a quarter of a century continued to be, one of the lead- ing and most successful legal firms in Ohio, when it was dissolved by reason of Mr. Con- over's failing health. In February, 1853, Mr. Craighead married Mrs. Jeannette A. Schenck, daughter of Judge William Miller, of Cincinnati, and widow of Lieut. Woodhull S. Schenck, of the United States navy. To this marriage were born three children: Robert G., Emanuel J. and Charles A. Craighead. Samuel Craighead died September 6, 1894. Rightly to estimate the place he held in the community, and especially in the profession to which he had devoted his great gifts of intel- lect and eloquence, we turn to the words of the tribute paid to his life and character by his associates at the bar of Montgomery county. We quote from the memorial adopted by the Bar association following Mr. Craighead's lamented death: "For nearly a quarter of a century he was the acknowledged leader of this bar. In these halls others contended with him as to the soundness of legal propositions or as to the effect of evidence, but no one hoped to triumph over him by personal superiority. The ele- ments of his great professional success were, in part, the generous gifts of nature. His presence was attractive, his capacity for work was great, his mind was active and versatile, his judgment as to what should be offered or omitted in the trial of a cause was instinctive and accurate, and his power of dramatic pres- entation could hardly have been acquired. But these native qualities were strengthened and supplemented by a close and extensive study of the law, by a careful preparation of all the causes in which he appeared, and by the zeal and fidelity which are prompted by an accurate appreciation of the high .duty which a lawyer owes to his client. A clear conviction that the law is a profession, and not a trade, lay at the foundation of his sue- 910 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD cess and was the corner stone of his profes- sional character. It raised hitn to those intel- lectual- and moral heights where controversies are courageous and honorable, where victories ennoble and defeats are not followed by shame. "Most of us, upon our admission to the bar, found him in full practice, engaged in nearly all the important causes that were tried here, winning favorable judgment in most of them and in all adding to his reputation as a powerful and honorable advocate. Rejecting the overtures of those who desired to place him in public positions for which his talent so admirably fitted him, he was nevertheless a public man by virtue of his ability. In our professional circle he was the Great Com- moner. We have all respected his character and emulated his success. Those of us have been most fortunate who have most clearly observed that honor and virtue made that success possible. "In the trial of causes he was fearless and aggressive. He must have been conscious of his great powers as an advocate, though he was without arrogance. " Loyalty and fidelity were prominent in his character. These qualities bound him firmly and closely to profession, to clients, to family, to friends, to truth, to country. He- received patriotism by inheritance, and through T out his long and useful life he nurtured it by the faithful performance of those duties which every citizen owes to the state. ■ ' In his later years his life showed a strange and beautiful blending of vernal and autumnal colors. To his own business and to that of his clients he brought the ripe fruit of long experience and much observation. But at home and 'office his friends were sure of a cheery welcome, and at the meetings of law- yers his favorite place was among the younger members of the bar, whom he encouraged by kind words and delighted with the sallies of wit which so often enlivened the court room and the social circle. It seems as though it were but yesterday that he passed among us with the erect figure, the elastic step, the nat- ural vision and the cheery voice of youth. • ' But age brought even to him its inevitable infirmities, and compelled his gradual aban- donment of active professional duties. Yet he never ceased to teach us by his exemplary conduct. When the twilight deepened, his life became a perpetual benediction upon all whom he met and all whom he had ever known. • ' The memory of his talents, his virtues and his kindness will remain to us a valued herit- age. But we cannot cherish the hope that we shall ever meet a manlier man." ^VHILIP M. ACKERET, general elec- E 9 trician and superintendent of the Miamisburg electric light plant, was born at Mount Eaton, Wayne county, Ohio, August 19, 1865, a son of Rev. John and Mary B. (Wise) Ackeret, both natives of Germany, the former of whom was a minister of the German Reformed church, and died at Millersburg, Ohio, in 1869, his son, Philip M., being then but four years of age. Philip M. Ackeret was reared in Millers- burg and received his earlier education in that city, chiefly in the public schools. March 6, 1889, he graduated from the International business college of Altoona, Pa., and for four months following was employed as book- keeper by a business firm of the same city; later he served in the same capacity for a wholesale and retail house in Pittsburg, Pa. In 1890 he returned to Ohio, and for two years was employed as inspector for the Lima Electric Light & Power company; from Lima he went to Delphos, where he resuscitated the electric light plant; he was next employed by the electric light company of Winchester, Ind., as superintendent and general manager of its electrical and mechanical apparatus, and filled this responsible position for two years; in August, 1893, he located in Miamisburg, where he has since been the trusted superin- tendent and efficient electrician of the electric light company. August 28, 1890, Mr. Ackeret was united in marriage with Phebe Maurer, daughter of John Maurer, of Lima, Ohio, the union being blessed with one son, Mifflin J. In his relig- ious affiliations Mr. Ackeret is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in his fraternal relations is a Freemason and a Knight of Pythias. He is conceded to be one of the best practical electricians in the state of Ohio, and his devotion to his calling has se- cured for him a high standing with many ob- servant members of other corporations beside those by which he has been employed. eLLWOOD ALLEN, one of the enter- prising and energetic young business men of Miamisburg, wks born in Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, December 31, 1854. He is a son of Charles R. and Elizabeth (Hoover) Allen, of whom a full genealogical and biographical memoir is printed in close connection with this sketch, and further mention will be found in the history of the life of David H. Allen, a younger brother of Ellwood, attached to the biography of the late Charles R. Ellwood Allen received a good English education in the schools of Miamisburg, and, at eighteen years of age, entered the foundry and machine shops of Hoover & Company, where he was fully instructed, within a year, in the practical use of iron-working tools and taught the trade of a machinist. He next en- gaged in the grocery business for a year, and then, in 1879, re-entered the employ of the Hoover company and acted as shipping clerk until 1883, when, as a capitalist, he entered upon a broader field of business enterprise, in- 930 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD vesting a part of his means in numerous insti- tutions of industry that have resulted in the de- velopment of the city of Miamisburg and the increase of its population. He is a stockholder in all the companies of which mention is made in the sketch of the life of his younger brother, including an interest in the Citizens' National bank, and additional interest or stock in the First National bank — both of Miamisburg. Mr. Allen is also the owner of a fine stock farm, four miles from Miamisburg, on which he finds time to devote attention to the breed- ing of Poland-China hogs and Shropshire sheep, as well as other choice strains of live stock. Beside his stockholding and director- ship in the various industrial corporations al- luded to in the sketch of his brother, Ellwood Allen is also vice-president of the Kauffman Buggy company, treasurer of the Miamisburg Building & Loan association, senior member of the firm of Allen & Ressler, and a member of the Tivoli Land & Fruit company of Georgia. In his secret society relations Mr. Allen is a thirty-second degree Freemason, beyond which degree very few Masons care to advance. As a member of the city council of Miamisburg he did faithful duty for six years, having been elected to the office by the republican party, of which he is a stanch member. His marriage was consummated November 16, 1889, with May Belle, daugher of George A. and Sally (Mullendore) Mutz, of Edinburg, Ind. aHARLES BAUM (deceased), late pro- prietor of the Baum house, Miamis- burg, Ohio, was born in Rhinefaltz, Germany, February 2, 1852, a son of Philip and Caroline (Retterbach) Baum, and was the third child of a family of five sons and two daughters. In 1869 he came to America and for about one year resided in New York city, in the fall of 1S70 he came to Ohio and located in Miamisburg; from 1874 to 1878 he conducted the Miami house for Mrs. Dr. John Treon; in the interval, in 1875, he pur- chased the lot on which the Baum house now stands, began the erection of his hotel in 1877, opened it to the public in February, 1878, and at once met with a pronounced success, secur- ing for the place a reputation which has never since diminished. In the winter of 1884-85, he erected the Star City opera house, with a seating capacity for 800 persons, one of the first built in the state for a town of the size of Miamisburg. He was, in fact, one of the most enterprising business men that ever lived in Miamisburg, and his death was a great loss to the community, viewed even from the ma- terial standpoint alone. February 11, 1873, Mr. Baum was united in marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and Dorothea (Schmerz) Schneider, of Hesse Cassel, Germany, and the marriage was blessed with eleven children, seven of whom still sur- vive, viz: William, Julia, George, Kate, Jen- nie, Lewis and Charles. The death of the honored father of this family took place Janu- ary 22, 1895, and since that lamentable event the Baum house has been conducted by his widow, who has fully maintained its high reputation. Probably no name was more widely known or was oftener on the lips of the people than that of Charley Baum, either as proprietor of the Baum house or of the opera house, and his acquaintance extended throughout Ohio and adjoining states, and yet he was personally known to but comparatively few of the resi- dents of Miamisburg, as he never left his hotel, except to make a brief trip to his bank once a month, and this covered the extent of his ap- pearance on the streets. This close attention to his business was undoubtedly one of the hastening causes of his early death. He was a man of genial and ob'iging disposition and OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 931 was possessed of indefatigable energy and in- dustry, which never tired in making his guests happy and comfortable, and from these he made hosts of friends. He was always best pleased when adding means for the accommo- dation of his guests, or when adding to or build- ing on his large landed property. His great energy and devotion to business were so no- table that the remark was frequently made by those capable of judging, that the possession of these qualities, coupled with his native abilities, would have made him one of the greatest of merchants, had he embarked in mercantile trade in his earlier youth. y^^EORGE W. BEACHLER, a suc- ■ Cj\ cessful business man of Miamisburg, ^k^J was born in Jackson township, Mont- gomery county, Ohic, February 19, 1832, and is a son of Jacob and Mary M. (Weaver) Beachler, both of whom were na- tives of Pennsylvania. His paternal grand- father, Henry Beachler, was originally from Lancaster county, Pa., but became a pioneer of Montgomery county, Ohio, settling in Ger- man township, where he cleared and improved a farm and where he lived the rest of his life. His children were as follows: Henry; Chris- tiana, wife of Conrad Iser; Adam, Jacob, Peter, George, John, and Mrs. Peter Weaver. Jacob Beachler, father of George Wash- ington, came with his parents to Montgomery county, they settling in German township. In early manhood he removed to Jackson township, where he engaged in farming until his death. His wife, Mary M. Weaver, was a daughter of Jacob and Margaret (Gebhart) Weaver, who settled in Miami township in 1805. She bore him seven children, as follows: William; Jonathan; Magdalena, wife of George Stine; Mary, wife of Daniel Peffley; George W. ; Jacob, and Sarah, wife of John A. Recher. George W. Beachler was reared on the homestead in Jackson township, was educated in the common schools, and afterward in the National Normal university, at Lebanon, Ohio, in which he prepared for teaching. Beginning life for himself as a teacher, he followed that vocation for eight years. In the spring of 1864 he located in Miamisburg and established himself in the grocery business, at which he continued seventeen years, and at the end of this time engaged in the sewing machine, gun and fishing-tackle business, in which he has ever since been successfully employed. In 1892 he added a bicycle department to his store, and in this branch has built up an ex- tensive trade. Mr. Beachler has been twice married; first, in 1856, to Catherine Heitman, of Miamisburg; who bore him four children, as follows: Mary, Charles W., George Monroe and Laura. His second marriage was with Elizabeth N. Ney, who was born in Pennsylvania, coming to Ohio in early womanhood. Mrs. Beachler is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Beachler also is an attendant and sup- porter of the Methodist Episcopal church, and for many years has conducted the Sunday- school Bible class. In politics he has always been a strong and consistent republican, and is know as a man of integrity, uprightness and honor. '^•j'ULIUS F. ALLEN, an accomplished C machinist and a member of the Frank- /• 1 lin Electric & Manufacturing company, was born in Miamisburg, Ohio, De- cember 20, 1856, a son of Firman and Louisa (Plate) Allen. His paternal grandfather, Isaiah Allen, was a native of New Jersey, and a pioneer farmer and miller of Miami town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, and his maternal grandfather, John F. Plate, a native 932 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of Germany, married Miss Eliza Craft, and later became one of the pioneer merchants of Miamisburg, Ohio. Firman Allen, father of Julius F., was reared in Miamisburg, and, while a miller by trade, passed the greater part of his life in farming. To his marriage with Miss Plate were born three children, viz: Cora P. (Mrs. Thomas J. Kauffman), Julius F. and Walter S. Julius F. Allen was educated in the public schools of Miamisburg and was well grounded in the elements of a sound English education. Beginning in 1872, he served an appren- ticeship of three years at the machinist's trade with Hoover & Gamble, and then worked as a journeyman up to April, 1896, when, being an expert mechanician, he became a member of the Franklin Electric & Manufacturing com- pany and has since been the efficient superin- tendent of the mechanical operations of this extensive industry. The marriage of Mr. Allen occurred June 4, 1885, with Miss Joanna Emley, a daughter of James and Susannah (Mullendore) Emley, re- spected residents of Miami township. Mr. and Mrs. Allen are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and their social relations are most excellent. In politics Mr. Allen is a republican, and fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Honor. As a machinist he has few equals, and it may safely be asserted that he has no superior in his native town. *y * ENRY BEACHLER, a progressive j"^ farmer of Randolph township, and a r son of one of the early pioneers, sprang from sterling German ancestry. His grandfather, John Beachler, who came from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania, had one son, John, who was born in Lancaster county, Pa., in 1796, near Reading. He was educated in the common schools, and married, in Lancaster county, Pa., Barbara Stein, a native of that county. Mr. and Mrs. Beachler were the parents of eight children, as follows : William ; Mary ; George ; John ; Katie, who died at the age of seventeen ; one other that died quite young ; Henry and Daniel. The first four were born in Lancaster county, Pa., the others in Montgomery county, Ohio. Mr. Beachler came to Ohio in 1834 or 1835, and here worked at his trade of blacksmith for a short time, when he purchased 144 acres of land, in Madison township, which his son, Henry Beachler, now owns. The most of this land he cleared from the woods, making of it a well-cultivated and profitable farm. A hard- working and industrious man, John Beachler was a representative of the reliable farming class upon whom so much of our prosperity depends. He was a member of the Lutheran church. By thrift and honest industry he ac- cumulated money and property and was always ready to aid his neighbors and friends. He lived to be eighty-five years old, and died in Phillipsburg, at the home of his son, William, while there on a visit. Henry Beachler, son of John, was born January 25, 1840, on his father's farm in Mad- ison township. He was brought up on the farm, received his education in the district schools, and on March 25, 1864, when he was twenty-four years of age, he married Matilda Bowser, who was born in February, 1846. She is a daughter of Henry and Catherine ( Long) Bowser, the former of whom was born in Montgomery county, and was a son of one of the earliest settlers of that county. Henry Bowser's children were as follows : Mary, Elizabeth, John, Kate, Matilda and William. Mr. Bowser was a member of the German Baptist church, a man of integrity of charac- ter, well known for many miles around, and died on his farm when sixty-four years of age. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Beachler ^ (jje^Ki^y PvS&&/£t OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 933 settled on the Beachler homestead, of which they still own forty-two acres, and in addition to this Mr. Beachler has purchased 125 acres and now owns 167 acres of good farming land, which he has greatly improved. He has always been a careful and industrious farmer, and an upright man. To him and his wife there have been born the following children : Catherine ; Barbara A., who died at the age of eleven years ; Sarah B. ; Cora ; Ida, who died at the age of nineteen years ; Lizzie ; Bertha ; Jesse and Agnes. Mr. Beachler pos- sesses strict integrity of character, is honest and reliable in his dealings with men, and is a member of the German Baptist church. Re- alizing the value of truth and probity in each man's everyday life, he is bringing up his chil- dren to appreciate the value of these qualities. EENRY BECKER, a well-known and substantial farmer of Randolph town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, is descended from an old Pennsylvania- German family, united with Swiss stock. John Becker, his great-grandfather, was born on the Atlantic ocean, the father of John being, in fact, the founder of the family in America. John Becker, the grandfather of Henry, was born in Bedford county, Pa., was reared a miller, lived awhile in Lancaster county, and married a Miss Snowbarger ; of the children born to this marriage the follow- ing named grew to maturity : John, Jacob, Samuel, Andrew, Henry, David, Elizabeth, Nancy and Maria. In 18 15 their father brought his family to Ohio, and in June ar- rived in Randolph township, Montgomery county, settling on the farm now partly owned by Henry Becker. With Mr. Becker came William Hart and family, the latter compris- ing Mrs. Hart, their son Henry, and daughters Rebecca, Catherine, and Eve, all born in Lancaster county, Pa. Mr. Becker bought section No. 4, on which was a small clearing and a log cabin, and Mr. Hart bought section No. 5. Mr. Becker bought his section from several parties, and for a portion of it paid as high as $10 per acre, and on this land he died at the age of sixty-six years. John Becker, father of Henry, was born in Bedford county, moved with his father to Lan- caster county, Pa. , and came with him to Montgomery county, Ohio, where, in i8i5,he married Rebecca Hart, daughter of William Hart, alluded to above, and settled on the land bought by his father, clearing 103 acres, and also bought land in Darke and Shelby counties. He died at about the age of sixty- six years, a member of the Lutheran church, of which his wife was likewise a member. In politics he was a democrat, had served as township trustee, and was a well-known and esteemed citizen. His children were named Henry, David, Abraham, Annie and Rebecca. Henry Becker, son of John and Rebecca (Hart) Becker, was born on his father's farm in Randolph township May 13, 18 16, and ac- quired a very fair education in a subscription school, taught in a frontier log cabin in the neighborhood. He was reared to the hard work of the farm, and also assisted his father in a saw-mill which had been erected on this land in the year of his birth. Henry began work in this mill at the age of thirteen years, and has always made its operation his chief business, the mill being now on his home farm. Here, in his early days, were sawed huge black walnut logs four feet through, and also the great poplars and oaks of the virgin forest. Henry Becker was united in marriage, Jan- uary 16, 1840, in Darke county, Ohio, to Miss Sarah Shiltz, who was born in Adams county, Pa., January 20, 18 19, a daughter of John and Catherine (Myer) Shiltz. John Shiltz was a farmer, of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, and v)34 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the father of the following children: Amos, John, Cyrus and Sarah. He settled in Darke county in 1830, cleared a farm of 120 acres, and died at the age of seventy-eight years, his widow living to be eighty-four years old. After his marriage Mr. Becker settled on his present homestead and continued milling, the old mill and twenty-four acres of land having been de- vised to him by his father. In 1865 he built a new mill, and has done a very large business in shipping black walnut lumber to distant points. He has prospered, and now owns 190 acres in his homestead, 170 acres in Miami county, 120 in Darke county, and a forty-eight acre tract on the pike in Randolph township, Montgomery county, or a total of about 528 acres. Mr. Becker's life has been one of con- tinued activity, and at the age of eighty he is still hale and strong, enjoying the fruits of his industry. The children born to himself and wife were named Sarah A., who died when twenty-two years old; Catherine, Thomas J., John S., Isaac N. and Clement. In politics Mr. Becker is a democrat, and has served as township trustee for several years. He is one of the oldest living of the native-born citizens of Randolph township, is consequently widely known, and is honored for his pioneer work as as well as for his deeds as a good citizen. >-j'ESSE A. BINKLEY, retired farmer of ■ Clay township, Montgomery county, f% J Ohio, is remotely of Swiss ancestry, his earliest traceable forefathers having been disciples of the Mennonite faith in their native country, and, having been forced, in conse- quence of the persecution which was inflicted upon their religious sect, to seek refuge in Ger- many, where but a little better fate awaited them, and later their descendants turned their eyes toward America. In the first decade of the eighteenth cen- tury one Martin Kindig, a Mennonite, came from the Rhine valley, Germany, secured a home in Pennsylvania, five miles south of Lan- caster, and then returned to Germany, where he created an intense excitement by his glow- ing description of the new country, and an ex- odus was the result. Among the many who were induced by Martin Kindig to emigrate to the land of free worship were John Binkley and Jacob Beam (the latter name being then spelled Boehme); also a Mr. Herr, a Mr. Miley, Benjamin Whitner, Jacob Haines, Jonas Yoner, the Rohrers, the Forrers and the Kneislys — all of whom settled in the same part of Lancaster county, Pa., and all connected by ties of consanguinity or marriage with the present Binkley family of America. From John Binkley, mentioned above, descended five children — John, Felix, Chris- tian, Henry and Ann. Of these, John, the eldest, was killed by a fall from ahorse shortly before the day fixed for his marriage; Felix, the second son, and great-grandfather of Jesse A., built a flouring mill three miles east of Lancaster in 1767, which was in operation up to a late date. He married a Miss Miley, and to him and wife were born three children — John, Johnson and Ann. The father died many years before the decease of his wife, and the son John inherited the mill, with fifty acres of land, and Johnson inherited the farm,' em- bracing nearly 200 acres. Johnson Binkley, son of Felix and grand- father of Jesse A., was born May 23, 1766, and married Elizabeth Haines, daughter of Samuel Haines, who married Mary, the only child of Jonas Yoner. It is said that Johnson Binkley was named after a Hollander, Richard Janson, who was also called Yanson and after- ward Johnson, and who married Ann, the only daughter of John Binkley, the immigrant, but to whom no children were born. Johnson OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 935 Binkley died suddenly on January 28, 1813, at the age of forty-six years, the father of four children — Samuel, Felix, Mary and Ann. Samuel Binkley, son of Johnson and father of Jesse A., married Catherine Beam, to which union were born the following children: Eliza- beth, Johnson, Jacob, Samuel, Jesse A., Har- riet, Mary A., Henry and Catherine. The father, Samuel Binkley, was a well-to-do agri- culturist in Pennsylvania, and in 1837 brought his family to Ohio in a four-horse wagon. In 1838 he bought a farm of 100 acres, one mile south of Dayton, at $50 per acre — mostly cleared and improved with a good brick house and other buildings. Here Mr. Binkley passed the remainder of his life, dying at the age of eighty-three years; his widow survived to reach the great age of ninety-seven years, the Beam family being particularly noted for longevity. The old homestead near Dayton is still in the hands of their children, who have all been reared in a most exemplary manner. Mr. Binkley was a most upright man and ever set an example of great excellence for his chil- dren, over whom he held a loving control. Jesse A. Binkley, son of Samuel and Cath- erine (Beam) Binkley, was born near Lancas- ter, Pa., December 7, 18 14, and was about twenty-two years of age when he came to Montgomery county, Ohio, with his parents. He was the driver of the four-horse team on that occasion, and still remembers driving over the national road to Springfield and thence to Dayton, when the latter city was but a small place, with a floating bridge across the canal. He lived on the farm at Dayton until nearly thirty-two years of age, when he married, No- vember 19, 1846, Miss Caroline Whistler, who was born in Montgomery county, November 27, 1823, a daughter of Daniel and Polly (Nible) Whistler, both members of pioneer families. Daniel was a well-to-do farmer, but died a comparatively young man, the father of the following children: John, William, Noah, Cath- erine, Martha, Jane and Caroline. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Binkley were born the following children: Henry, Will- iam, Adeline, Newton (of whom a full biogra- phy is elsewhere given), Jesse, Caroline, Alice, Jacob, Phares, Samuel, Clara (who died when two months old), and Ora. On their marriage, Mr. Binkley, with his wife, settled on a party cleared farm of 160 acres, four miles north of Brookville, where he passed all the really active years of his life, and then retired to a small place of twenty-five acres at Sonora, Preble county, on which he lived about eight years. In 1890, he bought a residence in Brookville, where he has since lived in quiet retirement. After nearly fifty years of happy married life, he lost his beloved wife, who died November 29, 1893, a devout member of the United Brethren church. Mr. Binkley has been a very industrious and thrifty man throughout life and still owns his farm and residence property in Brookville, beside his private residence. In politics he has al- ways been a republican and has filled the office of township trustee. He has done much in aid of the United Brethren church, of which he has been a life-long member, and his life has been one of high character and useful results from the beginning to the present time. £~^*AMUEL H. BINKLEY, of Ran- *^^^KT dolph township, is a son of Johnson P^V AVID BASORE. of the firm of Ba- I sore & Schlenker, proprietors of the s^^J Florentine hotel, Germantown, Ohio, was born in that town on January 3, 1847, a son of George and Sarah (Monebeck) Basore. His father was born in Virginia, and was a soldier in the war of 1812, afterthe close of which he came to Ohio, and settled in Ger- mantown, where he engaged in horse dealing. He died in 1867 aged seventy-five years. He was reared in the Dunkard faith, and was a democrat in politics. He was twice married; 942 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD by the first wife he had six children, all of whom are deceased. In 1846 he married Sarah Monebeck, of Germantown, who died in 1896. They reared five children; David; Joseph, of Germantown; Cyrus, of Dayton; Charles, of Dayton, and Clara, now Mrs. William Shaffer, of Germantown. David Basore was educated in the public schools of Germantown and learned the trade of a carriage blacksmith, which he followed for twelve years. He then engaged in general blacksmithing for himself, and so continued for some years, and for twenty years dealt exten- sively in horses. He served as constable of Germantown for twenty years, and as marshal of the town for twelve years. In April, 1893, he engaged in hotel keeping, in 1894 admitted Frederick Schlenker as partner, and in 1895 purchased the Florentine hotel, their present location. He is a democrat in politics and a member of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Ba- sore was married, in 187 1, to Miss Josephine Shertzer, a daughter of George and Lydia (Ripley) Shertzer, of Germantown, Ohio, by whom he has one child, Eva, now the wife of Frederick Schlenker, and who is also the mother of one child, David. Mr. Basore and family are esteemed members of the German Reformed church. (D AJ. FLAVIUS K. BOWLES, of Miamisburg, Ohio, was born in West Carrollton, Montgomery coun- ty, March 19, 1844, a son of James and Cynthia A. (Brown) Bowles, Virginians, who were among the early settlers of Miami township. Maj. Bowles is of Scotch-Irish descent. Maj. Flavius Kemper Bowles grew to man- hood in Miami township, receiving his educa- tion in the common schools and in a select school in Miamisburg. Left an orphan at fourteen years of age, he was thrown partially on his own resources, and worked on a farm until he was eighteen years old. On July 30, 1862, he enlisted in company E, Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry, and after nearly three years of faithful service was honorably dis- charged at Nashville, Tenn., June 8, 1865. He served in the army of the Cumberland a'nd among the principal engagements in which he participated were Chickamauga, Atlanta, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain and Nashville. He was badly wounded in the right leg at Chickamauga, slightly wounded at Kenesaw Mountain, was taken prisoner at Lexington, Ky., in September, 1862, paroled and ex- changed in December of the same year, and rejoined his regiment in east Tennessee in January, 1863. On his return home he en- gaged as agent and buyer for a leaf tobacco firm, continuing in that capacity until 1870, when he was engaged as clerk in a shoe store at Miamisburg for three years. In 1872 Maj. Bowles again engaged in buying leaf tobacco, continuing until 1877, when he was appointed a United States gauger under Col. Robert Williams. He served in that capacity until 1883, when he was promoted to deputy col- lector of the Third revenue district of Ohio, serving until 1885, when he returned to the leaf tobacco trade. In 1886 he represented Cotterill, Fenner & Co., of Dayton, as travel- ing salesman, and in the fall of 1887 was nominated on the republican ticket and elected clerk of courts for Montgomery county. Al- though the county was strongly democratic Maj. Bowles ran ahead of his ticket upwards of 1,500 votes. In the fall of 1890 he was re-nominated and re-elected to this office, again running ahead of his ticket. He served as clerk longer than any other incumbent of the position, owing to a change in the time of taking the office, his service covering a period of six years and six months. Since that time OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 943 he has been more or less engaged in real-estate transactions, as well as in other enterprises. During the Cincinnati riot of 1884, he com- manded the Fourth regiment of militia, having been a member of the O. N. G. , for two years with the rank of major, and on account of services rendered during that exciting period was promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the Thirteenth regiment, O. N. G. Maj. Bowles has been twice married, his first wife having been Josephine Wolf, of Mi- amisburg, and his present wife, Charlotte A., daughter of James C. and Susannah (Mullen- dore) Emley, of Miami township; to this second marriage have been born two children: J. Edmund and Daisy M. Maj. Bowles is a sup- porter of the Methodist Episcopal church, a member of the F. & A. M. ; Jr. O. U. A. M., and G. A. R., having been the organizer and first post commander of Al Mason post, G. A. R. , of Miamisburg. He is also a member of the Union Veteran Legion, of Dayton; of the order of K. of P., and of uniform rank, K. of P., and served as deputy grand chancellor of Ohio K. of P. under Grand Chancellor Her- bert W. Lewis, in 1893. He served as aid on Gen. -Wagner's staff, Ohio brigade, from 1894 to 1896, when he was appointed aid-de- camp on the staff of Gen. J. C. Howes, who succeeded Gen. Wagner. Politically, Maj. Bowles has always been an active worker in the interests of the repub- lican party. He is at this time a member of several charitable committees of the county. In his business and official life he has accumu- lated a competency, and now occupies one of the most beautiful homes in the city, situated on East Linden avenue. Maj. Bowles is one of the most prominent and influential citizens of the community in which he lives, and his official career has given him an extensive ac- quaintance, not only in his county but throughout the state. 38 >j*OSEPH BRANDT, one of the most sub- m stantial farmers of Madison township, /• J Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., October 6, 1842, a son of Joseph and Nancy (Bachman) Brandt. Joseph Brandt, Sr., also a native of the Keystone state and born in Lancaster county, was of German descent, and a farmer by occu- pation. On attaining manhood he married Mrs. Nancy Neisley, whose maiden name was Bachman, and who, at the time of her mar- riage with Mr. Brandt, was the widow of Mar- tin Neisley, to whom she had borne four chil- dren — Daniel, Christian, Peter, who died at the age of forty-five years, and Anna, who died young. After her union with Mr. Brandt she became the mother of two children — Joseph and Fannie. Joseph Brandt, Sr. , died when forty-five years old, a life-long and de- voted member of the Mennonite church. Joseph Brandt, whose name introduces this biographical notice, was reared to the business of milling in his native county, where he passed his early manhood, working at his calling until twenty-five years of age, when he came to Ohio and located at Stillwater. Here he was employed in a nouring-mill for seven years, and then moved to Piatt county, 111., where he worked as a miller for two years, finally returning to the mill at Stillwater in Montgomery county, Ohio. Here, December 6, 1870, Mr. Brandt married Miss Sarah Kin- sey, who was born April 7, 1847, m Randolph township, Montgomery county, on the farm now owned by Ananias Frantz, this having been the old homestead of her parents, Jacob and Susan (Boyer) Kinsey. For three years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Brandt lived on the old Kinsey homestead, one and a half miles south of Salem, and then moved to Mad- ison township, and in 1884 bought their pres- ent farm of 103 acres, which Mr. Brandt has thoroughly improved and placed in a state of 944 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD high cultivation. The only child born to Mr. and Mrs. Brandt was a daughter, Olive, who is married to Irvin P. Hire, real-estate dealer of Dayton, and is now the mother of one child, Mabel Lenore. Mr. and Mrs. Brandt are conscientious members of the German Baptist church and faithfully observe its simple teachings but rigid discipline. In politics Mr. Brandt is a repub- lican, but has never sought office, preferring to devote his time and attention to his pri- vate affairs, which have gained him a fair competence and in the pursuit of which he has won the respect of his neighbors. KENRY P. BREHM, a well-known and popular citizen of Miamisburg, and foreman of David Groby's plan- ing mill, was born in Miami town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, February 10, 1848. He is a son of Henry and Mary (Leis) Brehm, natives of Womelsdorf, Berks county, Pa., but who came to Ohio in 1837, settling in Miami township, Montgomery county, where Mr. Brehm engaged in farming. This occupation he followed until 1884, when he removed to Miamisburg, where he died April 21, 1895, in his eighty-ninth year. His par- ents were Henry and Christiana (Bumgardner) Brehm, who were both of German parentage. Henry and Mary (Leis) Brehm were the par- ents of fourteen children, ten of whom grew to mature years, as follows: Elizabeth, wife of Jacob Anspach; Rebecca, wife of Henry Paff; George; Catherine, wife of Joshua Null; Mary, wife of John P. Weaver; Wilhelmina, wife of Jacob Baver; Sarah, wife of Henry Leis; Margaret, wife of Jacob Miller; Henry P., the subject of this sketch, and John \V. Henry P. Brehm was reared in Miami township and was educated in the common schools of the township, and in the public schools at Miamisburg. When he was twenty- eight years of age he left the farm and has since resided in Miamisburg, where he has been employed in the planing mill of David Groby and has been foreman since 1877. In 1869 he married Sarah C. Groby, daughter of David and Eliza (Warner) Groby, of Miamis- burg, and has one son, Howard B. Mr. Brehm is a member of the First Re- formed church, and has occupied high posi- tions in the various fraternal organizations of which he is a member. He is past grand of Marion lodge, I. O. O. F. , and past chief patriarch of the Odd Fellows encampment. He is past chancellor of Miamisburg lodge, Knights of Pythias, is a member of canton Groby, and of the Daughters of Rebekah, and is also a thirty-second degree Mason. In poli- tics he is a republican, and as such was elected to the city council of Miamisburg in 1S94, showing himself in the service of the public to be greatly and effectively interested in the wel- fare of the place. Mr. Brehm has won the confidence and esteem of men of all parties by his faithful discharge of his official duties. >t j OSEPH ALFRED BROWN, M. D., ■ a successful physician and surgeon of A J Germantown, was born in Camden, Preble county, Ohio, January 19, 1855, a son of William and Mary A. (Beall) Brown, and comes of Quaker stock. On the paternal side he is of English extraction, his ancestors having settled in New Jersey prior to the Rev- olution. On the maternal side he is of Scotch- Irish decent, his ancestor, the Rev. Gideon Beall, a distinguished Covenanter, having left Scotland on account of religious persecution, and settled near Washington, D. C„ in the adjacent suburb of Georgetown, which was named in honor of his son, George Beall. Dr. Joseph A. Brown was reared and edu- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 945 cated in his native county, and in 1873 began the study of medicine; he was graduated from the Medical college of Ohio at Cincinnati, in 187S, and at once located at Germantown, Ohio, where he has attained a large and lucra- tive practice. He married March 5, 1878, Mary L., daughter of Solomon and Sarah (Zitzer) Singer, of Lewisburg, Ohio, and has two children, Edna and Helen. Dr. Brown is a member of the American Medical association, the Ohio state Medical society, the Mississippi valley Medical society, and the Montgomery county Medical society. He was a delegate from the state of Ohio to the American Medical association in 1892, is a Scottish rite Mason, a member of the I. O. O. F. encampment, patriarchs militant, and K. of P. Politically, he is a republican. The doctor has contributed many papers of value to the various medical fraternities to which he belongs, and some of his professional essays have met with decided approbation for their originality and strength. ORVON GRAFF BROWN, president of Twin Valley college and Miami Military institute, Germantown, Ohio, was, at the time of his election, the youngest college president in the country. He was born in Greensburg, Westmoreland coun- ty, Penn., July 1, 1863, within sound of the cannons at Gettysburg. His father, Rev. W. Kennedy Brown, D. D., of Fayette county, Penn., is a descendant of the Chester county (Penn.) George Brown (Gentleman), of colo- nial times. His grandmother Brown is a lineal descendant of Adam de Saltsburg, of Bavaria, who joined with William the Conqueror at the battle of Hastings. His mother, Martha Mc- Clellan Brown, LL. D., of Baltimore, Md., is a direct descendant of the Scotch Clan Mc- Clellan. She founded the National Woman's Christian Temperance union at Chautauqua, in August, 1874 — a movement of historic in- terest and moment. Orvon Graff Brown was well taught at an early age, although he was not placed in school until nine years old. At thirteen he began to evince a decided talent for scientific experiment, and to take great in- terest in collecting in his own room practical appliances in chemistry, physics and electric- ity. His parents encouraged his tastes, giv- ing him, in succession, the advantages of Mount Union college; special school, Pittsburg; university of Cincinnati; and Denver univer- sity, as well as private instructions under specialists in the east. At the age of nineteen he was elected professor of science in the Cincinnati Wesleyan college, where he made a successful record as instructor, and as invent- or of apparatus for class experiments. He had always taken great interest in the sciences of geology and conchology, and made at this time a very large and valuable collection of specimens. When about twenty-two years of age he projected the Twin Valley college (so named from its location in the Twin valley, an arm of the Miami valley), and on February 4, 1886, five months after his twenty-third birth- day, he was elected its president, which posi- tion he still holds. In January, 1894, Prof. Brown organized the Miami Military institute, as a preparatory school of Twin Valley college. This school practically demonstrates his theory that indi- vidual instruction is essential to the building of manhood. Class-work and group instructions are necessarily mechanical and inefficient. No two students' powers are alike and like results should not be sought from diverse powers or gifts. He recognizes four sides to every manly structure, the moral, physicial, mental and social; and erecting these according to their original strength, he develops a scientific man- hood. Like a scientific work, his method ap- 946 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD peals to common sense. Hence his experi- ment, which has been so successful, is now being adopted by other teachers and schools. This method, however, cannot be applied in very large schools, as in them it is manifestly impossible to study each student separately and to cultivate him personally — and the ulti- mate personality is the measure of his indi- vidual manhood. Prof. Brown married, April 5, 1887, Miss Lulu Reed, of Germantown, Ohio. She is a granddaughter of the late Samuel Reed, a pioneer of Montgomery county, and through her mother (Martha Zeller) she is a lineal de- scendant of Capt. John C. Negley, and also of Bishop Andrew Zeller (of the United Brethren church), both of whom have contributed to the history of Montgomery county. The chil- dren of Orvon Graff Brown and wife are Reed McClellan (born January 28, 1888), Samuel Kennedy (born December 2, 1890), and Mil- dred (born May 28, 1894). Prof. Brown is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and has served as an official member and lay delegate to the annual and the lay conferences of his denomination ever since he has resided in the community. lS~\ EV. JESSE K. BRUMBAUGH, a I /^ leading minister of the German Bap- P tist church, with which he united in about 1865, and became a minister in 1880, is a native of Randolph township, Montgomery county, Ohio, and a grandson of one of its original pioneers. Jacob Brumbaugh, great-grandfather of subject, it is surmised, came from Germany, and William Brumbaugh, grandfather of Rev. Jesse K. , was a native of Pennsylvania, was a farmer, married a Miss Martin, and of his chil- dren the names of the following are remem- bered: John, William, David, Daniel, Jacob and Mrs. Elizabeth Cripe, of Clinton county, Ind. He came to Ohio with his family about 1805, and settled near Amity, Montgomery county, being one of the first pioneers and set- tlers in this section, where he cleared up a farm and passed the remainder of his life in its cul- tivation, dying in the faith of the German Baptist church. Jacob Brumbaugh, father of the Rev. Jesse K., was born in Pennsylvania in 1794, being eleven years of age when brought to Ohio by his father. He was reared on the pioneer farm, and developed marked mechanical in- genuity, being a good carpenter, blacksmith, shoemaker and tailor. He was a most valua- ble man in a new settlement, being physically very strong, and, at the raising of the log cabins of that day, was always placed at the corner, as he was able to form a straight joint and a true right angle and was very expert with the ax, that most indispensable tool of the pioneer. Jacob Brumbaugh married Miss Catherine Wogaman, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1794, and after marriage settled on land now owned by Rev. Jesse K., but adjoining the present residence of the latter on the south. This farm contained eighty-six acres, all in for- est, and had been entered by John Brumbaugh, brother of Jacob. This tract Jacob Brum- baugh cleared up thoroughly, improving it at first with a log dwelling, and finally converting it into a fertile farm, upon which he erected a more comfortable residence. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Brumbaugh were ten in number and were named Elizabeth, John, Jacob, Samuel, Mary, David, Noah, Abraham, Jesse K. , and Daniel — the last named dying at the age of seven years. Jacob Brumbaugh was a member of the German Baptist church and was possessed of strong religious convictions. Highly intelli- gent and of an observing and contemplative temperament, he won the respect of all with OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 947 whom he had either personal or business rela- tions. His reputation for integrity was with- out a blemish, and it was well said of him that "his word was as good as his bond." With a foresight inherent in his nature, he bought at an early day 400 acres of land in Elkhart county, Ind. , near Goshen, and this property he gave to his sons; he also owned 240. acres on the Plymouth road, in the same county, and at his death, May 11, 1881, was well able to provide for all his children, who remember him with a well-deserved affection and regret. Rev. Jesse K. Brumbaugh was born August 26, 1837, on the old Randolphtownship home- stead, and has passed all his days on this farm and the one adjoining. He was educated in the common school of his district and at a normal school in Dayton, and began teaching school in 1858. He taught in Phillipsburg, Montgomery county, for about six years, in his own township seven years, and also in Miami county, his entire experience in this work cov- ering the period of fourteen years. December 4, 1862, he married Miss Mary K. Hocker, who was born two miles east of Salem, Febru- ary 18, 1 84 1 , a daughter of Rev. John and Catherine (Sterling) Hocker. Her father was a native of Dauphin county, Pa., of German descent, was a farmer, came to Ohio in 1S39, and settled on 230 acres of land in Montgom- ery county, and died in 1867, aged over sev- enty-nine years, a member and minister of the River Brethren church, and greatly respected as a pioneer and useful citizen. His children, born in the following order, were Adam, Anna, Catherine, Christian, John and Mary K. After marriage Rev. Jesse K. Brumbaugh lived on the old homestead until 1867, when he moved to a farm of his own, which he had purchased in the previous year. This farm then contained sixty acres, to which he added twenty-one, also purchasing the interesl of the heirs in the old homestead, so that to-day he owns and cultivates a farm of 166 acres. Thrift and industry have brought to him a gen- erous measure of prosperity and success. To Mr. and Mrs. Brumbaugh have been born ten children: Granville W. , Noah J., Emma, Jennie and Alice, all now living, and five who died young. Politically Mr. Brum- baugh, while not an active partisan, is in sympathy with and supports the republican party. His children are all well educated: Noah J. is a graduate of Harvard university, is now at Hiilsboro, Ohio, a teacher; Gran- ville W., who is a teacher in Dayton, Ohio, district, is a young man of high culture, having been graduated from Huntingdon, Pa., col- lege, has been superintendent of the Randolph schools and principal of the Brookville schools, married Lizzie M. Miller, and is the father of three children: Glenn M. , Paul N. and Em- erson Webster. Miss Jennie Brumbaugh grad- uated from the Huntingdon, Pa., college, June 18, 1896. The grandfather of Mrs. Jesse K. Brum- baugh was a farmer of Pennsylvania, lived in Harrisburg, and reared a family of six chil- dren, named Adam, George, Jacob, Benjamin, John and Anna, all of whom reached matur- ity and became useful members of society. >-j»OHN BUEHNER (deceased), formerly ■ a well-known contractor and builder of f» J Miamisburg, Ohio, was born in Muehl- heim, Wurtemberg, Germany, Novem- ber 29, 1807, and was one of a family of seven- teen children. He passed through the course of study of the public schools of his native place with honor and credit, and afterward served an apprenticeship of several years at the stonecutter's and mason's trades in the city of Sulz. On May 26, 1832, he emigrated to America, having traveled on foot from his old home to the seaport of Bremen, where he was 948 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD detained almost a month waiting to obtain passage on board a ship for the new world. After a rough voyage of seventy-one days, he landed at Baltimore, Md., September 3, where he found the Asiatic cholera prevailing to such an extent that business was at a standstill, and he at once started on foot for Cincinnati, Ohio, only to find that the dread disease had made its appearance before his arrival. Being un- able to obtain a night's lodging on account of the unwillingness of the people to receive a stranger, he made his way to Germantown, Montgomery county, where he secured em- ployment, remaining there until the spring of 1834. He then removed to Miamisburg, where he was actively engaged in business as a stone- mason, and in brick-laying, contracting and building, up to 1870, when he retired, turning over his business to his eldest and youngest sons, John and Frank. Mr. Buehner was also for many years engaged in the manufac- ture of brick, and during his business career erected nearly all the principal buildings in Miamisburg and vicinity. His wife, Louisa, was a daughter of Rev. Peter Dechant, a Ger- man Reformed minister, and to her he was married November rS, 1835 ; she bore him eleven children, nine of whom grew to maturity: John M., George H., Catherine (Mrs. John Pressler), Charles, Peter D., Franklin P., Candice (Mrs. George Loesch), Oletta (Mrs. Albert Zimmerman), and Anna. In politics Mr. Buehner was originally a democrat, but, on the breaking out of the late Civil war, joined the republican party, with whom he af- filiated up to the time of his death. He was born and bred in the Lutheran faith, and died February 14, 1896, in his eighty-ninth year. Charles Buehner, son of John and Louisa (Dechant) Buehner, was born in Miamisburg, Ohio, January 3, 1847, and here he grew to manhood and received a public school educa- tion. He served an apprenticeship of two and a half years at the machinist's trade with D. H. Hoover & Son, and in 1866 went to Cen- tralia, 111., where he was employed by the Illi- nois Central railroad company for six years. In 1872 he returned to Miamisburg and worked for Hoover & Gamble, and the Miamisburg Cutlery company, up to 1878 ; from 1878 to 1880 he was with the Woodsdale Paper com- pany, Woodsdale, Ohio, having charge of their engine and machine department ; in 1880 he located at Franklin, where he was employed four years by the Franklin Paper company, and in 1884 embarked in business for himself in general job work as a machinist, in which he has since successfully continued. He married December 13, 1868, Fannie Craig, of Centralia, 111., and has six children living : Grace, Minnie, Carl, Edna, Robb, and Fannie. Mr. Buehner is a member of the Lutheran church, is a R. A. M. , and a mem- ber of the A. O. U. W. In politics he is a re- publican, and has served one term as a mem- ber of the city council of Franklin, and one term as a member of the school board. As a business man his name stands without a blem- ish, and as a citizen he holds the respect of the entire community in which he resides. ? ACOB FREDERICK BUEHNER, who is a prominent citizen and business man of Miamisburg, was born on the Atlan- tic ocean, May 20, 1847. He is a son cf John Martin and Christiana (Guhl) Buehner, who came to the United States in 1847, land- ing at New York June 27, from Muehlheim, ober amt Sulz, Wurtemberg. They arrived in Toledo, Ohio, July 4, having journeyed from Albany, N. Y., by railroad and by boat on Lake Erie, reaching Miamisburg, Montgomery county, Ohio, on July 8, 1847. John Martin Buehner was a son of John Frederick Buehner and Anna Catherine Zeller, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 949 his wife. The former came to the United States in 1858, located in Miamisburg, and died while on a visit to Preble county, Ohio, September 2, 1859. He was born May 15, 1778, and was at his death in his eighty-first year. He was the father of seventeen children, four of whom came to the United States, viz: John (now deceased), in 1832; Mary, deceased wife of John Schlotterbeck, who came in 1847; John Martin, father of the subject, who, as related above, came to this country in 1847, and is now deceased; and Annie, now de- ceased, who came to the United States in 1858. John M. Buehner was a carpenter, and fol- lowed that trade and also tobacco raising up to the time of his death. His wife was a daughter of Jacob and Christiana (Meyer) Guhl, of Germany, and bore him eleven children, of whom eight grew to mature years, as follows: Ann E., wife of Frederick Gunter; Mary M. , wife of John Schneider; Jacob F. ; Mary L., wife of Henry Betz; Catherine, wife of Henry Schneider; Christiana, wife of Charles O. Schuster; Amanda M. and Otto. Jacob Frederick Buehner was reared in Miamisburg, was educated in the public schools and began life for himself, on attaining his majority, as a molder, learning his trade with D. H. Hoover & Son. He served an appren- ticeship of two and a half years, and continued to follow the trade until December 28, 1874. On January 3, 1876, he embarked in the res- taurant business, and has ever since then been thus successfully engaged. His property is one of the finest in Miamisburg. Mr. Buehner was one of the incorporators and stockholders of the Miamisburg Mowing Machine company, and he has been a member of the firm of Mays & Buehner, dealers in shoes, in Miamisburg, since 1892. Mr. Buehner was married August 19, 1869, to Catherine Schneider, daughter of Henry and Dorothea (Schmerz) Schneider, of the province of Hesse-Cassel,. Germany. To this marriage there have been born six children, as follows: John Henry; John F., deceased; Mary M., deceased; Amanda C. ; Katie E., deceased; and Otto M. Mr. Buehner is a member of the Lutheran church, of the Ger- man order of Harugari, of the Knights of Pythias, and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He has served as district deputy and representative to the grand lodge of the state of Ohio of the latter order. Politically he is a democrat, and is a citizen of most ex- cellent and admirable qualities. OTTO BUEHNER, the well-known shoe dealer of Miamisburg, Ohio, is a native of that place, and was born January 12, 1S61, a son of John Mar- tin and. Christiana (Guhl) Buehner, whose gen- ealogy will be found in the biography of J. F. Buehner elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Buehner was educated in the public schools of Miamisburg, and here served an ap- prenticeship of three years at the shoemaker's trade, which he has followed since 1876. He became manager for Mr. Mays in the shoe business in 1892, and in 1894 bought an inter- est in the concern, and since that date the firm name has been Mays & Buehner. Mr. Buehner was united in marriage, De- cember 31, 1889, with Miss Charlotte L. Wachter, daughter of John C. and Hannah (Scheible) Wachter, of Springboro, Warren county, Ohio, but formerly of Germany. One child, named John F. Buehner. has been born to this marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Buehner are de- voted members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Buehner is a Knight of Pythias and also a member of the D. O. H. and A. O. U. W. In politics he is a democrat. Mr. Buehner has always been an indus- trious man and upright in all his dealings; he 950 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD is a skillful workman and possessed of excellent business qualities. . In all the walks of life he has been discreet and conservative and has thereby won the esteem of his fellow-citizens. Although thrifty he is yet liberal in all things, and is prompt in his aid to school and church and to the fraternities to which he gives adherence, as well as to all projects designed to benefit the people of his city and township. Mrs. Buehner's father, John C. Wachter, was born in Rodendorf, Bavaria, Germany, April 25, 1 8 17; came to America in 1846, lo- cating in New York city, and in May, 1853, seitled in Springboro, Warren county, Ohio, where he worked at the shoemaker's trade. He died there November 26, 1891. His wife died March 19, 1893. K^\ OBERT W. BURNS, the affable and ■ /^ energetic secretary of the Friend Pa- ¥ per & Tablet company, of West Car- rollton, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Lewistown, Mifflin county, Pa., March 1, 1861, a son of Robert and Angeline (Major) Burns. The paternal grandfather, Hugh Burns, was of Scotch-Irish descent and was a farmer near Lewistown; the maternal grandfather, Peacock Major, was a hotel- keeper at Lewistown during the Revolutionary war, and in the war of 1812 took part in the battle of Lake Erie, under Com. Perry. Robert W. Burns, whose name opens this biography, was reared to manhood in his na- tive city and educated in its public schools. In 1 88 1 he came to Ohio, and for seven years filled the position of correspondent for S. J. Patterson, coal dealer at Dayton. In 1888 he formed a partnership in West Carrollton with Samuel Johnson, under the style of the Amer- ican Tablet company, and did a successful business until 1894, when the American Tablet company was consolidated with the George H. Friend Paper cS; Tablet company. Since then the concern has maintained a prosperous trade under its present title, and in this Mr. Burns, as its secretary, has been no small factor. Mr. Burns was united in wedlock October 12, 1886, with Miss Sarah J. Williamson, daughter of George and Sarah A. (Jacobs) Williamson, well known residents of Fairfield, Greene count)', Ohio, and to this union four children have been born, namely: James F., Angeline, Robert and Elizabeth. Mr. and Mrs. Burns are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and are liberal in their con- tributions toward its support, as well as to the support of all worthy institutions designed for the public good. In politics Mr. Burns is a republican, but has never been an office seeker. Fraternally he is a royal arch Mason, and is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Burns is quite prominent as a citizen of West Carrollton, and is foremost in every enterprise promising to advance the prosperity of his adopted town, which has become, largely through his push and energy, one of the prettiest, as well as most thriving, little hamlets of Montgomery county. HBRAHAM K. BURTNER, a retired farmer of Germantown, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Mad River township, in the same county, June 8, 1839, a son °f Jacob and Catherine (Kemp) Burtner, natives of Pennsylvania and Mary- land, respectively. His paternal grandparents, George and Catherine (Hoke) Burtner, origi- nally of Lancaster county, Pa., settled in Mad River township in 1828, and engaged in farm- ing. Their children were Henry, George, John, Jacob, Joseph, Catherine (Mrs. Joseph Peffler) and Fanny (Mrs. Jacob Kumler). Jacob Burtner of the above family, and fa- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 951 ther of Abraham K., was born in Cumberland county, Pa., in 1808, and came with his par- ents to Mad River township in 1828. He was a farmer, and in 1845 removed to Preble county, and thence to Germantown in 1868, where he died May 7, 1886. His children were Julia (Mrs. Matthew Coffman), Lucinda (Mrs. William Zehring), Sarah (Mrs. Aaron Zehring), Abraham K., Joseph, Jacob, Joshua, and Francis. Abraham K. Burtner was reared in Preble county, Ohio, from eight years of age, was ed- ucated in the common schools, and in 1861 began the work of life as a farmer in Jefferson township, Montgomery county, where he lived two and one-half years, then removed to Ger- man township and engaged in farming until 1868, since which time he has been a resident of Germantown. He married, August 8, 1861, Sarah C. , daughter of John and Rebecca (Bruner) Zeller, of Germantown, and has five children — Emma, Ida (Mrs. Rev. W. C. Mickey), Carrie (Mrs. Dr. F. M. Pottinger), Ed- ward and Myrta. During the late Civil war Mr. Burtner was a member of company F, One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and served 100 days, when he was honorably discharged. Mr. Burtner and wife are members of the United Brethren church. Politically Mr. Burtner is a republican. Mr. Burtner has prospered in life through his own industry and skill, and is well deserv- ing of the high esteem in which he is held by his neighbors. HMOS KENDALL CLAY (deceased), a prominent member of the Mont- gomery county bar, was born in Miamisburg, Ohio, May 9, 1847, a son of Adam and Sophia (Dubbs) Clay, natives, respectively, of Cumberland and Lehigh coun- ties, Pa. His paternal grandfather was one of the pioneers of Wayne county, Ohio, in which county he lived until his death. After- ward his family removed to Saint Mary's, Mercer county, Ohio. His maternal grand- father, Daniel Dubbs, was a native of Lehigh county, Pa., was of Swiss descent, and set- tled in Miami township, Montgomery county, in 1836. In this county he engaged in farm- ing, and here he passed the remainder of his life. Adam Clay was born in Carlisle, Cumber- land county, Pa., November 12, 1819. He was a shoemaker by trade, and in 1832 re- moved to Ohio, locating in Wooster, with his father. In 1839 ne went to Saint Mary's, Mercer county, Ohio; in 1841 removed to Dayton, and in 1842 to Miamisburg, where he carried on the shoe business until 1852, when he was admitted to the bar. From this time on until 1885 he continued in the active prac- tice of his profession, his death occurring June 25 in that year. When the state was keeping up a militia organization he was cap- tain of a company. In 1865 he was admitted to practice in the courts of the United States, and was a delegate to the constitutional con- vention of 1873. By his marriage he was the father of the following children: Amos K., whose name opens this sketch, and Agnes, now Mrs. Frances M. Deardorff. Amos K. Clay was reared in his native town and received the rudiments of his educa- tion there. Afterward he attended Notre Dame university at Notre Dame, Ind.; studied law with his father, and was admitted to the bar in 1868. After that time he was in the active practice of his profession in Miamis- burg; met with unusual success, took high rank at the bar of his native county, and ac- quired a handsome competency through his known ability and careful attention to the in- terests of his clients. On February 10, 1890, he married Etta M. Weaver, daughter of 952 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Henry and Barbara (Kauffman) Weaver, of Miamisburg. To this marriage there was born one son, Amos W. Amos Kendall Clay was a member of the Masonic fraternity, in politics a democrat, and by appointment served as city attorney of Miamisburg for many years. In all his rela- tions with his fellow-men he observed the rules of propriety and integrity, and as a result was thoroughly trusted by all who needed the serv- ices of a member of the legal profession. Mr. Clay was called from earth in the prime of life and in the midst of useluluess. Although up to nearly his final hour he was in full en- joyment of perfect health and bade fair to live out the alotted "three score and ten years," on the 14th of June, 1896, he died very suddenly. His untimely demise cast a gloom over the whole community, and his death was mourned by all who knew him. In early manhood Mr. Clay had assumed an enviable place among the members of his calling. As a lawyer and counselor, he was recognized as capable, faithful, conscientious and reliable. As a man and citizen none stood higher in public esteem and honor. He was unostentatious, reserved and dignified — a gen- tleman in the fullest sense of that term. He was exact and thoroughly trustworthy in all his business and professional transactions. Mr. Clay was baptized in his youth. In his religious convictions he was a believer in evangelical Christianity and paid his annual stipend toward the support of the church of his parents. A few years since he placed a memo- rial window in the Reformed church in Miam- isburg in memory of his father and mother. The Montgomery county bar association, at his decease, met in the court room at Day- ton and held a memorial service at which were passed resolutions of commendation and condolence. The pall bearers, selected from the bar of Montgomery county, were as fol- lows: Judge Dennis Dwyer, Judge W. D. McKemy, Oscar M. Gottschall and Judge J. W. Kreitzer. The chairman of the committee on resolutions was Judge Elihu Thompson. The Masonic fraternity, through their commit- tee, consisting of Brothers L. H. Zehring, N. J. Catrow and M. G. Bohn, also submitted appropriate resolutions, couched in tender and feeling terms indicative of the high esteem in which their departed brother was held. <>^V EWTON J. CATROW.— The pro- M genitor of the Catrow family in Amer- r ica was Charles Catrow. He was a native of Holland, but of French descent, and in early manhood came to this country. Settling in Frederick county, Md., he there reared a family of eleven children, as follows : Charles, George, Jacob, Joseph, Michael, Peter, Sallie, Elizabeth, Mary, Han- nan and Ann. He lived in that county until his death in 1793. Peter Catrow, the sixth child, was born March 1, 1781, and December 25, 1803, settled in Franklin, Warren county, Ohio. Marrying in 1805, he, the same year, settled in Madison township, Butler county, where he purchased 160 acres of land in what was then an un- broken wilderness. This land he cleared and improved and lived upon it until within a few years of his death, which occurred at Sunbury, Ohio, July 4, 1852. His family consisted of five children, as follows : Zephaniah, George C, Middleton, Catherine and Nancy. All of the brothers and sisters of Peter Catrow were pioneers of Butler and Montgomery counties, Ohio, and all lived to a ripe old age in the two counties mentioned. George C. Catrow, second son of Peter and Christiania (Loy) Catrow, and their only sur- viving child, was born on the old homestead in Butler county, Ohio, October 10, 1814, and OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 953 there he was reared to manhood and resided until 1856, in the meantime teaching school' for many years. In the last-named year he removed to Dayton, where he was employed as clerk in the offices of the county clerk and county recorder for several years. In 1886 he removed to Miamisburg, where he has since resided. He married Mary A. Crider, daugh- ter of Philip Crider, of German township, Montgomery county, and their children were born in the following order: Silas P., de- ceased; William R. ; Newton J.; and Sarah, wife of John Selby. Newton Jason Catrow, third child of George C. and Mary A. (Crider) Catrow, was born on the old Catrow homestead in Butler county, April 24, 1845. He attained to manhood in his native county, and was educated in the common schools, and afterward in Greer's Commercial college, from which he was grad- uated in 1866. Locating in Miamisburg in 1858, he was there employed as clerk in the dry-goods store of William Huff & Son for seven years. In 1866 he entered the bank of H. Groby & Co., and filled the position of clerk in that institution until 1882, when he purchased a one-third interest in the bank. In 1886, with H. Groby, he purchased another third interest, and the bank was continued under the same name until 1888, when the First National bank of Miamisburg was organ- ized, the bank of H. Groby & Co.' merged into it, and Mr. Catrow elected cashier of the new bank. This position he held until the death of Mr. Groby, April 19, 1891, when he was elected president of the bank, which position he still occupies. In addition to his banking interests, Mr. Catrow has an interest in the lumber and coal firm of Grove & Catrow, is president of the Miamisburg Twine & Cordage company, treas- urer of the Miamisburg Paper company, and is connected with the Bookwalter Wheel com- pany, beside being concerned in various other enterprises. In 1865 Mr. Catrow was married to Melissa Groby, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Beck) Groby, of Miamisburg. He has two sons, viz: Herbert Groby, a graduate of the Pennsyl- vania Military college, and a member of the firm of Bartlett & Catrow, of Philadelphia, agents for European steamships and directors of foreign tours; and Henry, a student of the Pennsylvania Military college. Mr. Catrow is a member of the order of Odd Fellows, a Knight Templar, and a thirty-second degree Mason. Politically, he is a republican, and in religious affiliation he is a member of the Lutheran church. EENRY CRAUDER, the well-known farmer and tile manufacturer of Ger- man township, Montgomery county, Ohio, is a native of Hamilton county, and was born October 15, 1848, of German parentage. Jacob Crauder, his father, was born Feb- ruary 10, 1 8 10, was a blacksmith by trade, and came from his native Germany to the United States in 1831. For a few years he made his home in the eastern states, but later came to Ohio and located near Cincinnati, where he followed his trade for twenty years, and in 1855 came to Montgomery county and settled in German township, purchased a farm, and here passed the remainder of his life, dy- ing April 12, 1 89 1. He had married Miss Elizabeth Dubler, also a native of Germany, and to this union were born seven children, of whom six grew to maturity, viz: Mary, who became the wife of John Myers; Sophia, now Mrs. Cornelius Michaels; William F., Jacob, Rebecca and Henry. Henry Crauder was but a boy of some seven years of age when brought to Montgom- 5(54 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ery county, and here, from that age, until the present time, he has passed his life. He was educated in the public schools of German township, and began life as a farmer in Jeffer- son township, where he lived for eighteen years. He then returned to German town- ship, and in 1885 purchased the farm of twen- ty-three acres on which he now resides, en- gaged in cultivating the soil and in the manu- facture of tile. In this latter industry he has been quite prosperous, and is equally success- ful in his farming operations. The marriage of Mr. Crauder took place in 1 87 1, with Miss Ada Hunter, daughter of Jacob and Matilda (Boyer) Hunter, of Jeffer- son township, and to this union have been born twelve children, in the order here g'iven : Lillie, Theodore, Clifford, Annie, Grigsby, Maud, Chester, Dona, Victor, Tillie, Willie H. and Claude. The children are reared in the faith of the United Brethren church, of which the parents have long been members. Mr. Crauder, now in the prime of life, has had a gratifying business career, and has been a useful and industrious citizen. His success is of his own making, and his standing in the community in which he lives, and which is an enviable one, has been reached through his own personal qualities and merits. (D AJ. ELIJAH CULBERT, one of the oldest and most respected citi- zens of Madison township, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, is paternally of Scotch descent and maternally springs from Pennsylvania-German ancestry. Elijah Culbert, father of the major, was a native of New York state, but when a young man went to Pennsylvania, where he was clerk in the Washington furnace, at Laurel Hill, in the Alleghany mountains. He married, in Somerset county, Miss Eva Hicks, a native of the county named, who bore him one child, the subject of this biography. Mr. Culbert, at the early age of twenty-two years, and when his son was but fifteen months old, met with an untimely fate, being killed by a falling tim- ber in the furnace while superintending some repairs. He was a well-educated and scholarly man, and his death was deeply deplored, not only by his young widow, but by his employers and a large circle of friends. Maj. Culbert was born in Somerset, Pa., March 1, 18 14, and the log house in which he was born is still standing. He received a ru- dimentary education in the common schools, early learned the blacksmith's trade, and in 1836, when a young man of twenty-three years, came to Ohio, settled in Madison town- ship, Montgomery county, and voted for Gen. William Henry Harrison for the presidency of the United States in the famous log cabin and hard cider campaign. September 25, 1838, he married Miss Mary Olinger, of Jefferson township, born August 13, 18 16, a daughter of Jacob and Mary Olinger. Mr. Olinger was of German descent, was born in Pennsylvania, and was one of the original pioneers of Jeffer- son township, where he cleared up a farm from the forest, on which he ended his days. He died a member of the Dunkard church and a respected citizen, and there were left, to mourn his sad loss, the following children: John, Jacob, David, Elizabeth, Barbara, Mary, Nancy and Catherine. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Culbert lived a year with the wife's father, and then, in 1839, settled in Poast Town, where Mr. Culbert en- gaged in blacksmithing on his own account, prospered and erected a fine residence, in which he still resides. To Mr. and Mrs. Cul- bert were born five children, but two of whom are living — William H. and Amanda. Of the younger children, Elijah died at the age of thirty-nine years; Jacob at ten, and Elizabeth OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 955 at the age of six; and on January 3, 1884, Mr. Culbert lost his beloved wife, she dying a devoted member of the German Baptist church. As early as i860, Mr. Culbert was enrolled in the Second regiment, Ohio state militia, and was commissioned lieutenant-colonel, but this regiment was shortly afterward consoli- dated with the One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio national guard, and when mustered into the United States service at the opening of the Civil war, Col. Culbert was reduced in rank to major, in which capacity he served 100 days, being stationed at Baltimore and Washington, and receiving his discharge at Camp Chase, August 25, 1861. The major, however, had two sons who also served in the Civil war — William H. and Elijah. William H. was a sergeant in company E, Seventy- first volunteer infantry, became a veteran and served four years; he was twice wounded, once at Lovejoy's station and once at Nashville. Elijah was a sergeant in the One Hundred and Thirty-first (his father's; regiment, and served 100 days. William H., who has been on the Dayton fire department for about eighteen years, married Miss Eliza Shafer, and is the father of one child — Clarence. Amanda C, the major's eldest daughter, was married to David B. Mumma, now deceased, and became the mother of two children — Harry C. and Willis, the latter of whom died at the age of seventeen years. Harry C. Mumma married Miss Rosie Arnold, and this union has been blessed with one child, Corinne. In politics Maj. Culbert is a republican. He is at present engaged in the tile business in Post Town and probably no man in the town- ship or county is more widely known or more respected than he. His progressiveness is proverbial, and his readiness to assist in the promotion of every movement designed for the public weal and his liberal contributions to such purposes are as household words in the community in which he has so long lived and the prosperity of which he has so strenuously striven to advance. >-j»OHN J. DETRICK, one of the well- J known farm ers of Randolph township, /% 1 and a deacon in the German Baptist church, sprang from Pennsylvania- Dutch stock. John Detrick, his grandfather, was the descendant of one of three brothers of the name who came at an early day from Ger- many, and settled in Pennsylvania. John Detrick removed to Rockingham county, Va. , and had children as follows: Abraham, John, Elizabeth, Mary and Susan — all whose names can now now recalled. The above were the children of his first wife. After her death Mr. Detrick married a Miss Snell, by whom he had the following children: Jacob, Daniel, Benjamin and Lydia. John Detrick, who was an extensive farmer and a most prosper- ous man, died in Rockingham county, Va., aged about fifty years. Abraham Detrick, father of John J., was born in Rockingham county, Va. , July 5, 1818, was reared a farmer's boy, and naturally adopted that vocation as his own. In Hardy county, Va., he married Mahala Judy, who was born in Hardy county, March 1, 1816. Mr. Detrick lived in Rockingham county for about six years after he was married; then removed to Hampshire county, where he lived for about twelve years, coming in 1856 to Ohio and settling in Montgomery county on a farm adjoining that now occupied by his son. After residing in Randolph township for about twenty years, he lived in Darke, Auglaize and Allen counties the remainder of his life, dying in the latter county, in 1892, at seventy-eight years of age. He was a devout member of the German Baptist church, and was an elder therein for many years. He was a man in 956 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD whom all placed the utmost confidence and trust, standing high in the estimation of the entire community in which he lived. John J. Detrick was born September 11, 1847, in Hampshire county, Va. , and came with his parents to Montgomery county, Ohio, when he was eleven years old. Here he at- tended school in the country, and received a good common-school education. Brought up as a farmer, he learned the lessons of that calling from his father, beginning work on his own account when he was twenty-one years of age. On February 27, 1873, he married, in Madison township, Miss Catherine Smith, who was born October 6, 185 1, in the same town- ship. His wife is a daughter of Rev. John Smith, who was born and reared on his father's farm in Madison township, Montgomery county. Rev. John Smith was a son of Abra- ham Smith, of Pennsylvania, a well-known pioneer, whose wife was a Bowman. John was the only child of this union, his mother dying while yet young. Mr. Smith lived to be eighty-four years of age and was a quite pros- perous farmer, owning 200 acres of land. In religious belief he was a Dunkard, or German Baptist, and stood high in the estimation of all that knew him. Rev. John Smith married for his first wife, Susan Wolf, by whom he had the following children: Catherine, Andrew, Lucinda, Hattie, Oliver, Emma and Elizabeth. He married again Margaret Garber. He has been for many years a devout member of the German Baptist church and an elder of the church, and for several years has been an acceptable and successful preacher. John J. Detrick, the subject of this sketch, settled on the Smith homestead and lived thereon several years, when he purchased the farm on which he now lives, and which con- tains 100 acres of land. By careful attention to correct methods and by constant industry, he has brought this farm up to a high state of cultivation, improving it in many ways, and has added to it sixteen acres. Mr. Detrick has been a devout member of the German Baptist church for the past fifteen years, and has reared his family in the same faith with himself. To him and his good wife there has been born one son, Perry Oliver. Mr. Det- rick has that quality of thrift and habit of in- dustry that made good citizens of his Pennsyl- vania ancestry. Ever since he was twenty- two years of age he has been identified with the church and with religious work. He is well known in the community as a man of in- tegrity and moral worth. eLI DIEHL, of Perry township, is one of the prosperous farmers of Mont- gomery county, and a descendant of one of its oldest pioneer families. His ancestry were of the stock for generations known as Pennsylvania Dutch. Jacob Diehl, his grandfather, was from Huntingdon county, Pa., and married a Miss Shipley. To their marriage there were born the following chil- dren: John, Jacob, Abraham, Nancy and Elizabeth. Jabob Diehl settled in Montgom- ery county, Ohio, in 1806, in Jefferson town- ship, two miles west of Liberty, entering land which was covered with timber, which he cleared, cultivated and made into a productive farm. After some years he removed to Perry township, one-half mile west of the present home of his grandson Eli. He completed the clearing of this tract, converted it into a good farm, and lived upon it until his death, which occurred when he was nearly eighty years of age. Jacob Diehl was an industrious man and well known for his character and ability. He was a member of the German Baptist church. John Diehl, the father of Eli Diehl, was born in November, 1789, and was somewhat OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 957 more than seventeen years of age when brought by his father to Ohio. The journey was made part of the way on horseback; but a wagon was occupied by the women of the family and the household goods, and was sent down the Ohio river to Cincinnati on a flat-boat. Thence the family traveled to Miamisburg by wagon, going through the woods from the mouth of Bear creek to Jefferson township, where they lived for some years. John Diehl, like his father before him, had the usual pioneer edu- cation. When about twenty-three years of age, in 1 8 1 1 or 1812, he married, in Jefferson township, Miss Susan Miller, who was born in Virginia in 1 791 . Moses Miller, her father, moved to Jefferson township from his Virginia home in 1804. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Diehl removed to Perry township and settled on land now occupied by their son John, and consist- ing of 160 acres. This farm Mr. Diehl cleared and brought under a higji state of cultivation and productiveness, and in time erected a good dwelling house, which is still standing. This house succeeded the log cabin which he had built upon first settling on his land. He was always known as a man of high character, industrious, . a good neighbor and a worthy citizen. His children were as follows: Aaron, Jacob, Samuel, Abraham, Elizabeth, John, Eli, Hannah, Noah and Adam. Noah served his country as a soldier in the late intestine war, as a member of an Ohio regiment. Mr. Diehl was a member of the German Baptist church, and was held in high estimation in the community. He lived to be eighty-five years of age, dying in 1874. Eli Diehl was born March 16, 1829, in Perry township. The schooling he received was better than that of his immediate ances- tors, the country having become more thickly settled, and the people generally having be- come more interested in the subject of educa- tion. He attended the common schools in the winter season until he became of age, and then taught school in the country for about ten years, mostly in Perry, Madison, Jefferson and Jackson townships. Having a vigorous mind and a retentive memory, he was more than ordinarily successful in the profession of teaching, many of his scholars becoming dis- tinguished men and women. Mr. Diehl married, October 10, 1861, Mary Wilson, a daughter of Frederick Wilson, who was a native of Maryland, an early settler of Montgomery county, and a blacksmith by trade. To Mr. and Mrs. Diehl there were born two children, both of whom died in in- fancy. Mrs. Diehl died in 1864, a member of the Lutheran church. Mr. Diehl was again married on February 22, 1866, his second wife being Mrs. Mary A. Bates, a widow. She is a daughter of Johnsey and Nancy Randall. Mr. Randall was born in Baltimore county, Md., in 1792, and was of Scotch and English an- cestry. He was the son of Johnsey and Re- becca (Dilworth) Randall. The Dilworth family were Philadelphia Ouakers. Mr. Ran- dall was well educated, a mechanic by trade, and was a soldier at Fort McHenry in the war of 1 812. On July 15, 181 5, he married in Maryland, and his children were David A., William, Elizabeth A., Anna E., John W. , Joseph W., Mary A., Thomas B. and Edward S. Mr. Randall came to Ohio in 1S42, set- tling in Dayton, where he worked at his trade, and where he passed the remainder of his days, dying January 15, 1880. An excellent citizen, he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics a republican. Two of his sons were soldiers in the late Civil war — Joseph W. and Edward S. Edward S. was a sharpshooter, and served in the several battles of the Atlanta campaign. Mr. Randall be- longed to the same stock as the famous Samuel Randall, of Philadelphia, who so honorably 958 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD distinguished himself as a democratic member of congress. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Diehl settled on the homestead farm. Their children are Edwin R. and Nellie E. Both parents are members of the German Reformed church, Mr. Diehl having been an elder for many years. Politically, he is a republican and as such has served as justice of the peace for three years. Mr. Diehl is one of the respected citizens of Perry township, and is an honored member of the order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed all the chairs of his lodge, and has served as noble grand. aHARLES W. DODDS was born in Miamisburg, Montgomery county, Ohio, December 15, 1857, a son of William and Mary (Dodro) Dodds. His great-grandfather, Gen. William Dodds, a Revolutionary soldier, settled near Alexander- ville, Montgomery county, in 1806, where he engaged in farming, and at one time owned the land where West Carrollton now stands. His wife was a Miss McGrew, and both died in Miami township, and are buried in the old Presbyterian cemetery in Washington township. Their children were Joseph, Margaret (Mrs. David Lamme), William, John M., Polly (Mrs. Moses Smith), Sarah A. (Mrs. James McLain), James, Thomas and Martha (Mrs. John Smith). Of these, John M., the grandfather of Charles W. , having inherited land from his father's es- tate, was for nearly twenty years engaged in the milling business, operating a mill on the Miami, near the Pinnacles, and another on Hole's creek. He was a soldier in the war of 181 2, and captain of a company of light infan- try in the days of militia. In 1840 he removed to Washington township, where he died in i860. He was twice married: first, to Mary Parsons, who bore him four children, all now deceased, viz: Auvilla, David L., Mary and Kate R. His second wife was Elizabeth, daughter of John Himes, a pioneer of Van Buren township, who bore him seven children: William, John H., Angeline (Mrs. Jerry Ew- ing), Thomas, James, Preston C. and Moses S. All the sons, except William and James, were soldiers in the late war. William Dodds, the eldest son of John M. and Mary Dodds, and father of Charles W. , was born in Miami township, February 7, 1823. As a boy he worked in his father's mill; later boated on the canal, and for twenty-five years was a resident of Miamisburg, where he was engaged as a contractor on house painting, and in other business. His wife, Mary was a daughter of Conrad and Mary (Lemon) Dodro, formerly of Lancaster county, Pa., and pio- neers of Dayton. Conrad Dodro was a fuller and carder by trade, also taught school, was for many years a resident of Dayton, and died while on a visit to his old home in Pennsyl- vania. William Dodds was the father of nine children, viz: Otto F. , Perry, Lizzie (Mrs. Dr. B. F. Mullen), Charles W., Ella (Mrs. Lee Silberman), Emma (Mrs. S. F. Evans), Clay, Clarence and Lehm. Mr. Dodds died in Miamisburg in 1873 and his wife, Mary, died in 1881. Charles W. Dodds was reared to manhood in Miamisburg, where he received his educa- tion in the public schools and served an ap- prenticeship of two years at cigarmaking, after which he worked as a journeyman for several years in various cities and towns in the coun- try. In 1878 he started a factory of his own in Miamisburg on a small scale, also retailing cigars and confectionery, and, as his means permitted, gradually enlarged his facilities, adding a stock of books, papers, notions, etc., until the business had grown to considerable dimensions. He continued in this occupation for fourteen years, and then turned it over to OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 959 his brother Lehm, whom he had reared, and in 1892, as a member of the firm of Dodds & Mays, embarked in business as buyer and packer of leaf tobacco, in which he has since successfully continued. Mr. Dodds was married in 1881 to Jennie, daughter of Samuel B. and Fannie (Northrup) Andrews, of West Carrollton, and has three children: Willard, Robert and Fannie. He is one of the leading business men of Miamis- burg, is a member of the German Reformed church, and of the I. O. O. F. encampment, U. R. , Patriarchs Militant, Daughters of Re- bekah, and is a thirty-second degree Mason. He has been treasurer of Marion lodge, No. 18, I. O. O. F., Miamisburg, for ten years, and is also treasurer of the incorporation of the same body. He is a member of the Miamisburg school board and of the board of cemetery directors. In politics he is a stanch republican. In the organization of the board of trade of Miamisburg Mr. Dodds was elected one of the members of the executive board, and was always one of its leading and active members. Through his efforts, push and energy the En- terprise Carriage Manufacturing company, one of the most thriving and valuable industries of the town, was located in Miamisburg. * w * EHM DODDS, dealer in cigars, news- f papers and confectionery, was born ^^ in Miamisburg, Ohio, December 27, 1870, a son of William and Mary (Dodro) Dodds, whose history will be found in the preceding sketch of C. W. Dodds. He was reared in Miamisburg and educated in the public schools, started in life as a clerk in the store of his brother, Charles W., and served in that capacity until 1862, when he became a member of the firm of Dodds & Andrews, by- purchasing the cigar, newspaper and confec- 39 tionery business of C. W. Dodds, his brother. He continued the partnership up to January 1, 1896, when he purchased his partner's interest, and has since successfully continued the busi- ness alone. He married, September 25, 1895, Mary Edith, daughter of Jacob H. and Martha E. (Snoderly) Johnson, of Miamisburg. Mr. and Mrs. Dodds are members of the Reformed church and have been members of the choir for several years. Mr. Dodds is also a mem- ber of the O. U. A. M., Wayne council, No. 90; I. O. O. F. , Marion lodge, No. 18, and encampment, and Daughters of Rebekah. In politics he is a republican, but has never sought or held office. He is one of the most popular merchants in Miamisburg, and socially he and his wife enjoy the regard of a large cir- cle of acquaintances. t/\ETER W. EAGLE, a highly-respect- 1 m ed business man of Miamisburg, Ohio, 1 and a gallant ex-soldier, was born in Miami township, Montgomery county, November 15, 1832, and is a son of Peter and Mary (Wetzel) Eagle, natives, respectively, of Staunton, Va. , and Guilford Court House, N. C. Peter Eagle, paternal grandfather of Peter W., was a native of Pennsylvania, and settled in Miami township in 1809, locating two miles east of Miamisburg, where he cleared up and improved a farm. He married Miss Anna Hanger, the union resulting in the birth of the following-named children : Polley (Mrs. Daniel Gebhart), Ann (Mrs. John Hoover), Sarah (Mrs. John DeRush), Saloma (Mrs. Jacob Wise), Henry, Jacob, George, David, John and Peter. Of these children, Peter, the father of the subject, was reared in Miami township from the age of five years. At the age of eighteen years he married Miss Mary Wetzel, daughter of Tobias and Mary (Gift) 960 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Wetzel, and second cousin of Lewis Wetzel, the noted Indian fighter, who was with Adam Poe when the latter killed the celebrated In- dian chief, Big Foot. Tobias Wetzel settled in Miami township in 1806, two miles west of Miamisburg, and resided in the township until his death. Peter Eagle reared a family of five children, named David, Anna (Mrs. Alexander Fox), Catherine (Mrs. Jonathan Reedy), Peter W. and Mary, and died, in 1884, at the resi- dence of his son, Peter W., in his ninety-first year ; his wife died, in 1885, at the age of eighty four years. Peter W. Eagle reached manhood on the home farm in Miami township, followed farm- ing until 1856, and then engaged in the leaf to- bacco trade, a business he still pursues. In No- vember, 1 86 1 , he enlisted in company D, Fourth regiment, Ohio volunteer cavalry, and served until honorably discharged, on account of dis- ability, on surgeon's certificate, in 1863. He had been captured by the enemy on the courier line between Huntsville, Ala., and Shelby, Tenn., in May, 1862, and sent to Macon, Ga. In June of the same year he managed to successfully escape, but after seventeen days of liberty, was recaptured and sent to Savan- nah, in the same state, where he was confined three months in jail, then sent back to Macon, and thence to Annapolis, Md., whence, after six months' confinement, he managed to get home, and was discharged at Columbus, Ohio. Since 1872 he has been a resident of Miamis- burg, and engaged in the tobacco trade. Mr. Eagle was first married to Miss Eliza- beth Fox, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Link) Fox, of Warren county, Ohio, and, after her decease, married Miss Katie, daugh- ter of Thomas and Mary (Flaherty) Stanton, of Liverpool, England. To this second union have been born ten children, of whom six are still living, viz: Peter W., Jr., Harry, Thomas, Beatrice, Stanley and Genevieve. The family are members of the Lutheran church, and in politics Mr. Eagle is a democrat. Mr. Eagle is a member of the Grand Army of the Repub- lic and of the Ancient Order of United Work- men. He is greatly respected socially, while as a business man he enjoys the confidence of both the city and farming communities, with whom he has had extensive business relations for so many years. ISAAC EARLY, a retired farmer of much prominence, was born in Miami town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, Sep- tember 3, 1836, a son of John and Magdaline (Byerly) Early, and is of the fourth generation of this family in America, his great- grandfather having come from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania; while the paternal grandfather was the first of the family to set- tle in Ohio, and made his residence in Preble county until his death, his remains being in- terred at West Alexandria. The maternal grandfather of Isaac Early was Joseph Byerly, who was born in Virginia and was also of Ger- man descent. John Early, father of Isaac, was a native of Lancaster county, Pa., but passed forty years of his life in the state of Virginia, and in 1830 came to Ohio; he lived in Preble county until 1*836, when he came to Montgomery county, settled in Miami township and fol- lowed farming until his death, which occurred in 1854. His children were born in the fol- lowing order: John, David, Lydia (the pres- ent wife of John F. Fox), Sarah (the deceased wife of John F. Fox), Joseph, Jacob, and Isaac. Isaac Early was educated in the common schools of Miami township, and was reared to farming, which vocation he followed until 1894, when he retired to Miamisburg, his present home. With the exception of twelve years, during which period he lived in Warren coun- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 961 ty, Ohio, all his life has been spent in Mont- gomery county, in Miami and Washington townships, in the latter of which he lived for thirty-two years. In i860 Mr. Early was most happily united in matrimony with Miss Mary E. Pence, daughter of Joseph Pence, of Warren county, Ohio, and this union has been blessed with four children, viz: Charles F. , Howard P., Will- iam A., and Cora P. Mrs. Early's parents, Joseph and Barbara Ann (Null) Pence, were natives of Virginia, and pioneers of Warren county, Ohio. Mr. Pence was a farmer and at one time dealt largely in pork. He was prominent in public affairs and served for many years as justice of the peace. He and his wife passed the last years of their lives near Springboro, Warren county, and their remains were interred in Springboro cemetery. They had a family of nine children, namely: Ed- ward H., deceased; George S., a farmer of Madison county, 111.; Sarah, deceased; John W., who was a prominent and wealthy resi- dent of Minneapolis, Minn., where he died a few years ago; Harriet, widow of Archibald See, living at Lebanon, Ohio; Cynthia Jane, deceased; Martha D., living in Springboro; Charles N., a retired farmer of Springboro, and Mary E., the wife of Isaac Early. Mr. Early is a consistent member of the Method- ist Episcopal church, and in his politics is a democrat. He has been a very successful farmer, has attained a place of prominence in the esteem of his fellow-citizens, and has won for himself a name that is honored throughout the country. @EORGE M. EBLING, the well known blacksmith of Miamisburg, Montgomery county, was born in Darke county, Ohio, April 28, 1859, and is a son of Michael and Margaret (Gouk) Ebling, natives of Wurtemberg, Germany. John Ebling, the paternal grandfather of George M., with his wife, Mary, and their four children, Henry, Christian, George and Michael, came to America in 1851, and settled in Darke county, Ohio, where John followed the vocation of gardener until his decease. Michael Ebling, son of John and father of George M., was but fourteen years of age when brought to Ohio by his father, and grew to manhood in Darke county. On attaining his majority he engaged in the lumber busi- ness in New Madison, where, with the excep- tion of four years passed in Dayton, Ohio, he has ever since resided, and where he is still in the lumber trade. He early married Margaret Gouk, daughter of Valentine and Marie Gouk, who came from Germany, and settled in Darke county, Ohio, in 1852. For twenty-five years prior to coming to the United States, Valen- tine Gouk had been a member of the police force of Hesse Darmstadt, and was a man of strong nerve and marked individualism. The children born to the marriage of Michael and Margaret Ebling were five in number and were named in order of birth: George M., Chris- tian, Michael C, Adam and Katie, all of whom still survive. George M. Ebling was reared to manhood in his native county of Darke, received an excellent common-school education, and served an apprenticeship of three years at the blacksmith trade in New Madison. For ten years after learning his trade he worked as a journeyman in various parts of the United States, but finally settled in Miamisburg, and in 1891 embarked in busi- ness as a member of the firm of Simonton & Ebling, which firm had a continuous existence of five years, when it was dissolved by the mutual consent of the partners, in September, 1896. Since that date Mr. Ebling has con- ducted the business on his sole account, and has now one of the best blacksmith shops in the city of Miamisburg. 962 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD The marriage of Mr. Ebling took place October 3, 1880, to Miss Laura E. Brown, daughter of Isaiah and Christina (Beachler) Brown, of New Madison. Mr. and Mrs. Ebling are members of the Reformed church and in politics Mr. Ebling is a democrat. Fra- ternally he is a member of the K. of P., A. O. U. W., D. O. H. and Jr. O. U. A. M., and few young men have a larger circle of warm friends than George M. Ebling. <^~\ R- THEODORE P. EBY, one of I the leading dentists of Montgomery J^^J county and a man of education and culture, springs from Pennsylvania ancestors, the family having originated from one of two brothers that about 200 years ago came from either Switzerland or Prussia, set- tling in Pennsylvania at that time. The prob- ability is, however, that the family comes of Swiss extraction. Jacob Eby, the grandfatner of Dr. Eby, was born at Mannheim, in Lancaster county, Pa., and was a maker of the old-fashioned English pattern clocks, clockmaking having been carried on in the family for several gen- erations. Christian Eby, brother of Jacob, was a famous clockmaker, clocks of his make being still extant and highly valued. His clocks were of brass mechanism and so con- structed that the face showed the phases of the moon. One of Jacob's clocks is now owned by Joseph E. Boyer, of Dayton, and one of Christian Eby's clocks, now belonging to architect C. I. Williams, of Dayton, is still keeping good time and bids fair to continue to do so for a century. Jacob Eby married, in Pennsylvania, Han- nah Parkinson, a lady of English ancestry. To him and his wife there were born the fol- lowing children : George. Jacob, Eliza, Maria, Hannah, Peter (who died young), and Rebecca. Jacob Eby lived to be about fifty-five years old, dying in Mannheim, Pa. George Eby, the eldest son of Jacob, was born at Mannheim, Pa., in January, 1802, and of his father learned the art of making clocks. In 1827 he married Dorothy Fritchey, near Harrisburg, Pa., and located in that city. His wife's parents were John G. and Dorothy Fritchey. After some time they removed to Mannheim, where they lived until 1846, when they removed to Cumberland county, Pa., and there Mr. Eby engaged in the mercantile busi- ness, continuing therein until 1849. In this year he removed to Montgomery county, Ohio, locating in the town of Union and engaging in the same business in partnership with D. K. Boyer. They remained in this connection for many years, and were quite successful. Mr. and Mrs. Eby were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, he serving as church trus- tee. In his native town of Mannheim he was a member of the town council, and was also one of the school directors. He lived to be about fifty-six years old, dying in 1858. He was a business man of ability and integrity and a consistent Christian. In politics he was a democrat, and served as postmaster at Mann- heim under President Polk's administration. By the marriage of George and Dorothy (Fritchey) Eby, there were the following chil- dren: Theodore P., Christian, Hannah A., Mary E., George W., Edwin J. and Thomas V. Mr. Eby had two sons in the late Civil war, viz: George W. and Thomas V., both in an Ohio infantry regiment. Dr. Theodore P. Eby was born at Harris- burg, Pa., December 28, 1828, and was three months old when his parents removed to Mannheim. He began his business life with his father when quite young, and at the age of twenty years came with the rest of the family to Ohio, locating in Union, Montgomery coun- ty, in 1S49. The journey was made from OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 963 Harrisburg to Pittsburg by way of the canal, down the Ohio river, to Cincinnati by steam- boat, and thence to Montgomery county by canal, and from Dayton to Union by wagon. It was a long and tedious undertaking, because of the slow means of travel, a journey which would then take two or three weeks being now accomplished in a day. Young Eby entered the employ of Boyer & Eby, Mr. Boyer being his uncle by marriage, and he remained with this firm for five years. Then beginning the study of dentistry with Dr. Samuel Hawkins, he remained thus engaged for two years. On April 9, 1856, in Randolph township, he mar- ried Miss Elizabeth Hikes, who was born July 3, 1834, in that township, and is a daughter of John and Susan Hikes. John Hikes was born in Cumberland county, Pa., and was a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Bartlett) Hikes. Jacob Hikes emigrated at an early day as a pioneer to Montgomery county and settled in or near Dayton, and had a distillery on his farm. He was a man well known for many miles around for his uprightness and manliness of character. John Hikes married in Montgomery county, and was a miller and distiller by occupation. His children were as follows: William, Henry C, Alfred, Chailes, Elizabeth, Mary J., Julia and Alice. Mr. Hikes was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in his early life was an old-line Whig in politics, later be- coming a republican. He removed to Missouri and settled at Stewardsville, in De Kalb coun- ty, in 1858, and there died. He had three sons in the late Civil war, viz: William, Henry C. and Alfred. Mr. Hikes was a strong Union man, and suffered much in con- sequence in Missouri. Dr. Eby located in Dayton as a dentist in partnership with Dr. Andrew Sheets, the firm name being Sheets & Eby. He -remained in Dayton two years, at the end of which time he returned to Union, in which place he still re- sides. Here he has ever since pursued his profession with success, and has a large and lucrative practice. He has been engaged in dentistry since 1857, and is the oldest practi- tioner in Montgomery county. He has al- ways been an extensive reader of profes- sional works, and thus has kept pace with the march of progress and has attained a high de- gree of skill. Mrs. Eby died in 1886, a woman of many virtues and a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. Dr. Eby is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of St. John's blue lodge, No. 9, of Dayton. Politically he is a democrat, has held the position of clerk of his township for three years, township trustee two terms, and has served as a member of the school board. He was township treasurer for nine years, and in all public trusts he has given full satisfaction to his people. By his first wife his children are as follows: Mary A., Susan G. and George H. In 1894, Dr. Eby married, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Mrs. Frances M. Hoopes, a widow, whose maiden name was Martin. ^y^ILLIAM S. EBY, a well-known M M farmer of German township, Mont- mJLvl gomerj county, Ohio, and also a successful auctioneer and an ex- soldier, was born in this township June 9, 1838, his parents being John and Elizabeth (Shaffer) Eby. John Eby was born in Lancaster county, Pa., in 1798, was a son of David Eby, of German descent, and by occupation was a farmer. He came to Ohio in 1836 and settled in German township, Montgomery county, buying a farm, which he partially cleared and improved, and upon which he resided until his death, in January, 1855. His wife was a daughter of John Shaffer, was also born in Lancaster county, Pa., and bore her hus- 964 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD band eight children, of whom six are still liv- ing and are named Washington H., Artenius J., William S., Benjamin F., Rebecca (Mrs. Peter Pfaff), and Susan E. (Mrs. Jacob Slifer). The mother of this family also passed the clos- ing years of her life in German township. William S. Eby, whose name opens this biography, was educated in his native township and has here passed all his life, with the ex- ception of three years, when he lived in Butler county, Ohio, where he was engaged in farm- ing the greater part of that time. Farming, indeed, has been his life-long occupation, but, having a ready command of language and being a keen judge of the value of personal property, he twenty years ago became an auctioneer, and is now one of the most popular of those engaged in the vocation in Montgomery coun- ty. For eighteen years, also, he has been a buyer and seller of tobacco. Mr. Eby has been twice married. His first union was with Lucinda Gunckel, daughter of Jacob C. and Nancy (Catrow) Gunckel, of Ger- man township. To this marriage were born two children — Leo and Mildred. The second marriage of Mr. Eby was with Miss Susie Brown, daughter of Jason Brown, of Butler county, Ohio, but to this union no children have been born. The military career of Mr. Eby is as fol- lows: August 22, 1861, he enlisted in com- pany H, Thirty-fifth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, and served until honorably discharged, August 23, 1863. He re-entered the army, February 12, 1865, as first sergeant of com- pany D, One Hundred and Eighty-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, served until long after the war was brought to an end, and was again honorably discharged September 25, 1S65. He took part in all the marches and engage- ments of the army of the Cumberland during the two terms of his military service. He is now a member of Carlton Bear post, No. 516, Grand Army of the Republic, of Germantown, and in politics is a silver democrat. Mr. Eby has been a prudent and successful worker in the affairs of life, and the high standing he en- joys in the esteem of the community in which he lives is due to his merits as a man, citizen and soldier. f S~*\ AVID EMERT, a prominent citizen I and farmer, was born in Miami town- s^^_J ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, Sep- tember 1 8, 1826, and is a son of Andrew and Catherine ( Schell ) Emert, both natives of Pennsylvania. His paternal grand- father, Martin Emert, of German descent, was a clockmaker by trade, and lived and died in Pennsylvania. His maternal grandparents, Henry and Margaret ( Lesher ) Schell, both natives of Berks county, Pennsylvania, settled in Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1820, and his maternal great-grandfather, Peter Schell, a native of Germany, and a farmer of Berks county, Pa., was a soldier of the war of the Revolution. Andrew Emert, father of David, was born in 1805, came to Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, in boyhood, worked at the shoemaker's trade a few years, and then returned to Pennsyl- vania for a legacy. He soon after removed to Miami township, and about 1826 purchrsed the farm now owned by Mary E. Emert, cleared and improved it and resided there until his death, in 1882. His children are David, Jonathan, Martin H., Albert and John. David Emert was reared on the old home- stead and educated in the common schools and in Farmer's college, Hamilton, Ohio. He has always followed farming as an occupation, has lived upon his present farm in Miami township since 1861, and is one of the active and progressive farmers of his township. Mr. Emert married, in 185 1, Miss Cather- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 965 ine R. (Fleck) Routzong, of Van Buren town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio; she bore him seven children, viz: Augustus V., Sarah E. (Mrs. Samson P. Strader), Andrew A., Ed- ward E., Clara A., Ira A., and Emma. Mr. Emert is a member of the Lutheran church and is a democrat in his political affiliations. His social connection is with the best people of Miami township, with whom he stands in the most pleasant relations, enjoying to the utmost their regard and esteem. "^ i* ACOB EBY, a well known farmer of m Miami township, Montgomery county, /• 1 Ohio, was born in Harrison township, in the same county, May 2, 1849, and is a son of Adam and Susan (Mullendore) Eby. He was reared in Harrison township, received a good common-school education, and began life for himself as a farmer in Jefferson town- ship, where he lived five years. In 1877 he purchased a farm in Miami township, com- prising 188 acres of land, to which he removed in 1878, and upon which he lived until 1893, when he removed to a farm of forty acres in West Carrollton, where he has since resided. Beside this, he owns a farm of 108 acres on the Cincinnati turnpike in Miami township, and also one of sixty acres in Jefferson township, near the soldiers' home. On December 8, 1887, he married Alice Baker, daughter of Aaron and Nancy (Simp- son) Baker, of Jefferson township, and by this marriage he has four children, as follows; Dollie May, Susie, Owen A. and James. Mr. Eby is a member of Marion lodge, I. O. O. F., of Miamisburg, and in politics is a populist. He has always maintained an excellent reputa- tion for honesty and integrity of character, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of all to the fullest extent. Adam Eby, a prominent farmer of Harri- son township, Montgomery county, was born in Baltimore county, Md., July 10, 1814, and is a son of Christian and Susannah (McDaniel) Eby. Christian Eby was a native of York county, Pa., and was of Swiss descent. He pur- chased a farm in Jackson township, Montgom- ery, county, Ohio, in 1832, on which he settled in 1838. Later he removed to Preble county, Ohio, and there died. His children were as follows: Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Kohler; John; Jane, wife of Amos Markey; Samuel; Susan, wife of Jesse Royer; Christian; Nancy, wife of Ephraim Engler; Adam, Wilson, James, Lavina, wife of John Vail, and Jacob. Adam Eby came to Montgomery county with his parents in 1838, and lived with them three years in Jackson township. In 1841 he purchased the farm in Harrison township which he now owns and occupies, on which he made all the improvements and on which he has ever since resided. The home farm com- prises 270 acres, and he also owns one of 155 acres adjoining, and in addition a farm in Jef- ferson township of 157 acres. He is, in short, one of the most enterprising and successful farmers in Montgomery county. On October 1, 1840, he married Susan Mullendore, daughter of David Mullendore, of Preble county, Ohio, and who bore him thir- teen children, as follows: Jane, wife of Scott Robinson; Elizabeth, wife of William Wogo- man; Ephraim; Jacob; Susan, wife of Joseph Ulrich; Wilson, Adam, Clement L. V., An- drew, Christian, and three that have died. Mr. Eby has served as justice of the peace of Harrison township for eighteen years, and as township trustee for several years. Politically he was for many years a democrat, but of late years he has been an advocate of populism. . He is a man of high character, always sustain- ing what he believes to be correct principles in morals, politics and religion. %6 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD a APT. AUGUSTUS J. EMINGER was born near Mechanicsburg, Cum- berland county, Pa., July 23, 1836, is a son of David and Magdalena (Miller) Eminger, and comes of German an- cestry. His paternal grandfather, Andrew Eminger, was a son of Isaac Eminger, the progenitor of the family in America, a native of Berlin, Germany, who was among the pioneers of what is now Cumberland county, Pa., settling there about 1740. All the an- cestors of Capt. Eminger in America were farmers, including his father, who died in Pennsylvania, in 1854. Andrew Eminger, the grandfather, was a first lieutenant in the Rev- olutionary war, and was also a soldier in the war of 1 812. Augustus J. Eminger spent the first seven- teen years of his life on the home farm. He was educated in the common schools and in the Cumberland Valley institute, Mechanics- burg, Pa. In April, 1855, he came to Miamis- burg, Ohio, and in the winter of 1855-6 at- tended the Bacon Commercial college, Cin- cinnati, Ohio, during which time and up to 1858, he was connected with what is now the R. G. Dun Commercial agency. In the fall of 1858 he located in Miamisburg, where he was employed as clerk in a dry-goods store until 1862. On July 30, 1862, he enlisted in company E, Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry, went to the front as first lieutenant, and participa- ted in the campaign of the armies of the Ohio and Cumberland, in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. He was promoted to the captaincy of the company January 24, 1864, and was mustered out of the service at Nashville, Tenn., January 8, 1865. He at once returned to Miamisburg, where he en- tered the employ of D. H. Hoover & Co., later Hoover & Gamble, and on the incorpor- ation of the Hoover & Gamble Co., in 1892, was made secretary of the company, a posi- tion which he still occupies. Capt. Eminger was married, March 4, 1858, to Miss Maria S., daughter of Silas and Maria (South) Hall, of Miamisburg, and has five chil- dren: Mary (Mrs. J. F. Vogel), William F., Charles F. , Robert L. , and Clara H. (Mrs. Fred. C. Cotterman). Capt. Eminger is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of the Ohio commandery, military order of the Loyal Legion, Al Mason post, G. A. R., and of the subordinate lodge, encampment and patrirachs militant, I. O. O. F. He has held the office of mayor of Miamis- burg for two successive terms, has served as member of the city council, and was a member and clerk of the board of educa- tion from 1868 to 1S90. Politically, he is a stanch republican. To all public move- ments for the advancement of Miamisburg, Capt. Eminger has always been foremost in giving his time and work. His spirit of pro- gressiveness has assisted much in the upbuild- ing of the town, and his high character has brought to him the universal esteem of the community in which he resides. aHARLES FRANCIS EMINGER, an active business man of Miamisburg, was born in this city July 16, 1865. He is a son of Augustus J. and Maria (Hall) Eminger, and was reared in his native city, where he received his education, gradu- ating from the high school in 1883, and where he has always resided. After reaching his eleventh year he was engaged several summers as a clerk in a grocery store, passing his school vacations in this way, and in 1884 he em- barked in the grocery business at Miamisburg as a member of the firm of Forbes & Eminger, in which business and connection he continued two years. Since 1886 he has been in the OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 967 flour business in connection with Uriah Engle- man, and has been practically manager of the entire sale and disposition of the products of the Engleman mill. Mr. Eminger was married April 8, 1886, to Edna M. Engleman, daughter of Uriah and Sally (Marshall) Engleman, of Miamisburg. He has one daughter, Ethel L. Mr. Eminger is a thirty-second degree Mason, a Knight Templar, a member of the Mystic Shrine, an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, a member of the camp of Sons of Veterans and of the military order of the Loyal Legion. In 1895 Mr. Eminger was one of five candidates for county auditor, but was defeated through his not being a resident of Dayton. He has al- ways taken an active interest in politics, and is at the present time a leader in the younger element of republicanism in the southern part of Montgomery county. Though still a young man, Mr. Eminger has made an impression in the business and in the political and social world that bids fair to be both lasting and creditable. ar 'ILLIAM EWRY, carriage and wagon manufacturer and black- smith, of Beavertown, was born in Van Buren township, Montgom- ery county, Ohio, July 31, 1839. He is a son of Bazil and Magdalene (Swigart) Ewry, both of whom were natives of Van Buren town- ship. They were the parents of two children, William and David. Bazil Ewry was a farmer by occupation, and one of the best in the en- tire county. Both he and his wife, the latter of whom died in 1842, were members of the German Reformed church, in which he served most of his lifetime as ah elder and a deacon. He was a popular and prominent man in the community, and led an honorable and useful life. For his second wife he married Eliza- beth Swigart, by whom he had seven sons and one daughter, as follows: John, Benjamin, Albert, Oliver, Henry, Wilson and Mary, all still living, and one child, named Charles, who died in infancy. Bazil Ewry's father, John Ewry, was a na- tive of Maryland and came to Ohio at a very early day, settling in Van Buren township, and buying land one mile east of the present site of Beavertown. Toward the erection of the first church he was one of the earliest to move, donating toward it for a site two acres of land, upon which is also located the cemetery. He reared a large family and lived to be very old. The maternal grandfather of William Ewry was Michael Swigart, a native of Maryland, who came to Ohio with eighty dollars in money and began the life of a farmer, in which he prospered greatly. Like many other pioneers, Mr. Swigart himself made the chairs and bedsteads with which he began house- keeping. His home was in Greene county, where he lived to the great age of ninety years. William Ewry was reared on the farm and received his rudimentary education in the com- mon schools. He began driving a team when eleven years old. At the age of eighteen he began to learn the wagonmaker's trade, and has followed this occupation ever since, having made wagons and carriages almost innumera- ble for his neighbors and other residents of Montgomery county. His business has grown and prospered, until at the present time he employs six men. He manufactures fine car- riages, phaetons, and all kinds of wagons, and sends out from his shops some very handsome work. In all these years Mr. Ewry has built up character and reputation as well as busi- ness, and is well known throughout the sur- rounding country as a thoroughly honorable, reliable workman. On November 17, 1868, Mr. Ewry married Miss Amelia Harper, by whom he had one «.M!S CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD daughter, Maud. Mrs. Ewry died September 6, 1880. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, but after her marriage and removal to Beavertown, there being no Meth- odist church there, she identified herself with the United Brethren church. In March, 1884, Mr. Ewry married Miss Katie Fitzpatrick, daughter of William and Martha Fitzpatrick, and to this second marriage there have been born three children: Mattie, Charles and Mary. Mr. Ewry had two brothers, David and John, in the late Civil war, who served from the first call of President Lincoln for three months' men until the close, and were in twenty-eight battles. Mr. Ewry is a member of Montgom- ery lodge, No. 5, I. O. O. F. , and in politics is a republican. He has a beautiful home adjoining his place of business in Beavertown, and has been a resident of Van Buren town- ship for fifty-seven years. Mr. Ewry's high standing as a citizen and his success in busi- ness are the best evidence of what may be ac- complished in life through energy, industry and sound judgment. m ATHEW FABING, harness and trunk dealer of Miamisburg, was born near Trenton, Butler county, Ohio, July 10, 1859, a son of Michael and Anna M. (Fabing) Fabing, both natives of Alsace-Lorraine. His maternal grandpar- ents were Nicholas and Elizabeth (Bath) Fa- bing, who, with Michael Fabing, father of Mathew, came to America in 1857 and settled in Butler county, Ohio, where the latter en- gaged in farming, in which he continued until his death, December 24, 1879. Prior to coming to this country Michael Fabing was a soldier in the French army, was honorably discharged in 1856, and was also a soldier in the Union army during the late Civil war, as a member of company F, Fourth Ohio cavalry. He enlisted October 3, 1864, and was honorably discharged July 15, 1865. His children were two — Mathew and John M.— the latter a telegraph operator now residing at Valparaiso, Ind. Mathew Fabing was reared in his native county, where he received a common-school education, and served an apprenticeship of three and one-half years at harness-making in Middletown, Ohio. September 30, 1878, he came to Miamisburg and worked at his trade for fourteen months as a journeyman, and De- cember 20, 1879, embarked in business for himself, which he has since successfully con- tinued, his uninterrupted prosperity being a strong illustration of the truth, that honesty, industry and economy form the basis of success in this life. Mr. Fabing was married October 26, 1883, to Amanda, daughter of Isaac and Catherine (Gebhart) Dissinger, of Miamisburg; this union has been blessed with four children — May, Clara, Annie, and an infant son. Mr. Fabing is a member of the Lutheran church and is a R. A. M.; he is a member of the I. O. O. F. en- campment, -also of the K. of P., the Harugari, and the Sons of Veterans, and politically is a republican. He has been remarkably success- ful as a business man, and enjoys that respect in his community which personal worth and business ability invariably bring. V--» EVI FALKNER, farmer of Randolph i township, and a son of one of the \ pioneers of Montgomery county, sprang from good Pennsylvania Dutch stock. Levi Falkner, Sr., his father, was born in Bedford county, Pa., was reared a farmer, and learned the carpenter's trade. While living in Bedford county, he married Margaret Nicodemus, daughter of Frederick Nicodemus, and almost immediately afterward OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 969 they started for Ohio, each on horseback, hav- ing no baggage or other property except what they could carry in saddle bags. This was about 1813, and when they passed through Dayton, there were but a few log houses with- in the present limits of the place. Mr. and Mrs. Falkner went to the home of John Becker, where Henry Becker, son of John Becker, now lives. After about a year Mr. Falkner purchased of Henry Brumbaugh about forty acres of land in Randolph township, which was then in the thick woods. The first work performed by Mr. Falkner on his new farm, new in more senses than one, was to erect a rude log cabin, and to fit it with a puncheon floor, using a quilt for a door. His next work was to build a barn on Wolf creek for Henry Bouser, leaving his wife alone in the cabin in the woods during the day. Mr. Falkner cleared up his farm and soon after- ward bought forty acres adjoining, making a farm of eighty acres, still later adding another eighty. acre tract. He continued to prosper, until his death, which occurred when he was fifty-three years of age. Mr. Falkner's life was an example of the industry and solid virtues required in a successful pioneer farmer. In politics he was an old-line democrat. Levi Falkner, his son, was born September 22, 1822, in a log cabin in Randolph town- ship, and 'received but a meager education. Early in life he began to work on the home farm, and has always followed farming for a living. When twenty-two years of age he married, November 8, 1844, Miss Nancy Herr, who was born in 1822, and is a daughterof Sam- uel and Frances (Long) Herr. Samuel Herr was an old settler of Randolph township, and became a substantial farmer, owning some 300 acres of land. His children were as follows: Mary, Abraham, Nancy, Frances, Samuel, Christian, Hettie, Lizzie, Sarah and John. He was a member of the River Brethren church and a good citizen. He died on his farm at the age of seventy-three. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Falkner settled on the Falkner homestead in Randolph township, and after two years removed to the Herr homestead, where he lived one year, buying eighty acres of land in Clay township, and after some time added thereto eighty acres, lived there twenty-nine years and then purchased his present farm. He and his wife reared the following children: Carris; Angeline, who died when six years old; David C, Frances, Lorin, Mary A., Theodore and Jerome. Mrs. Falkner died in November, 1879, a woman of many virtues and a member of the Brethren church. Politically, Mr. Falk- ner is a democrat, but is in no sense an office seeker. He is content to cultivate and man- age his farm, to thrive by his own industry, and to be an independent man. HEODORE S. FOX, superintendent of schools of Germantown, Montgom- ery county, Ohio, was born in Brook- ville, Clay township, in the same county, June 12, 1862, and is a son of Levi and Barbara (Studebaker) Fox, both natives of Johnstown, Pa., and of German descent. John Fox, his paternal grandfather, and also a native of Johnstown, Pa., early came to Ohio and settled on a farm in Clay town- ship, Montgomery county, where he reared a family of nine children and passed there the remainder of his life. John Studebaker, the maternal grandfather, was also a pioneer farmer of Clay township. Levi Fox, father of Theodore S. , was a brickmaker by trade, and for many years en- gaged in business in Brookville, where he still has his residence, but is now retired. He has brought up a family of nine children, who were named, in order of birth, Martha (Mrs. Lee 970 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Heck), Sarah J. (Mrs. A. F. Roller), Herman S., Silas B. (deceased), Theodore S., Libbie (Mrs. Perry Spitler), Albert, Charles, and Joseph (deceased). Theodore S. Fox reached manhood in Brookville, Ohio, and received his preliminary education in the common schools. This edu- cation was supplemented by an attendance at the Ohio Wesleyan university, and later by an attendance at the National Normal university at Ada, Ohio. From the latter he was gradu- ated in 1885, and at once entered upon the profession of teaching, and for two or three years filled positions in rural districts. From 1888 until 1890 he was superintendent of the Brookville public schools; from 1891 to 1893, inclusive, was superintendent of the Washing- ton township schools, and since 1894 has been the efficient superintendent of the schools of Germantown. The marriage of Prof. Fox was celebrated April 8, 1887, with Miss Althea F. Arnold, daughter of John and Minnie (Bolt) Arnold, of Brookville, Ohio, and three children have been born to this marriage and named, in order of birth, Arnold, Helen, and Mildred. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics, Prof. Fox is a democrat. In his fraternal relations he is an Odd Fellow of high degree, being a member of the encampment in that order, and he is also a Knight of Pythias. Both socially and professionally he holds a high position in the community which has entrusted to him the important work of directing the education of the children. t/A ANIEL C. FOX, Jr., a prominent I farmer, was born in Miami township, /^^J Montgomery county, Ohio, January 14, 1830, and is a son of Frederick C. and Hannah (Kauffman) Fox, natives of Montgomery county, Ohio, and Rockingham county, Va., respectively — the former born in Miami township February 25, 1809. His paternal grandfather, Daniel B. Fox, born in Virginia June 6, 1783 was a son of Frederick Fox, a native of Germany (Hesse- Cassel), who came to America in 1768 and located in Virginia, on what is now known as the battle field of Antietam, where he engaged in the hotel business, and entertained such celebrities as George Washington. In 1807 he settled in Franklin, Ohio, where he resided for many years. In later life he located in Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, and died there. His first wife was Catherine Booker, and his second wife a widow, Mrs. Young. Daniel B. Fox settled in Miami township in 1808, and resided there until his death. His wife was Susan Crissman and bore him ten children, viz: Elizabeth (Mrs. William Phil- lips), Theresa (Mrs. Andrew King), Frederick C, Susan (Mrs. Jacob Mason), Mahala (Mrs. William Reed), Catherine (Mrs. James Boyd), Christina (Mrs. William Hendrickson), Me- linda (Mrs. Pearson Etress), Mary (Mrs. Daniel Brininger) and Daniel C. Of these Frederick C. was reared, lived and died in Miami town- ship, was a farmer by occupation, and cleared and improved the farm now owned by Mays & Zehring. His wife, Hannah, was a daughter of John and Rachel (Shoemaker) Kauffman, and his children were Daniel C, Jr., Fred C, Jr., Susan (Mrs. Daniel Weidner), Hannah (deceased), Catherine (Mrs. Franklin Petti- crew), Caroline (Mrs. Enoch Stansell) and Delilah (Mrs. Okey McCabe). Daniel C. Fox, Jr., is one of the fourth generation from Frederick Fox (first), the pro- genitor of the family in America. He was reared to manhood on the old homestead in Miami township, and received his education in the log school-house of his day. He began life as a farmer, which has been his principal voca- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 971 tion, but, being a mechanic by natural bent, has been identified with other projects in that direc- tion. In 1 8 54 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Benner) Gebhart, of Miami township, who has borne him four chil- dren — Ellis (deceased), Harold, Mary E. (Mrs. Francis Yetter) and Daniel G. During the late Civil war Mr. Fox was a member of com- pany D, One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and was honorably dis- charged after ioo days' service. He is a mem- ber of the G. A. R. , in politics is a republican, and is one of the most widely-esteemed citi- zens of Miami township. HDAM FRANK, mayor of Germantown, Ohio, and an attorney at law, was born in Germantown July 2, 1831, a son of Mathew and Barbara (Loy) Frank, natives of New York and Montgomery county, Ohio, respectively. His paternal grandfather, Lawrence Frank, was a farmer of New York state, and his maternal grand- father, George P. Loy, was a native of Mary- land and a pioneer of German township, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, where he cleared and improved a farm; in later life he retired to Germantown, and died there. Mathew Frank was a pioneer shoemaker of Germantown, fol- lowed that vocation all his life, and died at Germantown in 1869, in his seventieth year. His children were Mary (Mrs. Daniel Bussard), George, Adam, John C, William H. and Nancy J. (Mrs. Holcomb Snyder). Adam Frank passed his youth in his native town and was graduated from the Germantown academy. During his minority he learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed for twenty-five years, and during that period studied law. He was admitted to the bar in the early 'seventies, and has since been in the active practice of his profession at German- town, where he has been prominent in the settlement of estates. Mr. Frank has been twice married; his first wife was Nancy, daugh- ter of Israel and Catherine (Catrow) Lucas, of Wapakoneta, Ohio; to this union was born one daughter — Mary C. , now deceased. His second wife was Mrs. Vandalena L. (Hinkle) Stirewalt, of Germantown. Mr. Frank, in his fraternal relations, is a thirty-second degree Mason, and is also past grand high priest of the grand encampment of Odd Fellows. He has been secretary of Friendship lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 21, of Germantown, since December, 1857, a period of thirty-nine consecutive years, and has filled all its various offices. He is a charter mem- ber of canton Frank, of Germantown, named in his honor, and organized March 28, 1888. He organized the first beautiful Rebekahwork, put on the floor February 23, 1883, by Grace Rebekah lodge, No. 39, Germantown, and which has since developed in various forms throughout the United States. He has been representative to the grand lodge of Ohio for ten years, and of the grand encampment for about the same period; also district deputy grand master and district deputy grand patri- arch for several years. In the Masonic fra- ternity he has been master of the Germantown lodge, No. 257, for twenty-seven years. He has served as justice of the peace of German township for thirty-seven years; mayor of Ger- mantown, at intervals, for twenty-six years; clerk of the school board for twenty-five years; notary public for twenty-five years; secretary of the Germantown cemetery; and president of the Germantown Fire company for over thirty years. In politics Mr. Frank is a re- publican. In his societary connections, few men have attained positions so high in the various orders to which he belongs as has Mr. Frank, and this fact alone shows not only the caliber and strength of his mentality, but also 972 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the high respect in which he is held by his fellow-men. In his profession he stands in the foremost rank, and in all the relations of life has proved his worth as an individual and his value to society. lS^\ EV - JACOB GARBER, minister of I /^ the German Baptist church, and a P substantial farmer of Madison town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born March 8, 1821, in the Shenandoah valley of Virginia, and was about fifteen years of age when brought to Ohio by his parents. John Garber, his paternal grandfather, was probably born in Pennsylvania, of German parentage, and moved from that state to Mary- land and thence to the Shenandoah valley of Virginia. He was a farmer by vocation, and, like his ancestors, was a German Baptist in re- ligion. He reared, a family of five children, named John, Samuel, Solomon, Catherine and Rebecca, and lived to the patriarchal age of eighty-eight years. John Garber, father of the Rev. Jacob Garber, was born in Frederick county, Md., on Pike creek, about the year 17S5, and went to the Shenandoah valley with his parents. After his marriage to Nancy Er- baugh, he located on a farm in Rockingham county, Va., on which he lived until the fall of 1835, when he brought his family to Ohio and settled on 160 acres in Madison township, Montgomery county — making the journey by wagon. Mr. Garber first occupied a log house on his new farm — for it had been partially im- proved — then fully redeemed his place from the woods, built a brick dwelling, and made for himself and family a comfortable home. His children were named Hettie, Jonathan. Sarah, Samuel, Jacob, John, Susan, Nancy, and Daniel, all of whom were born in the Shenan- doah valley, and came to Ohio with their par- ents. The family were members of the German Baptist church, of which two of the sons, Samuel and Jacob, became ministers. Mr. Gar- ber was called from earth in 1858, in the sev- enty-third year of his age, honored by all his neighbors for the uprightness which had char- acterized a long and useful life. Rev. Jacob Garber in his youth received the customary district school education and passed his earlier manhood on the home farm. No- vember 3, 1842, he was united in wedlock, in Madison township, with Miss Catherine Vani- man, who was born November 10, 1820, in the same township, her parents being Jacob and Mary (Bowman) Vaniman. The father, Jacob Vaniman, was a native of Bedford county, Pa., and at the age of four- teen years was brought to Ohio by his parents, John and Catherine (Mortonj Vaniman, who settled in Montgomery county in 1802, cutting the way through the woods from Dayton to Madison township. John Vaniman, who was noted for his great size and strength, entered a full section of land in Madison township for a homestead, together with other tracts in Perry and Randolph townships, all lying in the un- broken forest. Indians were numerous in the neighborhood, having a camp on a hill upon Mr. Vaniman's homestead, but were neighborly and well disposed toward the white settlers. Mr. Vaniman erected a large stone house, the first in the township, cleared up a large farm, and died in his sixtieth year, one of the most honored of pioneers. His children were John, Kate, Betsie, Jacob, Polly, Hannah, Samuel, and others who died young. Jacob Vaniman, the father of Mrs. Garber, after his marriage with Miss Mary Bowman, located on 160 acres of the old Vaniman home- stead, cleared the tract from the wilderness and erected an excellent brick dwelling, im- proving the place with everything requisite to equip a model farm, and there passed his years, respected and happy, until death called him OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 973 away in his sixty-fifth year. His children, in order of birth, were named Catherine, John, Elizabeth, David, Jacob, George, Daniel, Mary and Barbara. After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Garber they located on a farm of 157J acres in Madi- son township, which Mr. Garber had bought and parti} - cleared, and upon which he resided for eighteen years, when he removed, in 1868, to his present farm of 269 acres, which is now in an excellent state of cultivation and modern improvement. Mrs. Garber died July 3 1, 1853. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Garber was blessed with six children, named Mary, Nancy, Lizzie, Susanna, Amanda, and Catherine (who died when young). Mr. Garber next married Miss Elizabeth Yaniman, and their children are Sarah, Barbara, Martha, Hettie, Harriet, Albert and Ezra. Mr. Garber united with the German Baptist church at the age of twenty-two years, and for the past thirty-five years has given faithful and untiring service in the ministry. >T , OHN GEIGER, a prosperous young ■ farmer of Miami township, Montgomery (% J county, was born in Shelby county, Ohio, June 24, 1857, a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Lanehart) Geiger, natives of Germany. Jacob Geiger came to America about the year 1850, and for a short time worked on a farm near Buffalo, N. Y. , at $4 per month; he then came to Montgomery county, Ohio, worked in the same capacity near Miamisburg for awhile, and later was for several years in the employ of Perry Pease, of West Carroll- ton, same county. In 1856 he married Miss Elizabeth Lanehart and moved to Shelby county, farmed there for five years, and then returned to Miami township and rented a farm. In 1872 he purchased the farm at West Car- rollton on which his widow still resides; in 1 88 1 he bought the tract in Miami township now occupied by his son, John Geiger, the subject of this memoir, and in 1892 purchased the farm on which his son-in-law, Charles Loesch, now lives. His fortune he accumu- lated solely by his business astuteness, and was a man of considerable wealth at the time of his death, which took place on his West Car- rollton farm, December 15, 1895, at the age of sixty-two years, after a useful and honorable life. His children were five in number and were named, in order of birth, John, Henry, Frank, Carrie (Mrs. Charles Loesch), and George. John Geiger, whose name opens this bio- graphy, was reared from early childhood to manhood in Miami township, and was educated in the common schools. His life occupation has been that of a farmer, and he has resided on his present place since 1882. In October, 1882, Mr. Geiger married Miss Catherine, daughter of Henry Loesch, of Miami township, and this union has been followed by the birth of four children, viz: Edith, Robert, Henry and Lester. In religion Mr. Geiger is a Lutheran, and in politics is a democrat. He has been very successful in his calling and his industry and upright conduct have deservedly gained him the esteem of all his neighbors. ^■VOHN MARTIN GEPHART, a prosper- s ous farmer of Miami township, Mont- rt> J gomery county, Ohio, is a native here and was born July 17, 1844, a son of Peter P. and Sarah (Shupert) Gephart, both natives of Miami township and of old pioneer families. John Gephart, the paternal grandfather of John M., whose wife was Julia Brosius, came from Berks county, Pa., and John Shupert, the maternal grandfather, was also from the Key- stone state. Both were pioneer farmers of 974 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Miami township, and were of German descent. Peter P. Gephart was reared to farming and this was his life-long and successful vocation. While still actively engaged in this calling, he died on his farm in 1856. To his marriage with Miss Sarah Shupert there were born four sons to perpetuate the family name in Mont- gomery county, these being, in order of birth, John M., Christopher, Mortimer and Nelson. John Martin Gephart was reared to agri- cultural pursuits, on the parental farm, and he has found it to be to his interest never to re- linquish this noble and useful calling, which students of political economy name as the prime source of the wealth of any nation. Mr. Gephart received the ordinary education vouchsafed to farm lads in the public schools ■of his township, and was no inapt scholar. The learning he there acquired has been suf- ficient for all the ordinary purposes of rural life, and he has subsequently augmented it by careful reading of the current literature of the present day and much of that of times past. In 1872 he began farming on his individual account, and since 1878 has occupied his pres- ent premises, which will compare most favor- ably, as to tillage, neatness and general im- provements, with any farm of like dimensions in Miami township. Mr. Gephart was most happily united in marriage, March 26, 1872, with Miss Barbara A. E. Baver, daughter of Conrad and Mary (Gebhart) Baver, of Miami township, and to them have been born two children — Mary E. (Mrs. Kerr Routzang) and Earl Wellington, who married Inez R. Girrard. Mr. Gephart is a member of the Lutheran church, in poli- tics is a democrat, and fraternally is a mem- ber of the I. O. O. F. encampment, D. O. H., A. O. U. W., and O. U. A. M. He enjoys the sincere regard of his neighbors and friends, and well sustains the honorable name be- queathed him by his ancestors. e MANUEL A. GEBHART, a promi- nent farmer of Montgomery county, Ohio, was born September 24, 1849, in Miami township, where he still re- sides, a son of John and Elizabeth (Kreitzer) Gebhart. His paternal grandfather, Henry Gebhart, came to Jefferson township, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, from Pennsylvania in 1827, cleared and improved a farm, a portion of which is still owned by his heirs, and upon which he died at the age of eighty-four years, his remains being buried in Ellerton cemetery. His children were Hettie ( Mrs. John Billman ), Hannah (Mrs. John Rider), Lucy (Mrs. Sol- omon Kreitzer), Rebecca (Mrs. John Kreitzer), John, and Sarah (Mrs. John Shuder ) — all natives of Pennsylvania. John, the only son, was born in 1 8 1 8, was reared in Jefferson town- ship, Montgomery county, from his ninth year, and in early manhood purchased a farm in Miami township, on which he resided until his death, in June, 1884. His wife was a daugh- ter of Thomas and Sarah ( Gebhart ) Kreitzer, of Jefferson township, and his children were nine, of whom five grew to maturity : Jacob A. (now deceased), Emanuel A., John A., Mi- nerva ( Mrs. Charles Kline ), and Mary ( Mrs. Morris Kline ). Emanuel A. Gebhart was reared in Miami township, was educated in the common schools and lived on the homestead until twenty-four years of ' age. He then lived seven years in Jefferson township, and, since 1882, has re- sided on the farm he now occupies in Miami township. September 27, 1870, Mr. Gebhart married Miss Jennie, daughter of David and Julia A. ( Walburn ) Bolander, of Miami township, and has five children, viz : Luie, Elsie ( Mrs. Charles Rice ), Daisy M. ( Mrs. Howard Bloss), Emma and Harry. David Bolander, father of Mrs. Gebhart, was born in Pennsylvania in 1802 and came to Miami township, Montgom- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 975 ery county, Ohio, in 1817, where he farmed until his death in January, 1887. Julia A. Walburn, wife of David Bolander, was also born in Pennsylvania, and came to Montgomery county, Ohio, when a girl. She has, since her husband's death, resided in the family of her son-in-law, Mr. Gebhart. Emanuel A. Gebhart is a progressive farmer, a member of the Reformed church and has served eleven years as school director of Miami township ; he is one of the directors of the Montgomery county Mutual Fire association, and, politically, is a democrat. He is one of the thoroughgoing business men of his town- ship, is public spirited, and ever ready, with his time and means, to assist in any enterprise designed for the benefit of the community. He is a true citizen, and, as such, holds the confi- dence, good will and respect of all his fellow- citizens of Miami township. QAHLON O. GEBHART, a prosper- ous farmer of German township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Miami township, in that county, February 27, 1852. His parents, George S. and Magdelena (Gebhart) Gebhart, were also born in Miami township. George Gebhart, his paternal grandfather, and his maternal grandfather, John Gebhart, were both natives of Pennsylvania and both pio- neers of Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, whither they came in the early days of the settlement of this section, and where they passed the remainder of their lives. George S. Gebhart, the father of Mahlon O. , was reared on the homestead farm in Miami township, but, some years after his marriage came to German township and set- tled on the farm now occupied by his son, Mahlon O. , and after a prosperous and honor- able life, died here October 8, 188S, leaving a 40 widow and ten surviving children. The fam- ily of children born to George S. Gebhart num- bered fifteen, of whom, however, but eleven reached the age of maturity, viz: Urias, Cor- nelius, Henry, Mahlon O., Julia (Mrs. Jacob Gebhart), Magdalene (now deceased), Sarah (Mrs. James Small), Susan (Mrs. Frank Gable), Hannah. (Mrs. Andrew Organbright), Agnes (Mrs. Samuel McClain), and Emma (Mrs. Joseph Koeppel). Mahlon O. Gebhart, the fourth named of the children of George S. Gebhart who grew to adult years, was reared a farmer and passed the days of youth and early manhood in Miami and German townships. He has devoted much of his time to tobacco culture, and for six years of his life lived in Tennessee, in order to perfect his knowledge in the cultivation of this staple product. Excepting this absence, Montgomery county, Ohio, has always been his home. The marriage of Mahlon O. Gebhart took place March 18, 1881, to Lydia Lease, daughter of Daniel and Mary Lease, of Ger- man township. Mr. and Mrs. Gebhart are consistent members of the Lutheran church, and in politics Mr. Gebhart is a free-silver democrat. Mr. Gebhart bears a good name in the community in which he lives, and, while still a young man, he deserves much credit for the active part he has taken in the material ad- vancement of German township. *w ■ * ENRY B. GRAF, manager of the l^\ Miamisburg Brewing company, was ^F born in Peru, Ind., January 26, 1863, a son of Henry and Ernestine (Krauss) Graf, both natives of Germany. His father, a wood carver by trade, came to America with his parents in 1847, and has been a resident of Peru, Ind., since 1863. Henry B. Graf was 976 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD reared in his native city, was educated in the public schools, and, at the age of seventeen years, started out in the world for himself, lo- cating at Hamilton, Ohio, in 1880, where he served an apprenticeship of five years at the molder's trade, and then took charge of a foundry as superintendent, serving in that ca- pacity for two years. In 1887 he resumed his trade, which he followed until 1891, when he engaged in the flour-mill machinery business at Hamilton, in which he continued up to Oc- tober 1, 1895. He then removed to Miamis- burg, where he was employed by the Miamis- burg Star Bottling works until January 1, 1896, when he was appointed manager of the works, and on February 18, following, was ap- pointed manager of the Miamisburg Brewing company, and is still holding that position, as well as being secretary and treasurer of the company. Mr. Graf was married September 17, 1885, to Miss Ella S., daughter of Henry P. and Ellen (Ball) Deuscher, of Hamilton, Ohio, and now the mother of his two children — Frank H. and Fred E. Mr. Graf in religious belief is a Lutheran and in politics a democrat. He takes no especially active part in the affairs of his party, being simply content to exercise his franchise at the polls. He is public-spirited, however, and always ready to aid in promot- ing the good of the community as opportunity may offer, and through his hearty liberality has won many warm friends since he has been a resident of Montgomery county. ^y^V AVID GROBY, a prominent citizen I of Miamisburg, proprietor of a plan- J^^J ing mill and an extensive contractor, was born in Stouchsburg, Berks county, Pa., May 25, 1825, and is a son of Henry and Catherine (Beck) Groby. The fa- ther, Henry Groby, a native of Germany, came to America in boyhood, and was 100 days in crossing the Atlantic ocean in a sailing vessel. He settled in Berks county, Pa., and was there engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1854, when he came to Miamisburg, Ohio, and here passed the remainder of his life, dy- ing in 1858, an honored citizen. David Groby was reared to manhood in his native county, and received a fair education in the common schools, served an apprenticeship of two years at the carpenter's trade, and re- ceived the sum of $50 for his services, in addi- tion to the instruction given to him. He learned the trade thoroughly, however, and in 1844 came to Miamisburg, Ohio, and here worked as a journeyman for two years, when he made a trip to Illinois, where he passed eleven months, returning in 1847 t0 Miamis- burg, where he again worked at his trade as a journeyman for five years ; he then engaged in contracting. He built the bridge between Germantown and Carlisle in 1867, rebuilt the lower bridge at Miamisburg in 1868, and con- structed the bridge over the Miami river at Miller's Fork in 1868-69. In 1871 he estab- lished his present planing-mill, which he has operated ever since with entire success. In 1895 he purchased the farm of 100 acres set- tled by his present wife's father in 18 10, and which is now included within the corporate limits of Miamisburg, and also owns a fine farm of 140 acres one mile south of Miamis- burg, purchased in 1865. Mr. Groby has twice been married. His first union was with Miss Eliza, daughter of Jacob and Saloma (Weitzel) Warner, of Miami township, which marriage was blessed with five children, of whom three grew to maturity, viz: Sarah, the wife of Henry P. Brehm ; Amanda, married to W. Henry Benner, and Jacob B. The present wife of Mr. Groby was a widow — Mrs. Catherine (Weiss) Eagle. Mr. and Mrs. Groby are consistent members of the OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 977 Lutheran church, and fraternally Mr. Groby is a thirty-second degree Mason, and also an act- ive member of the Knights Templar encamp- ment ; he has been an Odd Fellow for over fifty years, and is likewise a member of the D. O. H. In politics Mr. Groby is a repub- lican through conviction, and not a partisan through a desire for public office. As a busi- ness man he has risen to eminence through his industry and strict integrity in all transac- tions, and his name as such stands without a blemish, while as a citizen he is prominent and progressive. K w ■ * ENRY GROBY, the well-known con- I^\ tractor and builder of Miamisburg, W Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Stouchsburg, Berks county, Pa., February 13, 1853, a son of Samuel and Lydia (Rabold) Groby, both also natives of Berks county. His paternal grandparents were Henry and Catherine (Beck) Groby, the former of whom was a native of Germany and came to America when a boy, being 100 days on the passage. He was reared to manhood in Berks county, Pa., came to Miamisburg in 1854, and here died in 1858. Samuel and Lydia Groby, parents of Henry Groby, came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1859, and for four years Samuel Groby was engaged in the manufacture of cigars in Miamis- burg, and then engaged in farming in Miami township — his present occupation. His chil- dren are three in number and are named Henry, Jacob, and Mary — the daughter being the wife of Martin Apple. Henry Groby grew to manhood in Mont- gomery county from the age of six years, attended the public schools, and when of suffi- cient age served an apprenticeship of two years at the carpenter's trade with his uncle, David Groby, by whom he was afterward employed for eighteen years as a journeyman. In 1892 he embarked, on his own account, in the lum- ber, door, sash and blind business, and also in contracting and building, and has been so steadily successful that he now stands at the head of that line of industry in this city. The marriage of Mr. Groby took place in 1876 with Miss Lena, daughter of Joseph and Magdalena (Krout) Yordy, of West Carrollton, the union resulting in the birth of two chil- dren — Bessie (Mrs. David Dunn), and C. Howard. Mr. Groby is a member of the Reformed church and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; is a charter member of and a director in the Miamisburg Building & Loan associa- tion, and in politics is a republican. He has won a well-established reputation as a master of his calling, his integrity and ability being widely recognized, and he and his family oc- cupy a prominent place in the social circles of Miamisburg. EON. GEORGE A. GROVE, one of the prominent citizens of Miamis- burg, Ohio, and one who has been often honored with official position because of his eminent fitness for the places he has held, was born in Millersburg, Berks county, Pa., August 25, 1817. He is a son of Andrew and Eva (Holstein) Grove, and was reared by them in Berks county, Pa. In May, 1836, he removed to Miamisburg, where he served three years as clerk in a store, and was subsequently occupied in farming for ten years, residing on the Kercher farm until 1850. This farm many years ago became a portion of Miamisburg, and on it many of the finest resi- dences in the place now stand. From 1850 to 1855 Mr. Grove prosecuted the grain and lumber business with Simon Huiet, owning a number of canal boats and engaging in trade 978 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD along the Miami & Erie canal from Toledo to Cincinnati. In 1855 the firm of H. Groby & Co. was formed by H. Groby, Emanuel Shultz and Mr. Grove, for the purpose of entering the lumber trade, and in 1866 the well known banking establishment of H. Groby & Co. was founded by the same firm. This banking firm continued in business until 1879, when Mr. Grove withdrew. Mr. Grove has been twice married; first to Christiana Kercher, daughter of Jacob Kercher, the founder of Miamisburg. To this marriage there were born two children, viz: John H., and Lucetta L. , wife of Christian Weber. The second wife of Mr. Grove was Sallie Gebhart, daughter of Peter M. and Hannah (Ulrich) Gebhart, of Miamisburg. To this marriage also there have been born two children, Eva L. and Grace L. In politics Mr. Grove has always been a democrat, and in 1865 was elected county commissioner, being the only candidate on his ticket that was elected, and the only demo- cratic county officer at that time in the county. In 1868 he was re-elected by a largely in- creased majority, and in 1875 was elected representative of the county in the lower house of the general assembly. In 1877 he was elected to the state senate over his friend and partner in business, Hon. Emanuel Shultz. In 1880 he was elected a member of the state board of equalization, and as a member of this board rendered his county valuable service, succeeding in having the county valuation re- duced nearly $4,000,000. Mr. Grove has filled many minor positions of honor and trust, always with fidelity and efficiency, and has taken a prominent part for many years in all public enterprises and undertakings calculated to advance the material, moral and religious interests of Miamisburg. To his energy and perseverance is largely due the establishment of the Miamisburg hydraulic, and he was also instrumental in securing the city park, and has been a member of the board of park commis- sioners since its organization in 1889. For more than sixty years Mr. Grove has been a member of the Miamisburg Lutheran church, and is universally regarded one of the best and most useful citizens of the place. In 1896 Mr. Grove was reappointed one of the com- missioners of the soldiers' relief committee, this being his third term of three years and closing in 1899. HDAM GRUVER, blacksmith of Mi- amisburg, Ohio, was born in Stouch- burg, Berks county, Pa., February 12, 1843. He is a son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Groby) Gruver, and his father hav- ing died and his mother married again, he re- moved with her, then Mrs. William Stupp, to Miamisburg in 1853, and here he grew to man- hood, receiving a good education in the public schools. Afterward he served an apprentice- ship of two and a half years in the blacksmith shop of Daniel Bookwalter, a biographical sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. Having completed his trade he was engaged in general blacksmithing in various parts of the country up to 1865. He then re- turned to Miami township and engaged in farming for two years, at the end of which time he entered the employ of Hoover & Gamble, in January, 1869, and remained with this firm until September, 1879, during the last five years of which period he was foreman of the blacksmithing department. In 1879 he established himself in business on his own ac- count as a general blacksmith, and has thus been engaged ever since, meeting with well de- served success, and now conducting the busiest shop of its kind in Miamisburg. Mr. Gruver was married October 19, 1865, to Sarah Gebhart, daughter of Andrew and OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 979 Eliza (Eagle) Gebhart, of Miami township, and by this marriage he has seven children, viz: Sarah J., wife of Frank Hart; Anna E., wife of Charles M. Lambert; Charlie E., who married Anna Kimmerling; Edith M. , wife of Howard Brehm; Henry, Mary E., and Lester. Mr. Gruver has been a member of the Lu- theran church since his boyhood days, is a royal arch Mason, a Knight of Pythias, an Odd Fellow (encampment and canton), and a Knight of Honor. In politics he is a repub- lican, and as such he has served as a member of the city council of Miamisburg, meeting the general approbation of the people, and reflect- ing on himself the utmost credit for the ability he manifested in the transaction of the public business and the readiness with which he di- vested himself of all traces of partisanship while in his office. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gru- ver are people of excellent character and hon- orable impulses, and have many friends around them; they are ever ready to lend a helping hand to the needy, and equally ready to aid in any project to advance the public welfare. BREDERICK GWINNER, a well-known citizen of Montgomery county, Ohio, and one of the lead- ing insurance men of Miamisburg, was born in Eneskerchen, near Cologne, on the Rhine, in Germany, May 12, 1832. He is a son of Jacob F. and Christiana (Neuman) Gwinner. He was reared and educated in Germany, and there learned the locksmith's trade, and in 185 1, when eighteen years of age, emigrated to the United States, locating in Philadelphia, where he was employed for seven years in a chandelier factory. In the spring of 1858 he settled in Miamisburg, Ohio, where for two years he was engaged in grape growing and in the raising of tobacco. In 1859 he purchased the Washington hotel prop- erty, remodeled and improved the building and successfully conducted the hotel for twen- ty-three years. In 1882, having acquired a competency through his prosperous business career, by frugality and strict attention to de- tails, he retired from the hotel business, and for five years afterward was engaged in the buying of tobacco for a Detroit house. Since then he has given his attention mostly to the business of fire insurance, and to the manage- ment of his property. In 1878 he purchased the handsome brick block which stands on the corner of Main street and Central avenue, and which bears his name. Mr. Gwinner was married in 1859 to Han- nah Salomon, daughter of Joseph and Rose Salomon, of Germany, by which marriage he has four children: Rose, now Mrs. Samuel H. Mays; Jennie, now Mrs. John W. Burns; Arnold F., and Hannah, now Mrs. William Stroop. Mr. Gwinner has always taken great interest in the advancement of Miamisburg, and for a number of years was a member of the city council, leaving a record as one of the best men for the place that ever held the office. He is interested in a number of leading stock companies, and for years has been a stockholder and director in the Teutonia Insurance company of Dayton. He is a director in the First National bank of Miamisburg, and a member of the Lutheran church. For more than forty years he has been an Odd Fellow, and for thirty years a member of the Harugari. He has been a member of the Ancient Order of United Work- men for seventeen years, and is also an active member of the Knights of Pythias. In 1890 he was elected decennial land appraiser tor Miami township. Politically, Mr. Gwinner is a democrat. He is a highly respected citizen of Montgomery county, being well known to all its people as a most useful and honorable member of the community. '.ISO CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ^■j'OHN A. HALL, carriage painter, was ■ born in Miamisburg, Ohio, his present m J place of residence, December 26, 1846, and is a son of Jeremiah and Anna M. (Thompson) Hall, both natives of the Buckeye state and of German and English (Quaker) de- scent, respectively. His paternal grandfather, William Hall, was a pioneer of Ohio and was for many years a blacksmith in Miamisburg, where he passed his latter days. The mater- nal grandfather of John A. Hall was a farmer of Butler county, Ohio. Jeremiah Hall, father of John A., was a machinist by trade and was reared in Miamis- burg. During the late Civil war he served as a member of company E, Thirty-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, going out as corporal, and for meritorious conduct and bravery in the face of the enemy was promoted successively to be sergeant, lieutenant and captain. After serv- ing four years and six months he was honora- bly discharged and returned to Miamisburg, where he resumed his trade and followed it until 1894, when he retired to the soldiers' home, near Dayton, Ohio, where he is quietly passing his declining years. John A. Hall, the only child born to Jere- miah, was reared in Cincinnati and was there educated in the public schools and also at Dela- ware college. He, too, became a soldier, en- listing in June, 1861, in company E, Thirty- ninth Ohio volunteer infantry (his father's com- pany), and serving two and a half years as drum-major; he was then honorably discharged, and in 1864 enlisted in company D, One Hun- dred and Thirty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, serving three months as a private, and again received an honorable discharge. After returning from the army, John A. Hall served an apprenticeship of three years at the painter's trade in Cincinnati with C. W. Miller. He worked for eight years at this vo- cation in the railroad shops at Zaleski, Vinton county, Ohio, and then for two years with the Bookwalter company, of Miamisburg. He next located at Columbus, Ohio, where he passed ten years, of which time two years and a half were spent as a guard at the state prison and the remainder of the time in working at his trade for the Columbus Buggy company. Since 1895, he has lived in Miamisburg in the employ of the Enterprise Carriage Manufactur- ing company. Mr. Hall has been twice married. His first wife was Ada, daughter of Charles and Matilda Gist, of Zaleski, Ohio, and to this union were born tour children — Charles J., Jeremiah C, Alice M. (Mrs. Milton Dutcher), and John B. His second marriage was with Miss M. ElenoraScothorn, a daughter of Will- iam J. and Lydia (Long) Scothorn, of Jackson county, Ohio, and this union has been followed by the birth of five children, viz: Arthur, New- ton, Edward, Mabel and Raymond. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are faithful members of the Method- ist Episcopal church, and fraternally Mr. Hall is a member of the F. & A. M., I. O. O. F., K. of P. and the G. A. R. In politics he is a republican and socially stands high in the es- teem of the inhabitants of his native city of Miamisburg, having, beside, many warm friends in the various other towns in which he has passed so many years of his useful life. ^-t*ACOB HAMMEL, an experienced and m well-known farmer of Miami township, /• I Montgomery county, Ohio, was born near Chambersburg, Franklin county, Pa., March 17, 1S20, a son of Conrad and Christiania (Bittinger) Harnmel, both natives of the Keystone state and of Swedish descent. The father was a blacksmith by trade and died in his native state at the age of eighty-four years — his wife dying when eighty-three years of age. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 981 Jacob Hammel was reared to manhood in his native county, working on a farm during the summer months after he had become of suitable age for the performance of that class of labor. For five years after reaching his majority he drove a six-horse team, hauling freight from Chambersburg, Pa., to Baltimore, Md., and from the latter city to Pittsburg, Pa., there being no railroads in operation in those localities in that early day. In 1845 he was employed seven months in a boiler shop in New Orleans, La., and in the spring of 1846 came to Montgomery county, Ohio, and was employed one season in a brickyard in Alex- andersville ; the following year he was employed as a teamster, and in 1848 he purchased a canal boat, trafficked on the canal for three months, and then engaged in the manufacture of brick on his own account, following this in- dustry five years. Since then Mr. Hammel has devoted his attention to farming in Miami township, making a specialty of tobacco, to the cultivation of which he has set aside twen- ty-five acres and has averaged as high as eighty- six and one-half cases of the product, of 400 pounds to the case — a success but seldom achieved in this latitude by the growers of this staple commodity. Mr. Hammel has been thrice married, his first union having taken place in December, 1850, with Miss Elizabeth Leighty, who died in 1852; his second marriage, January 3, 1856, was with Miss Catherine Mease, of Miami township, and this union was blessed with five children, viz: Annie, William, Mary C. (Mrs. Marion Recher), Nancy and Nora (Mrs. Ro- land Bradford); the mother of this family died May 8, 1878; his third matrimonial alliance was with Mrs. Louis Riggs — the present Mrs. Hammel — and occurred September 24, 1887. The family are members of the Reformed church, and in politics Mr. Hammel is a dem- ocrat. No farmer in Miami township stands higher in the esteem of his neighbors than Mr. Hammel, and but few have been more success- ful in their particular lines of industry. HBRAHAM HARLEY, one of the most highly respected citizens of Randolph township, Montgomery county, Ohio, and a successful and substantial farmer, is descended from Rudolph Harley, the originator of the Ohio family, who came to America from the German empire in the autumn of 1719. While there has been some question as to the original nationality of the Harley family, which is a very ancient one, the preponder- ance of evidence points to Germany as the country of its origin, where it can be traced back as far, at least, as to the fifteenth cen- tury. It is true that the name appears in England, but chiefly after the date of the' revo- cation of the edit of Nantes, 1685, through which over 4,000 of the best citizens of Ger- many fled the country in preference to becom- ing Catholics. In England, many of the Harley family became quite prominent, some even becoming members of parliament, and one, Robert Harley, became librarian to King George I. It is evident, too, that some of the family had gone to England prior to the revo- cation of the edict mentioned, probably under religious persecution, as one member, Thomas Harley, purchased from William Penn a tract of 5,000 acres of land in Pennsylvania, most of it in Montgomery county, the title to which is dated July 4, 1682. But it is not from him that Abraham Harley descends, as will be seen by the following record: Rudolph Harley and his wife, great-great- grandparents of Abraham Harley, came from Germany to America in 17 19, having had a long and tedious voyage, during which a son, Rudolph, Jr., was born to them July 14, 1719, 982 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the vessel not reaching America until autumn. For a while Mr. and Mrs. Harley made their home in Pennsylvania, where a daughter, whose name is not now remembered, was born. Going to Hunterdon county, N. J., Mr. Harley lived there a few years, and then re- turned to Pennsylvania and bought a large tract of land in Franconia township, Montgomery county, about two miles from the present town of Harleysville. Rudolph Harley, Jr., great-grandfather of Abraham, married Mary Becker, daughter of Peter Becker, of Germantown, who was the first elder of the Brethren church in America. To this union were born thirteen children, viz: Rudolph ; Johanna, born April 21, 1743, and married to Honoly Stauffer ; Lena, who died young ; Maria, born March 12, 1747, was first married to a Mr. Landis, then to Frederick Deal, and was the mother of nine children ; Rudolph, born February 7, 1749, first married Barbara Bach, and next a Miss Bombarger, and was the father of a large family ; Eliza- beth, born September 9, 1750, was married to Christian Dettery, and had a large family ; Jacob was born June 8, 1752, never married, but lived to a good old age ; Heinrich was born July 1, 1754, married Elizabeth Keely, and had a family of fifteen or sixteen children ; Sarah was born June 20, 1756, was married to Elder George Price, of Coventry, Chester coun- ty, father of John Price and grandfather of Isaac Price, both eminent preachers in the Brethren church ; Samuel was born March 6, 1758, mar- ried Catherine Sauer, and had twelve children ; Joseph was born March 14, 1760, married, at the age of fifty years, Catherine Price, daughter of Jacob Reiff and widow of William Price ; Maria Margaretta, was born September 13, 1762, was married to Jacob Detwiler and also had a large family; Abraham, grandfather of our subject, was born June 14, 1765, and mar- ried Christiana Giesby, who was a very amiable and worthy woman and reared a large family of children, of whom three became ministers of the gospel — Abraham, Samuel and Benjamin. Abraham Harley, whose son's name opens this sketch, was a direct descendant of Rudolph Harley, the immigrant, and was born in Mont- gomery county, Pa., in 1790. He received a limited education in German, and attended English schools for about six weeks. Reared a farmer, he also learned the shoemaker's trade, and, beside these two callings, car- ried on milling. He married Miss Catherine Reiff, who was born in Montgomery county. Pa. To them were born seven sons, as fol- lows : Elias, Isaiah, Abraham, John, Lewis, Jacob and Aaron. Mr. Harley lived in Mont- gomery county. Pa., until 18 19, and then re- moved his family, by means of teams and wagons, to Chester county, Pa., where he built a flouring mill. This mill he ran for several years, and in 1S25 removed to Lancaster county, Pa., where he rented a mill in com- pany with his brother. One year later he located within seven miles of Lancaster, Pa., and there rented a large flouring mill, still house and sawmill, which he operated for two years. In 1829 he came to Ohio, settling in Tuscarawas county, where he rented a mill. Remaining there one year he then ran a mill in Stark county, Ohio, which a year or two later burned to the ground. Mr. Harley was again obliged to seek a new location, this time within four miles of Wellsville, near the Ohio river. After carrying on the milling business here for a short time, he came, in the spring of 1832, to Montgomery county, where he again rented a mill, six miles north of Dayton, on the Stillwater, and one year later bought a small piece of land near where Henry Becker now lives. To this small tract he added until he had 143 acres, and lived upon it seven years, when, in the spring of 1840, he removed to McLean county, 111., where his wife died in OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 983 1856, and he married again, in Illinois. He was a man of extremely vigorous constitution, and died in 1880 at the age of ninety years. In his younger days he was a member of the German Baptist church, of which he became a minister, and later was connected with the River Brethren church. He was known every- where as a man of strict integrity, of high christian character, and of great kindness of heart. Physically, he was strong and hardy, with an iron constitution, as is sufficiently indi- cated by the life he led, as narrated above. Abraham Harley, the subject of this sketch, was born March 25, 1818, in Montgomery county, Pa., was reared a farmer and given a good common-school education. With his father's family he came to Ohio about 1829, when he was about ten years old. Until his twenty-third year he remained at home, work- ing with his father, going with him to Illinois in 1840. Returning to Ohio in the fall of 1842 he worked a farm in Randolph township, Mont- gomery county. On March 24, 1842, he married Anna Becker, on the Becker home- stead, she having been born there September 29, 1820, and being a daughter of John and Rebecca (Hart) Becker. For fuller mention of the Becker family the reader is referred to the biography of Henry Becker, to be found elsewhere in these pages. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Harley re- sided in Randolph township four years, and then, removing to Miami county, lived there ten years, when they returned to the old Becker homestead. On the death of Mr. Becker, Mr. Harley purchased the interest of the heirs and now owns the property, consist- ing of 102 acres of good farming land. Be- side this he owns eighteen acres of the farm formerly owned by John Becker, the original pioneer of the Becker family. In i860 Mr. Harley built a fine, three-story brick residence and has made many other substantial improve- ments, adding to the comfort and value of his home. His brothers, John and Lewis, were soldiers in the late Civil war; John died in the hospital at Nashville, Tenn. ; Lewis served three years in an Illinois regiment of infantry, and both were good soldiers. To Mr. and Mrs. Harley there have been born six children, as follows: Jacob, who died when ten months old; Samuel, who died at the age of three years; John W., who died when ten years old; Reuben, Laban and Ernst. Mrs. Harley, who died in 1893, aged seventy- two years, was a woman of many excellent traits of character. Mr. Harley has always been a republican in politics. His character is one of probity, and his life-long habits of indus- try and correct living have won him respect and confidence. -j*ACOB W. HOLDERMAN, of New J Lebanon, Perry township, one of the A J veteran soldiers of the late Civil war, was born in Jefferson township, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, December 19, 1840, and is a son of John and Eliza (Repp) Holderman. Educated in the common schools, he enlisted in company G, Eleventh Ohio volunteer in- fantry, in April, 1861, under the first call of President Lincoln, for 75,000 three months' troops. Having served out his term of enlist- ment he was honorably discharged at Camp Dennison, Ohio. Returning to Montgomery county he re-enlisted in Dayton in October, 1862, in company G, Sixty-ninth Ohio volun- teer infantry, for three years, or during the war, and served until discharged on surgeon's certificate of disability from hospital at Nash- ville, Tenn., August 4, 1863. He was in the battles of Stone River, Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, and several skirmishes, and was at Gal- latin after John Morgan's men. He was twice captured during his term of service and was in Libby prison forty days, when he was ex- changed and rejoined his regiment. He was permanently disabled through sleeping on the ground, and lay in hospital at Nashville, Tenn., from April 28 to August 4, 1863. He has ever since been a sufferer from the effects of his exposures during the war. On December 17, 1S65, Mr. Holderman was married to Sarah J. Terhune, who was born at Peru, Ind., and who died in the fol- lowing October, leaving no children. Mr. Holderman again married in July, 1872, his second wife being Matilda Gorman, the daugh- ter of Patrick Gorman. The children by this marriage are Chauncey and Harry. Mrs. Holderman died October 2, 1877, and Mr. Holderman married for his third wife Rebecca J. Lewis, who was born near New Albany, Ind., and is a daughter of Richard and Re- becca (Fishburn) Lewis. To this marriage there have been born the following children: Louis E., Izette M., Jasper E., Ray, Jesse A., Grace I., and Charles J. After the termination of the war Mr. Hol- derman went to Indiana, and later lived two years in the soldiers' home in Dayton, Ohio. In 1883 he located in New Lebanon, Ohio, where he has been variously engaged. For two years he was marshal of the piace, and is now in the hack business in New Lebanon. Notwithstanding his disability Mr. Holderman has been persistently industrious. Politically he has always been a republican, and he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Al Mason post, No. 598, of Miamisburg, Ohio. He was a good soldier, active and efficient, in the performance of every duty until disabled, and until that time was in all the battles, marches and campaigns in which his regiment was engaged. John G. Holderman, father of Jacob W. , was born in Jefferson township, where the soldiers' home now stands. He is a son of Jacob Holderman and his wife, Sarah J. (Caylor) Holderman. Jacob Holderman was a farmer and also ran a still, as. was the case with many of the early settlers. For thirteen years he was superintendent of the Montgom- ery county infirmary, and died at the age of sixty-four. His children were as follows: Henry, John C. , Jacob, David, Joseph, Daniel, Christopher, George, Absalom, Melinda, Mary A. and Julia A. Jacob Holderman was born near Lancaster, Pa., and came of Dutch an- cestors. His great grandfather came from Germany and lived to be 100 years and three 990 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD months old. John C. Holderman was born December 16, 1819, and reared the following children: Jacob W., Daniel R., Elizabeth, Philip J., Amanda, Julia A., Ella, Maggie and Nettie, all of whom are now living. Mr. Hol- derman served his country during the late Civil war in the Sixty-ninth regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, as wagon master. After the war he returned to his farm in Jefferson township, upon which he lived until his death in 1884. Politically he was always a repub- lican, and as a citizen was of sterling charac- ter and excellent social and business qualities. The Holderman family is one of the best in the county, patriotic and honorable and highly esteemed. Daniel R. Holderman, brother of Jacob W., also served his country in the war as a member of the Sixty-ninth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, being in the service four years. Five of his uncles were soldiers in the late war, viz: John C. , Jacob, David, Joseph and Daniel, thus making seven of the family who fought for the preservation of the Union. @EORGE W. HOUS, M. D., the leading physician and surgeon of Randolph township, Montgomery county, Ohio, is a native of this county and of German origin. George Hous, grandfather of the doctor, came from Virginia, was a pioneer of Preble county, Ohio, there cleared up a farm from the wilderness, and reared a large family of children, of whom the names of the following are remembered: Adam, Simeon, John, Polly, Permelia, Sallie, Ella and Andrew. He lived to be eighty-four years of age and died in the faith of the Lutheran church. Andrew Hous, son of George and the father of Dr. Hous, was born in Preble county, November 29, 1820, came to Montgomery county when a young man, and here married Mary Reichard, a native of this county and daughter of Joseph and Mary Reichard. Jo- seph was a native of Lancaster county, Pa., of German descent, and a pioneer of Perry town- ship, Montgomery county. He had been a soldier in the war of 1812, and, after coming to Perry township, cleared a large farm, and for eighteen years served as a township trustee. He reared a family of four children — Elizabeth, William, Joseph and Mary, and died at the ad- vanced age of eighty-nine years, a member of the Lutheran church. Andrew Hous and wife located in Perry township on a farm of 110 acres, all, with the exception of thirteen acres, being in the forest. Mr. Hous cleared and improved the entire tract, building a substantial residence; and here he passed the remainder of the active years of his life until his retirement to Brook- ville, where his death took place May 25, 1895, at the age of seventy-five years. In re- ligion he was a New School Lutheran, and in politics a democrat. His widow is still living in Brookville and has reached the age of sev- enty-three years, and their children, living, are as follows: Joseph, Elizabeth, George W. and Sarah M. Dr. George W. Hous was born July 5, 1849, in his father's original log cabin on the farm in Perry township, and received his early education in the district school at Pyrmont; this was supplemented by attending the school at Brookville and the normal school at Leb- anon; he then entered the Medical college of Ohio at Cincinnati, where he received his di- ploma in 1877. He also studied medicine un- der Dr. Levi Spitler, of Dayton, and began practice at Pyrmont in the same year, 1877; and in October, 1878, removed to Salem, where he has since remained, enjoying a lucra- tive practice. In 1883 Dr. Hous attended the Polyclinic institute in New York city and the Long Island Hospital college at Brooklyn, N.Y., OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 991 thus adding mat eriallyto his medical knowledge and skill. He is a member of the Montgom- ery county Medical society, the Ohio state Medical association, and the American Med- ical association, and is a patron and reader of the best medical journals of the day, his library being filled with the most approved works on medicine and surgery extant, and all the time that can be spared from his practice, which now embraces a large territory in and around Salem, is devoted to the study of the latest methods and advances in medicine. Dr. Hous was married at Salem October 2 1 , 1884, to Miss Nannie Irene Carl, who was born in Greenville, December 29, 1858, the only child of Jacob and Amanda J. (Schaeffen Carl. Her father, Jacob Carl, a miller, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., came to Montgomery county, Ohio, when a young man, and married Amanda J. Schaeffer, a native and resident of Germantown, born July 4, 1837, a daughter of David and Susannah (Ketro) Schaeffer. David Schaeffer, a farmer, was born in Adams county, Pa. , and for sometime after coming to German- town, Ohio, followed the trade of carpenter. His children were named Arthur A. M., Rebec- ca, Wilkerson, Mary A., Amanda J., Matilda, Charles and David. The father of these chil- dren died in Salem at an advanced age, a member of the United Brethren church. Jacob Carl followed milling for a number of years in Germantown, and then bought a farm in But- ler township, where he passed the remainder of his life, dying at the early age of forty years. To the marriage of Dr. and Mrs. Hous have been born four children — Nellie C, Everett B. , Mary A., who died at the age of three years, and Lincoln Rome. The parents are members of the United Brethren church ; in politics the doctor is a republican, and has served as treasurer of Randolph township. Fraternally, he is a member of Randolph lodge, No. 98, I. O. O. F. 41 ^"^EORGE W. HUBLER, of Miamis- ■ G\ burg, Ohio, traveling salesman and \^J collector for the McCormick Harvest- ing Machine company, of Chicago, was born in Jefferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, February 22, 1848, a son of George W. and Salome (Lesher) Hubler, and grandson of Michael and Margaret (Gebhart) Hubler, natives of Pennsylvania and pioneers of Miami township. Michael Hubler was a native of Berks county, Pa., a son of Michael Hubler, and settled in Miami township, Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, about 1808, where he engaged in farming, and lived to be over ninety-two years of age. His wife was a daughter of Michael and Margaret Gebhart, natives of Pennsyl- vania, who settled in Miami township in 1806, cleared and improved the farm now owned and occupied by A. J. Hubler and died there. She bore him six children — Elizabeth (Mrs. John Wrights), George W. , Andrew J., Margaret, Perry and Louisa (Mrs. Samuel Bechtolt). George W. Hubler, father of subject, was born in Miami township in 18 10; after attain- ing his majority, he engaged in farming in Jefferson township until i860, when he re- moved to Miamisburg and conducted a cloth- ing and tailoring establishment up to 1870, when he retired from business on account of ill health. During the late Civil war he served 100 days as a member of company D, One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio volunteer in- fantry, received an honorable discharge at the expiration of service, and died in 1872. His wife was a daughter of Jacob Lesher; a pio- neer of Miami township. She bore him three children — Christiana (Mrs. John Weaver), George W. and John H. George W. Hubler, the subject, was reared in Montgomery county, educated in the public schools, and began life for himself as a tele- graph operator, which calling he followed for ' »'.'!' CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD two years — 1 868-69. He then served an ap- prenticeship of four years at the carpenter's trade, and in 1873 went west, and was em- ployed as engineer on the Atchison, Topeka cS; Santa Fe, and Denver cS: Rio Grande railroads until 1879, when he returned to Miamisburg, and entered the machinery department of the Hoover & Gamble works, where he remained until 1888 — a part of the time being on the road as traveling agent. In 1889 he was traveling salesman for the Champion Reaper & Mower company of Springfield, Ohio, and in June, 1890, entered into a contract with the McCormick company of Chicago, with whom he has since been engaged as salesman and collector. Mr. Hubler was married November 12, 1867, to Sally, daughter of David and Mar- garet (Neiblei Hetzel, of Miami township, and has two sons — Herbert H. and Robert L. He is a royal arch Mason, a member of the I. O. O. F. encampment, canton Groby, and a K. of P. ; in politics he is a republican, and in his business relations is energetic, pains- taking and faithful to every duty entrusted to his care. SENRY C. HUNT, one of the best known citizens and business men of Miamisburg, Montgomery county, was born in Wayne township, Butler county, Ohio, August 30, 1827, a son of Ed- ward and Rachael (Sheafor) Hunt. Edward Hunt was a native of New Jersey and a son of Edward and Susannah (Pearson) Hunt, of English descent. He settled in Wayne township, Butler county, Ohio, in 1818, and, being a tanner by trade, engaged in tanning, shoemaking and farming, and car- ried on a successful business until his death, in 1835. His wife was a daughter of Peter Sheafor, also a native of New Jersey, of German descent, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and who, after living a few years in Kentucky, settled in Lemon town- ship, Butler county, Ohio, in 1803, where he cleared up and improved a farm, on which he passed the remainder of his life. Henry C. Hunt received a very good edu- cation in the common and select schools of his native township, and began his business life as a clerk in a dry-goods store in Hamil- ton, Ohio, in 1845, in which position he re- mained two years. He then, in 1847, em - barked in the dry-goods trade on his own account in Miltonville, Butler county, in which he continued eight years, after which he farmed in Madison township until 1862. He then removed to Seven Mile, Butler county, and engaged in the grain business until 1868, when he came to Miamisburg and engaged in the manufacture of carriage wheels as a mem- ber of the firm of Bookwalter Bros. & Co., with whom he was associated as secretary and treasurer until the concern was merged into the American Wheel company in 1890. Since that time, Mr. Hunt has done no more active work than properly guarding the in- vestment of his capital. He has been presi- dent of the Miamisburg Building cS: Loan as- sociation since its organization in April, 1893, has been a stockholder in the First National bank, and is also interested in the Western Linoleum company, manufacturers of oil- cloth, etc., at Akron, Ohio. The marriage of Mr. Hunt was solemnized June 3, 1856, with Miss Catherine K. Kumler, daughter of Jacob and Hannah (Flickinger) Kumler, of Butler county, and residents of Ohio, since 1819. Mrs. Hunt is a niece of Bishop D. K. Flickinger, of the United Breth- ren church, and a granddaughter of Bishop Henry Kumler, of the same organization, The latter came from Lancaster county. Pa. , and settled in Butler countv, Ohio, in 18 19. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 993 To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hunt have been born four children, viz: Charles E., H. Jennie (deceased), Rachel L. (Mrs. W. D. Hoover), and William F. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt have long been consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, Mr. Hunt also having been superintendent of the Sab- bath-school for seven years. He is a master Mason, in politics is a republican, and for nine years was a member of the school board. He is one of Miamisburg's most public-spirited citizens and has done much to increase the city's prosperity by the erection of business houses and other structures when needed, and has never failed to aid in promoting enter- prises designed for the good of the general public. No man in the community stands higher in its esteem than does Henry C. Hunt. /~"N* AMUEL JUDY, a retired farmer, now *y^KT residing in Germantown, Ohio, was hs^_y born on the old Judy homestead, in German township, Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, June 28, 1821, and is a son of Jacob and Catherine (Hitzler) Judy. Christian Judy, his grandfather, was a son of Swiss parents, who came to America about 1760 and settled in Lancaster county, Pa. He married, in that state, a Miss Cooper, who bore to him six children, named John, Jacob, Elizabeth (Mrs. John Keller), Catherine (Mrs. Samuel Hitzler), Mary (Mrs. John Smith), still living in Montgomery county, Ohio, and Michael. From Dauphin county, Pa., Chris- tian Judy brought his family to Ohio in 1805, and settled in German township, Montgomery county, on the farm now occupied by his grand- son, Jacob, a brother of Samuel Judy. While clearing and improving this land he at times also worked at shoemaking, perhaps for a number of years, his sons in the meanwhile doing the work. On this farm the old pioneer died in 1850, at the ripe old age of seventy- two years. Jacob Judy, the father of Samuel, was born in Pennsylvania and came to Ohio with his father; he was reared on the original Judy farm in German township, which he assisted in clearing in his early manhood. He married Miss Catherine Hitzler, daughter of George and Catherine (Ream) Hitzler, pioneers of German township. This union was blessed with seven children, born in the following order: John, Mary (Mrs. John Foutz), Sam- uel, Catherine (Mrs. Dr. James Comstock), Susan (Mrs. William Kemp), Jacob (now oc- cupying the old farm), and Elizabeth (Mrs. Dr. Daniel Eckert). After a long and useful life, the father of this family, Jacob Judy, died on the homestead in German township at the ad- vanced age of eighty-three years. Samuel Judy was reared to farming and received the common-school education usually given the children of our pioneer farmers, his school attendance being limited to two months in the year. On attaining his majority, Mr. Judy, in 1842, sold his interest in his patri- mony and removed to Preble county, Ohio, where he purchased a farm of 500 acres, of which he still owns 324 acres, and there he remained until November, 1886, when he re- turned to his native township, where he has since lived in contented retirement. Samuel Judy was united in marriage Octo- ber 28, 1 84 1, with Mary M. Ream, daughter of Martin and Catherine iWisler) Ream, who were among the earlier settlers of German township. Of the nine children born to Sam- uel Judy and wife, seven reached maturity, viz: Jacob, who died of wounds received at the battle of Arkansas Post, in the late Civil war; Martin, who was the second born; Cath- erine, now the wife of George W. Hanger; Abraham, who resides in Butler county, Ohio; Mary, who is the wife of Henry H. Flickenger; 994 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Charlie, who lives in Kansas; Lettie, now Mrs. George I. Coleman, of Butler county. Mrs. Mary M. Judy, a most estimable woman, was called away by death, and Mr. Judy married Mrs. Elizabeth (Francis) Williams, daughter of Samuel and Eda (Ford) Francis, of German township, but formerly of Lancaster county, Pa. George Francis, the paternal grandfather of the present Mrs. Judy, was a gallant soldier in the war of the Revolution, and was one of the foremost pioneers of Butler county, Ohio, deriving his warrant for his land from the United States government as a reward for his faithful services throughout the war for Amer- ican independence. To the second marriage of Mr. Judy no children have been born. Mr. and Mrs. Judy are members of the United Brethren church, and in politics Mr. Judy is a republican. ^t^ACOB KAUFFMAN, manufacturer of M carriages, Miamisburg, Ohio, was born m J in Annville township, Lebanon county, Pa., October 24, 1830. He is a son of Jacob and Sarah ( Schirk ) Kauffman, and of Swiss descent. His paternal grandfather, Abra- ham Kauffman, was a son of Abraham Kauff- man. and he a son of Frederick Kauffman, who was born in Switzerland in if 09, and in 1734 immigrated to America, settling in Annville township, Lebanon county, Pa. He was a Mennonite bishop, and died in 1789, aged eighty years. From this original Kauffman the father of the subject indirectly received the original Kauffman homestead in Lebanon county, Pa. Upon this old homestead stands the Kauffman meeting house, which was orig- inally a church of the Mennonite denomination, but which has later been re-built and is now known as the Kauffman meeting house, and owned by the United Brethren church. This farm remained in possession of the Kauffman family until 1839, and even now goes by the name of the Kauffman farm, as the church does by that of the Kauffman meeting house. It stands five miles west of Lebanon and one and a half miles north of Annville. Jacob Kauffman, whose name opens this sketch, was reared in his native county, re- ceived a common-school education, and in 1846 was apprenticed to the carriagemaker's trade, serving four years. For two years afterward he worked at his trade as a journeyman, and in 1853 embarked in business for himself at Jonestown, Lebanon county. Pa., where he remained in business until April 4, 1865. He then went to Meadville, Pa., where he worked as a journeyman for some time, and in 1867 started a carriage factory at Troy, Ohio, which he operated until January I, 1869. Coming to Miamisburg, he founded the Kauffman & Co. Carriage works, which in 1880 became Kauffman & Sons ; and in 1883 the name was changed to the Kauffman Buggy company, under which style it is now operated. In the manufacture of first-class carriages, the firm is known from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean as one whose work is always up to the high- est standard. Mr. Kauffman was married in November, 1 85 1, to Marian Leasher, daughter of Ben- jamin and Elizabeth ( Selzer ) Leasher, of Jonestown, Pa. To this marriage there have been born six children, as follows : Thomas J., William J., Harry L., Ann E. (Mrs. H. L Kincaid), James A. and Richard B. Mr. Kauffman and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Fraternally, Mr. Kauffman is a member of the A. O. U. W. and of the Knights of Honor, and politically he is a sound republican. In nearly thirty years of residence in Miamisburg, he has achieved a fine reputation as a business man and has taken a prominent place as one of the most useful and excellent citizens of that community. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 995 • HOMAS JOSEPH KAUFFMAN, one of the best known young business men and popular citizens of Miamis- burg, Ohio, was born in Annville, Lebanon county, Pa., January 13, 1853, a son of Jacob and Marian (Leasher) Kauffman, of the fifth generation from Frederick Kauffman, the founder of the family in America. Frederick Kauffman was born in Switzer- land in 1709, came to America in 1734, and settled at Annville, Pa., where he erected what is still known as the Kauffman Mennonite church, of which denomination he was a bishop. His son, Abraham, became the father of a son, also named Abraham, who also had a son named Abraham, whose son, Jacob, is the father of our subject. All these descend- ants of the original immigrant were tillers of the soil with the exception of Jacob, who was early apprenticed to carriagemaking and is now the president of the Kauffman Buggy company of Miamisburg, Ohio. ' Benjamin Leasher, the maternal grand- father of Thomas J. Kauffman, was a citizen of Lebanon county. Pa., a major in the United States volunteer service in the war of 181 2, and after the close of that war served as major in the Eleventh battalion, Pennsylvania militia, for many years. Thomas Joseph Kauffman was reared and educated in the Keystone state until 1867, when he came to Ohio with his parents, who settled in Miamisburg. Here young Kauffman at once began to learn the trade of carriagemaking with his father, and was fully instructed in every detail of the business. Upon complet- ing his apprenticeship he became a member of the firm of Kauffman & Son, and upon the in- corporation of the Kauffman Buggy company, in 1883, he was made its secretary, which po- sition he filled with marked ability until 1885, when he became general traveling agent. In this capacity he developed a very large wholesale demand for the company's productions, which now have not only a national, but an inter- national, reputation fot their excellence and have been awarded numerous medals and di- plomas for their superiority by all the leading expositions throughout this and other countries. Mr. Kauffman was most happily married, June 20, 1876, to Miss Cora Allen, daughter of Firman and Louisa (Piatt) Allen, of Miamis- burg, three children being the result of the union, .viz: Allen, Cora and Thomas J., Jr. The family worship at the Methodist Episco- pal church, and in politics Mr. Kauffman is a republican, under the auspices of which party he is now serving his fourth term as treasurer of Miamisburg. Fraternally, he is a member of the A. F. & A. M., Jr. O. U. A. M., and K. of P.; he is also colonel of the Fourth regi- ment, uniform rank, K. of P., and in this position, as well as in all others that he has held, has won the well-merited approbation of his associates. BELIX KERSTING, a prominent and successful merchant tailor of Miamis- burg and a leading citizen of the place, was born in Wunnenberg, Germany, June 7, 1850. He is a son of Anthony and Mary C. (Doeren) Kersting. In his native country he received a good education in the common schools, and when thirteen years of age was apprenticed to the tailor's trade, serv- ing an apprenticeship of three years. After- ward he worked as a journeyman for three years, and in 1869, when he was nineteen years of age, he emigrated to the United States. Upon arriving in this country he located in Quincy, 111., and there worked at his trade for three years, removing to Cincin- nati in 1872. In Cincinnati he remained nine years in the leading tailoring establishment in the city, and during this period he perfected 996 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD himself in the art of cutting. In January, 1 88 1, he removed to Miamisburg and em- barked in the merchant tailoring business on his own account. After two years he formed a partnership with Henry Heitmann, and the business was then carried on for eight years under the firm name of Heitmann & Kersting. This partnership was dissolved in 1891, and since then Mr. Kersting has been conducting the business alone. In 1895 he erected the fine brick building on Main street which he now occupies as a store and residence. Soon after locating in Miamisburg, Mr. Kersting established a reputation for excellent work- manship, and, being gifted with good taste and judgment and thoroughly skilled in his vocation, he has steadily increased the large trade that he early secured, and now has a flourishing business. Mr. Kersting was married, February 15, 1 88 1, to Emma Glaser, daughter of Xavier and Caroline (Kessler) Glaser, of Miamisburg. To this marriage there have been born five children, who are still living, as follows: David, Albin, Clara, Marie, and Raymond. Mr. and Mrs. Kersting have also an adopted daughter, Katie. Mr. Kersting is an adherent of the Catholic faith, and takes great interest in the work of his church. He is also a member of the Catholic Knights of Ohio, maintaining an excellent standing in the order, and, in poli- tics, is a democrat, though he has never been a seeker after office. ta 'ILLIAM J. KAUFFMAN, of Mont- gomery county, president and super- intendent of the Enterprise Carriage Manufacturing company, Miamis- burg, was born in Jonestown, Lebanon county, Pa., January 4, 1855. He is a son of Jacob and Marian (Leasher) Kauffman, who were of -s descent, and who came to Miamisburg in 1869. For his fuller genealogy, reference is made to the biographies of Jacob and T. J. Kauffman, elsewhere in this volume. William J. Kauffman was educated in the public schools of Meadville, Pa., of Troy and of Miamisburg, Ohio. At the age of sixteen he began an apprenticeship at the carriage- maker's trade, in his father's shop in Miamis- burg, serving four years. The year 1873 he spent in Cincinnati, in the employ of Crane, Breed & Co., hearse and burial case manufac- turers, and during the summer of 1875 he was employed in the carriage works of J. Alewine & Sons, of Philadelphia, Pa. In the fall of the same year he was appointed foreman of the blacksmith department in the shops of Kauffman & Co., at Miamisburg, which firm was afterward changed to Kauffman & Sons. Of this concern he was a member, and served in the capacity last mentioned, until 1890, when he became identified with the Enterprise Carriage company, whose extensive plant in Miamisburg was planned by Mr. Kauffman and was built entirely under his supervision. He has been vice-president and superintendent of the company ever since it began operations in 1890, and he has ever since furnished all the designs for the vehicles manufactured by the company. Mr. Kauffman's skill as a designer amounts well nigh to genius, and guided by his long experience and thorough knowledge of all departments of the business, he is indis- pensable to its success. The reputation of the company for artistic vehicles, brought to it by Mr. Kauffman, is second to that of no other establisnment of the kind in the United States, or perhaps in the world Mr. Kauffman is the inventor of several patented devices and appliances to vehicles manufactured by the company, and which are used exclusively by them, among which may be mentioned a pat- ent step, a fender attachment, spring brackets, and others of equal value. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 997 Mr. Kauffman was married in October, 1877, to Fannie L., daughter of Dr. Joseph and Fannie (Swar) Weaver, of Miamisburg, and to this marriage there have been born three children: Mary, Fannie and William. Mr. Kauffman is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and in politics is a republican, as such serving two years as councilman of Miam- isburg, with credit to himself and to the gen- eral satisfaction of the people of the place. aHARLES EDWARD KINDER, post- master of Miamisburg, Ohio, and edi- tor and proprietor of the Miamisburg News, was born in this place October 30, 1859. His parents, John E. and Elizabeth (Clark) Kinder, were natives respectively of Franklin and Miamisburg, Ohio, and his pa- ternal grandfather, George Kinder, was born in Fayette county, Pa. George Kinder came to Ohio, settling in Franklin with his parents, in 1802. Here in after years he was a promi- nent contractor, building six miles of the Miami canal, also a portion of the Cincinnati & Day- ton turnpike, and for many years ran a line of boats on the Miami canal. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Schnorf, was born near Lebanon, Ohio, in 1802. John E. Kinder, father of Charles E., was reared in Franklin, where he learned the trade of harnessmaker, and was postmaster of that village for several years. About 1857 he re- moved to Miamisburg, where he was for some years engaged in milling. During the late Civil war he was a member of company E, One Hun- dred and Thirty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and was honorably discharged at the expiration of his term of service. His wife, Elizabeth Clark, was born in Miamisburg, Ohio, in 1832, and was a daughter of Nelson and Sarah (Tap- scott) Clark, who settled in Miamisburg in 1825. Nelson Clark was a gun manufacturer of note, a natural botanist, a practical chemist, an inventor and musician, and died in 1859. Joseph Tapscott, father of Sarah Tapscott, came from New Jersey, and was the founder of what is known as the " Jersey settlement." His wife, Anna Schenck, was also of a promi- nent New Jersey family. John E. Kinder reared a family of five children, as follows: Anna E., Charles E., Mary E., Sallie, wife of Herman F. Cellarius, and Bertha E. Charles E. Kinder was educated in Miamis- burg, graduating from the high school in 1874. After his graduation he spent five years in the printing office of his uncle, George D. Kinder, at Ottawa, Ohio. In 1880 he started the Mi- amisburg News, and of this paper he has ever since been the editor and publisher. In 1885. he was elected mayor of Miamisburg, an office which he resigned in 1886 in order to become postmaster of that town, retaining his latter position until 1889. In February, 1892, he was again elected mayor of Miamisburg, and in 1894 again resigned to become postmaster of the place. This office he still holds, and is giving satisfaction to the people in his adminis- tration of its duties. Fraternally, Mr. Kinder is a royal arch Mason, and a Knight of Pyth- ias, and in politics is a democrat. He is one of the best citizens of the community in which he lives, and that he possesses the confidence of all is sufficiently evident from the trusts he has held by election and by appointment. BRANKLIN KLEPINGER, a farmer of Randolph township, Montgomery county, Ohio, and a grandson of one of the original pioneers, sprang from Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. His grandfather, John Klepinger, was born in Pennsylvania, January 31, 1774, and on December 31, 1799, married Elizabeth Benkard, who was born September 27, 1778. John and Elizabeth 998 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Klepinger were the parents of the following children : George, born October 19, 1800 ; John, born May 26, 1802 ; Jacob, born April ■9, 1804; Henry, born June 8, 1806; Anna Maria, born May 23, 1808 ; Isaac, born July iio. 1S10; William, born October 13, 1812; Sarah, born October 28, 1814; David, born May 14, 1 8 1 7 ; and Samuel, born August I, 3819. John Klepinger and his wife moved to Montgomery county, Ohio, about 1807, settling in Madison township. Later they removed to Indiana, locating near La Fayette, on the Tippecanoe battle ground. He and his wife were members of the German Baptist church and brought up their large family to be good and respected members of society. Mr. Klep- inger died October 20, 1830, at the age of fifty-six years, eight months and twenty days. John Klepinger, father of Franklin, was about five years old when he came to Ohio with his parents. He was reared a farmer boy, brought up to all kinds of pioneer experi- ences, and on April 22, 1830, married Eliza- beth Boyer, who was born near Harper's Ferry, Md., July 20, 1808. Her father, Samuel Boyer, came to Ohio, settling at an early day in Randolph township, Montgomery county, and was a successful farmer and honored pio- neer citizen. John Klepinger and his wife, Elizabeth, were the parents of the following children: Amos, born January 15, 183 1; Frank- lin, born August 23, 1832 ; Newton, born Feb- ruary 20, 1834; Matilda, born October 14, 1835 ; Harriet Ann, born April 27, 1837 ; Samuel, born June 7, 1839 ; Harvey, born February 22, 1842 ; John, born September 5, 1846; and Oliver, born November 29, 1854. Mr. and Mrs. Klepinger, after their marriage, settled in Randolph township, about one mile south of the farm upon which their son Frank- lin now lives. John Klepinger purchased a farm of 161 acres, upon which he lived for many years. He greatly improved this farm in many ways, but especially by the erection of good buildings, including a substantial brick house. He was a man well known to all for many miles around as a straightforward and honorable citizen. He was a carpenter by trade and erected many houses in the county in which he lived. Politically, he was a re- publican, and he and his wife were members of the German Baptist church. Two of his sons, Harvey and Samuel, were soldiers in the late Civil war. Samuel served three years in the Sixty-third Ohio volunteer infantry and participated in many battles. Harvey was in the three months' service. Mr. Klepinger was a thoroughly practical farmer and a prosperous man, and enjoyed the high regard of the entire community. Franklin Klepinger was born August 23, 1832, as above stated, on his father's home- stead. Like most of the farmers' boys of that day, he received only the limited education of the district school, and began very early to learn the sterner lessons of an active farm life. He put in many a day mowing grass with the old fashioned scythe and in cradling grain with the old fashioned cradle. Beside farming he learned the carpenter's trade, and was unusu- ally skillful in the use of all kinds of tools. On May 5, 1861, he was married to Miss Anne Hisey, daughter of Martin and Elizabeth (Engle) Hisey. To this marriage there were born three children, as follows: Martha, who died at the age of ten years; David, who died at the age of twenty-one years, and William, who died at the age of three months. Mrs. Klepinger died May 5, 1866, and on February 4, 1868, Mr. Klepinger married Mrs. Annie D. Syler, a widow who was born November 29, 1836, in Miami county, and is a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Long) Dohner. John Dohner, father of Mrs. Klepinger, was a son of Joseph Dohner, who came from Germany, settling in Lebanon county, Pa. His children OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 999 were as follows: Christ, Moses, Jacob and John. The father of these children was a sub- stantial farmer in Pennsylvania, in which state he died, a member of the Mission church. John Dohner, the father of Mrs. Klepinger, was born November 5, 1794, in Pennsylvania, and was, on March 5, 1S16, married to Eliza- beth Long, in Lebanon county, Pa. They were the parents of the following children: Susannah, born December 16, 1816; Joseph, born March 25, 1818; John, born December 18, 1 819; Christian, born December 24, 1821; Moses, born November 22, 1823; Elizabeth, born February 10, 1826; Nancy, born March 22, 1828; Frances, born November 22, 1829; Lydia, born June 14, 1833; Jacob, born Feb- ruary 10, 1835, and Annie D., born November 29, 1836. John Dohner came to Ohio, locat- ing in Miami county, in May, 1835, settling on 160 acres of land, which he cleared of its tim- ber, and added thereto another 160 acres. This land he distributed among his boys, giving his daughters money instead of land. In religious belief he was a member of the church of the River Brethren, a good and upright man, a minister in the church for many years, and he brought up his children in the way that they should go. His character was beyond reproach, and when he died at the age of sixty- three years he was mourned by the entire community. Annie D. Dohner was first married Septem- ber 6, 1857, to John G. Syler, a farmer of Miami county. Her children by this marriage were as follows: Frances, who died at the age of fourteen years; Emma, who died when ten months old; and Harvey, who died at the age of three years. Mr. Syler died May 7, 1866, a member of the "New Light," or Dis- ciple church. Mr. and Mrs. Klepinger have had the fol- lowing children: Harriet Ellen, born October 30, 1868, and died June 9, 1869; Ida Jane, born March 25, 1870, and died March 9, 1894, a married woman; Aaron Webster, born July 23, 1872; John Allen, born December 9, 1874; and Warren Perry, born September 17, 1877. Mr. Klepinger is a member of the German Baptist church and Mrs. Klepinger a member of the church of the River Brethren. Politically Mr. Klepinger is a republican, but is not an office seeker in any sense of the term. Beside his home farm of iooacres in Randolph township, he owns a farm of 197 acres in Clay township, upon which there are a good brick house and other valuable improvements. He is well known for his honesty and straight- forward character, and is held in much esteem as a neighbor and a citizen. Aided by his faithful wife, he has reared an excellent family of children, bringing them up to ways of in- dustry and right living. >Y*OHN B. KOEPPEL, a well-known ■ business man of Germantown, Ohio, (9 J was born in Baden-Baden, Germany, June 25, 1838, a son of John B. and Elizabeth (Kutz) Koeppel. His father was an agriculturist, and our subject was reared on a farm until fourteen years of age, receiving a common-school education. At the age men- tioned he was apprenticed to the baker's trade, served one and a half years, and afterward worked as a journeyman in the principal cities of Baden until i860, when he sailed for the United States. He located at Cincinnati, Ohio, and there, and in that vicinity, worked as journeyman until 1863, when he entered the employ of the government as a baker. He worked at Camp Dennison, at Cumberland Gap, Tenn., Stevenson, and Huntsville, Ala., and continued in the government service until Lee's surrender at Appomattox, in 1865. He then returned to Cincinnati, remained there until July 15, 1866, when he located at Ger- IHOtl CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD mantown, where he embarked in business for himself, in which he has met with marked suc- cess. In 1880 Mr. Koeppel erected a tine double brick business block, which was de- stroyed by fire in 1886, but was rebuilt by him at once. He occupies both stores in his busi- ness, one as a bakery, grocery and confection- ery, and the other as a cafe and billiard parlor. In May, 1864, Mr. Koeppel was married to Anna M. Coyne, of Ireland, and has six chil- dren living — Elizabeth (Mrs. James B. Kelly), Robert, Joseph, Oliver T., Ada, and John B., Jr. Mr. Koeppel and his wife are members of the Catholic church, and in politics he is a democrat. His life has been characterized by persistent industry, with shrewdness and sound judgment, and his present prosperity is the re- sult of his own unaided exertions. He is a public-spirited citizen and always ready to as- sist any enterprise calculated to benefit the city of his adoption. «-w-» EONARD S. KRAUSS, M. D., the C well-known young physician and sur- I J geon of West Carrollton, Montgom- ery county, Ohio, was born in Cecil county, Md., February 5, 1852, and is a son of John H. and Margaret Abigail (Harlan) Krauss, who were respectively of German and Irish descent. Leonard Krauss, paternal great-grandfa- ther of the doctor, was a soldier in the Revo- lutionary war and captain of a company in the war of 1 8 1 2 . For several years he was a resi- dent of Lancaster county, Pa. , whence he moved to Cecil county, Md., where he was en- gaged in the mercantile business, and where he died in the ninety-ninth year of his age. The paternal grandfather of Dr. Krauss, who was also named Leonard, was a native of Ce- cil county, Md., and the maternal grandfather, Solomon Harlan, was born in Chester county, Pennsjlvania. Leonard S. Krauss, whose name opens this biography, was educated academically at Mount Pleasant academy and at the Friends' Normal institute, both in Cecil county, Md. In 1873 he began the study of medicine, and in 1877 was graduated from Washington uni- versity, Baltimore, Md. ; in the latter year, also, he began the practice of medicine in his native county, and for three years met with a flattering success. In 1880 he came to Ohio and located in Germantown, Montgomery county, where he was associated for two years with Dr. V. B. Stevens in the practice of den- tistry. In 1883 he removed to West Carroll- ton, where he has since resided, engaged in the active and successful practice of medicine. In 1895 he took an ad eundem course and was awarded the degree of doctor of medicine by the Ohio Medical university at Columbus. The marriage of Dr. Krauss took place in July, 1882, with Miss Irene A., daughter of Henry and Elizabeth 1 Banker) Kercher, of Germantown, Ohio. The father of Mrs. Krauss was a cooper by trade, was a resident of Germantown for many years, and there died in 1862; the maternal grandparents of Mrs. Krauss, Solomon and Mary Ann (Coon) Banker, were natives of Maryland and Ken- tucky respectively, and were pioneers of But- ler county, Ohio. To Dr. Krauss and wife have been born four children, in the following order: Harlan, Henry, Leonard and Louella. The doctor is a member of the Presbyterian church, and fraternally is a member of the K. of P., I. O. O. F. and the A. O. U. W. ; he is also a member of the Montgomery county Medical society and of the Ohio state Medical association. In politics he is a democrat. He and his family stand very high socially, and as a physician he stands in the front rank of the profession in Montgomery county. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1001 aHARLES S. KURTZ, blacksmith, of Sunbury, German township, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, was born in this village May 16, 1863, and is a son of Lemuel S. and Catherine (Grimes) Kurtz, both natives of the same township. Peter Kurtz, his paternal grandfather, was a native of Maryland, but was a pioneer cooper of Sunbury, Ohio, and here carried on his trade for many years prior to his death. To him and his wife, Sarah (Keister) Kurtz, there were born three children, named respectively, in order of birth, Lemuel S. ; Barbara, who was married to William Boore, and David. Lemuel S. Kurtz, father of Charles S. Kurtz, was born in Sunbury about the year 1840, was here reared to manhood and here learned the coopering trade under his father. His wife, Catherine (Grimes) Kurtz, is a daughter of Cornelius and Sarah (Gunckel) Grimes, well-known and respected people of German township. To Lemuel S. and Cath- erine Kurtz have been born three children: Charles S., Leroy and Sarah — the last named being now deceased. Charles S. Kurtz was educated in the com- mon schools of Sunbury, and here served an apprenticeship of three years at the trade of blacksmithing with the Swartzle Bros., and after having served his apprenticeship was, for three years, in business with that firm. Being thoroughly a master of his trade, Mr. Kurtz, in 1888, established a shop of his own in his native village, and soon secured a patronage that justified him in employing two assistants. He has enjoyed a constantly increasing busi- ness ever since its inception. Mr. Kurtz was married, in 1887, to Ida Emrick, daughter of Daniel and Josephine (Long) Emrick, of well-known families of Sun- bury. Mr. and Mrs. Kurtz are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Fraternally, Mr. Kurtz is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Knights of Pythias; in politics he is a demo- crat, but has never sought public office. He is respected as mechanic, man and citizen, and is well deserving of the esteem in which he is universally held. v/^~) ENJAMIN KRUG, a well-known \(*^l farmer of Montgomery county, and JK^J the head of a respected family, sprang from sturdy Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. His grandfather was Frederick Krug, who came from Germany to America shortly after the war of the Revolution, being at that time about nineteen years of age and single. Marrying in Pennsylvania, he settled on a farm in Lancas- ter count}', where were born the following chil- dren: Henry, Daniel, Samuel, Frederick, John, Elizabeth, Mary and Barbara. In ad- dition to cultivating his farm, Mr. Krug was a tailor and followed that trade. He lived all his remaining days in Lancaster county, Pa., his farm being about nine miles south of the present city of Lancaster. He was a member of the Mennonite church, a man of good char- acter and correct and useful life. Henry Krug, father of Benjamin, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., married in that county, and had four children by his first wife, two of whom died young, those surviving be- ing Susan and Elizabeth. The mother of these children having died, Mr. Krug married Miss Elizabeth Huber. By this marriage he had the following children: John, Benjamin, Mary, Frances, and Esther. Mr. Krug was a member of the Mennonite church, an honest and hard-working man, and of a kindly dispo- sition which won him many friends. His death occurred when he was about fifty-five years of age. Benjamin Krug was born in Lancaster county, Pa., December 4, 1829. Schools not 100'-' CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD then being very numerous or very good he re- ceived but little education, and was early ap- prenticed to the wagonmaker's trade, serving in this relation three years. Afterward he worked one year at Martinsville and two years at Conestoga Center, and then for some time at journeyman's work at Leesburg, Pa., coming to Ohio in 1852 or 1853. Locating in Ran- dolph township, Montgomery county, he worked for some time at farming. On March 31, 1859, he married Susannah Herr, born in Lancaster county, Pa., and daughter of Sam- uel and Mary (Bowman) Herr, for fuller men- tion of whom the reader is referred to the bi- ography of Henry Herr, elsewhere in this volume. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Krug settled on the Herr homestead, soon afterward purchasing the Warner homestead, and living on the latter place for thirteen years. This farm Mr. Krug still owns, having greatly im- proved it by careful cultivation and by erecting good buildings of various kinds. At the expi- ration of the period named he removed to the old Herr homstead, consistingof about ninety- four acres, and which was received by Mrs. Krug from her parents. This farm, also, Mr. Krug has managed judiciously, erecting there- on, as one of the many improvements made by him, a substantial brick house. Mr. Krug is a member of the Mennonite church, as was his wife, who died January 2, 1884, an excel- lent woman in every way and a devoted worker in the church. She was a woman of many virtues, a good wife and mother, and was greatly lamented by Mr. Krug and the children. These were as follows: Leander J., Ann J., Jennie A., Charles F. , Minnie I., and Leroy B. Three others were born and died young, one of them, Emma F., dying when nine years of age. Mr. Krug has led a life of active industry, beginning without possessions and with but limited education. All his life he has followed the path of rectitude and honesty and has al- ways striven to exercise a wholesome influence, not only at home upon his own children, but also as far as possible upon those with whom he came in contact. HBRAHAM M. LANDIS, one of the substantial and progressive farmers of Montgomery county, whose farm lies in Randolph township, is a son of one of the original pioneers of Madison town- ship. His father, whose name was also Abra- ham, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., and was of Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry. He was a descendant of one of the original German Baptist settlers, who came in very early times from Germany. He was a farmer by occupa- tion, and married, in Pennsylvania, Mary Miller, by whom he had the following children: Sallie, who died when young; Jacob, Samuel, Eliza- beth, Daniel, Polly, Catherine, Nancy, Leah, Susannah, Abraham M., John, Lydia, and Michael. Thus it will be seen there were fourteen children in all, an old-fashioned pio- neer family. After the birth of his son Daniel, Mr. Lan- dis moved to Ohio, settling near Canton, in 1 8 1 8. After remaining there a few years he came (in 1821) to Montgomery county, Ohio, locating in Madison township, and buying land for $4 per acre. Afterward he bought more land, until he became the owner of ninety-five acres. This land he himself cleared up from the woods, and made it into a good farm and home for his family. Upon this little farm he passed the remainder of his days, dying when seventy-seven years of age. In his religious views he agreed with the Ger- man Baptists. He was a hard-working man, honest and industrious, and brought up his boys to believe that hard work is honorable. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1003 He was a man of strong character, and left to his children the heritage of a good name. Abraham M. Landis, with whose name this sketch opens, was born in Madison township, Montgomery county, Ohio, August 22, 1829. Reared a farmer, he received the common- school education of those primitive days, and learned the lessons of labor from his early boyhood. When twenty-four years of age he married, in Randolph township, August 26, 1854, Lydia Overholtz, who was born on her father's farm in that township. She is a daughter of Jacob and Catherine Overholtz. Jacob Overholtz was born in Pennsylvania, of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, his father being one of the pioneers of that state. Jacob Over- holtz settled on the farm now occupied by Mr. Landis, which then contained 151 acres of land. He was a member of the German Bap- tist church, and an upright and respected citi- zen. His children were as follows: Mary, Susannah, Rosie, Catharine, Lydia, Sallie, Rebecca, John, and Lila, the last two dying young. Mr. Overholtz lived on his farm until his death, at seventy-seven years of age. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Landis settled first near Trotwood on twenty acres of land, which he purchased. Four years later they removed to the Overholtz homestead, upon which they have since lived, with the ex- ception of one year, during which they lived in Miami county, Ohio, returning to the Over- holtz farm on the death of Mr. Overholtz, in 1866 or 1867. Mr. Landis purchased this farm, and has since then greatly improved it by judicious cultivation, as well as by the erec- tion of substantial farm buildings. He has been a careful and economical manager, and, in addition to the Overholtz farm, has pur- chased 104 acres in Randolph township. Mr. and Mrs. Landis are members of the German Baptist church. He gave one acre of land on which to erect the church of his denomination, and has always been liberal in its support. At the time of its erection there were but four- teen members, while now there are about sixty. Mr. Landis also aided to build the old Salem district church, being a member of the build- ing committee. He has been a deacon of his church for twenty-five years, and is a sincere christian gentleman, who has earned the es- teem of his neighbors by a consistent and use- ful life. His children are as follows: Sarah, Alice, Austin, Harvey, Ella (who died at the age of twenty years), and Jesse. >t j OHN MARTIN LEFEVRE, a well- J known farmer of Van Buren township, #• 1 Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Washington county, Md. , August 21, 1834. He is a son of Isaac and Ann (Martin) Lefevre, the former a native of Maryland, and the latter of Virginia. Isaac and Ann Lefevre were the parents of nine children, four sons and five daughters, five of whom are still liv- ing, as follows: Mary Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Bigger; John Martin; William H., whose biographical sketch appears on page 1004, this volume; Isaac M., a farmer of Wash- ington township, and Augusta, wife of George Van Doren. When a young man Isaac Lefevre learned the tanner's trade, but always followed farm- ing for a livelihood. In 1836 he came to Montgomery county, Ohio, lived in Dayton one year, atid then bought a farm of ninety- seven acres in Washington township, upon which he lived fourteen years. Afterward he purchased a farm of 200 acres in sections 34 and 35, upon which latter farm he lived until his death, which occurred in January, 1895, in his eighty-ninth year. His wife had died in 1888 at seventy-five years of age. Both were members of the Reformed church. Mr. 1004 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Lefevre was a trustee of his township for sev- eral terms. Isaac Lefevre's father, John Lefevre, was a native of Maryland, and died in that state when in middle life. He had a family of seven children. The father of Ann i Martin) Lefevre, George Martin, was also a native of Maryland, of English ancestry, a farmer by occupation, and died in Maryland at middle age. John Martin Lefevre was not quite two years old when his parents brought him to Ohio, and has ever since lived in Montgomery county. He was reared a farmer's boy, and received his early education in the district schools. Later he became a student in Wit- tenberg college, Springfield, Ohio, and there acquitted himself in a most creditable manner, although he did not graduate. When the boys attained their majority they together bought a farm of fifty-five acres, a portion of the Himes farm, which they jointly worked for one year. They then bought what is known as the George Lefevre farm, containing sixty-three acres, and also had active charge of their father's farm, all working in partnership until they were married. October 14, 1875, Mr. Lefevre married Miss Millie Whipp, daughter of Jonathan and Catherine (Shank) Whipp. To this marriage there have been born four children, two sons and two daughters, as follows: John, who died in infancy; Charles M., Stella and Marie. Mr. and Mrs. Lefevre are members of the David's Reformed church, and of this church Mr. Lefevre is one of the deacons. Politically he is a democrat, and as such held the office of township assessor for twelve years. In 1890 he was assessor and land appraiser. He is now serving his second term as township trustee. His farm, containing 144 acres of land, is finely improved, and lies about four miles from Dayton. Mr. Lefevre has lived in Montgomery coun- ty for sixty years, having occupied his present farm since the time when it was almost wholly covered with heavy timber. To the growth and development of the county which have taken place during that time, Mr. Lefevre has been not only an eye-witness, but also a valu- able contributor. He carries on general farm- ing, is industrious and thrifty, and has one of the best farms in the county — clean, well improved and productive. His buildings are among the most substantial anywhere to be found, and everything about the place has a neat and at- tractive appearance. Mr. Lefevre is a man of progressive ideas and tendencies, is genial, hospitable, and one of the best of neighbors, and a most affable gentleman. He is one of those whose religion is an everyday affair, carried without ostentation into his life and into all his associations with his fellow-men. ar ILLIAM H. LEFEVRE, a promi- nent farmer of Van Buren town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, whose farm lies in section 35, was born in Washington township, same county, May 14, 1837. He is a son of Isaac and Ann (Martin) Lefevre, the former of whom was a native of Maryland, and the latter of Virginia. Isaac and Ann Lefevre were the parents of nine children, four sons and five daughters, five of whom are still living, as follows: Mary E., wife of Joseph A. Bigger, of Dayton; John M., of Van Buren township; William H. ; Isaac M., of Washington township, and E. Augusta, wife of George Van Doren, of West Carrollton. Isaac Lefevre was a tanner in his youth, but in after life became a farmer. In 1836 he removed to Ohio from his native state, locat- ing in Dayton, and in 1837 removed to Wash- ington township, where he purchased a farm upon which he lived until 1850, when he sold it and bought the farm upon which his son, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1005 William H. , now resides. Upon this farm he lived until his death, which occurred in Jan- uary, 1895, when he was upward of eighty- eight years of age. His wife, who died in 1888, was seventy-five years of age. Both were members of the Reformed church, and Mr. Lefevre was frequently honored by his fellow- citizens with election to local offices, in which he rendered faithful and intelligent service. John Lefevre, the father of Isaac Lefevre, was a native of Maryland, having been born in Washington county, that state, though his an- cestry originally came from France. By occu- pation he was a farmer, and he served his country as a soldier in the war of 18 12. He died in Maryland when about forty-five years of age. His wife, whose maiden name was Christina Household, survived him many years, and died at the age of eighty-five, during the progress of the late Civil war. They were the parents of eight children, four sons and four daughters. His earliest ancestors in this coun- try emigrated from France in 1667, and were of Huguenot extraction. The maternal grandfather of William H. was John Martin, who was a native of Eng- land, and came to this country when quite a small boy with his father, who settled in Vir- ginia, and followed farming in Berkeley coun- ty, that state. There John died in middle life. He, too, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and reared a family of six children, two sons and four daughters. William H. Lefevre has all his life lived in Montgomery county, the first thirteen years having been spent in Washington township, the rest in Van Buren township. His educa- tion was received in the district schools of these two townships, and afterward he attended school in Dayton. He remained at home on his father's farm until he was thirty years of age. When the children became of age they managed the farm together, and shared in the profits. In 1868 William H. sold his interest in the business and began traveling for the agricultural implement company of Warder, Mitchell & Co. , with whom he remained in this capacity for eight years, having charge of their exhibit at the centennial exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. After this he became traveling salesman for the Farmers' Friend Manufacturing company, of Dayton, soon buy- ing an interest in the business, and remaining with that company for twelve years, at the end of which time the concern sold out to the Stod- dard Manufacturing company. After his father died Mr. Lefevre purchased the old homestead and is now again occupying it at his home. It contains 194 acres of land, and is highly im- proved. Mr. Lefevre has never married. He has seen the development of the county and of the city of Dayton, and has contributed largely to the growth of both. He is a member of the Reformed church, and in politics a demo- crat. He has served as treasurer of Van Bu- ren township, and in the spring of 1896 was elected justice of the peace without any effort or solicitation on his part. Mr. Lefevre has had large experience in the business world as a traveling salesman and is a good judge of human nature. He is of a genial and happy disposition, unusually popu- lar with all who know him, and is a worthy representative of one of the oldest and best families of Montgomery county. ^~V*AMUEL LINDERMUTH, farmer, of •O^^KT German township, Montgomery coun- K^y ty, Ohio, was born in this township December 30, 1833, a son of Thomas and Maria (Tobias) Lindermuth, natives of Berks county, Pa. Both his grandfathers, Jacob Lindermuth and John Tobias, were of German descent, and natives and farmers of Berks county, Pa., where they lived and died. 1006 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Thomas Lindermuth, who was born April 12, 1791, came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1824, and soon afterward purchased 136 acres of land in German township, cleared and improved it, and resided there until his death, January 13, 1870. His children were Mary (Mrs. Samuel Bussard), Joseph, Margaret (Mrs. Samuel Snavely), Elizabeth (Mrs. Jo- seph Linebaugh), Michael, Catherine (Mrs. Isaac Fox), Samuel, Caroline (Mrs. Charles Denius), and Rachel. Samuel Lindermuth was reared on the homestead, where he was born, and resided there until 1866; he received a common-school education, and began life as a farmer, which vocation he followed up to 1888, when he practically retired from active business. He has occupied the farm where he now resides, one mile west of Germantown, since 1866, and made all the improvements thereon. He mar- ried September 3, 1857, Maria, daughter of John and Christina (Emrick) Stiver, and grand- daughter of Michael Emrick, who settled in German township in 1804. Mr. Lindermuth and wife are members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Lindermuth has been a director of the Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance association since 1889. In politics he is a democrat. IOBIAS KUHNLE, a very pros- perous farmer of German township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, February 2, 1840, and is a son of Philip A. and Marga- ret (Schuster) Kuhnle, who came to America in 1854 and settled near Germantown, Ohio.- Philip A. Kuhnle was born in 1806, and on coming to Montgomery county, Ohio, en- gaged in farming until his death, which oc- curred in 1893. To himself and his wife Mar- garet, were born the following-named children: Frederick, Tobias, Gottleib, Philip, John, Christina (Mrs. John Penrod), Elizabeth (Mrs. John Van Horn), Susan (Mrs. Ira Clark), and Catherine (Mrs. Henry Van Horn). Tobias Kuhnle, up to the age of fourteen years, had been educated in the excellent com- mon schools of his native country, and on reaching America continued his studies in the public schools of Montgomery county, Ohio, and to the knowledge here acquired he has added largely by self-application. He was reared to farming on the homestead which his father had purchased on coming to this coun- ty, and from his early manhood devoted his attention to general agriculture, making a spe- cialty, however, of the culture of tobacco. In February, 1865, he enlisted in company D, One Hundred and Eighty-fourth Ohio volun- teer infantry, in which he served until honor- ably discharged in September of that year. The marriage of Tobias Kuhnle took place, in 1864, to Miss Lydia J. Knouse, daughter of Joseph and Lydia (Oswald) Knouse, of Ger- man township. To this marriage have been born three children, Elmer E., Frank and Flora — the last named being the wife of E. A. Poe. The family are of the Lutheran faith in religion. In his societary relations Mr. Kuhnle is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. In politics, he is a democrat, has held several of the minor offices of his township, and in 1896 was elected a trustee. He has always held the confidence of his fellow-citizens of German township, and is esteemed as one of the substantial men of Montgomery county. ' ILLIAM LEIS was born in Miami township, Montgomery county , Ohio, \\M November 20, 1838, a son of ( leorge and Salome (Leis) Leis. His pa- ternal grandfather, John Peter Leis, a native (^V^-zV^f y/^Y^^/^C^ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1< i<>9 of Pennsylvania, lived and died in Berks county, that state, and after his death his widow, form- erly Catherine Reiser, came to Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, and died here. The maternal grandfather of William Leis, also named John Peter Leis, a native of Berks county, Pa. , settled in Miami township, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, in 1836, and engaged in farming — the parents of William coming the same year and engaging in the same vocation. The children of George Leis were named John A., William, Rebecca, Peter and Ella (Mrs. George Long). William Leis was reared in Miami town- ship, where he has always resided. He was educated in the common schools, and has fol- lowed farming as an occupation. He married, December 23, 1862, Rachel, daughter of Henry P. and Sarah ( Eagle) Treon, of Miami town- ship, and has five children, who are named Edward C. , Agnes A. (Mrs. Joseph Rehrle), William A., Ida J. (Mrs. Henry Gunter ) and George A. Mr. Leis is a member of the Re- formed church, while his family are Lutherans. He is secretary of the Miami township Vigilant society, member of the Miami township Mutual Fire Insurance company, has been a trustee of Miami township since 1883, and in politics is a democrat. He is an industrious and pro- gressive farmer, has made a success of his calling, and has attained a high position in the esteem and friendship of his neighbors. He never hesitates to lend a helping hand to all worthy undertakings, and is charitable in his disposition, as well as liberal in his aid to the support of churches and schools. B in Westphalia 42 RANR LIESENHOFF, a representa- tive citizen of Miamisburg, and a suc- cessful merchant, and member of the firm of E. Liesenhoff & Co. , was born Prussia, March 6, 1833. He is a son of Franz and Regina (Lug) Liesenhoff, and was educated in his native country. There he served a three years' apprenticeship to the tailor's trade, at which as a journeyman he worked from 1849 to 1856, in which latter year he embarked- in business for himself at Hoerdt. There he remained in business for five years, and in 1862 sailed for the United States, landing in Portland, Me., where he was en- gaged with his friend, William Koehling, for two years in the merchant tailoring business. In 1864 he came to Ohio, and in July of that year located in Miamisburg. where he has since resided. Here he at once engaged in the merchant tailoring and men's furnishing business, in which he continued alone until 1892, when he admitted his son, Edward, into partnership, and since that time the business has been conducted under the firm name of E. Liesenhoff & Co. Mr. Liesenhoff was married, in 1857, to Lizetta Meinholt, of Germany, who bore him three children — Edward, Carl G., and Lena, who died in childhood, and soon after the birth of the last child, Mrs. Liesenhoff died. His second wife was Sophia Linkersdorfer, of Cin- cinnati, by whom he has one daughter, Emma, now the wife of Clayton O. Shupert. Mr. Liesenhoff is a Mason, and in politics is a democrat. Edward Liesenhoff, son of the above, was born in Hoerdt, Germany, November 5, 1857. In 1865 he located in Miamisburg, and here grew to manhood, receiving his education in the Miamisburg public schools, and in the commercial college at Dayton, Ohio. After serving a four years' apprenticeship at the cut- ter's trade he located, in 1879, at Franklin, Ohio, where he conducted a merchant tailor- ing business for three years. Thence he re- moved to Middleton, and there remained nine years engaged in the same business. Since January, 1892, he has been a member of the 1010 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD firm of E. Liesenhoff & Co., merchant tailors, clothiers, and dealers in men's furnishings in Miamisburg. Edward Liesenhoff was married August 31, 1 88 1, to Anna May Brigham, daughter of William and Tilly (Thompson) Brigham, of Carlisle, Ohio. By this marriage he has three children, viz: Frank, Elsie and Hazel. Mr. Liesenhoff is a member of the Lutheran church, and is a Free & Accepted Mason. His business establishment is one of the most successful of its kind in the country, and Mr. Liesenhoff ranks among the reliable and valued citizens of Miamisburg. 'HOMASVENARD LYONS, Sr., M. D. , deceased, of Miamisburg, Montgomery county, was born in Clear Creek tonwship, near Spring- boro, Warren county, Onio, January 20, 1829. of Irish parentage. Thrown upon his own resources when but eight years of age, he worked upon a farm from that time until he was nineteen, receiving his education in the public school, as well as under a private tutor, Thomas Dixon, a prominent Scotch instructor in his day. In 1849 Mr. Lyons began the study of medicine with Dr. Jacob Smizer, of Waynesville, Ohio, and was grad- uated from the Eclectic Medical institute, at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1851. On March 4, of the same year, he located in Miamisburg, where he began the active practice of medicine and thus continued with unusual success until 1 891 , a period of forty years, when he retired from active and regular practice, except for the ac- commodation of his friends and old patrons in office business. He died October 6, 1896. During his residence in Miamisburg he was prominent, and even foremost, in any enter- prise calculated to promote the best interests of the town, dealt largely in real estate in the town and vicinity, and was the owner of sev- eral farms and also twenty-five tenement houses in Miamisburg, beside his fine residence, which stands on East Linden avenue. Dr. Lyons was one of the organizers of the Ohio Paper company, of Miamisburg, in 1879, and was interested in it for several years, serving for some time as its president. He was one of the organizers of, and a stockholder in, the Miamis- burg Binder Twine & Cordage company, and was its president during its existence. He was also a stockholder in the Enterprise Carriage Manufacturing company, of Miamisburg, and one of the founders of the Citizens National bank, of which he served as vice-president from its incorporation, in 1893, up to his death. Dr. Lyons was twice married, his first wife having been Elizabeth A. Null, daughter of Henry and Mary (Gebhart) Null, of Warren county, Ohio. By this wife he had four chil- dren, of whom one, Howard B., M. D., sur- vives. His second marriage was with Amanda R. Mays, daughter of Col. Samuel and Caro- line i Richardson) Mays, of Miamisburg, by whom he had one child, Thomas V. Lyons, Jr., cashier of the Citizens' National bank, of Miamisburg. During the late Civil war Dr. Lyons was appointed captain of a company raised in Miamisburg for the service of the government, but at the earnest solicitation of friends and of the people, who thought that, by reason of his medical experience and skill, he was more needed at home than at the front, he resigned his commission and remained at home, patriotically treating the families of the Union soldiers free of charge until the close of the war. Dr. Lyons was a member of the First Re- formed church of Miamisburg; of Marion lodge No. iS, I. O. O. F.,of Miamisburg; of the Odd Fellows encampment and the Daughters of Rebekah, and was a charter member of the Knights of Pythias lodge, No. 44, and of Ruth OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1011 Temple, No. 10, Rathbone (Pythian) Sisters, of Miamisburg. For many years prior to his retirement from active practice he was a mem- ber of the Miami valley Eclectic Medical asso- ciation, was its president for several years, and he was also a member of the Ohio state Ec- lectic Medical association. Politically Dr. Lyons was always a republican, and served as mayor of Miamisburg four years, as a member of the city council eighteen years, and as a member of the board of education nine years. He stood high in the esteem of the people of the county and was one of its worthy repre- sentative citizens. BORACE BENTLEY LYONS, M. D., was born in Miamisburg, Ohio, June 13, 1856, a son of Dr. Thomas V. and Elizabeth A. (Null) Lyons. He was graduated from the Miamisburg highschool in 1874, began the study of medicine with his father in 1875, and was graduated from the Eclectic Medical college, Cincinnati, in 1877. He at once formed a partnership with his father, with whom he practiced his profession in Miamisburg for nineteen years. Dr. Lyons is identified with many of the leading indus- tries of Miamisburg, is a director in the Kauff- man Buggy company, a director in the Miamis- burg Twine & Cordage company, a stock- holder in the First National and Citizens' Na- tional banks of Miamisbnrg, a director and stockholder in the Miamisburg Electric com- pany, and is also interested in other enterprises. The doctor was married October 23, 1884, to Miss Hattie, daughter of William D. and Letitia (Thirkield) Schenck, of Miamisburg. Fraternally he is a Knight of Pythias and in politics is a republican, although he has never been a partisan in the office-seeking sense of the word. In his business relations his name stands without a flaw, and he is regarded in social life with the same respect that is ac- corded him in business and professional circles. HOMAS VENARD LYONS, Jr., cashier of the Citizens' National bank, of Miamisburg, was born in the Gem City, August 9, 1869. He is a son of Dr. Thomas V. and Amanda R. (Mays) Lyons, the former of whom was a prominent and enterprising citizen of Miamisburg and also a successful physician, of whom full men- tion is made in a preceding biographical notice. Mr. Lyons was reared to manhood in his na- tive city, was educated in its public and high schools, and graduated from the latter in 1887. In 1890 he began his business career as book- keeper for the Miamisburg Binder Twine & Cordage company, continuing in that position for one year, and afterward, until 1893, looked after his father's varied business interests. He was then appointed messenger for the Citizens' National bank, from which position he was promoted, through his own merits, to the place of bookkeeper, and later to that of cashier, which position he still holds. He is a stockholder and a director in the bank, and also in the First National bank of Miamisburg, and a stockholder in the Miamisburg Twine & Cordage company. Mr. Lyons was married November 14, 1895, to Ida M. Gamble, daughter of William and Samantha (Hoover) Gamble, of Miamis- burg. He is in religion a member of the First Reformed church, and [fraternally, is a member of the Knights of Pythias, is quarter- master of the Fourth regiment, and holds the rank of captain of the uniform rank of Knights of Pythias of the state of Ohio. Politically, he is a republican, and in business and social circles maintains a high standing for integrity and honorable dealing with his fellow-men. 1012 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD His business ability is of a high order, and through the possession of this admirable quality has risen to a position which few men of his years have been able to attain. WOHN J. McCARTER, one of the old ■ soldiers of the late Civil war, who has (• 1 suffered many years from the affliction of total blindness from the effects of his service in the army of the Union, sprang from sterling Scotch-Irish ancestry. His pro- genitors settled in the Keystone state in early colonial times. John McCarter, his father, was born in Cumberland county, Pa., and was a bricklayer and stonemason. At Carlisle, Pa., he married his second wife Sarah Cart, who was born in Carlisle, and was a daughter of Jacob Cart, of Scotch-Irish descent on the maternal side of the family. John McCarter moved to Ohio about 1840, and settled in Montgomery county, living a short time at Little York, and after- ward at Vandalia, where he passed his remain- ing days. His first wife died in Carlisle, Pa., and their children were as follows: Alexander, James, George, Sarah A., Maria, and Cecilia. The children by his second wife, Sarah Cart, were as follows: John J., Eliza, William and Benjamin. Mr. McCarter was a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church for many years. In politics he was a republican, and had three sons in the late Civil war, viz: James, Benjamin and John J. Benjamin was in the Sixty-third Ohio volunteer infantry and participated in many battles, being badly- wounded in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain. James was a sergeant in company E, Seventy- fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, was in the service about three years and was discharged after the battle of Stone River on account of physical disability. Mr. McCarter was a very strong Union man and lived to the great age of seventy years, when he died. He was greatly esteemed as an honorable man and a valuable citizen. John J. McCarter was born at Carlisle, Pa., October 9, 1832, and received a common- school education in both Pennsylvania and Ohio, having come to Ohio with his parents when he was but eight years old. When yet a young man he engaged in the butcher busi- ness at Vandalia, continuing in this line at that place until October 21, 1S61, when he en- listed in company F, Seventy-fourth Ohio vol- unteer infantry, to serve three years or during the war. He veteranized at Chattanooga, Tenn., December 13, 1863, re-enlisting then for three years or during the war in the same organization. He served until he was honor- ably discharged January 6, 1865, at Savannah, Ga., having served his country faithfully dur- ing four years. He was in the battles of Stone River, Hoover's Gap, Mackinoe Cove, Chickarnauga, Missionary Ridge, most of those of the famous Atlanta campaign, including Buz- zard Roost Mountain, Resaca, and the twenty- one days of fighting and skirmishing along Pumpkin Vine creek. During this latter period, when rain fell every day, the sufferings and discomforts of our soldier and his com- rades were beyond expression. He was in the great battle of Kenesaw Mountain, the battle of Atlanta and the battle of Jonesboro, this being the last engagement in which he fought. He was badly wounded in the battle of Stone River by the explosion of a shell, which struck the ground near him and threw the powder and dirt in his eyes, completely blinding him. He was taken to the rear by his comrades, and while being taken to the field hospital, the comrade who was leading him was shot dead, and Mr. McCarter lay down by his side, as he was totallv blind and did not know which way to go. Soon, however, a soldier came along and led him to the creek to wash his face and OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1013 eyes, but the washing did his sight no good, for it was gone. He was then taken to the field hospital, where he remained one night, and was then taken to the hospital at Nash- ville, where, after remaing about two days, he began to recover a little use of his right eye, and rejoined his regiment. He was under treatment for about three months by the regi- mental surgeon, and regained his sight to such an extent that he served out his term. Through the entire war, except when thus temporarily disabled, he was an active soldier, always prompt and cheerful in the discharge of his duties, and was in all the battles and .skir- mishes of his regiment, except as prevented by his wounds. After the termination of the war, Mr. Mc- Carter returned to Vandalia and resumed the butcher business. On June u, 1865, he mar- ried Harriet A. Hoffman, who was born Feb- ruary 16, 1848, at Vandalia, Ohio, and is a daughter of William and Maria (Camp) Hoff- man. William Hoffman was born in Penn- sylvania, March 10, 1816, of Pennsylvania- Dutch ancestors. He came to Ohio a young man, and married, in Clarke county, Maria Camp, who was born May 17, 1820, in New Jersey, of English ancestors. Mr. Hoffman moved to Vandalia and there passed his re- maining days. He was an old-time constable of Butler township, and a republican in politics. He had one son, William, in the late Civil war, who was a soldier in company E, Seventy- fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, serving for three years, and was in practically the same battles and had experiences very much the same as those of Mr. McCarter. Mr. Hoffman, the father of Mrs. McCarter, died in 1857, in his forty-fourth year. Mrs. Hoffman died May 17, 1894, aged seventy-five years, dying on her birthday. She was a superior woman in many ways, and possessed of manv virtues. The children she bore her husband were as follows: John, Mary, Joseph, William, Harriet, George, Lucretia, Elizabeth and Emma. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. McCar- ter settled in Vandalia, he following his busi- ness there for some years. Then he was engaged in huckstering for about ten years, until he became totally blind from his old injury, and was thus obliged to give up all work. About twenty years ago he located in Union, buying a fine residence, and has since resided in this village. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. McCarter are as follows: Orrin L. and Min- nie M. Orrin L., who married Miss Estella Davis, is a huckster residing in Union. Min- nie M. married James Folker, a farmer of Randolph township, and has one son, John L. Mr. and Mrs. McCarter are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he has for many years been a trustee. Politically, he is a prohibitionist, and is a man of unblemished character and is respected as a soldier who served his country faithfully during her darkest days, standing by her to the end. * w * ENRY LOESCH, now one of the old- l'^"\ est and most respected agriculturists F of West Carroll ton, Montgomery county, Ohio, is a native of Bavaria, Germany, and was born August 17, 18 16. He is a son of John and Barbara (Stett) Loesch, also natives of the kingdom of Bavaria, and was reared to manhood under the parental roof. He was educated in the common schools and later served an apprenticeship of two years at the cooper's trade, after which he worked as a journeyman for five years in his native land. When about twenty-four years of age, or in 1840, he came to America and immediately made his way to Ohio; he located in West Carrollton and for twelve years worked at his trade of cooper in that village, made 1014 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD and saved money, and then purchased the farm on which he still resides. As a farmer he has met with abundant success and has ac- cumulated considerable wealth, while his farm is considered one of the best tilled and most productive in the county. His prosperity is due largely to his own industry and close observa- tion of the laws of cause and effect, and to a happy faculty of adopting means to the de- sired end, a faculty, which, though indeed valuable, is not always possessed by the tiller of the soil. January 3, 1847, Mr. Loesch was united in marriage with Phebe Zimmer, daughter of George and Phebe (dinger) Zimmer, of Miami township, and this congenial union has resulted in the birth of four children, still living, and named, in the order of their birth: George, Charles, Kittie (Mrs. John Geiger) and Edward. Mr. Loesch is in religion a Lutheran, and has reared his family in the faith of that church; politically he is a demo- crat but has never sought office. Fraternally Mr. Loesch is a member of the order of Haru- gari, and socially he enjoys the respect and substantial esteem of a large circle of neigh- bors and acquaintances. ORVILLE McCRAY, M. D., of West Carrollton, Montgomery county, Ohio, is a native of the Buckeye state and was born in Clarksville, Clinton coun- ty, April 3, 1868, a son of Samuel and Saman- tha (Wright) McCray, and, paternally, is of Scotch descent. Armstrong McCray, his grandfather, was a native of Maryland, but with his wife, Jane, came from Virginia to Ohio, and settled in Warren county, where Armstrong became a farmer among the pio- neers and attained great prominence in local affairs. The maternal grandfather of the doc- tor, Mitchell Wright, was a Virginian by birth and a pioneer farmer of Clinton county, Ohio. Samuel McCray, father of the doctor, is a na- tive of Ohio, and is now the proprietor of a flouring mill in Clarksville, which ranks among the most important industries of that thriving little city. Orville McCray, the subject proper of this memoir, received his elementary education in his native city of Clarksville through attending the common schools in his earlier boyhood days, and the rudimentary information thus ac- quired was supplemented by his attendance at the National normal university at Lebanon, Warren county. In 1889 he began the study of medicine, and March 13, 1893, wasgraduat- ed from the medical department of the univer- sity of Louisville, Ky. , and at once entered upon the practice of his profession in Clarks- ville, Ohio. But that field was too contracted or too much occupied by practitioners of the science he had chosen as his life pursuit, and, although his success was very flattering, he availed himself, in September, 1893, of a wider opening in West Carrollton, Montgomery county, where his skill was at once recognized and where he has built up, within the short interval between then and now, a lucrative and satisfactory practice. He is now surgeon to the Friend Paper & Tablet company, and also medical examiner for several life insurance companies. Dr. McCray was united in marriage, May 6, 1894, with Marietta Flack, daughter of Adam and Nancy (McCray) Flack, of Warren county, and to this union has been given one child — Beulah. In his fraternal affiliations the doctor is a Freemason and an Odd Fellow, while his political association is with the re- publican party. His social connection is of a most pleasant character, and as a citizen, as well as physician and surgeon, he is respected by the entire community of West Carrollton and Miami township. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1015 • HE MAYS FAMILY, one of the most prominent and widely known of Mont- gomery county, Ohio, sprang from John Nicholas Mays, who was born in Lachen, Switzerland, November 24, 1741. He was a son of John George and Anna M. L. (Diopelin) Mays, and emigrated to America at an early age, settling near Shaefferstown, Lebanon county, Pa. , as a farmer. Entering the Revolutionary army as a private soldier, he fought in the cause of the colonists against King George III, and was one of the patriotic founders of the republic. His family consisted of one daughter, Elizabeth, and five sons, viz: Valentine, Philip, Benjamin, Henry, and Jacob. Samuel Mays was a son of Valentine Mays, and a grandson of John Nicholas Mays, the founder of the family in America. Valentine Mays married Sabina Heilman, and their son, Samuel, was born in Heidelberg, Lebanon county, Pa., April 25, 1805. Samuel assisted his father on the farm until he was eighteen years of age, and was then apprenticed to a carpenter and builder, afterward following that trade for more than thirty years. From 1854 to 1856 he was superintendent of the south division of the Miami canal, and afterward for several years was engaged in the manufacture of wine, owning a vineyard of several acres near Miamisburg. Still later he was engaged as a buyer of tobacco for several years for a New York firm, and, in 1869, as a member of the firm of Stevenson & Mays, he embarked in the shoe business, the partnership continuing one year, when he carried on the business alone up to 1878. In this latter year he formed a partnership with his son, Samuel H. Mays, under the firm name of S. & S. H. Mays, which continued in existence until his death, which occurred June 29, 1891. Samuel Mays married Caroline Richardson, daughter of John Richardson, of Miamisburg, and by this marriage he had eight children, of whom four still survive, as follows: Amanda R., wife of Dr. T. V. Lyons; William A.; George D. , and Samuel H. Like all his an- cestors, Samuel Mays was an active member and worker in the German Reformed church from his boyhood up, and took great interest in everything pertaining to the church and its institutions, as is indicated by the fact that he superintended the building of the church in Miamisburg. During the early days he served as colonel of a militia regiment, and the title of "colonel " adhered to him until his death. Personally he was a true friend, and he was a worthy and honored citizen. He was a royal arch Mason, and in politics a Jacksonian democrat. William A. Mays, a prominent and widely known citizen of Montgomery county, was born in Miamisburg, June 7, 1842, and is a son of Samuel and Caroline (Richardson) Mays. He was reared to manhood in his native city, and received his preliminary education in the public schools thereof. Later he attended the Cum- berland Valley institute at Mechanicsburg, Pa. , and in i860 began his business career as clerk in a general store, following that vocation for nine years, in Miamisburg, Dayton, Cincinnati, and Chicago. In 1869 he returned to Dayton, where he served for two years as clerk in the office of the county treasurer, and afterward he was bookkeeper for Harshman & Bros.' bank. In 1S73 he was elected auditor of Montgomery county, and was re-elected in 1875, his second term expiring in November, 1877. He was one of the most popular offi- cials Montgomery county ever had. Mr. Mays was engaged in the tobacco busi- ness for two years, and in 1879, in connection with others, organized the Ohio Paper com- pany, of which he has ever since been secre- tary and treasurer. He has also been promi- nently identified with other manufacturing in- 1016 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD terests of Miamisburg, and at the present time he is a director of the Dayton Traction com- pany, and one of the projectors of the electric railroad that connects Dayton and Miamisburg. During the late Civil war Mr. Mays was a member of company D, One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and was honorably discharged at the expiration of his term of service. Politically, he has always been a democrat, and he has always been a patriotic and honorable citizen. Samuel H. Mays, son of Samuel and Caro- line (Richardson) Mays, was born in Miamis- burg, January 21, 1852. In Miamisburg he grew to manhood, and has always resided there, receiving his education in the public schools of that place. In 1869 he entered the shoe store of his father as clerk, retaining the position until 1878, when he became a partner in the firm, the business being then conducted under the firm name of S. & S. H. Mays, until the death of the former in 1891, S. H. Mays still retaining his interest in the firm. Since 1892 he has been engaged in the tobacco busi- ness, as a member of the firm of Dodds & Mays. Mr. Mays was married April 15, 1884, to Rose Gwinner, daughter of Frederick and Hannah (Solomon) Gwinner, of Miamisburg. By this marriage he is the father of two chil- dren, Jeannette and Samuel F. Mr. Mays is a thirty-second degree Mason, a Knight Tem- plar, a Knight of Pythias, and a democrat. In every way he is maintaining the honorable name of his family at its high standard, and is everywhere regarded as a useful and upright man and citizen. HRNOLD MEIENBERG, restaurant keeper of Miamisburg, was born in Bremgarten, canton Aargau, Switz- erland, January 20, 1842, and is a son of Alois and Mena ( Wiederkehr) Meienberg, the father a merchant of that ancient little city in the valley of the Reuso river. Arnold was reared to manhood in his native canton, re- ceived a very good common-school education and also served an apprenticeship of three years at harnessmaking. After learning his trade, he traveled for six years through various parts of Switzerland, Germany, Russia and France, following his calling as he journeyed, and in 1866 came to America. He first made his way to Cincinnati, where he worked at his trade for nearly two years, after which he crossed the Ohio river and worked at harness- making at Newport, Ky. , until the latter part of 1868, when he came to Miamisburg, Ohio, which city he has since made his home. Here he worked at his trade as journeyman for six years, and in 1875 embarked in the harness business on his own account and successfully carried it on until 1886, when he engaged in restaurant keeping, and for the period of ten years, has carried on a successful and prosper- ous trade, having made hosts of warm friends and, by his close attention to the needs and tastes of his patrons, won to himself the good will of the public in general. The marriage of Mr. Meienberg took place January 4, 1870, to Miss Frederica Buehner, a daughter of John Frederick and Anna (Schuettenhelm) Buehner and granddaughter of John Frederick and Anna C. (Zeller) Bueh- ner, of Muehlheim, Wurtemburg, Germany. This union has resulted in the birth of nine children, four living and here named in order of birth: Clara who is married to Jacob Farrell; Rose, who is the wife of Jacob Benner; Albert and Mena, who are still under the parental roof. Mr. Meienberg is a supporter of the Lutheran church, with which his family affiliate, and fraternally he is a member of the D. O. H., and of the A. O. U. W. He is a democrat in politics, and is recognized as a liberal and useful citizen. J OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1019 *^r-» EVI W. MEASE, formerly a well- j known and successful farmer, now ^ retired, was born in Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, January I, 1824, and is a son of Lewis and Mary (Zehr- ing) Mease, both natives of Lebanon county, Pa. Lewis Mease was a wheelwright by trade, came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1816, and worked one season in Germantown. The same year he purchased a tract of land in Miami township, leased it for a period of three years, and at once returned to Pennsylvania, where he married Mary Zehring in 18 19. To- gether with his- wife, her father and three brothers, he came overland to Ohio, being six weeks in making the journey, and immediately on reaching Montgomery county settled on the tract of land he had purchased in 1816. This land he cleared and improved, made it a good farm, and resided upon it until his death in 1856. Mrs. Mease was a daughter of Christian and Elizabeth Zehring, of Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, but formerly of Lebanon county, Pa. She bore him six children, three of whom grew to ma- ture years, as follows: Lewis, now deceased; Levi W., and Rev. Samuel, the latter a min- ister of the Reformed church, and editor of the Christian World for twelve years, but now deceased. Levi \V. Mease was reared on the old homestead, received a good education, and lived on the farm until 1878, when he retired from farm life and removed to Miamisburg, where he has since resided. From the time he was seventeen years of age until he was twenty-one, he was a clerk in a general store at Miamisburg, and from that time until 1878 he was engaged in farming on the old home- stead, which contains 185 acres of land, and which he still owns. On December 8, 1878, he married Elizabeth A. Fox, daughter of John and Catherine (Fox) Fox, pioneers of Warren county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Mease are members of the Reformed church, are both active in the performance of religious and social duties, and excellent people in every way. Mr. Mease is in politics a democrat, but has never sought political preferment in any form. HRNOLD MACY, of Randolph town- ship, Montgomery county, whose post-office address is Little York, and who was a soldier of the late Civil war, comes of English ancestors, who first set- tled in this country on Nantucket Island, off the coast of Massachusetts. Thomas Macy was .a farmer near Jones- boro, East Tennessee. His children were as follows: John, Thomas, Paul, Aaron, Jona- than, Nancy, Phcebe and Rebecca. About 1809 Thomas Macy came to Ohio, settled in Fredericksburg, and cleared up a farm, upon which he died at ninety years of age. In re- ligion he was a Quaker. Paul Macy, his son, and father of Arnold, was born in East Ten- nessee about 1798, ana came to Ohio with his parents in 1809. Receiving but a limited edu- cation, he was brought up on the farm and married Mary Yount, who was born in North Carolina in 1799. Paul Macy and his wife were the parents of the following children: Sallie, Eli, Davis, Rosanna, Enos, George, Arnold, Mary J., Ellen, Annie and Jonathan. Shortly after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Macy settled on 160 acres in the woods near Fredericksburg, cleared up the land and made of it a good farm. Selling this farm he pur- chased another, three-fourths of a mile from Fredericksburg, this farm also containing 160 acres, and here Mr. Macy became a substantial farmer. This farm he at length sold and bought still another, containing also 160 acres, five miles north of Dayton, and lived thereon 1020 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD until 1859, when he removed to Phillipsburg. He died November 27, 1892, at the great age of ninety-three years and eight months, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Sallie Mart.ndale. He was a member of the Christian church, and in politics a republican. He had five sons in the late Civil war, each of whom was six feet in height. These sons were as follows: Eli, David, Enos, Arnold and Jonathan. Jonathan was in the One Hundred and Thirty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, or, as it was called, the Ohio national guard. Paul Macy was a sturdy pioneer, well known as a straightfor- ward, honorable man, and possessed of a vig- orous and healthy mind. His memory was much more than ordinarily retentive, and he was a man of considerable importance for many years in Miami and Montgomery coun- ties. He was a strong republican, a careful and extensive reader and observer, and kept abreast of current events, in which he took a keen interest. As a husband he was faithful, and as a father was kind and helpful. He and his wife, Mary Yount, were the parents of twelve children. At the time of his death he had thirty-seven grandchildren, fourteen great- grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchil- dren, making in all sixty-five direct descend- ants. Thus there were living at one time five generations of Macys. Arnold Macy, the subject of this sketch, was born March 8, 1834, in Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, received his education in the common schools, and was brought up on the farm. He enlisted at Dayton, Ohio, in company K, One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio national guard, for 100 days, and served at Baltimore, Md., being stationed in the provost marshal's office, and was honorably discharged at Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, in September, 1864. On February 22, 1865, he re-enlisted, this time in company H, One Hundred and Ninety-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, to serve one year, but, the war coming to an end, he was discharged at Baltimore, Md., September 11, 1865. Dur- ing the period of enlistment he saw service in the Shenandoah valley, Virginia. While he was sick in camp for two months, yet he was not in the hospital, and, excepting during this sickness, he was always prompt and active in the performance of his duties as a soldier. On December 28, 1865, he was married in Dayton, Ohio, to Miss Elizabeth Frees, who was born December 21, 1843, and is a daugh- ter of Jacob and Rebecca ( Alloway ) Frees. Jacob Frees was a native of Pennsylvania, coming to Ohio in the early days and settling in Montgomery county on a farm in Clay town- ship. He was a well-educated man, and was county surveyor for many years and also justice of the peace. In his earlier life he was a school teacher for years. He was married in Penn- sylvania, and his children were as follows : Peter, Rebecca, Catherine, David, Samuel, Mary, George and Elizabeth. He was a good farmer and improved his already excellent farm, making it one of the very best in the county. He lived to be sixty-eight years of age and was a member of the Lutheran church. Politically, he was a democrat, and was a man of high character and standing in the community. He had two sons in the late Civil war, viz : Sam- uel, who served three years in the Eighteenth U. S. regular infantry, and participated in the battles of Pittsburg Landing and Stone River; and George, who served one year in the One Hundred and Eighty-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Macy settled on eighty acres of land in Darke county, Ohio, and lived there for three years, when they removed to Phillipsburg. Here they lived one year and then went to Kansas, in 1871, settling on 160 acres of land in Greenwood county. Here they lived twenty-four years, improving and cultivating their land, and then OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY CO¥NTY. 1021 returned to Montgomery county, Ohio, having bought their present farm in 1S93. Both are members of the Christian church, and in politics Mr. Macy is a republican. He is a man of great strength and independence of character and maintains the principles in which he believes with much force of reason and sound judgment. Few men, if any, in this county, are looked upon with more favor and respect than is the subject of this sketch. /^EORGE W. MELLINGER, of ■ ^\ Brookville, Ohio, sprang from Penn- \^^f sylvania-Dutch ancestry. He was born near Carlisle, Cumberland coun- ty, Pa., April 5, 1844, and is a son of Joseph and Lydia (Kissinger) Mellinger. When he was nine months old he was brought by his parents to Ohio, where they first settled in Crawford county, living there until 1856, when they removed with their family to Montgomery county, and settled in Salem. In these two counties their son George was educated, at- tending the common school until he was sev- enteen years old, and in November, 1S61, he enlisted at Troy, Ohio, in company E, Sev- enty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, for three years or during the war. He veteranized as a member of this same company January 14, 1864, at Gallatin, Tenn., was discharged at San Antonio, Tex., and was mustered out at Columbus, Ohio, January 9, 1865. He was in the battle of Shiloh, and was captured at Bowling Green, Ky., in August, 1862. Be- ing immediately paroled, he was sent to Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, where he was exchanged, and in January, 1863, returned to his regiment at Fort Henry, Tenn. He was in the latter part of the Atlanta campaign, and participated in the battle at Lovejoy Station, after which he was in the march to Nashville, Tenn., having a skirmish with the rebels at Pulaski, Tenn., and a battle at Franklin, Tenn., on the way to Nashville. In the battle of Nashville he was wounded by a glancing shot in the left leg, from the effects of which he was compelled to lie in hospital at Nashville and at Jeffersonville, Ind., for six weeks. Rejoining his regiment at Huntsville, Ala. , he went with it to Texas and served there during the remainder of his term of enlistment. Mr. Mellinger regards as his hardest march that from Atlanta to Nashville, another trying experience being a march in Texas, on which the troops suffered exceedingly from want of water. He was a participant in all the active service of his regiment, and was promoted to corporal for meritorious conduct. The war having ended, he returned to Montgomery county, and on May 26, 1868, married Malinda Spitler, who was born Octo- ber 20, 1846, in Perry township. She is a daughter of David and Nancy L. (McCormick) Spitler, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania and a son of Jacob and Cather- ine (Houk) Spitler. David Spitler was one of the original pioneers of Perry township, set- tling on the farm now owned by Jesse Wago- man. Jacob Spitler was also one of the orig- inal settlers of Perry township, clearing up a farm from the woods. David Spitler was twice married, his chil- dren by his first wife being: Grizzann, Will- iam, Catherine, Mary and Daniel, the latter of whom died at the age of twenty-three. By his second wife David Spitler had the follow- ing children: Malinda, Abner, Jacob, Martha Jane and David. He was a man of high char- acter, a member of the Lutheran church, to which most of his children also belonged, and was a substantial and successful farmer. He served as township trustee, and lived to be sixty-five years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Mellinger have lived in Perry township ever since their marriage. Their 1022 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD children are as follows: Ambrose; Edna; Irene, who died March II, 1893; Flora B., Cleora V. and Lottie F. Mr. and Mrs. Mel- linger are members of the Lutheran church, as was the daughter who died. Politically, Mr. Mellinger is a democrat. He is a mem- ber of Foster-Marshall post, No. 5 87, G. A. R., of which he has been officer of the day and also guard. aHRISTIAN MEYER, a successful farmer, of Perry township, Montgom- ery county, Ohio, was born June 7, 1840, in Wuldungen, village of Klin- nen, Prussia, and is a son of Christian and Catherine (Toegen) Meyer, the former of whom was a farmer, owning 100 acres of land which had belonged to his father, Frederick Meyer, who, in his turn, had inherited it from his forefathers. It had been in the family for many generations. Christian Meyer and wife were the parents of the following children : Conrad, Jacob, Henry, Christian, Dorothy, Elizabeth and Catherine. Mr. Meyer was a member of the Lutheran church, was well-to- do, was an honored and valued citizen, and died at the age of seventy-three. Christian Meyer, the subject of this sketch, received a good common-school education in Prussia, and there learned the carpenter's trade. He came to the United States when nineteen years of age, sailing from Bremen, Germany, May 12, 1858, in an old-fashioned sailing vessel, and was some seven weeks on the sea, landing in New York in July, and reaching Chicago on July 4. Here he followed his trade for a month and then went to Day- ton, Ohio, where he had friends, and where he worked at his trade, and also in a sash factory. Like many other foreigners, he entered the volunteer army of the Union, enlisting August 1 6, 1 86 1, at Dayton, Ohio, becoming a mem- ber of company B, First regiment Ohio volun- teer infantry, to serve for three years or dur- ing the war. Lewis Coleman was his captain. Having served his full term he was honorably discharged at Louisville, Ky., August 16, 1864. He was in the battles of Pittsburg Landing, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, and in the entire Atlanta campaign, during which his regiment was under fire almost without cessation for four months. During this cam- paign he was in the battles of Buzzard's Roost Mountain, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, and Atlanta, in which last engage- ment Gen. McPhersonwas killed. Mr. Meyer was discharged at White's Station and mus- tered out at Louisville, Ky. He was always an active soldier, and being in company B, a flanking company, was in many skirmishes and in other positions of unusual danger. He was in all the battles and skirmishes in which his regiment was engaged, and was slightly wound- ed at Stone River by a musket ball, but did not go to the hospital. Returning to Dayton, Ohio, from the war, he worked for some time at his trade and then went to Nashville for the government in 1864, remaining about a year. He was married in Dayton, Ohio, in 186S, to Miss Frederika Pfeiffer, who was born August 18, 1847, m tne village in Prussia which was her husband's birthplace. She was a daughter of Carl and Henrietta (Bruno) Pfeiffer, who were the par- ents of the following children : Elizabeth, Henrietta, Frederika and Augusta. Mr. Pfeiffer was well educated, a member of the Lutheran church and died in Prussia at the ripe age of seventy-one years. Christian Meyer, after his marriage, settled in Dayton, where he worked at his trade for several years. In 1878 he removed to Perry township, where he purchased a farm of sixty- two acres, upon which he has since lived and which he has improved and developed in many OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1023 directions. He and his .wife have the follow- ing children : Charles, Louis, Catherine, Will- iam, Henry, Sadie and Elizabeth. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer are members of the Lutheran church, as are also their children. Mr. Meyer is a republican in politics. ^j*OSHUA V. MILLS, a prominent citi- ■ zen of Montgomery county, Ohio, was m 1 born August 31, 1839, in Perry town- ship. His parents were William and Jane (Campbell) Mills, the former of whom was the son of Joshua and Lucy Mills. Joshua Mills was a New Jersey farmer, and was mar- ried in that state. He and his wife, Lucy, were the parents of the following children: Nancy, Jane, John, Rebecca, William, Sallie, Grace and Mary. Joshua Mills moved from New Jersey to Ohio in 1818, and entered a tract of 160 acres of land near Pyrmont, set- tling thereon when it and most of the sur- rounding country was covered with timber. He was a well-known pioneer and citizen of the early days, was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and died in 1852, at the age of seventy-seven years. William Mills, father of Joshua V. Mills, was born in 1806, and came with his father, Joshua, to Ohio, when he was little more than twelve years of age. He received the usual education and training of the district school, and grew up on the farm. He married Jane Campbell, daughter of John and Naomi (Gus- tin) Campbell, the family of the latter being early settlers of Perry township. John Camp- bell was a farmer of Scotch ancestry. Immediately after their marriage William and Jane Mills settled one and a half miles south of Pyrmont, on sixty-one acres of land, from which they added from time to time until their farm contained 180 acres, all under cul- tivation, and nearly all of which they had cleared from the woods. They were people of excellent character, highly esteemed by their neighbors, and reared a family of seven chil- dren, as follows: Bethany, John, Lucy, Sam- uel, Naomi, Joshua V. and William. Mrs. Mills died in 1848, and Mr. Mills then married Miss Jane Clemmer, by whom he had five children: George, Edgar, Eliza J., Joseph and Hiram. William Mills died in 1885, at the age of seventy-nine years. Joshua V. Mills was brought up to the life of a farmer. On October 2S, 1 861, he enlisted in company B, Seventy-first Ohio volunteer in- fantry, under Capt. McConnell, for three years or during the war. Having served his time he veteranized, January 13, 1864, at Gallatin, Tenn., in the same organization, and continued in active service until mustered out January 3, 1865, at San Antonio, Tex. He was promoted first to corporal, and in February, 1863, to sergeant. He was in some of the most impor- tant battles of the war, among them those of Shiloh and Fort Donelson, and most of those of the Atlanta campaign, including Jonesboro and Lovejoy Station. Returning after this campaign to Nashville by way of Columbia, Tenn., and Spring Hill, he was in the battle of Franklin and also in that of Nashville, when Gen. Hood was so overwhelmingly defeated by Gen. Thomas. Afterward his regiment went to Greenville, east Tennessee. Return- ing to Nashville, Mr. Mills went with his regi- ment to New Orleans, arriving there June 28, and on the 5th of July went down to the gulf of Mexico and to Texas, remaining until De- cember. In Texas the regiment marched from Indianola to San Antonio and on to Matagorda Bay. Companies B and E of this regiment were engaged from July, 1863, to August, 1864, in fighting guerrillas in Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky, and were in many skirmishes. Mr. Mills was always an active soldier, and was wounded in the battle of Nashville, a bullet 1024 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD striking him in the right shoulder. He walked five miles before having any attention given to his wound, when the ball was extracted and the wound dressed. Next morning at daylight he rejoined his regiment. He was in all the battles, marches and skirmishes in which his regiment was engaged, and was a good and faithful soldier throughout the war. After returning from the army he was mar- ried, November i, 1865, in Perry township, Montgomery county, to Miss Anna Myers, who. was born in that township March 19, 1846, and who is a daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Hilton) Myers. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Mills settled on eighty acres of land, upon which they still live and which he has greatly improved. Mr. and Mrs. Mills are the parents of ten children, as follows: Emma, Flora, John, Mattie, Cora, Eva, Ada, William, Orlando and Earl. Mr. Mills is a trustee in the United Brethren church, of which both he and his wife are members. In politics, he is a republican. The children have received a good education, and one of them, Mattie, is now a school-teacher, having been prepared in the Ada Normal school. Jacob Myers, father of Mrs. Mills, was born August 17, 1818, in Lancaster county, Pa., and is a son of Samuel and Barbara (Harnish) Myers. In 1843 he was married in Lancaster county, to Catherine Hiller, a na- tive of that county, and a daughter of John and Annie (Resh) Hiller. In 1845 Mr. and Mrs. Myers settled in Perry township, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, on 160 acres of land, mostly covered with woods, which Mr. Myers converted into a most excellent farm. He and his wife reared the following children: Annie, John, Jacob, Allen, Mary E., Emma, Amanda, and Idella. Mr. Myers was a trus- tee in the United Brethren church, of which his wife was also a member, and in politics, he was a republican, as such holding the office of township trustee for several years. His death occurred July 22, 1891, when he was seventy-three years of age. He is remem- bered as a man of integrity and high charac- ter. His son John wasamember of company B, Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry, and served his country well, though only sixteen years old when he enlisted. * w * EE MITCHELL, secretary, treasurer j and general manager of the Book- ^ waiter Wheel company, and a promi- nent citizen of Montgomery county, was born in Camden, Preble county, Ohio, June 6, 1846. He is a son of Samuel and Maria (Walters) Mitchell, both natives of Ohio. Samuel Mitchell, a cabinetmaker by trade, was for many years engaged as a farmer in Illi- nois. In 1865 he removed to Dayton, Ohio, where he lived until his death, which occurred July 5, 1890, in his eighty-third year. He and his wife were the parents of two children: Ebenezer, a soldier in the late Civil war, who died in 1864, of disease contracted in the serv- ice, and Lee, the subject of this sketch. Lee Mitchell was reared in Ohio and Illi- nois, received a good common-school educa- tion, and came to Dayton with his parents in 1865. Here in company with his father he went into the grocery business, under the firm name of Mitchell & Son, and continued thus engaged for four years. In 1870 he located in Miamisburg, and went to work as a shop hand for Bookwalter, Bro. & Co., of which firm his father was a stockholder, young Lee also rep- resenting his father's interests in the concern. The intention was that he should learn the business thoroughly and then be given an offi- cial position in the company, which intention was carried out. After several years of active service in the shops he was made bookkeeper for the firm, which position he held until 1889, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1025 when he was made general manager. At length, in 1890, the Standard Wheel company absorbed Bookwalter, Bro. & Co., and Mr. Mitchell held the same position with the new company until it closed down. He then be- came secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Bookwalter Wheel company, which he assisted in organizing in 1S91; this position he still holds, having therein full charge of the business. His special qualifications for the business have made him unusually successful, and to his business ability and energy the company owes much of its present success and prosperity. Mr. Mitchell has been twice married. His first wife was Helen Reel, daughter of Abram Reel, of Dayton, Ohio, and by her he had one child, Charles L. Mitchell, a graduate of the university of Michigan and now a successful dentist. His second wife was Hannah Zehring, of Miamisburg, by whom he has four children, as follows: S. Wilbur, Edith M., Helen and Howard L. Mr. Mitchell is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church 'and a Knight of Pythias. He is a stockholder and director in the Citizens' National bank, and a stockholder in the Miamisburg Twine & Cordage company. In politics he is a republican, and in all re- spects he is a much esteemed citizen of the county in which he lives, enjoying the confi- dence of the community to an unusual degree. >-VOHN F. MOIST, an active farmer of a Randolph township, springs from stal- /• ■ wart Pennsylvania stock, his ancestors having come originally from Switzer- land. Henry Moist, his grandfather, owned a farm in Juniata county, Pa., and was the father of the following children: Henry, David, Abraham, Michael, John, Solomon, Daniel, who died when quite young; Sallie, Jacob and Betsey. Henry Moist, the father of these children, died in Juniata county. Jacob Moist, the father of John F., was born in Juniata county, Pa., in 1S20, and came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1845. The next year he married Miss Annie Hocker, who was born in Dauphin county, Pa., October 15, 1824, and was a daughter of John and Catherine (Sterling) Hocker. John Hocker was born in Dauphin county, Pa., removed to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1837, and settled on the farm of 240 acres now occupied by his son, Adam Hocker. His wife, Catherine Sterling, was born in Germany on the river Neckar, and lived to the great age of ninety- eight years, dying in 1890 or 1891. Jacob Moist, soon after his marriage, set- tled on a farm near Harrisburg, and lived there one year, when, in 1848, he bought the farm on which his son now lives, and which con- tained sixty-two acres. He partially cleared it of its timber and converted it into a produc- tive farm. He was well known for many miles around as a man of high character and upright living, and was in every way trustwor- thy. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Moist were as follows: John F. , Al- mira J., Frances C. , and three that died in in- fancy. Mr. and Mrs. Moist were members of the church of the Brethren in Christ, or River Brethren. Mrs. Moist died January 21, 1879. John F. Moist was born January 16, 1847, in Randolph township, Montgomery county, was reared on the farm and received a good education in the district school. He after- ward attended the National normal institute, at Lebanon, Ohio, for three winters, in order to fit himself for teaching school. After this he taught school for five years in Randolph, Clay and Madison townships, being a success- ful teacher. He resided on the farm, and combined farming with teaching. When he was thirty years of age he married Sarah E. 1026 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Ralston, the ceremony being performed April 17, 1877. She was a daughter of James and Hettie (Moist) Ralston, and was born October 24, 1856. James Ralston, her father, was a son of Samuel and Rachael (Henderson) Ral- ston, the former of whom was born in Eng- land and came to America when he was twenty- one years of age, leaving in England two brothers and a sister. For some time he lived in Philadelphia, and then moved to Lancaster county, Pa., married and had the following children: Samuel, Alfred, David, Dayton, Elizabeth, Frances and James. Samuel Ral- ston was a farmer, and died in Lancaster county, Pa. James H. Ralston, the father of Mrs. Moist, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., November 4, 1827, and received a common- school education. He lost his father when he was ten years old, and the support of his mother and the younger children thereupon devolved largely on him for a number of years. Upon arriving at mature years he married Het- tie Moist, who was born in Juniata county, Pa., February 7, 1833, and was a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Runk) Moist. James H. Ralston settled in Center county, Pa., and in 1862 removed to Ohio, locating in Miami county, a short distance west of Troy, and in 1870 settled three miles east of Troy, still in Miami county. In 1885 he went to Kansas, settling in Nemaha county, where he died Jan- uary 21, 1S91. His children were as follows: Sarah E., George, Philip, James W., Jacob, Alfred, Samuel, David, Dora. Mrs. Ralston died in 1875, aged forty-two years. She was a woman of excellent qualities, and a member of the church of the River Brethren. Mr. Ralston was a practical farmer and a most ex- cellent man in every way, reliable, truthful and successful. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Moist settled on the old Moist farm, and he has re- sided on the farm ever since his birth, and in 1887 he purchased the farm. He ranks among the most advanced and intelligent members of the community. To Mr. and Mrs. Moist there have been born the following children ; Ianthe M. , Harvey C. , Jacob F. , Albert R. , Arthur G. , and Annie M. The parents are members of the River Brethren church. Politically, Mr. Moist is a republican, and is much interested in public affairs. He has served as a member cf the school board for thirteen years, and his chil- dren have been well educated. Ianthe M. grad- uated in the township high school in 1895, ar *d holds a teacher's certificate. Mr. and Mrs. Moist are among the best people in the county, taking great interest in educational and relig- ious work, and exerting a wide influence for good in their vicinity. BRANK S. NELSON, secretary and treasurer of the Enterprise Carriage Manufacturing company, and a prom- inent citizen of Montgomery county, was born in Newport, Ky., January 25, 1863. He is a son of Robert and Mary F. (Hender- son) Nelson and is of Scotch-Irish descent. He was reared in Cincinnati, and was educat- ed first in the public schools, and afterward in Oberlin college, one of the most famous insti- tutions of learning in the country. In 1882 he began his business career as bookkeeper for a Cincinnati house, which position he retained until 1 89 1, when he removed to Miamisburg with the Enterprise Carriage Manufacturing company, which had been established in Cin- cinnati in 1879. Its plant in Miamisburg is one of the largest in the world for the manu- facture of popular priced vehicles of all de- scriptions. Much of its machinery was built after special designs and for the exclusive use of the factory in Miamisburg, which is without doubt the most perfectly equipped establish- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1027 ment of the kind in the country. The prod- ucts of this manufactory have a world-wide reputation, and it has been kept working to the limit of its capacity almost constantly since its establishment in Miamisburg. Mr. Nelson is a large stockholder, and has held the posi- tions of secretary and treasurer since its estab- lishment in Miamisburg. The success and present standing of the enterprise is largely due to his intelligent and tactful management. Mr. Nelson was married, November 20, 1895, to Miss Erne, daughter of Eden and Alice Engleman, of Maryland. He is one of the most enterprising and progressive citizens of Miamisburg, is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of the Mystic Shrine, and in politics is a democrat. Few men, if any, in the county, stand higher in the estimation of the business, social and religious world than does Mr. Nelson. Vj-* OUIS NEWBURGH, president of the r Louis Newburgh company, packers of J\ leaf tobacco, with their Montgomery county, Ohio, office and warehouse in Germantown, and an office and salesroom at No. 232 East Fourth street, Cincinnati, Ohio, was born January 22, 1839, at Pottsville, Lan- caster county. Pa. Shortly after his birth his parents moved to New York, and in the spring of 1842 they moved to Chicago. In 1855 they went back to New York, and in 1859 their son Louis entered the tobacco business as a clerk. In the year i860 he moved to Cincinnati, en- tered into the cigar-leaf jobbing business, and in 1876 purchased a warehouse in German- town, Montgomery county, and began packing tobacco. In January, 1893, he formed the corporation known as the Louis Newburgh company, and admitted his son (S. M. New- burgh), his son-in-law (Alexander Pappen- 43 heimer), and brother (Henry Newburgh) to the firm. About the year 1880, Louis Newburgh con- cluded from his experience that the tobacco- raised in Ohio had so deteriorated in quality that it could no longer compete with cigar- leaf raised in other states. He conceived the idea of introducing seed that would be an im- provement, and, with this end in view, pro- cured from the island of Cuba a quantity of seed which he distributed among the growers of Montgomery and Warren counties. The hot and dry summer of 1881, however, was detrimental to the germination of the seed, and the growers became discouraged and refused to make another attempt at propagation. Mr. Zimmer, of Miamisburg, knowing that the Ohio seed had degenerated, and that some- thing was required to improve the tobacco product, continued the propagation of this seed until he produced seed that was accli- mated, and from that time a filler tobacco has been grown that is unsurpassed throughout the United States, and Mr. Zimmer has received due credit by its being named Zimmer's Span- ish tobacco. The quantity at first produced was very small— some 300 boxes; this has since increased, so that there are now pro- duced from 35,000 to 45,000 boxes annually. The Louis Newburgh company purchased and packed of this variety last season over 12,000 boxes, and are now recognized as the largest packers in Ohio, if not in the United States. Louis Newburgh began his career as a packer with the determination to put up his goods in an honest and careful manner, and to acquire a reputation for his house; and to this policy, faithfully carried out, is due the high standing of the company throughout the country. The officers of the company are: Louis Newburgh, president; S. M. Newburgh, vice-president; Alexander Pappenheimer, sec- retary; and Henry Newburgh, treasurer. 1028 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ^ LIVER PERRY NISWONGER, a traveling salesman of Miamisburg, Montgomery county, was born in West Senora, Preble county, Ohio, November 21, 1853, and is a son of John D. and Mary (Ruse) Niswonger, both natives of Montgomery county. His paternal grand- father, Samuel, and great-grandfather, John Niswonger — both from Fincastle, Ya., and of Swiss descent — were among the pioneer farm- ers of Montgomery county, Clay township, where they lived and died, and are buried in the cemetery at Salem, Ohio. The wife of Samuel was a Miss Dillon, of Irish birth, and their children were Polly (Mrs. Louis Kimmel), Betsey (Mrs. John Overhulser), John D., James, Sally (Mrs. Slengsby Barnes), Samuel, Catherine iMrs. Andrew Faulkner), Eliza (Mrs. Ruel Vorhees), Prudence (Mrs. Andrew SpitlerJ, and Levi. Of these the father of Oliver P. was born in Clay township, Montgomery coun- ty, April 13, 181 1, where he grew to manhood. His business has been farming, buying and shipping stock and dealing in grain, and he has been a resident of Preble county, Ohio, for upwards of fifty years. His wife was a daughter of John and Mary 1 Heckathorn) Ruse of Madison township, Montgomery county, who bore him eight children — Horace, Maggie, Ann, Eva (deceased), Samuel (deceased), Levi, Oliver P. and James B. Oliver P. Niswonger was reared in Preble county, was educated in the common schools, and began life for himself in 1876 as a travel- ing salesman for agricultural implements, which business he has followed up to this time. He has been a resident of Miamisburg since 1882. He married, September 2, 1876, America, a daughter of Henry and Delilah (Harsh) Frazer, of West -Senora, Ohio, and has three children, Charles H., Myrtle and Dorman D. Mr. and Mrs. Niswonger are con- sistent members of the German Reformed church, and in politics Mr. Niswonger is a re- publican. Socially the family stands very high in the community, and Mr. Niswonger's genial qualities have not only made him pop- ular on the road, but have won for him hosts of friends at and near his immediate home. In his business career, Mr. Niswonger has been in the employ only of firms of national repu- tation, such as W. N. Whiteley, of Springfield, the McCormick company, of Chicago, and the Warder, Bushnell & Glessner company, of Springfield, Ohio. K^\ ERNARD J. PANSING, a prosper- 1^*^ ous business man of Miamisburg, JK^_J Ohio, was born in this place May 20, 1847. He is a son of John Henry and Johanna Lucie (Borcherring) Pansing, the former of whom was born in Diepholz, Han- over, Germany, December 13, 1803, and was there reared to manhood. John Henry Pansing learned the cabinet- maker's trade, and served twelve years in the German army. In 1836 he came to the United States, located in Cincinnati, and there worked at his trade a year and a half, removing to Miamisburg in 1838. In Miamisburg he es- tablished himself in business as an undertaker, cabinetmaker and dealer in furniture, erect- ing the building on Main street now occupied by David Clark for business and residence purposes. He continued in that business up to the time of his death, but in connection therewith, on account of ill health and the consequent need of out-door occupation and exercise, he carried on truck farming near Miamisburg for several years. On January 3, 1837, he married Johanna Lucie Borcherring, then of Germantown, Ohio, but formerly of Hanover, Germany. By this marriage he had nine children, six of whom grew to adult years, as follows: Wilhelmina, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1029 now deceased; Louis F., deceased; Bernard J.; William H. ; Melinda M., wife of Jacob Swartz, and Martha M., wife of Joseph Rockey. Mr. Pansing and his family were, and those still living are, members of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and in politics he was a democrat. His death occurred March 4, 1879, and that of his wife, November 13, 18S0. Bernard J. Pansing came to man's estate in Miamisburg, and received his preliminary edu- cation in the public schools. His business education was received in the Miami Com- mercial college of Dayton, Ohio. His business career was begun with the Hunter Cutlery company, which company was engaged in the manufacture of cutlery in Miamisburg, and which he assisted to organize in 1872. After remaining connected with this company until 1876, he and his brother, William H., formed a co-partnership which, under the firm name of Pansing Bros., engaged in the general grocery and hardware business. In 1893, he and others organized the Citizens' National bank of Miamisburg, of which he is a stock- holder, and in which he served for two years as a director. He erected, or more accurately, remodeled the building now occupied by Pan- sing Bros., for business purposes, and has in all his business career and connections been recognized as a straightforward and honorable gentleman. Mr. Pansing was first married to Miss Chrissie A. Schuster, daughter of Christian and Mary (Kline) Schuster, of Miamisburg. By this wife he had two children, viz: Ida N., and Mary L. His second wife was, before her marriage, Emma Dill, daughter of Lewis and Louisa (Shaffer) Dill, of Germantown, and by her he has had three children, viz: Wilbur, Bernice and Dill, the latter deceased. Mr. Pansing is an Odd Fellow, a member of the encampment, and of the Daughters of Re- bekah. He has passed all the chairs and is now adjutant of the Second regiment, P. M., I. O. O. F. He has been a member of the Miamisburg board of education for three years, of the board of health for six years, and in politics he is a democrat. Mr. Pansing and wife are members of the Evangelical church, and are earnest workers in the cause of relig- ion. Both are fervent believers in the value of education, and are doing what they can to prepare their children for a successful and rational career. In 1883 Mr. Pansing erected a fine residence on East Linden street, in which he and his family now live, and are sur- rounded by a large circle of admiring friends. eMORY C. OBLINGER, cashier of the First National bank, of German- town, was born in Germantown, Ohio, June 5, 1865, a son of David L. and Mary A. (Clark) Oblinger, both natives of Montgomery county. Gabriel Oblinger, paternal grandfather of Emory C. , was a native of Pennsylvania and among the pioneers of Germantown, Ohio, where he first engaged in merchandizing, in 1825, in which he continued for many years, residing in that town until his death in 1874. His children were David L. , Ellen (Mrs. Dr. J. J. Antrim), Orion, Daniel, Elizabeth (Mrs. Noah W. Kumber), Clayton and Catherine (Mrs. Charles Rohrer). David L. Oblinger, father of Emory C, was born in Germantown in 1839. On attain- ing his majority he engaged in business with his father, and later embarked in the dry- goods trade, under the firm name of D. L. Oblinger & Co., in which he continued up to his death. His wife was a daughter of Levi L. and Mary L. (Gunckel) Clark, pioneers of Germantown, and granddaughter of Thomas and Catherine (Lehrnen) Clark, of Lebanon county, Pa., on the paternal side, and on the 1030 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD maternal side of John D. Gunckel, a pioneer of Montgomery county, Ohio. The issue of this union was one son, Emory C. Emory C. Oblinger was reared in his na- tive town, was educated in the public schools, and at the age of nineteen embarked in the grocery business in Germantown, in which he continued for five years. In 1889 he was ap- pointed assistant cashier of the First National bank of Germantown, and was promoted to cashier in 1890, a position he has since held with credit to himself and to the management of the bank. In September, 1888, Mr. Oblin- ger married Pearl, daughter of George and Maria (Emrick) Schafer, of Sunsbury, Ohio, and to this marriage has been born one son — David L. Mr. Oblinger is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and of the I. O. O. F. , and politically is a republican. It will be seen from the above that Mr. Oblinger de- scends from two of the oldest pioneer families of German township. Emory C. Oblinger has well maintained the good name of his ances- tors, and is now looked upon as one of the brightest young business men of Germantown. IRA S. OWENS, one of the veteran sol- diers of the late Civil war, sprang from sturdy Welsh stock. William Owens, the founder of the family in America, was a settler in Virginia during colonial days. His son William was born in Brunswick county, Ya., March 9, 1779. became a farmer, and married Lucy Wright, who was born in the same county, June 19, 1773. Their children were Samuel Thomas and George B. William Owens emigrated to Greene county, Ohio, in 181 1, and cleared up a farm of fifty acres, two and and a half miles south of Xenia. Here he remained until his death, which occurred in his eighty-fourth year, December 26, 1862, at the residence of his son, Capt. Samuel Thomas Owens, of Xenia, Ohio. He was a typical pioneer, a man of high character and a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which faith he brought up his sons. In poli- tics he was in early life an old-line whig and later a republican. Rev. George B. Owens, father of Ira S., was born July 14. 1809, in Brunswick county, Va., and was about two years old when brought to this state by his parents. He received a common-school education and afterward en- gaged in teaching school, continuing in this vocation for many years. He became a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church when twelve years of age, and was for a long time a minister in that church, riding on horseback to his different appointments through the country for many miles. He was licensed as a local preacher in 1842, and in 1850 was employed as a supply on Concord circuit by Dr. Elliott, presiding elder. In 1851 he was employed on Franklin circuit and in 1852 on Camden cir- cuit. In 1853 he was admitted into the Cin- cinnati conference and filled the following ap- pointments : Venice circuit, two years ; Cum- minsville circuit, 1856 and 1857 ; Monroe cir- cuit, 1858-59; Laurel circuit, i860; Enon, 1861 ; Rayville, 1862 ; and Bethany, 1863. Rev. Mr. Owens was a man of more than ordinary talents, was a sweet singer, a power- ful preacher, and often witnessed great revivals of religion among his people. In 1829 he married Miss Eleanor Brewington, who was born of English parents in Maryland. To this marriage there were born the following chil- dren : Ira S. ; William R. ; Thomas L. , who died when eight months old ; and John F. Rev. Mr. Owens died November 23, 1862, at residence of his son Ira, two and a half miles south of Xenia, in his fifty-fourth year. Ira S. Owens, the subject of this sketch, was born March 1, 1830, on the homestead of his grandfather in Greene county, Ohio. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1031 Reared a farmer, he received a good common- school education. On December 15, 1856, when he was twenty-six years old, he married in Greene county, Miss Malinda Middleton, who was born June 14,1831, in Greene county, Ohio, and a daughter of John and Susan (Mus- setter) Middleton. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Owens settled on her father's farm, living there one year, and then moved to the Owens homestead, wherethey remained until his enlist- ment in the army. This occurred at Xenia, Ohio, October 7, 1861, in company B, Sev- enty-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, to serve three years or during the war. His captain was Stephen A. Bassford. Later he was transferred to company C, under Capt. Sam- uel T. Owens, his uncle. He served faith- fully until January 26, 1864, when he veteran- ized at Nashville, Tenn., in the' same organi- zation, re-enlisting for three years or during the war. He was honorably discharged, on ac- count of the termination of the war, June 10, 1865. He was in the battles of Stone River and on the famous Atlanta campaign, partici- pating during that great campaign in the bat- tles of Buzzard Roost Mountain, Resaca, Dal- las, Pumpkin Vine Creek, Kenesaw Mountain, Chattahoochie, and in the general engagement at Atlanta, in which Gen. McPherson was killed. He was also in the battle of Jones- boro. He then went on the march to the sea with Sherman, marched on to Goldsboro, was in the Carolina campaign, and went on to Washington, D. C, where he participated in the grand review. At the' battle of Stone River, December 31, 1862, he was wounded, being shot through the left thigh, and was taken to the field hospital, but one week later rejoined his regiment. He was taken sick on the march from Murfreesboro to Chattanooga, and was in the hospital on this account one week at Manchester. He was then in hospital at Nashville eight weeks, where he was made ward master of ward 3, remaining in this ca- pacity about six months. During the entire period of his service, with the exceptions noted, he was an active soldier, and always with his regiment on the march and in battle when it was thus engaged. He was, however, not in the battle of Chickamauga, being in the hospital at that time. But he rendered good service to the wounded in that battle. After the battle of Stone River Mr. Owens was de- tailed as head clerk of the mustering officer of Gen. Negley's headquarters, and served in this capacity for three weeks. He was promoted to corporal in 1862, and served as such officer to the end of the war. After the war he re- turned to the old homestead, the same year going to Putnam county, Ind., where he bought a farm of eighty acres, and where he taught school two winters. His wife died October 24, 1869, and he then moved to Yellow Springs, Greene county, Ohio, where he lived with his mother for two years. His children by his first wife were John W. , James Allison, Lura E. and Alice. At Yellow Springs he again married, on March 21, 1872, his second wife being Catherine Real, by whom he had no children. She died in 1890. Mr. Owens followed farming in Greene county until he removed to Beavertown in 1 89 1. Afterward he removed to Byron, Greene county, and was there made postmas- ter under President Harrison's administration, serving about one year. He then removed to Union in 1893, and was appointed notary pub- lic by Gov. McKinley, May 9, 1894. His second wife having died, as stated above, he married on May 7, 1891, at Beavertown, Miss Elizabeth Real, a sister of his second wife. Mr. and Mrs. Owens are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and he is a steward of the church. In politics he is a republican, and is a man of undoubted honor and integrity, taking great pride, as he is justified in doing, 1032 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD in his record as a soldier. He is a member of Yellow Springs lodge, No. 420, F. &A. M., is a man of excellent literary attainments, and has written a volume on Greene's County's Soldiers in the Civil War. He is a member of Austin Macy post, No. 671, G. A. R., and is a poet of no mean ability. He has written many war poems and was a newspaper corre- spondent during the war. Mr. Owens is thus shown to be a man of excellent parts and talents, and he is everywhere recognized as an honorable citizen and an upright man. Mr. Owens is at the present time correspondent for the Dayton Herald. at ILLIAM H. PANSING, a well- known business man of Miamis- burg, Ohio, and a member of the firm of Pansing Bros., was born in this place December 26, 1849. He is a son of John H. and Johanna Lucie (Borcherring) Pansing, mention of whom is made in the biographical sketch of Bernard J. Pansing. William H. Pansing came to manhood in Mi- amisburg, and was educated in its public schools, and also at the Miami Commercial college at Dayton. After completing his edu- cation he began life for himself as a farmer and continued t o follow farming until 1875. On March 1, 1876, he engaged in the general grocery, hardware, iron and steel business in connection with his brother, Bernard J. Pan- sing, under the firm name of Pansing Bros., and has continued a member of the firm ever since. His straightforward dealings with all persons with whom he comes in contact are calculated to build up the strength of the firm, largely adding to its trade and reputation. Mr. Pansing was married October 14, 1875, to Amelia R. Shupert, daughter of George and Mary M. (Troxell) Shupert, of Miamis- burg. To this marriage there have been born four children, as follows: Charles H. ; How- ard, deceased; Mary M. and Ruth. Mr. Pan- sing has always taken great interest in religious and Sunday-school matters. He has been a member of the Lutheran church since he was fifteen years of age, and for the past twenty- two years has been a member of the choir. For seven years he has led the Sunday-school in singing, and in all ways has been a very active and useful member of both church and Sunday-school. In 1884 he erected the business block now occupied by Mr. Clark, on Main street, and he owns and occupies a fine residence on Park avenue. Mr. Pansing is an Odd Fellow and a Patriarch Militant, uniform rank. Politic- ally, he has always been a democrat, and as such served two years in the city council of Miamisburg, with entire credit to himself and with satisfaction to his constituents. He and his brother, Bernard J., have contributed largely to the erection of the present Lu- theran church building, as did also their father, and the brothers are doing their full share to- ward its support. @AMALIEL PEASE, one of the exten- sive tobacco growers and general farm- ers of Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, is a native here and was born May 31, 1837, a son of George and Ellen (Wheatley) Pease. George Pease, his father, was born in Suf- field, Conn., November 25, 1798, and in his early manhood followed the profession of school- teaching. In 1825 he came west, crossing the mountains by stage to Pittsburg, Pa., where he and a companion purchased a canoe and floated down the Ohio river to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he passed the winter. In the spring of 1826, he came to Miami township, Montgomery county, and until 1828 stopped OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1033 with his brother Perry, who was proprietor of a distillery at Lamme's Mills, and for a short time had charge of the distillery. He then moved to Carrollton, where he had charge of the mill office for his brothers, Horace and Perry, until 1848, when he purchased a home and engaged in miscellaneous activities. He was for a number of years treasurer and gen- eral manager of the Great Miami Turnpike company, but in 1868 retired from active busi- ness life. The first marriage of George Pease took place August23, 1831, with Miss Ellen Wheat- ley, daughter of Richard and Hannah (Dunbar) Wheatley, of Washington township, to which union were born four children, viz: Mary and Mindwell, both now deceased; Gamaliel, and Ellen W., now Mrs. H. B. Ulm. Mrs. Pease died November 16, 1839, and the second mar- riage of Mr. Pease occurred April 6, 1841, with Miss Mary A. Lamme, daughter of David Lamme, one of the pioneers of the Miami val- ley. To this marriage were born three children — Horace L. , David W. and Harriet (Mrs. George W. Hayes). Mr. Pease died February 23, 1880. He was made a Mason, in 1822, in Apollo lodge, at Suffield, Conn., and at the time of his death was an honored member of Minerva lodge, No. 98, at Miamisburg. He was also one of the organizers of the Presby- terian church at Carrollton. In politics he was first a whig and later a republican, and al- though active as a party man never sought po- litical preference. In business he was a man of the most scrupulous integrity, and his death was sincerely mourned by the entire commu- nity in which he had passed so large a portion of his useful life. Gamaliel Pease, the subject of this memoir, was educated in the common schools of Miami township and in the Miami Valley institute. In 1850 he went from Carrollton to Dayton and learned the molder's trade in the Buckeye foundry, and worked at this trade until 1857. In 1859 he returned to Carrollton, farmed for one year, and was then employed for a year in the distillery of his uncle, Perry Pease. De- cember 14, 1 86 1, he enlisted in company G, Sixty-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, and took part in the battles of Gallatin, Murfreesboro (or Stone River), Chickamaugaand Missionary Ridge. February 14, 1864, he was trans- ferred from Chattanooga, Tenn. , to Columbus, Ohio, where he was employed in the recruit- ing service until honorably discharged, Febru- ary 20, 1865. After the war, he was engaged for five years in bridge building. Mr. Pease was united in marriage, March 18, 1869, with Miss Mary Leisz, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Wagner) Leisz, of Car- rollton, and to this union have been born five children, viz: Oscar M. , Jennie Gertrude (Mrs. Harry C. Weaver), George, Calvin and Myrtle. Since about the time of his marriage Mr. Pease has been engaged in general farm- ing and tobacco raising, in which he has been eminently successful. Mr. Pease is a member of Al Mason post, No. 598, G. A. R. , and is a republican. He and his family are among the foremost in the community, and he is a man who has faithfully filled all the stations of life, either as civilian or soldier. WOHN B. PIATT, an ex-soldier of the £ Civil war, and an old resident of Trot- /% 1 wood, Montgomery county, Ohio, is a native of the county and was born Sep- tember 17, 1836, a son of James and Barbara (dinger ) Piatt. The father of James, who was a native of Rockingham county, Va. , was of French-Huguenot descent, and the father of the following named children: Isaac, Jacob, Abraham, Solomon, David, John, James, Jane and Polly. Don Piatt, the poet, was also of the same ancestry. 1034 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD James Piatt, the father of John B., was born in 1806, in Rockingham county, Va., and when a boy came to Montgomery county, Ohio, and here married Barbara dinger, a daughter of Jacob Olinger, who came from Pennsylvania and was a pioneer of this county. To James and Barbara Piatt were born the fol- lowing children: Rebecca, Jacob and John B. The death of Mrs. Barbara Piatt took place in 1838, and for his second wife, Mr. Piatt mar- ried Eliza McWhiney, of Scotch-Irish extrac- tion, and to this union were born William, David, James and Eliza. The five sons of James Piatt all served as soldiers in the Civil war. Their father died in 1857. The mother of John B. Piatt died when he was but two years old and he was reared by Maj. Elijah Culbert, who sent him to school and taught him blacksmithing at Post Town, where the major owned a shop and foundry. April 29, 1 86 1, Mr. Piatt married Miss Ro- sanna Steckly, a native of Wittenberg, Ger- many, born November 16, 1843, a daughter of Matthew and Margaret Steckly, whose chil- dren were named Regina, Rosanna, and Cath- erine. Mrs. Steckly having died about the year 1847, Mr. Steckly embarked for America and landed in New York, where he remained three months and then came to Ohio, locating first at Dayton, and then upon a farm pur- chased by him in Madison township, Montgom- ery county, where he passed the remainder of his life, a member of the Lutheran church. Leaving his young wife and babes at Poast Town, Mr. Piatt enlisted, in March, 1864, at Dayton, in company E, Seventy-first Ohio volunteer infantry, under Capt. Samuel Mc- Connell, to serve three years unless earlier dis- charged because of the close of the war. He was in the battle of Jonesboro, Ga. , fought Hood's troops in a skirmish at Franklin, and was in the two-day fight at Nashville, Decem- ber 15 and 16, but was wounded the first day, a rifle ball striking his left side. The ball, however, was flattened by striking his car- tridge box, belt and haversack, before reaching his body, otherwise he would have been shot through. As it was, he was partly paralyzed in the left side, which caused his confinement in hospital until honorably discharged at Camp Dennison, Ohio, through general orders, in 1865, after a service of about sixteen months. On his return to Post Town he resumed his trade as soon as possible, although his phys- ical disability compelled him to employ an as- sistant in his work. In 1867, Mr. Piatt opened a shop in Trot- wood, has prospered, and has erected a com- fortable residence. His children were eight in number, and were named Lizzie A. (who died at the age of twenty-five years), Ella G., Reu- ben S., Laura B. (who died aged fifteen), Clyde, Glenn, Pearl (who died at eleven months), and another son who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Piatt are members of the Chris- tian church, and in politics Mr. Piatt is a re- publican. He is a member of the Old Guard post, No. 23, G. A. R., of Dayton; of Trot- wood lodge, No. 754, I. O. O. F., which was organized in 1886, during which time Mr. Piatt has missed but few meetings, in which he has passed all the chairs, and was formerly noble grand of the lodge at New Lebanon. He has given his children excellent school ad- vantages, his daughter, Ella G. , having been a teacher for seven years, and he and his family are held in the highest esteem not only by the residents of Madison and adjacent townships, but throughout the entire county. >-j*OHN PLOCHER, the well-known con- ■ tracting carpenter and builder of Miam- (% 1 isburg, Ohio, is a native of Germany and was born at Muehlheim, Wurtem- berg, October 27, 1847, a son of John and OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1035 Mary (Zeller) Plocher. His paternal grand- parents were Andrew and Katrina (Schlatter- bach) Plocher, the former being a farmer of Muehlheim; the maternal grandfather, Michael Zeller, was also a farmer of the same district, and served as a soldier in the German-Russian war of 1809. John Plocher, the father of our subject, was a grain dealer, and died at Muehl- heim in 1866, at the age of forty-nine years. John Plocher, the subject of this biography, lived in his native town until about twenty years old. He was educated in the common schools of Muehlheim, and there also served an apprenticeship of two years at the carpen- ter's trade, and worked one year as a journey- man. In 1867 he came to America, passed seven weeks in Cincinnati, Ohio, working at his trade, and July 26, of the same year, set- tled in Miamisburg. Here he followed his trade as a journeyman until 1880, when he engaged in contracting on his own account, in which he has made a thorough success, having constructed many of the residences of the city and done the woodwork on a number of busi- ness houses. Since 1886 he has been favored with contracts for the erection of most of the factories built in Miamisburg, including three twine factories and the Enterprise Carriage works, and has, beside, built several of the finest homes erected in the city since that date. Mr. Plocher was united in marriage June 7, 1870, with Miss Mary Voegele, daughter of Martin and Barbara (Smith) Voegele, of Miam- isburg, and this happy marriage has been fol- lowed by the birth of two children — Robert A. and Anna B. The family are members of the Lutheran church, on the board of trustees of which Mr. Plocher has served sixteen years. In his fraternal affiliations he is a member of the D. O. H. and of the A. O. U. W. ; in 1883 he served as grosse barde of the state lodge of the D. O. H., and has been treasurer of his local lodge for seven years. In politics Mr. Plocher is a member of the democratic party, and under its auspices has served as a member of the city council of Miamisburg. He has proven himself worthy of all the trusts that have been reposed in him, having filled his re- sponsible duties in every position with faith- fulness and with strict integrity, and has won for himself the esteem of the entire community. HOMAS LUTHER PRUGH, of Van Buren township, Montgomery county, was born on the farm upon which he now resides November 27, 1835. He is a son of John and Catherine (Haynes) Prugh, both of whom were natives of Maryland. They were the parents of ten children, eight of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, and four of them are still living, as follows: Rev. Dr. P. C. Prugh, of Butler, Pa., born September 13, 1822; Jacob V., born August 3, 1831, now a farmer of Van Buren township; Mrs. Cath- erine A. Fauver, born January 22, 1834, now the widow of Samuel Fauver; and Thomas L. , with whom this sketch deals. The other chil- dren, now deceased, were as follows: Jessie, born August 28, 181 7; David H., born No- vember 27, 1 8 1 8, and died August 5, 1872; John W., born November 7, 1820, and died June 16, 1 851; Henry, born May 25, 1824, died July 24, 1828; Nathan, born July 28, 1827, died August 7, 1828; Gideon G., born July 20, 1829. John Prugh, the father, was by occupation a farmer. He came to Ohio in 181 3, locating in Van Buren township and purchasing 160 acres of land, paying therefor $13 per acre. In the spring of 1820 he moved upon the farm where Thomas L. now lives. He was always a hard-working, industrious man, honest in his dealings with others and successful in his own affairs. He was the youngest son in a family of sixteen children; was born November 25, 1036 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 1794, near Westminster, Frederick county, Md., and lost his father when he was but ten years of age. His wife, Catherine Haynes, to whom he was married November 26, 1816, was born May 27, 1791, also in Frederick county, Md. She died in 1876, and he died on his farm two years later, at the age of eighty-five. Originally they were both mem- bers of the Evangelical Lutheran church, but later they identified themselves with the Re- formed church, and were unusually zealous christian people. When the British made an attempt to invade the city of Baltimore during the war 181 2, John Prugh was called out as a soldier in her defense. He always took an active interest in politics, being early in life a whig, and afterward a republican until his death. John Prugh's father, Conrad Prugh, was of German descent, and, as stated above, was the father of sixteen children, one of whom, Abner Prugh, died in 1891, at the age of 100 years and some months. Conrad Prugh was a farmer during his entire life, and died in Maryland. The father of Catherine Haynes was also a native of Maryland, and died there at an advanced age. Thomas L. Prugh received his education in the district school, and after his marriage con- tinued to live on the farm on which he was born. Until his parents became too old to take care of themselves, he and his father car- ried on the farm work together, the other chil- dren having all been well started in life. Still later Mr. Prugh purchased the farm, and owns it at the present time. On December 15, 1857, he married Miss Catherine Mason, daughter of Philip and Melinda (Conover) Ma- son. To this marriage there have been born three children: J. Mason, Nettie and Frances Pearl. J. Mason married Anne Kemp, of Ger- mantown, and has two children — Thomas K., and Catherine. Nettie married James P. White, of Washington township, and has one son, James Prugh White. Frances Pearl is now attending Monmouth college, 111. Mr. and Mrs. Prugh are members of the United Presbyterian church, and are people in excellent standing, both in church and in so- ciety. Mr. Prugh and his son own about 285 acres of land, all of which is finely improved. His life has been marked by untiring industry and habits of thrift, and his property has been accumulated by his own good management. Mr. Prugh is a republican, and while he has never aspired to office, yet he was recently elected to the office of township trustee, and holds the position at the present time. Dur- ing the late Civil war he belonged to the 100 days' service, but owing to the old age of his parents he sent a substitute to the front, re- maining at home to care for them. He has taken an active interest in educational matters, and has been a member of the township school board for fifteen years. All who know him place in him the most implicit confidence, and all highly esteem him for his great worth as a citizen and neighbor. EON. WILLIAM A. REITER, attor- ney at law, was born in Miamisburg, Ohio, January 6, i860. He is a son of Rev. Dr. Isaac H. and Margaret J. (Heilman) Reiter, fuller mention of his father being made in the memoir which follows this brief biographical notice. William A. Reiter was educated in the pub- lic schools of Miamisburg and at Heidelberg university, from which latter institution he was graduated in 1880. For two years afterward he studied law in the office of Capt. Adam Clay, of Miamisburg, and was admitted to the bar in 1882, since which time he has been de- voted to the earnest practice of his profession. Though never actively engaged in politics, he OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1037 has several times been honored by his demo- cratic fellow-citizens with political preferment. In the spring of 1888 he was elected mayor of Miamisburg, and while holding that office was, in 1889, elected to represent Montgomery county in the state legislature, serving his con- stituency with such ability and credit that he was re-elected to that office in 1891. In 1893 he was elected to the board of education of Miamisburg, and is now president of that body. Mr. Reiter is a member of the Reformed church, a knight templar Mason, and a Knight of Pythias. He is a public-spirited citizen, and enjoys the respect of all, without distinc- tion of party or creed, while, as a lawyer, few men of Mr. Reiter's years have attained a more enviable position at the bar of this county. <>^\ EV. DR. ISAAC H. REITER, for I /^ many years a distinguished citizen and _ W minister of the gospel, of Miamisburg, was born in Berks county, Pa., Feb- ruary 4, 1819, and in 1831 removed with his parents to Wooster, Ohio. His earlier years were spent under religious influences and train- ing, and he united with the Reformed church in 1842. Being well educated in his youth, he taught school for several terms, and while en- gaged in Bible distribution and railroad clerking he privately prosecuted his studies. From 185 1 to 1854 he was a student in the theological seminary at Heidelberg university, graduating from the seminary in June of the latter year. In November following he was ordained a min- ister of the gospel, and was pastor of the Mi- amisburg Reformed church from 1854 to 1874, a period of twenty years. From 1874 to 1895 Dr. Reiter was engaged in general church work, preaching only occasionally. From 1873 to 1882 he was editor of the literary department of the Heidelberg Teacher & Instructor, and from 1880 to 1882 was editor of the Christian World. He also sup- plied considerable matter for the Lives of the Fathers, published in six volumes, and at the same time performed other literary and statistical work. Dr. Reiter served as stated clerk of the general synod of the Reformed church for thir- ty-five years, and of the Ohio synod for twen- ty-five years. He was long officially identified with the educational institutions of the Re- formed church at Tiffin, Ohio, and for thirty- five years was an active member of the board of regents of Heidelburg university. For twenty-seven years he was a member of the board of trustees of Heidelberg Theological seminary, and received the honorary degree of master of arts from Heidelberg university in June, 1866, and from Ursinus college the de- gree of doctor of divinity in June, 1874. He was a member of the board of educa- tion of Miamisburg twenty-four years and of the board of examiners six years. He wrote a history of the public schools of Miamisburg, which was published in the Miamisburg Bulle- tin, beginning January 5, 18S3, and continu- ing through nine numbers. No one was ever more closely identified with the moral, educa- tional and religious interests of Miamisburg than was Dr. Reiter, and at his death, which occurred November 8, 1895, the entire com- munity felt that it had suffered a loss that could not be repaired. BLEMING RICE, a retired farmer, living in Van Buren township, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, was born in Frederick county, Md., September 26, 1822. He is a son of James and Rebecca (Drill) Rice, both natives of the last named county and state. They were parents of six children, five sons and one daughter, five of the six still surviving, as follows: Fleming, 1038 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD James A. ; Louisa, wife of John Waltz, of Mus- catine, Iowa; John W., and Milton. James Rice, the father of these children, was a miller in his early manhood. About 1826, he came to Ohio and located in Lancas- ter, removing thence to Chillicothe in a few years. He then moved to a point about four miles north of Dayton, and about five years afterward removed south of Dayton to Day- ton township, now Van Buren township. The family was then too poor to purchase land, so rented a farm. There James Rice died in September, 1842, at the age of fifty-five years, his wife having died about five years before. Both were members of the Protestant Episco- pal church, and though poor, were upright, honest and reliable people. The paternal grandfather of Fleming Rice lived in Maryland until his death, which oc- curred in middle age. He and his wife reared a family of two sons and five daughters. The maternal grandfather also died in Maryland. Fleming Rice was ten years old when brought by his parents to Montgomery county. Here he grew to manhood, receiving his edu- cation in the district schools. When his par- ents died he and his next younger brother took care of the other members of the family, giving them the best education the country then afforded. In 1843 Fleming married Miss Catherine Fenstmacher, by whom he had four children, as follows: Hester Jane, John W. , Mary and Franklin. Hester Jane married Daniel Peters, of Preble county; John W. , married Clara Bellman, and has three chil- dren. Mary married Jacob Sheets, and has one child. She and her husband live two miles south of the soldiers' home, on the Ger- mantown pike. Franklin, who married Victo- ria Dryden, has three children, and resides in Dayion. Mrs. Catherine Rice died in January, 1864, a member of the German Reformed church. Mr. Rice married, in 1867, Miss Mary E. Miller, daughter of John and Mary E. Miller, To this marriage there were born three chil- dren: Annie E., Charles D., and Olive Leora. Annie E. married Sherebiah Brad- ford, and has one child. Charles D. married Elsie Gebhart, and Olive Leora lives at home. Mrs. Rice is a member of the German Re- formed church. Politically Mr. Rice is a dem- ocrat, and as such has held several township offices. He has been quite successful in the accumulation of property, having four fine farms, one containing 160 acres; another 105 acres; one north of Dayton, 122 acres, and the home farm, 103 acres. His home farm lies between three and four miles south of Dayton. Having lived in Montgomery county sixty-four years he has seen much of the wonderful de- velopment of this rich valley. He is well known throughout the county as one of its most substantial, reliable and progressive farmers. He has always worked hard, and, beginning with nothing but his hands and a determination to accomplish something, has become independent, and now enjoys the re- spect of all both for what he has done and for what he is still capable of doing. Kind- hearted, hospitable and generous, Mr. Rice has many friends among all classes of people. He is one of the public-spirited men of the county, always ready to aid worthy enterprises, modest in his bearing, and genial in disposition. ' ILSON RICE, a well-known educa- tor of Montgomery county, Ohio, was (U \JLM born in Van Buren township, May 24, 1861, a son of James A. and Hannah ( Opdyke ) Rice. His paternal grand- parents were natives of Maryland, but settled in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1835, an ^ n ' s maternal grandparents, Albert and Rebecca OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1039 ( Ruder ) Opdyke, were old residents of Van Buren township. Wilson Rice was reared in Jefferson town- ship, was educated in the common schools, spent two years at the Northwestern Ohio Normal school, Ada, Ohio, and later took a commercial course at A. D. Wilt's college, Dayton, Ohio. In 18S2 he began his career as a teacher in the common schools, in which vocation he has successfully continued, and since 1889 has been a resident of Germantown. Mr. Rice has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Amanda E., daughter of W. S. and Elizabeth ( Shroyer ) O'Neill, of Van Buren township ; his second wife was Miss Rilla, daughter of David and Elizabeth (Spring) Huber, of Germantown, by whom he has two children — David L. and Olive M. Mr. Rice is a member of the Reformed church, of the F. & A. M., I. O. O. F., K. of P., and of the For- esters. He is a democrat and served as post- master of Whitfield, Montgomery county, from September, 1S90, to January, 1895. In 1895 he was elected trustee of German township and has served his constituents faithfully in both capacities. As an educator he has won golden opinions from the people of German- town, and as a citizen he stands high in the esteem of the community. ^^OHN RISON, bridge builder and con- M tractor of Miamisburg, was born in A 1 Perry county, Ohio, July 25, 1832. He is a son of Peter and Elizabeth (Wood) Rison, who were natives respectively of Virginia and Pennsylvania. His paternal grandfather, Peter Rison, was a farmer of the state of Virginia. Peter Rison, father of John, settled in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1838, locating near Dayton, and later removed to Butler township, and engaged in farming, which occupation he followed until the time of his death, which occurred in 1849. Six of his children grew to maturity, as fol- lows: Thomas, who died while serving his country as a soldier during the late Civil war; John; Peter, now deceased; Henry, deceased; Emanuel, deceased; and David C. , of Van Wert, Ohio. John Rison was reared in Montgomery county, from the time he was six years of age, and was educated in the common schools. At the age of eleven he was thrown upon his own resources, and for the first six years there- after worked on a farm. Arriving at the age of seventeen he engaged in bridge building on the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad, and this line of work he followed for six years. Afterward he became superintendent of bridge building for other parties, continuing thus en- gaged for several years, and about 1870 em- barked for himself in the same business, that of bridge building and contracting, which he has continuously and successfully followed ever since. He has been a resident of Miamisburg since 1852. During the late Civil war he was a mem- ber of company D, One Hundred and Thirty- first Ohio volunteer infantry, beginning his service as captain of his company, and retain- ing that position throughout. He was ap- pointed judge advocate at Annapolis, Md., but declined the office, and was honorably discharged with his company at the expiration of his term of service. He was married Jan- uary 10, 1S57, to Elizabeth Dininger, of Ger- mantown, Montgomery county, by whom he has four children, of whom only one survives, Annetta. Capt. Rison is a royal arch Mason, a Knight Templar, an Odd Fellow, belonging both to the encampment and canton, is a member of the Daughters of Rebekah, and of the Grand Army of the Republic. He served as a member of the city council of Miamisburg for fourteen years as a republican, having belonged 1040 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD to that party ever since attaining his majority. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and an excellent member of both church and general society. Mrs. Rison died April 2, 1893. She was a lifelong member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and her esti- mable character and excellent qualities en- deared her to all who knew her. >-j-' ESSE J. ROGERS, of Randolph town- M ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, was /• 1 born in Clinton county, August 8, 1846, and is a son of Reuben and Deborah (Jeffery) Rogers. He was but fourteen years of age when he came to Montgomery county, and resided here about two years, receiving his education in the common schools, and then went to Moscow, Clermont county. There he enlisted, August 15, 1862, and was mustered into the three years' service, at Cincinnati, in the First independent Ohio battery, under Capt. George P. Kirtland. He was soon pro- moted to be corporal, served until the close of the war, 'and was honorably discharged June 26, 1865. He took an active part in the bat- tles of South Mountain, Fisher's Hill, several severe engagements in West Virginia, Fay- ettsville, Stevenson Depot, Lynchburg, New River and Bunker Hill, Va. The young sol- dier endured many hardships beside through severe and continued marching, and was seized with rheumatism, for which he was treated in camp, as he declined going to hospital. He was tenacious in the performance of his duty, and was in all the marches, skirmishes and engagements in which his regiment took any active part. After the close of the war Mr. Rogers re- turned to Montgomery county, and here mar- ried, October 20, 1866, Miss Sarah D. Landis, who was born in Randolph township, Novem- ber 28, 1.847, a daughter of John and Sarah (Dougherty) Landis. To this union there have been sent nine children: William, Ed- ward, Sarah, Charles, Bertha, Herbert, Web- ster, May and Harley — all born within the limits of Montgomery count}'. Mr. Rogers first located, after marriage, in Salem, where he was employed in the still- house of H. M. Turner for two years; lived in Baltimore, Montgomery county, for about three years, and in 1874 bought a farm in Ran- dolph township, which then comprised but forty-eight acres, but which he has, through his diligence and economy, increased to fifty- four acres, improving it with substantial build- ings, orchard, etc., and lived upon it until March 1, 1897, when he moved to Perry town- ship. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers are members of the Christian church, in which he is a class- leader and superintendent of the Sunday- school. In politics Mr. Rogers is a republican, with a strong leaning toward the prohibition party, and is a member of Marshall post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Brookville. Reuben Rogers, father of Jesse J. Rogers, was born in New Jersey, of English descent. He was a sailor in early life, and after his marriage with Miss Jeffery came to Ohio and bought a farm of 160 acres in Clinton county, but shortly afterward sold this farm, moving to Highland county, where he purchased another farm, and there passed away in the Methodist faith at the age of eighty-four years. His children were, in order of birth, William H., Elizabeth, Alice, Lydia, Jesse J. and Sarah. Of these, William H. was a soldier for three years in the Fifty-ninth Ohio volun- teer infantry. Jesse Rogers, father of Reuben and grand- father of Jesse J., was a shipowner and sea- captain of Ocean county, N. J. John Landis, the father of Mrs. Sarah D. Rogers, was a substantial farmer, owning 1 10 acres of land, was a member of the Dunkard OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1041 church, and lived to be seventy years of age, leaving a family of eight children, viz: Israel, Mary, Anna. Kate, John, David, Sarah and William. The Jeffery family were of old colonial descent, and tradition has it that they were related to the historical John Rolfe, who mar- ried the Indian princess, Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief Powhatan. aHRISTIAN ROHRER, deceased, for many years a prominent citizen of German township, Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, was born in Lancaster coun- ty. Pa., December 2, 1804, a son of Christian and Anna Maria (Forrer) Rohrer, both natives of the Keystone state. His father and grand- father, the latter also named Christian, as well as himself, were born on the same farm in Lancaster county. Pa. This land was deeded by one of William Penn's agents to a member of one of the earlier Rohrer families, and was in their possession over 1 50 years — this own- ership ending in 1878, at the death of the last surviving brother, in Pennsylvania, at the age of eighty-six years. Christian Rohrer, our subject, was reared to manhood in his native state, receiving a good education, and on attaining his majority inherited from his father's estate a farm and sawmill property. About 1828 he came to Ohio and Indiana on a prospecting tour, and on returning to Pennsylvania disposed of his property, and in 1831 settled in German town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio. Here he pur- chased a rlouring-mill one mile west of German- town, which he operated until 1847. He then purchased the Risinger mill property, including seventy-five acres of land^ rebuilt the distillery which was on the farm, and which he had op- erated since 1835, and embarked in the man- ufacture of high wines and liquors, making the first Bourbon whiskey distilled in Montgomery county. He continued in the business until 1861, when he retired. November 29, 1832, Christian Rohrer mar- ried Margaret, daughter of Christopher and Catherine (Kern) Emerick, who had settled in German township in 1804; she bore him five children, viz: Anna M. (Mrs. Thomas Grubb), David, Elizabeth (Mrs. Samuel Kaucher), Jo- sephine (Mrs. Henry H. Byers), and John H. Mr. Rohrer was one of the solid and success- ful business men of the Miami valley, was one of the charter members of the First National bank of Germantown, one of the original stock- holders of the C. , H. & D. Railroad Co., and always took a deep interest in worthy public enterprises, as well as in the progress, growth and development of the valley. He died July 30, 1883, and his wife, who was born March 8, 1 81 3, departed this life August 16, 1889. John H. Rohrer, a business man of Ger- mantown, was born in German township, July 21, 1858, a son of Christian and Margaret (Eme- rick) Rohrer, mentioned above. He passed his youth in his native township, was educated in the public schools, and in 1879 began his business career by purchasing a half interest in the Diamond Flour mills at Gratis, Ohio, with which he was connected for one year, after which he spent four years in Kansas and the Indian territory, looking after real estate and cattle interests. In 1886 he embarked in the tobacco business at Germantown, Ohio, with J. C. Schaeffer, and, in 1890, also engaged with Mr. Schaeffer in the grain, coal and lum- ber business, which, as J. H. Rohrer & Co., has successfully continued since. He married, December 16, 1886, Julia A., daughter of George C. and Mary (Bachman) Banker, of Germantown, and has had born to him four children: Margaret E., Mary, Robert (de- ceased) and Eugene. Mr. Rohrer is a thirty- second degree Mason, and a member of the I. 1042 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD O. O. F. , Friendship lodge, No. 21, of Ger- mantown, and also of the encampment. In politics he is a republican. (/\ AVID ROHRER, a prominent citizen I and well known distiller of German- S^^J town, was born in German township, Montgomery county, Ohio, Novem- ber 10, 1835, a son of Christian and Margaret (Emerick) Rohrer, whose biography appears above. He was reared in his native township and educated in the public schools, and at the age of twenty-two years entered his father's distil- lery. In 1857 he became a partner, and, as C. Rohrer & Son, the business continued up to 1 86 1. Christian Rohrer retiring, David then continued the business alone up to 1868. Dur- ing this period, in 1863, he erected a new dis- tillery, with a capacity of ten barrels of Bour- bon whisky per day. In 1868 Charles Hofer, of Cincinnati, was admitted as a partner, the firm becoming D. Rohrer & Co., and the part- nership existing until 1883, when Mr. Rohrer purchased Mr. Hofer's interest. He has since successfully conducted the business alone and has added to the capacity of his distillery, the output being now forty barrels per day. Mr. Rohrer was married, February 1, 1865, to Ada V., daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Schultz) Rohrer, natives of Maryland, who settled in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1826. To this union were born five children: Josie (Mrs. F. N. Emerick), Albert, Ada V., Euge- nia and Frank C. Mr. Rohrer is one of the progressive busi- ness men of Montgomery county, whose suc- cess has been achieved by upright dealing in all the affairs of life. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. , and in religious belief is an advo- cate of the Universalist doctrine. In politics he is a republican. >-j*OHN S. ROBERTSON, M. D., a prom- m inent physician of Germantown, was /• 1 born in Hanover, Columbiana county, Ohio, July 25, 1843, and is a son of John and Margaret E. (Vallandigham) Robertson, natives of Prince Edward's Island and Colum- biana county, Ohio, respectively. Rev. James Robertson, his paternal grand- father, was a native of Perth, Scotland, a graduate of the university of Glasgow, and a Presbyterian clergyman. He was a member of the Scotch colony which first emigrated to Prince Edward's Island, and thence to the Scotch settlement in Columbiana county, Ohio, where he resided until his death, having had charge of the Presbyterian congregation in Hanover for several years. His wife was Janet Stuart. The maternal grandfather of John S. Robertson was the Rev. Clement Vallan- digham, a native of Washington county, Pa., of Scotch-Irish descent, also a Presbyterian minister; and he and Rev. James Robertson above mentioned, were the first two Presby- terian clergymen in Columbiana county, Ohio, and formed nearly all the churches of that de- nomination in that county. His wife was Re- becca Laird. John Robertson, father of John S., was for many years engaged in the drug and dry-goods business at New Lisbon, Ohio, was the first postmaster of New Lisbon under Abraham Lincoln, and died there in 1871. John S. Robertson was educated at the New Lisbon high school, and subsequently taught school several years, at the same time giving his attention and spare moments to the study of medicine. He attended medical lec- tures at the university of Ann Arbor, Mich., and was graduated at the Ohio Medical college at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1883. He had begun the practice of his profession in Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1868, and in April, 1869, located at Germantown, Montgomery county, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1043 where, with the exception of six years, during which he was clerk of the courts, he has since been in the active practice of his profession. Dr. Robertson was married June 19, 1872, to Elizabeth M. , daughter of Daniel and Eliza- beth (Gunckel) Rowe, of Germantown, and has three children living: Fredonia, Robert L. and Jessie E. Dr. Robertson was a member of the Germantown school board for nine years, during which period he was instrumental in placing the Germantown public library on its present permanent and substantial basis, it having now a collection of 3,000 volumes. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., K. of P., A. O. U. W., and the G. A. R. During the late Civil war he was a member of company K, One Hundred and Forty-third Ohio vol- unteer infantry, and was honorably discharged at the expiration of service. He served two terms, 1876-82, as clerk of the courts of Montgomery county, being politically a demo- crat. In 1893 he was appointed pension ex- aminer upon the home board. In his profes- sion Dr. Robertson is experienced and reliable, and has the full confidence of the residents of Germantown and vicinity, while as a citizen he holds a firm place in the esteem of the community at large. m OSES B. SCHAEFFER, dealer in agricultural implements at Miamis- burg, was born in German town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, December II, 1855, a son of John H. and Maggie (Baum) Schaeffer, both natives of this county. His paternal grandfather, John Schaeffer, a native of Frederick, Md., settled in German township at an early day, and cleared and im- proved the farm now owned by his grandson, Moses B. , where he died in 1S64. His wife, Eva Kemp, also a native of Maryland, died in 44 1865. Their children were Elizabeth (Mrs. Jones Monbeck), Louise (Mrs. Daniel H. Fahl), Rebecca (Mrs. Eli Faust), Harriet, Charlotte A. (Mrs. George Kemp), Maria, John H. and 1 Jacob. The great-grandfather of Moses B. Schaeffer also became a resident of this county, where he died many years ago. John H., father of Moses B. Schaeffer, was born on the old homestead in 1829, and there always resided, with the exception of the last year of his life, which was spent in Miamisburg, where he died September 13, 1894. His wife was a daughter of Jacob Baum, a pioneer of Miami township. She bore him one son, Moses B., who was also reared on the homestead, was educated at Oberlin college, and spent one year at the Cincinnati Law school. From early manhood he was engaged in farming, which he followed until 1893, when he removed to Miamisburg, where he has since resided. He was employed for one year as engineer of the Miamisburg Electric Light plant, and was for two years associated with M. T. Apple, as foreman of his planing-mill. January 1, 1896, he embarked in business as a dealer in farm implements and farm machinery of every de- scription, in which he is still engaged. The marriage of Mr. Schaeffer took place October 9, 1879, with Ella W. , daughter of James C. and Mary (Wheeler) Anderson, of Carlisle, Ohio; they have five children, named Mary A., May, Bertha P., Fannie and Pearl. Mr. Schaeffer is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and of the I. O. O. F., in which he is a past grand, and past patriarch of Miamisburg encampment, No. 82. Politically he is a republican. Mr. Schaeffer's success through life may be attributed solely to his own industry and the skillful manipulation of the means he had under his control when he started in his business career, and he well deserves the high esteem in which he is held by the residents of Miamisburg and of Montgomery county. 1044 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD >Y*OHN C. SCHAEFFER, a prosperous k business man of Germantown, Mont- /• 1 gomery county, Ohio, was born in that town January 27, 1 860 — a son of Will- iam H. and Catherine (Negley) Schaeffer. His paternal grandfather, George C. Schaeffer, formerly of Center county, Pa., came to Ger- mantown, Ohio, about 1820. John C. Negley, maternal grandfather of John C. Schaeffer, was born near Carlisle, Pa., and in 1S08 settled in German township, Montgomery county, Ohio. In 181 1 he married Mary Shuey, daughter of Martin Shuey, a native of Lebanon county, Pa., who settled in German township in 1805. In 18 12 Mr. Negley entered the service of the U. S. government as second lieutenant in the regiment commanded by Col. Pierce, and at the close of the war was chosen captain of a company of militia, and from this time until his death went by the name of Capt. Neg- ley. He died March 16, 1863, in his eighty- fifth year. William H. Schaeffer, father of John C, was born in Germantown, Ohio, February II, 1837, a son of George C. and Frances A. (Mc- Clure) Schaeffer, both natives of Pennsylvania. His paternal grandfather, Michael Schaeffer, was a native of Pennsylvania and of German descent. George C. Schaeffer came, as abovr- stated, from Center county. Pa., to German- town, Ohio, about 1820, where he followed his trade of cabinetmaker for some years, and from 1833 to 1 8 58 was proprietor of the Schaeffer House, which, during that period, was the leading hotel of the place. He reared a family of six children: Maria (Mrs. Capt. George Wightman), George, William H., Cath- erine (Mrs Josiah Catrow), Ariadne (Mrs. Capt. W. H. Buzzard) and Josephine (Mrs. William Pauley). Mr. Schaeffer died in 185S, at the age of fifty-one years. William H. Schaeffer was reared and educated in German- town and began life for himself in the distillery business, operating a distillery from 1855 to 1859. He later engaged in farming in Ger- man township and also spent two years in Toledo in the livery business. In 1867 he re- turned to Germantown, and embarked in busi- ness as a buyer and packer of leaf tobacco, in which he is still engaged. In 1858, he mar- ried Catherine, daughter of Capt. John and Mary (Shuey) Negley, pioneers of German- town, and has four children: John O, William N., Mary F. and George C. John C. Schaeffer was reared and educated in Germantown, and in 1878 located at Day- ton, Ohio, where he spent four years as clerk in the office of the Pan Handle railroad com- pany and two years as entry clerk in a large wholesale grocery. In 1884 he returned to Germantown, where he embarked in the leaf tobacco business, in which he still continues, having been associated since 1886 with J. H. Rohrer, and since 1S90 as a member of the firm of J. H. Rohrer & Co., grain, coal and lumber dealers. On April 6, 1889, he mar- ried Laura B., daughter of George C. and Mary (Bachman) Banker, of Germantown, and has three children, George, Catherine and Negley. George C. Banker, father of Mrs. John C. Schaeffer, was born in Poast Town, Butler county, Ohio, January 12, 1830, a son of Sol- omon and Mary A. (Coon) Banker, natives of Maryland and Kentucky, respectively. Solomon Banker was born in 1797, and came to Ohio in 1 8 1 7, settling in Butler county, where for several years he engaged in milling at Poast Town. Later he engaged in farming, and in 1836 removed to Warren county, where he died in 1861.' His wife was a daughter of John and Susannah Coon, who settled in War- ren county, Ohio, in 1S01. George C. Banker was reared in Butler and Warren counties, was educated in the common schools, and began life as a farmer in Warren county, where he OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1045 resided until 1866, when he removed to Ger- mantown, where he has since followed the same vocation. He was married in 1857 to Miss Mary A., daughter of Nathan and Julia A. (Bruner) Bachman, of Germantown, and has five children — Julia (Mrs. John H. Roh- rer), John, Laura B. (Mrs. John C. Schaeffer), G. Edward and Harry E. In politics Mr. Banker is a republican. In 1887 Mr. Schaeffer organized the Ger- mantown Building & Savings association, of which he has since been secretary, and has made it one of the successful institutions of the town. Mr. Schaeffer is a member of the I. O. O. F., and of the Foresters. He has been clerk of the corporation of Germantown since 1886, and served on the school board three years. In politics he is a republican. HNDREW CASS SCHELL, an ac- countant of Miamisburg, Ohio, is a native of this city, born November 22, 1847, and is a son of John and Catherine (Gebhart) Schell, natives of Berks county, Pa. Henry and Margaret (Leasher) Schell, his paternal grandparents, came from Pennsyl- vania to Ohio in 1820, and settled in Miamis- burg, where the grandfather followed his call- ing of cooper, although he devoted much time to farming, and later in life became a manu- facturer of plow points. The children born to Henry and Margaret Schell were named John, David, Catherine (Mrs. Andrew Emert), Jonathan, Molly (Mrs. Frederick Yaukey), and Martha (Mrs. Joseph Kutz). The paternal great-grandfather of Andrew C. Schell was a native of German)', who came to America be- fore the Revolution, in which heroic struggle he served with the rank of captain, and was also a farmer of Berks county, Pa. The other paternal great-grandfather, John Leasher, a native of Germany and a farmer of Berks county, Pa., likewise served as a captain in the Revolutionary war, and participated in the battles of the Brandywine, of Bunker Hill, and in several others of less note. Jacob Geb- hart, the maternal grandfather of Andrew C. Schell, was also a Pennsylvanian, and lost his life by accident while crossing the mountains on his way to Ohio in pioneer days. John Schell, father of Andrew C, was a shoemaker and the pioneer in that business in Miamisburg, and continued the leading dealer until he retired from the business, in 1S61. His first wife was a daughter of Jacob and Margaret (Gebhart) Kercher, of Miamisburg, and bore him two children: Matilda (Mrs. Samuel Witmyer), and Harriet (Mrs. Eli Rum- berger). His second marriage was with Miss Catherine Gebhart, and this union was blessed with four children, viz: John H., Emma (Mrs. Dr. Henry Schoenfeld), Margaret E. (deceased), and Andrew C, the subject of this biography. John Schell was recognized as an honorable and industrious citizen, and passed away in 1866. Andrew Cass Schell was educated in the public schools of Miamisburg and began his business life as a painter, a trade which he fol- lowed for twenty years. In 1872 he took a course of instruction at the Miami Commercial college, of Dayton, and for two years was em- ployed as bookkeeper by the Miami Valley Paper company. April 13, 1873, he married Miss Phebe, daughter of Louis and Louisa (Best) Machenheimer, of Miamisburg, to which union have been born three children — Carl, Louisa, and Emma. Since 1892 Mr. Schell has been employed as bookkeeper by the Kauff- man Buggy company, and is universally ac- knowledged to be an adept in his profession. He is a member of the Lutheran church. In his societary affiliations Mr. Schell is a Free- mason, and has been secretary in both lodge 1046 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD and chapter since 1880; he is also a Knight of Pythias, and since 1876 has been a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In his politics he is a democrat, has filled the position of village clerk for twelve years, and has just completed his sixth year as a member of the Miamisburg school board, of which for five years he served as clerk. He is honored in ali the walks of life and is, indeed, a good and useful citizen. BON. HENRY SCHOENFELD, M. D., was born in the city of Geln- hausen, in the province of Hesse- Nassau, Germany, November 26, 1829. He is a son of Dr. Henry and Margaret (Kohler) Schoenfeld, who, in 1844, came to the United States, and located in Lancaster, Pa. Receiving his early education in the province of Hesse-Nassau, after coming to this country he spent some time in the study of medicine with his father at Lancaster, and also under a private tutor, Dr. Jacob Cooper, a graduate of Bellevue Hospital Medical college of New York city, and under the instruction of Dr. Ignatz Hoefle, a graduate of a medical college in Paris. Dr. Schoenfeld has always been of a venturesome disposition. In 1846 he spent a year in Cincinnati, as a prescription clerk in a drug store, and during the Mexican war he en- listed in Cincinnati, and went to Mexico, but on account of being under age was sent home on a requisition, much against his will. In 1848, during the excitement throughout the country caused by the discovery of gold in the west, he went to California, going round Cape Horn in a sailing vessel. In California and in travel down the Pacific coast as far south as Chile, he spent three years. While in California he was engaged in prospecting for gold, working in the mines, fighting Indians as a member of a volunteer company, and had many adventures in the unsettled country as one of the historic " forty-niners," or modern Argonauts. Returning in 1851 to Pennsyl- vania, via the isthmus of Panama, he entered the medical department of the university of Pennsylvania, and afterward spent one year in practice at Penningtonville, Pa., locating in 1853 at Miamisburg, Ohio, where he has ever since been engaged in the active pursuit of his profession. Since 1877 he has done an ex- clusively office practice. During the Civil war Dr. Schoenfeld was colonel of the First regiment of Home Guards of Montgomery county, the guards being held as a reserve force, ready to be called on at any time. In 1865 he visited Germany and was there forcibly detained for military duty. Spending the first two weeks in a military prison, he was then detailed as a member of the king's body guard. Refusing to take the oath of allegiance, he was unable to secure relief or assistance from the United States minister, and after six months' litigation was released on an order of the supreme court, which acknowledged that Germany had no claim upon him. Dr. Schoenfeld is a demo- crat, and in 1859 was elected to represent Montgomery county in the state legislature, and was re-elected in 1871. During the ad- ministration of Gov. Bishop he was a trustee of the Dayton asylum for the insane. He served fourteen years in the Miamisburg city council, at last declining to accept another term. He also served as president of the Mi- amisburg board of health. Dr. Schoenfeld has been a member of the order of Odd Fel- lows and of the Harugari for nearly forty years, and was a charter member of the A. O. U. W. lodge and the Knights of Pythias lodge in Miamisburg. In the Harugari lodge he has been the ober grosse barde, chief officer of OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1047 the United States, and for two terms has served as grosse barde of the state of Ohio. September 7, 1857, Dr. Schoenfeld mar- ried Emma Schell, daughter of John and Catherine (Gebhart) Schell, of Miamisburg. To this marriage there have been born three sons, viz: Henry, M. D. ; John and Charles. Dr. Schoenfeld is a true patriot, a good neigh- bor and a warm-hearted friend, worthy of all honor as a man and a citizen, and stands de- servedly high in his profession, as also in social circles. BOUTS SCHELLHAAS, baker and confectioner of Miamisburg, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, was born in Rhinefalz, Germany, November 11, 1859, a son of John and Catherine (Kurtz) Schellhaas. He received his education in the public schools of his native city, and there also learned his trade. At the age of twenty years he entered the German army in which he served three years; he next worked at his calling as a journeyman in his native land un- til 1884, when he came to the United States and located in Miamisburg, where he worked at his trade for nearly a year, and afterward in Dayton for six months. In November, 1885, he returned to Miamisburg and embarked in his present business, in which he has since met with uninterrupted success. November 26, 1885, Mr. Schellhaas was united in marriage with Mary, daughter of Jacob and Barbara Leicht, of Miamisburg, and they have two children — Harry and Elsie. Mr. Schellhaas is a member of the Lutheran church, and is active in the secret brother- hoods of the Harugari and the Ancient Order of United Workmen; in politics he is a democrat, and his social relations are of a most pleasant nature, as he is highly esteemed both as a busi- ness man and as a citizen. v/\ETER SCHREIBER, baker, of Mi- I m amisburg, Ohio, was born in Alsace- Lorraine, September 15, 1857, a son of Peter and Catherine ( Eberle ) Schreiber. The father was for fifteen years a captain in the French army, and for twenty- three years city sealer of Strasbourg, where his death took place in 1894. Peter Schreiber, the subject of this biog- raphy, at the age of fifteen years graduated from the Strasbourg high school, and in 1872 came to America, first locating in Cincinnati, where he learned the baker's trade, which he followed for six years in that city. He then served as street-car conductor for five years, after which he again worked at his trade in the city and vicinity until 1888, when he located permanently in Miamisburg. In Octo- ber, 1893, he embarked in business on his own account, became very popular and successful, and November 1, 1895, he founded a branch establishment at West Carrollton, where he is enjoying a flourishing trade. February 28, 1877, Mr. Schreiber married Miss Mary C. Kluever, daughter of William Kluever, of Cincinnati, which marriage has been blessed by the the birth of six children, viz : Catherine, William, Peter, Dora, Fred and Carl. In his religion he worships at the Lutheran church, and his political connection is with the republican party ; fraternally, he is a Knight of Pythias, and a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, as well as of the Harugari, and is highly respected by the members of all of these fraternities, as well as by the public in general. >-j J ACOB SCHNEIDER, proprietor of ■ Star City Arcade, Miamisburg, Ohio, (% 1 was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, May 6, 1854, a son of Jacob and Anna (Wenzler) Schneider. His father came to 1048 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD America in January, 1854, and stopped one year in Cincinnati; then for two years in Frank- lin, where he was employed in various capaci- ties, and in 1857 located at Miamisburg, where he lived until 1859, and then went back to Germany. In March, 1861, he returned to Miamisburg, where he raised tobacco during the summers and worked about a hotel dur- ing the winters for several years, when he visited his home again, and on the death of his wife, in 1 871, he brought his family of two sons — Joseph and Jacob — to Miamisburg. He visited Germany again in 1876, remaining six months, and, returning, died in Miamisburg in August, 1879. Jacob Schneider, the subject, was reared in his native country until seventeen years of age, where he received a common-school edu- cation. In 1 87 1 he came to Miamisburg, where he learned the cabinetmaker's trade with Benjamin Brough, and was in his employ for thirteen years. March 17, 1S84, he em- barked in the furniture and undertaking busi- ness, in which he continued eight years, and in the meantime, April t, 1891, purchased the Star City Arcade cafe and billiard parlors, which he has since successfully conducted. He married, October 31, 1876, Catherine, daughter of Joseph and Frances Gates, of Miamisburg, and has five children — Anna, Robert, Nora, Edward and Lawrence. Mr. Schneider is a member of the Catholic church, and of D. O. H., No., 38, of Miamisburg. He is a democrat in politics, and is a respected citizen of the community. EENRY CHRISTIAN SCHUBERTH, tobacco dealer of Miamisburg, was born at Wandsbek, near Hamburg, Germany, June7, 184S. He is a son of William and Christina (Kahler) Schu- berth, who emigrated to the United States in 1852, and in Pennsylvania the former followed his trade, that of a carpenter, for two years, removing to Cincinnati in 1854, and there established himeslf in business at the corner of Fifth and Elm streets. There he remained in business until 1870, when he returned to Pennsylvania, locating at Unionville, near Pittsburg, where he now resides. His children grew to maturity, and were six in number, as follows: William; Henry Christian; August C. ; Charles; Emma, wife of Albert Burns; and Mary, the wife of John C. Snyder. Henry C. Schuberth came to the United States with his parents in 1852. He here re- ceived a common-school education, and after clerking four years in Allegheny City, Pa., and in Cincinnati, Ohio, removed to Miamis- burg in 1865, and had since resided in this city. In 1865, upon arriving in Miamisburg, he entered the employ of C. H. Spitzner, who was engaged in the tobacco business, and in 1873 succeeded Mr. Spitzner in that industry, and at the same time acting as the representa- tive of Bunzel & Dormitzer, of New York. Mr. Schuberth is the oldest tobacco dealer in the Miami valley, when continuous and actual service are taken into account. Mr. Schuberth was married September 29, 1870, to Sarah A. Shultz, of Miamisburg, and has three children, as follows: Clifford M., Mary A. and Harry C. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, a Knight Templar, an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, and in politics, a republican, in all of which relations, frater- nal and political, he maintains a high and cor- rect standing. In religious faith, he and his wife are members of the Lutheran church, and are active in the performance of their re- ligious duties. Few people, if any, in Miamis- burg or Montgomery county, stand higher in the public esteem for honorable character, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1049 charitable deeds and sympathy with the af- flicted and the poor, than do Mr. and Mrs. Schuberth. >^OSEPH W. SHANK, president of the ■ First National bank, of Germantown, A J Montgomery county, Ohio, is a native of Maryland and he first saw the light October 8, 1816. Adam Shank, his father, was also a native of Maryland, born in 1778, was a blacksmith by trade, and shortly after reaching his ma- jority married Miss Catherine Doup, by whom he became the father of a family of children, numbering twelve, of which family the follow- ing named grew to maturity: Samuel, Joseph W. , Joshua, Lydia (wife of Ezra Kemp), John, Elias and Mary (Mrs. Noah Myers). While Adam Shank was a blacksmith by trade, he drifted into farming, and for a few years fol- lowed that vocation in his native state. In 1836 he came to Ohio and settled in Madison township, Montgomery county, where he pur- chased a farm of 240 acres, on which he re- sided, prospering year by year, until he was enabled, in 1850, to retire to Germantown, where he ended his days in 1856, honored by all who knew him. Joseph W. Shank was reared and educated in his native state until twenty years of age, when he came witn his parents to Ohio. His start in life, on his individual account, was at the age of twenty years, when he began work as a carpenter, and traveled through the coun- try, working at this trade and finding employ- ment in various other lines of business, twice visiting California. From 1841 to 1871 he engaged in farming in German township, where he owned at one time a farm of 400 acres. But in the meantime, being a man of natural executive ability, and ripened by travel and ex- perience, he assisted in organizing the First National bank, of Germantown, in 1863, and is now the only survivor of the original stock- holders in that financial enterprise, and has been its president since 1881. The marriage of Joseph W. Shank took place, in 1841, with Maria Brunner, daughter of John and Catherine (Harp) Brunner, of Jackson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, to which union ten children have been born, of whom seven are still living, viz: John A., Sea- bury F., Mary (Mrs. George Bechtold), Ida (Mrs. Charles Cosier), Emma (Mrs. George Francis), Jabez and Maria. The family are members of the United Brethren church, of which Mr. Shank has himself, for the past forty-five years, been a communicant. In poli- tics he is a republican, but he has never had a desire for public office. His long life has been one of probity and industry, and is well worthy of emulation. John A. Shank, son of Joseph W. and Maria (Brunner) Shank, was born in Madison township, Montgomery county, Ohio, Septem- ber 26, 1846. He was, however, reared in German township and educated in its common schools. Brought up a farmer, he now owns and occupies the old Shank homestead, and is one of the well-to-do and prosperous farmers of the neighborhood. He was married. Feb- ruary 2, 1 87 1, to Miss Martha J. Eby, a daugh- ter of Adam S. and Elizabeth (Bertels) Eby, of Madison township, and is now the happy father of three sons, v'z: Orion L. , Arthur M. and Herbert A. Mr. Shank and his family are members of the United Brethren church, and in politics he is a republican. *w ■ * ENRY SHANK, of Perry township, J^k Montgomery county, Ohio, is one of P the most prosperous and substantial farmers of the county. Jacob Shank, his father, was born in 1782 or 1784 and lived 1050 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD for some years in Fauquier count}', \ a. When twenty-four years of age he emigrated to Mont- gomery county, Ohio, together with his father, Henry, and his father's family. Here he mar- ried Elizabeth Noffsinger, who was a native of Pennsylvania and of Dutch ancestry. Jacob and Elizabeth Shank were the parents of the following children: Daniel, Mary, John, Sam- uel, Susannah, George, Jacob, Henry, Julia A., who died at the age of four years, Eliza, Catherine and Elizabeth. Mr. Shank settled on the farm now owned by his son, Henry, then containing eighty-four acres. This farm he cleared of its timber and added thereto by purchase eighty acres more in Perry township. By his industry and good management he be- came one of the most substantial farmers of his day. Both he and his wife were members of the United Brethren church, the first edifice for which body they assisted to build. Polit- ically, hewas a republican. He died in 1882. Henry Shank was born January 15, 1827, in Perry township, on his father's farm. Reared a farmer's boy he received the educa- tion of the times in which he lived, attending school in the primitive log school-house. At the age of thirty-five, in the year 1862, he married Susan Mundhenk, a daughter of Augustus and Susan (Knipe) Mundhenk, and a native of Perry township. Her father was the son of the old pioneer Mundhenk, of Perry township, whom every one well remembers. The children of Augustus Mendhenk, beside Mrs. Susan Shank, were as follows: Daniel, August, Henry, William, Sarah and Mary. Augustus Mundhenk lived to be seventy-six years of age, and was a miller by trade and occupation, as well as a farmer. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Shank settled on the old homestead, which they have since greatly improved, and which now con- tains 108 acres of land. Mr. Shank is one of the best farmers of his county, an excellent citizen, a member of the United Brethren church, and a republican. He is a trustee of his church and has served as trustee of his township. He and his wife are the parents of the following-named children: Ardella, Lizzie and Charles. lS~\ OAH SHANK, of Perry township, M Montgomery county, Ohio, is of Vir- r ginia and Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. Henry Shank, his grandfather, was born in Virginia, and married in that state, Catherine Rasor, by whom he had the follow- ing children: Jacob, who lived to be nearly if not quite 100 years old; Henry, John, Philip, George, Michael, who lived to be 108 years of age; Barbara, Mary, Elizabeth and two that died in infancy. Mr. Shank came to Ohio in 1 S 1 9, settled in Perry township, cleared up a farm of 160 acres from the woods and made a good pioneer home. He was an excellent citizen, a member of the United Brethren church and died on his farm in Perry township. John Shank, his son and the father of Noah, was born in 1812 in .Virginia, and came with his father to Ohio in 18 19. Being reared among the pioneers and brought up to the life of a farmer, he himself naturally adopted that calling. He married Catherine Heiter, a na- tive of Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Se- bastian and Catherine Heiter, who came from Pennsylvania to Ohio and settled in Montgom- ery county at an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Shank located first in Mad- ison township, where they lived for some time, then moved into Perry township, and lived on Beaver creek. Mr. Shank at first had ninety- one acres of land, most of which he cleared from the woods. To this he added 1 50 acres, all of which he converted into an excellent farm, and became a most substantial farmer. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Shank were: OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1051 Elizabeth, Noah, John, Daniel, Ephraim, Cath- erine, Joseph, Mary and Martha. Their father was a member of the United Brethren church, and the mother of the Lutheran church. Mr. Shank lived to be seventy-six years old, while Mrs. Shank lived to the age of eighty-four. Mr. Shank was a hard-working and industrious pioneer and an honored citizen. Noah Shank was born January 24, 1829, in Perry township. Receiving only the usual common-school education of that period, he was early inured to the laborious life of the farm. One of his duties, when a boy, was to ride the horse at threshing wheat on the barn floor. When he could, he went to school, at- tending an old log school-house which had slabs for seats, and boasted of the puncheon floor. When twenty-one years of age, on February 29, 1850, he married, in Madison township, Jemima Weaver, who was born in 1828, in that township, and who is a daughter of Martin and Susan (Jordan) Weaver. Mar- tin Weaver was of German ancestry and came early from Virginia to Ohio, settling in Madi- son township, and making an excellent farm of 160 acres of land. His children were as follows: George, Mary A., Eliza, William, David, Martin, John, Susan, Adeline, Sarah and Kate. There were several other children who died young. Mr. Weaver was one of the early blacksmiths of Madison township, a member of the German Reformed church, and one of the prominent citizens of his day. Mr. and Mrs. Shank, after their marriage, settled on the Shank homestead, where they lived one year, and then rented a farm in Perry township, upon which they lived for three years. Mr. Shank then bought a farm of 137 acres, partly cleared, upon which he erected a fine residence and added other improvements, such as are needed on a well-ordered and reg- ulated farm. Mr. Shank is a member of the Lutheran church and has held the office of deacon for many years. In fact, he was one of those who established the Lutheran church and erected its first church edifice in Perry township. As a democrat he served as health officer of the township for eight years, and as township trustee for seven years. He is a man well known for his strong convictions, and is well-informed and influential in his community. BRANK SHUEY, a successful machinist of Miamisburg, Ohio, was born in Dayton, February S, 1855, and is a son of Jacob and Phebe Jane (Mc- Cann) Shuey, natives of Montgomery county, and of the sixth generation from Daniel Shuey, a French Huguenot, who landed in Philadel- phia, in 1732, and soon afterward settled in Lebanon county, Pa., where he engaged in farming until his death, in 1777. Lewis Shuey, paternal grandfather of Frank, was born in Bethel township, Lancas- ter county, Pa., November 17, 1785, and in 1796 was taken by his parents to Augusta county, Va. , where he was reared to manhood on a farm. In 1806 he came to Germantown, Montgomery count)', Ohio, and January 1, 1808, married Catherine, daughter of Judge Philip and Catherine (Schaeffer) Gunckel, na- tives of Berks county, Pa., but who settled in Germantown, Ohio, in 1803. To this marri- age were born four sons — Philip, Lewis, Jacob and Michael. After his marriage, Lewis Shuey secured the milling property of his father-in- law, rebuilt and remodeled the mill, became a man of wealth and extended influence, and, at his death, which occurred February 16, 1872, left a large estate to his children. Lewis Shuey was a nephew of Martin Shuey, who settled in German township in 1805, and who was the progenitor of the Dayton family of that name. Aside from the respect paid him on account of 1052 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD his worth as a business man, Lewis Shuey en- joyed the reputation of being a moral and up- right gentleman. Jacob Shuey, father of Frank Shuey, and third son of Lewis and Catherine (Gunckel) Shuey, was born in Germantown, Ohio, Janu- uary 6, 1814, and first married, December 31, 1835, Sarah Ann Ayers, who bore him four children, viz: William H., Harrison M. , George E., and Ellen ( wife of William Ber- inger). Mrs. Shuey was called away Febru- ary 19, 1847, at the early age of twenty-seven years, and for his second helpmate he chose Phebe J. McCann, a daughter of William Mc- Cann, a pioneer farmer and wood turner of Ger- mantown, and this lady he married March 12, 1848. This union was blessed with three chil- dren, viz: Dona O., Philip and Frank. Mr. Shuey was engaged in the dry-goods business in Germantown from 1834 to 1850, when he moved to Dayton, where he continued in the dry-goods trade until 1859. He then moved to Miamisburg, where he successfully carried on milling until his death, which took place March 4, 1870 — leaving a spotless name and an unsullied reputation as priceless heirlooms to his descendants. Frank Shuey, the subject proper of this memoir, was reared in Dayton and Miamis- burg, was educated in the public schools and served an apprenticeship of five years as a gen- eral machinist in Miamisburg and Cincinnati. He afterward worked as a journeyman in va- rious parts of the country until 1886, when he opened a machine shop on his own account in Miamisburg ; here he does all kinds of work pertaining to the trade, including the manufac- ture of gas engines and trip hammers of his own invention, and is doing an altogether thriv- ing business. Mr. Shuey was united in mar- riage, in 1878, with Miss Alice Studybaker, daughter of Wesley Studybaker, of Brookville, Montgomery county. Mr. Shuey and wife are members of the Reformed church, and live fully in accord with its teachings. Fraternally, Mr. Shuey is an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias, and in politics is a republican. So- cially, Mr. and Mrs. Shuey enjoy the sincere esteem of the entire community in which they live, and Mr. Shuey's walk through life has been such as to preserve the good name left to him by his progenitors. *w ■ * ON. WILLIAM SHULER, M. D.. a l^\ prominent practicing physician of W Miamisburg, was born at Sumney- town, Montgomery county, Pa. , Jan- uary 7, 1843. He is a son of Henry and Maria (Miller) Shuler, and, as the name indi- cates, is of German extraction. He was first educated in the public schools of his native state, then in the classical department of Ursinus college, and, in 1867, was graduated from the medical department of the university of Pennsylvania, that commencement being the 100th anniversity of its establishment, the university itself, however, having been estab- lished in 1753, fourteen years before the med- ical department. On October 7, 1861, Mr. Shuler enlisted in company B, One Hundred and Seventh regi- ment, P. V. I., and re-enlisted, or veteranized, in 1864, in the same company. After serving four years, and enduring all the trials and hardships of the soldier's life, and having been advanced from the ranks for gallant service, he was mustered out, in 1865, as captain of company C, of his regiment. During these four years, beside marching and fighting, and performing all the duties of a patriotic soldier faithfully and cheerfully, he experienced the hardships of prison life in Libby prison, at Danville and at Salisbury, for seven months. After graduating, as above narrated, he practiced his profession in the east one year, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1053 and in August, 1868, located in Miamisburg, Montgomery county, Ohio, where he has since resided, and where he has continued in the practice of his profession with a success which is very gratifying. Politically Dr. Shuler is a republican, has served his town as councilman for six years, and as a member of the board of education for the same period. For four years he was president of the board of examining surgeons at the soldiers' home, near Dayton, and, in 1893, he was elected to represent his county in the legislature of the state, where he served his constituents so faithfully and well that he was re-elected in 1895 by a largely increased majority. On October 30, 1871, Dr. Shuler was mar- ried to Nora Weaver, of Miamisburg, daugh- ter of Dr. Joseph and Fanny (Swar) Weaver, and to this marriage have been born five chil- dren, as follows : Grace, Carl, Fannie, Clara and William. All have been or are now being well educated in the public schools and in pri- vate institutions. Dr. Shuler and his wife are pleasant, hospitable and generous, and most popular and influential in both social and re- ligious circles. ON. EMANUEL SHULTZ, retired manufacturer and an ex-congressman 75 1 , P from Ohio, was born in Berks county, Pa., July 25, 1819. He is a son of George and Mary (Vinyard) Shultz, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. His pa- ternal grandfather, Frederick Shultz, was a native of Hesse-Cassel, in the Prussian duchy of Nassau, and came to America prior to the Revolutionary war. He became a soldier in the American army during that great struggle for independence, and served his adopted coun- try well. Emanuel Shultz received his education, until his eleventh year, in the common schools, and then, owing to the death of his father, he was compelled to depend on private study and self-teaching. Learning the shoemaker's trade through an apprenticeship of seven years, in Philadelphia, he was well prepared for self- support, and in 1838 he removed to Ohio, lo- cating in Miamisburg, where he established himself in the boot and shoe business, employ- ing from five to fifteen journeymen. This business he continued until 1846, when he changed his occupation to that of a general commission and mercantile trade. Soon be- coming one of the largest and most successful operators in his branch of commerce in the Miami valley, he took a leading part in the es- tablishment, organization and development of all the prominent enterprises of Miamisburg. One of these was the private bank of H. Groby & Co., established in 1865, in which Mr. Shultz was interested from the time of its es- tablishment until 1888. He was the principal projector of the Miami Valley Paper company, which, in connection with Dr. William H. Manning, he organized in 1871. With this latter enterprise he was connected until 1S89. From 1853 to 1S70 he was engaged extensively in dealing in leaf tobacco, and did much to en- courage the growth of this important staple product of the state of Ohio. The Miami valley is one of the noted tobacco growing re- gions of the state, comprising about 7,500 square miles, and the average yield of its best soils reaching as high as 1,800 pounds per acre. Mr. Shultz was married July 23, 1840, to Sarah Beck, daughter of Conrad and Mary (Anspaugh) Beck, of Miamisburg, and to this marriage there were born three children, as follows: Mary A. (Mrs. Dr. William H. Man- ning), Amanda M. (Mrs. A. T. Whittich), and Sarah Aletta (Mrs. H. C. SchuberthV In re- ligion Mr. Schultz is of the Lutheran faith, and fraternally he belongs to the Masons, Odd 1054 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Fellows and Knights of Pythias. He is a royal arch Mason and a Knight Templar, and was a charter member of Marion lodge, No. iS, I. O. O. F., of Miamisburg, which was organized in 1843. As a republican Mr. Shultz has held every office but one, that of township clerk, in the gift of Miami township and Mi- amisburg. Previous to the organization of the republican party he was a whig, but since that time has always been a republican. In 1875 he was elected to the legislature, but was not a candidate for re-election. In 1873 he was a member of the convention that revised the state constitution, which, upon being sub- mitted to the people, was rejected. In Octo- ber, 1880, he was elected to congress from the Fourth district, which position he filled with credit to himself and to the satisfaction to his constituents. Elected commissioner of Mont- gomery county in 1859, he served three years. In 1 88 1 he was one of the organizers of the Lima Car works, was a stockholder and served as vice-president until he sold his interest. Mr. Shultz is a gentleman of sound and shrewd business judgment, and few are pos- sessed of a more genial disposition or endowed with so happy a faculty of winning friends. Of quick perception, he reads at a glance the character and disposition of those with whom he comes in contact; a ready conversationalist, he is thoroughly at home in any discussion. Free, unaffected and courteous in manner, he is still dignified and earnest and is a represent- ative man of the better class. He is fully alive to the practical every-day affairs of life, and is now enjoying the fruits of his own industry, which he has accumulated through half a century's exercise of good business tact and discerning and comprehensive survey of the tendencies of commercial movements and the necessities of his fellow-men. In 1889 he was appointed by President Harrison postmas- ter at Miamisburg, and filled the office in a most capable manner for four years and five months, retiring on the appointment of his successor in 1894. EON. CHARLES A. SIMONTON, ex-mayor of Miamisburg, Montgom- ery county, Ohio, and a success- ful business man of this thriving place, was born in Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio February 5, 1857. He is ason of Theophilus and Mary (Willis) Simonton, both of whom are still living. Theophilus Simonton is the son of Adam Simonton, who was born in what is now Warren county, Ohio, in 1789. Adam Simonton's father was a native of Ireland, an early emigrant from that country to America, and was a soldier of the Revolutionary army, thus aiding in the establishment of the Amer- ican republic. Adam Simonton was by occu- pation a farmer, was captain of a company in the war of 181 2, and late in life removed from Warren county, Ohio, to Lincoln, Logan coun- ty, 111., and there died. Theophilus Simonton was born in Warren county, Ohio, is a carriage- maker by trade, and settled in Miamisburg in 1864. From that time until 1876 he was in the employ of the Kauffman company, and in the year last mentioned he established himself in business and has since continued to follow his trade. His wife was a daughter of George and Anna (Gorman) Willis, of Warren county, and he has two sons, George and Charles A. Charles A. Simonton came to Montgomery county with his parents in 1864, and here he has since resided. He was educated in the Miamisburg public schools, graduating from the high school May 22, 1874. In 1S94 he was honored by the high school alumni by being elected president of the alumni associa- tion. On leaving school he served an appren- ticeship of three years at general blacksmith- ing with the Kauffman company, and after the OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1055 expiration of that period worked as a journey- man until 1 891, when he embarked in busi- ness for himself as a member of the firm of Simonton & Ebling, which firm owns and operates a general blacksmithing and repair shop, and is meeting with ample success. Mr. Simonton was married, February 17, 1 88 1, to Ada M. Smith, daughter of John and Anna Smith, of Lincoln, 111., people of excel- lent character and standing in the community in which they live. He is a member of the United Brethren church, and both he and his wife are untiring in their devotion to religious and educational work. Fraternally he is a member of Marion lodge, of the encampment and of canton Groby (patriarchs militant), I. O. O. F.; of the Knights of Pythias, and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Of Marion lodge he is past noble grand. In poli- tics he is a democrat. April 1, 1894, Mr. Simonton was elected mayor of Miamisburg, and in his official capac- ity proved himself to be a man of force and ability, as well as of tact and discretion. Being one of the most active and public spir- ited of the young business men of Miamisburg, he is always on the alert for the promotion of the public good, and his official administration has been a credit to his patriotism and judg- ment, and satisfactory to the people at large. K,/^\ EV. JOHN SMITH, a minister of the I /«^ German Baptist church, Madison V township, Montgomery county, Ohio, is a native of the county and was born on his father's farm, November 30, 1827. Jacob Smith, his grandfather, was born in Maryland, near Hagerstown, of Pennsylvania- Dutch descent, and there married Mary Clop- per, who came from Germany when ten years of age, the result of the union being several children, of whom the names of the following are remembered: John, Jacob, Henry, Abra- ham, David, Mary, and one who became Mrs. Zook. Jacob Smith was a farmer, and in his latter years moved to Pennsylvania, the home of his forefathers, and passed the remainder of his life in Bedford county. Abraham Smith, son of Jacob and father of the Rev. John Smith, was born in Bedford county, Pa., in 1784. His father having died, his mother married Philip Knee, and in 1809 the family came to Ohio, Abraham being then fifteen years of age. Mr. Knee first located at Germantown, Montgomery county, remained a year or so, then passed one year on Wolf creek, west of Dayton, and in iS 10 came to Madison township and purchased a tract of 160 acres on the Salem road in the northeast corner of the township, and all in the deep woods. This land Abraham Smith assisted in clearing, and indeed did very nearly the entire work unaided. At the age of twenty-eight years he married Miss Catherine Bowman, daughter of John and Mary Bowman; he then bought the homestead from Philip Knee, and here lived all his active life. To the marriage of Abraham Smith were born two children — John, the subject of this biography, and one child that died unnamed. Mrs. Smith died in 1830, a pious member of the German Baptist church, her only child, John, being then but three years of age. Abraham attained the age of eighty-seven years and six months, was also a devout member of the German Baptist church, and died in 1871 at the residence of his son, Rev. John Smith, leaving behind him many old friends to mourn his departure. Rev. John Smith was reared to farming, receiving at the same time a very good com- mon-school education. October 14, 1847, a t the age of twenty, he married, in Madison county. Miss Susan Wolf, a native of Mont- gomery county, born August 25, 1828, and a daughter of Jacob B. and Catherine (Miller) 1056 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Wolf. The young couple lived for several years on the old Smith homestead. In 1869 they moved to an eighty-acre tract which Mr. Smith had purchased, and which he cleared up and increased to 158 acres. Here Mrs. Smith died August 29, 1890 — a woman of many womanly virtues and a devout member of the German Baptist church. Following are the names of the children born to Rev. John Smith and his lamented wife: Sarah J., born August 3, 184S — died February 8, 1861; Catherine, born October 6, 1851; an infant, born Novem- ber 16, 1853, but died unnamed; Andrew W., born October 24, 1854; Lucinda, July 2, 1856; Harriet E., March 2, 1859; Oliver J., September 23, 1861; Emma, September 14, 1863, and Mary E., January 24, 1865. Mr. Smith continued to reside on his farm until 1892, when he bought a pleasant residence in Trotwood, where he has since been living re- tired from the active labor of life. He be- came a member of the German Baptist church in 1 85 1 and was elected a deacon in 1857; in i860 he was licensed preacher, and has since been active in expounding the gospel to his people, and in all respects exerting a large influence for good. Providence has blessed his labors in this respect, and, so aided, also, he has by his industry and thrift increased his worldly store. He at one time owned 568 acres of land, which he has distributed among his children, reserving for himself a tract of thirty acres from the home farm, in addition .to his pleasant town residence. a NDREW SNELLER, of the well- known firm of Theobald & Sneller, the leading barbers of Miamisburg, Ohio, was born in Cincinnati April 29, 18C2, and is a son of Louis and Philopena I Bollinger) Sneller, the former of whom was a tailor by trade and died July 5, 1863, from the effect of a wound received at Vicksburg, Miss., while battling in defense of his country's flag during the late Civil war. Andrew Sneller was educated in the public schools of Cincinnati, and on May 1, 1876, apprenticed himself to the barber's trade, at which he served two and a half years, and then worked at the business as a journeyman for eight years. In 1882 he located in Miam- isburg, and in 1884 formed a partnership with Adam Theobald, under the firm name of Theobald & Sneller, for the purpose of con- ducting a first-class tonsorial establishment, and, both partners being competent workmen, the concern enjoys an excellent business. Andrew Sneller was united in the bonds of matrimony October 25, 1891, with Miss Jennie E. Schuster, daughter of Charles O. and Mary E. (Loesch) Schuster, of Miamisburg, and to this union has been born one daughter — Mar- garet May. Mrs. Sneller is a consistent mem- ber of the Reformed church, while Mr. Sneller affiliates with the Lutherans. Mr. Sneller is a royal arch Freemason and in politics is a re- publican. His social relations are of a most pleasant character, as he and wife are highly esteemed by a large circle of sincere friends. lS~\ AVID JULIUS SNEPP, farmer, con- I tractor, and president of the Farmers' S\^f Mutual Fire association, of Montgom- ery county, Ohio, was born in Miami township, May 20, 1842, a son of John and Catherine (Neible) Snepp. His paternal grand- parents, Leonard and Catherine (Isley) Snepp, were natives of Pennsylvania and were among the pioneers of Miami township, as was also his maternal grandfather, John Neible, who was by birth a Virginian. John Snepp, father of David J., was born in Miami township in 18 12; was a blacksmith by trade, and in 1845 removed to Shelby OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1057 county, Ind., where he died in 1881. His children were: Elizabeth (Mrs. Hugh A. Hos- kins), William, Maria (Mrs. Jacob Runchey), Joseph, David J., and Mary J. (Mrs. Manning- ton Fickle). David J. Snepp was reared in Indiana from three years of age, and was educated in the common schools and in Purdy's Business col- lege, at Indianapolis. Farming has been his principal occupation, though for three years he was engaged as a buyer and shipper of grain at Boggstown and Fairland. In 1883 he removed to Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, where he has since been en- gaged in farming and contracting. In Novem- ber, 1866, he married Miss Margaret A., daughter of Joseph H. and Nancy L. (Hammal Dryden, of Miami township, and has four chil- dren — John D., Harry D., Nancy G., and Catherine C. Mr. Snepp has been president of the Montgomery County Mutual Fire associa- tion since 1890, and served one term as justice of the peace of Miami township, having been elected as a democrat; he was also president of the centennial celebration for the south half of Montgomery county, at Alexanders- ville, August 26, 1S96. He and his family command the respect of the entire community in which they live, and deservedly enjoy the esteem of their neighbors. Still in the prime of life, Mr. Snepp is engaged in the vigorous prosecution of the various lines of business which have occupied his attention for some years past. WOHN T. SNEPP, a retired farmer liv- m ing at Miamisburg, Montgomery coun- (% 1 ty, Ohio, was born in Jefferson town- ship, this county, December 2, 1S41. He is a son of John and Catherine (Rodehefferj Snepp. His grandfather was also named John, was a native of Pennsylvania, married a Miss Gebhart, located in Jefferson township, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, in 1804, and took up a tract of land on what is now the Farmersville & Carrollton pike, which he partially cleared and improved. This he finally sold and pur- chased another farm in the same township, most of which he cleared, and upon which he died. He and his wife were the parents of four children, as follows: Leonard; Eva, wife of John Getter; John, and Sarah, wife of Jacob Getter. Of these four children John was born in Jefferson township in 1808, engaged in farm- ing, and resided in the township all his life, dying in October, 1890, at the age of eighty- two. His wife, Catherine, was a daughter of Samuel Rodeheffer, of Jefferson township, Montgomery county. She bore him four chil- dren: Barbara, wife of John Getter; Mary M., wife of William W. Getter; John T. and Samuel. John T. Snepp was reared in his native township, was educated in the public schools and at Wittenberg college, and remained at home until 1869. He then purchased a farm, which he still owns, and on which he resided until 1889, when he removed to Miamisburg. On January 8, 1868, he was married to Mar- tha Snider, daughter of Adam and Mary (Ham- maker) Snider of Miamisburg. She bore him four sons, viz: Samuel E., a graduate of Heidelberg university, and at present a stu- dent in the McCormick Theological seminary at Chicago, preparing for the ministry in the Reformed church; Hugh Allen, also a graduate of Heidelberg university, and now at Clark's university, Worcester, Mass. , taking a post- graduate course preparatory to teaching school; Arthur E. and Lorin H., both students at Heidelberg university. Mr. Snepp and his family are members of the German Reformed church. In politics he is a democrat, and as such has served as clerk lllf.N CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of Jefferson township. Though a strong parti- san he is not in any sense a seeker after public honors, remaining content to perform his duty as a private citizen. ^yj»ILLIAM S. ZELLER, one of the mm oldest and most respected natives \JLj| ni Germantown, Ohio, was hern October 17, 1829, and is a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Kumber) Zeller. His great-grandfather, Andrew Zeller, came from Berks county, Pa., with his wife and five chil- dren, settled in German township, Montgom- ery county, Ohio, in 1806, and cleared a farm near Germantown, on which he passed the re- maining years of his life. His children were named John, Michael, Andrew, Mary (Mrs. Dr. Jacob Antrim), and Christine (Mrs. Henry Kumber). John Zeller, son of Andrew and grand- father of William S. Zeller, cleared the farm in German township now owned by Ezra Kemp. On this farm Mr. Zeller made his home until his retirement to Germantown, where his life ended in i860. His wife, Chris- tiana, was a daughter of Martin Shuey, a pio- neer of German township, and to their mar- riage were born Andrew, Henry, Sarah (Mrs. James Gilbert), George, John, Christiana (Mrs. Rev. John L. Hoffman), David, Mary (Mrs. Jacob Zehring), and Eliza (Mrs. Rev. Peter B. Baker.). Andrew Zeller, the eldest of the above family and father of William S., was born in Berks county. Pa., January 29, 1804, was brought to German township, Montgomery county, Ohio, by his parents and grandparents in 1806, as has already been mentioned, and here was reared to manhood. In 1830 he re- moved to Butler county, Ohio, where he was injured in a runaway accident in July, 1845, and died from the effect of the injury thus sustained in the following October. He was an able, intelligent and industrious man, whose untimely death was a loss to the entire com- munity. His wife was a daughter of Bishop Henry Kumber, and their children were Joseph K. , William S., John H., David A., and Mary E. , the wife of Dr. Samuel McClellan. William S. Zeller, whose name opens this sketch, was reared chiefly in Butler county, Ohio, throughout his boyhood and younger manhood and there received his elementary education, which was supplemented by an at- tendance at the Miami university of Oxford, Ohio. In April, 1849, he returned to Ger- mantown, where he conducted a drug store until January, 1878, since which date he has practically been living in retirement, although he has given some attention to the farm. The marriage of William S. Zeller was solemnized February 4, 1857, with Miss Lo- vina Schaeffer, daughter of George W. and Elizabeth (Catrow) Schaeffer, and grand- daughter of Jacob and Susannah Schaeffer, who came from Center county, Pa., in 1806, and settled in German township, Montgomery county, Ohio. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Zeller have been born six children, two of whom are living, William E. and Maud, the latter now the wife of Dr. Loren Wilkie. Mr. Zeller, during the late Civil war, was a member of company E, Twelfth Ohio vol- unteer infantry, in which he served two and one-half years, and, after an honorable dis- charge from that service, re-enlisted and served one hundred days in company E, of the One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio infantry, from which, at the end of his service, he was also honorably discharged. In his religious faith, Mr. Zeller is firmly united to the Breth- ren in Christ, and in politics is a republican. Fraternally, he is a Freemason, also a mem- ber of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, as well as of the Grand Army of the Republic. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1061 5>^V OAH E. SPITLER, a descendant of m one of the oldest pioneer families of r Montgomery county, and a regular minister of the old German Baptist church, was born in Clay township, Montgom- ery county, Ohio, June 22, 1848. For a fuller account of the Spitler family than here pre- sented the reader is referred to the biography of Dr. E. W. Spitler, printed elsewhere in this volume. Samuel Spitler, the grandfather of Noah E. , was born in Lancaster county. Pa., and mar- ried Catherine Mishler, by whom he had the following children: Joseph, John, Jacob, Samuel, Henry, Daniel, David and Mary. Samuel Spitler moved to Ohio about 18 15, settling in Stark county, and living there about ten years. In 1825 he came to Montgomery county, settling on 765 acres of land, most of which he cleared up from the woods. In 1853 he removed to Miami county, Ohio, passing the remainder of his life with his son-in-law, Joseph Gnodle. For many years he was a deacon in the German Baptist church, a man of influence in his neighborhood, and reached the age of seventy-two years, having been well-known for many miles around as a sturdy, hardworking, thrifty pioneer farmer. Jacob M. Spitler, his son, and father of Noah E., was born in Stark county, Ohio, January 8, 1820. He received a common- school education, became a farmer, and in due course of time married Ellen Earhart, who was born in 1831. She was a daughter of Jacob Earhart. Mr. and Mrs. Spitler settled on land in Clay township, purchasing eighty acres, which he greatly improved and made into a good farm and home. When he settled on it this tract was partly cleared, and by the untiring labor of his own hands he cleared away the surplus timber, added fertilizing ma- terial to the soil wherever necessary, and brought his farm to a profitable state of culti- 45 vation. He and his wife reared the following children: Levi, Harriet, Noah, and Mary Al- len. Mrs. Spitler died in 1856, Mr. Spitler re- maining on the home farm four years a widow- er. In 1 86 1, he married Mrs. Mary Sharp, a widow, whose maiden name was Stutsman. Mr. Spitler then bought land in Miami county, Ohio, where he lived until 1869, when he re- moved to Douglas county, Kans., there settling on 120 acres of land, upon which he is still living. His well-earned reputation for integ- rity and honorable dealing has followed him from Ohio to the west, where he is prosperous and successful. Noah E. Spitler received an excellent ed- ucation in the district school, and afterward attended the high school at Piqua. For some years he was successfully engaged in teaching school in Montgomery county, and also in Miami county. On August 9, 1870, he mar- ried Miss Anna Binkley, in Montgomery county, she having been born in Lancaster county, Pa., June 25, 1847. She is a daugh- ter of Jacob M. and Mattie K. (Weller) Bink- ley. For a fuller mention of Mrs. Spitler, the reader is referred to the history of the Binkley family, elsewhere published in this volume. Mr. Spitler removed, in 1877, to Miami county, remaining there until 1893, where, with the exception of a few years, he was en- gaged in teaching school. He has been one of the most successful of teachers, having taught thirteen years in three districts, twenty- seven months constantly in one district. In 1876 he taught a graded school in district No. 12, Miami county. His ability as a teacher is fully recognized and his labors in this capacity have always been highly appreciated by the people of Montgomery and Miami counties. Many people of prominence, both men and women, have been pupils of Mr. Spitler, and have their names on his roll of honor. In 1893 Mr. Spitler removed to his present 1062 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD farm of thirty-eight acres. He and his wife are the parents of the following children: Harriet E. and Jacob F. Mr. Spitler became a member of the German Baptist church in 1875, and in 1882 began preaching the gospel to his people, and has since continued to preach. He has always led a life of great usefulness, his object being to live for the ben- efit of others. In the fields of education and religion his work has been that of one who loved his fellow-men. >-y*OHN J. STETTLER, a prominent A farmer, was born in Miami township, /» 1 Montgomery county, Ohio, January 7, 1835, a son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Wicklet) Stettler. His great-grandfather, George V. Stettler, with his wife and five sons — William, Henry, Daniel, George and Jacob — natives of Berks county, Pa., settled in Miami township about 1802, locating one mile south- west of Miamisburg, where the father died April 23, 1815. His son, Daniel, grandfather of John J., was born in Berks county, Pa., in June, 1773; was married in 18 10 to Catherine Gehres, also a native of the Keystone state, but who came to Butler county, Ohio, with her family about 1802. She was born in 1783 and had four children by her union with Mr. Stettler — Daniel, Hannah (Mrs. Jacob Shy), Philip and George. Daniel, the father, was in the war of 181 2, and died in Miami town- ship in June, 1853, his wife surviving him un- til November 27, 1863. Both Daniel and his father, George V. , were large landholders, and it was at the cabin of the Stettlers that one of the early churches was organized in 1806, which organization is yet in existence. Dan- iel Stettler, father of John J. and the eldest son of Daniel and Catherine (Gehres) Stettler, was a farmer by occupation and spent all his life in Miami township. His children were five in number, viz: John J., Catherine (Mrs. Jacob Tobias), Mary (Mrs. Wesley Fornshell), Jacob and Daniel. John J. Stettler was reared in Miami town- ship, where most of his life has been spent in farming, in which he has been very successful. In 1 86 1 he married Loretta, daughter of Dan- iel Hohn, of Miami township, and has two children — Flora A. (Mrs. Isaac Eck) and Irvin P. Mr. Stettler is a member of the Lutheran church, in politics is a democrat, and is an es- timable citizen. The Stettler family, it will be perceived from the foregoing, is one of the oldest in Montgomery county, and for nearly a century has guarded and promoted its ma- terial and moral progress. WOHN HENRY STAMM, an ex-soldier ■ of the late Civil war. and a prominent A 1 citizen of Miamisburg, Ohio, was born in Berks county. Pa., in the town of Stouchsburg, September 20, 1839, ar >d is a son of Moses and Lydia (Heckerman) Stamm, both of whom were natives of Berks county, Pa. The father of Moses Stamm was named John, a native of Holland, and was among the pio- neer settlers of Stouchsburg, Pa. The mater- nal grandfather of John H. Stamm, Henry Heckerman, was a native of Pennsylvania. John H. Stamm was reared in his native county in Pennsylvania, was educated in the public schools and afterward learned the paint- er's trade. In 1858, removing to Miamisburg with his parents, he worked there with his father at the plasterer's trade, but since 1864 he has followed his own trade, that of painter, with gratifying success. On February 28, 1862, Mr. Stamm was married to Eliza E. Myers, daughter of Isaac and Lydia (Wirick) Myers, of Miamisburg. To this marriage there have been born sixteen children, twelve of whom are still living, as OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1063 follows: Edward; Wilhelmina, wife of John Fox; Clarence, Harley, Herbert, Frank, Edith, Milton, Hermydell, John, Homer and Wilbur. During the late Civil war Mr. Stamm was a private soldier in company D, One Hundred and Eighty-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, serving one year and being honorably dis- charged at the expiration of his term of serv- ice. In politics he is a democrat. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is a member of the German Reformed church, as is also his wife, who is a woman of many virtues, a devout and exemplary chris- tian lady. Mr. Stamm was a gallant soldier and did faithful duty during the term he served in defense of the flag of his native land. His course in civil life has been that of a useful and upright citizen. ^"V'AMUEL STIVER, Sr., a widely- *\^^%T known farmer of German township, ^ ^ J Montgomery count}', Ohio, was born here February 21, 1817, a son of John and Margaret (Wolf) Stiver, who were natives, respectively, of Lancaster and Dau- phin counties, Pa. The Stiver family are direct descendants from the Rev. John Casper Stiver (the name in his day being spelled Stoever), a pioneer Lutheran minister, who came to America from Germany in 1728, and labored chiefly among his countrymen of Lebanon and Lancaster counties. Pa., dying in that state in 1779, in his seventy-second year. John Casper Stiver, grandson of the rev- erend pioneer, was the patriarch of the family in Twin Valley, Ohio, and it was he who mod- ernized the spelling of the family name. He was born in Lebanon county, Pa., and came to German township, Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1806, being accompanied by his fam- ily, comprising his wife and three sons, Fred- erick, Casper and John. The last named of these sons, John Stiver, the father of Samuel, purchased a farm on Little Twin creek (which farm is now the property of Samuel Stiver, Sr.), and became one of the leading citizens of this neighborhood. He was thrifty and prosperous as a farmer, and a man of very decided traits of character. He was very ac- tive in church affairs, and with his father and brothers assisted largely in the organization of the Lutheran church in Germantown in 1809. His influence was such that he gener- ally carried his point when any question was to be decided, socially, politically or religious- ly. He reared a family of ten children, who were born in the following order: Barbara, John, Frederick, Michael, Catherine (Mrs. Frederick Dill), Elizabeth (Mrs. Jacob Weis), Susannah (wife of Christian Herr), Barbara (twin sister of Susannah and wife of Andrew Cotterman), Samuel and Elias — the two last named being the only survivors. Samuel Stiver, Sr. , whose name opens this biography, has always resided in German township. He was educated in all the sub- scription and district schools had to offer in the way of instruction, and has always been recognized as one of the most progressive and successful farmers of the township and county. March 4, 1841, he was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Emerick, daughter of George and Mary (Good) Emerick, residents of German township, but natives, respectively, of Maryland and Virginia. To the union of Samuel Stiver, Sr. , and Catherine Emerick have been born six children, viz: Benjamin M., William C, Samuel, Jr., Mary E. (Mrs. Edward Oldvvine), John A. and Sarah C. (Mrs. David Sholley). Samuel Stiver, Jr., was born on the Stiver homestead in German township, September 5, 1846, received a fair education in the common schools, remained on the homestead until 1064 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 1870, and then settled on his present farm of 100 acres, of .which he completed the purchase in 1880. January 6, 1870, he married Miss Leah Harp, daughter of Abraham and Mary (Peters) Harp, of Jackson township, Mont- gomery county, and this union has been blessed with three children, viz: Lydia, wife of William O. Haller; Adam and Amanda J. Adam, married, February n, 1897, Pearl A. Moyer, daughter of William S. Moyer, of German township. The family are members of the Lutheran church, and in politics Mr. Stiver is a democrat. He possesses all the sterling qualities of his forefathers and stands among the foremost of the citizens of German township, both as a man and as a representative farmer. EENRY PETER TREON, an old and well-known farmer of Miami town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Germantown, in the same county, October 29, 18 19, and is a son of Dr. Peter Treon, a native of Berks county, Pa., who settled in Miamisburg, Montgomery coun- ty, in 181 1, and became one of the eminent physicians and surgeons of the western part of Ohio. Christian Treon, grandfather of Henry P., was a native of France, and sailed from the port of Cowes, England, on the ship Duke of Wurtemberg, arriving in Philadelphia, Pa., October 20, 1752. He had been a distin- guished surgeon in the French army, his an- cestors having also been physicians, and he be- came the progenitor of the Treon family in America. In February, 181 8, Dr. Peter Treon and Dr. John Treon, his nephew, together with Emil Gebhart and Jacob Kercher, platted the first town lots in Miamisburg. Dr. Peter Treon was also associated for some years with the same nephew in various other business enter- prises, and later conducted business on his sole account, dealing in horses, mules, etc., and also in real-estate, accumulating a com- petency, and at his death leaving our subject 160 acres of land in Shelby county, Ind. Henry P. Treon was reared in German- town until seventeen years of age, when he came to Miamisburg and entered the employ of his father, with whom he remained until the latter's death. Since 1843 ne nas been en- gaged in farming and has lived on his present farm in Miami township ever since that date. Mr. Treon has been twice married; his first wife, whom he married March 22, 1842, was Sarah, daughter of Jacob Eagle, of Miami township, and of the two children born to this union one still survives — Rachel, now the wife of William Leis. Mrs. Treon died February 4, 1S79, and the second marriage of Mr. Treon took place September 16, 1880, with Mary Haynes, of Washington township, who died December 25, 1894. Mr. Treon is a devoted member of the Lutheran church and superin- tended the erection of the Saint John's Lu- theran church edifice in Miami township, and also superintended the building of the brick school-house in his district; in his politics he is a democrat, and has ever been a truly useful and energetic citizen in the work of promoting the public welfare. m ILLIAM STIVER, a retired farmer of Montgomery county, Ohio, is a native of German township, and was born January 27, 1844, a son of Samuel and Catherine ( Emerick) Stiver. The genealogy of Mr. Stiver will be found in full in the biographies of Samuel Stiver, Sr., and Samuel Stiver, Jr., immediately preceding this memoir, and, therefore, a repetition of the same is not here necessary. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1065 William Stiver was reared to farming on the old Stiver homestead in German township, and there worked in that honorable vocation until thirty-five years of age. In the spring of 1880 he rented what was known as the Kercher farm, on which he resided for three years ; he then purchased the farm of sixty-two acres, now owned by John Miller, but which Mr. Stiver occupied until 1892. In 1893 he retired to Miamisburg, where he is passing his days in quietude, having, through his skill and industry as a husbandman, been enabled to retire from active labor. The marriage of Mr. Stiver took place Sep- tember 20, 1874, to Sarah Nicholas, daughter of William and Catherine (Bovinger) Nicholas, of Jefferson township, Montgomery county, and to this union have been born ten children, in the following order: Francis M. , Charles A., Perry J., John H., Joseph A., Dora A., Clara B., Ina G. , Edward A. and William C. Mr. and Mrs. Stiver are members of the Lu- theran church, and in politics Mr. Stiver has been a life-long democrat. Having been a tiller of the soil for so many years, Mr. Stiver has naturally done much to- ward the improvement of German township and the enhancement in value of its farming land, and he is a worthy example of that best class of agriculturists whose thrift and good citizenship are large factors in the prosperity of the nation. ISAAC TREON, a successful business man of Miamisburg, and one who stands high in the estimation of the general public, was born in Miamisburg, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, June 29, 1861. He is a son of Dr. Isaac and Mary (Allen) Treon, of whom mention will be made later in this sketch. The great-grandfather of the present Isaac Treon, who was named Christian Treon, was a Frenchman, and sailed from Cowes, England, in the ship Duke of Wurtemberg, arriving in Philadelphia, Pa., November 20, 1752. Chris- tian Treon was a distinguished surgeon in the French army, his ancestors having also been physicians; Michael Treon, his son, and grand- father of the subject, was born in Berks coun- ty, Pa., August 19, 1 761. He, too, was a physician of prominence and spent all his life in the county of his birth, where he died May 28, 1828, and lies buried in the cemetery at Rohrersburg. He married Elizabeth Selzer, who was of German parentage. Their son, Isaac Treon, was born in Berks county, Pa., September 7, 1808. In 1822 he removed to Miamisburg, Ohio, and was educated at Ox- ford, Ohio, after attending medical lectures at Cincinnati, in 1833-34, and beginning the prac- tice of medicine at Miamisburg in 1835. Here he was engaged in active practice for many years, and was also engaged in the drug busi- ness, dealing likewise extensively in real estate. Dr. Isaac Treon was married three times — first to Rebecca Hoover. His second wife was Mary Allen, daughter of Isaiah and Rebecca (Rouse) Allen, of Miami township. She bore him five children, three of whom grew to ma- ture years, viz: Michael, Lillie, wife of George C. Weaver, and Isaac. His third wife was a Mrs. Leah Melinger. Dr. Isaac Treon died June 15, 1878, leaving a highly enviable record record for medical skill and upright manliness. Isaac Treon, the subject of this sketch, was reared in Miamisburg, and was educated in the public schools, graduating from the high school in 1879. He began life on his own ac- count as clerk in a drugstore, and in 1885 em- barked in the drug business at Lima, Ohio, continuing thus engaged in that city for three years. Shortly afterward, on account of ill health, he traveled extensively through the west, including California, returning in 1891 to Miamisburg, and here embarked in the stove and tinware business as a member of the firm 1066 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of Treon & Cade, and in this business he has since continued, with unvarying success. Mr. Treon was married February 7, 1895, to Virginia Cade, daughter of William and Elizabeth Cade, of Miamisburg, and to this marriage there has been born one daughter, named Mary Caroline Treon. Mr. Treon is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the Knights of Pythias, and of the Odd Fellows. Polit- ically, he is a republican, and is regarded in the community as an eminently patriotic and good citizen. Both Mr. and Mrs. Treon are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Both are untiring in their devotion to church and religious work and are highly esteemed and useful members of society. a APT. PORTERFIELD H.TROXEL, of Perry township, Montgomery coun- ty, is of German ancestry, his grand- father, Peter Troxel, having come from Germany many years ago. Capt. Troxel was born September 30, 1S31, in Augusta county, Va. , and is a son of Robert and Nancy (Cunningham) Troxel. He was educated in the common schools of Ohio, his parents hav- ing removed to Montgomery county, this state, in 1834, and settled on Tom's Run. Here young Porterfield was brought up on the farm, but received little education in school before he attained his majority, though he read and studied to good advantage in private during his leisure hours. After becoming of age he attended school for some time, and, when twenty-four years old, began teaching in the district schools, continuing this work about six years, or until the breaking out of the war. On October 28, 1861, he enlisted at Dayton, Ohio, in company E, Seventy-first Ohio vol- unteer infantry, under Capt. Callender, for three years, or during the war. In this com- pany he served until January 13, 1864, when he veteranized, and continued a member of the same company until transferred to company C. He was discharged at San Antonio, Tex., November 30, 1865. Mr. Troxel was promoted for meritorious services to fifth sergeant, in 1862, then to third sergeant, and later to first sergeant. Still later he was promoted to second lieuten- ant and then to first lieutenant, and for a time served as adjutant of the regiment. Later he was commissioned captain and as- signed to company C, of the same regiment, and served as such until discharged. He par- ticipated in the battle of Shiloh, in the battle of Franklin (where he served as adjutant of his regiment), and also in the battle of Nash- ville. In addition to these he was in many smaller engagements and in numerous skir- mishes. His hardest marching and campaign- ing was from Atlanta to Nashville, and in Texas, from Matagorda Bay to Green Lake. The latter march was made in August, the weather being very hot, and there being but little water to be had. The regiment marched thirty-five miles in one day, many of the sol- diers falling out by the wayside. Capt. Troxel was at one time captured by the rebels, with six companies of his regiment, who were in due time paroled at Clarksville, Tenn. Capt. Troxel was always an active soldier, prompt and cheerful in the performance of his duty. After the close of the war the captain re- turned to Montgomery county and engaged in the manufacturing business, as a member of the firm of Munhdenk, Hiller & Troxel. He afterward engaged in farming in Perry town- ship, and in 1882 bought a fine farm of 104 acres. He was married in March, 1866, at Pyrmont, to Sarah A. Taylor, daughter of Henry and Sarah (Hamilton) Taylor, who were the parents of the following children: James F. , Martha J., Sarah A., Emeline and OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1067 Almira. Mr. Taylor for some years held the office of township trustee. Capt. and Mrs. Troxel are the parents of the following children: Stanley, Stella, James, who died at the age of nineteen; Jennie and Maud. Politically, Capt. Troxel is a repub- lican, and takes pride in having voted for Gen. Winfield Scott, Gen. John C. Fremont and Abraham Lincoln. He is honored by all who know him as a man of integrity and of inde- pendence of character, and as a soldier who served his country well in her hour of need. Peter Troxel, the founder of the family in America, settled in Augusta county, Va., was a farmer by occupation, and reared the follow- lowing children: George, Abraham, Daniel, David, Polly, Robert, Susan and Rachael. He was an extensive farmer, owning some 400 acres of land, and lived to be ninety-six years old. His wife lived to be ninety-four. Robert and Nancy Troxel, the parents of our subject, reared the following children: Robert, Porterfield H., Peter, John, Daniel, Rachael, Margaret and Mary. They removed to Mont- gomery county in 1832, settling in Perry town- ship. Mr. Troxel was a member of the United Brethren church, and was a man of high char- acter, and died when he was fifty-six years of age. He had two sons in the Civil war, Rob- ert and Porterfield H., the former of whom was in the Seventeenth Ohio battery, and was with Gen. Grant in the Vicksburg campaign. Archibald Patrick, the maternal great- grandfather of Capt. Troxel, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and was wounded at the battle of Guilford Court House. *w * EZEKIAH B. ULM, infirmary di- l^\ rector and retired farmer, now a resi- \ W dent of the city of Miamisburg, was born near Monroe, Butler county, Ohio, January 29, 1843. He is the eldest of six children now living, of the family of eleven children born to Edward and Elizabeth (Davis) Ulm, the former of German and English de- scent, while the latter was of Welsh and Scotch-Irish descent. His paternal grandfather, Daniel Ulm, was a Virginian by birth, whose ancestors were na- tives of Germany and pioneers of Virginia, and among the very early settlers of Ohio, first locating in Pike county, and later in Mon- roe and Butler counties. Daniel Ulm cleared two farms in Ohio, one in Warren county and the other in Butler county, and died in Mason, Warren county, Ohio, in 1858. His children were named, Polly (Mrs Abel Reynolds), James, Sarah (Mrs. William Fitzgerald), Jane (Mrs. Abraham Bercaw) Hattan and Edward, the latter being the father of our subject. Ed- ward Ulm was born in Warren county, Ohio, in 1820, and was reared a farmer's boy, receiv- ing a limited education in the pioneer schools. He chose and followed for his life vocation that of an agriculturist, and was a resident of Miami township from 1857 until 1891, when he removed to Franklin, Ohio, where he died April 22, 1893. His children were eleven in number, six of whom grew to maturity, viz: Hezekiah B., Martha J. (Mrs. Thomas Childs), Edward A., George A., and Eva and Hattie, twins — the former the wife of Harvey Kendall, and the latter the wife of William Evans. Hezekiah B. Ulm grew to manhood on the farm and lived during his earlier years in But- ler, Warren and Montgomery counties, he be- ing but fourteen years of age when his parents settled in Miami township, Montgomery coun- ty. He was taught industrious habits from childhood and has led a very active life from youth up to the present time. He attended the common schools and later supplemented these advantages by attending the Monroe academy. Having finished his education, he began life as a farmer, which occupation he 1068 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD followed from 1 88 1 to 1896 in Washington township, this county, and was known through- out the southeast part of Montgomery county as one of the successful and well-to-do farmers. On July 31, 1862, he enlisted in company E, Ninety-third Ohio infantry, and immedi- ately after being mustered in, entered active service. The first engagement he participated in was that of Stone River (or Murfeesboro), Tenn., during which he received a gun-shot wound, which disabled him for further service to his country, and on September 24, 1863, he received an honorable discharge at Camp Dennison, Ohio, on account of disability. He returned home, and on the 1 5th of March, 1866, was united in marriage with Ella W. , daughter of George and Ellen ( Wheatley") Pease, of Miami township, this county. By this marriage he has three children living: Olive, Walter K. and Herbert B. Mr. Ulm removed, in the fall of 1896, to the city of Miamisburg, where he is most pleas- antly situated. He and his wife are active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, while fraternally he is a member of the G. A. R., and of the K. of P. since 1874. Politically he is a republican and was nominated in the fall of 1895 as candidate for infirmary director, to which office he was elected by a large ma- jority, which attests the popularity that he so deservedly enjoys. • HEODORE M. WAGNER, a thriving merchant of Trotwood, Montgomery county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier of the Civil war, was born in Carroll county, 111., November 13, 1844, and is a son of Christian and Susan (Gaither) Wagner, who came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in August, 1864, living first in Wayne township, and finally settling in West Baltimore. Theodore M. Wagner received a very fair common-school education in his native state, and early learned the trade of shoemaking. He came to Ohio wfth his parents, and in the winter of 1864-5 enlisted, at Dayton, in com- pany C, Eighth Ohio volunteer cavalry, to serve one year. Shortly after joining his regi- ment he was detailed to the post quartermas- ter's department at Clarksburg, W. Va. , where he served until honorably discharged in July, 1865, at the close of the war. On his return to Ohio Mr. Wagner worked for a short time at his trade in Taylorsville, Montgomery coun- ty, going thence to West Baltimore, where he followed his calling until 1S77, when he set- tled in Trotwood. Here he embarked in mer- chandizing, which still occupies his attention. The marriage of Mr. Wagner to Miss Ka- turah Eck took place at West Baltimore, Sep- tember 28, 1868. Mrs. Wagner was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1845, a daughter of William and Susan (Hockey) Eck. There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wagner three children — Clara R., Jennie M. and Charles O. Mrs. Wagner is a member of the Christian church, while Mr. Wagner has adopted the faith of the United Brethren. Fraternally Mr. Wagner is a member of Trotwood lodge, No. 754, I. O. O. F. , in which he has reached the office of noble grand, and has been treasurer of his lodge and district deputy grand master. He is likewise a member of Court lodge, No. 287, Brookville, K. of P., and of Foster Mar- shall post, G. A. R., of the same place. In politics he is a republican, but has never sought or held public office. He is a substan- tial citizen, and owns several stores and resi- dences in Trotwood, a small farm south of town, and houses and land at Stillwater Junc- tion, as well as land in Dayton. Christian Wagner, his grandfather, was a native of Lancaster county, Pa., whence he moved, in an early day, to Frederick county, Md., where he died at the age of eighty-nine OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1069 years. Christian Wagner, father of Theodore M. , had born to his marriage five children — William H., John E., Theodore M., Adeline R. and Alice, all of whom came to Ohio ex- cepting John E., who settled in Iowa. Their father was a republican in politics, and lived to be ninety years old — the Wagner family, indeed, being noted for longevity. William Eck, the father of Mrs. Wagner, was born in Maryland, was a farmer of Preble county, Ohio, and the father of five children — Katurah, Rosina, Minerva, Ovien and Aaron. Mr. Eck in politics was a democrat, and a substantial and highly respected citizen. He died in 1894 and his wife in 1893. I HE WAYMIRE FAMILY is one of the oldest and most highly respected in Montgomery county, Ohio, having been a resident here since 1805. John Rudolph Waymire, the founder of the family in America, was a native of Germany, and died in North Carolina at the age of eighty-five years. Daniel Waymire, son of John Rudolph, was born in North Carolina, married Sophia Plumer, and after the birth of his first child came to Ohio (1805) and settled where the Polk church now stands in Butler township, Montgomery county, where his homestead em- braced 160 acres of land, beside which he owned eighty acres in the Slashes, three miles south. At his house were held the first meet- ings of the members of the Christian church in his township, and he also contributed liberally toward the erection of the first house of wor- ship, in 1 8 16, belonging to that religious de- nomination, as well as to the building of the first school-house. To Daniel and Sophia Waymire were born the following-named chil- dren : Davis, Mary, Daniel, John, Catherine, Elizabeth, Sarah, Rebecca, Rosannah, Henry and Isabel. John Waymire, the fourth enumerated of the above family, was born in Butler township, August 30, 1808, was educated in a frontier log school-house, and was taught the cooper's trade. At the age of twenty-two years he married Miss Margaret Coble, a native of But- ler township, and daughter of Anthony and Mary (Coble) Coble, who settled in Butler township in 1806, and were the parents of Abraham, John, Sarah, Daniel, Margaret and Solomon. Mr. Coble was a substantial farmer, owning 160 acres of land, and died at the age of seventy-two years, a member of the Chris- tian church. After his marriage, John Way- mire settled on a farm of sixty-four acres, all in the woods, and known as Natchez Under the Hill. The tract abounded in game, and its soil was very rich, and the Stillwater river, on the banks of which it was situated, swarmed with choice fish, and the two afforded abun- dance of food at no cost. Nevertheless, Mr. Waymire worked industriously and increased his acreage to 235, which he fully improved. To his marriage with Miss Coble were born four children, viz : Isaac, Sarah, Daniel W. and Hamilton. Mrs. Waymire was called away, and Mr. Waymire married Elizabeth Woodhouse, daughter of Henry Woodhouse, and to this union was born one son, John. Mr. Waymire died an honored man, and left be- hind a family that is still highly respected by the residents of Butler township. >-j J, OSEPH WEAVER, M. D., the oldest ■ male resident of Miamisburg, Ohio, /• 1 and one of the most prominent citizens of the place, was born three miles south of Dayton, December 22, 18 16. He is a son of George and Elizabeth (Hoch) Weaver, natives of Pennsylvania, who settled in Mont- gomery county, Ohio, in the year of his birth. His father, George Weaver, a farmer by occu- 1070 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD pation, reared to maturity eleven of the twelve children that were born to him, and at the present time seven of the eleven survive. Joseph Weaver, when but twelve years old, located in Miamisburg, and worked for Drs. Isaac and John Treon for his board, clothing and education, until he was eighteen years of age. For four years subsequently he remained with them as a student of medicine. In the winter of 1836-37 he attended a course of lec- tures at the Ohio Medical college of Cincin- nati, and in 1838 began the practice of his profession at Miamisburg. Soon afterward he engaged in the drug business, in which he con- tinued for three years in connection with his medical practice. He then sold out the drug business and confined his attention to his pro- fession, in which he successfully continued un- til 1870, a period of thirty-two years. In 1873 he embarked in the lumber business, in which he still continues, and in 1884 he erect- ed a large planing-mill, which he has since op- erated. Since 18S9 he has also been engaged in the coal business. For many years he has dealt in real estate, and has erected a large number of houses in Miamisburg, several of which he still owns. Dr. Weaver was married, in 1841, to Fan- nie Swar, daughter of John and Susan (Kauff- man) Swar, uf Miamisburg, and to this mar- riage there were born several children, as fol- lows: Minerva (Mrs. Rev. H. N. Weaver), John, Charles, Nora (Mrs. Dr. William Shu- ler), Anna (Mrs. John Walters), Louisa (Mrs. William Kauffman), and Clara. The doctor has twenty-two grandchildren. He is a member of the German Reformed church; in politics, originally a whig, he has been a republican since that party was organized. His first pres- idential vote was cast for Gen. William Henry Harrison, in 1840, and his last for Gen. Ben- jamin Harrison, in 1892. Dr. Weaver's mem- ory is perfect, and his reminiscenses of early days are exceedingly interesting. In the sixty- eight years of his residence in Miamisburg, the older generations have all passed away, and he stands now, hale and vigorous, nearly alone, but apparently with many years of active life and usefulness before him, the only represent- ative of the men who knew the place before it became a town and the only one living who assisted in its organization. *w ■ * ENRY WEAVER, the well-known re- |\ tired blacksmith of Miamisburg, Mont- r gomery county, Ohio, was born in Van Buren township, of the same county, October 26, 1825, and is a son of George and Elizabeth (Hoch) Weaver, natives of Lancaster county, Pa. John Weaver, the paternal grandfather of Henry, was also a native of Lancaster county, Pa., but was one of the pioneers of Montgom- ery county, Ohio, having come to this state in 1806. He entered, or purchased, a large tract of land in Van Buren township, cleared up a fine farm for himself and family, and at his death was able to endow each of his children with a handsome piece of farm land. Joseph Hoch, the maternal grandfather of Henry Weaver, was likewise a native of Lan- caster county, Pa., and a pioneer farmer of Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio. George Weaver, father of Henry, settled in Van Buren township in 1816, and cleared up a farm, on which he passed the remainder of his life. To his marriage with Elizabeth Hoch were born twelve children, of whom eleven grew to maturity, viz: William, George, Jeremiah, Joseph, Lucy A. (Mrs. Jacob Drayer), Mary A. (Mrs. Richard M. Miller), Henry, Isaac, Sarah (Mrs. David Furlong), Elizabeth (Mrs. Dr. John Treon), and Daniel. Henry Weaver, whose name opens this biographical notice, was reared in Van Buren OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1071 township, where he received a fair education in the pioneer log school-house, and where he served two years as an apprentice to a black- smith. Having fully learned the trade, he worked as a journeyman for five years, and then established a shop of his own in his na- tive township, which shop he conducted for another period of five years, and then came to Miamisburg, where he passed thirteen years in the prosperous prosecution of his trade, and at the end of that period was enabled to retire to private life and to live on the competency his industry and thrift had so worthily gained him. Henry Weaver was happily married, in 1850, to Barbara A. Kauffman, daughter of Henry and Maria (Bear) Kauffman, of German township, and to this union have been born eight children, of whom six grew to maturity, viz: Amos; Mary, who is the wife of Miles Blossom; Etta, widow of Amos K. Clay; Harry, Theodore, and Lizzie E., who died in March, 1893. Mr. Weaver, now one of the most substan- tial citizens of Miamisburg, has owned and occupied his present residence since 1S73. He is surrounded by a circle of pleasant neigh- bors and sincere friends, in whose esteem he holds a high position, and is also much re- spected by the community at large. Although a democrat in his party affiliations, he has never been a partisan in the office-seeking sense of the word, but has contented himself with giving voice to his principles through his vote at the polls. S^%. EORGE WASHINGTON WEAVER, ■ ^\ the pioneer and most prominent mer- \^J chant of Miamisburg, was born in Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, September 27, 1824. He is a son of Philip and Magdalena (Gebhart) Weaver, and is of Swiss origin. His paternal grandparents were Jacob and Margaret (Gebhart) Weaver, both natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio in 1804, settling on Little Bear creek, Jefferson township, Montgomery county. Here Mr. Weaver cleared and improved a farm, upon which both he and his wife lived the rest of their lives. Jacob Weaver was born Feb- ruary 28, 1762, and was a son of Jacob Weaver, of Alsace-Lorraine, who was one of three brothers who were driven from their native land by religious persecution during the last century. Jacob Weaver, grandfather of George W., was the father of ten children, as follows: Henry, a soldier in the war of 1812; Michael, Jacob, Peter, Philip, John; Magdalena, wife of Jacob Beachler; Gretchen, wife of George Gebhart; Eva and William. Of these chil- dren, Philip, the father of George W. Weaver, was a farmer, and a most industrious, temper- ate christian gentleman. His death occurred July 12, 1851, when he was fifty-three years of age. His wife, Magdalena Gebhart, was a daughter of George and Elizabeth Gebhart, who came from Pennsylvania, and settled in Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1805. Their children who grew to matu- rity were as follows: William; Elizabeth, wife of Nelson Shade; George W. ; Rachel, wife of Eli Eck; Malinda, wife of Daniel Bookwalter; John P., Jacob; Lavina, wife of Wilson Gebhart; Noah; and Magdalena, wife of Philip Weaver. George W. Weaver, the subject of this sketch, was reared on the old homestead and remained there until he was twenty-one years of age. The education he received was lim- ited to that furnished by the common schools of his youthful days. In 1845, with a bor- rowed capital of $150, he embarked in the grocery business at Miamisburg, and in this business he has been engaged ever since, meet- I ing with all the success that could be desired. 1072 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD In 1 86 1 he added a hardware department to his business, and has always been and still re- mains the leading and most extensive mer- chant of the place. For twenty-five years he was a large dealer in agricultural implements, buggies, etc., and in this department of trade was as successful as in those of groceries and hardware. Mr. Weaver was married Octobers, 1845, to Rebecca Rowe, daughter of Henry and Sarah (Squires) Rowe, and has eight children, as follows: Sarah M., wife of H. C. Hoff; Ellen, wife of R. J. Smith; Mary A. L., wife of F. C. Ampt; George C, Charles E. ; Louisa E., wife of Robert G. Weber; Emma C. , wife of Franklin Alter; and Harry C. Mr. Weaver is a member of the Reformed church, and has held the offices of deacon, treasurer and trus- tee. In politics he is a republican, and in every relation of life has always been recog- nized as a man of the highest integrity and honor, enjoying the regard of both the social and business elements of the community. ^ywMLLIAM PERRY WEAVER, M. D., Mm one of the most successful and \%yl prominent physicians "1 Montgom- ery county, Ohio, was born in Jef- ferson township, this county, October 8, 1851. He is the son of William and Sarah (Beck) Weaver. His paternal grandfather, Jacob Weaver, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., December 28, 1762, and settled in Jefferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1805. In this township he cleared and improved a farm, on which he lived the rest of his life. His father, Jacob Weaver, came from Alsace- Lorraine, and in early manhood settled in Pennsylvania, serving later as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The wife of Jacob Weaver, pioneer of Montgomery county, Ohio, was Margaret Gebhart, who bore him ten chil- dren, as follows: Henry, a soldier in the war of 1812; Michael, Jacob, Peter, Philip, John, Magdalena (Mrs. Jacob Beachler); Gretchen, (Mrs. George Gebhart); Eva, and William, the latter being the father of the subject of this biographical sketch. William Weaver was born on the old homestead in Jefferson township, September 25, 181 1, and was reared as a farmer and a distiller, conducting the latter business on Bear creek. He lived and died on the old Weaver homestead, his death being caused by injuries accidentally received, January 24, 1857. His wife was a daughter of Richard and Susan (Snepp) Beck, the former of whom was a native of England, at one time a resident of Montgomery county, and later a large land- holder on the Wabash river, near Fort Wayne, Ind. William Perry was the only child of the marriage of William and Sarah (Beck) Weaver. William Perry Weaver, M. D., was reared in his native county, was educated primarily in the public schools thereof, also in Notre Dame university and in Wittenberg college. In 1868 he began the study of medicine by taking a course of lectures at Miami Medical college, at Cincinnati, Ohio, and finished his medical ed- ucation at the Cincinnati college of Medicine & Surgery, graduating from this institution in 1 87 1. Locating immediately in Miamisburg, he has since had an extensive practice and has established himself in the confidence of the public to the fullest extent. Dr. Weaver was married, October 31, 1 87 1, to Katie Burnett, daughter of Patrick C. and Mary (Coughlin) Burnett, of Cincinnati. By this marriage he has two children, W. Burnett and Genevieve. Dr. Weaver is a member of the Montgomery county Medical society, and has been a surgeon of the Big Four Railroad company for upward of fifteen years. He has been assistant surgeon of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad com- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1073 pany since 1894. He is a member of the board of health, and is a stockholder and di- rector of the Miamisburg Twine & Cordage company. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and in politics a repub- lican. In all respects Dr. Weaver is a man worthy of confidence and esteem, and enjoys the high regard of all who know him. aHRISTIAN WEBER, a representa- tive business man and citizen of Mi- amisburg, was born in Ruxheim, Ger- many, February 14, 1826. He is a son of Christian and Anna M. Weber, who came to the United States in 1837, locating in Buffalo, N. Y. , where the former, who was a weaver by trade, resided until his death. He was a most excellent man, and, dying, was mourned greatly by all who knew him. Christian Weber, the younger, was reared in Buffalo from the time he was eleven years of age, receiving a limited education in the public schools. At the age of eighteen he es- tablished himself in business as a wholesale and retail tobacco and cigar dealer, in which he was successfully engaged for nine years in Buffalo. In 1853 he removed to New York city, where he was engaged in the wholesale tobacco trade until 1862, in the meantime traveling exten- sively through the tobacco-growing sections of the cquntry, buying largely for himself and others. In the year last mentioned he removed to Miamisburg, Ohio, and has since resided in that thriving place, being occupied from 1862 to 1880 in buying and selling tobacco, and meeting with uniform success. Mr. Weber was married in 1862 to Miss Lucella M. Grove, daughter of George A. and Christiana (Kercher) Grove, of Miamisburg. By this marriage he has seven children living, as follows : Robert G., Amelia, Edmund C. , Eliza J., John H., Oliver A. and Margaret L. Mr. Weber was one of the organizers of the Citizens' National bank, of Miamisburg, and is a stockholder and director of the bank at the present time. He is also a stockholder and director of the Kauffman Buggy .company, and is largely interested in other important enter- prises. Prior to the war Mr. Weber was a whig, but since then has been a democrat. Both he and his wife are members of. the Re- formed church, of Miamisburg, and maintain an excellent standing, both in religious and social circles. They are doing all in their power to educate their children properly, and thus to make of them good and useful citizens of the republic. gf ILLIAM D. WELSH, an enterpris- ing farmer and citizen of Miami township, Montgomery county, was born in Clear Creek township, War- ren county, Ohio, November 28, 1836, a son of Samuel and Jemima (Blackford) Welsh, na- tives of Harper's Ferry, Va., and Warden county, Ohio, respectively. On the paternal side he is of Scotch-Irish descent. His mater- nal grandfather, Nathaniel Blackford, was a native of New Jersey, and one of the pioneer farmers of Clear Creek township, Warren coun- ty, Ohio, where he died; Samuel Welsh was one of the later settlers of Warren county and was a carpenter by trade, but in later life en- gaged in farming, and died in Clear Creek township, in 1879. His children were named Catherine (Mrs. Joseph Githens), Mary (Mrs. Thomas Link), William D. , John B., James, Ruth, Emma (Mrs. Jacob Swanager) and Nathaniel. William D. Welsh was reared in Clear Creek township, Warren county, Ohio, and in Union county, Ind. In 1855 he located in Miami township, Montgomery county, where he has 1074 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD since resided, engaged in farming, and has occupied his present farm since 1879. December 23, 1862, Mr. Welsh married Miss Anna E., daughter of John and Jane (Vandever) Crain, of Miami township, and has three children: Charles, Bert, and John C. During the late Civil war Mr. Welsh was a member of company B, One Hundred and Forty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry; he en- listed in May, 1864, and was honorably dis- charged, at the expiration of service, in Sep- tember, 1864. He is in politics a republican. His course through life has been such as to win the respect of all who know him, as he has filled all his duties, as civilian and soldier, with an eye single to the welfare of his fellow-men. •~V*AMUEL WENGER, a former resi- k^^|* dent of Randolph township, now a K^_y resident of West Milton, Miami coun- ty, Ohio, is a highly esteemed citizen. He is a son of Christian and Mary (Klepinger) Wenger, and was born March 5, 1835, on tne olcj Wenger homestead in Randolph township, Montgomery county. Receiving the usual common-school education of the days of his youth, he early began to work at the varied tasks of the farm, becoming proficient in the use of the old-time scythe and cradle. He well remembers the first combined mowing and reaping machine introduced into the coun- try. He fully appreciates the great changes made by the introduction of the various kinds of farm implements, rendering the cultivation of great tracts even easier than was the tilling of a few acres by our forefathers. On November 29, 1858, he married Miss Elizabeth Waybright, in Randolph, she having been born July 7, 1834, on the Waybright homestead. She is the youngest of ten chil- dren born to Jacob and Elizabeth (Fetters) Waybright. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wenger lived for about five years on the Way- bright homestead, and then removed to Miami county, Ohio, two miles southwest of Wes Milton, where he purchased 104 acres of his father. This farm he greatly improved and by thrift and industry added to it until he at length owned about 500 acres. In 1886 he bought a fine piece of property in West Milton, consisting of half a block of ground and a fine residence. In 1874 Mr. Wenger erected on his farm a substantial brick house, and also built a good barn and other farm buildings. Altogether his is one of the best farms and homes to be found in this part of the country. To Mr. and Mrs. Wenger there have been born the following children: Mary A., John V., Amanda, who died when twenty-eight years of age, and Valeria A. Mr. and Mrs. Wenger are members of the German Baptist church, and in politics Mr. Wenger is a democrat. As such he has been honored by his fellow-citi- zens by election to the office of township trus- tee, in which position he served two years, and he has also been elected to other offices. He was a member of the school board for a con- siderable time. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wenger are of sturdy pioneer stock and rank with the best people of the county. He stands very high for the sterling qualities of manhood which he possesses, both by inheritance and by culture, and is bringing up his children in the ways of good citizenship, realizing that the strength of the nation depends very largely upon individual character. >Y*OHN WENGER, Sr., one of the most J substantial farmers of Randolph town- m J ship, and a descendant of an early pio- neer of Montgomery county, was born March 6, 1837, one-half mile west of Harris- burg, in the old Wenger homestead, which was upon the national road. He is a son of OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1075 Christian and Mary (Klepinger) Wenger, for fuller mention of whom the reader is referred to the biography of Joseph Wenger, elsewhere published in this volume. He was early put to work riding the horses that tramped out the grain on the barn floor, and gaining farm knowledge during the years that should have been spent at school. His education was therefore to a considerable extent neglected. When a young man Mr. Wenger spent many a day handling a scythe or reaping grain with a cradle, beginning to swing that primitive tool in the oat-fields when he was but little more than fifteen years of age. He began to plow when between nine and ten years of age, raked hay with a hand rake, and well remem- bers the first farming machinery that was in- troduced in his part of the county. He married when twenty-three years of age, March 8, i860, in Union township, Miami county, Ohio, Miss Mary C. Waybright, who was born in Montgomery county, near Harrisburg, and is a daughter of Daniel and Nancy (Kinsey) Waybright. Daniel Way- bright was a son of Dr. Jacob and Lizzie (Fetters) Waybright, the former being one of the early pioneers of Randolph township. Jacob Waybright was a farmer and a good citizen, and for many years a prominent prac- titioner of medicine in Montgomery county. Daniel Waybright was born in Randolph town- ship, became a successful farmer, and was the father of the following children: Sarah, Mary C. , Margaret, Lucinda, Rebecca, Salome, John and Ira. He lived to be about sixty years of age, dying in 1876. In religion, he was a Dunkard, and preached many years. He was well known for many miles around, as a man of sterling worth and character, and was highly regarded everywhere as a most energetic and useful citizen. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wenger settled on the farm now owned by him. At the time it consisted of 1 10 acres of land, which Mr. Wenger has greatly improved, and to which he has added other tracts, until at the present time he owns about 330 acres, all of which he has acquired by that industry and careful management which have made him one of the most prosperous farmers of his county. He and his wife have had the following chil- dren: David P., Martha, Lucinda, Daniel W., JohnH., EnosE., AnnaM., and Frank S. Mr. and Mrs. Wenger are members of the German Baptist church, and in politics, he is a democrat. Mr. Wenger's life has been a busy and useful one, and his unblemished character is recognized throughout the com- munity which has always been his home. >^OSEPH WENGER, one of the reliable C farmers of Randolph township, is a son (I I of one of the ancient pioneers of Mont- gomery county. His grandfather was John Wenger, who was of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, was born in Pennsylvania and was mar- ried in that state to a Miss Long, by whom he had the following children: Christian, John, Joseph, Tobias, Annie, Esther, Mary, Fannie, and Barbara. John Wenger came to Ohio with his family in 1824 or 1825, settling on about 100 acres of timber land near Little York. This land he cleared of its timber, lived upon it the remainder of his days, and became a substantial farmer and a model citi- zen. He was a minister of the church of the Brethren in Christ, preaching the gospel many years. Attaining a great age, he died rich in the esteem of all who knew him. Christian Wenger, his eldest son, was born in Lancaster county. Pa., in 1806. In Penn- sylvania he received a good common-school education, and came with his father and others to Ohio when he was about eighteen or twenty 1076 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD years of age. Arriving in Montgomery county, he married Polly Klepinger. Mr. and Mrs. Wenger soon after their mar- riage first settled near Little York, and later moved near to Harrisburg, Montgomery coun- ty, on a farm, which Mr. Wenger improved and to which he added until he owned 240 acres in a body, beside several other pieces. He gave to his children in the aggregate 1,000 acres of land, demonstrating not only his great industry, but that he was an unusually judi- cious manager and capable business man. He and his wife had the following children: Mary, Elizabeth, Nancy, who were born at Little York, Pa.; Samuel, John, Joseph, Amos, Levi and David, twins, and William, these seven be- ing born on the Ohio homestead. Their parents were members of the church of the Brethren in Christ, of which Mr. Wenger was a deacon for many years. Politically he was in his ear- lier life an old-line whig, but later was a dem- ocrat. Of a naturally robust constitution, he lived to be eighty years of age, dying Novem- ber 1, 1885, on his farm. He was endowed with the gift of saving, but was at the same time generous and was always kind to the poor and needy. He aided to build different churches in Montgomery county, and was in all ways a man worthy of the regard and con- fidence of the people. Joseph Wenger, the subject of this sketch, was born April 9, 1840, on the old homestead near Harrisburg. Reared a farmer's boy, he received the common-school education of the district school. When twenty-four years old, on March 24, 1864, he married Miss Mary Ann Niswonger, who was born November 9, 1 841, and was a daughter of George and Eliza- beth (Warner) Niswonger. George Niswonger was a son of John and Elizabeth (Circle) Nis- wonger, the former of whom came from Vir- ginia, and whose children were as follows: Rachel, George, Fannie, John, Elizabeth, Nicholas, Nellie, Eli and Mollie. In religion John Niswonger was a member of the German Baptist church, and came to Montgomery county in 1804 or 1806, settling in Clay town- ship, on a farm which is now owned by Frank Klepinger. He was thus among the earliest of the pioneers, the Indians not having then left the county. George Niswonger was born in Montgom- ery county about 1806, growing up among the pioneers, marrying Elizabeth Warner, and rearing the following children: David, Eli, Catherine, Mary Ann and Moses. Mr. Nis- wonger settled on land near Salem, consisting of 160 acres. This land he cleared of its tim- ber and made of it a good farm and pleasant home for his family. To his original farm he constantly added other tracts until he had 500 acres. He and his wife were members of the German Baptist church, he having been a dea- con for many years. Believing strongly in educating the young, he gave each of his chil- dren the best instruction possible, and lived to be seventy-four years of age, dying on his home farm. He was of the purest men of his day, honest and straightforward in his dealings, and highly esteemed by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Wenger settled permanently on their present homestead of 120 acres, to which he added forty acres, making 160 acres in one tract, and eighty acres in another farm. Of his first homestead of 120 acres he cleared up thirty acres, greatly improved his farm, and in 1879 erected a good, substantial farm-house. To him and his wife there have been born the fol- lowing children : Elizabeth , Ella, Sallie, George, Edna, William H.,OHie Bell and Nettie C. Mr. and Mrs. Wenger are members of the German Baptist church, and have given their children good educations, so far as their means would permit. He himself was a member of the OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1077 school board six years in succession. Mr. Wenger is one of the most industrious and progressive farmers of this township and county, and a substantial citizen. Aided by his faith- ful wife he has brought up an excellent family of children. HMOS WENGER, one of the prom- inent farmers of Randolph township, is a son of Christian and Mary (Klep- inger) Wenger. Amos Wenger was born April 24, 1842, on the old Wenger home- stead, and received the common-school educa- tion of the day. He was brought up on the farm, and when yet a boy rode the horse while tramping out the grain on the barn floor, at a time when he should have been at school. He became an expert in the use of the old-fashioned scythe in mowing grass, and of the cradle in cradling grain. He well remembers the first combined mower and reaper that was intro- duced into his neighborhood, and he has kept pace with the march of progress in the manu- facture of agriculture implements and their growing use upon the farm. When he was twenty-four years of age, on May 1 1, 1866, he married Mary Huffer, who was born in Mont- gomery county, Ohio, and is a daughter of John and Mary (dinger) Huffer. John Huffer was of German ancestry, came from Maryland, and settled in Montgomery county at an early day. His children were as follows: John, Catherine, Julia, Lizzie, Mary and Sarah. Mr. Huffer lived for some time on the Wenger homestead, consisting of about 100 acres, and then removed to Miami county, upon a farm near Pleasant Hill, where he died at about seventy years of age. He was a member of the German Baptist church. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wenger settled on the homestead farm of 130 acres, which Mr. Wenger, by industry and careful 46 management brought up to a high state of cultivation. He erected substantial and excel- lent farm buildings, and by wise thrift added to his possessions until he owned 300 acres of good farming land. To Mr. and Mrs. Wenger there were born the following children: Emma, born April 10, 1869; Lucy, born May 20, 1871 ; Charles, born March 20, 1879; Sallie, born Febuary 19, 1881; Ezra, December 30, 1882. Mrs. Wenger died November 7, 1884, a member of the German Baptist church, and a woman of many virtues and excellent qualities of head and heart. On December 6, 1885, Mr. Wenger mar- ried Mary Landis, a daughter of Samuel and Susannah (Erstine) Landis, and born August 22, 1858. Samuel Landis was a son of Felix Landis, who came from Pennsylvania, was a farmer, and married while yet living in Penn- sylvania, Miss Elizabeth Garver. Felix Lan- dis was one of the earliest of the pioneers of Montgomery county, and became one of this county's most substantial citizens. Mr. and Mrs. Wegner have two children: Albert, born December 7, 1886, and Walter, born January 17, 1897. Both are members of the German Baptist church, old order. Mr. Wenger has served as a member of the school board, and is a valuable citizen. His father, Christian Wenger, was one of the best known of the pioneers, and a man of excellent stand- ing in every relation of life. ^ EVI WENGER, one of the prosper- C ous farmers of Randolph township, L^J^ and a son of one of the pioneers of Montgomery county, was born on the Wenger homestead, August 26, 1844. He is a son of Christian and Mary (Klep- inger) Wenger, for fuller mention of whom the reader is referred to the biography of Joseph Wenger, elsewhere published in this n»7s CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD volume. Levi Wenger received the common- school education obtainable in the district schools, beginning to work early in life. When he was a boy, farm machinery had not been brought into use to any great extent, horses being used to tramp out grain. He was often employed in the winter time upon the farm, when he should have been at school. He well remembers the first combined mower and reaper that he ever saw, and other machines as they were invented and put upon the farm. He has spent many a day mowing with the old- fashioned scythe, reaping with a cradle, and raking hay with a hand-rake. The change to the present system has been very great and has been made with great rapidity, and none appreciate the march of improvement more than does the intelligent farmer. When he was twenty-eight years old Mr. Wenger married, on September 23, 1873, Miss Amanda Smith, born in Clay township on the Smith homestead, and a daughter of Abraham and Catherine (Long) Smith. Abraham Smith was of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, from Lan- caster county. Pa., and a farmer. He came to Montgomery county, Ohio, and settled at Greencastle, southwest of Dayton, where he ran a wagonmaker's shop for some years. At this place he was married and had the follow- ing children: Cyrus and Amanda, and one that died young. Mr. Smith moved to Clay township, on sixty acres of land, to which he added by thrift and industry until he owned a farm of 100 acres. He was one of the hard- working, prosperous men of his township, was a democrat in politics, and he and his wife were members of the church of the Brethren in Christ. He died in 1892 when he was seventy-five years old. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Wenger lived for one year on the Smith homestead, at the end of which time they removed to the Wenger homestead, where they have since lived. This farm Mr. Wenger has greatly im- proved, among the improvements being a fine, large brick house and other good buildings, such as are needed on a well conducted and well regulated farm. To Mr. and Mrs. Wenger there have been born the following children: Dora O, Jesse W T . , Bertha J., Rosella, Rollin, Leroy and Stella A. The parents are members of the church of the Brethren in Christ. In politics, Mr. Wenger is independent, and he is well known for his strict integrity and high char- acter. He comes of the best pioneer stock, is the head of an excellent family, and is one of the highly honored citizens of Randolph township. WEROME WERTZ, a retired merchant ■ of Miamisburg, and a prominent citi- /• 1 zen, was bofn in Jefferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, September 14, 1 83 1. He is a son of Daniel and Sarah ( Weamer) Wertz, natives respectively of Frank- lin and Somerset counties, Pa., who settled in Franklin, Ohio, in 1808. There Mr. Wertz followed his trade, that of carpenter, until 18 1 8, when he removed to Jefferson township, Montgomery county, where he cleared and improved a farm, and where he was engaged in the manufacture of wind mills. Upon this farm he lived the rest of his life, dying Sep- tember 28, 1873. His wife died March 10, 1859. They were the parents of the follow- ing children: Catherine, wife of Jacob Mullen- dore; Anthony, deceased; Mary, wifeof George Getter; Sarah, wifeof Daniel Lambert; Jacob, deceased; Nancy, wife of Daniel Mueky; Eliza- beth, wife of Frederick Stine; Caroline, wife of Peter Lambert; Lavina, wife of Aaron Mul- lendore; Harriet, wife of Joseph Hartzell; Daniel; John, deceased; Jerome; and Rachael, wife of Jacob Beachler. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1079 Jerome Wertz was reared in Jefferson town- ship, and received a limited education in the common schools. While yet a young man he learned the tinner's trade, which he followed in Miamisburg for ten years. In 1857 he re- moved to Anderson, Ind., where he conducted a tin store for two years, returning to Miamis- burg in 1859 and to his father's farm in i860. Upon this farm he remained until 1863, and then again returned to Miamisburg, where he was engaged in merchandizing until 1884. For five years thereafter he was engaged in farm- ing in Jefferson township, and, in 1889, retired from active life altogether, and has since re- sided in Miamisburg. Mr. Wertz, on June 9, 1858, married Sarah A. Schenck, daughter of William and Margaret (Small) Schenck, of Miamisburg, and to this marriage have been born five children, viz: William S. ; Calvin A., deceased; Laura, Al- fred and Willis. During the late Civil war Mr. Wertz served his country as a member of company E, One Hundred and Thirty-first regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, and was honorably discharged at the expiration of his term of service. Politically he is a republican, and he is a member of Al Mason post, No. 508, G. A. R. In religious matters both he and his wife are Methodists, and are excellent people in all respects, enjoying the fullest con- fidence of all their friends and acquaintances. It will be seen that Mr. Wertz has led an act- ive and industrious life. His business tact and thrift have won him a competence, and he is now enjoying in ease the fruits of his earlier and arduous labors. at 'ALTER C. WILSON, the worthy and experienced superintendent of the public schools of West Carroll- ton, Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Jackson township, in the same county, October 9, 1862, and is a son of John R. and Susan (Oldfather) Wilson, natives respectively of Jackson and German townships, and descendants from early settlers of Montgomery county. John Wilson, paternal grandfather of Wal- ter C. , was a native of Washington county, Pa., of Scotch-Irish descent, and in 181 5 set- tled in Jackson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, where he cleared up and improved a farm from the wilderness, and there resided until his death, in 1874. His wife, Susan (Aulti Wilson, was also a native of Washing- ton county, Pa., and bore her husband twelve children, named Hiram, Joseph, Jacob, Mary A. (Mrs. Jacob Oldfather), Elizabeth (Mrs. Thomas Smith), Sarah (Mrs. Henry Oldfather), John R., Henry, Susan (Mrs. Wesley Kline), Anna (Mrs. William H. Oldfather), Lucy (Mrs. A. M. Sterling), and Jenny. Samuel Oldfather, maternal grandfather of Walter C. Wilson, was a son of Jonathan Oldfather, a Pennsylvanian who came to Ohio in 1804 and settled in German township, Mont- gomery county. John R. Wilson, father of Walter C, was reared on a farm, but in 1867 embarked in mercantile business in Farmersville, Montgom- ery county, and also engaged in the manufac- ture of boots and shoes, and continued in these lines until 1876, when he became a sub- contractor in the mail service, which occupied his time until 1891. During this interval he was also postmaster at Farmersville for four years. His children who grew to maturity were named Walter C, Ora, Etta (Mrs. Joshua Albaugh) and Harry. Walter C. Wilson received his elementary education in the common schools of Jackson township and later attended the National Nor- mal university at Lebanon, Ohio, and Antioch college at Yellow Springs, Greene county, Ohio. He began his business life as a baker, 1080 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD and also learned the barber's trade. In 1880 he began teaching, and in this profession dis- covered his forte, which he has since pursued with much credit and success. His first graded school was at South Lebanon, Warren county, where he taught one year; he then went to Bellbrook, Greene county, and taught four years; since 1890 he has been superintendent of the public schools in West Carrollton, in which position he has given the greatest satis- faction to the community and won for himself an enviable reputation. For six years, 1890 to 1896, he has also been associate principal of the normal department of Antioch college. Mr. Wilson was united in marriage, Sep- tember 18, 1884, with Miss Amanda Snethen, daughter of George and Catherine (Stahlj Snethen, of Warren county, Ohio, and to them have been born three children: Clyde S., K. Grace and Morris C. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics Mr. Wilson is a democrat. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the I. O. O. F., and the O. U. A. M. , and socially he and his wife enjoy a very high standing. lf\ ANIEL W. YOUNG, Sr., of Miamis- 1 burg, and a retired hotel proprietor, /^^J was born in Munichweiter, Rhine province, Germany, January 16, 1839. He is a son of Daniel and Wilhelmina (Von Brecht) Young, his paternal grandpar- ents having been Philip and Catherine (Weber) Young, and his maternal grandparents, Julius Von Brecht and wife. Daniel W. Young's early education was re- ceived in the public schools of his native country, and in his twelfth year he was ad- mitted to the university at Speyer, with the view to being trained for the ministry of the Evangelical Protestant church. He had pre- viously attended an art training school and had become proficient as an ornamental painter. And as will be seen, later on, this latter training entered, in part, into his fu- ture course of life. In 1853 he sailed for the United States from Havre, on the ship Ar- lington, and, after a tedious voyage of sixty days, landed in New York. From this city he went by canal to Buffalo, and thence by rail to Saint Louis, where he joined his uncle, Peter Weber, a noted musician, who sent him to Walter & Cook's business college, from which institution he graduated with honor in the spring of 1856. He was next employed as clerk and steward in a hotel, remaining in this position for two years. In 1858 he went to Zanesville, Ohio, where he was employed in a confectionery store until the fall of 1859, wben he removed to Miamisburg. In i860 he entered the employ of Bookwalter & Kauff- man, carriage builders, as foreman of their painting department, and was engaged with them, and the various firms that succeeded to that business, for a period of nearly eleven years. In 1870, having purchased the Valley house, he engaged in the hotel business, and conducted this hotel for two and a half years. Selling out the Valley house, he removed to Dayton, and there conducted the Gait house for three years, at the end of which time he returned to Miamisburg, purchased the Arcade restaurant, thoroughly renovated and remod- eled the building, and conducted the restau- rant until 1888. He then took charge of what is now known as the Hotel Young, and carried on a successful business until 1895, when he retired from active participation in business affairs. In 1 89 1 Capt. Young went to Germany, on a visit to his aged mother and other relatives, this being his first visit to his native land after he left there in 1853. In 1861 he married Elizabeth Jacobus, daughter of Frederick and Catherine (Graff) Jacobus, of the Rhine prov- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1081 ince, Germany, and pioneers of Miamisburg. To this marriage there have been born three children that are still living, as follows: F. Henry, Daniel W. , Jr., and Charles. During the late Civil war Capt. Young served in the Morgan raid, and, notwithstanding he was the youngest member of his company, he was elected captain. He now has in his pos- session three commissions that were given him, one as captain of company I, Fourth Ohio volunteer infantry; one as captain ot company D, Seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, and one as captain of company E, Thirteenth Ohio volunteer infantry. Fraternally Capt. Young is a member of Schiller lodge, No. 38, I. O. O. F., of Day- ton, of the Knights of Pythias lodge of Mi- amisburg, and was the founder of and is past grand master of Mozart lodge, A. O. U. W. He is at the present time serving his second term as grand master of the D. O. H. Among other positions of trust that he has held may be mentioned that of president of the Miamis- burg Cemetery association, which he has held for the past eight years, and under his efficient management of the affairs of the association the cemetery has been brought into a condition of high perfection and beauty. In politics Capt. Young is a democrat, and a man of high character and undoubted patriotism. EARRISON WOLPERS, a prominent dry-goods merchant of Germantown, Ohio, was born in Germantown, No- vember 11, 1845, a son °f Charles O. and Louisa (Schwartz) Wolpers. Charles O. Wolpers was a native of the duchy of Brunswick, Germany, born in 1795, came to America in 18 14, and settled in Ger- mantown, where soon after his arrival he opened a store near Gunckel's mill. Begin- ning on a small scale, he gradually enlarged his operations in proportion to the demands of trade. After some years of success he erected a business structure on the lot now occu- pied by the dry-goods establishment of H. Wolpers & Co., where he continued busi- ness for a short time. He spent several years, also, in Bellefontaine, Ohio, which was then called Bellville, but Mr. Wolpers changed the name to Bellefontaine, which it has ever since retained. On his return to Germantown he engaged in the drug business, and was also interested in a distillery. He was a well-edu- cated man, a classical and scientific scholar, and was a diligent student throughout his life. He was also a practical chemist, and erected a laboratory, where he manufactured various articles for medical purposes. In 1824 he married Louisa Schwartz, daughter of Dr. Schwartz, of Baltimore, Md., who was a na- tive of Germany and a Revolutionary soldier. To Mr. and Wolpers were born eight children, three of whom grew to maturity — Frederika, Vandalena (Mrs. Lewis Eminger), and Har- rison, our subject. Harrison Wolpers was reared and educated in Germantown, and began his business career as a boot and shoe merchant in that town, in 1865. In this he continued one year and since 1866 has been in the dry-goods business, as a member of the firm of D. L. Oblinger & Co., Oblinger & Wolpers, as H. Wolpers, and since 1892 as H. Wolpers & Co., the business having been established by Gabriel Oblinger in 1825. May 2, 1870, Mr. Wolpers married Eliza J., daughter of Joseph F. and Eva (Coblentz) Kemp, of German township, the marriage re- sulting in the birth of six children, five now living: Eva (Mrs. Edwin Chryst), Charles F. , Frank, Lulu and Laura ; and one, Harry, deceased. Mr. Wolpers is a member of the Lutheran church and of the F. & A. M. In politics he is a republican, and during the late Civil war he held the offices of assistant asses- 1082 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD sor and and assistant deputy collector of internal revenue. He has been a member of the Ger- mantown school board for nine years and has always done his full duty as a citizen, while as a business man he has met with abundant success and prosperity. **r* EVI ZEHRING, a retired farmer of C Germantown, Ohio, was born in Ger- _^^ man township, Montgomery county, June 15, 18 19, a son of Peter and Elizabeth (Bonebrake) Zehring. His paternal grandfather, Lewis Zehring, was a native of Lebanon county, Pa., and a son of Henry Zehring, who was a son of Ludwig Zehring, a pioneer of Lebanon county, Pa., his ancestors being from Baden, Germany. Peter Zehring was born in Lebanon county, Pa., November 2, 1793. He was educated in his native state, where he learned the shoe- maker's trade, and in May, 1816, settled in German township, Montgomery county, Ohio, and followed his vocation until 1818, when he married Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Dewalt and Christiana Bonebrake. He then engaged in farming, clearing and improving most of the farm of 136 acres on which he settled, and where he died August 8, 1858. Both he and his wife were members of the United Brethren church. In politics Mr. Zehring was a stanch democrat. Levi Zehring, the only child of Peter who grew to maturity, was born and reared on the old homestead, and received a limited educa- tion in the schools of his day. He continued to live on the homestead until 1882, when he retired and removed to Germantown, where he has since resided. He was an industrious and able farmer, and made many improvements on the old homestead. He married, February 5, 1846, Ann Maria, daughter of Barnard and Elizabeth (Swartzly) Zehring. She was the granddaughter of Philip Swartzly, one of the pioneers of Montgomery county, who helped to lay out the present city of Dayton. Mr. Zehring has one son living, Amos, of whom mention will be made hereafter. Mr. Zehring is one of the best known citizens of German township. While not a member of any church, he is a believer in Christianity, and is a sup- porter of the United Brethren denomination; in politics he is a democrat. Amos Zehring, a prominent farmer of Ger- man township, was born on the Zehring home- stead, where he now resides, December 28, 1847, a °d is the only son of Levi and Anna M. (Zehring) Zehring. He reached the years of manhood in his native township, where he re- ceived a common-school education. He has always followed farming as an occupation, and, with the exception of four years, has al- ways lived on the old Zehring homestead. In September, 1871, he married Mary, daughter of John P. Hildreth, of Jay county, Ind., and has five children — Oscar O., Eva M., Willie A., Levi E. and Aaron Earl. Mr. Zehring is a member of the United Brethren church, is president of the township school board, and in politics is a republican. He is honored wher- ever known, and is a most well-to-do farmer, as well as an excellent citizen. * » ■ * ON. LEWIS HENRY ZEHRING, j^V mayor of Miamisburg, and familiarly P known as Judge Zehring, was born in Miamisburg July 12, 1S40, son of Samuel and Mary (Wenger) Zehring. In his native town Judge Zehring grew to manhood, securing a good education in the public schools. At the age of twenty years he began teaching school, and followed that vo- cation for twelve years, and during a part of that time was also engaged in farming. He was principal of the grammar department of OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1083 Miamisburg's school for three years, and taught a select school one year. In 1874, while on the farm, he was elected justice of the peace, and the following year removed to Miamisburg, where he has since resided and through successive re-elections has continuous- ly held the office. For two years he served in the city council, and as mayor seven years, and is the present incumbent of that office, and for four years rendered efficient service as a member of the board of school examiners. He has been connected with the fire depart- ment ever since 1865, with the exception of five years spent on his farm, and has been its president since 1892. From January, 1891, to January, 1894, he held the office of county commissioner, and was a member of Mont- gomery county's soldiers' relief committee for four years. In 1863 he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Emanuel B. Geb- hart, of Miami township, by whom he has two daughters: Laura M., wife of Oliver P. Dosch; and Blanche, now a student of Yale college. In politics the judge is a democrat, and a recognized leader in the councils of his party. Fraternally, he is a Mason, and has attained the thirty-second degree, and for twelve years he served as worshipful master of Minerva lodge, No. 98, of Miamisburg. In all matters pertaining to the public good Judge Zehring takes a commendable interest, and as public official or private citizen has proved true to every trust reposed in him. at ILLIAM HENRY HARRISON BRIDGMAN, a prominent farmer and dairyman of Van Buren town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in that township, January 27, 1844. He is a son of Thomas and Esther (John) Bridgman, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Ohio. Thomas and Esther Bridgman were the parents of nine children, as follows: Sarah, wife of B. B. Pancoast; Mary Jane, wife of F. M. Ewry; William H. H. ; John T. ; Perry B. ; Albert Orion, Francis Marion; Laura, wife of John Shutts, and Charles G. Thomas Bridgman, born April 15, 1803, in Jefferson county, Va., was a farmer by occu- pation, came to Ohio about 1827, and pur- chased a farm of 1 52 acres in Van Buren town- ship, which he managed, and also ran a saw- mill. Upon that farm he lived until his death, which occurred in 1882, when he was seventy- nine years of age. His widow, a native of Van Buren township, is now seventy-seven years of age. She is, as he was, a member of the United Brethren church, of which he served for some years as one of the trustees. He also served for a number of years as di- rector of the school district in which he lived. The paternal grandfather of W. H. H. Bridgman died in Virginia. The maternal grandfather, Asa John, was a native of Wales, and an early settler in Van Buren township. He was enterprising, industrious and success- ful, and accumulated a large amount of real estate both in Montgomery and in Shelby counties. His death occurred when he was eighty-two years old. William H. H. Bridgman was reared in Van Buren township, received his early educa- tion in the district schools, and remained at home until he was eighteen years of age. On February 2, 1862, he enlisted in company D, Seventy-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, in which he served two years. Then, re-enlist- ing as a veteran, he served until the close of the war. Among the battles in which he par- ticipated were those of Chattanooga, Stone River, and all of those on Sherman's march to the sea. Returning home from the war he 1084 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD engaged in farming and threshing on his own account, with continuing success. About 1890 he also embarked in the dairy business, in which he has likewise prospered. His farm of 134 acres lies about four and a half miles southeast of Dayton, and is well improved and highly cultivated. Mr. Bridgman was married, December 28, 1865, to Miss Adeline O. Fellows, of Niagara county, N. Y. To this marriage there were born five children, as follows: Henry Clay, Bertha, Ollie, Florence and Sidney Burke. Florence died at the age of six years in the state of New York. Mrs. Bridgman, mother of these children, died November 6, 1S77, a mem- ber of the United Brethren church. On No- vember 18, 1885, Mr. Bridgman again mar- ried, his second wife being Miss Hannah Dedrick, daughter of David and Mary (Altick) Dedrick. By this marriage he has one child, Maud Marie. Mr. and Mrs. Bridgman are members of the United Brethren church, and Mr. Bridgman is a member of Montgomery lodge, No. 5, I. O. O. F., also of Earnshaw post, No. 590, G. A. R. He is also a mem- ber of the Union Veteran Legion, camp No. 145. Politically he is a republican, but has never sought or held office. ^y w M LLIAM CLEMMER, one of the MM most prosperous farmers of Mad \JLvl River township, Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, was born in Perry town- ship, that county, on the banks of Tom's Run, October 11, 1825. He is a son of John and Phoebe (Nevius) Clemmer, natives of Pennsyl- vania and of Virginia, respectively. They were the parents of eleven children, five of whom are still living, as follows: Frances, wife of Joshua Fagler; John N. ; William; Rachel Ann, wife of George Bixler, and Cath- erine, wife of Henry Bish. John Clemmer, the father of William, was a farmer by occupation, and served in the war of 1 8 1 2. He came to Ohio about 1 820, located in Perry township, Montgomery county, and lived there the rest of his life. He died about 1S60, when eighty-two years of age, his wife having died some six years before. Both were members of the German Reformed church. The father of John Clemmer reared a family of ten children, and died in Pennsylvania. The ma- ternal grandfather of William Clemmer was a farmer by occupation, had a family of ten children, and died in Virginia at quite an advanced age. William Clemmer has lived all his life in Montgomery county. Reared on the farm, his early life was that of the country lad of pio- neer days. He attended the district school, remained at home until he attained his major- ity, and then his father gave him an opportunity to make something for himself, by working a farm on shares, and at length gave him a 100- acre farm, upon which he lived and which he farmed for about ten years. Selling this farm, he then bought 144 acres in Jackson township, where he lived until 1872, when he traded for his present farm, which contains 183 acres. He was married October 12, 1848, to Miss Sarah Zehring, born September 9, 1824, daughter of David and Christena (Houtz) Zehring, who were natives of Pennsylvania and became residents of Montgomery county about 1827. They had three children — Sarah, Eliza and Elias. To William Clemmer and wife have been born six children, as follows: Eliza Catherine, Orion, Celeste Mary, Florence A., Clara and Tolton, the latter of whom died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Clemmer are members of the United Brethren church, of which he is a trus- tee. Politically he is a republican and has served as clerk of Perry township. He has also been a school director in Mad River town- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1085 ship for a number of years. He is one of the successful farmers of Mad River township, in- telligent and well informed, and always ready to take advantage of new improvements, in- ventions and ideas. >"j*ONATHAN CREAGER, a farmer of J Washington township, Montgomery /• J county, Ohio, was born in Van Buren township, this county, October 4, 1845. His parents were John C. and Sarah Ann (Prugh) Creager, both of whom are also natives of Montgomery county. To them were born eight children, six sons and two daughters, of whom five of the sons and one of the daught- ers are still living, as follows: Jonathan, Abner; Martha, wife of Thomas Jones; Levi, George W. and Gideon W. John C. Creager, in his early life, was a carpenter and also a cooper, but in his later years he followed the occupation of a farmer. All his life has been passed in this county, with the exception of a few years spent in Darke county, where he bought eighty acres of land. Some time afterward he sold this farm and purchased one containing sixty acres in Van Buren township, Montgomery county, on which he lived about six years; he then purchased the adjoining farm, on which he now lives, containing ninety-six acres of fine land. This farm he has much improved by careful fertilizing and cultivation, and by the erection of good buildings, including a large and com- fortable dwelling. Mr. Creager also owns a farm of ninety-six acres in Darke county. Politically, Mr. Creager is a republican, and has held numerous local offices. He was school director for three years and pike com- missioner for two years, in addition to the several township offices which he has filled. Both he and his wife are members of the Ger- man Reformed church. The paternal grand- father of Jonathan Creager, John Christian Creager, was of German ancestry, and was born in Maryland. The maternal grandfather, Abner Prugh, was also a native of Maryland, was one of the early settlers of Montgomery county, Ohio, and died in this county at the great age of 101 years. Jonathan Creager was born in Van Buren township, but was reared in Washington town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, and received his early education in the district schools. Being the eldest of the family, most of the farm work fell to his share, and thus his edu- cational advantages were more limited than they otherwise might have -been; but he has, since attaining his majority, improved his op- portunities for reading and observation, and has in this way become a well-read and well- informed man. He remained at home with his parents until he attained to man's estate, and was married on the 13th day of Novem- ber, 1873, to Miss Lyda A. Moats, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Shell) Moats. Mrs. Creager is a member of the German Reformed church. Mr. Creager is a member of Columbia lodge, Knights of Honor, and politically is a republican, and served with his father for one year as pike commissioner. He is a member of one of the oldest and best families in the county, and enjoys the confidence and respect of his neighbors and friends to a high degree. >-j»AMES COOK, farmer of Washington ■ township, Montgomery county, Ohio, /• 1 was born in Lincolnshire, England, May 11, 1835. His parents, William and Elizabeth (Nailor) Cook, were natives of England. To them there were born seven children, five of whom are still living, as fol- lows: William, John, James, Alfred, and Mary, widow of George Driver, and who lives in Craw- fordsville, Ind. William Cook had also one 1086 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD child by a former marriage. William Cook was a laboring man, came to the United States more than forty years ago, and lived in Wash- ington township, Montgomery county, for many years. At length he removed to Craw- fordsville, Ind., with his daughter, Mary, and died there in 1893, at the great ageof 103 years. His wife died about forty years ago. Both the grandfathers of James Cook were natives of England, and died in that country. James Cook was seventeen years of age when brought to the United States by his par- ents, and began life here with no means what- ever. At the present time he has 102 acres of land in Washington township, the result of his industry and perseverance. On the 13th of October, 1S69, he was married to Nannie Mc- Grevv, daughter of Milton and Anna (Russell) McGrew. To this marriage there have been born three children — Milton William, Anna Miriam and Mary Rebecca. Of these, Milton William lives at home, and Anna Miriam mar- ried Frank Tizzard, of Dayton, and has one child, Hazel. Mrs. Cook's maternal grandfather, James Russell, was one of the earliest settlers in Day- ton, locating there when there was but one house in the place. Having purchased land in Washington township, he built a log cabin upon it, and then brought his family down the Ohio river on a flatboat to Cincinnati, whence he brought them by wagons to Montgomery county. He was one of the most industrious and energetic of the early settlers of Montgom- ery county, was one of this county's prominent citizens, serving for many years as justice of the peace, and also as a member of the state legislature. He was a man of remarkable strength, both of body and mind, and lived to be eighty-four years of age. Mrs. Cook's paternal grandfather, John McGrew, was also one of the early pioneers of Montgomery county, coming to the west from York county, Pa. His farm lay in the river bottoms of Washington township. In 1788 he was married, and removed to Georgetown, Ky. , the same year. In 1790 he joined the army to fight against Indians, and was in the great battle of Maumee Ford, which occurred on the present site of Fort Wayne, Ind. In 1796 he removed to Montgomery county and settled five miles south of the present site of Dayton. He became a prosperous farmer, was married twice, was a worthy member of the Baptist church, and died at the age of eighty-two years. The father and mother of Mrs. Cook were natives of Washington township. Both were members of the Unwersalist church. Mr. Mc- Grew died October 27, 1868; his wife survived him until 1890, and was in her eighty-fourth year when she died, having lived over fifty years on the farm on which James Cook now makes his home. HBRAHAM A. DENLINGER, a repre- sentative farmer of Montgomery county, came of Pennsylvania stock, which was of ancient Swiss origin. The tradition is that at an early day four brothers came to this country together, locat- ing in Pennsylvania, and settled in different parts of that state. The grandfather of Abraham A. Denlinger, whose name also was Abraham, was born in Lancaster county, Pa. , and became one of the prominent farmers of that county. His chil- dren were named as follows: Elizabeth, Henry, Christian, Abraham, John, Martin, Hettie, Nancy, Christina, Susan and Barbara. All of these lived to marry and to rear children of their own. Mr. Denlinger died in Lancaster county, Pa., when forty-two years of age. Abraham Denlinger, fourth child of the above, and father of the subject, was born in OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1087 Lancaster county, Pa., August 5, 1806. He was reared a farmer, and when a young man came to the state of Ohio, locating in Mont- gomery county in 1831 or 1832. Soon after arriving here he married Miss Margaret Miller, who was born February 27, 1806, on Wolf creek, in Harrison township, and who was a daughter of Daniel and Susan (Bowman) Miller. The former of these came to Ohio from Huntingdon, Pa., locating in Montgom- ery county in 1804. It was he who cut the first road up Wolf creek through the woods west of Dayton, in which town at that time there were living but three families. He was one of the most enterprising of the pioneers, entering land from the government, and pur- chasing a large tract, in the aggregate amount- ing to 2,000 acres. A large part of this land he cleared, and beside erected a saw and grist mill and a distillery. The products of these two establishments he shipped down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans, thus becoming a business man as well as a farmer. His children were as follows: Benjamin, John, Daniel, Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, Es- ther, Susan, Margaret, Catherine and Sarah. Mr. Miller lived to be eighty-four years of age, most of his life being a member of the German Baptist church. He was a well-known pio- neer, and a man of industry and of great force of character. After his marriage Abraham Denlinger set- tled on a farm of 140 acres, in Madison town- ship, cleared it and made a good home for himself and family. To this original tract he added other lands until at length he became possessed of 400 acres. He was one of the most substantial and successful farmers of his day, and noted for his strength of character and decisive opinions on all the leading ques- tions of the times. His children were John, Daniel, Abraham A., David, Israel, Mary and Joseph. His religious views were those of the Quakers, while his wife was a member of the German Baptist church. The longevity for which his ancestry was noted was again illus- trated in him, he living to be eighty-seven years of age, and dying at the residence of his son, the subject of this sketch. Abraham A. Denlinger was born February 25, 1836, in Madison township, and received a good common-school education. After leav- ing school he continued to improve his mind by wide and careful reading and in this way became one of the best informed men of his day. Working on the farm from early youth until he was twenty-one years of age, he mar- ried Sarah Garber, March, 26, 1857. She was born March 10, 1839, and was a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Wampler) Garber, the former of whom, when yet a small boy, came with his father, Joseph, from Rockingham county, Va. , and settled in Montgomery county, Ohio. Joseph Garber and Mary, his wife, were the parents of the following children: Sarah, Elizabeth, Mary A., William, Joseph, Anna, Philip, Lucinda and Jesse. Joseph Gar- ber owned an excellent farm of 106 acres of land, which his father had cleared from the woods, and lived to be a very old man, dying when upward of eighty years of age. In re- ligious belief he agreed with and was a mem- ber of the German Baptist church. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Denlin- ger settled on her father's 160-acre farm, pur- chasing 100 acres thereof and developing it into a fertile and productive farm. Their chil- dren were: Lavina G., Clara A., Ira G., An- nie G., Lizzie G., Laura G., Edgar G. and Elmer O. Mrs. Denlinger died March 1, 1872, a consistent member of the German Baptist church, and on June 6, 1875, Mr. Denlinger married Annie Bowman, who was born August 22, 1852, in Randolph township, and is a daughter of Benjamin and Belinda (Hyre) Bowman. Benjamin Bowman was born in 1088 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Madison township February 4, 181 1, and was a son of John and Christina Bowman, the former of whom came from Pennsylvania to Montgomery county, Ohio, as one of its pio- neers. Benjamin Bowman and his wife were the parents of the following children: Isaac, John, David (who served as a soldier in the late Civil war), Sarah, Joseph, Franklin, An- nie and Lucinda. Mr. Bowman settled on a farm of 1 30 acres, became a prosperous farmer, was a member of the German Baptist church, and a highly respected citizen. His wife died March 4, 1897, aged eighty-one years. They had lived together, when Mrs. Bowman died, about sixty years. Mr. and Mrs. Denlinger are the parents of the following children: Austin H., Sibyl E., Stella, Carl H. and Ralph R. Thus Mr. Den- linger is the father of thirteen living children, and also of one child, Roy H., now deceased. Politically, Mr. Denlinger is a democrat, and as such has held the office of township trustee for fourteen years. Fraternally, he is a mem- ber of Randolph lodge, No. 98, I. O. O. F., in which he has held all the offices, including that of noble grand, and is also a member of the encampment. ISRAEL DENLINGER, of Trotwood, Ohio, is a son of one of the earliest of the pioneers. He was born June 7, 1840, a son of Abraham and Margaret (Miller) Denlinger, on the old homestead in Madison township. He received the usual common-school education; he was reared a farmer, and on November 28, 1861, married Miss Mollie Garber, who was born in 1844, and is a daughter of Joseph and Mary A. (Wampler) Garber. Joseph Garber was born in Virginia, a son of Joseph Garber, Sr. , who came at an early day with his family to Montgomery county as one of the first of the pioneers, bringing with him his wife and four children — Betsey, Susie, Kate and Joseph. Joseph Garber, Sr. , settled on land which he cleared from the woods, and for a time lived in Randolph township. He was an elder and a minister in the German Baptist church, and preached the gospel many years. A successful farmer and an esteemed minister of the church, he lived to be eighty years of age, leaving the memory of a well- spent life. Joseph Garber, the father of Mrs. Denlin- ger, was but a small boy when he came with his parents to Ohio. Reared as were most farmers' boys, he became inured to labor and hardship, which gave him a strong constitution and a sound, healthy mind. He and his wife reared the following children: Martha, Cath- arine, Sarah, Elizabeth, Lucinda, Mollie, Will- iam, Joseph, Philip and Jesse. Mr. Garber settled in Randolph township on 106 acres of land, which had belonged to his father, which he cleared of its timber. He was a member ; of the German Baptist church, and a man of estimable character. He lived to the age of seventy years. His wife, Mary A. Wampler, was born in Harrison township, February 22, 1 8 16, on the Wampler homestead, and died January 29, 1847. She was a daughter of Philip and Catherine (Ryer) Wampler, the former of whom was a son of David and Cath- erine (Ingler) Wampler. David Wampler was a native of Maryland and of Dutch descent. As one of the earliest of the pioneers of Mont- gomery county he was well known to many of the people of that and surrounding counties. He was twice married, first to Mary Sanch- wick, by whom he had several children, all of whom died young but two, Mary and Philip. By his second wife he had no children. David Wampler was a member of the German Bap- tist church and lived to be an aged man. Philip Wampler was a native of Maryland, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1089 was married in that state, and reared the fol- lowing children: Mary A., Edward, Jesse, David, William, John, Joseph, Samuel, and Annie. Mr. Wampler was one of the most ex- tensive farmers of his day, owning 300 acres of land. Like his father before him, he was a member of the German Baptist church, and was also for many years a preacher and elder. Israel Denlinger, whose name opens this sketch, after his marriage settled on the Den- linger homestead, where he lived a short time, and then removed to Randolph township, liv- ing there two and a half years. Then buying a tract in Madison township, containing ninety- four and a half acres, he removed to that farm, which he still owns and to which he aft- erward added by purchased seventeen acres. He and his wife reared the following children: Viola, Allen, William, Walter F., Carlton, who died a young man; Vernon, Elwood and Carrie. Mr. and Mrs. Denlinger belong to the old German Baptist church, and are most ex- cellent members of the community, in which they have the respect of all for their kindly christian characters. ^""V*AMUEL EARNST, a prosperous farm- •Y^^fcT er of Perry township, Montgomery K. J county, Ohio, comes from sturdy Ger- man ancestry. His father, Mathias F. Earnst, or, as he spelled his name, Arnst, was born in Wittenberg, Germany, near the village of Falebaugh. His father owned a farm in that county. Mathias F. Arnst came to America when he was twenty-two years of age, settled in Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, and married Sallie Martin, who was born in Pennsylvania. Soon after his marriage he re- moved to Maryland, locating near Liberty, in that state. In 1823 he came to Ohio and set- tled on the section of land on which Samuel Earnst now lives, his farm containing eighty acres of land, which he cleared of its timber and converted into an excellent farm. Here he lived and labored many years, prospered as a reward for his industry, and, in addition to his land in Ohio, entered 237 acres in Bar- tholomew county, Ind., which his two sons afterward purchased, of him. Mr. and Mrs. Arnst were the parents of the following chil- dren: Hannah, John, Mary, Samuel, George, Catherine and Sallie. Mr. Arnst died in his eighty-sixth year, at the home of his son, Sam- uel. He was a member of the German Bap- tist church, and was in all respects an honora- ble and upright citizen. Samuel Earnst was born February 8, 18 18, in Maryland, near Liberty. He was therefore but five years old when he came to Ohio with his parents. At that time there were no com- mon schools, as that term is now understood, but in their place there were subscription schools, each parent paying so* much for each child that he sent to be educated. At one of these subscription schools young Earnst re- ceived his early education, and it was Gran- ville Andress, the teacher of this subscription school, who changed the spelling of the name from Arnst to Earnst. Mr. Earnst well re- members the journey from Maryland to Ohio, which was made by means of wagons. After his school days were over he took up the hard work of the farm, and when he was twenty- five years old he married Susannah Holsapple, a daughter of Adam Holsapple, the marriage ceremony being performed October 6, 1843, by Daniel Miller, a minister of the German Baptist church. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Earnst lived with her father, Adam Hols- apple, for a short time, when Mr. Holsapple died, and Mr. Earnst then managed the farm for several years. In 1864 he bought his father-in-law's farm, containing eighty acres, and later purchased his present farm of sev- enty-five acres, which was partly cleared. 1090 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD To Mr. and Mrs. Earnst were born the fol- lowing children: Anna, Mary, Rebecca, Sarah, John, Noah, Nancy and Lee. After the death of his first wife Mr. Earnst married a widow, Mrs. Catherine Brown, whose maiden name was Hoover. By this marriage he had no children. After the death of his second wife he married Catherine Gnodle, who yet survives him. Mr. Earnst, by his industry and good man- agement, added to his possessions until he ac- quired 400 acres of good land, of which he has given portions to his children, and now retains only the homestead, consisting of 1 39 acres, and also eighty-four acres in Madison town- ship. For fifteen years Mr. Earnst bought and sold cattle, and was also successfully en- gaged in the butcher's business. He has al- ways been a good business man, and justly esteemed for his straightforward dealings with his fellow-men. He is a member of the Ger- man Baptist church. '^y'ACOB EBY, the well-known horticult- ■ urist and farmer of Madison township, A 1 Montgomery county, Ohio, was born here January 23, 1843, and springs from Pennsylvania-German stock, intermixed with Scotch-Irish. Christian Eby, grandfather of Jacob, was born in the Keystone state, married Susan McDaniels, of Scotch-Irish descent, moved to Maryland, and settled on a farm near Hagers- town. There were born to this marriage twelve children, named John, Christian, Adam, Samuel, Wilson, James, Jacob, Betsy, Jane, Catherine, Susanna and Levina. From Mary- land Christian Eby came to Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, where he had previously bought a large tract of land on Twin creek, cleared a farm from the woods, and then moved across the line into Preble county, where he died at the age of ninety-two. His wife, with whom he had been united for over sixty years, died at the age of ninety-three. Wilson Eby, father of Jacob, was, in all probability, born in Maryland ; and before twenty-one years old he came to Mont- gomery county, Ohio, a year before his father, Christian Eby, came, and settled on a part of the land his father had previously purchased on Twin creek. He married Elizabeth Stover, a native of Maryland and a daughter of Daniel and Susan ( Fink ) Stover, and to this union were born the following children : Jane, Jacob, Daniel, Susan, Catherine, James, Wilson, Christian and Elizabeth. Wilson Eby cleared a fine farm on Twin creek, then, later, moved to Preble county, where he bought 320 acres, but eventually re- turned to Montgomery county and purchased 160 acres of the farm on which his son, Jacob, now lives. He was a consistent member of the German Baptist church, and died in that faith in 1884, at the age of sixty-eight years, after a life of industry, usefulness, and un- swerving integrity. Jacob Eby, whose name opens this sketch, received a good district-school education, grew to manhood on his father's farm, and on De- cember 24, 1866, married Miss Martha J. Jor- dan, who was born September 29, 1848, in Clermont county, Ohio, a daughter of Nathaniel Wesley and Esther Ann (Scott) Jordan. Nathaniel W. Jordan was born in North Carolina, June 22, 181 3, a son of Silas Jordan, who was a slave owner and factory proprietor near Edenton, on Albemarle sound, and a very wealthy man. Nathaniel, his brother, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. Silas was one of the pioneers of Clermont county, Ohio, and the Edenton of that county was by him named after the Edenton in North Carolina, and was built on his land. He lived to be eighty-six years of age, and died in OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1091 Edenton, Ohio, the father of the following children: Nathaniel W. , Jane, Louisa, Caro- line and Elizabeth. He was one of the found- ers of the Methodist Episcopal church in Edenton, Ohio, of whi«h he was a member, and was also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Nathaniel W. Jordan came to Ohio with his father, and was married November 24, 1836, to Miss Esther Ann Scott, who was born in Warren county, Ohio, Janu- ary 17, 1 82 1. In 1834 the Scott family moved from Warren county to West Wood- ville, in Clermont county, and settled on 180 acres of land, and in this county the daughter was married to Mr. Jordan. After his mar- riage Mr. Jordan located on a part of his father's farm, and to his marriage there were born nine children, viz: Silas, Alexander V., Hannah E., Charles, Amos, Martha J., Louisa, Caroline and Frank. Mrs. Jordan died October 27, 1893, but Mr. Jordan still survives at the age of eighty-three years. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Eby, after their mar- riage, first located on a farm of 100 acres in Preble county, Ohio, but, in 188 1, a cyclone destroyed everything on the farm — fences, tim- ber, crops, buildings, and all, excepting the resi- dence. Mr. Eby then sold out and returned to Montgomery county, where he already owned half of his present farm, his father owning the other half, which Jacob bought. Mr. Eby is here largely engaged in the culture of fruit, having many acres in pears, grapes, apples, and other fruits. He carries on, beside, gen- eral farming. Mr. and Mrs. Eby are the par- ents of four children — Charles, Perry J. , Daniel C, and Katie L. These children have been carefully reared and well educated. In poli- tic Mr. Eby is a democrat, and has been a member of the school board at intervals for twenty-five years. Elder Jenkin David, maternal great-grand- father of Mrs. Eby, was born in Wales in 1753, and in that country married Martha Evans in 1784; came to America in 1794, be- came a minister in Grand Valley, Pa., out- lived eight sons and ten daughters, and died June 23, 1834. Mrs. Jacob Eby had two brothers, Alexander and Charles, who served during the Civil war in company H, One Hun- dred and Fifty-third Ohio volunteer infantry; Charles died a prisoner of war at Florence, S. C, in his twenty-first year. ISAAC ERBAUGH is one of the solid farmers of Perry township, and a son of an early settler in Montgomery coun- ty. His grandfather, Jacob Erbaugh, was a native of Rockingham county, Va. , married a Miss Funk, and came to Ohio in 1834. He was the father of the following children: Polly, Catherine, Susan, Nancy, Esther, Jacob and Abraham. Jacob Erbaugh died two months after reaching Montgomery county. In Rockingham county, Va., he owned 600 acres of land, so that his family was left in comfortable circumstances. He was seventy-eight years of age at the time of his death. Jacob Erbaugh, the father of Isaac, >was born in Rockingham county, Va., in 1797. He received a good common-school education in the German language. While yet living in Virginia he married Sarah Kibler, who was born in 1795. Mr. Erbaugh settled on his father's estate, and his children were as fol- lows: Isaac, Jacob, Philip, Susannah, Polly and Elizabeth, the latter of whom died in in- fancy. Mr. Erbaugh came to Montgomery county in the fall of 1834, moving with a four- horse team and wagon, and settling in Perry township, on the farm now occupied by his son Isaac, and which then contained seventy-five acres. Four years later Jacob Erbaugh died. From the time he was twenty-five years of age 1092 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD until his death he was a consistent member of the German Baptist church. Isaac Erbaugh was born September 1 1 , 1820, in Rockingham county, Va., received a good common-school education, was reared on the farm, and came with his father to Ohio when about fourteen years old. He drove the four-horse team, a somewhat difficult task for a boy of that age, and was three weeks on the way. His father being blind, Isaac began while very young to do the work on the farm, and his entire youth was spent in the toil of that occupation. He was married, April 27, 1843, to Miss Margaret Bowser, who was born November 14, 1820, in Jefferson township, Montgomery coun- ty, and is a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Myers) Bowser. George Bowser was born in 1783, in Frenchtown, Pa., and became a farmer. Coming to Ohio, he married in Mont- gomery county. To George Bowser and wife there were born the following children: John and Betsy (twins), Nancy, Katie, Polly, Mar- garet, William, Philip, Henry, George, Benja- min, Daniel, and Christian. These lived to become men and women, and four others died young. George Bowser was a pioneer of Jeffer- son township, settled in the woods on 160 acres of land, and, in addition, owned 240 acres in Tipton county, Ind. He was a mem- ber of the German Baptist church, and lived to be nearly eighty years of age. Mr. Erbaugh settled on the farm where he now lives, and has lived there for the past sixty-two years. He and his wife have had no children born to them; but they have reared two children, Levi Harris and Ella Johnson, the latter of whom is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Erbaugh gave them a pleasant home and a good education, and treated them in every way as though they were their own. Mr. Erbaugh is a practical farmer and has a most excellent farm of 122 acres. By careful thrift and con- tinued industry he has prospered and is now well to do. He has been a member of the German Baptist church for the past forty- three years, and is probably the oldest church member in the township. He has always been a consistent christian man, kindly disposed toward all, and always ready to help the needy and unfortunate. HLBERT J. ZIMMERMAN, city mar- shal of Miamisburg, Montgomery county, Ohio, is a native of Dauphin county Pa., born September 6, 1854, a son of Joseph and Mary (Bross) Zimmerman, of German descent. Joseph Zimmerman, also a native of Pennsylvania, was a tanner by occu- pation, served as a soldier in the late Civil war, and was killed at the battle of Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, 1863. Albert J.Zimmerman received his education at the Mount Joy Soldiers' Orphan school in Lancaster county. Pa., and learned telegraphy at Jonestown, Lebanon county. He was em- ployed in the latter capacity by the P. & R. Railroad company until 1876, when he came to Ohio and was employed at various occupa- tions in Miamisburg until 1894. He was then elected city marshal, the duties of which office he performed so thoroughly to the satisfaction of the public that he was re-elected in 1896, and is now filling the position with great credit to himself, and, as in his first term, with the general approbation of the community. The marriage of A. J. Zimmerman was cele- brated June 19, 1879, with Miss OlettaBuehner, daughter of John and Louisa (Dechant) Bueh- ner, the former of whom was one of the pioneer German Miamisburg contractors. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman has been blessed by the birth of four children, named, in order of birth, Pearl, Louis, Mary and Burton, and who have been reared in the religious faith of OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1093 their parents — that of the Lutheran church. In his societary relations Mr. Zimmerman is a Forester, is a member of the uniform rank Knight of Pythias, and of the Sons of Veterans organi- zation. In politics he is a republican, while the social relations of himself and family are all that could be desired. ^/^VAPOLEON B. BAILEY, a prosper- m ous farmer and well-known citizen of r Washington township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born near Leb- anon, Warren county, Ohio, March 31, 1819. He is a son of Henry and Margaret (Musser) Bailey, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Virginia, and both of excellent families. They were the parents of four children, three of whom are still living, as follows: Simon K., of Hunting- ton, Ind. ; Napoleon B., and William, of Day- ton, Ohio. Henry Bailey was by occupation a farmer. In early days he came to Ohio and settled in Mad River township, Clarke county, near Springfield, where he lived for some years. Then removing to Warren county he remained there until 1832, when he came to Montgom- ery county. In religious belief he was a Quaker, and was one of the upright, honora- ble band of pioneers who laid the foundations of society and of the state broad and deep. He died some two miles south of Centerville about 1834, when he was seventy-seven years of age. His wife, who was a Baptist in re- ligion, survived him some twenty years, and died when she was about seventy years of age. Josiah Bailey, the paternal grandfather of Napoleon B. Bailey, was a native of Pennsyl- vania, a farmer by occupation, a Quaker in religious belief, and died in Pennsylvania. His wife was of the same religion with himself, and 4,7 came to America with William Penn. The maternal grandfather, Jacob Musser, was a na- tive of Pennsylvania, of German descent, a farmer by occupation, and died at an advanced age in West Virginia. Napoleon B. Bailey was reared in Warren county until he was thirteen years of age, and then came to Montgomery county. His edu- cation was received in the common schools of both counties, and when he was eighteen years of age he began to learn the trade of a stone- cutter. This trade he followed seven years, after which he lived for about three years on land rented of his father-in-law, Jesse Kelsey. At the end of this period he purchased eighty- five acres of land in Washington township, to which he has added, from time to time, until now he owns 295 acres, all of which is finely improved. From the time he was thirteen years of age he has lived in Washington township, and has been during the whole of that time, a period of more than sixty years, an important factor in bringing about the de- velopment of the county into one of the rich- est in the state. Mr. Bailey was married April 8, 1846, to Rebecca A. Kelsey, daughter of Jesse and Hettie (Marsh) Kelsey. To this marriage there were born three children, viz: Jesse Alonzo, William Henry and one who died in infancy. Jesse Alonzo married Ella Clark; William Henry married Caroline Montgomery, and has two children, Charles and Estella. Mrs. Rebecca A. Bailey died February 15, 1854, a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Bailey again married, his second wife being Elizabeth A. Tibbals, daughter of Noah K. and Elizabeth (Silvers) Tibbals. To this second marriage there were born two children — Perry N. and Clara Belle. Clara Belle mar- ried James Lewis and has four children: Ellery, Ethel, Ralph and Herman. Elizabeth A. Bailey, the second wife of Napoleon B. Bailey, 1094 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD died September 9, i860. She also was a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Bailey married for his third wife Amanda E. Carver, daughter of Smith and Rachel Carver, the marriage taking place August 29, 1867. To this marriage there were born six children, as follows: Ada M., Lewis M., Wilbur H., Rutherford H., Walter Ed- mund and Arthur. Rutherford H. died in infancy; Ada M. married Henry Durth, and has one child, Emma; Lewis M. married Mary Reedy. Amanda E. Bailey died June 24, 1890, a member of the Christian church. Politically, Mr. Bailey is a republican, but has never sought official station. The esteem in which he is held in the community is inspired not alone by his material success, but by his upright character and his lifelong record as a good citizen. IHOMAS BRIDGMAN (deceased), for- merly of Van Buren township, was born at Harper's Ferry, Va., April 15, 1803. He was a son of Francis and Mary (Scott) Bridgman, natives of Vir- ginia, the former of whom was of English and French, and the latter of Irish descent. Francis and Mary Bridgman were the parents of thir- teen children, ten of whom lived to mature years. Mr. Bridgman died in his native state. Thomas Bridgman was twenty-four years of age when he came to Ohio, and he located on the farm upon which he died, and which is now occupied by his widow. His son, Charles, and his family also live on the old farm. Mr. Bridgman was a member of the United Breth- ren church, to which his widow still belongs. Thomas Bridgman first married, May 25, 1829, Miss Sarah John. They were the parents of two children, viz: Benjamin F. and Asa J. Mrs. Bridgman was born July 8, 18 14, and died March 26, 1836. Mr. Bridgman married, for his second wife, Esther John, a sister of his deceased wife. She was born June 12, 1820. They were the parents of nine children, as fol- lows: Sarah, Mary Jane, William Henry Har- rison, John Thomas, Perry B., Albert Orion, Laura, Francis Marion, and Charles Grant. All these children are living but Benjamin F., the first child of his first wife. Benjamin F. had married Miss Kate Magee, and, after her death, he married a German lady. By his first wife Benjamin F. had one child, Mary E. Asa J., the second child of Mr. Bridgman's first wife, married Elizabeth Magee. They have six children, viz: Orion, Annie, Elma, Ida, Thomas and Pet. Sarah married B. B. Pan- coast. They have five children living, as fol- lows: Leonidas, Ella, Harry, Charles and Warren. Mary Jane married Frank Ewry. They have seven children, as follows: Harry, William, Cora, Annie, Calvin, Morris and Emma. William Henry Harrison married for his first wife Miss Adeline Fellows. They had four children, Henry Clay, Bertha, Ollie and Bert. For his second wife he married Hannah Dedrick, by whom he had one child, Maud Marie. John Thomas married Laura Huston, by whom he had four children, Edward, Min- nie, Lewis and Ettie. Perry B. married Kate Protzman. They have three children, Leroy, John and Foster. Albert Orion married Sarah Owens, who died in 1888, her two children having both died previously. Albert is a farmer of Greene county. Laura married John Shutts. They have two children, May and Clarence. Francis Marion married Annie Eagle. They have four children, Esther, Perdita, Orville and Chalmer. Charles Grant married Emma Min- nerup, daughter of George and Mary (Link) Minnerup. They have two children, Callie and Robert. The father of Mrs. Esther ( John ) Bridg- man, Asa John, was a native of Kentucky, and came to Ohio at an early day. During the OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1095 war of 1 8 1 2 he served his country as a soldier. He bought ioo acres of land, upon which his daughter, Esther, now resides. A portion of this farm he gave to her, and Thomas Bridg- man, whom she married, purchased the rest. Asa John bought another farm adjoining, which is now occupied by his son, John. Upon this farm he died about 1S73, at the age of eighty-two years, his wife having died some years before, at the age of sixty-five. Both were members of the Christian church, and excellent people. In the old farm, which is owned by Mrs. Thomas Bridgman, there are 151 acres, and the entire farm is well improved. The old sawmill is run by Charles G. Bridg- man and Elmer John. Charles G. Bridgman also manages a dairy and is one of the enter- prising and successful farmers of the county. SAMUEL ERBAUGH, farmer. Perry township, Montgomery county, Ohio, is a son of one of the early pioneers. He was born February 2, 1830, in Rockingham county, Va., and is a son of Abraham and Susannah (Coffman) Erbaugh. He was reared a farmer and received his early education in one of the old-fashioned log cabin school-houses. He married, at the age of twenty years, August 22, 1850, Miss Esther Hay, who was born April 5, 1832, in Perry township, and who is the daughter of Michael and Christina (Krull) Hay. Michael Hay was born in Pennsylvania and when yet a young man removed to Montgomery county, Ohio, where he married. For fuller mention of Mr. Hay the reader is referred to the biography of George Erbaugh, elsewhere in this volume. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Erbaugh settled on seventy acres of land, on which they still live. This farm he cleared of its timber, with the exception of twenty-five acres, which were cleared when he settled thereon. He has greatly improved this farm and at this time it is one of the best in the township. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Erbaugh are as fol- lows: Mary A., Rachael, Susannah, Michael, Christina, Samuel C, John O., Harvey and Uriah E. Both Mr. and Mrs. Erbaugh are members of the German Baptist church, and believe strongly in the education of the young. They are carrying their belief into practical effect by giving their own children the best available education. One of his sons, Uriah E. , is a school-teacher. Of the children of Samuel Erbaugh, Mary Ann, married Jacob Brumbaugh, by whom she has three children. They are living on a farm in Darke county. Rachael married Joseph Musselman, a contractor and builder-of Day- ton, and has seven children living and four deceased. Michael married Agnes Lyday, is a farmer of Perry township, and has six children. Christina married George Lyday, a carpenter and contractor of Dayton, and has four chil- dren living. John married Catherine Gerhart, is a farmer of Perry township, and has three children. Harvey married Mary Brovver, of Preble county, and has one child. Uriah E., a dry-goods merchant of Pyrmont, married Liz- zie Alslagel, and has one child. Samuel C. married Cora A. Rauch. @EORGE ERBAUGH, a well-known farmer of Perry township, Montgom- ery county, Ohio, and a member of the conservative branch of the Ger- man Baptist church, was born in Montgomery county. The family is of German origin, the great-grandfather of George Erbaugh, Law- rence Erbach, as the name was then spelled, coming from Mannheim, Germany, and set- tling in Bucks county, Pa., on land in Lower 1096 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Milford township. Here he lived and became a man of considerable wealth. His wife was Anna Mary Christian, and they had the fol- lowing children: Jacob; Anne Mary, who mar- ried Theobald Samuel; Margaret, who married Jacob Rothrock; Catherine, who married David Groff; Barbara, who married John Stucker; and Anna, who married John Huber. An- other son, Abraham, met his death by acci- dent when sixteen years old. Jacob Erbach, or Erbaugh, as the name had by this time come to be spelled, son of Lawrence, was the grandfather of George Er- baugh. He married a Miss Funk, by whom he had the following children: Mary, wife of Michael Billheimer; Catherine, wife of Michael Garber; Susannah, wife of Jacob Billheimer; Anna, wife of John Garber; Esther, wife of George Miller; Abraham; Rebecca, who mar- ried John Coffman, and Jacob. Mr. Erbaugh removed in 1790 to Rockingham county, Va., where he bought land and made a home for his family. In 1833 he came to Ohio, with his son, Abraham, and settled on the farm now owned and occupied by George Erbaugh, the farm being purchased by Abraham. Jacob Erbaugh was a member of the German Bap- tist church, and was a man of sterling charac- ter. He lived to the age of seventy-two, dy- ing on his farm, and leaving a goodly property to his children. Abraham Erbaugh, father of George, was born July 6, 1799, in Rockingham county, Va. By occupation he was a farmer, and in 1820 or 1 82 1 married Miss Susannah Coffman, in that county. She was born October 26, 1799, in Rockingham county, and was a daughter of Christian Coffman. To Mr. and Mrs. Erbaugh there were born the following children: Anna, Sallie, John, Samuel, Abraham, Susannah, Hester and George. In 1833 Mr. Erbaugh brought his family to Montgomery county, Ohio, and settled in Perry township, on the farm now occupied by his son George — this farm, containing 205 acres, being then mostly covered with timber. Abraham Erbaugh lived to be seventy-two years of age, dying in 1871. He was a minister of the German Baptist church, and for some years an elder. For many years he was prominent both in his church and in general society, and was a man of high christian character, who exercised an excellent influence on all with whom he came in contact. His wife lived to be ninety years of age. George Erbaugh, the subject of this sketch, was born March 20, 1841, on the homestead farm, and received a good common-school education. When twenty-four years of age he married Mary A. Hay, who was born Octo- ber 11, 1843, in Perry township, and is a daughter of Michael and Christina (Krull) Hay. Michael Hay was of Pennsylvania-Dutch descent, was born in Pennsylvania and came, when a child, to Montgomery county with his father, Valentine Hay, whose wife, the mother of Michael, was Esther Martin. The children of Michael and Christina Hay were as follows: John, Hester, Salome, Joseph, Michael, Abra- ham and Mary A. Michael Hay lived to be seventy-two years of age, while his wife lived to be eighty-three. Mr. and Mrs. Erbaugh, after their marriage, settled on the Erbaugh homestead, upon which they have ever since lived. Their children are as follows: Laura B., who married Peter Neff ; Amy K., who died at the age of twenty-three, the wife of Isaac Brumbaugh; Meda A., wife of J. P. Bowman; George A., Ivan L. , John O., and Ina M. Mr. Erbaugh has been a minister in the German Baptist church for fifteen years, and has during that period preached the gospel from the pulpit of the church. He stands high among his people, and is a well-read and unusually intelligent man, well equipped for the duties of his calling. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1097 -j*OSEPH HOUS, farmer, of Perry town- J ship, Montgomery county, who is de- /• J scended from one of the early pioneers of the county, was born in Preble county, Ohio, September 22, 1844. He is a son of Andrew and Mary (Richard) Hous, who gave him the best education obtainable in the district schools. Reared a farmer, he adopted that vocation for a livelihood, and married, November 27, 1868, in Perry township, Miss Eliza A. Hansbarger, who was born July 20, 1852, on the homestead of her parents, An- drew and Hannah (Wogoman) Hansbarger. Andrew Hansbarger, her father, was a son of John and Elizabeth (Niswonger) Hansbarger, the former of whom was born in Virginia, and moved to Montgomery county, Ohio, as one of the early pioneers, settling in Perry township in the fall of 1833. He cleared up his farm from the dense woods, and it is on this farm that Joseph Hous now lives. He was one of the most substantial farmers of his time. His children were as follows: Ephraim, George. Henry, Stephen, Elizabeth, Sophia, and Caro- line, beside Andrew. John Hansbarger lived to be somewhat over seventy years of age. Andrew Hansbarger, the father cf Mrs. Hous, was born in Virginia in 1823, and came with his father to Montgomery county in 1833. He was the father of six children, as follows: Ephraim, Sabina, Eliza, Elizabeth, John, and Daniel, the latter of whom died young. Mr. Hansbarger was one of the leading farmers of his township, owning 160 acres of land, the old Hansbarger homestead. He died when but thirty-nine years of age. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hous settled on the Hansbarger homestead, eighty acres of the old farm, where they now live, and which they have greatly improved. Mr. Hous has always been a careful and prac- tical farmer, and is looked upon as one of the representative men of his community. He and his wife have had one child, Minnie, who on December 25, 1889, married Hugh Weaver. She died when twenty-two years of age, leav- ing one son, Otto H., born on the homestead, November 18, 1890. Politically, Mr. Hous is a stanch democrat. (D ICHAEL HUSTON, a successful farmer of Van Buren township, Montgomery county, was born in Greene county, Ohio, eight miles from Dayton, April 24, 1837. He is a son of William and Elizabeth ( Swigart ) Huston, the former of whom was born a short distance north of Dayton, and the latter in Greene county, Ohio. William and Elizabeth Huston were the parents of five children, three sons and two daughters, two of whom are now living, Michael and John. William Huston was reared on the farm north of Dayton, and grew to manhood in Montgomery county. After his first marriage he removed to Greene county, and lived there until his death, in June, 1894, when he was eighty-six years and five months old. His wife died in 1850. They were both, when young, members of the Lutheran church, but later became members of the German Re- formed church. For his second wife he mar- ried Mrs. Caroline Mayhew, whose maiden name was Burke. By his second marriage he had one child, William F. Mrs. Huston, by her former marriage had a son, John B. May- hew, and a daughter, Matilda, who died in young girlhood. 11 (JO CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD The paternal grandfather of Michael Hus- ton was John Huston, an old Indian trader, who was in the early days at the post of Cole- rain, and at Fort Meigs. He was a native of Ireland, but was reared in Highland county, Ohio. He and his wife were the parents of sixteen children, and he at his death was bur- ied at South Whitley, Ind. The maternal grandfather, Michael Swigart, was a native of Pennsylvania, of German ancestry, and came to Ohio at an early day, settling in Greene county, where he acquired 1,200 acres of land. He was twice married, and when he died was upward of eighty-six years of age. Michael Huston was reared on the farm in Greene county, which adjoins the farm he now owns in Montgomery county. He followed farming until he was nineteen years of age and then learned the carpenter trade, following that trade until the breaking out of the late Civil war. In 1864 he enlisted in company K, One Hun- dred and Thirty-ninth Indiana volunteer infan- try, and served six months. After the war he re- turned to his home in Montgomery county and resumed farming, which occupation he has fol- lowed ever since. He began by renting 100 acres of his father, which later fell to him in accordance with his father's will. On July 27, 1870, he married Martha M. Morgan, daughter of Merrill Morgan and Jane ( Allen ) Morgan. To this marriage there were born three children, Harry G., Belle and David Franklin, all of whom are living at home. Mrs. Huston died in 1886, a member of the United Brethren church. Mr. Huston belongs to the Old Guard post, No. 23, G. A. R. , of Dayton. Politically he is a republican, but has never sought office of any kind. During his entire life of fifty-nine years he has lived within about eight miles of Dayton. He has always been a man of high standing among his fellow-citizens, and is one of those in whom all place confidence. SEV. AMOS HYRE, a member of the old German Baptist church, is a grandson of one of the pioneers of Montgomery county. His grand- father, Wesley Hyre, was from North Caro- lina, and was an original pioneer, settling in Madison township at a very early day. At the time of his arrival in this county, the land was almost entirely covered with timber, so that his first home here was in the forest, from which he cleared his farm. He and his wife reared the following children: Wesley, Solo- mon, Isaac, Moses, Abraham, Absalom, Daniel, Belinda and Nancy. The head of this family lived to a great age. In religion he was a member of the German Baptist church. Moses Hyre, fourth child of Wesley, was the father of Amos Hyre. He was born in Madison township, Montgomery county, March 19, 1 8 19. By trade a bricklayer, he also ran a sawmill in company with his brother, Absa- lom. His wife, whose maiden name was Rebecca Stoner, was a native of Frederick county, Md., and a daughter of William and Elizabeth Stoner. Their children were named William, Amos, Sarah and Susan. After his marriage Moses Hyre settled on land in Madison township, upon which he spent the rest of his life, dying when seventy-three years of age. A man of high character and a mem- ber of the German Baptist church, he stood well in the estimation of the community. Rev. Amos Hyre was born March 14, 1846, in Madison township, and in his youth re- ceived a common-school education. At the age of twenty-one he married Miss Mary Den- linger, who was born in Madison township, September 14, 1843, and is a daughter of Abraham and Margaret (Miller) Denlinger. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hyre settled on seventy-six acres of land, his present farm, which was at the time only partially cleared. This farm he has greatly improved OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1101 by systematic cultivation and by the erection of good buildings. To Rev. Mr. Hyre and his wife there have been born the following chil- dren: Jennie, Edwin E., Abraham \V. , Mazie E. and Orpha. Beside these, who are all yet living, there were born several others, who have died. Mr. Hyre has been a deacon in the German Baptist church since December, 1 88 1, and a minister of the church since April 28, 1882, since which time he has been ear- nestly engaged in preaching the gospel to the people. He is one of the most worthy men in Montgomery county, and stands high among those who know him not alone for his devotion to his calling, but also for his sterling charac- ter as a man and citizen. >"j»ESSE P. KIMMEL, of Trotwood, Ohio, J a successful farmer of Madison town- /• 1 ship, is a descendant of one of the pioneer families of Montgomery county. Fuller mention of the Kimmel family will be found in the biography of Aaron Kimmel, in this volume. Louis Kimmel, father of Jesse P., was born in Somerset county, Pa., August 24, 1804, and was a son of David and Barbara (Kroner) Kimmel. The founder of this family in America was David Kimmel, the grandfa- ther of Louis Kimmel, he coming to this coun- try from Switzerland in 1760. He settled in York county, Pa. , and reared a family of eight children, as follows: Abram, Jacob, Isaac, Philip, David, Solomon, Michael and Lizzie. Of this family, David was the father of Louis Kimmel, who was the father of Jesse P. Bar- bara Kroner, wife of David Kimmel, was born in Somerset county. Pa., and they were the parents of six children. Louis Kimmel had but limited educational advantages, though he made the best use of such as he enjoyed. His father came to Mont- gomery county in 1817, and settled on land in Madison township, Louis living at home until his father's death, which occurred September 25, 1827. David Kimmel was a Jacksonian democrat, and a member of the German Bap- tist church. His wife died November 28, 1840, a devout member of the same church with her husband. Louis Kimmel married, Aug- ust 28, 1828, in Clay township, Mary Niswon- ger, who was born May 26, 1808, the daughter of Levi Niswonger. Mr. and Mrs. Kimmel became the parents of twelve children, as fol- lows: Michael, Sarah, Eliza, Joseph, Barbara, Mary, Susan, Levi S., Ellen, Jesse P., Louis C. , and Charles, all of whom lived to mature years except Eliza, and all are now living ex- cept Eliza, Michael and Charles. Louis Kim- mel settled on his father's old homestead, where the soldiers' home is now located, and assisted in clearing up the farm from the woods. He lived on this homestead, which originally con- sisted of 200 acres, and to which he added by thrift and industry until he owned 450 acres. Mr. and Mrs. Kimmel were members of the German Reformed church. Mr. Kimmel was a democrat of the Jacksonian type, and a typ- ical pioneer. He lived to be about seventy- four years old, dying in 1878. Jesse P. Kimmel, the subject of this sketch, was born May, 27, 1846, on the old home- stead, and received the usual common-school education of the day. Reared a farmer, he adopted that occupation as his life work, and on March 28, 1869, he married, at Dayton, Ohio, Catherine Lingle, who was born Novem- ber 8, 1847, in Miami township, a daughter of Daniel and Anna Mary (Long) Lingle. Daniel Lingle was of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, and when a young man came to Mont- gomery county, Ohio. He was a shoemaker by trade, and married Anna Mary Long, March 10, 1842. She was born June 14, 1812, at Annville, Pa., and was a daughter of Henry 1102 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD and Catherine (Grebil) Long. Henry Long moved by wagon as a pioneer to Montgomery county, Ohio, settling in West Dayton, where he entered 200 acres of land and cleared up a fine farm. He and his wife became the par- ents of the following children: Henry, Jacob, Christopher, Anna Mary, Katie, Susan and Barbara. Mr. Long was a substantial farmer, a member of the River Brethren church, and lived to a good old age. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Lingle settled on land in Van Buren township, where he worked at his trade until his death, which occurred in middle life. His children were Amanda and Catherine, and others who died in their infancy or youth. Mr. and Mrs. Kimmel settled on land in Madison township, and at length he purchased a farm of 123 acres, to which by good hus- bandry he has added other acres, and made an excellent farm. He erected an attractive farm residence and other buildings, and now has one of the pleasantest homes in the town- ship. His children are Edward B. and Ida M. Politically Mr. Kimmel is a democrat. Edward B. Kimmel, a farmer of Montgomery county, married, February 22, 1894, Susan Beachley, and Ida M. married Frank James, an attorney at law of Dayton, Ohio. eDWARD FRANKLIN NEWCOM, farmer, of Van Buren township, Montgomery county, was born Feb- ruary 7, 1858. He is a son of Ed- ward and Cynthia (Irvin) Newcom, both of whom were natives of Ohio. Edward and Cynthia Newcom were the parents of seven children, two sons and five daughters. Four of the seven children are still living, as follows: Irene, wife of Christian F. Rohrer; Caroline, wife of William Richmond; Lucy, wife of Oli- ver Roop, and Edward Franklin. Edward Newcom was a farmer and stock dealer, and lived his entire life on the old farm, in Van Buren township. He died March 23, 1882, at the age of sixty-seven years. His wife is still living on the old place. She is a member of the United Brethren church. Edward Newcom, the paternal grandfather of Edward F., was a native of Ireland, came to America with his parents when a boy, mar- ried here and reared a family of nine children. The maternal grandfather, Moses P. Irvin, was a native of North Carolina, and left that state with his parents when he was nine years old, they settling in Washington township, Montgomery county, Ohio, where he grew to mature years. There he continued to reside until his death, in 1 86 1 , when he was seventy years of age. His wife, whose maiden name was Rachael Tibbies, died about six years be- fore her husband. Edward Franklin Newcom lives on the old farm upon which both he and his father were born. This farm now contains 160 acres of land. On January 12, 1887, he married Miss Nettie C. Prugh, daughter of Levi and Ru- hama (Marshall) Prugh. To this marriage there have been born three children: Virgil, Noble and Essa. Mr. Newcom, in politics, is a republican, but is in no sense of the word an office-seeker. He is a member of one of the oldest and best known families in the county, and is a progressive thinker and farmer. f\ EORGE OLDT, postmaster of Beav- ■ ^\ ertown, was born in New York city ^^W June 5. l &39- He is a son of George J. and Catherine (Kuntz) Oldt, the former a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, and the latter of Rheinbrein, Germany. They were the parents of two children — Catherine, now deceased, and George. George J. Oldt was a shoemaker by trade, and came to the United States in 1833, locating in the city of OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1103 New York, and for some time working as a journeyman. About 1846 he removed to Penn- sylvaniasburg, Ind., where he carried on the shoe business until his death, at the age of sixty-four years. His wife survived him for some two years, and died at the age of sixty- two. Both were Christians, he a member of the Lutheran church and she of the Catholic church. The paternal grandfather, George Oldt, was a miller by trade, had a family of four sons, and died in Germany. The mater- nal grandfather had a large vineyard, kept a public house, and also died in Germany. George Oldt removed to Indiana with his parents, grew to manhood at Pennsylvanias- burg, and there learned the trade of his father — the shoemaker's trade. Remaining at home until the breaking out of the Civil war, he en- listed in the Sixteenth Indiana volunteer infan- try, and served thirteen months as corporal. At the end of this time he re-enlisted, in the Eighty-third Indiana volunteer infantry, com- pany G, of which company he was commis- sioned first lieutenant, served in that capacity one and a half years, and was then commis- sioned captain. In this position he served un- til the close of the war, his entire service cov- ering something more than four years, from April, 1861, to June, 1865. His first engage- ment was at Chickasaw Bayou, where he suf- fered a gunshot wound in the left arm. After being for some weeks in the hospital at Padu- cah, Ky., he rejoined his regiment at Vicks- burg. Going thence to Memphis he marched to Bridgeport, Ala., and was afterward in the battle of Missionary Ridge, that most remark- able battle of the war in one respect, having been won by the private soldiers against the orders of the commanding general. His next engagement was at Resaca, where he was wounded in the leg. He was in nearly all the battles of the famous Atlanta campaign, being under fire more than two hundred consecutive days. From Atlanta he marched to the sea, and thence up through the Carolinas, and was within three days' march of Richmond when that place was surrendered to Gen. Grant. Returning to his home after the war was over, Mr. Oldt was married, September 20, 1865, to Miss Helen Ratheuser, daughter of Frederick and Helen (Yinkj Ratheuser. To this marriage five children were born, two sons and three daughters: George Frederick, Charles William, Emma, Annie and Ellen. George Frederick has been in the regular army for eight years, and Charles recently re- turned from the regular army, in which he had served three years. Emma married William Hiney, and lives with her family, consisting of husband and four children, in Dayton. The names of the children are as follows: Nellie, Frederick, George Calvin and Anna May. Annie married George Castenborder, of Day- ton, and Ellen lives at home. Mrs. Helen Oldt, first wife of George Oldt, and mother of the above-named five children, died in 1877, a member of the Catholic church. Mr. Oldt married, March 5, 1879, Miss Mar- garet Buehler, daughter of Mark and Margaret (Boyer) Buehler. To this second marriage there have been born four children, one son and three daughters, as follows: Frank, Ger- tie, Mary and Caroline. Mr. Oldt is a Lu- theran in religion. He is a member of Earn- shaw post, No. 590, G. A. R., and in politics is a democrat. As such he has served as town- ship clerk for nineteen years, and has recently been elected for another term. Under the first administration of President Cleveland he was postmaster at Beavertown postoffice, and again served in that capacity under the second administration of President Cleveland. Having lived in Beavertown since 1867, he is one of the oldest as well as one of the most highly respected citizens of the place. His grocery store he has conducted for about 1104 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD eighteen years. Mr. Oldt is widely known throughout Montgomery and surrounding coun- ties, and is as well known for his integrity as for his business capacity. WOHN H. PLANDER, one of the sub- m stantial farmers of Perry township, /• 1 Montgomery county, Ohio, was born April 22, 1842, in Hanover, Germany, near Bremen, a son of Gerd A. and Adaline (Windhorst) Plander. The father, Gerd A., was born in the same place, where his ances- tors had lived for generations. He was a farmer, but in humble circumstances, and worked at farm labor for the current wages paid able-bodied hands — six cents per day; but he was industrious and frugal, and man- aged to keep his family in comfort. He and his wife were the parents of John H., Marga- ret and Sophia (who died in Germany at the age of thirty years, the wife of John Voge). The father died at the age of seventy-six years and the mother at sixty-six, both in the faith of the Lutheran church. John H. Plander was early trained to hard work, received the usual public-school educa- tion, and at the age of seventeen years began working for neighboring farmers, receiving for his first year's labor $17. He so worked for several years, and the last year in his home neighborhood received $35 in gold; he then went to another part of the country, and for one year's labor was given his board and $40 in gold. In 1867 he came to America, sailing from Bremen in the steamer Atlanta, and ar- riving in New York September 13. He went to Cincinnati and then to West Alexandria, Preble county, Ohio; he worked in the latter place four weeks, and then returned to Cincin- nati, where he was employed for a time in the Eagle White Lead factory. Finding that this business was injurious to his health, he then worked in a foundry two and a half years; he then found employment with the Herman Lackman Brewing company, with which he remained twelve years, of which period he was for eight years its trusted collector — having the charge of six routes and collecting annu- ally $350,000. The marriage of Mr. Plander took place in West Alexandria, Ohio, February 28, 1868, with Miss Annie Maggie Sekamp, who was born in Germany April 8, 1848, and came to America in the same steamer with her future husband. To this marriage have been born two children — John F. and Harry A. April 19, 1883, Mr. Plander brought his family to Mont- gomery county and settled on eighty acres of improved land in Perry township, and to this he has added until he now owns 11 1 acres, and has a most pleasant home. He is largely en- gaged in the breeding of swine and poultry. Mr. and Mrs. Plander are members ot the Lutheran church at West Alexandria, of which Mr. Plander has been a trustee. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Honor, of Humboldt lodge, I. O. O. F., I. O. R. M. and the A. P. A., all of Cincinnati. In politics he is a republican, and has served as judge of elections for three years. He is much re- spected for his straightforward methods of do- ing business and for his unswerving integrity of character. a LARK PINE, formerly an active fanner, now retired, and living at Centerville, Ohio, was born in Miami township, Montgomery county, Ohio, December 23, 1831. His parents, Simeon and Sarah (Haines) Pine, were both natives of New Jersey. Six children were born to Simeon and Sarah Pine, as follows: Susan, widow of James Sheehan; Clark; Mary; Rachel, wife of Jeremiah Campbell; William and Charles. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1105 Simeon Pine came to Ohio, in 1818, from New Jersey, walking all the way, and carrying his wallet on a stick. Upon arriving at Waynesville he had only his bull's eye watch, and thirty-seven cents in money. This was the sum total of his wealth, and the capital with which he began to make his way in life in this then wild western country. His first work was as a farm laborer, and his wages $8 per month and board. After some time spent in this way he began raising crops on other peo- ple's land, and at length purchased 164 acres of land for himself, one-half of which Clark Pine now owns. This purchase was made in 1836, and upon this farm he lived until 1855, when he died at the age of fifty-five. Simeon Pine was in politics a whig, was a believer in a tariff for protection and took great delight in discussing political questions. In religion he was a Quaker, as was also his wife, who sur- vived him and who married a second time. Samuel Pine, the paternal grandfather of Clark Pine, was a native of Camden, N. J. He was one of a large family, the members of which upon reaching their maturity scattered throughout the different states of the Union. Samuel, however, remained in New Jersey, be- came a farmer and died, in his native state. He and his wife reared a large family, and they both died well advanced in years. The maternal grandfather, John Haines, was also a native of Camden, N. J., was one of the earliest of the settlers of Montgomery county, Ohio, lived some years in Washington town- ship, and removed thence to Springboro, War- ren county, where he died at an advanced age. He was married three times, all of his wives dying before him. In religion he was a Quaker, and by occupation a farmer. Clark Pine was reared in Montgomery county, and has lived in Washington township since 1836. He remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age, having in the meantime secured a good education in the dis- trict schools. Dreading an ax and a cross-cut saw more than almost anything else, he went to Dayton just before he was twenty-one years of age, and was examined for a teacher's cer- tificate, which he was granted, and thereafter for three years he taught school in the winter season, working on the farm in the summer time. During this period his father died, and Clark, returning to the farm, was the main support of the family for some years. Young Pine went to Cincinnati with the in- tention of learning bookkeeping, but being dis- satisfied with that study and with the labor of keeping books, he returned to his home, where he taught school and carried on farming, in the manner related above, for three years. During this time he was unusually successful in his business management, as he not only paid off a debt of $1,000 of his father's, but also accumulated $1,000 for himself, all out of his one-third interest in the farm proceeds. For three years longer he continued to farm, and then purchased half of the farm of the heirs, on which there were no buildings. His por- tion he then improved, erected a house and other buildings, and still owns the half thus purchased. This farm lies one mile and a half south of Centerville. On November 11, 1858, Mr. Pine was mar- ried to Theresa Miskelley, daughter of Robert and Mary (Jackson) Miskelley. To this mar- riage there have been born six children, as fol- lows: Edwin, Robert, Lewis, Samuel K., Laura and Clara. Edwin married Susan Han- nah and has two children, Dell and Elbert. Edwin is himself now farming on the old place. Robert is keeping store in Centerville; he mar- ried Laura Watkins and has one child, Her- bert. Lewis, who lives on the Allen place, married Nettie Wilson and has two children, John and Ernest. Samuel K. is in the office of County Treasurer Sunderland, and is un- 1106 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD married. Laura married William Elliott, and is deceased, and Clara is living at home. Mr. Pine is in politics a republican, and as such was elected township treasurer of Wash- ington township, in i860, holding the office for thirty years in all, twenty-eight years in succession. He is serving; as clerk of the town- ship at the present time. For twenty years he has been notary public, and he has also served as justice of the peace several terms. For the past ten or eleven years he has lived in Centerville, where he had before lived two or three times at intervals, managing the store for two years and a half. Mr. Pine has been one of the most promi- nent men of the county for many years, and has been honored by his fellow-citizens beyond the average of men. He belongs to one of the oldest families in the county, and is fully sus- taining its reputation for all that constitutes good citizenship and an honorable manhood. >-j'OHN W. PRISER, whose post-office M is Pyrmont, Ohio, and who is one of A 1 the thriving farmers of Perry township, is a grandson of one of the old pioneers of Montgomery county. His grandfather, Philip Priser, was born in Pennsylvania, and in that state married Mary Foutz, who was of German antecedents in Maryland. Philip Priser removed to Ohio in 1 8 16, and settled on Bear creek, in Perry township, on 160 acres of land, but little of which had been cleared. The rest of his land he cleared and made a good home for his family. His chil- dren were as follows: Frederick, Michael, Daniel, Sarah and Mary. In 1832-33 a cyclone passed over his land, laying low a great deal of his timber, and barely missing his house, a double log cabin, in which fifteen people had taken shelter. Philip Priser was a member of the German Baptist church, and lived to be eighty-six years of age, dying at Sharpsburg. He was well known as one of the sturdy pio- neers of Perry township, and a trustworthy, honorable man. Michael Priser, the father of John W. , was born in Pennsylvania, and came with his father to Ohio when he was sixteen years of age. In Perry township he married Sarah Flory, whose parents came from Germany. The ship in which they crossed the ocean was boarded by pirates, and robbed of all its supplies. They lost all the money they possessed and the grandmother died of fright. To Mr. and Mrs. Michael Priser there were born five children: Barbara, Samuel, John W., Mary and Joseph. Mrs. Priser died in 1834, at the age of sixty-two years, and Mr. Priser again married, his second wife being Margaret Sheplerl by whom he had one son, William. After the death of his second wife, Mr. Priser married Catherine Fiant, who was born in 1806. To this marriage there were born four children: Elizabeth. Daniel, James and Noah. Mr. Priser first entered eighty acres of land, which he afterward sold, and then entered eighty acres in Perry township, which latter he improved and made into a good farm and home. He was a member of the German Baptist church. His death oc- curred in 1875, at the age of seventy-five years, and his wife survived him eleven years. John W. Priser, the subject of this sketch, was born March 27, 1830, in Perry township. Reared a farmer's boy, he became a farmer, and was married, October 5, 1851, in Preble county, to Miss Jemimah Wysong, who was born in November, 1829, and was a daughter of Charles and Margaret iGustin) Wysong. Charles Wysong was of German ancestry and came from Virginia, and was a son of Jacob and Jemimah (Cottrell) Wysong. Jacob Wy- song was one of the pioneers of Preble county, who settled there in the woods about 1818, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1107 and cleared up a farm of 160 acres. He was a member of the German Baptist church, and lived to be over seventy years of age. His children were as follows: Stephen, Charles, John, Joseph, Robert, Matthew, James, Eliza- beth, Lydia, William, Henry, Jacob and Val- entine. Mr. Wysong, father of Mrs. Priser, married Margaret Gustin, by whom he had the following children: Hannah, Harrison, Jemi- mah, Stephen, Lydia, Betsey, 'Rachael, Jacob, Margaret, Dorothy, Annie and Mary, the last of whom died in infancy. Mr. Wysong was en- gaged in sheep husbandry, and died in 1890. Politically, he was a democrat. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Priser settled in Perry township on a farm, and lived there until 1856, when Mr. Priser bought seventy-two acres of land, which he cleared of its timber and converted into a home. His children are as follows: Catherine, Benjamin F. , John H., Rachael A., Joseph, Perry, Nora, Minnie and Mattie. Politically, Mr. Priser, though formerly a republican, is now a demo- crat. He has held the office of township trus- tee one year, and that of treasurer six years. He has also served as a member of the school board, and as justice of the peace four years. He has reared his children in such a manner that they have all won for themselves re- spectable positions in society, and they, like their parents, are esteemed for their many excellent qualities of mind and heart. ST TLLIAM RICHMAN, farmer, of Van Buren township, Montgomery county, was born in Dayton, Ohio, September 22, 1830. He is a son of David and Ruth (Johnson) Richman, both natives of Salem county, N. J. David and Ruth Richman were the parents of four children, two sons and two daughters, William being the only one now living. They came to Ohio about 1826, driving over the mountains, and locating in Dayton, where Mr. Richman died in 1832. While living in the east Mr. Richman followed farming and ran a saw-mill, but after reaching Dayton he became a grocer. His wife survived until 1878, when she died at the age of seventy- six. She was a most exemplary woman, of strong character, and a member of the Uni- versalis! church. Daniel Richman, the paternal grandfather of William, was a native of Salem county, N. J., and for some time served there as judge. He was the father of a large family and died at an advanced age. The maternal grandfather, Samuel Johnson, was also a native of Salem county, N. J., a farmer by occupation, the father of a large family, and lived to an old age. Both grandfathers were factors in the develop- ment of Salem county, and the memory of both is cherished until the present day in the county of their birth. William Richman lived in Dayton, Ohio, until he was ten years old, removing then to Madison county, where he lived until 1874. For many years he was engaged in driving and leading horses over the mountains to Philadel- phia, making three trips each year. In 1 874 he removed to Van Buren township, Montgomery county, and bought a farm of 190 acres, known as the Clint Wilson farm, and lying directly across the road from his present home; this is owned by his wife, and contains seventy acres. Mr. Richman also has 320 acres in Madison county, and all three farms are finely improved. While Mr. Richman's education in his youth was but limited, yet by careful reading and thinking, and by wide and accurate observation of men and events, he has acquired a large fund of information and is one of the best-read man of his community. September 15, 1874, he married Miss Caro- line Newcom, daughter of Edward Newcom and Cynthia Irvin, his wife. To this marriage 1108 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD there have been born six children, two sons and four daughters, as follows: Edward N., Laura D., Dora, Estcs, Ruth and Carrie. Edward N. is a bookkeeper in Buffalo, N. Y. The other children are living at home. Mr. Richman has been a successful man, having acquired what property he now owns by his own thrift and industry, aided by the efforts of his most excellent wife. The Newcom family is so well identified with the history of Mont- gomery county, that it would be superfluous to here further allude to it. i/\ ANIEL YIKE, a retired farmer of I Van Buren township, Montgomery J^ ^J county, Ohio, was born in Schuyl- kill county, Pa., December 22, 1822. He is a son of Daniel and Catherine (Fauste- nock) Yike, who were natives of Pennsylvania, and the parents of eleven children, five of whom are still living, as follows: Daniel; Re- becca, widow of Aquilla Parish; Catherine, wife of David Baughman; Elizabeth, widow of Frank Meek, and Abraham. Daniel and Catherine Yike lived to be quite aged people, highly respected and honored by the pioneers who formed their acquaintance. Mr. Yike came to Ohio about 1836, and was one of the most useful of the early settlers, being a blacksmith by trade, as well as a farmer. He settled in Fairfield county, and there lived until his death, April 18, 1884, when he was seventy-five years of age. His wife lived four or five years after his death. They were members of the Christian, or, as it was then known, the New Light church. The paternal grandfather of the subject, Daniel Yike, was a native of Germany, and upon emigrating to the United States, settled in the state of Pennsylvania, where he died at an advanced age. The maternal grandfather lived and died in the same state. Both these ancestors were industrious farmers, and both died in comfortable circumstances. Daniel Yike, whose name opens this sketch, was about fourteen years old when his parents came to Ohio. For eight years he lived in Fairfield county, and then removed to Mont- gomery county, which has ever since been his home, though he traveled extensively in his youth in the United States and Canada. On February 28, 1853, he married Miss Elizabeth Parish, daughter of Luke and Rachel (Pearce) Parish, then of Fairfield county, though origin- ally from Maryland. To this marriage there were born three children: Rachel, Romancy Ann and Joseph. Rachel married Jacob Bell- man of Van Buren township, and has seven children. Romancy Ann married Samuel Her- rington. They live at Ellenwood, Kans., and have no children. Joseph married Kittie Routsong, and has had four children, two of whom are living. After the death of his first wife, Joseph Yike married Maggie Sheehe, and they now live at Indianapolis, Ind., and have one child. Daniel and Mrs. Yike have lived in their present beautiful home ever since the first year after their marriage. When Mr. Yike was a young man he learned the carpenter trade, and followed that trade for forty years. He has a well-improved farm of fifty-one acres, which is under a high state of cultivation. The county of Montgomery, since Mr. Yike became an inhabitant thereof, has made wonderful strides in growth and development, and is now one of the foremost in the state. Mr. Yike is universally respected for his temperate, up- right and useful life. His wife, who like him- self has hosts of friends, is a member of the Reformed church. Both Mr. and Mrs. Yike have so lived that they can look back through the vista of the many years they have passed so happily together, and heave no sigh because of the neglect of any duty. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1109 EENRY APPLE, of Germantown, Ohio, one of the substantial farmers of Jefferson township, Montgomery county, and a most prosperous and respected citizen, sprang from Pennsylvania Dutch stock. His grandfather, who was also named Henry Apple, was born in Berks county, Pa., and was a son of John Apple. This grandfa- ther, Henry, married Sarah E. Gebhart. of Berks county, and they became the parents of thirteen children, all of whom reached mature years, married and reared families of their own. These thirteen children were as follows: John, Henry, George, Catherine, Elizabeth, Magdalene, Margaret, Eli, Encch, Eve, Bar- bara, Daniel and Tennie. Henry Apple re- moved to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1805, entering land in Jefferson township, eighty acres, which he cleared up and lived upon about seven years. In 181 3 he removed to Jackson township and there bought 160 acres, which he made his permanent home, clearing up this lat- ter farm from the woods. He became pros- perous because of his steady, industrious hab- its, bought more land, and gave eighty acres to each of his children. He was a Lutheran in religion, and was one of the founders of the Slyfer church, in connection with Philip Slyfer. This church was founded in 1819 and is still in existence. Politically, Mr. Apple was a dem- ocrat and was one of the foremost citizens of Jackson township. He was one of the sturdy pioneers, and an honorable man. His father, John, came later to this country, and here passed the remainder of his days. Henry Apple, son of the above and father of the subject, was born in 1802, in Berks county, Pa., where two of his brothers, John and George, were also born, the remainder of the family being born in Montgomery county, Ohio. Henry was but three years old when brought to Ohio by his parents, and grew up a 48 pioneer among the pioneers. Trained to a farmer's life he naturally adopted that voca- tion. He married Elizabeth Rodehefer, who was born in 1807, and was a daughter of Samuel and Catherine (Ruby) Rodehefer, both of whom were of German descent and pioneers of Montgomery county. Henry Apple and his wife settled in the woods in Jackson township, prospered by hard work and economical man- agement, and in 1838 bought 160 acres of land in that township. Mr. Apple also entered 160 acres in Darke count}'. He was a member of the Lutheran church, in which he was a dea- con and an elder, as was his father before him. His children were as follows: William, Julia, George, Solon, Catherine, Barbara, Henry and Elizabeth. The above children were by his first wife, after whose death he married Sarah Stroup, by whom he had the following chil- dren: John; Samuel; Louisa, who died at the age of seventeen; Mary, who died at the age of twenty years; Lydia, Hiram, David, and Sarah Eve. Thus he was the father of sixteen children, fourteen of whom were living at the time of his death. Politically, he was a democrat, and as a citizen he was held in high regard. Henry Apple, the subject of this sketch, was born in Jackson township, August 6, 1835, received a common-school education and was reared a farmer. On March 13, 1856, he married Catherine Meckley, daughter of Chris- tian and Nancy (Kuner) Meckley, of whom fuller mention is made elsewhere in this vol- ume. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Ap- ple settled on 144 acres of land in Jefferson township, upon which they lived thirty-five years. This land Mr. Apple cleared up from the woods and made of it a good farm and home, putting up good buildings and improv- ing the farm in every way. By careful man- agement and hardy thrift he added to his pos- sessions, owning at one time 320 acres of land. In 1892 he built a pleasant residence on the 1110 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD township line, and now lives on a small prop- erty, his children having been given the greater part of his land. He is a member of the Slyfer Presbyterian church, of which he has been for many years a trustee. His wife is a member of the Reformed church. Mr. Apple was a member of the building committee of the new Slyfer church edifice, built for the Union church. Politically, he is a democrat, but is not an office seeker. His children are as follows: Lucinda; Benjamin F. ; Oliver, who died at the age of three years; and Perry. Mr. Apple is a most worthy citizen, and en- joys the confidence of a large circle of valued friends and acquaintances. /^^V" AMUEL BECK, prominent as a con- *^^KT tractor and builder in his native town- k^_J ship of Jefferson, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born August 17, 1850, a son of Samuel and Annie (Getter) Beck, and here he has been reared to manhood, his pres- ent post-office address being Ellerton, Ohio. Henry Beck, his paternal grandfather, was a native of Pennsylvania, but early became one of the pioneers of Salem, Montgomery county, Ohio; while John Getter, his maternal grandfather, also a native of Pennsylvania, was one of the pioneers of Jefferson township; and thus it will be seen that Samuel Beck, our subject, is of long-time Buckeye descent. Samuel Beck, Sr., settled on a farm near Liberty, Montgomery county, Ohio, prior to 1840, and here pursued his trade of carpenter- ing until his death, which occurred in 1850. His children were four in number and were named, in order of birth, Mary, who became the wife of Frederick Staver; Martha J., the wife of Fred Schwartztrauben; Henry; and Samuel, whose name opens this sketch. Samuel Beck, the youngest of this family of four children, was reared in Jefferson town- ship and received the best education its com- mon schools afforded, and, after having passed through his schoolboy days, served an appren- ticeship at the carpenter's trade, which he learned thoroughly. For six years after serv- ing his term of apprenticeship he worked as a journeyman, perfecting himself in the mean- while in his trade, and was thus enabled, in 1878, to start in business on his own account in Gettersburg, Montgomery county, the post- office of which village, as has been mentioned, is known as Ellerton. He has made a marked success in his vocation, and is probably now the most prosperous contractor and builder of Jefferson township. The marriage of Mr. Beck took place, in 1878, to Miss Martha Howser, the accom- plished daughter of John and Sarah Ellen (Drill) Howser, of Miamisburg, Ohio, and as a result of this union there are ten children. They are John H., who is a teacher by profes- sion; Samuel; Jennie, the wife of Harley Long; Annie; Ida, married to Furman Woodward; Howard, Charles, Edith, Flora and Ethel. The father is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in politics adheres to the democratic party, and no man is more favorably known throughout the county, as a business man and public-spirited citizen, than Samuel Beck. HNDREW H. BAKER, one of the early merchants of Phillipsburg, and now among the most respected citi- zens of Clay township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born on his father's farm, in Randolph township, same county, March 25, 1 82 1, Grandfather Baeker, as the name was orig- inally spelled, came from Pennsylvania about the year 1800 and entered a section of land in Randolph township, settling near the saw-mill OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1111 now owned by Henry Baker. The tract at that time was a dense forest, but Mr. Baeker cleared up a fine farm from the woods. His wife bore the maiden name of Echelman, and bore her husband five children, who were named John, Samuel, David, Henry and An drew. The father of these children, however, did not live many years after reaching Ohio, and at his death divided his property equally among his children. David Baker, father of Andrew H. Baker, was a youth when brought to Ohio by his parents, and here attained his majority on the home farm. He married Salomi Hart, who was born in Pennsylvania, in 1797, and whose parents came to Ohio at the same time with the Bakers — the Hart children being named William, Elizabeth, Rebecca and Salomi, of whom Elizabeth and Rebecca were respectively married, in Ohio, to a Mr. Kessler and a Mr. Hazen. After his marriage David Baker set- tled on his own farm of 112 acres, near the old homestead in Randolph township, close to the county line. He died, however, at a com- paratively early age, the father of three chil- dren — Lavina, Andrew H. and David. Mrs. Baker afterward married John Turner, to which union was born one child, Rebecca, who married James Ross. Andrew H. Baker was educated in the pioneer schools of his early day, and at the age of sixteen years began learning the cabi- netmaker's trade in Salem, served three years, and then worked one year in Dayton, with R. J. Wagoner. But he did not long continue at his trade, as in 1842, at the age of twenty-one years, he engaged in mercantile business in Phillipsburg,. which he found to be more to his taste and profit, and which he pursued for the long period of nearly fifty years, selling out in 1890, when he retired with a competency. In his career as a merchant, Mr. Baker formed several co-partnerships, viz: First, with John Fry, who was the earliest responsible merchant of Phillipsburg, the partnership lasting six years; next, with David Swank, four years; then, with his own brother, David Baker, for several years. At one time the firm was com- posed of four members — Andrew H. and David Baker, Peter Smith and David Swank. These partners carried on a store in Phillips- burg and one at West Alexandria, in Preble county, and did a large country trade until the dissolution of the firm. Andrew H. con- tinued alone for some years in Phillipsburg, then admitted his son, Charles W. , into part- nership, but for the last few years of his mercantile life he was again alone. Although practically retired, Mr. Baker still owns a saw- mill, over which he keeps a supervision. Andrew H. Baker was united in marriage March 29, 1842, in Phillipsburg, with Miss Hannah Thomas, who was born in that village January 3, 1825, a daughter of Dr. William and Mary (Cox) Thomas. Dr. William Thomas was a son of John Thomas, who came from South Carolina in the early part of the present century and settled in Clay township, where he entered a farm, on which he died at an advanced age, the father of four children — Isaiah, George, William and Nancy. Dr. William Thomas, father of Mrs. Baker, was a physician of note in Phillipsburg, but removed to and died in Indiana, the father of seven children — Hugh M., Micajah, Priscilla, Ase- nath, Nancy, Hannah and Sarah. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Baker has been blessed with the following children: Charles W., Granville (died September 5, 1896), Dr. Edson R. , David, William and Ella. In politics Andrew H. Baker was originally a democrat, but was a strong prohibitionist, and became one of the organizers of the repub- lican party in his township. His was the only house in Phillipsburg, in the early days, that would give shelter to an abolitionist, but 1112 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD he adhered tenaciously to the cause until it at last became triumphant. He never sought public office, but as a matter of duty served nine years as justice of the peace. He was a strong Union man during the Civil war, and furnished two sons to the army — Charles and Granville — both of whom were in the three- years' service, were in the Atlanta campaign and followed Sherman to the sea. Mrs. Baker is a member of the Christian church, and Mr. Baker, a man of broad intelligence, is liberal in his religious views. He occupies a high position in the esteem of his fellow-citizens, and his influence is felt throughout the county in every movement designed to promote the public good. •~V"AMUEL G. CLAGETT, a successful •^^^* farmer and fruit grower of Harrison h^_J township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in this township, within a quarter of a mile of his present home, Decem- ber 26, 1852. His parents, Samuel M. and Elizabeth (Drill) Clagett, were natives of Maryland, he of Frederick county, and she of Washington county. They were the parents of eleven children, nine of whom are still liv- ing, as follows: Annie J., wife of S. W. La- kin, living in Columbus, Ohio; Harriet, widow of George McCausland; Mary, wife of S. A. Bailey; John W. ; Elizabeth, wife of Henry Smith, of Dayton; Martha, wife of George K. Funderberg, of Carlisle, Ohio; Samuel G. ; Maggie, wife of Charles B. Attick, and James W. Samuel M. Clagett was by occupation a farmer, came to Ohio about 1836, lived in Dayton one year, and then removed to Wayne township. After living in Wayne township a few years, he settled in Harrison township, where he continued a resident the rest of his life, a period of nearly forty years, his death occurring in 1876. He was at the time sixty- seven years of age. His wife died in 1S91, aged seventy-four. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and of his church he was trustee and steward for many years. Politically he was a democrat up to the breaking out of the war, and then became a republican, acting with this party the re- mainder of his life. The paternal grandfather of Samuel G. Clagett was a native of England, was a miller and distiller by occupation, reared a family of six children, and died in Maryland when seventy years of age. The maternal grand- father, George Drill, was of German ancestry, but a native of Maryland, was a soldier in the war of 18 1 2, came to Ohio at an early day and settled in Harrison township, where he died at the age of forty-eight. Samuel G. Clagett has lived his entire life in Harrison township. He was reared a farm- er's boy, was well educated in the district schools, and has kept himself thoroughly in- formed upon the important events and ques- tions of the day. Remaining at home with his parents until he attained his manhood, he was married October 16, 1877, to Miss Alvina Darst, daughter of Abraham and Sarah Ann (Dean) Darst. To their marriage there have been born four sons, as follows: Warren D., Wilson G., Arthur E. and Edward F. The first two were twins. Mr. and Mrs. Clagett are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Clagett is now and has for the past thirteen years been a class leader in his church. He was also superintendent of the Sunday-school for seven- teen years. In 1895 ne was elected treasurer of his township, being the first republican to hold that office since the war. Beginning life for himself by working for his father, he has since made a well-deserved success as a farmer, and as a useful and influential citizen. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1 1 1 :; He now owns ninety-one acres of land, well improved. Mr. Clagett is a charter member of Linden lodge 412, K. of P., and has also been member of the I. O. O. F. for over twenty years. He is a descendant and a worthy rep- resentative of two of the oldest and best fam- ilies in Montgomery county, and well sustains their reputation, established by long years of straightforward and honorable dealing with their fellow-men. >y» ONATH AN BRUESTLE, one of the old k settlers of Clay township, Montgomery /• J county, Ohio, was born in Berks coun- ty, Pa., July 1, 1829, and is of German extraction. Christian Bruestle, his grandfather, was a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, a tailor by trade, and married Sabina Wert, by whom he became the father of the following children: Christian, Henry Charles, Caroline and an- other, whose name has been forgotten by the present generation. The father of this family died in his native country, a member of the Lutheran church, at the age of fifty-seven years, and his second son, Henry Charles, be- came the progenitor of the Bruestle family in America. Christian, the eldest brother, was a German Baptist minister, was born in Ger- many in 1772, made three visits to America, returned as many times to his native land, and died January 1, 1841 , at the homeof his father. Henry Charles Bruestle, father of Jonathan, was born in Germany November 22, 1780, re- ceived a liberal collegiate education, and be- came master of seven languages. April 25, 18 19, he departed for America, and after a voy- age of four months landed in Philadelphia, August 25, 1 8 19. Later he went to Tulpe- hocken township, Berks county, Pa., where he married, August 31, 1823, Elizabeth Oldwine. In April, 1853, he came to Ohio and bought a small plat of ten acres at Air Hill, Perry town- ship, Montgomery county, and on this little garden spot he died April 25, 1857, a member of the Lutheran church, of which he had been an elder for sixteen years before he came to Ohio. His wife, daughter of Warner and Catherine (Long) Oldwine, was born in Leb- anon county, Pa., January 22, 1795, and bore her husband two children — Henry and Jonathan. Warner Oldwine, the father of Mrs. Bru- estle, was born in Germany and was twenty- five years of age when he came to America. Here he enlisted in the patriot army and bore a valiant part in the Revolutionary war at the battle of Bunker Hill, Brandywine, and else- where, fought through the whole of the glori- ous, struggle, and lived also to take part in the war of 1 81 2. He made his home in Lebanon county, Pa., where he owned 200 acres of farming land, and where he reared a family of four children, viz: Anty, Jacob, Samuel and Elizabeth. His death took place at the age of seventy-five years, and his patriotic serv- ices were gratefully remembered by his fellow- citizens, who interred his remains with the honors of war. Jonathan Bruestle was reared on the home farm, received a good education in his youthful days, and was also taught the cabinetmaker's and carpenter's trades. At the age of about twenty-five years, in 1853, he came to Ohio and for two years lived in Miamisburg, and then removed to Salem. In the interval, April 27, 1854, he married Ann Mary Buech- ler, the ceremony being performed in Madison township by Rev. John Reichert, of the Ger- man Reformed church. Miss Buechler was born March 15, 1826, in Pine Grove township, Schuylkill county, Pa., and is a daughter of John and Barbara (Stein) Buechler. John Buechler, father of Mrs. Bruestle, came from Pennsylvania to Ohio in 1836, set- 1114 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD tied on a farm of 144 acres in Madison town- ship, Montgomery county, and died in 1880, at the age of eighty-three years. To him and his wife were born a family that became use- ful members of the community of Madison township, both those who were born in Penn- sylvania and those born in the Buckeye state. They were named, in order of birth, William, George, John, Henry, Daniel, Ann Mary (Mrs. Bruestle) and Katie. Jonathan Bruestle, after his marriage, lo- cated in Salem, Montgomery county, and for seventeen years was the leading cabinetmaker and undertaker of the town and the surround- ing country, but in the meantime, October 4, 1864, bought a tract of sixty-six acres, which he devoted to general farming and tobacco growing, making a specialty of the latter prod- uct. He erected a good barn, a fine tobacco shed and other necessary buildings, was indus- trious and thrifty, and added to his land until it covered eighty acres, which he still owns, and on which he is passing in peace his declin- ing years. In religion Mr. Bruestle, with his wife, is a member of the Lutheran church, in which he has held the offices of elder and trustee, in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and in the latter state, for over five years, he was the sexton for his congregation. His only child, John Davis Buechtel Bruestle, was born June 10, 1859, in Salem, and is now a representa- tive citizen of Clay township. ^^V AVID CRIPE, farmer, of Madison I township, is a son of one of the early /^_^ pioneers of Montgomery county. John Cripe, Sr. , his grandfather, came to Ohio, probably in 1806, from Blair county, Pa., settling in Madison township, two miles south of where David now lives. His wife was Catherine Ullery, and his chil- dren were as follows: Stephen, David, John, Susan, Esther and Elizabeth. Mr. Cripe cleared a farm of 160 acres, lived in Mont- gomery county all his life, and died at an ad- vanced age. He was a minister of the Ger- man Baptist church. John Cripe, Jr., son of John Cripe and father of David, was born in Blair county, Pa., about 1804, and was two years old when brought by his father to Montgomery county, Ohio. Young Cripe was brought up among the pioneers and became a farmer. Upon arriving at maturity he married Catherine Shively, by whom he had the following children: Eli; John, who died when two years old; David, Esther, Catherine, Mary, Hannah and Stephen. Mr. and Mrs. Cripe settled on the farm upon which their son David now lives, and which then consisted of 160 acres of land, all in the woods, with the excep- tion of five acres, which were partly cleared. This land Mr. Cripe cleared of its timber, made of it a good farm, and greatly improved it with excellent buildings. In 1853 he re- moved to Indiana, locating near Peru, and there bought 160 acres of land, upon which he passed the remainder of his days, dying when seventy-two years of age. He was one of the best men of his time, and a member of the German Baptist church, in which he was a deacon for many years. Always a diligent and industrious man, he was successful in his busi- ness affairs, and was well known for his hon- esty and integrity of character. David Cripe was born February 19, 1831, on the farm on which he now lives. His edu- cation was received in the common district school. Reared a farmer, he has followed that honorable and independent occupation all his life. He married, October 16, 185 1, Miss Mary Ullery, who was born on the Still- water river, in Randolph township, and is a daughter of Samuel and Susan (Whitehead) Ullery. Samuel Ullery was born in Blair OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1115 county, Pa., near Hollidaysburg, in 1794, and when seventeen years old came to Montgom- ery county with his parents, Stephen and Mary (Rench) Ullery. Stephen Ullery came to Montgomery county in 181 1, and settled in Madison town- ship, near Stillwater Junction, where he en- tered government land, to the extent of 160 acres, which he cleared and upon which he lived for many years. His children were Joseph, Stephen, Samuel, Mary and Cather- ine. Stephen lived to be an aged man, was a German Baptist and a valued citizen. Samuel Ullery, the father of Mrs. Cripe, settled on the farm adjoining the Cripe home- stead. His first wife was Mary Miller, a daughter of Daniel Miller, the pioneer. By this wife he had one daughter, Susannah. Mrs. Ullery having died, Mr. Ullery married Susannah Whitehead, by whom he had ten children, as follows: Lydia, Moses, Annie, Aaron, Stephen, Mary, David, Samuel, Chris- topher, and Valentine. Samuel Ullery devoted himself to farming, and became a very pros- perous man. By industry he thrived until at length he owned 600 acres of land, which he divided among his children, giving each a farm. He was a member of the German Baptist church, and died in his seventy-first year. His wife died October 19, 1882, in her seventy- eighth year. Mr. and Mrs. Cripe, after their marriage, settled on the Cripe homestead, which has since been their home. Mrs. Cripe's mother made her home with them, living with them for about eighteen years, and it was at their home that she died at an advanced age. She had been most of her life a member of the German Baptist church, and all her life an ex- cellent woman. Mr. and Mrs. Cripe had one child, named Annie, who died March 13, 1885. She mar- ried Jacob Miller, a grandson of Daniel Miller, the pioneer, and son of Joseph Miller. To Jacob Miller and his wife there were born two children, Joseph Albert and Mary Catherine. Mr. and Mrs. Cripe are members of the Ger- man Baptist church, of which Mr. Cripe has been a deacon for thirty-four years. His granddaughter, Mary Catherine Miller, married Albert M. Mumma, and has one son. The entire family are well to do, have a large circle of friends, and are among the most use- ful of Montgomery county's citizens. Sf ILLIAM A. CROSBY, a successful farmer of Mad River township, Montgomery county, was born near Springboro, Warren county, Ohio, October 15, 1842. He is a son of James and Lydia Ann (Baner) Crosby, the former of whom was a native of Delaware county, Pa. , and the latter of Cape May county, N. J. To their marriage there were born three children, viz: William A.; Martha A., wife of John Kinder, of Franklin, Ohio; and Alice, wife of Edwin S. Smith, living at Lawrence- ville, 111. James Crosby learned shoemaking when a boy, and followed this trade for several years. Coming to Ohio in 1S30, he located near Springboro, Warren county, where he after- ward bought land. In Warren county he was married, and removed to Montgomery county in 1858, locating on the grounds now occupied by the soldiers' home, and there lived for nine years. Selling his property there, he re- moved to Mad River township, where his son William A. now lives, and where he bought seventy acres, now finely improved. On that farm he lived the rest of his life, dying Sep- tember 12, 1884, when he was seventy-two years of age. His wife, who died June 13, 1886, was a Quaker in religious belief. Robert Crosby, father of James Crosby, UK*. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD was a native of county Down, the most east- erly county in Ireland, and was of Scotch- Irish descent. When a young man he came to the United States and settled in Delaware county, Pa., being accompanied by two of his brothers, and in 1S30 he came to Ohio, dying on the farm where he settled in Warren coun- ty. He was of a quiet and amiable disposition, reared a family of one son and five daughters, and at his death was seventy-five years of age. The maternal grandfather of the subject, Isaac Baner, was a native of New Jersey, and moved to Ohio between 1830 and 1835, float- ing down the Ohio river on a flatboat, and locating near Springboro, Warren county. He followed shoemaking all his life, and in relig- ious belief was a strong Quaker. William A. Crosby was about sixteen years of age when his father left Warren county, and remained at home as long as his father lived. He has managed and cultivated the Mad River township farm ever since its pur- chase by his father, and after his parents' death became the owner of a two-thirds inter- est in it. On February 21, 1865, he was married to Miss Nancy J. Heiney, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Heiney. To this marriage there were born eleven children, as follows: Ida May. Frank Albert, James E. , Emma Alice (deceased), Joseph H., Lizzie A., William A., Orin J., Grace L. , Howard, and Mattie B. Ida May married Charles Alexander, of Wayne township; Frank A. married Iona Clemmer, and lives in Wayne township; they have one child, Ruth. James E. married Loretta Johnson; they live in Clark county and have three children, Florence, Chester and Rachael. Lizzie A. married Alva Wolf; they live in West Dayton. Mrs. Nancy J. Crosby died January 10, 1891. Early in her life she was a member of the German Reformed church, but later united with the United Brethren church, and died in that faith, Mr. Crosby being also a member of this church. Politically, Mr. Crosby is a democrat, and is at the pres- ent time (1 896) serving a three-years' term as justice of the peace. For fifteen years he was a member of the board of directors of his school district, and at present is a member of the school board. Upon his farm, which con- tains 125 acres, he carries on general agricult- ural operations, and for the past three years has also been conducting a cream dairy and raising red-polled cattle. For thirty-seven years Mr. Crosby has lived in Montgomery county, and has contributed his full share to its fine development. His home is beautifully situated on a knoll three miles from Dayton, and here is dispensed the most sincere and generous hospitality. BENRY L. ECKHARDT, of Jefferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, a practical and experienced farmer, was born in Germany, April 15, 1854, but has been a resident of Montgomery county since his infancy, his parents, George and Catherine (Felty) Eckhardt, having come to America in the fall of 1854. These newcom- ers first located in German township, Mont- gomery county, where the father successfully engaged in the pursuit of agriculture until 1874, when he found it to be to his interest to remove to Jefferson township, and here he has been engaged in farming ever since that year. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, who were born in the following or- der: Christian H., Henry L. , Jacob; Mary, the wife of George Smith; Emma, married to Charles Root; Louisa, now Mrs. Frank Recher, and Minnie, the wife of Elmer Palmer. The first two named were born in Germany, and the others in Montgomery county, Ohio. Henry L. Eckhardt was educated in the OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1117 common schools of his district. At the age of twenty years, in 1874, he came to Jefferson township with his father's family, and here he has since been engaged in farming. Here also, in i860, he married Miss Mary M. Getter, daughter of Daniel and Sarah J. (Shade) Getter, residents of Jefferson township, and this mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Eckhardt has been blessed by the birth of one son, named Earl C. In politics Mr. Eckhardt has always been closely identified with the republican party, and is at present the assistant postmaster of Eller- ton, Montgomery county, Ohio. In religion, he is, with his wife, a consistent member of the Lutheran church, of which he is also a trustee. He has led a life of industry, and has ever been a useful and public-spirited citizen. >-j*OSEPH L. ENSLEY, a prominent m farmer of Harrison township, Mont- /• J gomery county, Ohio, was born in Butler township, this county, near Stillwater, May 18, 1821. His parents were James and Susan (Lodge) Ensley, both natives of Pennsylvania. To them there were born seven children, three of whom are now living, as follows: Mary, wife of Thomas Huffman, of Des Moines, Iowa, Joseph L. and James. James Ensley, the father of Joseph L. ,was one of the old-fashioned pioneer settlers of the southern part of Ohio. By occupation he was a farmer, and had to contend with the difficul- ties and hardships that were inseparably con- nected with his vocation in the early days of the century. Moving to Ohio in 18 18, he settled in Butler township, Montgomery coun- ty, built a log cabin and lived there until 1849, when he died, at the age of sixty-five years. His wife survived him until 1888, dying at the great age of ninety-three. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Ens- ley served as justice of the peace for a number of years, and also held other township offices, showing that he was a man of prominence and that he was held in honor by his fellow- men. Upon arriving in Butler township, as above related, he purchased 160 acres of land, to which he added other tracts from time to time until at his death he owned about 300 acres. Beside this large quantity of land he owned a grist-mill, which he leased to others. George Ensley, the father of James Ensley, was a native of Bedford county, Pa., and was of German descent. He and his wife, who survived him some years, reared a family of seven children. He died in his native county at an advanced age. The maternal grandfa- ther of Joseph L. Ensley, William Lodge, was a farmer by occupation and died in Pennsylva- nia, while yet in middle life. Joseph L. Ensley received the rudiments of his education in the district schools, and has supplemented the education there obtained by close observation and wide reading, until now he is one of the best informed men of his com- munity. Remaining at home until he was twenty-four years of age, he then began the active duties of a farmer's life on his own be- half, and was soon afterward married to Ann Rebecca Drill, daughter of George and Jemima (Lakin) Drill. This marriage occurred De- cember 18, 1849, and has resulted in the birth of six children, two sons and four daughters, as follows: Mary, Elizabeth, Martha, James, Benjamin Franklin and Rosa Ann. Mary married Ezra Jones, of Harrison township; Elizabeth died in infancy; Martha married William Brentlinger, and has nine children, as follows: Franklin, Ira, Burt, Arthur, Annie, Mary, Wilbur, Charles and Elizabeth. James married Melissa Deaton, and has one child living, Lawrence. Rosa Ann married William Kerns, and has one child, Joseph. Mr. and Mrs. Ensley are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, as are all of the 1118 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD children, their wives and husbands. Mr. Ens- ley is trustee of his church. Politically he is a republican. Mr. Ensley began life for himself by rent- ing 1 60 acres of land of his father in Harrison township, upon which he lived four or five years, and then purchased it in partnership with his brother, George W. Later he sold his interest to his brother, and purchased 200 acres near the Miami river and not far from the city of Dayton. Upon this 200-acre farm he lived for thirteen years, and then purchased the farm upon which he now resides. This farm then contained seventy- two acres, to which he has added at different times, becom- ing the owner of several farms, and also of five or six houses and lots in Dayton. To his chil- dren he has given largely of his property, and now retains only 130 acres of farm land, his home being two and a half miles from the Day- ton court house. He also owns one-third of Idylwild park. Mr. Ensley has been one of the principal factors in the development of Montgomery county, and has seen Dayton grow from a vil- lage into a large and prosperous manufacturing city. As a representative farmer, and as an upright and useful citizen, he enjoys the sin- cere esteem of a large circle of acquaintances and friends. HNDREW FORNEY, justice of the peace of Highland, Ohio, was born in Jackson township, Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, Jurle 7, 1838. He is a son of Christian and Magdalene (Kimmel) Forney, the former of whom was a native of Lancas- ter, Pa., and the latter of the " The Glades," in Pennsylvania. Christian and Magdalene Forney were the parents of four children, three of whom are now living, as follows: John, of Liberty; Andrew and David, both of Dayton. In his early life Christian Forney was a black- smith, but afterward turned his attention to farming. He was one of the early settlers of Ohio, locating in Jackson township, Montgom- ery county, but afterward bought a farm of 135 acres in Jefferson township, upon which he lived the remainder of his life, dying at the age of sixty-six. His wife had died about five years before. The paternal grandfather of Andrew For- ney lived in Lancaster, Pa., dying therein old age. The maternal grandfather also died at an advanced age in Pennsylvania. Andrew Forney, the subject of this sketch, with the exception of four years when he lived in Greene county, has been a resident of Montgomery county all his life. When yet quite a young man he began learning the black- smith trade in his father's shop in Jackson township. He lived at Harshman for eight years, and in December, 1893, removed to Highland, his present place of residence, and established himself in the trade of blacksmith, in making and repairing wagons and carriages. That he is a skillful workman is known far and wide, and his patronage is unusually extensive. On April 19, i860, he married Mahaley Shank, daughter of Samuel Shank. To this marriage there were born five children, as fol- lows: Emma, Laura, Mollie, Charles and William. Emma married Charles Garst, and has two children living; Laura married William Magarity, lives in New York, and has three children; Mollie married Henry Mohler, and has two children; Charles, who lives at Harsh- man, married Ella Myers, and has one child; and William, who lives in Greene county, mar- ried Emma Rigglesperger. Mrs. Forney died February 26, 1875, a member of the United Brethren church. Mr. Forney's second marriage was with Miss Susie Ebright, who lived but a short time. Febru- ary 14, 1882, Mr. Forney married, for his third OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1119 wife, Mrs. Magdalene Schiller, daughter of Frederick and Eleanora (Schuster) Unland. By this marriage he has one child, Min- nie. By her marriage with Michael Myers, her first husband, Mrs. Forney has two chil- dren living, viz: John and Ella. John mar- ried Miss Ella Brown and has one child, and Ella married Charles Forney, son of Andrew A. Forney, and has one child. Mr. and Mrs. Forney are members of the Reformed church. For many years he was an elder in the United Brethren church at Lib- erty and also class leader. Inasmuch as at Highland there is no church of that denomina- tion he and his. wife united with the Reformed church. During the late Civil war Mr. Forney was a soldier in the one hundred days' service at Camp Miami. Politically, he is an old Jackson democrat. He has been thrice elected justice of the peace, and when the spring of 1897 arrives he will have served in that office nine years. Mrs. Forney, like her husband, has been married three times, her second husband having been William Schiller. Both Esquire Forney and his wife are highly esteemed members both of general society and of their church. >-j»OSIAH B. FLORY, a prominent farmer M and dairyman of Harrison township, A 1 Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Randolph township, same county, June 29, 18152. He is a son of Henry and Susan (Miller) Flory, natives of Montgomery county, he having been born in Madison township, and she on the farm on which subject now re- sides. To their marriage were born three chil- dren, as follows: JosiahB.; Mary, wife of W. J. Shoup, and IraO. Henry Flory has always followed farming, and at present lives in Ran- dolph township, near Harrisburg. He moved into Harrison township in 1852, and resided there until 1889, when he removed to his pres- ent farm. At one time he owned 212 acres of land near Dayton, has always been a gen- eral farmer, and has been unusually successful. His wife, who was, as he is, a member of the German Baptist or Dunkard church, died in 1 88 1, aged forty-eight years. The paternal grandfather of Josiah B. , Abraham Flory, was a native of Pennsylvania, and of German descent. He was also a farm- er, and was one of the very early settlers of Ohio. He came to this state when yet a boy, was reared and educated in Ohio, and became a minister of the German Baptist church. He reared a family of three children and died in his eighty-ninth year. The maternal grand- father, Daniel Miller, was born in Harrison township, this county, on the farm upon which his father settled in 1804. Upon this farm Daniel grew to manhood, lived in this town- ship all his life, and died in 1 861, at the age of fifty-five years. He reared a family of three daughters. Josiah B. Flory was reared on the farm upon which he now lives, from the time he was thirteen years of age. Upon this same farm his father and grandfather were reared before him. His early education was received in the district school and at Lebanon Normal school. Remaining at home until he was twenty-one years of age, he then rented a tract of land, upon which he carried on farming for six years. Then buying a farm in Darke county, he lived thereon about one year, when he returned to the old home farm, upon which he has lived ever since. This home farm now contains sev- enty-seven acres, and upon it he carries on general farming and the dairy business. Be- side this farm, Mr. Flory has an interest in a farm near Dayton View, the latter containing sixty-six acres. On October 30, 1S73, Mr. Flory married Miss Sarah Eby, daughter of Adam S. and 1120 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Elizabeth (Bartels) Eby, and to this marriage there have been born two children, Edgar L. and Robert E. Mr. and Mrs. Flory are mem- bers of the United Brethren church, and po- litically Mr. Flory is a republican. a ARRIS W. FALKNOR, farmer, of Clay township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Randolph town- ship, same county, December 14, 1847. His grandfather, Levi Falknor, was a native of Pennsylvania, and shortly after his marriage, in that state, to Margaret Nicode- mus, came to Ohio, about the year 1820, and settled on eighty acres of land in Randolph township, Montgomery county. This land he cleared from the woods and converted into as good a farm as could be found among the pio- neers. He was a democrat, a useful member of his community, and reared a goodly family of children, who were named John, Daniel, Hettie, Levi, Mary A., Andrew, Eli, Wesley and Joseph. Levi Falknor, father of Carris W. Falknor, was born in Randolph township, in October, 1824, and was reared on his father's farm. He received but a limited education, as good schools were not very plentiful in those early days, and labor on the home farm was greatly in demand. He married Miss Nancy R. Herr, a daughter of Samuel and Frances (Long) Herr, and settled on a farm of 1 50 acres in the woods of Clay township, where he lived until 1872, when he retired to Harrisburg, where he now resides. He is the owner of two farms, however, one in Clay and one in Randolph township, aggregating 250 acres, which he still manages. Mrs. Nancy Falknor died in Harrisburg in 1880, a member of the Wegner church, and sincerely esteemed for her many excellent qualities as a wife and mother. To Mr. and Mrs. Falkner were born the follow- ing children: Angeline, who died at five years of age; Carris W. , the subject of this memoir; David, Francis, Lorin, Mary A., Theodore and Jerome. Mr. Falknor has been very success- ful through life and is now enjoying the fruits of his early industry. Like his father, he is in his politics a democrat. Carris W. Falknor received the usual dis- trict-school education common to lads reared on the farm, and was an assistant to his father on the home place until his marriage, January 28, 1872, to Miss Mary A. Kinsey, who was born in Randolph township, January 14, 1853, a daughter of Jacob and Susannah (Boyer) Kinsey. The young couple remained on the Falknor homestead until March 5, 1872, when they moved to Darke county, and lived there for two years, and then returned to their old home. February 15, [88 1, Mr. Falkner bought his present farm of ninety- three acres, which he has greatly improved in many ways, having set out a thrifty orchard and otherwise embellished his place. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Falknor has been blessed with one daughter, Carrie H., now married to Rollin Welbaum, of Miami county. She was born September 30, 1875, married September 9, 1894, and is the mother of one child, Ocelin M., born October 26, 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Falknor are members of the United Brethren church, and in politics Mr. Falknor is a democrat. He has prospered in his vocation, establishing for himself at the same time an enviable reputation for integrity and public-spirited usefulness, and has one of the most pleasant homes in Clay township. £""V*AMUEL L. FRENCH, a farmer of *\^^%T Harrison township, Montgomery coun- k^_J ty, Ohio, was born in Lancaster coun- ty, Pa., March 7, 1825. His parents were George W. and Elizabeth (Roberts) OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1121 French, the former a native of Hartford, Conn., and the latter of Lancaster county, Pa. To them there were born eleven children, seven of whom are still living, as follows: Samuel L. ; Eliza, wife of James Myers; Mary Anna, wife of James Mahlon; John, Benjamin, Abner, and Melissie, wife of Joseph Gillan. George W. French, the father, was a nail cutter in his early life. In 1835 he came to Ohio and here engaged in farming, locating six miles east of Troy, where he bought a quarter section of land. Here for about twenty years he followed the pursuit of agriculture. In 1856 Mr. French removed to Indiana, lo- cating fourteen miles from Indianapolis, where he carried on farming for a number of years, and about i860 purchased property in Zions- ville, sixteen miles from Indianapolis, where he continued to live until his death, which oc- curred in 1894, when he was ninety-six years old. His widow, who is now ninety-four years of age, is living with her daughter, Mary Ann. Mr. French was, and Mrs. French is, a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. When George W. French and his family came to Ohio, Samuel L. , his son, was nine years old. He was here reared to the life of a pioneer farmer, living in the woods, as the country was then but little cleared. Remain- ing at home until he was seventeen years of age, he then began to learn the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for five years. He then removed to Shelby county, where he lived for fourteen years, and in 1866 came to Mont- gomery county, where he purchased a farm of 100 acres of land, together with a tract for the erection of his buildings, and has lived here since that time. November 5, 1846, he was married to Miss Mary Booher, daughter of Bartholomew Boo- her and his wife, Sarah. To this marriage there have been born six children, five sons and one daughter, as follows: George, Sarah, John, Isaac N., and two that died in early childhood. Only two of these children are now living, viz: Sarah and Isaac. Sarah married William Heinz, of Dayton, and has two children. Isaac married Ella Snyder. Mr. and Mrs. French are members of the United Brethren church. Politically he is a democrat, and is a man of character and repu- tation, second to none in the county. HNANIAS FRANTZ, of Clayton post- office, one of the substantial farmers of Randolph township, is a grandson of one of the original pioneers of Montgomery county, Henry Frantz, who was a son of the original emigrant from Germany, the founder of the family in America, whose name is not now recalled. But he settled in Pennsylvania, where Henry Frantz was born. Removing to Virginia, Henry Frantz settled at Salem, in what is now Roanoke county, that state. He married Mary Kinsey, who is men- tioned more fully in the biography of Jesse Kinsey, elsewhere in this volume. Their chil- dren were as follows: Daniel, Christian, Het- tie, Lydia, Mary, Sallie, Polly, Susannah, and Elizabeth. Henry Frantz moved with his family to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1825, with a four-horse team and large wagon, Mrs. Frantz riding on horseback. At first he settled in the Stillwater valley, and then bought land in Madison township, where Ira Frantz now lives. This land was then partly cleared, and he cleared the remainder, making it a fine farm and a good home. Henry Frantz was one of the sturdy, reliable pioneers, and reared a most respected family. He died on his home farm in 1840, at the age of sixty-seven years. Daniel Frantz, son of Henry and father of Ananias Frantz, was born February 7, 1813, and was therefore twelve years of age when he ] L22 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD came with his parents to Ohio. Having re- ceived his education and chosen his vocation in life, that of a farmer, he married Salome Rodebaugh, by whom he had the following children: Maria, Katie, Lucinda, and two that died in infancy or youth. The mother of these children having died, Mr. Frantz mar- ried Susannah Arnold, who was born July 24, 1 817, in Perry township, Montgomery county, Ohio, and was a daughter of Hon. John and Barbara (Freedni Arnold, the former of whom was one of the pioneers of that county, in which he entered land. To Mr. and Mrs. Frantz there were born three children, viz: Ananias, Ira and Alice. Daniel Frantz first bought land in Madison township, near the old homestead, afterward bought fifty acres in Randolph township, and in later years pur- chased the old Frantz homestead of 160 acres, making 250 acres of land. In his early days he was a great hunter and fisher, and killed many squirrels and quails, which he disposed of in the Dayton market. He was a sturdy pioneer, and has always borne an honorable reputation. He is still in good health and has an excellent memory, at the great age of eighty-four. Ananias Frantz, son of Daniel, was born April 11, 1855, on his father's farm in Madi- son township. Having received a good edu- cation in the common schools, and entered upon the life of a farmer, he married, on No- vember 16, 1876, in Dayton, Miss Alice Lan- dis, who was born September 16, 1857, in Madison township, near Trotwood, Ohfo. She is a daughter of John M. and Elizabeth (Weaver) Landis. John M. Landis is of Penn- sylvania-Dutch stock and is a son of Abraham and Mary (Miller) Landis. Abraham Landis was born in Pennsylvania, married there and became one of the pioneers of Montgomery county, Ohio. He and his wife reared a large family, as follows: Sallie, Myra, Leah, Nancy, Polly, Lydia, Katie, Su- san, Jacob, Samuel, Daniel, John M., Abra- ham and Michael. He was a successful farmer, lived to the age of seventy-seven years, and was a member of the German Baptist church. John M. Landis was born near Trotwood Jul)' 9, 1832, became a farmer, married Elizabeth Weaver, and is the father of the following children: Alice, Bell, Edward, Charles, Emma and Clarence. Ananias Frantz and wife settled on his father's farm and afterward bought the place, consisting of 190 acres, which he has con- verted into a fine farm and upon which he erected, in 1886, a handsome residence. As a republican, Mr. Frantz has served on the school board eight years. (/\ R. HAYES E. GARDINER, one of I Montgomery county's well known /^^J physicians and surgeons, is a native of Miami county, Ohio, was born March 7, 1866, and is of Scotch-Irish stock. Henry Gardiner, his father, was born June 6, 1827, in county Mayo, Ireland, his parents having been natives of Scotland, and reared to be uncompromising Presbyterians. Henry Gardiner was a landowner and came to America at the age of twenty years, and engaged in farming in the neighborhood of Troy, Miami county, Ohio, about 1851. He married in that city Miss Rebecca J. Sproule, who was born in Troy, September 19, 1826, a daughter of Robert and Margaret (Hayes) Sproule. Robert Sproule was a native of county Ty- rone, Ireland, of Scotch Covenanter descent, and was of a wealthy family of landowners. He came to America when a young man, bought an estate in South Carolina, settled thereon, and there married Miss Margaret Hayes, who was born in county Tyrone, Ire- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1123 land, and came to America in the same vessel with her future husband. Mr. Sproule re- mained for some years on his estate in South Carolina, but, being opposed to the institution of African slavery as it then existed, sought a home in Ohio about the year 1807. Reaching a point opposite Cincinnati on his way hither, he crossed the river, with his chattels, in a ferry-boat, pushed on with his horses and wagons until he reached Miami county, where he entered large tracts of land near Troy, and gave to each of his nine children a farm, reserving 320 acres for his homestead. There he followed farming and also built a rlouring- mill and a saw-mill — the best in the county — and in 18 19 erected a fine brick dwelling, superior, in every respect, to any then in the neighborhood or in the county of Miami. This mansion is still standing, and is in a good state of preservation. Mr. Sproule possessed rare attainments, and voluntarily taught the pioneer schools of his adopted county that were within his reach. To Mr. Sproule and wife were born the fol- lowing named children: Thomas, Samuel, James, Robert, Margaret, Fannie (who died young), Martha, Sallie, Matilda, Elizabeth, Isabel, Rebecca J. and Nancy. Mr. Sproule was a devoted Presbyterian, and assisted to found and erect the edifice for that denomina- tion in his own county; he was also a patriot and took part in the Indian wars, but lived to be an aged man, and died full of honor and respected as a benefactor of his race. After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Gardi- ner settled on a farm of 160 acres at Troy, Ohio, fully improved it, and there Mr. Gardiner still resides. Their children were born in the following order: Robert, who was killed by lightning in 1880, at the age of twenty-three years; William; Samuel, deceased; Hayes E., Nannie and Sallie. Dr. Hayes E. Gardiner was reared on his father's farm near Troy, Ohio, received his education in the common schools and in the Normal university at Ada, Ohio, and afterward attended the Columbus (Ohio) Medical college, from which he graduated, with honors and the class prize, in April, 1889. He also studied medicine under Dr. Linderberger, of Troy, and in the year of his graduation began the pursuit of his profession at Salem, where he soon secured a large and lucrative practice in the town and throughout the surrounding country. Dr. Gardiner is a member of the Miami Medical society, from which he receives many important hints derived from the prac- tice of his brother practitioners, and to which he contributes essays based on his personal experience. The marriage of Dr. Gardiner was con- summated June 4, 1890, in Dresden, Mus- kingum county, Ohio, with Miss Elenor Bell, who was born in Bakersville, Coshocton coun- ty, Ohio, December 16, 1869. She is a daughter of Rev. Thomas H. D. and Mary (Krout) Bell, whose other children were Alba and Frederick — the latter dying at the age of nineteen years. Dr. Gardiner and wife have one child — Claude. In politics the doctor is a republican. Fraternally, he is a member of Randolph lodge, I. O. O. F., in which he has passed all the chairs, and of the K. of P. lodge at Brookville. EENRY A. GARLAUGH, farmer, of Beaver Creek township, Greene coun- ty, Ohio, was born February 7, 1830, in the township in which he now re- sides. He is a son of Henry and Mary (Har- mison) Garlaugh, the former of whom was a native of Washington county, Md., and the latter of Virginia. They were the parents of five children, as follows: Sophia, wifeof Simon Black; Henry A., the subject of this sketch; 11 2-4 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Sarah E. ; Upton H. and Noah C. Upton H. died in August, 1895, aged fifty-two years. Henry Garlaugh, the father, was by occupa- tion a farmer, and came to Ohio in 1828. His father, Adam Garlaugh, entered the land where Henry A. Garlaugh now lives. Henry Garlaugh had been previously married, and had brought his first wife to Ohio, where she died. He then returned to Maryland, lived there sixteen years, married again and came to Ohio for the second time in 1828. His second wife was the mother of the children named above. He continued to live on the farm above mentioned until his death, which occurred February 16, 1858, when he was sev- enty-five years old. Mary Harmison, his sec- ond wife, was born August 2, 1S02, and died May 22, 1S79. Both were members of the German Reformed church. Mr. Garlaugh first came to Ohio about 181 1, and served his country in the war of 181 2. During the rest of his life in this state he was of more than ordinary prominence in the community, and was always highly esteemed for his patriotism and his excellent qualities of citizenship. The paternal grandfather of the subject, Adam Garlaugh, lived in Maryland during the early days of his life, but came to Ohio, fol- lowed the occupation of a farmer here, and died in Greene county, both he and his wife, Christina, being buried in the Beaver Creek cemetery. The maternal grandfather of the subject, William Harmison, was a native of Berkeley county , Va. , as also was his wife, Ruth. Henry A. Garlaugh has lived all his life on his present farm, which was his grandfather's before him. He received his education in the district schools. After his father's death the farm was left to his mother, and he and his brother, Upton, worked for her until her death. Then he and Upton bought the interests of the other heirs, and in 1893 Henry A. bought his brother Upton's interest, thus coming into possession and ownership of the entire farm, which contains 160 acres of land. It is well improved, with a commodious residence, and gives evidence of the careful husbandry of its owner. Mr. Garlaugh was married January 15, 1874, to Miss Martha Brown, daughter of Sam- uel and Elizabeth (Lindamond) Brown. To this marriage there have been born three chil - dred, Daisy Belle, Mary Allen and Frank El- wood. Mrs. Garlaugh is a member of the Lutheran church. Mr. Garlaugh is a repub- lican, and interested in the questions of the day. He has lived sixty-five years on his pres- ent farm, and has witnessed the great develop- ment of the Miami Valley, and especially of the city of Dayton. At one time when he was a young man he brought a load of lumber into Dayton, and his wagon passed over the ground on which the court house now stands. The county of Greene, in which he lives, has also made rapid strides in growth and prosperity, during his life time. Mr. Garlaugh is a repre- sentative farmer, and a good citizen. The success with which he has met is due to his own effort and thought, and in the truest sense of the word he is one of the self-made men of his county. HUSTIN GEBHART, a well-known agriculturist of Jefferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Miami township, July 13, 1829, and is an ex-soldier of the late Civil war. John George Gebhart, his paternal grand- father, was a native of Berks county, Pa., came to Ohio in 1804, and settled in Miami township, this county, where he cleared an excellent farm, on which he passed the re- mainder of his days. His wife, who was born Catherine Smith, bore him ten children, name- ly: Henry, who was born in Berks county, Pa.. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1125 in 1799; Mary M., who was married to John Shupert; Catherine, wife of Daniel Shelley; Susan, who married Peter Waldsmith; Eliza- beth and Maria, twins, the former of whom was married to Henry Pressler, and the latter to John Stettler; Peter, Margaret, George and Saloma — the last named married to Daniel Miller. Jacob Yount, the maternal grandfather of Austin Gebhart, was a native of North Caroli- na, and came to Ohio in 1802, cleared up a farm in German township, Montgomery coun- ty, and there died, a highly honored pioneer. His wife, whom he married in his native state, bore the maiden name of Foutz. Henry Gebhart, father of Austin, was reared in Miami township from the age of nine years. He married Miss Sally Yount, daugh- ter of Jacob Yount, named above, and this union resulted in the birth of fourteen children, of whom six grew to maturity, viz: Jacob, now deceased; Zebulon; Mary, deceased wife of William Gebhart; Austin, our subject; Mi- nerva, now Mrs. William Loy, and Peter Y. The father of this family was a lifelong and prosperous farmer, was a man of mark in his community, and for eighteen consecutive years was trustee of Miami township, bearing the soubriquet of Trustee Henry. Austin Gebhart was reared in Miami town- ship, where he followed his vocation as a farm- er until 1869, when he came to Jefferson town- ship, where he has been engaged in farming ever since, and on the farm on which he now resides since 1876. He has been twice mar- ried, his first wife being Sarah Ann Shade, and the second, Barbara Billman. During the late Civil war Mr. Gebhart was a member of company E, First Ohio volunteer infantry, and participated in the battles of Pittsburg Landing, Stone River and Chicka- mauga, and was with Sherman until his three- year term of enlistment expired at Atlanta, 49 Ga. He was placed on the roll of honor for gallantry displayed at Stone River, and on his return to Ohio on a furlough, in March, 1864, he was elected over three other candidates to bring with him the sum of $7,000, which the members of the regiment sent home to their families. On the 10th of August, 1864, Mr. Gebhart was honorably discharged from the service at Dayton, Ohio. He is a member of the United Brethren church, in politics is a republican, and holds a high position in the esteem of his neighbors. @EORGE GETTER, deceased farmer of Jefferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., February 3, 1805, a son of John and Mary (Lambert) Getter, and in 18 19, when in his fifteenth year, was brought to this county by his parents, and here grew to manhood. March 14, 1828, he married Miss Mary Wertz, who was born in 1808, a daugh- ter of Daniel and Sarah (Weymer) Wertz, of Jefferson township, and at once purchased the farm on whiqh his widow still resides. This farm he cleared and improved, and here fol- lowed the peaceful pursuit of agriculture until his final illness, which resulted in his death July 5, 1875. The union of George and Mary Getter was blessed with thirteen children, born in the order here given: John, Daniel (de- ceased), George (deceased), William, Sarah A. (Mrs. Thomas Askins, deceased), Jacob, Jo- seph, Peter (deceased), Mary E. (wife of Eli Shade), Samuel, Perry P. (deceased), Henry and Albert T. In his politics George Getter was a democrat, and for fourteen years served as township treasurer, and for several years as infirmary director; he reared his family in the faith of the Lutheran church, and in this faith he himself expired, an upright and greatly re- spected citizen. L126 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Albert T. Getter, son of George aud Mary Getter, mentioned above as their youngest child, was born on the Getter homestead in Jefferson township April 7, 1855, and this has always been his home, his vocation being that of a farmer. November 15, 1877, he married Miss Susan Treon, daughter of Michael and Sarah (Gebhart) Treon, and this marriage has resulted in the birth of ten children, of whom eight are still living, viz: Harvey, Alice, May, George, Ray, Grace, Walter and Goldie. Treading in the footsteps of his honored father, Mr. Getter is a democrat in his politics and has served four years as township trustee; he is fraternally a member of the I. O. O. F., and in religion is a consistent Lutheran. He is a skillful and industrious farmer, a useful citizen, and holds a secure position in the esteem of his neighbors. HBRAHAM HARTZELL, who was one of the best known farmers of Jeffer- son township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was a native of the county and was born January 26, 1836, a son of John and Susannah (Heck) Hartzell, natives, respect- ively, of Pennsylvania and Virginia. The paternal grandfather, Adam Hartzell, was a native of Berks county, Pa., was a farmer, and one of the pioneers of Jefferson township; while the maternal grandfather, Abraham Heck, born in Virginia, was a pioneer shoemaker of Jackson township, Montgomery county, Ohio. John Hartzell was a young man when he settled in Jefferson township, where he con- tinued farming until his death, which occurred when he was seventy-five years of age. He was the father of the unusually large family of seventeen children, of whom sixteen reached mature years, and were named, in order of birth, as follows: Jacob, Joseph, Eliza, Lavina, Allen, Clinton, John, David, Sarah, Abraham, Lewis, Leonard, Susannah, George, Polly and Elizabeth. Of these, Sarah was married to Samuel Douglass, Susannah is the wife of Charles Hunter, and Elizabeth is now Mrs. Jacob Sharritts; those who died after reaching maturity were Jacob, Joseph, Lavina, Allen, Clinton and Abraham. Abraham Hartzell, the tenth born of this family, was reared and educated in his native township of Jefferson, always followed farming as an occupation, and died, September 29, 1896, on the farm he had occupied since 1878. He belonged to the Reformed church, of which his widow is still a member. He was thor- oughly skilled in his calling, and his place presented every evidence of thrift and pros- perity. Mr. Hartzell was twice married — his first wife having been Catherine Beckinbaugh, and his second wife Emeline Beckinbaugh. In his politics Mr. Hartzell was a democrat. The family, being one of the oldest in Mont- gomery county, is held in universal esteem. £~>f AMUEL HAMMEL, an old settler of »^^^k* Montgomery county, Ohio, and an h^^J honored citizen of Clay township, is of sterling Irish ancestry and was born in Dauphin county, Pa., November 21, 1814, a son of William and Susan (Kelley) Hammel. William Hammel came from Ireland to America at the age of eighteen years, settled first in Baltimore, Md., and took an active part in the war of 181 2. He married Susan Kelley in Dauphin county, Pa., whither he had removed after the war, and where he worked at his trade of mason. This marriage resulted in the birth of nine children, viz: Isa- bel, Samuel, William, Prudence, Henry, James N., Joseph W., Eliza and Andrew J., the majority of whom were born in Ohio, as OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1127 the father brought his wife and his Pennsylva- nia-born children t'o Montgomery county, this state, in i S 1 8, and settled in Salem. Here he worked at his trade until his removal to Madison township, about 1828, when he made his home near Air Hill until 1832. He then removed to Darke county and bought a farm of 160 acres near Greenville, where he passed the remainder of his days, dying at the age of sixty-five years in the faith of the Presbyterian church, in which faith, also, his widow died at the age of seventy-four years. In politics Mr. Hammel was a Jacksonian democrat. He enjoyed the fullest esteem of his fellow-men, and his wife was equally well known for her strength of character and her many womanly qualities. Samuel Hammel was a lad of but four years when brought to Ohio by his parents. He received as good an education as the pioneer schools of his early youth afforded and was reared to the pursuit of farming, although his en- trance upon this career did not at first promise great results, inasmuch as he worked from his eighteenth to his twenty-first year for the com- pensation of $100 per year and clothed him- self. But he was industrious and economical and was prepared to take unto himself a wife when he had reached his majority, his choice of a helpmate being Miss Catherine Wright, whom he married near Brookville, Ohio, De- cember 3, 1835. This lady was born October 15, 181 5, in Dauphin county. Pa., and was a daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Wright. Robert Wright, the father of Mrs. Ham- mel, was born in Ireland, but came to America when a young man, settled in Pennsylvania and there married a lady of German descent. They came to Montgomery county, Ohio, about the year 1827, and settled on 100 acres near Brookville, where they lived until Mr. Wright's accidental death on the railroad near Brookville. He and wife were the parents of five children, named George, Robert, Mary, Catherine and Alexander, and were faithful members of the Presbyterian church. Samuel Hammel, when married, had not suf- ficient means with which to buy a farm, but with his willing wife began his wedded life in a log cabin, with a puncheon floor and the usual rude finishings, situated on a farm owned by his uncles, Samuel and John Kelley, and there farmed for three years or more. He was a man of great industry and of rigid economy, through which he accumulated the means to purchase his present farm in 1844, and on which he settled in 1847. He continued to work for other persons in order to earn money with which to stock and improve his home place, to which he has constantly added until he now owns a handsome farm of 249 acres, which will vie in fertility and productiveness with any other in the township. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hammel were born seven children, viz: Joseph, who died at the age of ten years; Robert, Will- iam H., John K., Abraham F. ; Catherine, who died in infancy; and Leah I. The mother of the children died in November, 1892, in her seventy-eighth year, a devout member of the United Brethren church, respected by all who knew her and honored for her devotion as a wife and mother. Mr. Hammel has also been a member of the United Brethren church for many years. In politics he was an old-line whig and voted for William Henry Harrison for the presidency of the United States; later he be- came a republican, on the formation of that party, and voted for its first candidate for the presidency — John C. Fremont. Mr. Hammel has served fifteen years as township trustee, and has always been an advocate of a liberal public and free education to the youth of the land, having served as school director for over thirty years. He is more than a fair example of what is usually called a self-made man, and 1128 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD his life has been one that might be profitably emulated by the young of the present genera- tion. He has lived to see his descendants in- crease and multiply, and is now the grand- father of seventeen, and great-grandfather of six children. ^/\ AVID L. HECK, one of the venera- ■ ble citizens of Madison township, J^^S Montgomery county, Ohio, springs from German ancestors, who, on coming over from Germany, settled in Virginia. David Heck, his grandfather, was a farmer in Virginia and there married Christina Lane, by whom he had the following children: Dan- iel, Christina, Elizabeth, Jacob, David and two others. The mother of these children having died, he married again, the name of his second wife being not now recalled, but by whom he had a large family. David Heck, father of David L. , was born in 1783 in Maryland, where his father lived at one time. He married, in Virginia, Magda- lena Spitler, daughter of Jacob Spitler, fuller reference to whom is made in the history of the Spitler family, elsewhere in this volume. To Mr. and Mrs. Heck there were born the following children: Samuel M., John D., David L., Annie, Elizabeth, Susannah, Polly A., and Andrew B., the last named of whom died at the age of six years. David Heck came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 181 8, settling in Madison township on December 29, of that year. David L. now lives on a part of the farm then taken up. David Heck received eighty acres from his wife's father, Jacob Spit- ler, who had purchased a quarter section in this county, but who himself never came here. David Heck had come to this county in 181 1, then, going back to Virginia, married there, and, bringing his wife with him to Ohio, he erected a cabin and cleared a small part of his land. He again returned to Virginia after re- maining here two months, and was engaged in the war of 1812. After the war was over he lived with his wife's father until 181 8, when he again came to Montgomery county to re- main. Upon arriving in Dayton he was offered the lot upon which the Phillips House now stands, in exchange for the leader of his four- horse team, which offer he refused, because the land there was so wet. By industry and hard labor he prospered and entered a half section of land in Tipton county, Ind., he and six others in 1837 going on horseback from Montgomery count}' to Indiana, where they all entered land. The price paid by Mr. Heck for his land was $400 for 320 acres. Mr. Heck was a member of the Regular or Hard Shell Baptist church, but in his old age became a member of the German Baptist church. Politically he remained a Jackson democrat, and was always strong in the faith, as he was in all his opinions, religious or po- litical. He was for a time a director of the Dayton turnpike company, of which he was a stockholder. He also served for a number of years as treasurer of the company. He served as justice of the peace one term, and was looked upon by all as a straightforward, hon- orable man. David L. Heck was born March 4, 1S16, in Botetourt county, Va. , and was therefore only two years old when brought to Montgom- ery county by his parents. Reared among the early pioneers he became a typical pioneer himself, thoroughly familiar with their cus- toms, habits and virtues. Though his educa- tional facilities and opportunities were exceed- ingly limited when he was young, yet, possess- ing an active mind, he read and studied much privately, and became a thoroughly well-in- formed man. He fully appreciated the value of a cultivated, disciplined mind, and now has a good education. In his youth he learned OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1129 the carpenter trade. On May 23, 1842, he married, in Perry township, Susannah Shank, who was born on December 25, 18 19, and was a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Noffsinger) Shank, for fuller reference to whom the reader is referred to the biographical sketch of Henry Shank, published elsewhere in this volume. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Heck remained on the homestead farm for six years, during which time he worked at his trade. He then bought forty acres of land adjoining his father's farm, where he now lives. Through steady work and industrious application he cleared his farm, made it a good home for his family, and has added to it. To Mr. and Mrs. Heck there were born the following children: Harriet, who died at the age of seven years; David F., Eliza- beth, Samuel, Eliza A., John W., Warren, Harry and Clement L. Mrs. Heck died in her seventy-fourth year, a member of the United Brethren church and a woman of many vir- tues. Politically Mr. Heck is a democrat, and as such has served as justice of the peace one term and as county infirmary director one term. Thoroughout his life he has been well known as a man of straightforward honesty of character and of strict adherence to principle. His judgment is universally respected, and for this reason he has been selected to serve the people of his county in various capacities. @EORGE C. HENKEL, M. D., of Farmersville, Ohio, is the oldest and most prominent physician in this town and vicinity, where he has practiced for the past thirty-five years. He descends from a very ancient family of Saxony, Germany, of noble caste. Rev. Mulenborg, the first Lutheran minister in America, was sent here by Count Henkel, one of Dr. Henkel's ancestors, and the great-great-grandfather of Dr. Henkel was born in North Carolina in colonial times. The children born to the latter ancestor were Johan, Gertrude and Paul, of whom the last named was the great-grand- father of George C. Henkel. Rev. Paul Henkel, grandfather of the doctor, was a Lutheran minister, born in North Carolina, but who removed to Virginia, and Rev. Andrew Henkel, the father, also became a resident of Virginia, making his resi- dence in New Market, Shenandoah county, but when a young man came to Ohio and set- tled in Perry county. There he married Miss Margaret Trout, a native of Washington coun- ty, Pa., and a daughter of George and Eliza- beth (Zeigler) Trout, to which union were born Hiram, Melancthon, Julia A., Paul,' Mary, Margaret, Sabina, George C. , William and Edward. In 18 19 Andrew Henkel settled in Germantown, Ohio, preached to the pioneers, and died in 1873 at the advanced age of eighty years. He was a democrat in politics, was worshipful master in the Germantown lodge of Freemasons and noble grand in his lodge of Odd Fellows. His son, Edward, served three years in the Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry, was captured by the enemy at the battle of Perry ville, Ky., but was paroled and served out his term. Dr. George C. Henkel was born in Ger- mantown, Montgomery county, Ohio, July 2, 1835, and was educated primarily in the dis- trict schools, supplementing this by a thorough training at Oxford university, Butler county, Ohio. He then read medicine under Dr. John H. Helm, of Eaton, Ohio, and later attended medical lectures at the Ohio Medical college, of Cincinnati, and, having secured his diploma, began the practice of medicine in Salem, Montgomery county, Ohio, in i860. He re- mained there for only about four months, and then removed to Farmersville, where his abil- ities were at once recognized and where he has 1130 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD held a lucrative and successful practice, since his first location here in 1861. The marriage of Dr. Henkel took place, in 1 86 1, to Miss Catherine Martin, who was born in 1S36 in Berks county, Pa., a daughter of John and Eliza (Brown) Martin, the result of this union being four children, named, in order of birth, Vernon A., Naomi, Ruth and Orpha. The doctor and his wife are members of the Progressive Brethren church, in which the doctor is a deacon. He is, beside, a member of Friendship lodge, No. 21, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Germantown. v/^V ANIEL HOOPS, one of the oldest I and most respected farmers of Jack- /^^_J son township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born here on his father's farm, August 24, 18 17, and descends from Scotch ancestors who settled in America be- fore the war of the Revolution, his great- grandfather, a blacksmith, having been the first of the family to come to this country. He settled in Chester county, Pa., near Phila- delphia, where he followed his trade and also engaged in farming; but he sold his farm dur- ing the Revolutionary war, receiving in pay- ment continental money, which proved to be worthless, and he was therefore obliged to return to his trade of blacksmithing. He died in Chester county, aged eighty years. Eben Hoops, grandfather of Daniel, died in Chester county, Pa. Among his children was a son who was also named Eben, who be- came the father of Daniel, the subject of this memoir. The younger Eben was born in Chester county, Pa., was a tailor by trade, and was married in Virginia to Kate Kinsor, who bore him seven children: Michael, John, fane, Isaiah, Christine, Polly, and one whose name cannot be remembered. In 1808 Eben Hoops came to Ohio, and bought 100 acres of land in Jefferson township, Montgomery coun- ty. He followed his trade of tailor, and the pioneers came from Dayton and the country roundabout, bringing homemade cloth, which he made into clothing. He always kept on hand, also, a large stock of cloth, and was kept constantly busy. He prospered, and bought sixty additional 'acres of land, and eventually became one of the most substantial farmers of the township. He was a democrat in politics, served as township trustee for years, and was well known throughout the county. On the death of his first wife, he married Miss Sus- annah Sheets, who was born in Rockingham county, Va. , about 1799, and this union re- sulted in the birth of Daniel, whose name opens this sketch, Sarah, Lewis, Henry, Mi- nerva, Eliza and Solomon. Eben Hoops died on his farm at the age of eighty-four years, leaving an untarnished name and the memory of a useful life. Daniel Sheets, father of Mrs. Susannah Hoops, came from Kentucky to Montgomery county, Ohio, having been a pioneer of that as well as of this state. He passed the re- mainder of his life in Jackson township, and here, also, his wife died at the age of ninety years. They were the parents of Hannah, Nancy, Polly, Susannah and Solomon Sheets. Daniel Hoops was reared among the pio- neers of Jackson township, and received his education in the log school-house of the fron- tier, which he attended during the winters until he was twenty years of age. He learned the shoemaker's trade, became very expert, being able to make nine shoes in a day, and success- fully followed the trade thirty-five years. He was industrious and economical, and earned with his last the money with which he bought his present farm. May 26, 1840, he married Miss Mary A. Delawter, who was born in Farmersville, Ohio, May 22, 1822, a daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Brown) Delawter. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1131 Jacob Delawter was a native of Maryland, of German descent, came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1821, bought 180 acres in the woods and converted it into a fine farm. His children were named Alpheus, Ezra, Rebecca, Mary A., Catherine, David, Sarah A., Jacob, Jonas, Lewis and Elizabeth. Mr. Delawter was for a long time crier at public auctions, was full of wit, and was known throughout the county as Uncle Jake. He died at the age of eighty-three years, a member and trustee of the Lutheran church. Daniel Hoops and wife after marriage set- tled on Twin creek, where Mr. Hoops con- tinued to work at his trade. He first bought eight acres in Jackson township, on which he lived four years, then bought twelve acres more, on which he lived eleven years, then moved to Preble county, where he remained for eleven years longer, and finally returned to Jackson township and settled on his present farm of 103^ acres. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Hoops was blessed with the following children: Sarah, Susan, Jacob and Rebecca. Mrs. Hoops died on the farm May 15, 1893, a devout member of the German Reformed church, and a woman who honored the names of helpmate and mother. In politics Mr. Hoops is a democrat and served as trustee of his township for five years, as constable three years, and also for many years as member of the school board. He has been a member of the grange ever since its organization, and is a man of sterling worth. -j , OSEPH IZOR, of Farmersville, a sub- £ stantial farmer of Jackson township, /» I Montgomery county, Ohio, springs from Irish and German ancestry, old settlers in Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Philip Izor, moved with his family in pioneer days to Preble county, Ohio, settling near Urich's Mills, where he lived for some time. His wife, Mary Ridgeley, bore him six children, viz: John Henry, Philip, Joshua, Alexander, David and Elizabeth. Philip Izor, the father of these children, died in Winchester, Ohio. David Izor, father of Joseph, was born in Pennsylvania, came with his father to Ohio, and married Rosanna Ault, who was a daugh- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1135 ter of John and Annie Auk, and born in Montgomery county. Mr. Izor was a farmer by occupation, and his children were Joseph, Joshua, and Sarah A. Mr. Izor died in 1833, when he was about twenty-eight years of age. Joseph Izor was born November 1, 1828, in Preble county, Ohio, and was therefore about six years of age when his father died. He was bound out by his father until he should be eighteen years of age, to Henry Bear, of Montgomery •county, a farmer. Young Joseph remained with Mr. Bear during the period for which he was bound, receiving in the mean- time a good education. He continued with Mr. Bear afterward until he was twenty-six years of age, and on December 21, 1854, married Matilda Oldfather, who was born in Montgomery county, November 24, 1834, and was a daughter of Samuel and Rebecca (Pense) Oldfather. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Izor rented a farm of Mr. Bear, on which they lived until 1 87 1, in which year they removed to their present farm. This farm Mr. Izor has much improved and made a good home. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Izor are as follows: William O., Charles E., Clayton A., Ira F., Samuel, Daniel W., Jesse I., two that died in infancy, Sarah A. and Laura E. Mrs. Izor died December 26, 1896, a member of the German Reformed church, of which Mr. Izor has for years been a trustee. Politically, he is a prohibitionist, though formerly a democrat. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Izor married as follows: William O. married Jane Apple, has four children, and is a farmer of Jackson township; Charles E. married Maggie Guntle, has four children, and is a farmer of Clay township; Clayton A. married Anne Albaugh, has three children, and is a farmer of Jackson township; Ira E. married Ida M. Stiver, has one child, and is a farmer upon the home place; Samuel married Catherine Stiver, has one child, and is a farmer of Jackson township; Sarah A. married Moses Mingle, a farmer of Jackson township; Laura E. married Frank Bower, now deceased, and has one child. Samuel Oldfather, the father of Mrs. Izor, was a farmer of German township, owning there 100 acres of land, his father, Henry, having been one of the original pioneers. Samuel Oldfather's children were named as follows: Sarah A., Matilda, Mary J., William, Henry, Susannah, Elizabeth, Simon P., Thomas J. and Daniel W. Mr. Oldfather was a member of the German Reformed church, and was a trustee of his church. He lived to be seventy-two years of age, dying on his farm. ^r* EWIS W. JOHNS (deceased), for- j merly a resident of Montgomery ^^X county, Ohio, and a soldier during the late Civil war, was born Novem- ber 15, 1845. He came of an excellent family and was himself the head of a much respected family of children. He was of Pennsylvania- Dutch stock, and a straightforward, honor- able man in all his dealings. Lewis W. Johns received the customary common-school education of the days of his youth, and was reared a farmer. He enlisted January 25, 1864, at Dayton, Ohio, as a member of Capt. Charles H. Harrison's com- pany H, Sixty-third Ohio volunteer infantry, for three years or during the war, and was honorably discharged July 8, 1865, at Louis- ville, Ky. He participated in the famous At- lanta campaign and was in the battles of Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Goldsborough, Peach Orchard, Big Shanty, Marietta, Deca- tur, East Point and Atlanta, and was also in many skirmishes. Thus it will be seen that he took part in the hardest-fought battles of the Atlanta campaign, one of the most re- markable in history. He was also one of those 113f. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD that went with Sherman to the sea. Endur- ing all the hardships of a soldier's life, and performing all his duties in the most faithful spirit, he is well deserving of a niche in the history of his country, along with other heroes of the great struggle for the preservation of the Union. He was more fortunate than many others, not being in the hospital nor wounded while in the service, though he participated in all the battles and skirmishes in which his regiment was engaged. After the war Mr. Johns returned to Mont- gomery county, and resumed farming on his father's homestead. On December 3, 186S, he married Barbara E. Spitler, of Clay town- ship, who was born in 1850, at Arlington, Ohio, on her father's farm. She is a daugh- ter of Joseph and Barbara (Limperd) Spitler, the former of whom was a substantial farmer of Clay township, and was a son of John Spit- ler, one of the pioneers of Clay township. Joseph Spitler and wife were the parents of ten children, as follows: Ephraim, John H, Hannah H., Martha J., Mary E., Ezra M., Sarah C, Barbara E., Susannah M. and Luella B. Joseph Spitler lived to be seventy-eight years old, and died September 16, 1888. Po- litically, he was a republican, and he was a member of the United Brethren church. He was one of the patriotic citizens of the country at the time of the war, and had two sons in the 100-day service, John H. and Ezra M. Mr. and Mrs. Johns settled on their present homestead of fifty-two acres, which he ma- terially improved. He and his wife were members of the United Brethren church, he taking an active interest in all kinds of relig- ious work, and holding all the offices of his church at different times. He was class leader twelve years, and was trustee and also super- intendent of the Sunday-school. Politically, he was a republican and later a prohibitionist. He was a man of unblemished character and highly esteemed for his sterling integrity and worth. His children are as follows: Carson, Parker, Lester, Edna, Ada and Maud. His death occurred January 4, 1893, to the regret of all that knew him. He was a great sufferer from the effects of his army service, which doubtless did much to hasten his death. John John, his father, who wrote the fam- ily name without the final "s," was a pioneer settler of Clay township, coming from Penn- sylvania, and being a successful farmer. He reared a family of ten children, and lived to be seventy-nine years old. £~V" EBASTIAN B. KEENER, one of the •^^k* substantial farmers of Jefferson town- h>t-»ACOB KNECHT, farmer and fruit a grower, of Harrison township, living /• 1 just north of the city of Dayton, was born in Bavaria, Germany, December 23, 1835. He is a son of Jacob and Susanna (Goelder)Knecht, both of whom were natives of Germany and died in that country. They were the parents of five children, as follows: Jacob; Elizabeth, deceased; Christian; Charles and Michael. The four sons came to the United States. Michael served in the Union army during the late Civil war, as a member of the Fourth Ohio cavalry. He was shot and killed at Stone river while doing guard duty. Charles was a soldier in the war, from the be- ginning to the close, and was slightly wound- ed. Christian was also a Union soldier, but on account of sickness was discharged in 1862. Jacob and Christian now live side by side, and Charles lives in Madison township. Jacob Knecht, their father, was a farmer in Ger- many, and died there in 1852, aged tbirty- nine. His wife died in 1849. Both were members of the Lutheran church. The pa- ternal grandfather, Christoph Knecht, was also a farmer, reared a family of one son and five daughters, and died at an advanced age. The maternal grandfather, John Jacob Goeld- er, was also a farmer, was mayor of the town of Talfroeshn for thirty-two years, reared a large family and died at seventy years of age. Jacob Knecht, the subject of this sketch, was reared and educated in Germany. He was brought up on the farm, and remained at home until after the death of his parents, and then, in 1853, came to the United States, be- ing at the time eighteen years of age. Land- ing in New York he went thence to Philadel- phia, where he visited relatives for a short time, and came thence direct to Dayton. Here he lived for a time with his uncle, Chris- tian Miller, who had sent him the money with which to pay his passage to this country. Mr. Miller lived on the Stoddard farm as a tenant, and Jacob lived with him seven months. He then went to work for George A. Mumma, and remained in his employ five years, engaged in the nursery and on the farm. January 15, 1857, he was married to Miss Magdalena Simons, daughter of Jacob and Anna (Pol- larst) Simons. To this marriage there were born eight children, five sons and three daugh- ters, as follows: George, Christian, John Jacob, Charles M., Jacob J., Elizabeth, Katie and Julia. George, Christian, Julia and Jacob J. are dead. John Jacob married Theresa Handwerger. Charles M. married Elizabeth Zeisert, by whom he has had two children, one of whom is dead; the other, Carrie, is still liv- ing. Mrs. Chas. W. Knecht died in February, 1 89 1. Elizabeth married Frank Martindale, and has two children, Mamie and George. Katie is living at home. Mrs. Magdalena Knecht, the mother of the above-named eight children, died in 1888, at the age of fifty-three years. She was a most exemplary woman, and a member of the Lu- theran church. Mr. Knecht married June 21, [891, for his second wife. Miss Anna Rausch, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Koch) Rausch, of Mischelstadt, Germany, both of whom are deceased. To this second marriage there has been born one child, Susanna. Mr. and Mrs. Knecht are members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Knecht is an Odd Fellow and a United Workman, and politically is a democrat. After his first marriage Mr. Knecht for a OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1143 time carried on farming on shares with Mr. Mumma. He then rented a large farm, which he afterward purchased. At that time it con- tained ninety-six acres, and to this he has added until the tract now includes 155 acres of land. After remaining on his ninety-six- acre farm one year he removed to the Stod- dard farm, in i860, and remained there three years. In the spring of 1863 he sold most of his implements and stock and rented a smaller farm, upon which he lived two years, after which he entered upon gardening and tobacco raising. In 1865 he purchased the property where he now lives, comprising eight acres, and in 1872 he erected his present residence. On this small place Mr. Knecht raises fruits and berries. His farm of 155 acres he farms as well, his son Charles residing upon it and having charge of the farm operations. Mr. Knecht has by his industry and energy accumu- lated quite a handsome estate, showing what can be done by a determined and persistently industrious man. v y ■ * ENRY KLEPINGER is a son of one wT ~\ of the pioneers of Montgomery coun- JL.r ty, ar| d a successful farmer of Madi- son township. His father, George Klepinger, was born in 1800, in Westmoreland county, Pa., and came of Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry. The father of George Klepinger came from Pennsylvania to Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, in 1 S 1 5 , settling on a farm, which he cleared and improved, and upon which he lived for some time, when he removed to In- diana with his family, his children at that time being John, George and Mary. The Mont- gomery county farm was in Madison township, and not long after leaving this farm for Indi- ana, the father of these children, whose name was Henry, died. His entire family consisted of the following children: Jacob, Henrv. David, Samuel, John, Isaac, George, Mary and one that died unnamed. George Klepinger was but fifteen years of age when he came with his father from Penn- sylvania to Montgomery county, Ohio, and upon reaching his maturity he married Maria Loutzenhizer, settling on a farm in Randolph township. Upon this farm he remained until 1840, when he removed to the farm on which Henry Klepinger now lives, which farm con- tains 172 acres of excellent land. Mr. and Mrs. Klepinger reared the following children: Susan, Henry, John, William, Aaron and Maria, and had several that died while yet young. Politically Mr. Klepinger was an old- line whig, and in religious belief a German Baptist. While on a visit to Westmoreland county, Pa., he died, in 1858. Henry Klepinger, the subject of this sketch, was born August 11, 1S32, in Randolph town- ship, and was thus eight years old when he came with his father to the present homestead, upon which he has lived ever since except for a short time when he was a young man. Early in life he learned the carpenter trade in Dayton, and remained there about four years, working at his trade, however, in all about eight years. On October 22, 1S57, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Miller, who was born in Harrison township, November 6, 1836, and is a daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Bowser) Miller, the former of whom was the son of Daniel Miller, the well-known pioneer of Wolf creek. Daniel Miller was born in Pennsylvania, May 5, 1776. His old family Bible, printed in Germany, is still in existence, and according to its title page was published MDCCLXXYIII. It is bound in wooden cov- ers, with leather back and brass clasps, and contains the family record. It was valued highly by grandmother Miller, who was a na- tive of Pennsylvania and whose maiden name was Bowman. 1144 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Daniel Miller and his family were the first settlers on Wolf creek, cutting their way through the woods to their place of settlement. At that time Dayton had but a few log houses and only one house with a shingle roof. Daniel Miller took up government land and became a very prosperous man, because of his industry and excellent management. When he started in life he was very poor, so much so that his wife worked with him in the field. She also made her own bedclothing of flax. From such humble beginnings did Daniel Miller and his most excellent wife acquire all their property, and become possessed of a large body of land. Mrs. Miller was born in Pennsylvania January 1 8, 1769, and she and her husband were mar- ried May 25, 1790. Benjamin Miller, the father of Mrs. Klep- inger, was born in Pennsylvania, March 20, 1 79 1, and came with his father, Daniel, to Ohio, locating in Montgomery county, as above narrated. He was at the time between twelve and thirteen years of age. The date of his birth is given from the records in the old family Bible above described, but the date of removal to Ohio is a matter of tradition. Benjamin Miller married Elizabeth Bowser, and they settled on the farm on which David Miller now lives, Mr. Miller clearing up the land from the woods. They at first had 160 acres, Mr. Miller, however, buying more land as he became able to do so, and so successful was he in the management of his affairs that at the time of his death he had property of large value. In his religious views he was a German Baptist, and was in every respect an excellent man and citizen. He and his wife reared the following children: Susan, George, Daniel, Margaret, Benjamin, David and Eliza- beth. His death occurred October 4, 1855, when he was sixty-four years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Klepinger, after their mar- riage, lived four years on the Benjamin Miller farm, and in 1861 removed to the Klepinger homestead, upon which they still live. This farm Mr. Klepinger has developed in every way, increasing its fertility and greatly im- proving the buildings upon it. The first brick house in Madison township was erected on this farm by Adam Rodabaugh, one of the original pioneers of Montgomery county. To Mr. and Mrs. Klepinger were born the following chil- dren: David, Alfred, Ellsworth H., Charles, Llewellyn, Edwin and Howard. The parents of these children are members of the German Baptist church, and Mr. Klepinger has been a deacon for thirty years. Politically he is a * republican, and is a worthy and honorable citizen. His son Alfred, who was for some years a school-teacher in Montgomery county, married Olive Miller. David married twice, first Laura Wampler, by whom he had one child, and for his second wife he married Ida Stowcher, by whom he has no children. Ells- worth H. married Lizzie Denlinger. Charles married Mary Anderson, lives in Dayton and has one child, and is a member of the Dayton Leather Collar company. Mr. Klepinger has 228 acres of land and also own a considerable portion of the stock of the Dayton Leather Collar company, two of his sons also being members of this company. ^/\ AVID LANDIS, retired farmer, re- I siding at Salem, Montgomery county, /^^_J Ohio, is a native of Lancaster coun- ty, Pa., was born March 18, 1S16, and is a son of David and Annie (Springer) Landis, of German descent. David Landis, the father, was also a native of Lancaster county, Pa., born April 10, 1780, and was a farmer, carpenter and wind-mill maker. He married Miss Annie Springer, who was born July 25, 1781, a daughter of Peter Springer, the marriage resulting in the birth of OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1145 six children, who were named John, Martha, Catherine, Annie, David and Elizabeth. In 1837 Mr. Landis brought his family to Ohio, making the journey with a team of four horses and a large covered wagon or wain, and con- suming twenty-three days' time on the route. The party comprised four families, the other three being those of John Landis, son of David ; George Utsley, son-in-law of David, and Abra- ham Stoner, another son-in-law of David. This party reached Montgomery county and all set- tled near Salem, May 3, of the same year. Here David Landis bought four tracts of land, comprising, respectively, forty, sixty, seventy- eight and 100 acres, and bought and entered, beside, 500 or 600 acres in Darke county, Ohio. He settled on the 100-acre tract, which he subsequently cleared, improved and occupied until his retirement from active labor, when he located on a few acres near Salem, lived to his ninety-first year, and died July 17, 1870. Mr. Landis was a preacher in the pio- neer Brethren church, was very active in the cause of religion, and his house was always the home of the preacher who visited his neighborhood in the early days. He was strictly upright, and his death was deeply mourned by the whole community, who held him in the highest esteem. Mrs. Annie (Springer) Landis died November 17, 1841. David Landis, the subject of this memoir, was reared on the home farm until fourteen years of age, when he began working in his father's carpenter shop, and at the age of twenty-one years drove the four-horse team from Pennsylvania to Ohio, as narrated above. After reaching Ohio, he assisted on his father's farm until 1839, but was married October 25, 1838, to Miss Rachel Wellbourn, who was born December 20, 1820, in Brookville, Perry township, Montgomery county, a daughter of Christian and Sarah (Frouty) Wellbourn. Mr. and Mrs. Landis soon began housekeeping on the farm which David Landis, the elder, had settled in Randolph township, and here made their home for fifty-three years, prospering through unceasing industry and a wise econ- omy, united with a practical knowledge of agriculture. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Landis have been born ten children, in the order here given: John, Jacob H., Sarah A., Josiah (deceased), William (deceased), Lu- cinda (deceased), Catherine (deceased), Theo- dore, Harvey A. and Dora E. The parents are consistent members of the Dunkard church, and in politics Mr. Landis was formerly a whig, but since the formation of the republican party has affiliated with the latter. His living children are of the same religious faith with himself, and it may be added that his sons agreed with him in his political affiliations. Two of them, Josiah and Jacob, served in the 100-day enlistment in the late Civil war. Mr. Landis has shared liberally, from his hard- earned accumulations, with his children, and is now enjoying in retirement that ease to which his long life of industry and thrift fully entitles him. aYRUS WALTER LAUGHLIN, gro- cer, of Dayton, Ohio, was' born in Sun- bury, Montgomery county, Ohio, Sep- tember 1, 1855. He is a son of Sam- uel and Eliza (Walters) Laughlin, both natives of Westermoreland county, Pa. They were the parents of seven children, five of whom are still living, as follows: Elemina, wife of Washington Eby, of Sunbury, Ohio; Francis M., a farmer, of Brown Run, Montgomery county; Philip, of Aspen. Colo.; Cyrus W., and Charles, also a resident of Colorado. Samuel Laughlin was a farmer by occupa- tion, came to Ohio about 1850, and located near Germantown, Montgomery county, where he followed farming for some years, and then opened a grocery at Sunbury, which he kept 1146 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD until the death of his wife, which occurred September 13, 1884, in her sixty-eighth year. After this he lived among his children and grandchildren until his death, which occurred while he was living with his son, Cyrus W. , in Dayton, Ohio, March 29, 1895, he being then in his eighty-first year. Both Samuel Laugh- lin and his wife were members of the United Brethren church. The paternal grandfather of Cyrus W., James Laughlin, died June 12, 1861, when he was seventy-three years of age, and his wife, Barbara, died October 19, 1872, at the age of eighty-three years. She and her husband were the parents of fifteen children. The maternal grandfather, Joseph Walters, was a native of Pennsylvania, in which state he kept what was termed in his day a tavern or inn. Cyrus W. Laughlin was reared in Mont- gomery county, and was educated in Sunbury, remaining there until he was eighteen years of age. On February 1, 1877, he married Emma Florence Cox, daughter of John A. and Ellen (Crider) Cox. John A. Cox was born in But- ler county, Ohio, in 1837, ar >d hrs wife, Ellen Crider, in Indiana, in 1840. They had a fam- ily of four children, three of whom are now living, namely: Emma Florence, wife of Mr. Laughlin; Edgar C. , a merchant of Anderson, Ind.; and Elizabeth, wife of Frank Davis, of West Manchester, Ohio. John M. Cox, the grandfather of Mrs. Laughlin, was of German descent, and was born in Butler county, Ohio, in 1805, and died in that county in 1877. His wife, whose maiden name was Nancy Hilt, was born in Kentucky in 1802, and died in Butler county, Ohio, in 1879. They had a family of seven children, six of whom are still living, as fol- lows: Elizabeth, widow of Frank Banker, living at Battle Creek, Mich. ; Walter, a farmer of Butler county, Ohio; Samuel, a farmer of the same county; Catherine, wife of John Keister, a farmer of Butler county; John A., who is a carpenter by trade and lives in Preble county, Ohio, and Drusilla, wife of Alpheus McElwain, of Darke county, Ohio. Mary died in infancy. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Laugh- lin, Philip Crider, descended from German ancestors. He was born in Washington coun- ty, Pa., in 1803, and died in Preble county, Ohio, in 1874. The trades of carpenter and millwright he followed for some years, and lived on Second street in Dayton, Ohio, in 1846. His wife, Nancy Wright, was born in Ireland in 1799, and died in Preble county, Ohio, in 1876. To this couple nine children were born, but only the following are now liv- ing: Ellen, wife of John A. Cox; Susanna, now Mrs. Cooper, of Indiana; Mary Ann, wife of George W. Catrow, of Miamisburg, Ohio; George W. , a farmer of Tennessee, and James Henry, who is a merchant of Oklahoma, and surveyor of that city. To Mr. and Mrs. Laughlin have been born five children, two sons and three daughters, as follows: Elsie C, J. Raymond, Clifford L., Ruth E., and one that died in infancy. Mr. Laughlin is a trustee in the United Brethren church, of which both he and his wife are members. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters and of the Patriotic Order of Sons of America. Polit- ically he favors the laboring man, and sustains that party which, in his opinion, will do most for this class of citizens. When Mr. Laughlin came to Dayton in October, 1884, he was employed by the Dayton Malleable Iron com- pany, remaining with them three years; then going to work in D. O. Kimmel's grocery, he remained there until 1891, when he opened a grocery and meat market at his present loca- tion, Nos. 1 1 70 and 1172 Germantown street. Here he has ever since conducted a remark- ably successful business. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1147 SENRY MECKLEY, of Germantown, one of the most successful and sub- stantial farmers of Jackson township, sprang from Pennsylvania -Dutch stock. Henry Meckley was born December 6, 1837, on the farm upon which he now lives. Receiving a good common-school education, he was reared a farmer, beginning to work on the farm as soon as old enough and strong enough to be of use. When he was thirty years of age he mar- ried, in Miamisburg, Ohio, February 27, 1868, Susannah Stonner, who was born December 22, 1844, and is a daughter of Andrew and Mary (Hostetter) Stonner. Andrew Stonner came from Pennsylvania to Ohio, locating in Wayne county among the first settlers there. His children were John, Levina, Elizabeth, Catherine, Sarah and Susannah. He was a member of the Lutheran church, and lived to be seventy-nine years of age, dying in Mont- gomery county in 1887, when on a visit to his relatives. Henry Meckley and wife soon after their marriage settled on the old Meckley homestead, of which he bought 150 acres of his father, and cared for his parents during their old age. To Mr. and Mrs. Meckley there were born two children, viz: Sarah A. and Mary C. Mr. Meckley is a member of the German Reformed church, and served on the building committee of Slyfer church. He is an honored citizen of his community, and can always be relied upon to aid worthy religious, moral and educational enterprises. His wife died December 19, 1888, at the age of forty-four years. She was a member of the Lutheran church, and a woman of many excellent traits of character. Mr. Meckley is a democrat in politics, and during the recent presidential campaign, result- ing in the election of Maj. McKinley, he was an advocate of the free and unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1. *j*OHN REEL, of Farmersville, Ohio, J one of the most venerable men in the /• 1 state and probably the oldest in Mont- gomery county, springs from German stock, his great-grandfather having come to this country from Germany. Peter Reel, fa- ther of John, was a farmer of Virginia. He married Elizabeth Folk, by whom he had the following children: Daniel, Polly, Sallie, Jacob, Abraham, Susannah and John. Peter Reel was a citizen of Berkeley county, Ya., and lived to be a middle-aged man, dying from an accident. He was a man in comfortable circumstances, and owned slaves. While he was a member of the Lutheran church, his wife was a member of the German Reform church. Both died in V irginia. All of the children are now deceased except the subject of this sketch. John Reel was born in Berkeley county, Va.. December 19, 1803, on Dry Run, about three miles from Martinsburg. When his fa- ther died he was nine years old, his mother dying three years later. From that time on he was reared by his guardian's son-in-law, David Wolf. While his educational advan- tages were but limited, yet he learned to .read and write and got as far as the " Rule of Three," in arithmetic. In 18 12, he went with David Wolf to Washington count)', Md. , and thare lived until he was twenty-six years old. Coming to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1829, he made a journey to the Ohio river on foot, having a pair of saddle-bags, in which he carried his personal effects. Reaching the Ohio river at Wheeling, he went to Cincinnati, walked thence to Dayton. Going on to Ger- mantown, consisting at that time of but a few houses, he went to work for the Rev. J. King, whose sister, Ann Maria King, Mr. Reel mar- ried July 29, 1829. Mrs. Reel was born in 1 801, in Martinsburg, Va., a daughter of Jacob King, who came to Montgomery county in 1828, settling in German township, with his son, Rev. J. King, a minister of the United Brethren church. Jacob King was the father of the following children: Jacob, John, Isaac, Ann Maria and Elizabeth. Mr. King was an aged man when he came to Ohio and had then retired from active life. He was a wagon- maker by trade, and had lived for many years at Hagerstown, Md. In religion he was iden- tified with the United Brethren church, of which he was one of the first members. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. John Reel, during the first week of September, 1 829, moved to his present farm, then containing too acres, thirty of which were cleared. Mr. Reel had carefully saved his wages and was thus enabled to pay for his farm, which by industry and thrift he greatly improved and made a pleasant home. He and his wife were the parents of the following children: Elizabeth, Eleanor, Magdalena, Ann Maria, Jacob, David K. and Catherine, the latter of whom died quite young. Mr. and Mrs. Reel were members of the United Brethren church, in which he was a class leader and trustee for many years. Politically, Mr. Reel was in early life a demo- crat, then an old-line whig, then republican, and at last a prahibitionist. He voted for Andrew Jackson for president in 1828, for William Henry Harrison in 1840, for John C. Fremont in 1856, for Abraham Lincoln in i860 and 1864, and has voted for one of the candidates at every presidential election since. 1156 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD He has always been an honored citizen, retiring in disposition, frugal and temperate in his habits, and has reared an excellent family. Now, at the age of ninety-three, he is still strong and vigorous, and well preserved. Of his children, Elizabeth Reel married Henry Snyder, and has one son; Eleanor mar- ried Daniel Stiver, and has four children; Mag- dalena married Frederick Ade, and has one child living; Maria married John W. Moyer, now deceased, and had one child, who is also deceased. Mr. Reel's children are devot- edly attached to him and are striving to make his declining years free from all care. ■^"j'AMES A. RICE, one of the most ex- m perienced farmers of Carrollton Sta- <% J tion, Jefferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio (the post-office being named West Carrolltonj, was born in Fred- erick county, Md., May 24, 1825, and is a son of James and Rebecca (Drill) Rice, both natives of Maryland, and, respectively, of Eng- lish and German descent. James Rice came from Maryland to Ohio in 1835, and, with his small family, located in Harrison township, Montgomery county, but afterward removed to Van Buren township, following farming as an occupation, although he had been reared a miller. Mrs. Rebecca Rice died before the family moved to Van Buren township, but the father survived for some years and died in Van Buren township on the farm on which his children were reared. James A. Rice, from the age of ten years, lived in Montgomery county, was educated in the common schools, and has all his life been a farmer. He began on his own account by renting a place in Van Buren township, on which he lived for twenty-five years, when he came to Jefferson township, in 1861, and pur- chased the farm of eighty-eight acres, on which he has since resided, and on which he has made most of the improvements. His farm is a model one, is unsurpassed in fertility, and been brought to its present state of perfec- tion through the exertions and skill of Mr. Rice himself, aided by his elder children. Mr. Rice's marriage took place September 16, 1847, to Miss Hannah Updyke, daughter of Albert and Rebecca (Reeder) Updyke, of Van Buren township, and the result of the union has been the birth of nine children, viz: Charles, Albert, Oliver, Newton, Wilson, Willie, Elmer, Emma and Olive. In politics Mr. Rice is a democrat, but has always been devoid of ambition as an office seeker, con- tenting himself with the exercise of his fran- chise. He has been industrious and is now enjoying the reward of that industry, while his high standing in the community in which he lives is well deserved. B RANK J. RIEGEL, farmer of Jackson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Berks county, Pa., April 11, 1 83 1, a son of David and Eliza- beth (Kaucher) Riegel, of whom further facts may be read in the biography of John Riegel. When but one year old he was brought by his parents to Ohio, was reared on the home farm among the pioneers and received the usual edu- tion of the backwoods schools. He married, in Jackson township, December 1, 1853, Miss Catherine Weaver, who was born June 23, 1 83 1, in this township, a daughter of John I. and Catherine (Pence) Weaver. John I. Weaver was a native of Pennsyl- vania, was born in 1799, of German parentage, and at the age of eight years was brought to Ohio by his parents, who settled in Jackson township, Montgomery county. Here he grew to manhood, married Miss Pence and went to farming on a tract of 160 acres, which he OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1157 cleared up from the wild woods, adding to it until he owned about 500 acres, which at his death he divided among his children. These were named Sarah, Malinda, Mary M., Cath- erine, Urias, John D. and William A. In politics Mr. Weaver was a democrat and served as township trustee and treasurer. He died at the age of eighty-eight years, a deacon and elder in the Slyfer Lutheran church. John Pence, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Rie- gel, came from Virginia, and died in Montgom- ery county, Ohio, at the advanced age of seventy-two years. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Riegel settled on the John B. Miller farm, in Jackson township, occupying 124 acres, and have now one of the best improved farms in the town- ship. Their marriage has been blessed with three children — Amanda H., Ellen N. and Altha I. Mr. Riegel is a consistent member of the United Brethren church, in which he has been a class leader for many years, and Mrs. Riegel is a member of the Reformed church. In his politics Mr. Riegel is a democrat and an advocate of the free silver doctrine, and is also an ardent prohibitionist. Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Riegel, Amanda H. is married to Allen Bussard, a farmer of Butler county, and has two children — Franklin P. and Elva E.; Ellen N. is the wife of John M. Ebbert, principal of the Nineteenth district public school, Dayton, and has three children — Le- Roy, Robert Laird andWendall; and Altha I. is married to Paris Binkley, a former hard- ware merchant of East Fifth street, Dayton, and now of San Diego, Cal. aHRISTIAN ROHRER, farmer and dairyman of Mad River township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in this township, October 13, 1842. He is a son of Manin and Elizabeth (Kreider) 51 Rohrer, both natives of Lancaster county. Pa. They were the parents of five children, two sons and three daughters, as follows: Chris- tiana, Tobias, Maria (wife of Franklin P. Grimes), Christian and Martha, the latter the wife of E. J. Williamson. Martin Rohrer was a distiller by occupa- tion, and came to Ohio in 1834, settling on the farm upon which Christian, his son, now lives. Upon this farm he lived until his death in 1844, when he was forty-eight years of age. His wife survived him a number of years, dy- ing when she was sixty-three. Both were members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Rohrer purchased 1,200 acres when land was cheap, and so became a comparatively wealthy man. The paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Christian Rohrer, was born in Germany, came to the United States and set- tled in Pennsylvania. He and his wife reared a family of nine children, only one of whom is still living — Jacob, who is now eighty-four years of age. Each of the others lived to be at least eighty-five years of age. Christian Rohrer was a miller by trade, and also a farmer. His death occurred in Pennsylvania. The maternal grandfather of the subject, Henry Kreider, was also a native of Germany, came to the United States, followed the calling of a farmer, in Pennsylvania, and died in Lancaster county, that state. Christian Rohrer, whose name opens this sketch, was born and reared on the farm upon which he still resides. His early education was received in the district school, and after- ward he attended Farmers' college, at College Hill, Hamilton county, Ohio, taking a two- years' course. Returning to the farm, he was married, August 13, 1861, to Miss Caroline Carles, daughter of Daniel and Livonia (Rog- ers) Carles. To this marriage there have been born four children, as follows: Alice, George O, Rodney K. and Sylva C. Alice married 1158 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the Rev. J. M. Bolton, of the Presbyterian church, and has one child, Carl; Sylva C. mar- ried Anna Nobling, and has one child, Esther. The others have not married. Mr. and Mrs. Rohrer are members of the United Brethren church, and Mr. Rohrer, as a republican, served as township clerk three terms. He owns 250 acres of land, farming 1 50 acres. For the past four years Mr. Rohrer has been engaged in the dairy business, having one of the best equipped dairy farms in the country. He is painstaking and methodical in the conduct of this enterprise, and has met with the success that follows thrift. m. [LLIAM RHOADES, farmer, of Jackson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, is a son of one of the pioneers of that township, and springs from Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry. His grandfather was Philip Rhoades, a farmer of Bedford county, Pa., who removed to Montgomery county between 1800 and 1805, bringing his family with him. Buying land in Jackson township, one mile west of where William Rhoades now lives, he built thereon a log cabin and cleared his farm. At that time there were but few settlers in Jackson township, so that Mr. Rhoades may justly be considered one of the original pioneers. He was a member of the Slyfer Reformed church, and politically was a democrat. He died on his farm at an advanced age. His children were as follows: John, Jacob, Henry, Lewis, Polly, Sallie and Esther. John Rhoades, the eldest son, and father of William Rhoades, was born in Bedford county, Pa., August 10, 1792, and was there- fore about ten years of age when his parents came to Ohio. When they reached Dayton, Ohio, after a long and tedious journey with teams and wagons, they found a small hamlet with only a few cabins clustered together. Young Rhoades was reared among the pioneers, received the best education obtainable in those early days, which was very limited, but being of an inquiring and active mind he gained a great deal of practical knowledge which he could not have acquired at school, and became a thoroughly successful farmer and sound busi- ness man. He married Catherine Ruby, who was born in Virginia, and who was a daughter of Jacob Ruby, who came to Montgomery county at about the same time with the Rhoades family. The children of Jacob Ruby were as follows: Jacob, John, Samuel, Sarah, Rebecca and Catherine. John Rhoades settled on the land upon which his son William now lives, about 126 acres, which he purchased of his brother George. About twenty acres of this land had been cleared. The rest of it Mr.. Rhoades cleared, and erected upon it some of the best buildings then to be found anywhere in that part of the country. He was industrious and of sound judgment, and consequently pros- pered and aided all his children to get a start in the world. These children were as follows: Barbara, Mar}', John, Jacob, Catherine, Sarah, George, Anna, Peter, William and Lydia. Mr. and Mrs. Rhoades were members of the Reformed church, and aided to erect the original log building in which this organization worshiped, and also its present brick structure. Politically Mr. Rhoades was a democrat, and was always a strong supporter of his part}'. William Rhoades, the subject of this sketch, was born on the old homestead farm, February 4, 1840. Having been educated as well as could be in the common schools, he began early to work on the farm, to ride the horse in tramping out grain on the barn floor, and to perform other kinds of labor, then familiar to all but now superseded by improved methods. When he was thirty-two years of age he mar- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1159 ried Matilda Stiver, the ceremony being per- formed December 15, 1872, and his wife being a daughter of Henry and Sophia (Rickle) Stiver. For fuller mention of Henry Stiver the reader is referred to his biography pub- lished elsewhere in this volume. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Rhoades settled on the old homestead upon which they have ever since resided. They are the parents of the following children: Amanda A. , Charles E., John H., William F., Perry M., Matilda C. and Forrest L. Mr. Rhoades is a member of the German Reformed church, and Mrs. Rhoades of the Lutheran church, Mr. Rhoades being a liberal supporter of religious work. He has an excellent farm of 126 acres, which he has greatly improved. Politically he is a democrat, and he is a man that has made his own way in the world by means of integrity of purpose and action. Vt^ONATHAN SCHELL, one of the old- ■ est and most respected residents of Jef- /• 1 ferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Berks county, Pa., December 10. 18 10, a son of Henry and Mar- garet (Lesherj Schell. who were also natives of Berks county and of Revolutionary ante- cedents. Peter Schell and John Lesher, re- spectively the paternal and maternal grand- fathers of Jonathan Schell, were born in Germany, came to America in their young manhood, and both became soldiers in the war for American independence, Mr. Lesher hav-. ing command of a company and having fought in the battles of the Brandywine and of Bun- ker Hill. Both these grandfathers finally be- came permanent settlers of and farmers in Berks county. Pa., where they passed the re- mainder of their days. Henry and Margaret (Lesher) Schell, par- ents of Jonathan, came from Pennsylvania to Ohio in 1820, and located in Miamisburg, Montgomery county, where the father at first followed his trade of cooper; but farming was his principal occupation through life, although in his latter years he engaged in the manufac- ture of plow points. His death took place in- 1864, and that of his wife in 1866, leaving to mourn their loss the following family of chil- dren: John; David; Catherine, now Mrs. An- thony Emert; Jonathan; Molly, now Mrs. Fred Yaukey; Sarah, now Mrs. Israel Staley; and Martha, now Mrs. Joseph Kutz. Jonathan Schell, it will be seen, passed the first ten years of his life in Pennsylvania. His later youth and earlier manhood were spent in Miamisburg, Ohio, in learning and in working at the cabinetmaker's trade, but later he en- gaged in farming near that town, and there lived until 185 1, when 'he moved to the farm he now occupies in Jefferson township, on which he has made many substantial improve- ments, including all the buildings, and which he has brought to a most excellent condition of productiveness. In his early youth, Mr. Schell helped to break the first furrow for the Miami canal. The marriage of Mr. Schell was solem- nized, in 1 83 1, with Miss Elizabeth Gebhart, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Cramer) Gebhart, the union being blessed with ten children, of whom eight are still living, viz: Peggy (Mrs. Amos Weaver), Henry, George, Martin, Jonathan, David, William and Sam- uel. Since the age of fifteen years, Mr. Schell has been a member of the Lutheran church — a period of over seventy years — and his seven sons and son-in-law worship in the same faith; in politics, they all are democrats. David P. Schell, son of Jonathan and Eliza- beth (Gebhart) Schell, was born in Miami township, April 19, 1850, and grew to man- hood in Jefferson township, where he was ed- ucated in the public schools, and at the age of 1160 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD twenty began farming on his own account. Since 1872 he has lived on his present farm of eighty-six acres in Jefferson township, part of which he cleared from the forest and all of which he has improved and placed under cul- tivation. The buildings, which are modern and substantial, have been erected by him, and the farm, as a whole, will compare favor- ably with any other of its size in the township. Mr. Schell was united in marriage Decem- ber 23, 1870, with Miss Mary M., daughter of George and Margaret (Beachler) Stine, of Jef- ferson township, and this union has been blessed by the birth of six children, viz: Cora (wife of Charles Brown), Jemima (Mrs. Will- iam Hartzell), Clara, Edna, Mary and George. The family are all members of the Lutheran church and enjoy a very high social standing among their neighbors. OWEN G. SHIVELEY, one of the old- est and most respected farmers of Jefferson township, Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, was born here on the old Shiveley homestead, November 3, 1815, and was reared among the pioneers of the county. Christian Shiveley, Sr., his grandfather, was born near Hagerstown, Md., of German descent. He was married in his native state, and there were born to him children in the fol- lowing order: Jacob Christian, Daniel, David, Susannah and Elizabeth. Mr. Shiveley came to Ohio in the old pioneer days, settled in Jef- ferson township on 160 acres of land, and cleared up from the woods a comfortable home, and on this farm passed the remainder of his days, dying a highly honored citizen and a member of the Baptist church. Christian Shiveley, Jr., son of above and father of Owen G. , was also born near Hagers- town, Md., but moved thence to Pennsylvania, where he married Miss Susannah Gripe, who was born in Huntingdon county, that state, a daughter of John and Susannah (Rench) Gripe. The father of Mrs. Shiveley was a prosperous farmer and a minister in the German Baptist church. His children were named William, John, Joseph, Elizabeth, Susannah, Hannah and Catherine. Mr. Gripe came from Penn- sylvania as a pioneer to Montgomery county, Ohio, and settled in Madison township, where he purchased a considerable body of land, and at his death was able to leave 160 acres to each of his children. After marriage Mr. Shiveley first located on a farm in Huntingdon county, Pa., and there eight children of his were born. Of these children, Christine and John died when young; David is also deceased; Owen G. is the subject of this sketch; Samuel; William died in Peru, Ind. ; Elizabeth and Susan are also deceased. The father of this family set- tled on a farm in Montgomery county, Ohio, some time prior to 18 10 — probably about 1804 or 1805 — as may be inferred from the fact that he erected a two-story stone house in Madison township in 181 1; his original farm contained 160 acres, which he cleared from the woods and subsequently increased to 400 acres. He was a member of the German Baptist church and died in that faith when about sixty-six years of age. Owen G. Shiveley was reared to farming among the pioneers of Montgomery county, there being but one house in Dayton — and that a log one — when his father settled in the coun- ty. He was permitted to attend the old-fash- ioned log school-house of his district as much as possible and received a very fair education. On the first day of January, 1845, he married Miss Hannah Ullery, a native of Madison township and a daughter of Joseph and Cath- erine (Gripe) Ullery. Her father, Joseph Ul- lery, was born in Huntingdon county, Pa., was a pioneer of Madison township and settled on a farm on Wolf creek, but later moved to a OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1161 farm near South Bend, Ind. His children were born in the following order: Samuel, Stephen, John, Joseph, Jacob, David, Susan, Elizabeth, Catherine, Hannah (Mrs. Shiveley), Barbara and Esther. After his marriage, Mr. Shiveley occupied a part of the home farm for a year, and then came to his present place in Jefferson town- ship — then all in the forest — where he has carved out a pleasant home. Mrs. Shiveley here died, January 26, 1890, a member of the German Baptist church, and the mother of the following children: Christian R., Joseph U., Noah H., Francis M., Aaron V., JohnD., Susannah, Elizabeth and Esther. In politics Mr. Shiveley is a democrat and has served in several public offices. For more than twenty- five years he was assessor of Madison town- ship; he was also decennial land appraiser, was trustee of Jefferson township eight years, and United States enumerator of census one term. He was also treasurer of the Dayton & West- ern Turnpike company for over thirty years. He has filled every position with honor and credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the people, and no man to-day stands high- er than he in the esteem of the citizens of Montgomery county. >-j»AMES W. SMITH, a retired farmer of a Harrison township, was born within (• 1 four miles of Dayton, on the Troy pike, north of the city, November 17, 1843. He is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Deardorf) Smith, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Berks county, Pa. They were the parents of ten children, six sons and four daughters, as follows: Hannah, widow of James W. Lowry; Jacob, John; Margaret, wife of S. M. Foote; Benjamin, deceased; Mary J., widow of John S. Protsman; Martha, wife of S. W. Massey, of Osborn, Ohio; Franklin, deceased; William H. and James W. Henry Smith was by occupation a farmer, and at an early day settled near Springboro, Ohio. After living there a short time he re- moved to Dayton, where he remained for sev- eral years, and then bought a farm four miles north of Dayton, to which he removed, and added to it until at the time of his death he had about 700 acres of land. He was largely engaged in hauling wood to Dayton, and thereby became widely known as "Wood Smith." He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church; in fact, they were among the founders of Ebenezer Method- ist church, which many remember to the present day. His death occurred January 14, 1 86 1, in his sixty-sixth year, while Mrs. Smith died December 9, 1878, at the age of seventy- seven years. The paternal grandfather of James W. Smith was a native of North Carolina. The maternal grandfather, Jacob Deardorf, was a native of Pennsylvania, came to Ohio in 1801, and settled near Springboro. He made the journey down the Ohio river by flatboat, landed at Cincinnati, and came thence direct to Springboro. Here he engaged in farming and in running a saw-mill for a number of years, reared a family of five children, and died upon his farm. James W. Smith was reared on the farm in Harrison township, and received a good education in the common schools. At the breaking out of the war he enlisted in the Eighty-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, and served three months. After the war had closed be began farming and has followed that calling ever since, with the exception of about two years spent in Osborn. Mr. Smith was married March 5, 1872, to Miss Susanne Neff, daughter of John and Eliza- beth (Doan) Neff. To them have been born no children. They are members of the First 1162 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Reformed church of Dayton, and Mr. Smith is a member of Reed Commandery, No. 6, K. T. He is also a member of the Old Guard post, G. A. R., and in politics is a republican. In 1895 Mr. Smith retired from farming and is now living free from care and responsi- bility, enjoying the results of his early labors, and the confidence and esteem of his fellow- men. He owns forty-six acres in his home place, and seventy-four acres in a farm in Har- rison township. He has' always been a pro- gressive farmer, and has taken great interest in forwarding the prosperity of the county and city. His beautiful home is on the new Troy pike, two and a quarter miles from the court house in Dayton. ^y^V OAH SWANK, farmer, of Montgom- m ery county, Ohio, and now residing [ in Clay township, is a native of this county and was born in Perry town- ship, as was his father before him. John Swank, his grandfather, was the founder of the family in Montgomery county. He was a farmer and cleared up a tract of 160 acres from the woods of Perry township. He was twice married, and had born to him the following children: Jacob, George, Aaron, Jabez, Joseph, John, Moses, Elizabeth, Sarah, Fannie, Susannah and Mary — Joseph being the only child by the first marriage. The fa- ther of these children died from the effects of an accident when about fifty years of age — a most respected pioneer. John Swank, sixth of the above sons and father of Noah, was reared on the home farm in his native township of Perry. He married Miss Barbara Nicewonger, a native of Clay township and a daughter of George Nice- wonger, a pioneer, who settled here when the Indians roamed the country at their own free will. John Swank and wife settled on a small farm in Clay township, which by hard work he cleared up and increased to eighty acres, and on this farm his son, Jabez Swank, now lives. John Swank was a minister in the church of the Brethren in Christ, and for thirty years preached in Perry, Clay and the surrounding townships, continuing in the min- istry until his death, which occurred in August, 1878, when he had reached his fifty-sixth year. His children were five in number, and were named Noah, Jabez, Levi, Frances and Sarah, the last named of whom died in infancy. Noah Swank was born January 6, 1849, was reared a farmer and received a good com- mon-school education. October 30, 1873, he married, in Fairfield county, Ohio, Miss Sarah Huddle, who was born September 7, 1850, a daughter of Daniel and Barbara (Beery) Hud- dle. The father of Mrs. Swank, Daniel Hud- dle, was a son of Abraham, a native of Vir- ginia, who early settled in Fairfield county, cleared up a farm, and was the father of the following children, beside Daniel: Cath- erine, Rebecca, Barbara, Elizabeth, John, Sallie, Mary, Joel and Abraham. He was a sturdy pioneer, a member of the United Brethren church, and lived to an advanced age. Daniel Huddle was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, in 181 5, was a farmer, and married in his native county, becoming the father of the following children: Eli, John, Abraham, Noah, Daniel, Samuel, Solomon, Catherine, Elizabeth, Sarah and Lydia. He owned a nicely-cleared-up farm of 180 acres, and died in 1877, at the age of sixty-two years, a mem- ber of the United Brethren church. Mr. and Mrs. Noah Swank have had born to their marriage seven children, viz: Theo- dore, Agnes, Charles E-. , Minnie and Ella, and Ira and Irving, twins, who died at the age of five months. The family are members of the United Brethren church, in which Mr. Swank is a trustee and steward. In his church work OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1163 Mr. Swank has always been active and ardent, and has contributed largely to the erection of two houses of worship. In politics he is a re- publican, and has held the office of township trustee. He has a finely cultivated farm of 165 acres, well improved in all respects, and is one of the most substantial and respected cit- izens of Clay township. aALEB THOMAS, one of the leading farmers and veterinary surgeons of Montgomery county, sprang from an old colonial family, which was of English origin. Isaac Thomas, his grandfa- ther, tame from South Carolina. He had two brothers, John and Abel, the latter of whom walked from South Carolina to Ohio with his family, having a pack horse to carry his effects. Isaac Thomas married Sarah Perkins, by whom he had the following children: John, William, Edward, Nehemiah, Ebenezer, Isaac, Eliza- beth and Mary. Isaac Thomas removed with his family to Montgomery county in 18 17, set- tling at Phillipsburg, his boys all securing land and settling near him. His daughters had married in South Carolina. Elizabeth married John Farmer, and Mary married Absalom Leeper, both families settling near Phillips- burg. At that time the country was a wilder- ness. Isaac Thomas entered part of the land on which Phillipsburg now stands, and cleared a farm of eighty acres, upon which he lived for many years and died an aged man. In relig- ion he was a Quaker, and assisted to build the Quaker church at Phillipsburg, in which the Friends or Quakers worshiped for many years. He was a man of weight and influence and his family owned many acres of land in the vicinity in which he lived. Isaac Thomas, son of the above Isaac, was born in South Carolina, February 25, 1804. He was of ancient Quaker stock and came with his parents to Ohio, settling in Montgomery county, at Becky Springs, near Dayton. In 1 8 1 7 the family removed to Phillipsburg. In religion he was a Friend, by occupation a farmer, and married, October 26, 1827, Tamar Mendenhall, who was born September 9, 1802, being the first white child born in Union town- ship, Miami county, Ohio. She was a daugh- ter of Caleb and Susannah (Gardner) Menden- hall, the former of whom was born in Guilford county, N. C. , in which county he married Susannah Gardner. Both families were of English ancestry and Quakers in religion. Caleb Mendenhall and wife had the following children: Miriam, Griffith, William, Caleb, Susan, Grace, Tamar, Gardner, Christy, Rhoda, Kirk, eleven in all, and all lived to mature years. 'Caleb Mendenhall removed from North Carolina to Miami county, Ohio, settling in Union township. He cleared up a farm of 102 acres and built a brick dwell- ing upon his farm in 18 16, which was one of the first brick houses, if not the first, in his township. In his latter days he moved to Richmond, Ind., and there bought a farm, upon which he died when eighty years of age. His wife died when about seventy-three years old. Mr. Mendenhall removed from the south on account of slavery, he being a lover of free- dom and an abolitionist. In 1 82 1 Isaac Thomas entered ninety-two acres of land in Clay township, adjoining the present farm of his son Caleb, cleared the land and made a good home for his family. This farm he greatly improved by the erection of good build'ngsand in many other ways. Upon this land he never placed a mortgage, and it was still in the possession of his widow, Mrs. Tamar Thomas, at the time of her death, Oc- tober 3, 1896. Their children were as follows: Permelia, Harriet, Milo, Caleb, Seth, Susannah and Irvin, twins, and Elam. Permelia married Isaac Goodyear, of Miami county; Harriet mar- 1164 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ried H. Jones, of Darke count}', Ohio. Isaac Thomas and his wife were Friends in religion, and he lived to be seventy-six years old, dying September 17, 1880, as the result of an acci- dent. He was a man of steady habits, of strong character, and prospered by thrift and industry. He possessed where he lived 262 acres of land, and in addition thereto eighty acres in Miami county. He was a widely and well known man, and it may be said of him that he lived a truly conscientious life. In politics he was a republican. His aged widow is now ninety- four years of age, and is yet in the possession of her mental faculties. Caleb Thomas, the subject of this sketch, was born February 23, 1834, on his father's farm. Receiving the customary ccmmon- school education of his time, he became well qualified to take care of himself, and to man- age any business affairs that might fall into his hands. On June 23, 1859, he married Har- riet Coffman, who was born October 16, 1837, and is a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Hoover) Coffman, the former of whom was of Pennsylvania-Dutch descent, and whose chil- dren were as follows: Jane, John, George, Sarah, Susan, Eliza, Rebecca, Harriet, Cath- erine and Ellen. Mr. Coffman was a wagon- maker by trade and settled near Little York, Montgomery county, afterward removing to West Milton, Miami county, and at length to a farm near Phillipsburg, where he died at the age of seventy-two years, his wife dying when seventy-eight years old. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Coffman was an exhorter and class leader. He was a man of fine character and well known for his high standard of conduct. Caleb Thomas, when a young man, went to Iowa, where he bought and ran a saw-mill in Jefferson county. After his marriage he re- turned to the farm, and 1863 removed to Clay township, and lived on his father's farm for three years. In 1865 he removed to a farm of his own, a fine tract of seventy-five acres, whose value he has greatly increased by the addition of excellent buildings and many other improvements. For the past thirty years he has practiced veterinary surgery, and has a large practice. In politics he is a republican and is an excellent citizen. He and his wife have had nine children, as follows: Charles W., who died when five years old; George J., who died at the age of thirteen months; John E., who died at the age of eight months; Adam S., who died at the age of twenty-seven years; Ellen E. ; Ora M. ; Ward, who died when sev- enteen years old; Tiffin A. and Alva P. Since Mr. Thomas has lived in Montgomery he has belonged to the Christian church, assisting to erect the church at Phillipsburg. ^"^•AMUEL TEETER, farmer, of Madi- •^K* son township, Montgomery county, h\^_y Ohio, is a native of this county and was born August 10, 1834, a son of Abraham and Esther (Paulus) Teeter, natives of Bedford county, Pa., and of German de- scent. John Paulus, father of Mrs. Esther Teeter, was born in Bedford county, Pa., in 1779, and died in 1835; his w ^ e was born in 1782, and died in 1843. Abraham Teeter, father of Samuel, was a shoemaker and also a farmer, and early after his marriage came to Ohio and settled in Montgomery county, at Little York, whence he removed to Elkhart county, Ind., in 1835, and located on a farm of 160 acres near Goshen, where he passed the remainder of his life, he and his wife, strange to relate, dying almost at the same moment, in the same year, 1839. Their chil- dren, in order of birth, were named John, David, Daniel, Andrew, Samuel and Jacob. Samuel Teeter, the fifth of this family, was but a year old when taken to Indiana by his OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1165 parents, and at their death he, David, Daniel and Andrew were brought back to Ohio to live with their maternal grandmother, in Madison township, Montgomery county. With her Samuel resided until he was ten years of age, when he went to live with David Brumbaugh. Mr. Brumbaugh died a year later, and Samuel continued to live with his widow, Catherine Brumbaugh, who was a daughter of John Van- imen, the pioneer of Madison township, until he was twenty-three years of age, in the mean- time learning the blacksmith's trade. At the age of twenty-three Mr. Teeter married, Feb- ruary 25, 1858, Miss Mary Vanimen, who was born January 4, 1838, a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Bowman) Vanimen. Two years after marriage Mr. Teeter bought eighty acres of land in Madison township, upon which he lived for about twelve years, when he moved to Osborn, Greene county, and bought a farm of 121 acres. In 1874 he returned to Madison township, and settled on his present farm of 156 acres, where he has since lived and greatly prospered. To Mr. and Mrs. Teeter have been born the following children: George W. , William P., Charles E., Mary Martha, Albert and Ida Lizzie (twins), Barbara E., John, Jessie, Laura, Annie and Maud. Of this family, George W\, a farmer of Randolph township, is married to Mary Flory and has one child; William P. is a carpenter and builder of Springfield, Mo., is married to Martha Reed, and has two children; Charles E. , also a car- penter and builder, married Jennie Dishman, and has one child; Mary M. is married to Uxiah Keener, of Madison township, and has one child; Ida Lizzie is married to Ambrose Landis, a school-teacher of Madison township, and has one child; Barbara E. is the wife of Isaac Brumbaugh, a farmer near Brookville, Ohio, and has two children; John is in a rolling-mill at Saint Louis, Mo., married Flora Meckley, and has one child. The remainder of Mr. Teeter's children are still unmarried and reside with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Teeter are devout members of the German Baptist church and have reared their children in the same faith. In politics Mr. Teeter is a democrat, and is in all respects a good and useful citizen. fft ILLIAM UMBENHAUER, ofWen- gerlawn, Montgomery county, Ohio, an ex-soldier of the late Civil war, was born in Schuylkill county, Pa., May 14, 1 841. He is a son of Daniel and Catherine Hinebaugh Umbenhauer. Reared at home, he received the ordinary common- school education of the day, and when twenty years of age, on July 20, 1S61, enlisted at Harrisburg in company G, First Pennsylvania light infantry, under Capt. West, to serve three years or during the war. Re-enlisting on January 2, 1864, at Mountain Creek, Va., he enrolled the next day, and served in company F, same regiment, until finally discharged, June 10, 1865, at Harrisburg, Pa., John F. Campbell being his captain during his second period of enlistment. The entire period of his service was three years and eleven months. Mr. Umbenhauer was in the hardest-fought battles of the campaigns before Richmond; among them the Seven Days' battle, the battle of James river, the second battle of Bull Run, of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Bristow Station, and Gettysburg, the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House and Cold Harbor, and in front of Petersburg. Thus he participated in the hardest-fought battles of the Potomac, and was in the fierce artillery duel at the battle of Gettysburg, when four hundred gunners, two hundred on each side, were in action at once, this being one of the hottest engagements he was in during the en- 1166 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD tire war. In 1864 he was promoted to cor- poral for meritorious service, and was a cor- poral when discharged. He was fortunate enough not to be wounded or taken prisoner during his entire period of service, but was sick in hospital of typhoid fever for a short time in 1861, before he had participated in any battle, being in Washington City and in Balti- more while in hospital. Mr. Umbenhauer was in all the battles, campaigns and marches in which his regiment engaged, and was always an active soldier, performing promptly and cheerfully the duties laid upon him. After the war was over he returned to Schuylkill county, Pa., locating at Pine Grove, and there married Catherine Fry, who was born in that county April 20, 1847, and was a daughter of Henry and Sarah (Wren) Fry. The Fry family was of German origin. To Henry Fry and his wife there were born the following children: Harriet, William, John, Sarah C, Rebecca and David. John was in the Civil war, and served three years in the western army. After his marriage Mr. Umbenhauer settled in Pine Grove, but removed to Miamisburg, Ohio, in 1869, finally removing to Wenger- lawn in 1879. Here he has been engaged in various kinds of business and has purchased val- uable residence property. He is a member in good standing of Parmalee Horn post, G. A. R., of Lewisburg and West Baltimore. In politics Mr. Umbenhauer is a republican, and is a member of the United Brethren church. The family of Mr. Umbenhauer is of Penn- sylvania-Dutch stock. Daniel Umbenhauer, his father, was the father of the following chil- dren: Francis, Mary, Sarah, William, Chris- tian and Catherine. Daniel Umbenhauer came to Ohio vvith his son William, and died in Mi- amisburg at the age of sixty-nine. The chil- dren of William Umbenhauer are as follows: Sarah L. , Francis H., George Clayton, Ger- trude C, Amanda C, Emma and Ida M. The family is of excellent standing and reputa- tion among the citizens of the county. -j > OHN O. WARNER, farmer, of Clay M township, Montgomery county, Ohio, (• 1 was born February 18, 1835, and de- scends from one of the old pioneer families of the county. John Warner, his grandfather, was born in Pennsylvania, there married, and had a family of nine children, viz: John, Conrad, Jacob, George, Mary, Catherine, Susan, Margaret and Elizabeth. In 1808 he came to Ohio, settled in Randolph township, Montgomery county, on the land now occupied by David Stoner, cleared the tract of the timber and wrought out a good farm. He was a sturdy pioneer, of exemplary character, lived to be quite an aged man, and died a member of the German Baptist church. George Warner, son of John and father of John O. Warner, was also a native of Pennsyl- vania, born in 1804, and was a lad of four OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1169 years when brought to Ohio by his parents. He grew to manhood on his father's farm, which he largely assisted in developing as his own strength developed. His schooling was necessarily a matter of delay, as neither schools nor teachers were to be had in the wilderness where his lot was cast, and not until after marriage did he find a school in which to acquire the art of penmanship. But he became a thorough farmer, and at maturity married Miss Catherine Olinger, a native of Maryland and a daughter of John Olinger, then residing in Montgomery county, Ohio. Mr. Warner, on marrying, first located in Randolph township, then moved to Clay town- ship and settled on 121 acres, adjoining on the west, the farm now occupied by his son, John O. This tract Mr. Warner cleared up from the woods and converted into a produc- tive farm, on which he passed the remainder of his life. He died at the age of sixty-five years, a member of the German Baptist church, an honored man and the father of three children — Annie, Samuel and John O. John O. Warner, son of George, was reared on his father's farm and enjoyed very fair advantages for an education. March 10, 1856, he married, in Miami county, Miss Eliza- beth Gump, a native of that county, born in 1S36, a daughter of Daniel and Margaret (Karn) Gump. The father, Daniel Gump, was a native of Pennsylvania, was married in that state, and had born to him the following chil- dren, beside Mrs. Warner: Daniel, David, George, Jeremiah, John, Henry, Jacob and Mary. On coming to Ohio Mr. Gump settled on 200 acres of land in Miami county, cleared it from the woods, made a good home, and later bought sufficient land in Indiana to pre- sent each of his children with 160 acres. He lived to the age of seventy-two years and died a member of the German Baptist church. After his marriage Mr. Warner lived a year or so on the farm of his father-in-law in Mi- ami county, then bought 121 acres of said farm, to which he later added tracts of forty acres and twenty acres, across the county line, in Clay township, Montgomery county, his present homestead. Mrs. Elizabeth Warner was called from earth in 1880, leaving behind, to sorrow for her death, three children, Ida, George and Annie. In 1882 Mr. Warner married Mrs. Susan Shelby, widow of Chris- tian Shelby, and daughter of Andrew and Susan (Gibble) Horner. This lady, by her first marriage, was the mother of one child, John, who died at the age of eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Warner are devout members of the German Baptist church and enjoy a high po- sition in the regard of their neighbors. A~V*AMUEL H. WEAVER (deceased) *^^^kT was born on his father's farm in K s ^_ - / Jackson township, Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, September 7, i860, a son of Daniel and Mary (Heineke) Weaver, and was baptized in the Lutheran church November 30, i860. Daniel Weaver, his father, was a native of Pennsylvania, of German descent, and came to Ohio a young man. Here he was first mar- ried, in Montgomery county, to a Miss Rep- nogle, who bore him one son, Philip. After her death Mr. Weaver married Miss Mary Heineke, and this union was blessed with two children — Lewis A. and Samuel H. Daniel Weaver was a substantial farmer of Jackson township, and, being an early settler, cleared up from the wilderness the farm on which Mrs. Samuel H. Weaver now lives. He died in March, 1878, a member of the Lutheran church and an esteemed citizen. Samuel H. Weaver passed his earlier years on his father's farm, receiving a good com- mon-school education, which he supplemented 1170 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD by extensive reading. He became a well- informed man, well prepared for mercantile life, and later entered upon various branches of business. On reaching his majority he married, December 25, 1881, at Miamisburg, Ohio, Miss Mary J. Smith, who was born July 16, 1857, in Montgomery county, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth A. (Hennemyer) Smith. Jacob Smith, father of Mrs. Weaver, was a native of Maryland, where he early lost his father through death, and was yet a boy when he came to Montgomery county, Ohio. Here he grew to manhood and prospered, and first married Susan Loman, to which union were born three children — Sarah A., Nancy J. and Martin C. His second wife, Elizabeth A. Hennemyer, blessed him with six children — Henry, George C, John F., Celia E., Mary J. and Samuel E. After marriage, Mr. Weaver and his wife lived for a few years on the Weaver home- stead, and he then engaged in other industries, becoming proprietor of a saw-mill, and having also an interest in a cider-mill and a tile fac- tory. He was quite successful in these lines, developing a marked faculty for business. As a democrat Mr. Weaver served as township trustee for two terms, and was a member of the school board for five years. He and his wife were members of the Lutheran church, of which he was a deacon , and for two years super- intendent of the Sunday-school. He was en- ergetic and efficient in all his undertakings, especially active in church work, and was chairman of the building committee on the erection of the new Slyfer church edifice, for which he drew the plans. He was a member and the secretary of the Masonic lodge at Farm- ersville, and was also a member of Oak lodge, No. 625, I. O. O. F., at New Lebanon. His lamented death occurred July 31, 1896, of typhoid fever, contracted while on a visit to Alabama, and his loss waS" deeply deplored by the entire community in which he had lived. He left a wife and four children — Cora L. , Harry H., Emma C. and Orpha J. >-j*OHN J. WEAVER, a well-known farm- K er and esteemed citizen of Jackson /» 1 township, Montgomery county, Ohio, is a descendant, paternally, of an old colonial German family, and of an equally old German family on the maternal side. Jacob Weaver, his paternal grandfather, was born in Germany, and became a farmer and distiller in Shenandoah county, Ya., where his death took place. Of his children the names of the following are remembered: John, Michael, Jacob, and Mrs. Hickel. Of these, Jacob, the father of John J., was also a native of Germany, and married in Shenandoah county, Va., Catherine Jordan. He served in the war of 1812, and he and his wife, after their marriage, lived in Shenandoah count}', at Hawkinstown, until 18 16, when they came to Ohio, and for about fifteen years lived on a farm in Greene county. In the winter of 1834-5, they moved to Madison township, Montgomery county, where Jacob Weaver bought 140 acres of land, of which but a small portion was cleared. He devoted himself, with steady industry, to the improvement and development of his land and converted it into one of the best farms in the township. He died here at the age of seventy-eight years, honored and respected throughout the entire community. His children were named, in or- der of birth, John J. , George (deceased), Eliza, Martin, Preston, Levi, Jacob and Sophia. John J. Weaver was born in Shenandoah county; Va. , June 23, 1 S 1 6, and was but four months old when brought by his parents to Ohio. He was early inured to the toil of the frontier farm, and his education was secured by attendance at the old log school-house of OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1171 his district during three months in winter from the age of twelve until nineteen years old. In those primitive days oats in bulk brought six cents per bushel, corn eight cents on the ground, or ten cents when hauled to Xenia, five miles away, and hogs, when dressed, one and one-half cents per pound. Young Weaver, when a boy, wore buckskin garments, and the traveling cordwainer made the shoes for the family, while many other articles of apparel were improvised to meet exigencies. Never- theless, pioneer life had its pleasures and was greatly enjoyed by the old settlers. Farm life was health-giving and its toil contributed to the development of sturdy sinew and muscle and of clear and active brain. The marriage of Mr. Weaver took place March 29, 1838, at New Lebanon, Montgom- ery county, Ohio, with Miss Elizabeth Brouse, who was born in Canton, Stark county, Ohio, June 5, 1 82 1, the ceremony being performed by Rev. Elijah Kuhns, of the Reformed church. Mr. Weaver, after marriage, lived one year on his father's farm in Madison town- ship, then removed to Perry township, bought a lot of two acres and a cooper shop, and there followed that trade for three years; he then engaged in the same business in New Lebanon for ten years, and finally settled in Jackson township. Here he bought a farm of 176 acres, which he improved and successfully cultivated until 1871, when he came to his present farm of 104 acres, in the same town- ship. On this he has erected substantial farm- buildings, and in 1881 built a modern and con- venient residence, his farm being in itself a model and unsurpassed by any other farm of its proportions in the county. To the mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Weaver have been born the following-named children: Mary O, Eliza J., George W. (deceased), John Hamil- ton, Jacob Ladan, William, Elizabeth A., Preston P., Levi L. (deceased), Otto M., Clara B. (deceased) and Dora Etta. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver are members of the German Re- formed church, of which Mr. Weaver has been a deacon and elder for many years. Mrs. Weaver is a daughter of John and Mary (Adams) Brouse, and John Brouse was a son of Michael and Elizabeth Brouse, of Ger- man descent. Michael was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He settled in Chippewa, Stark (but now in Summit) countv, Ohio, on the then frontier, and lived to the patriarchal age of 102 years, dying at Chippewa. His children were named John, Michael, Philip, William, Elizabeth, Rachel, Polly and Leah. The father of Mrs. Weaver, John Brouse, was born in Shenandoah county, Va., was reared in New Market, that county, was a potter by trade, and married Man' Adams, a native of Maryland, of German parentage. From Vir- ginia Mr. Brouse came to Ohio, conducted a pottery at Canton, then at Xenia, and in 1827 settled in New Lebanon, Montgomery county, where he also established his trade. He after- ward lived in Lewiston, Ohio, and for a short time in Indiana, but ended his days in New Lebanon, at the age of seventy-seven years, a member of the Lutheran church. His chil- dren were named Elkanon, Theresa C, John A., Sarah C, Mary C. , Henry A., Elizabeth, William and George. l^y^ILLIAM S. WELSH, one of the MM best-known farmers of Clay town- \jL/l li p, was I' in i\ miles north of Dayton, Montgomery county, Ohio, December 1 5, 1826, and received his educa- tion in the old-time public or district schools. James Welsh, his father, was a native of Perry county. Pa. , of Irish parentage, and married, in his native state, Margaret Hann, daughter of Peter Hann, of German descent. To James Welsh and wife were born the fol- 1172 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD lowing children: Eliza, born in Pennsylvania; Mary, William S., Margaret, Sarah (who died young), Esther (who died at the age of fourteen years), Elizabeth, James and Catherine, all born in Ohio. In 1823 Mr. Welsh brought his wife and eldest child to Ohio, using a wagon team as a means of conveyance, stopped a year in Warren county, and then came to Montgomery and settled on fifty acres six miles north of Dayton. The year following, he sold this property and bought ninety-five acres a mile and a half west of Union, in Ran- dolph township, also bought eighty acres in Miami county, and 120 acres in Wells county, Ind. He died in Montgomery county, Ohio, at the age of fifty-five years, a member of the United Brethren church, well-to-do as to worldly goods, and left an unsullied reputation for honesty and charitable disposition. William S. Welsh was reared a farmer, and on November 21, 1850, married Miss Eliz- abeth Wenger, who was born in Randolph township, Montgomery county, in September, 1 83 1, a daughter of Christian and Mary (Klep- inger) Wenger. They first located on the Welsh homestead, where they resided for three years; then moved to the Wenger homestead, lived there about eight months; then went to Monroe township, Darke county, and remained there about eighteen months. Returning to Montgomery county, they bought the farm in Clay township then occupied by Levi Gilbert, on which they lived four years; then lived near Laura four and a half years, and finally bought and settled on the farm of 172 acres formerly owned by Henry Limbert, of which they took possession in 1865. Here they lived until February, 1890, when they moved to. a farm near Phillipsburg, on which Mr. Welsh has erected modern buildings. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Welsh have been born the following children, in the order here given: Mary C. , born January 26, 1852 — died an infant on the Welsh home- stead in Randolph township; John H., born on the same homestead June 21, 1853; Martha A., born in Darke county July 20, 1855; Sarah E., born in Randolph township, Montgomery county, August 26, 1857; Eliza J., born Octo- ber 11, 1862 — died at the age of eleven years in Miami county; Maggie A., born November 10, 1864, in Clay township, Montgomery county, where the three following were also born: William W., February 25, 1867; James F., January 17, 1871, now married to Rettie Good; and Floy L., November 16, 1874. Of this large family, John H. married Alice Bink- ley, who died September 28, 1890, leaving one child; the husband then married Minnie Ella Eckman, and is now in the hardware business at Dayton; Martha A. is married to Newton Binkley, a farmer, and is the mother of four children; Sarah E. was the wife of Michael Weist, a farmer, but died without issue; Mag- gie A. is married to George Smoot, a farmer, of Brookville, and has four children; William W. , a farmer, married Salomie Peffley, and is the father of one child. The Welsh family have a fine record in Montgomery county, as well as elsewhere, for usefulness and public spirit, and their standing as citizens and mem- bers of society is unexcelled. T^yr--9ILLIAM WENGER, a thrifty farm- m m er of Clay township, Montgomery \JLyl and a son of one of the township's pioneers, is native here, and was born March 4, 185 1, on the old Wenger homestead near Harrisburg, a son of Christian and Mary (Klepinger) Wenger. He received a very good common-school training, but a still better training in agriculture, as he was reared to manhood on his father's farm. He married, in Clay township, Miss Mary Ann Baker, who was born in this township May 9, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1173 1858, a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Niswonger) Baker, well-known neighbors and early settlers. Samuel Baker, the father of Mrs. Wenger, was a son of Michael Baker, a pioneer who settled in Clay township in 1805; Samuel was born on the Baker homestead, was reared to farming, and to his marriage with Miss Eliza- beth Niswonger were born ten children, viz: Catherine, Lucinda, Oliver, Warren, Cyrus, Zachariah, Elizabeth, Winfield, Emma, dead, and Mary A. (Mrs. Wenger). The father of this family, Samuel Baker, was a man well-to- do, and lived on the old homestead until his death in the faith of the German Baptist church, of which he had been a member for many years. He had also served as a school director for several terms, and had the confi- dence of the entire community. At his marriage, Mr. Wenger settled on his ! present farm, which then comprised but 110 acres, but, as has been said, he was a skillful farmer, and well knew how to handle his land. He soon had his original farm all under a high state of cultivation, making it profitable in every direction, carefully attended to every detail of its tillage, and added to it until he now owns 300 acres of as good land as may be found in the township, improved with a ] modern dwelling and substantial and conve- niently arranged farm buildings. Mr. and Mrs. Wenger have had born to their marriage twochildren — Stanley C. andBessie E. — whom they have educated in the best possible man- ner, and have reared in their own religious faith, that of the German Baptist church. In politics Mr. Wenger is a democrat, and is now serving as a member of the school board. He is a man of strong mental endowment and great force of character, and has made the im- press of his mentality on the community in which he lives. He is respected for his un- bending integrity and is commended for his 52 public spirit, as he is ever ready to aid liber- ally with his means both church and school and all public enterprises calculated to pro- mote the general welfare and to advance the prosperity of his township and county. « w ■ * ENRY WESSEL, a leading business |f\ man of Farmersville, Montgomery r county, Ohio, and also a prominent politician and prosperous farmer, was born in Oldenburg, Germany, August 15, 1843, a son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Taper) Wessel, also natives of Oldenburg. Benjamin Wessel was born in 1812, was a gilder by trade, and in 1865 came to America, whither his surviving children had preceded him, these children being Henry, Joseph and Benjamin. Mr. Wessel settled in Cincinnati, where he worked at his trade for many years and became a well-to-do citizen. In religion he is a Catholic, and is a trustee and council- man in his church, and in politics he is a democrat. As a citizen he enjoys the respect of all who know him, and is now passing his • days in quiet retirement. Henry Wessel left the parental roof in Germany at the age of eight years and learned the carpenter's trade. At the age of eighteen years he embarked on a sailing vessel at the port of Alkaman, in Holland, bound for Amer- ica, and after a voyage of five weeks landed in Baltimore in August, 1861. From this city he came to Ohio at once, located in Cincin- nati, and there worked at his trade until 1872, when he went to Texas and thence to Mis- souri, and for two years worked in the car- shops of Saint Louis. In 1876 he located in Dayton, Ohio, where he engaged in the saloon business. In 1892 he removed to Farmersville, where he bought business and residence prop- erty, and for four years was again engaged in the saloon business. He now employs his 1174 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD time in the improvement of his farm in Ger- man township. Mr. Wessel has been twice married — first, in Cincinnati, in 1865, to Caroline Hineagor, a native of that city, who bore him three chil- dren, who were named Benjamin, Josephine and Joseph. Mrs. Wessel died in her native city in 1869, and Mr. Wessel 's second mar- riage was celebrated in Dayton with Miss Elizabeth Heffner, a native of the Gem City and a daughter of Frederick Heffner, a well- known citizen. In politics Mr. Wessel is strongly demo- cratic, and on the money question is an advo- cate of free silver. He cast his first presiden- tial vote, in 1864, for George B. McClellan, and has always been active in advancing the interests of his party. He is a factor of no small importance in the political affairs of the township and county, and his influence is always felt in party councils and at the polls. /^yAMUEL WIGGIM, a leading farmer «^^^> of Mad River township, was born k^^ April 26, 1823, at Centerville, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, and is a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Lytle) Wiggim, both natives of county Tyrone, Ireland. An- drew and Elizabeth Wiggim were the parents of seven children, as follows: John, Ann (wife of John Watson), Hugh, Robert, Andrew, Lytle and Samuel. The last two are the only ones that are now living, though all but Robert lived to be more than sixty years of age, and the daughter, at the time of her death, was eighty-one. Andrew Wiggim in early life worked at any employment that came to his hand, and grew to manhood thus occupied. He married in Ireland, and in that country his three eldest children were born. He had a common- school education, and when he carne to the United States, in 18 17, he settled in Lancas- ter county, Pa., working there, as in his native county of Tyrone, at various occupations. In 1 82 1 he came to the state of Ohio, living for a short time in Piqua, removing thence to Montgomery county, and settling at Center- ville. Living in the vicinity of that place un- til 1834, he then removed to the farm upon which his son Samuel now lives, and upon that farm he spent the remainder of his life. He died August 10, 1858, at the age of seventy- five. His wife was born in 1782 and died November 18, 1864. They were members of the Presbyterian church. The paternal grandfather of Samuel Wig- gim was also a native of county Tyrone (Tir Eogain, Tir Owen, Owen's country, finally Tyrone), was a farmer in his native county and died therein. The maternal grandfather was also a native of Ireland, and died there. Samuel Wiggim was born in Van Buren township, Montgomery county, Ohio, or rather in what afterward became Van Buren town- ship, for at that time the county had not been divided into townships. His birthplace was near the present site of Centerville, and he lived there until he was eleven years of age. He has lived in Mad River township ever since 1834, a period of sixty-two years, and has been a resident of the county for seventy-three years, or ever since he was born. After his father's death, he bought the interests of the other heirs and has since then kept the home place in his possession. On November 9, 1854, he was married to Miss Mary Ann Hawker, daughter of Frederick and Sarah Hawker. To this marriage there were born five children, as follows: Margaret, Mary Belle. Effie May, Clark and North, only the last two of whom are now living. Clark married Miss Eudora Neibel, of Shelby county, Ind. , and North lives at home, unmarried. Mrs. Mary Ann Wiggim died February 9, 1875, and OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1175 Mr. Wiggim married for his second wife Miss Susan Elizabeth Neibel, on April 25, 1878. He and his wife are members of the First Re- formed church of Dayton, which was organized in 1833. As a democrat, Mr. Wiggim served as township trustee a number of years and as assessor three years. His farm contains 100 acres of land and lies about four miles north- east of the court house, on the Valley pike. The parents of Mrs. Wiggim were among the first settlers of the county, locating in Miami township, and her father's parents settled there in 1 8 10, when her father was only five years old. William and Susan (Hammaker) Neibel, her father and mother, were natives of Penn- sylvania, the latter having been born in Har- risburg. They were the parents of six chil- dren, four sons and two daughters, four of whom are still living, viz: Daniel W., David L. , Joseph H. D. and Susan Elizabeth. For a number of years William Neibel held the office of trustee of the township in which he lived, and also of justice of the peace. His father, John Neibel, was a native of Germany, came to the United States early in the pres- ent century, and served in the war of 18 12. ^"V'TEPHEN WYSONG, farmer of Perry *\^^fcT township, now retired, is a descend- h\_J ant of one of the early pioneers, and springs from German ancestry, who came early from Virginia. Jacob Wysong, his grandfather, was born in Franklin county, Va. , and by his wife had eleven children, as follows: Stephen, Charles, John Jacob, Henry, Valentine, Joseph, Matthew, Robert, Lewis, who died at the age of ten years; Elizabeth and Lydia. In religious faith Jacob Wysong was a Dunkard, or German Baptist, and a man of most exemplary character. He came to Ohio in 1818 by means of a four-horse team and wagon, and settled on 200 acres of land in Perry township, which he cleared up from the woods. He was a successful farmer and an honorable citizen, and died when sixty-four years of age. Charles Wysong, father of Stephen, was born October 25, 1802, in Franklin county, Va. , and was sixteen years of age when brought to Ohio by his parents. He married Margaret Gustin, daughter of Elkahana Gustin, who was one of the pioneers of Warren county, Ohio, and lived for a short time in Perry township, Montgomery county, and then re- turned to Warren county. He was a member of what was called the New Light or Disciple church. Charles Wysong, after his marriage, lived a few years on the Wysong homestead. At length he purchased a farm containing eighty acres in Preble county, cleared it of its timber, and lived on it until 1873, dying in West Alexandria in 1889, at the age of eighty- six years. He was very strong in body, and of an equally vigorous, mental and moral character. In religious belief he was a Ger- man Baptist, and contributed liberally of his means to the church. He followed in the footsteps of his father, and the meetings of his religious brethren were in the early days held in his house. Mr. Wysong was a hardwork- ing and industrious man, and made and laid brick for eighteen years. He was a natural mechanic, and made his own tools, plows, etc. He for a time followed pump-making in Alex- andria, and also made wagons and other im- plements. He was held in high regard by his neighbors, and it may be truly said of him that his word was as good as his bond. His chil- dren were as follows: Hannah, Harrison, Jemimah, Stephen, Dorothea, Lydia, Rachael, Margaret, Jacob and Annie. From his father, Jacob, and Jacob's brother, Valentine, and from Capt. Joseph, descended all the Wysongs of Montgomery county. 117C, CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Stephen Wysong, whose name opens this sketch, was born November 3, 1 831, on the Wysong homestead in Perry township, and was one year old when his parents removed to Preble county and settled in Twin township. Brought up on the farm, he received but little education, and this little in the old-fashioned subscription schools. He married, November 15, 1856, when twenty-five years of age, in Perry township, Susan King, who was born October 25, 1837, in that township, a daugh- ter of William and Lydia (Baker) King. William King came from Virginia, was of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, and had children as follows: Annie, John, James, Elizabeth, Jane, Sarah, Susan, Catherine, William and Lydia. William King settled in Perry township after the birth of his second child, John, cleared up a farm of fifty acres, which he sold, and pur- chased 100 acres in the same township, upon which he lived until his death. He was a mem- ber of the United Brethren church, one of the hardy and much-respected pioneers, and died in 1863, aged sixty-two years. His widow died July 20, 1896, in her ninety-second year. Mr. and Mrs. Wysong, after their mar- riage, settled on eighty acres of land in Perry township, and a few years later Mr. Wysong rented this farm and located on a place on Wolf creek, where they lived for about eleven years, when they removed to their present property, in 1886. Mr. Wysong has been a member of the German Baptist church for about thirty-five years, and has been a trustee of his church almost as long. He and his wife united with the church in the same year, 1862. He has prospered through his indus- try, and has earned a place among the most esteemed citizens of the community in which he lives. Mr. and Mrs. Wysong reared Annie C. Aucherman from the time she was four months old, her mother having died; brought her up as if she were their own child and gave her a good education. She became the wife of W. H. Riley, of Vandalia, Ohio, and died July 26, 1896. >Y*ESSE ARNOLD, a resident of Phillips- m burg, Montgomery county, Ohio, and A I an ex-soldier of the Civil war, was born in this county, May 20, 1845, and is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Andrews) Arnold, the former of whom came from Rockingham county, Va. , and was of ante-Revolutionary German descent. Jesse Arnold was reared to farming and was educated in the common schools. At the age of eighteen years and seven months, he enlisted at Dayton, Ohio, January 1, 1864, in company C, Sixty-third Ohio volunteer in- fantry, to serve three years, but was honorably discharged at Camp Dennison, Ohio, July 28, 1865, owing to the close of the war. He fought through the great Atlanta campaign — at Resaca, Kingston, Dalton, Tunnel Hill, Kenesaw Mountain, Dallas, Atlanta and Jones- boro; he was also at Sugar Creek Gap and Crystal Springs, and at the latter place he was sent to the rear for disability. He rejoined the regiment at Goldsboro, N. C, and served until the close of the war. He was always a good soldier and performed his full duty. After the war, Mr. Arnold returned to Ohio and married Miss Rebecca J. Walker, who was born in Preble county in 1846, a daughter of Thomas and Phebe (Wikle) Walk- er, the parents of the former having been of Pennsylvania-German descent and old set- tlers of Preble county. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold has been blessed with one child, Dora. Mr. Arnold is a member of Phillipsburg lodge, No. 594, I. O. O. F. , in which he has passed all the chairs, including that of noble grand; he is also an honored member of Foster Marshall post, G. A. R., of OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1177 Brookville, and in politics is a republican. Both as a citizen and as a soldier he has am- ply earned the high esteem in which he is held by his friends and neighbors. >-j*ACOB ANSPACH, of Chambersburg, J Ohio, is an old settler of Butler town- /• 1 ship, Montgomery county, and a native of Pennsylvania. On both sides of his family he springs from German stock. His re- mote ancestors were among the early colonial settlers of Pennsylvania. George Anspach, his father, was born in Berks county, Pa., in 1764, was a farmer by occupation, and married Magdalena Peter, by whom he had the following children: John, Jonathan, Joseph, Daniel, Jacob, Elizabeth, Catherine, Magdalena, Sarah and Lydia. In 1833 Mr. Anspach came to Ohio, settling in Montgomery county. He made the journey with teams' and was three weeks on the way. Upon arriving in Montgomery county he bought, in company with John Balleman, a farm consisting of 200 acres of land. On this farm he lived one year, and then sold his in- terest to Mr. Balleman, and bought a farm of 120 acres in Miami township. This farm he greatly improved by clearing it of its timber. He was a democrat in politics and while living in Pennsylvania held several minor offices, among them being that of assessor. He was a man of integrity and stood well in the estima- tion of all. He and his wife were members of the Lutheran church, and he lived to be sev- entv-seven years of age, dying in 1864. Jacob Anspach was born March 19, 1822, in Berks county, Pa. Receiving but a limited education, he grew up on the farm, learned all the details of farm work and adopted that vo- cation for life. He was eleven years old when brought to Ohio by his parents, and well re- members the long journey. When he was twenty-seven years old he married Elizabeth Breahm, the ceremony being performed June 20, 1848. She was a daughter of Henry and Mary (Lies) Breahm, the former of whom was born in Berks county, Pa., and was a weaver by trade. He married in Pennsylvania, and his children were George, Henry, John, Re- becca, Wilhelmina, Mary, Catherine, Eliza- beth and Martha. Mr. Breahm removed to Ohio in 1838, settling two and a half miles east of Miamisburg, on a good farm of 100 acres, to which he subsequently added thirteen acres. He was a hardworking, pioneer citizen, and in old age retired to the village of Miamisburg, where he died in May, 1885, aged eighty-five years. He and his wife were members of the German Reform church, and he was an elder of his church for many years. He was a man of excellent character and was highly esteemed. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Anspach lived for two years on his father's farm, and then rented a farm near Centerville, on which they lived for three years. In 1856 they bought eighty-seven and a half acres in Butler township, which Mr. Anspach improved with good buildings and made a good home. Upon this farm he lived until 18S3, when he removed to his present homestead, which consists of thirteen acres, on which stands an attractive residence. Mr. and Mrs. Anspach are the parents of the following children: George, Mary, Franklin, Lucetta, John, Albert, Joseph, Emma, Ida. The parents are members of the Lutheran church, and Mr. Anspach has been a deacon for many years. For the past ten years he has been an elder in his church. He assisted largely to erect the present edifice and ever since the church was established has been a liberal supporter thereof. In politics Mr. Anspach has been and is a prohibitionist, and has always been an honored and respected citizen, whose probity of char- acter and good qualities have given him the 1178 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD confidence of the community where he has lived so many years. *V^V OAH BAKER, one of the best known m citizens of Brookville, Ohio, is a r descendant of an early pioneer fam- ily of Montgomery county, his an- cestors having been among the first settlers in Clay township. Michael Baker, his grand- father, was a native of Somerset county, Pa., a farmer by occupation and married Catherine Smucker, a native of the same county. The children of Michael and Catherine Baker were Susan, Jacob, Ann, Mary, Elizabeth, Cather- ine, John, Michael, Benjamin and Samuel, the first two born in Pennsylvania, and the others in Montgomery county, Ohio. It was in 1805 that Michael Baker with his wife and two children, Susan and Jacob, came from Somerset county, Pa., to Montgomery county, Ohio, shipping all their goods at Pitts- burg on a boat to be thus taken down the Ohio river, and on the way down the river they were all spoiled by water. Mr. Baker settled in the woods one mile northeast from the present site of Brookville, near a good spring of water, and also near the camp of a tribe of Miami Indians. These Indians he found very peace- able and friendly, and on one occasion when he heard a rumor of war he took his family to Weaver Mills on Beaver creek for the winter, leaving his corn in rail pens in charge of the Indians, who cared for it, and expressed much delight at his return in the spring. Mr. Baker found these Indians honest and good neighbors. When Mr. Baker settled in the locality de- scribed above it was in the midst of the pri- meval forest, and two and a half miles to the Rohrer settlement to the northward and eight miles to the Hay farm. He entered a section of land, and immediately set himself to work to clear it. For a time, however, the pros- pects were extremely discouraging, and he would have returned to Pennsylvania but for the fact that his horses died from some un- known cause. Thus he was compelled to re- main in this new country, and endure all the hardships and privations incident to pioneer life, but by industry and pertinacity he at last overcame all obstacles, erected a good log cabin, and cleared up 160 acres of his land. His nearest market and depot of supplies was Cincinnati, sixty miles away. At that time there were but a few log houses in Dayton, and no stores. Mr. Baker was a man of ex- ceedingly strong constitution, and, notwith- standing the severities of frontier life, he lived to be nearly ninety years old, dying on his farm August 21, 1854. His wife reached nearly the same age. They were devout members of the Dunkard church, and were among the earliest members of this denomination to settle in Montgomery county. Benjamin Baker, one of the sons of Mi- chael, and the father of Noah Baker, was born in 1 8 10, on the old Baker homestead in Clay township. Having received the ordinary edu- cation given to country boys at that time, he married Frances Neiswonger, who was born in 18 12, in Clay township, and who was a daugh- ter of John and Elizabeth (Circle) Neiswonger, the former of whom, though of German ances- try, was a native of Virginia. To Mr. and Mrs. Baker there were born eleven children, as fol- lows: Saty, Melinda, Noah, Levi, Mary, Cy- rus, Simon, Amanda, Sarah A., Sylvester and Minerva. Benjamia Baker settled on the Salem road one and a half miles from Brookville on land given him by his father, 104 acres, all in the woods. This land he cleared, improved and made into a good farm and home, thriftily adding thereto until at last he owned about 700 acres. An excellent farmer, a good business man and a progressive citizen, he became not OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1179 only popular but also prosperous. He was the first grain buyer in Brookville, carrying on that business for many years, and when the Pan Handle railroad was constructed through the place the company built a side track to his warehouse. As the first postmaster in Brook- ville he held the office for many years. He and his wife were members of the German Baptist or Dunkard church. Noah Baker was born April 11, 1834, on his father's farm, and attended common school until he was nineteen years of age. While he was sufficiently well educated to teach school, yet he preferred labor and business, and be- came a saw-mill proprietor. August 31, 1854, he married Catherine Litten, who was born September 11, 1834, and was a daughter of James and Sarah A. (Blair) Litten, the former of whom was an old citizen of Montgomery county, living near Dayton. While Mr. Lit- ten was a native of Maryland, he moved early to this county with his wife. His children were named as follows: John. Samuel, David, Frances, Elizabeth, Grace, Delilah, Prudence and Catherine. Mr. and Mrs. Baker, shortly after their marriage, settled on a farm of eighty acres. He soon engaged in the saw-mill business on the same spot where his mill now stands. He prospered in this enterprise and now owns valuable property in Brookville, and is still engaged in milling. Mr. Baker is a trustee in the Methodist church, of which both himself and wife are members. Politically he is a re- publican, and has served as a member of the corporation council. To Mr. and Mrs. Baker there have been born eleven children, two of whom died young; Arthur was killed at the age of twenty-three in an accident on the Cincin- nati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad, near Car- rollton, Ohio, and the remaining children are as follows: Cornelia, Fidelia, Ambrose, Frances, Granville, Carrie, Orville and Emer- son. Mr. Baker's sterling character and per- sonal worth have made him one of the most widely-esteemed citizens of Brookville and that vicinity. ■^"t'AMES M. CUSICK, a prosperous busi- ■ ness man of Brookville, Ohio, and an A 1 ex-soldier of the Union army, was born in Montgomery county, one mile south of the town of Pyrmont, February 24, 1840. He is a son of Thomas and Sarah (Johnson) Cusick. The Cusick family come of Scotch- Irish stock, and were early settlers in Virginia. The grandfather of the subject served as a sol- dier in the war of 18 12, and saw the burning of the capitol building at Washington, D. C, during that war. James M. Cusick was well educated in the public schools, and when a young man worked on the farm. On October 24, 1861, at West Baltimore, Montgomery county, Ohio, he en- listed as a private soldier in company B, Sev- enty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, for three years or during the war, and served not only throughout his full period of enlistment, but also two months more. When his time ex- pired he was with his regiment engaged in the siege of Atlanta, and the regiment was held until after that city fell, and also after the bat- tle of Franklin, which occurred November 30, 1864. Mr. Cusick was honorably discharged at Nashville, Tenn., December 4, 1864. He was on guard duty at Fort Donelson in Febru- ary, 1862, was in the battle of Pittsburg Land- ing, in the great battle of Atlanta, and also in those of Jonesboro and Lovejoy Station. With his regiment he was on the march to Nashville when the hard-fought battle of Franklin occurred, which in many ways was one of the severest of the war. Mr. Cusick was always an active soldier, had no furlough home during his entire period 1180 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of enlistment, was sick in hospital only four weeks, and was in all the battles, skirmishes, campaigns and marches in which his regiment was engaged. After the close of the war Mr. Cusick re- turned to Montgomery county, and in 1865 married Annie Cassell, who was born Decem- ber 15, 1846, at Maytown, Lancaster county, Pa., and is a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Engle) Cassell. To Mr. and Mrs. Cusick there have been born two children, viz: Der- mott H. and Imogene. After his marriage Mr. Cusick kept what is now the Reiley House, at Brookville, Ohio, for two years, and after- ward kept hotel at Covington, Miami county, Ohio. He was also engaged in the lightning rod business for sixteen years, and at the ex- piration of this period bought a farm near Brookville, and was postmaster at this place under the Harrison administration. In 1893 he engaged in the grocery business, in which he has been successful. As a republican, he served as trustee of Clay township twelve years, and is a member of Foster Marshall post, No. 587, G. A. R. , of which he is now senior vice-commander. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Order of American Mechanics, having been the first treasurer of his lodge. Mr. Cusick is a man well known for many miles around his home, and enjoys the repu- tation of an able business man and a public- spirited member of the community. HMOS J. COOVER, one of the most substantial farmers of Butler town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, and of old pioneer stock, is a son of Jacob and Eve (Beard) Coover, and was born on the old homestead March 22, 1851. He was edu- cated in the common school, was trained to farming, and also learned the carpenter's trade. At Dayton, Ohio, December 25, 1879, he mar- ried Miss Martha V. Shriver, who was reared in Dayton, was graduated from the Central high school of that city, and is a daughter of Dr. John William and Mary (Cassell) Shriver. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Coover lived on the Coover homestead until 1891, when Mr. Coover bought and removed to his present handsome farm of 120 acres, which has since been their home. To this marriage have been born the following children: John W., Eva S., Robert and Helen M. In politics Mr. Coover is an ardent republican, and both he and his wife are members of the Yandalia United Brethren church. Mr. Cooper is a thoroughly practical farmer and an excellent business man and is universally respected. His children are being well educated, and he is progressive in his views regarding educational affairs and public improvements. Dr. John William Shriver, father of Mrs. Amos J. Coover, but now deceased for some twenty years past, was one of the most emi- nent of the physicians of the city of Dayton. He was a native of Chester county, Pa., and a son of William and Sarah (Williams) Shriver, the former of German and the latter of Welsh descent. He was graduated from the Phila- delphia Medical college, began practice in Cen- treville, Pa., and there married Miss Mary A. Cassell, a native of Carroll county, Md. , and a daughter of Isaac and Eleanor (Gibson) Cas- sell — the Cassells being of colonial Pennsyl- vania-German descent and the Gibsons of Kentucky-Irish extraction. Mr. Cassell was a merchant of Spring Mills, Pa., lived to the age of eighty-two years, and died a member of the Methodist church, and the father of one child, now Mrs. Dr. Shriver. To the doctor and wife were born nine children, viz: Sarah E., Adeline, Laura E., Margaret E., Martha Vir- ginia (Mrs. Coover), John M., Charles A., Katie E. and Cliff M. After coming to Day- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1181 ton, Ohio, the doctor attained great promi- nence in his profession and died in the faith of the Methodist church. Mrs. Eve (Beard) Coover, mother of Amos J. Coover, is a daughter of John and Eliza- beth (Fox) Beard, and was born January 15, 1 8 14, in Warren county, Ohio. John Beard, her father, was born in Maryland during the Revolutionary war, and in early manhood came to Ohio. He married, in Warren county, Mrs. Elizabeth Robb, a widow, and the daughter of Michael and Susannah Fox. The Fox family came from Hagerstown, Md., were among the earliest settlers of Stark county, Ohio, and both the Beard family and the Fox family were of German descent. John Beard and family came from Warren county to Mont- gomery county in 1820, and settled in Butler township on 100 acres of land on the National road; he also owned land in Shelby county, and was a well-to-do citizen. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Beard were named Sal- lie, Polly, Betsey, Susannah, Mary, Eve, Sam- uel, John, Jacob, George and Nancy. The parents belonged to the United Brethren church, in which Mr. Beard was a trustee, and in politics he was a democrat. He served in the war of 1812, and lived to be eighty- seven years of age. His mother died at the age of 100 years, and his wife at 101 years. Of the children here enumerated, Eve, whose name opens this paragraph, was reared in the wilderness of Warren county, and at twenty years of age, December 18, 1834, was married, in Butler township, Montgomery county, to Jacob Coover. Jacob Coover, father of Amos J. Coover, was born in Cumberland county, Pa., Decem- ber 7, 1809, a son of Michael and Elizabeth (Shoup) Coover. Michael Coover was born near Harrisburg, Pa., a son of Jacob Coover, and there were born to him and his wife, Elizabeth Shoup, the following children: John, Jacob, George, Michael, Samuel, Isaac, Sarah and William — the last, a physician. Michael Coover brought his family to Ohio by wagon and settled in Butler township on the land oc- cupied by J. Q. A. Coover, about 1828, and here died, a member of the United Brethren church. Jacob Coover, after his marriage with Eve Beard, worked in his father's saw- mill until he purchased a farm for himself, and on which he reared his children, who were named as follows: Henry (died at forty-nine yearsof age), Michael J. , Anna, Rosannah, Jacob (died a young man), Filda, Zachariah (died young), Amos J., and Mary C. Mr. Coover pros- pered in his farming and became the owner of 226 acres of good arable land. For many years he was a trustee of the United Brethren church he had aided to build in Vandalia. In poli- tics a republican, he was for a long time a township trustee. He was a man of high character and noted for his industry and pub- lic spirit. He gave his children every school advantage, and died February 23, 1874, at the age of sixty-five years. His venerable widow, now eighty-three years old, retains her facul- ties to a remarkable degree, and is beloved by all who know her. Of their children, named above, Henry married Adaline Johnson; Ros- annah was married to Samuel Keplinger; Amos married Martha V. Shriver; Mary mar- ried Horace D. Hutchin, and Michael J. mar- ried Lucy Collins. Michael J. and Jacob (de- ceased) were soldiers in the three-months' serv- ice in the late Civil war, and both were in the same company. Michael J. Coover, the eldest of the living children born to Jacob and Eve Coover, was born May 19, 1832, in Butler township, was reared a farmer, and in 1863, at Dayton, en- tered the 100-day service as corporal of com- pany D, One Hundred and Thirty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, and did duty at Washing- ton, D. C, Arlington Heights, White House 1182 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Landing, Richmond, Petersburg, Fortress Monroe and Norfolk, but his active service under fire was confined to skirmishes at Ar- lington Heights and White House Landing. At the end of four months he was honorably discharged at Camp Chase, Ohio. He mar- ried, in Dayton, October 3, 1883, Miss Lucy Collins, who was born in Dayton January 31, 1847, a daughter of Wilber Collins, a pros- perous business man, now deceased. Mrs. Lucy Coover died December 6, 1885, leaving one child, Edwin J., born January 10, 1885. In politics Mr. Coover is a republican and is a member of the G. A. R. post at Vandalia. He is now engaged in farming in Butler town- ship, growing large quantities of small fruits on a part of the old homestead, which he owns and upon which he built a handsome dwelling about a year after his marriage, having passed the first year of his married life in Dayton. He is one of Butler township's most valued and public-spirited citizens. (For further in- formation respecting the Coover family, the reader is referred to the biography of J. Q. A. Coover, on another page). aHRISTOPHER GISH, M. D., the oldest medical practitioner in Mont- gomery county, a man of learning and a venerated and honored citizen, was born in Franklin county, Pa., March 20, 181 5, and is a son of Mathias and Frances (Hama- ker) Gish. His grandfather, Abraham Gish, emigrated from Switzerland to America a short time after the close of the Revolutionary war, and in Lancaster county, Pa., married a Miss Shock, by whom he had ten children, as follows: Jacob, John, Abram, David, Elizabeth, Cath- erine, Susan, George, Christopher and Mathias, all of whom were born in Lancaster county, Pa. Abraham Gish brought money with him from Switzerland, and upon arriving in this country purchased 500 acres of land near Elizabethtown, became a wealthy farmer, and there passed the remaining years of his life. He was an industrious man, of high moral character and a member of the United Breth- ren church. He lived to be eighty years of age. His family was noted for longevity and the combined ages of his children were over 900 years. They were all intelligent and tem- perate people, as well as prosperous. Mathias Gish, the youngest son of Abra- ham, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., May 8, 1788, received a common-school education and became a farmer, beside learning the mill- ing business of his brother David in Franklin county. Pa. In Cumberland county, Pa., he married Frances Hamaker, who was born April 24, 1791, in that county. After their marriage Mathias Gish and wife settled in Franklin county, Pa., moving thence soon afterward to Juniata county, where he bought a mill, which he ran for many years. In 1835 he removed to Shelby county, Ohio, where he bought land, and in 1838 he removed to Mont- gomery county, where he bought a house and lot and there died, in 1S72, at the age of eighty-five. He was a member of the United Brethren church, and was well known for his integrity of character and much esteemed for his qualities as an exemplary citizen. To him and his wife there were born the following children: John, Abraham, Christopher, Eliz- abeth, Frances and Mathias. Dr. Christopher Gish, the subject of this sketch, received the rudiments of his educa- tion in Pennsylvania, and when eighteen years of age, in 1834, removed with his brother Abraham to Montgomery county, Ohio. He worked for some time in Union, Montgomery county, and also in Preble county, as a mill- wright, and for some time attended the Day- ton academy, a famous school in its day. In OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1183 1839 he began the study of medicine at Day- ton under Dr. Jacob Bosler, one of the pioneer physicians of Dayton. Dr. Gish attended the Ohio Medical college at Cincinnati in 1840 and 1841 and again in 1850 and 1851, gradu- ating in the latter year. He began the prac- tice of medicine at Dayton in 1840, and re- moved during that year to Salem, Montgomery county, where he built up a large and profita- ble practice, riding many miles in all directions through the woods and over all kinds of roads, for nearly twenty years, most of his riding being on horseback. For some years he was in partnership with Dr. James F. Hibbard, who became an eminent physician, and is still living at Richmond, Ind., at the great age of eighty-one years. Dr. Gish located in Brookville in [860, and there he has been engaged in the practice of his profession ever since, a period of thirty- six years, and has thus been in practice con- tinuously during the last fifty-six years. He is a man of the widest general information, and has taken great interest in scientific mat- ters, especially in geology, having been a close and persistent student of this fascinating science for the past thirty years. He has made a large and valuable collection of geological specimens, having traveled extensively through- out North America in pursuit of knowledge pertaining to this branch of learning. In this country he has visited the Rocky mountains, California, New Orleans, New York and Phil- adelphia, all the time adding to his collection. The doctor is a man of extensive reading and information outside of his special study of geol- ogy, and possesses a most valuable store of varied knowledge. He is a man of unusually liberal views and well known everywhere for his independent thought and honest character. Dr. Gish in 1842 married Mary Fiet, who was born in Chester county, Pa., in 18 19, and was a daughter of Charles and Catherine (Share) Fiet. Mrs. Gish died in 1892, a woman of many virtues. In 1893 the doctor married Fannie Eyer, who was born in Lan- caster county, Pa., March 4, 1842, and is a daughter of John and Fannie (Engle) Eyer. John Eyer, her father, was a miller by occu- pation, and died at the age of eighty-four, his wife dying at the age of eighty-six. Mrs. Gish is a member of the River Brethren church. Her grandfather came from Switzer- land at the same time as the grandfather of her husband. Dr. Gish, through his long and active life, has gained a large store of expe- rience as well as of knowledge, and his career is an evidence of the value of intellectual in- dustry and temperate habits in the prolonging of human life. m RS. JOSEPH DAVIDSON, of Montgomery county, Ohio, is a de- scendant of the Macy family, whose history is published elsewhere at some length in this volume. She is a daugh- ter of Thomas and Jane (Wagoner) Macy, and was born December 8, 1846, on the old Macy homestead in Miami county, and bore the maiden name of Celina Macy. On October 2, 1868, she was married, at the residence of her father, to Joseph Davidson, and they set- tled on the farm where she now lives after passing the first year of their married life on the old homestead. The farm then contained eighty acres of land, which Mr. Davidson, aided by his wife, greatly improved, adding to it un- til he owned 120 acres — a fine farm, now in excellent condition and a pleasant home. Mr. Davidson was born June 13, 1838, in But- ler township, on the old home farm. He was a son of William and Hepzibar (Pierson) Davidson, the former of whom was born in Norway, March 5, 1800, and ran away from home and came to America when he was quite 1184 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD young. On the way over he was shipwrecked and finally landed in Montreal, Canada. He married Hepzibar Pierson on the ioth of Oc- tober, 1830, she being a daughter of Joseph and Margaret Pierson. William and Hepzibar Pierson had nine children, eight sons and one daughter, of whom Solomon, George, William and Margaret C. are still living. William Davidson settled on and cleared up from the woods the eighty acres of land on which Mrs. Joseph Davidson now lives, and which, as stated before, has been increased to 120 acres. He was a shoemaker by trade and died Febru- ary 3, 1869. Politically Joseph Davidson was a republi- can. He and his wife were members of the Disciples' church. They were the parents of five children, as follows: Alonzo Ohmer, Ward B., Howard O.. Myrtle and Carry. Mr. Davidson was an excellent citizen of high character, was careful, prudent and success- ful. The farm which he left is one of the best in Butler township, and is now managed by Mrs. Davidson, aided by her sons. Joseph Davidson was a member of com- pany G, Twenty-fifth Ohio national guard, and entered the service of the government dur- ing the war as a private soldier of company G, One Hundred and Forty-seventh Ohio vol- unteer infantry, was enrolled May 2, 1864, and served 100 days. He was mustered out of service August 30, 1864, at Camp Dennison, Ohio. He died July 13, 1892. Mrs. David- son is one of the excellent women of Mont- gomery county, patient, industrious and a good manager. >t*OHN KNEE, an ex-soldier of the Civil ■ war and an old resident of Phillipsburg, A J Montgomery county, Ohio, was born March 15, 1843, in Miami county, and is a son of David and Catherine iFolkerth) Knee, who were of Pennsylvania-Dutch ex- traction, and whose children, born in Ohio, are named Philip, Samuel, Susan, Mary, Da- vid, Sarah, John, Lewis, Hettie, William and Ernestine. Of this family, three of the sons, Philip, David and John, served in an Ohio regiment during the Civil war. John Knee in his youth had only the ordi- nary district-school advantages, and is largely a self-educated man. When but little past nineteen years of age he enlisted in company H, Sixty-third regiment, Ohio volunteer in- fantry, at Dayton, Ohio, August 28, 1862, to serve three years, veteranized January 1, 1864, at Prospect, Tenn., and served until honora- bly discharged, July 8, 1865, at Camp Denni- son, Ohio, on account of the close of the war. During this period of almost three years he participated in the battles of Parker's Cross Roads, Corinth, Holly Springs. Iuka, Miss.; Decatur, Ala.; the great Atlanta campaign; the battles at Dallas, Resaca, Big Shanty, Pumpkinvine Creek, Kenesaw Mountain, Chat- tahoochie River, the battle in front of Atlanta and that at Jonesboro; he was with Sherman in the famous march to the sea, being then in the commissary department; was at Goldsboro and Raleigh, N. C. , and on the home march via Washington, D. C, where he took part in the grand review, and for a short time after- ward served in Kentucky. The engagement in front of Atlanta was the most severe in which he shared, and his hardest marching was in the pursuit of Forrest through Missis- sippi, in which he endured much suffering from cold and exposure. After the war Mr. Knee came to Montgom- ery county, Ohio, and here married, August 25, 1866, Miss Sarah E. Lewis, who was born December 24, 1845, in Henry county, 111., a daughter of Hiram and Nancy (Stevenson) Lewis. Hiram Lewis came from New Jersey with his parents, who settled on the White OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1185 river, when the Indians were still roaming the prairies and forests of the state. The children born to Hiram and Nancy Lewis were named Benjamin, William L., James, Walter (who died when small), Sarah E., Lucinda, Arthur L. and Nathan P. Of these, James served in the Thirty-sixth Indiana volunteer infantry, and was badly wounded at the battle of Chick- amauga, but recovered and served until the close of the war. In 1874 John Knee and wife settled in Phil- lipsburg, where Mr. Knee engaged in farming, which industry he still pursues with much suc- cess. To Mr. and Mrs. Knee have been born the following children: Frank L., Albert (who died at the age of two years), Omer, Otto (de- ceased), Ira and Harvey. Mr. and Mrs. Knee have long been members of the Christian church, of which Mr. Knee is a trustee, and in this faith they are rearing their children. In politics Mr. Knee is a stanch republican, and as a citizen he is respected for his industry, integrity and usefulness. *y-» OUIS KUNNIKE, of Chambersburg, j Ohio, one of the substantial farmers _^J of Butler township, but now retired from active labor, was born at Celle, or Zell, as it is sometimes called, a town in Hanover, on the Aller, twenty-three miles northeast of the city of Hanover, October 11, 1 83 1. He is a son of Christian and Annastine (Ebeling) Kunnike, the former a prosperous miller of Celle, owning both a grist-mill and an oil-mill. The children of Christian and An- nastine Kunnike were August, Theodore, Earn- est, Louis and Herman. Christian Kunnike lived to be fifty-eight years old and died in Germany. He was a member of the Lutheran church, and was everywhere respected for his industrious habits and his high character. After his death Mrs. Kunnike married Henry Sheverling, who was born in Hanover, in 1805, and was a miller by trade. By this marriage she had one daughter, Alvina. Au- gust and Theodore Kunnike came to the United States, the latter in 1840, the former in 1842. Both of them settled in Dayton, Theodore be- ing a millwright by trade and August a miller. In December, 1843, Mr. and Mrs. Sheverling came to the United States, sailing from Bre- men in the good ship Goethe, a sailing vessel, and were six weeks and three days on the sea. They landed in Baltimore and came at once to Dayton, settling in Butler township, Montgom- ery county, on a farm on which the subject of this sketch now lives. This farm contained sixty-six acres, but since then there have been sold all but about ten acres, which is retained as a homestead. Mr. Sheverling died in 1884, aged seventy-nine years. From his fourteenth year up to his death he was a consistent mem- ber of the Lutheran church. Mrs. Sheverling lived to be sixty-nine years of age, dying in 1864. She was a woman of many virtues and a member of the Lutheran church. In 1853 she paid a visit to her native land, taking with her her daughter, Alvina, remained a year and then returned to the United States, living here until her death. Louis Kunnike, the subject of this sketch, was well educated in his native country, at- tending school until he was eleven years old, and then coming with his mother to the United States. After reaching Ohio he attended school at Chambersburg, becoming a farmer in early life, and has followed that vocation ever since. He now owns 140 acres of land, and is a prosperous man. Like his father and mother, he is a member of the Lutheran church, having united with that church when fourteen years of age. In politics he was a democrat until Abraham Lincoln's time, and since then has been a republican. Mr. Kun- nike is a man of undoubted honesty and up- 1186 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Tightness of character, of correct morals, and has always stood high in the estimation of his neighbors and friends. Miss Alvina Sheverling was born February 1 6, 1838, and hence was five years old when she came to the United States with her par- ents. She was fifteen years of age when she went on a visit to Germany with her mother. She is a member of the Lutheran church, hav- ing united therewith when fifteen years of age, and with the exception of the one year spent in Germany has lived in Butler township ever since 1848. She is a woman of excellent business ability, and by judicious management and investment has largely increased her in- heritance, having now 177 acres of good farm land, well improved. Herman Kunnike was a soldier in the late Civil war, a private in company G, Eighth Ohio regiment, and was killed in battle. >y»OHN M. LANDIS, whose post-office is J Clayton, Ohio, is one of the old settlers (|1 of Randolph township. His father, Abraham Landis, was one of the original pioneers of Madison township, and was born in Lancaster county, Pa. In that county he was married to Mary Miller, who was born in the same county, and both -were of Pennsylvania- Dutch stock. Abraham Landis was a farmer and removed to Montgomery county, Ohio, not long after 1805, settling in the woods in Madison township, a little clearing having already been made on his land. The rest of the farm he himself cleared and made himself a good home. He was a hard-working pioneer, and respected by all. His children are be- lieved to have all been born in Montgomery county. They were as follows: Sallie, who died young; Jacob, Samuel, Daniel, Polly, Elizabeth, Nancy, Leah, Susan, Abraham, John M., Lydia and Michael. In religious belief Mr. Landis was a German Baptist, and was a man of high character. He died on his farm when seventy-seven years of age. John M. Landis, the subject of this sketch, was born July 8, 1832, on his father's farm, in Madison township. Having received his edu- cation, he became a farmer from choice, and when twenty-three years of age, on April 15, 1856, married Elizabeth Ann Weaver, who was born May 26, 1837, and was a daughter of James and Nancy (Hayes) Weaver, the former of whom was a farmer. To Mr. and Mrs. Landis there were born the following children: Alice, Nannie Bell; Edward, who died young; Charles; Emma, who died in infancy; and Clarence W. After marriage Mr. Landis settled on Wolf creek, afterward removing to Darke county, and re- turning to Montgomery county in 1870, buying eighty-three and a half acres of land, upon which he has since lived. This farm he has greatly improved and has erected new and tasteful buildings. Mrs. Landis, who died March 25, 1893, was a most excellent woman, and a member of the Christian church. She was fifty-five years old at the time of her death. Politically, Mr. Landis is a democrat. He has always been an active citizen, and is esteemed for his strong and exemplary char- acter and industrious habits. Clarence W. Landis married Dora Geist, who was born March 13, 1870, in Madison township, Montgomery county, and is a daugh- ter of Erb and Rickie (Clapper) Geist, and of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. To Mr. and Mrs. Landis there have been born two children, Artie and Alice. Clarence W. Landis was well educated in the common schools and is now living on the Ananias Frantz farm. Nan- nie Bell Landis married Preston Weaver, of the National Cash Register company of Day- ton, and has had three children, only one of whom is living. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1187 kS~\ ENJAMIN MECKLEY, one of the l(^^ thriving farmers of Jackson township, J^J Montgomery county, Ohio, was born here on his father's farm August 30, 1835, an d ' s OI Pennsylvania-German descent. Christian Meckley, his father, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., December 19, 1805, and was a son of Melchor Meckley, a farmer, who died at the age of forty-eight years, the father of eight children, viz: Christian, Henry, Isaac, Benjamin, Joseph, Jacob, John and Nancy. Christian was about twelve years old when his father died, and at the proper age was apprenticed to a weaver. At the age of twenty-one years he came to Ohio, walking, with ten companions, all the way to Montgom- ery county. Later, he made several trips to Pennsylvania, driving a team one way and walking the other; altogether, and in various ways, he made seventeen trips between the two states. He finally located in Hamilton, Butler county, where he carried on weaving for some time. He then came to Jackson township, Montgomery county, and married Nancy Keener, who was born in Pennsylvania within three miles of his own birthplace, and about 1830 settled on the farm next north of that on which his son Benjamin now lives. The farm was in the woods and comprised 100 acres, and here were born his six children: Catherine, John, Benjamin, Henry, Michael and Mary. He prospered through life, and at one time owned 460 acres of land, most of which he disposed of to his children without interest, but, as a lesson in industry and economy, insisted on their paying for it. He was a democrat in politics, and for two terms served as township trustee. His death took place April 10, 1884, in his seventy-ninth year. Benjamin Meckley was reared on the home farm and had the advantage of the common schools three months each winter from early boyhood until nineteen years old. April 3, 1862, he married Miss Catherine Barbara Kay- ler, who was born five miles north of Eaton, Preble county, Ohio, October 1, 1S35, on tne homestead of her parents, Benjamin and Eliza- beth (Ozias) Kayler. Benjamin Kayler was born in Rockingham county, Va., October 22, 1803, a son of John F. and Catherine (Haynes) Kayler. John F. was descended from an old German family of Virginia, and brought his wife and children to Ohio in 181 5. They settled four and a half miles north of Eaton, where Mr. Kayler cleared up a farm from the woods, and at one time owned about 400 acres of land, of which he gave 120 acres to each of his children — John, Benjamin and William. He died in 1857, at the age of eighty-two years, having become one of the most prominent citizens of his township. Benjamin Kayler came to Ohio with his father and was reared to manhood on the farm in Preble county. His wife was a daughter of Peter and Catherine (Cristman) Ozias, natives of North Carolina and of Ger- man extraction, and Rev. Jacob Cristman, the maternal great-grandfather of Mrs. Meckley, was the first German Reform preacher in the state of Ohio — both families having come to this state in 1803. Benjamin Kayler and wife settled on a tract of land in the woods near his father's farm, where he cut down the trees from which he obtained the logs for his cabin, cleared up a fine farm, and increased his origi- nal tract of 120 acres to 660. He was an elder in the Lutheran church, a man of unim- peachable character, and died in the faith, in 1S80, at the age of seventy-eight years, the father of six children — William, Catherine B., Phebe, Sarah, Mary and Amanda. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Meck- ley settled on their present farm, which then consisted of 1 50 acres. He has been indus- trious and thrifty and has added 130 acres, now owning a compact and well-cutivated farm of 1188 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 280 acres, one of the best in Jackson township. Mr. and Mrs. Meckley are members of the German Reformed church, Mr. Meckley hav- ing united with the Slyfer congregation when sixteen years of age, while Mrs. Meckley be- came a member of Zion's Lutheran church con- gregation, north of Eaton, when seventeen years old. Mr. Meckley has held the office of deacon and elder for twenty-six years, and is at present an elder in the church. The lives of both have been filled with benevolence and charity. In the absence of children of their own, they have reared, as their own child, from girlhood to womanhood, Annie Gephart, now the wife of William Allen Leise, of Day- ton. In politics Mr. Meckley is a democrat, but has never been an aspirant for office. He has led a busy and useful life, and he and wife bear an honored .name throughout the town- ship of Jackson and surrounding country. WOHN C. HEIDINGER, present post- ■ master of Brookville, springs from Ger- /• 1 man ancestry. He was born in Brak- enheim, Wurtemberg, Germany, April 29, 1830, and is a son of Jacob and Katherine (Fisher) Heidinger. John C. Heidinger re- ceived his education in the excellent schools of Wurtemberg, and came to the United States in 1848, when he was eighteen years old, sail- ing from Antwerp, Belgium, and landing in New York. He first went to Newark, N. J., where he remained a few months, and thence to Pennsylvania, where he resided two years. Here he worked on a farm and also learned the painter's trade. In 1853 he came to Ohio, living for a time at Cincinnati and at College Hill, in Hamilton county, and in 1855 removed to Dayton, Ohio, following his trade all this time. In the same year, 1855, he went to New Lebanon, Montgomery county, Ohio, and in 1856 married Mary A. Adams, who was born in Fairfield county, at New Lancaster, in 1830, and was a daughter of Jacob and Sabina (Henkle) Adams. The Adams family were originally from Maryland, and the Henkles from Virginia. Mr. Heidinger resided at New Lebanon un- til 1862, and then removed to Johnsville, Montgomery county, where he engaged in mer- cantile business. From Johnsville he removed to Van Wert, and thence to Franklin, Ohio, in 1867, and in 1869 to Farmersville, finally coming to Brookville in 1871. In each of these places he was engaged in mercantile pur- suits, but upon reaching Brookville he entered the hotel business as proprietor of the Central House, which he conducted for sixteen years, retiring at the end of this period. In 1884 he was elected a member of the board of infirmary directors, serving three years, and proved a capable and humane offi- cial, his efforts being directed to the benefit of the public. In 1893 he was appointed post- master of Brookville under President Cleve- land's administration, and holds this position at the present time (1897). Mr. Heidinger has engaged in the fire insurance business for the past sixteen years, representing only stand- ard companies. In politics a democrat, he has held several minor offices of his party, such as township clerk of Brookville, and he is one of the popular citizens of this thriving place. He has also served as a member of the corpora- tion council and is well known for his integrity of character and correct business methods. Under his administration the post-office is well managed and the service excellent. To Mr. and Mrs. Heidinger there have been born eight children, as follows: Three that died young; Salina, who died after her mar- riage; Luther F., deceased; Edward C, William and George A. Mr. Heidinger is an honored member of the Odd Fellows order. He has passed nearly all his active life in the C ?^^c£J*<^9~£^ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1191 United States, and is in every way a thorough American citizen. While living at New Lebanon and at Johnsville he was post- master under President Lincoln's administra- tion. He is a genial and pleasant gentleman and is deservedly popular with all classes of the people. >-r* ACOB C. POTE, one of the old citizens M and farmers of Clay township, Mont- /• 1 gomery county, Ohio, is a native of Pennsylvania and was born in Indiana county, January i, 1823, a son of Adam and Magdalen (Coy) Pote. Michael Pote, grandfather of Jacob C, was born in Germany, and when a young man came to America, served in the war of the Revolution, and was one of those who passed the terrible winter of 1777-8 with Washing- ton at Valley Forge. Mr. Pote married a Mrs. Wise, the union resulting in the birth of the following children: Michael, Jacob, Adam, Elizabeth, Sophia, Magdalena and Catherine. He settled down to farming in Bedford county on a tract of 300 acres of land, realized a competency, and died an aged and respected citizen — his descendants still owning the old farm, which some of them occupy. Adam Pote, son of Michael, was born in Bedford county, Pa., in 1795, was there mar- ried to Magdalen Coy, and in 1824 came with his wife and four children to Montgomery township, Ohio. He first located in Randolph township, but later moved to Clay township and entered eighty acres of land, the deed being signed by the then president of the United States, John Quincy Adams. This land he cleared up from the wilderness and transformed into a comfortable home, and here passed the remainder of his days, dying in 1867, the father of eleven children. They were named Magdalene, Elizabeth, Samuel, 53 Jacob C, Mary, Dolly, Michael, Barbara, Susannah, Daniel and John. Of these, three of the sons — Jacob C, Daniel and John — served in the late Civil war, the latter two in the three years' service and as veterans of company B, Seventy-first Ohio volunteer in- fantry. In politics, Mr. Pote was at first a whig, but went into the ranks of the repub- lican party on its organization. He and wife were members of the German Baptist church, and both were noted for their integrity. Lewis Coy, father of Mrs. Magdalen Pote, was a native of Bedford county, Pa., and was extensively engaged in farming, owning 600 acres of land. He lived to be an aged man, and was the father of four sons, viz: Lewis, Henry, Michael and John — Mrs. Pote being the only daughter. Jacob C. Pote, whose name opens this biographical notice, was but one year old when he was brought to Montgomery county. Here he was reared to farming, receiving in his youthful days such an education as could be acquired in the pioneer schools, and on April 18, 1847, married Miss Elizabeth Wagoman, a daughter of Joel Wagoman and a native of Montgomery county. To this union were born five children, viz: Mary A., Catherine, Ellen J., Susannah and Emma. Mrs. Elizabeth Pote died in 1858, and on March 7, i860, Mr. Pote married Miss Mary Whisler, daughter of Peter and Mary (Spitler) Whisler, and this union was blessed by the birth of seven chil- dren, who are named Edward, David L. , Alice, Jessie, Ida, Orvilla and Cora. Mr. Pote enlisted in the United States vol- unteers, first, for the Mormon war, but was not called out for actual service; he next en- listed in the Ohio national guards for five years, was commissioned captain of company F, Second regiment, was called out May 2, 1864, and his company merged with company K, One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio vol- 1192 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD unteer infantry. He was mustered in as first lieutenant, for ioo days, and was stationed at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Md., but was de- tached for provost duty in the city, served i 17 days, and was honorably discharged at Camp Chase, Ohio, August 22, 1864. Mr. Pote, before enlistment, had purchased a tract of 140 acres of land in Clay township, and after his return from the service settled on this property and made of it an excellent farm. He was bereft of his second wife in 1875. She was a devout member of the United Brethren church. In politics Mr. Pote was, in his earlier manhood, a Henry Clay whig, and cast his first presidential vote for that famous statesman; on the formation of the republican party, he became one of its mem- bers, and has ever since been identified with it. Mr. Pote has been successful in his voca- tion, and is now one of the most respected of Clay township's citizens. 8X ILLIAM S. MUNDHENK, M. D., a leading physician of Montgomery county, Ohio, and for the last twenty years a successful practitioner of Brookville, springs from German ancestry. His grandfather, Daniel G. Mundhenk, was a native of German}'; married Louisa Sprengel in 1803, and in 1807 emigrated from Pyrmont, a small country in the northwest of Germany, landing in Philadelphia. When a young man Mr. Mundhenk was a sailor in serv- ice upon whaling vessels, and visited the Arc- tic ocean and Greenland. After retiring from a seafaring life he became a farmer and a me- chanic. By his first wife, who died shortly after reaching Philadelphia, Mr. Mundhenk had two children, August and Louisa. For his second wife he married Maria Hagerman, by whom he had eight children, as follows: Daniel, Henry, Mary A., Michael, Joseph, Charles, Frederick and John. Mr. Mundhenk settled in Montgomery county in 1817, and founded the town of Pyrmont, laying it out on his own land, of which he had from 500 to 600 acres. Upon this farm his second wife died, and for his third wife he married Mar- garet Hubler, by whom he had one child, Caroline. Early in his life Mr. Mundhenk was a Quaker, but after reaching Ohio he joined the United Brethren church. He died in Pyr- mont in 1859, at the age of eighty-one. He was one of the well-known and popular men of pioneer days, a man of sterling character and a valued citizen. He was engaged in both farming and milling in Pyrmont, erecting both saw and grist-mills early in the history of Montgomery count} 1 . Frederick Mundhenk, father of Dr. Mund- henk, was born July 4, 181 8, at Pyrmont, being the first child born in the settlement. His education was received in tho common schools, and early in life he learned the busi- ness of miller, operating both saw and grist- mills. November 3, 1843, he married, at Pyr- mont, Mary C. Hook, who was born in Rock- ingham county, Ya., November 11, 1823, and who was a daughter of John and Ann (Chand- ler) Hook, the former of whom was born in Rockingham county, Va., and was on his fa- ther's side of English descent, on his mother's side of German ancestry. He was the son of Robert Hook. John Hook was a soldier of the war of 1S12, being stationed for a time at Norfolk, Va. To him and his wife there was born one child, Mary C. For some years he followed the harness and saddlery business in Harrison- burg, Ya., and at an early day emigrated to Missouri, and returning from that state located at Pyrmont, Ohio, about 1830. After the death of his first wife he married a second wife, by whom he had two children, Uriah OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1193 and Sarah. His death occurred in 1869, when he was seventy-six years old. Frederick Mundhenk resided at Pyrmont the greater portion of his life. He was an in- dustrious, hard-working and prosperous man, owning some 500 acres of land. For many years he was engaged in milling at Pyrmont, where he was a well and widely known and honored citizen, a republican in politics, and a liberal supporter of the United Brethren church, of which he was a member. He had one son, James, in the Civil war, a member of the One Hundred and Eighteenth Ohio volun- teer infantry. His children were as follows: William S. and Minnie by his first wife, and Frederick by his second marriage. William S. Mundhenk, M. D., was born August 19, 185 1, in Pyrmont, was educated first in the public schools, and began the study of medicine with Dr. J. R. Conner, a promi- nent physician of Montgomery county for thirty years. Afterward he graduated from the Ohio Medical college at Cincinnati, in 1876, and immediately began the practice of medicine at Brookville, soon establishing himself in a large and lucrative practice, which extends through- out the surrounding country. In 1872 he married Emma Conner, born in 1853, and a daughter of Dr. J. R. Conner and his wife, Mary Cusick. Dr. Conner was born in Mary- land, and when a young man removed to Clin- ton county, Ohio, and in 1S51 to Montgomery count}', locating in Pyrmont, where he was en- gaged in the practice of medicine until 1872. For the last ten years of his life he was en- gaged in practice in Brookville, dying there in 18.82, at the age of fifty-six years. His chil- dren are Emma, Eberle, Flora and Rose. Dr. Conner was of prominence in the medical pro- fession, and held a high place in the general estimation of his fellow-men. Dr. William S. Mundhenk keeps fully abreast of the progress of his profession, in which he has always maintained an enviable standing. He is a member of the Ohio state Medical association, of the Montgomery coun- ty Medical society, of the Knights of Pythias, and in politics is a republican. To Dr. and Mrs. Mundhenk there has been born one son, Herbert C Ohio State universitv. now a diligent student at the HLBERT QUANCE, of Brookville, Montgomery county, Ohio, an hon- ored citizen, and one of the ex-soldiers of the Civil war, springs from an old American family of the state of New York, and is of England and German ancestry. He is a son of Stephen S. and Mary Ouance, and was born February 26, 1848, in Lenawee county, Mich. Having received a good common-school education, when fifteen years old he enlisted February 26, 1863, at Camden, Hillsdale county, Mich., in company B, First Michigan sharpshooters, for three years or during the war. While in Judiciary Square hospital, Washing- ton, D. C, he was honorably discharged, January 20, 1865, on account of wounds re- ceived in battle. He participated in the battles of the Wilderness, of Spottsylvania Court House, of Cold Harbor and the siege of Peters- burg, in the latter battle being shot in the left leg by a musket ball, which struck about the middle of the thigh, shattering the bone. Be- ing taken to the field hospital it was found necessary to amputate the leg near the body. For some time he was in the Army Square hospital at Washington, D. C, and later was transferred to the Judiciary Square hospital, from which he was in due course of time dis- charged, having been in the different hospitals about six months in all. The wound above mentioned was the second he received, the first being at Spottsylvania Court House, when a piece of shell struck him on the knee cap of 1194 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the left leg, disabling him for some time. He was also struck in the groin by a spent ball at Petersburg. He was an unusually strong boy, was never sick, performed his duty cheerfully, and was throughout a faithful soldier. After the war he returned to Michigan, and remained at home with his father for some time, attending school. About 1871 he removed to Montgomery county, Ohio, and for a short time was an inmate of the soldiers' home. In 1S75, having purchased a small piece of land near Bachman, Montgomery county, Ohio, he married Annie M. Schlosser, who was born in Jay county, Ind., November 6, 1857, and is a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Beechler) Schlosser. Mr. and Mrs. Quance lived at Bachman until 1886, when they removed to Brookville, and there Mr. Quance bought his present property, consist- ing of -five town lots and a good residence, pleasantly situated. To Mr. and Mrs. Quance there have been born four children, as follows: Nellie, who died at the age of five years; Laura, born February 6, 1881; Lewis, born June 16, 1885, and Flora, born May 17, 1890. Mr. Quance is a member of Foster Marshall post, No. 587, G. A. R. , and has held the office of adju- tant. He is a republican in politics, and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Stephen S. Quance, father of Albert, was born in the State of New York, became a farmer and mason, and was married the first time in his native state. Removing to Michi- gan about 1845, he there worked at his trade as a mason, and later removed to Steuben county, Ind., but died in Illinois in 1896. His children were George, Charles E., Mary, Juliette, Nettie, Albert and Stephen. He had two sons in the Civil war, Charles E. and Albert, the former being in the Sixty-first Illinois volunteer infantry. Mr. Quance was a member of the Christian church, and his first wife, the mother of Albert Quance, a woman of many virtues and excellent qualities, died in Michigan about 1848. Mr. Quance married the second time, by this union having one child, Alice. His second wife having died he again married, but had no children by his third marriage. Samuel Schlosser, father of Mrs." Albert Quance, was a soldier in the war of the Rebel- lion. His children are Harry C. ; Frances M. ; Nancy and Annie M. He is a citizen of Bach- man, and a sketch of his life will be found elsewhere in these pages. ^ ^»v w * ILLIAM PIATT, an honored citizen MB of Brookville, Ohio, and an ex-sol- \jL>l 1 i the ( ivil war. is of French Huguenot descent and of an old colonial family of the state of Virginia. He was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, July 9, 1 841, and is a son of James and Eliza (McWhiney) Piatt. Having received the com- mon-school education of his youthful days, he was reared to farm life and labor. His mother having died in 1849 he was bound out to labor, but received such severe treatment that his father secured a writ of habeas corpus, by means of which young Piatt became again a free boy. He then worked for Daniel Frantz on the farm for nine years. November 15, 1 861, he enlisted at Poast- town, Madison township, Montgomery county, Ohio, as a private soldier in company E, Sev- enty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, under Capt. W. H. Callender, for three years or during the war. He served until he veteranized in that organization at Gallatin, Tenn., Febru- ary 14, 1864, and continued to serve until honorably discharged at Camp Chase, Ohio, January 6, 1866. He participated in many OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1195 skirmishes and battles, among them those of Jonesboro and Lovejoy Station, his regiment having joined Gen. Sherman on the march to Atlanta in time to take part in the closing battles of that great campaign. For fourteen months he was engaged in fighting guerrillas, his company being mounted, and afterward he was engaged in protecting the Louisville & Nashville railroad. After the fall of Atlanta Mr. Piatt returned to Nashville, taking part on the way in the great battle of Franklin, which in many respects was one of the hardest-fought battles of the war, the rebels making as many as nine separate and desperate charges on the Union lines, so determined were they to con- quer on that day, knowing that on their suc- cess depended the possibility of their being able to capture Nashville. After the battle of Franklin Mr. Piatt was on the skirmish line near Nashville on December 14, 1864, was shot in the right wrist, and was in the hospital in Nashville for six weeks. Rejoining his regi- ment at Huntsville, Ala., he went to Green- ville, east Tennessee, where he remained until after the surrender of Lee. Then with his regiment he went to Nashville, remaining there two months, and then went to Texas to watch Maximilian in Mexico, finally reaching San Antonio, Tex., where he was mustered out. He was always an active soldier, and prompt in the discharge of his duty. Now, however, he is much broken down, which fact he attrib- utes to the hardships and exposures of the war. At Clarksville, Tenn. , he, with about 300 others, was taken prisoner, paroled the next day, sent to the Union lines, and was soon exchanged. One of the most severe marches in which he took part was that from Matagorda Bay, Tex., to Green Lake, Tex., his suffering on this march being caused by the intense July heat and the want of water. After the close of the war Mr. Piatt re- turned to Ohio, and engaged in farm work and also in buying and selling tobacco, in which he has been very successful for the past twenty- five years. On March 9, 1882, he married Miss Alva Kepler, who was born in Montgom- ery county, June 7, 1859, and is a daughter of William and Hannah (Willie) Kepler. William Kepler was born in Dayton, Ohio, and was a son of Jesse Kepler, who settled in Montgom- ery county many years ago and who died near Dayton, Ohio, in 1895, at tne a ge °f eighty- six years, his wife dying at the same age. Prior to her marriage she was Maria Hendrick- son, of New Jersey. William Kepler and his wife were the parents of the following children: Alva, Herbert, Altie, Lutie F., Lottie L. , Harry N., Charles J. and Maud A. Mr. Kep- ler is now an honored citizen of Brookville. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Piatt settled near New Lebanon, Montgomery coun- ty, resided there five years, and then removed to Brookville in 1887. They have one child, Estus E. Piatt. Mr. Piatt is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and has served as one of its trustees, while Mrs. Piatt is a mem- ber of the United Brethren church. Mr. Piatt is a member of Foster Marshall post, No. 587, G. A. R., of Brookville. Politically, he is a republican and has served as a member of the town council. He is a member of Oak lodge, No. 265, I. O. O. F., and has passed all the chairs, including that of noble grand. Mr. Piatt is well known as a competent and honorable business man and a good citizen. He has recently received a commission from the Ohio department of the Grand Army of the Republic as colonel on the staff of the quartermaster-general. James Piatt, father of William, was first married to a Miss Olinger, and by her had the following children: Rebecca, Jacob and John. By his second wife he had the following chil- dren: William, David, James and Eliza. Jacob, John, William and David were all in 1196 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the Civil war. John was in the same regiment with William. Jacob served one year, dying March 14, 1S63, at Fort Donelson. a APT. BENJAMIN F. SHOE, a vet- eran of both the Mexican and Civil wars and a respected citizen of Clay township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born near Dayton, January 13, 1824, a son of John and Prudence (Hewey) Shoe, re- spectively of German and Irish extraction. Shortly after reaching his majority, Mr. Shoe enlisted for five years, or during the Mexican war, August 27, 1845, m company H, Fifth infantry, at Newport, Ky., and on reaching the front took part in the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Molina del Rey, Castle of Chapultepec, the Gate of San Cosmo and Cherubusco ( where he was slightly wounded). He served under Gens. Worth, Taylor and Scott until peace was declared, after which he served out his term of enlist- ment, and was honorably discharged at Fort Washita, August 27, 1851, with the rank of sergeant, having been promoted for meritori- ous conduct in the field. He then returned to Montgomery county and found employment at farm labor. November 20, 1859, Mr. Shoe was united in marriage, in Clay township, with Miss Sarah Louisa Kennard, a native of Miami county, Ohio, born July 29, 1840, and to this union ten children have been born, viz: One who died in infancy. Alice S., Charles R., John B., William A., James M. , Ella J., Benjamin F. , Jesse W. and Carrie B. John Shoe, the father of the captain, was a native of Maryland and settled in Dayton, Ohio, when that now populous and beautiful city was merely an Indian trading post. To him and his wife were born the following chil- dren: David, John, Elihu, Sarah, Philip, El- hannon, Jacob, Deborah, Massie and Benja- min F. John Shoe lived to reach the age of seventy-nine years, and died in the faith of the German Baptist church. Benjamin Ken- nard, father of Mrs. Shoe, a tanner by trade, came to Montgomery county, Ohio, from Indi- ana, and was the father of the following-named children: Mary J., Richard, Catherine, Ellen, Kesiah, Susannah, William, Thomas R., Sarah L. and Elizabeth. Of these, Richard, Will- iam and Thomas R. served in the Civil war, in which their brothers-in-law, Isaac Webster, Thomas Wright and Noah Tucker also took an active part. On marrying, Mr. Shoe settled on his pres- ent farm and was engaged in the peaceful pur- suit of agriculture until the alarm of war was again sounded. In the meantime he had or- ganized a company of militia in Clay township, denominated the Clay Guards, of which he was commissioned captain by Gov. Chase, who complimented him on having the best drilled company in the state — Mr. Shoe having availed himself of his experience in the regular army, which had made him a competent drill-master. Nevertheless, when the Civil war opened Capt. Shoe entered the volunteer service as a private, enlisting in October, 1861, in com- pany H, Seventy-fourth Ohio infantry, for three years, unless sooner discharged by reason of the close of the war, and served until hon- orably discharged at Murfreesboro, Tenn., in March, 1S63, on account of disability. Dur- ing this enlistment he was in the battle of Stone River, and for four months of his term per- formed all the duties of a first lieutenant, al- though not commissioned. On being dis- charged, he returned to Montgomery county, but did not remain long, as he re-enlisted, and on May 22, 1864, was mustered in at Camp Chase for 100 days, as drill-master of com- pany K, One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1197 volunteer infantry, from which service he was honorably discharged at Camp Chase, August 26, 1864, having at this time served 1 17 days. He thus has a record of military service ex- tending over a period of more than eight years. In politics Capt. Shoe is a republican. As a citizen he is respected for his upright life and his public spirit, and as a defender of his coun- try's rights is most deservedly honored. •"V* AMU EL SCHLOSSER, a farmer of •^^^k* Clay township, Montgomery county, h^_J Ohio, also a practical shoemaker and an ex-soldier in the late war, is a son of Moses and Sarah (Fleagle) Schlosser, and was born in Preble county, Ohio, June 24, 1835. John Schlosser, his grandfather, was born in Pennsylvania, was of German descent, and in 1 816 removed with his family from Lancas- ter county, that state, to Preble county, Ohio, his children being John, Jonas, Moses and Samuel. The journey to Ohio was made in a four-horse wagon, and settlement was made in the woods on a 160-acre tract near West So- nora. There he succeeded in making a good home, and there died at the age of eighty years, a member of the Lutheran church and a worthy citizen. Of his children, Samuel served in the Union army five years and one month, passing all through the late Civil war. Moses Schlosser, son of John and Mary (Reiner) Schlosser, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., March 23, 1808, and consequently was eight years of age when brought to Ohio by his parents. He was brought up among the pioneers of Preble county, received a good common-school education and was reared to farming. He was married in Preble county to Sarah Fleagle, who was born in Maryland in 1812, a daughter of Abraham and Isabella (Dutch) Fleagle, the father, Abraham, being one of the earliest settlers of Preble county. Moses Schlosser, after his marriage, farmed for some little time in Preble county, Ohio, then moved to LaSalle county, 111., and pur- chased eighty acres of land, on which he farmed until 1879, when he moved to Butler county, Kans. , where he made his home with' his son, William, until his death, which oc- curred February 23, 1892. His children were named in order of birth, Samuel, Jacob, Isabella, William, Margaret, Sarah, Levina, and Phisbie and Almina (twins). Of these, William was a private in the Indiana cavalry, served three years, and lost his eyesight in the battle at Athens, Tenn., while his elder brother, Jacob, served two years in the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illinois infantry. Both Mr. and Mrs. Schlosser were consistent members of the Lutheran church. Abraham Fleagle, ma- ternal grandfather of subject, served in the British and Indian wars. Samuel Schlosser was educated in the old- time subscription schools, was thoroughly trained to farming, and at the age of twenty- one years, on September 11, 1856, married, in Montgomery county, Miss Mary Beachler, who was born August 5, 1834, a daughter of Frederick and Annie Beachler. The father, Frederick Beachler, was a native of Germany; and, to avoid military duty in that country, came to the United States while he was still a young man, located in Montgomery county, Ohio, where he was married, and bought eighty acres of land, on which he lived until his death, in middle age, in 1855, and in the faith of the Lutheran church. To Mr. Beach- ler were born eight children, viz: Henry, Jacob, John, Leonard, Michael, George, Lewis and Mary. Of these children Leonard was in the One Hundred and Thirty-first Indiana vol- unteer infantry, and served 100 days during the late war. Samuel Schlosser, after his marriage, lived 1198 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD on a farm in Montgomery county for a short time, and then moved to Jay county, Ind., where he farmed for eighteen months. Re- turning to Montgomery county, Ohio, he set- tled on a tract in Clay township. December 24, 1863, he enlisted at Dayton, in company I, Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry, and served until honorably discharged at Saint Louis, Mo., December 26, 1865. He took part in the battles of Loudon and Clinton, Tenn., was all through the famous Atlanta campaign, then in the battles of Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain and again in the front of Atlanta; took part in the fights at Jonesboro, Lovejoy Station, Spring Hill, Columbia, and at the first battle at Franklin, where, on the night of the retreat, he was run over by a mule team and so badly injured that he has never fully recovered. After a short confinement in hospital at Nashville, Tenn., and Saint Louis, Mo., Mr. Schlosser was transferred to Jefferson barracks, in the latter city, and assigned to the Second bat- talion veteran reserve corps, in which he served until his final discharge. With the ex- ception of the above-mentioned hospital treat- ment he was never laid up, save for four weeks with chronic rheumatism, and at all other times was an active and willing soldier, who took part wherever his regiment was en- gaged or did duty. Since the war Mr. Schlos- ser has followed his trade of shoemaking and has also been engaged in the cultivation of his farm, which he had purchased before the war. To Mr. and Mrs. Schlosser have been born four children, viz: Ann M., Nancy J., Fran- cis M. and Harry C. The family are members of the German Baptist church, and Mr. Schlos- ser belongs to the Foster Marshall post, No. 587, G. A. R. , of Brookville. Mr. Schlosser is respected as an industrious and honorable citizen and as a devoted friend of the country he has served so well. '^-j'AMES SUNDERLAND, of Vandalia, m Ohio, one of the most prominent and /• 1 substantial farmers of Butler township, Montgomery county, is of sterling Scotch-Irish ancestry, and was born on the old homestead of his father, August 31, 1823. He is of the third generation of Sunderlands in Ohio, and now occupies the farm on which he was born. He is a son of William and Margaret (Miller) Sunderland, for fuller men- tion of whom the reader is referred to the biography of Richard Sunderland, elsewhere to be found in this volume. James Sunderland, when a boy, attended school in one of the old-fashioned school- houses, made of large, round logs, with greased paper for windows, with a large fire- place at one end and a stick and clay chimney. Here he received the little education that fell to his share. Brought up on the farm, he be- came a farmer, and was married when he was twenty-one years of age, April 18, 1844, to Miss Mary Wells, who was born November 12, 1828, on the Wells homestead. She was a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Johnson) Wells, for fuller mention of whom the reader is referred to the biographical sketch of Rich- ard Sunderland. After their marriage they immediately set- tled on the old homestead and have lived there ever since. To them have been born the fol- lowing children: Matilda J., Malinda E., Winfield S., Francis M., Emma F., Delia A., Bista A. and Mary R. Malinda E. died when nineteen years of age; Winfield S. died July 18, 1878; Francis M., May 10, 1872, when nineteen years old; Emma F. at the age of three years; Bista A. at the age of seven, and Mary R. when three years of age. In politics Mr. Sunderland is a republican, but is in no sense a seeker after office. He inherited 100 acres of the old homestead, and by thrift and industry he has added to it until OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1199 he now has 800 acres of as fine land as can be found in this rich valley. It extends a mile and a half on the Miami river and is most fertile land, being developed by skillful culti- vation and improved by the erection of excel- lent buildings. Seventy-five acres of this farm are still in their primitive state, covered over with noble timber. Mr. Sunderland is a practical and success- ful farmer, and is a man who stands high in the community for the sterling worth and strength of his character. Winfield S. Sun- derland married Alice N. Brentlinger, by whom he had one son, Walter E., still living. Ma- tilda J. married H. H. Cassell, and they are living on the Sunderland farm. Delia A. mar- ried John K. Booker, and they have four chil- dren, as follows: James A., Harry O., Raleigh and Mary E. The Sunderland family descends from early pioneer stock, as does also the Wells family. Mary Johnson, the maternal grandmother of Mrs. Sunderland, was born in North Carolina, and lived to be ninety-three years old. When she came to Ohio she was a widow, and her children were, Jesse, John, David, Mary, Re- becca and Nancy. Mrs. Johnson settled on land in Montgomery county, and with the aid of her children made a good home in the woods. She was a woman of wonderful mental ability and was a pioneer of Butler township, settling here in 1804. *-|-» EWIS R. SMITH, an honored citizen L of Brookville, and one of the old sol- ^^^ diers of the Civil war, was born in Stark county, Ohio, October 24, 1828. He is a son of Peter and Catherine (Richard) Smith, the Smith family being of Pennsylvania- Dutch stock and from an old colonial family. On the mother's side, the grandfather of the subject came from Germany, and the mother was born on the ocean during the voyage of the family to America. Lewis R. Smith was taken by his parents to Montgomery county, they settling on the present site of Phillipsburg, when he was but six years of age, in 1834. He received the rudiments of his education in the common schools, and later went to Indiana, where he learned the wagon and carriagemaker's trade, afterward mastering the carpenter's trade. When he was twenty-eight years old he mar- ried Lydia Davis, daughter of George Davis, a native of England. After his marriage he settled at Phillipsburg, where he worked at his trade, that of carpenter. The war of the Rebellion having broken out, Mr. Smith en- listed at Dayton, Ohio, on August 15, 1 861 , as a member of company D, Eighteenth United States infantry, and while on the way to Pitts- burg Landing was transferred to company B, of the same regiment, and made orderly ser- geant. He was honorably discharged August 15, 1864, at Columbus, Ohio. In October, 1 864, he enlisted in company F, Seventh United States veteran volunteers (called Hancock's veteran United States volunteers) for one year, and served his time, thus giving four full years to his country's cause. He was in the battles of Perryville, Stone River, Pittsburg Land- ing, the siege of Corinth, the battle of Chick- amauga, beside many skirmishes and several raids. He received no gunshot wounds, but was struck on the right wrist by a ball and slightly wounded at the battle of Stone River. At this battle his captain had both legs shot off by a cannon ball and the lieutenant of his company was killed. During the remainder of the engagement Sergt. Smith was in command of the company, most of whose members were killed, so severe was the fighting. Sergt. Smith was sick for a short time in hospital No. 13, Nashville, Tenn., and was made a commissary sergeant. He was placed L200 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD in the convalescent camp at Nashville, Tenn., was ordered before the board of transfer, and made clerk of said board, in which capacity he served for two months. After this board was disbanded, Sergt. Smith was sent to Colum- bus, Ohio, where he served at headquarters as clerk until discharged. Always an earnest sol- dier, he was in all the battles, skirmishes, marches, campaigns and raids of his regiment. The severest engagements in which he took part were those of Stone River and Chickamauga, in which the regular troops performed very efficient service. The battle of Stone River lasted nearly all of one week, from the first skirmish to the end of the fighting. Sergt. Smith was at the time of the war in the prime of life, vigorous and hardy, and endured all the hardships of a soldier's life with fortitude and courage. After the close of the war he returned to Phillipsburg, Ohio. His first wife died previous to his entering the army in i 86 1. By her he had two children, both of whom died young. On January 31, 1865, he married Mary Thomas, a widow, who was born in Montgomery county, March 26, 1 74 1 , and was a daughter of John and Nancy (Warner) Johns. She was the widow of Seth Thomas, who was a soldier in the Sixty-third Ohio volunteer infantry, and who died in hos- pital at Memphis, Tenn., September 31, 1S62. John Johns was of Welsh descent and a pioneer of Montgomery county, and a substan- tial farmer. He and his wife were the parents of the following children: Elizabeth, Lydia, Lewis W., Samuel W. , Ephraim, Hettie A. , David, Sarah, Mary and Susan. Mr. Johns lived to be seventy-nine years old, and died on his farm, a respected citizen. Politically, he was a republican. He had one son in the Civil war, Lewis W. Johns, who was a member of the Sixty-third Ohio volunteer infantry, and who participated in several battles. Mr. and Mrs. Smith resided in Phillipsburg until 1880, when they removed to Brookville. To them there have been born two sons, George B. , now of Dayton, Ohio, and head bookkeeper for a large manufacturing firm, and Sylvester deceased — and one daughter, Ollivia, deceased. Mr. Smith is an active republican, and was postmaster under President Hayes for two years. He served as mayor of Brookville three terms and as a member of the council one term. He has also held the office of justice of the peace six years, and of notary public twenty-nine years. As a member of the school board he has rendered valuable service to his fellow-citizens. His father, Peter Smith, lived for a long time in Lancaster county, Pa., in which county he was born. He served in the war of 1812. He and his wife were the parents of seven chil- dren, as follows: John R., Mary, Peter, Re- becca, Lewis R., Henry and Samuel R. Peter Smith came to Ohio about 1829, was a miller by trade, but settled on a farm near Canton, Stark county, Ohio, removing with his family to Montgomery county in 1834. Here he cleared a farm of ninety-six acres, and became a leading and substantial citizen. He was a republican in politics, and had three sons in the Civil war, viz: Lewis R. , Henry and Sam- uel R., the two former in the same regiment, and Samuel R. in the Sixty-third Ohio volun- teer infantry. He died on his farm at the age of seventy-three. Sr* EVI H. TURNER, of Clay township, r Montgomery county, Ohio, an ex- I A soldier of the late Civil war, and a prosperous farmer, was born in Lib- erty, Jefferson township, this county, on the 1 8th of October, 1S44. His parents, Daniel and Elizabeth (Hoffman) Turner, were natives of Pennsylvania, of German descent, and were early settlers in Montgomery county, Ohio. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1201 Levi H. Turner was educated in the com- mon schools, but continued his studies at home until some time after he was married. He was reared to farming and was noted for his in- dustry as a young man. At the age of twenty years he enlisted in the Ohio national guards, under Capt. John Nicholas, for five years. In May, 1864, he was mustered into the United States service, at Columbus, Ohio, under the call for 100-day men, was assigned to company F, One Hundred and Thirty-first regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, under Capt. Daniel Holderman, and was on guard duty at Fort McHeniy, Federal Hill, Baltimore, Md., until his honorable discharge in August, 1864. He then resumed farming, and on October 24, 1867, married Miss Annie Baker, who was born December 2, 1848, the daughter of Ben- jamin and Frances (Niswonger) Baker, to whom reference is made in the review of the life of Levi Baker elsewhere in this volume. After marriage, Mr. Turner farmed in Clay township for a short time, then removed to Jefferson township and lived on the old Turner homestead for about nine years. In 1877 he bought the farm of seventy-five acres in Clay township on which he still resides, and which he has converted into one of the finest places of its size in the township. Mr. and Mrs. Turner also resided in Dayton for about six years, Mr. Turner being during this time in- terested in a stone quarry. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Turner have been born four chil- dren, viz: Ettie A., who is married to Oliver F. Dillman, a hardware merchant in Brook- ville, and is the mother of three children: Lillie M., now a young lady; Clara L., who died at eight years of age, and Chester H., now a young man and making his home with his parents. In politics Mr. Turner is a dem- ocrat, and he and his wife and children are members of the United Brethren church. Daniel Turner, the father of Levi H., was a son of David Turner, who died on his farm near Lewistown, Pa., and who was the father of the following named children: John, James, Robert, David, Sarah and Daniel. Of these, John and Daniel settled in Dayton. Daniel was a cabinetmaker and for many years worked at his trade in Liberty. He first married Miss Sallie Birch, the union resulting in the birth of six children, viz: Harrison, Mary, Sarah, Elizabeth, William and Jacob. Mrs. Sallie Turner having died, Daniel Turner mar- ried Miss Elizabeth Hoffman, daughter of John and Elizabeth Hoffman, and to this marriage were born Margaret, Malinda, Levi H., Ella, John, Samuel, Minerva, Josie, Manass, and one that died in infancy. Daniel Turner, after a residence of many years in Liberty, finally purchased a farm of 237A acres near the town, on which he passed the remainder of his days, dying in December, 1877, at the age of sev- enty-eight years, in the faith of the United Brethren church. '^-r'EREMIAH WEST, an esteemed citizen a of Brookville, Ohio, and an ex-soldier (% 1 of the Civil war, was born October 22, 1844, in Warren county. He is a son of Joseph and Mary ( Kelkner ) West, the fam- ily on his father's side being an old American family of Scotch descent. Having received a good common-school education he was begin- ning to learn the carpenter's trade when the war of the Rebellion broke out, he being one of the first to respond to his country's call, enlisting April 16, 1S61, at Dayton, Ohio, for three months, as a private soldier in company D, First Ohio volunteer infantry. Under this enlistment he served four months, and was honorably discharged August 16, 1861. Dur- ing this short period of service he was in a slight skirmish at Vienna, and in the first bat- tle of Bull Run. 1202 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Returning to Montgomery county, Ohio, he enlisted September 19, 1862, in company G, Eleventh United States infantry, under Capt. \V. B. Lowe, but served under Capt. J. K. Lawrence. This enlistment was for three years, or during the war. He was honorably discharged at Richmond, \'a. , September 19, 1865, at the expiration of his full term of serv- ice. The battles in which he took part were those of Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, Laurel Hill, Spottsylvania Court House, and North Anna, beside many smaller engagements and skirmishes. At Cold Harbor, June 2, 1864, he was taken prisoner, with about 500 others of his command, on a flank movement of the rebels, was taken to the infamous Libby prison, confined there eight days, and then taken to the still more infamous prison at An- dersonville, arriving there June 15, 1864 Here were confined 15,000 miserable, starving Union soldiers, and during that summer their numbers were increased to about 35,000. Owing to the terribly close crowding of the stockade, the want of shelter from the fierce rays of the southern sun, the filth, bad water, and exceedingly poor and scanty food, the sol- diers died off with frightful rapidity. It was estimated that about 8,000 died during the months of July and August. Mr. West's im- prisonment lasted four and a half months, dur- ing which long period thousands of Union soldiers starved to death. When he entered the prison Mr. West weighed 172 pounds; when he left it he weighed 108 pounds. From Andersonville he was taken to Charleston, and was there confined in the race course, receiving about the same treatment as in Andersonville. He was transferred thence to the Florence bull pen, from which he was paroled December 17, 1864, and sent direct to the Union lines. For some time he was in the hospital at Annapolis, Md., and at length joined his regiment at Richmond, Va. For some time afterward he was on detached duty on the police force until discharged. Having left the army on his honorable dis- charge Mr. West returned to Dayton, Ohio, learned the iron molder's trade and worked thereat until 1872. In 1871, however, he re- moved to Brookville, and in September of that year married Hester A. Mcllroy, daughter of Jacob and Roberta ( Bloom ) Mcllroy. Mr. and Mrs. West are members of the Lutheran church, in which he has held the office of dea- con. He is a member of Foster Marshall post, No. 587, G. A. R., of Brookville, Ohio, and of Libanus lodge. No. 80, F. & A. M. , of Lewisburg, Ohio. Politically he is a repub- lican. He was one of the best soldiers, served with patience and fortitude, and takes justifi- able pride in the time he spent in the service of his country. ^y^V AVID L BOOHER, one of the rep- I resentative citizens of Butler town- /^^J ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, and a descendant of one of the original pioneers of the county, was born on his fa- ther's homestead, July 11, 1841. John Booher, grandfather of David L. , was born in Washington county, Md., of Ger- man descent, and from Maryland moved to Washington county, Pa. He married Eliza- beth Croll, and reared a large family of chil- dren, of whom the names of the following are remembered: John, Bartholomew, Samuel, Levi, Daniel, Sarah, Margaret and Elizabeth. In 1 803 Mr. Booher brought his family to Ohio and settled four miles north of Dayton in the wilderness, where Indians were numerous and often came to trade with the white men. Samuel Booher, father of David L. , was born in Washington county, Pa., and when a child was brought to Ohio by his parents, and was reared a pioneer farmer. He first mar- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1203 ried Mary Beardshear, and to this marriage were born George, Maria, Lizzie, Mary and Kate. After the death of his first wife he mar- ried Miss Elizabeth Combs, daughter of Sam- uel and Elizabeth Combs, and to them were born the following children: William, Eliza, Martha J., David L., Jacob, William (who died at the age of thirty-five years) and John K. In religion Mr. Booher was a member of the United Brethren church and Mrs. Booher of the German Baptist church. After his first marriage Mr. Booher settled on a farm of 160 acres, and by his skillful management in- creased his estate until he owned about 900 acres in Montgomery county, Ohio, and about 900 acres in Adams county, Ind. He lived to be seventy-seven years of age and died univer- sally respected as one of the most progressive as well as upright men of the county. David L. Booher received a good common- school education and was reared to farming on the old homestead. At the age of twenty-five years he married, in Dayton, December 13, 1866, Annie M. Smith, born February 18, 1843, a - daughter of James and Sarah (Snyder) Smith. He occupied a part of his father's old home farm, where he lived until 1879, when he came to his present place of 507 acres, where he is engaged in general farming and stock raising. In politics Mr. Booher is a republican. The only child born to Mr. and Mrs. Booher was named George W., whose lamented death occurred at the age of twenty-two years. He was a young man of great promise, and his death was deeply felt by his devoted parents. James Smith, the father of Mrs. Booher, was born in England about 1802, came to America when eighteen years old, and settled in Day- ton in 1820, when that city contained few houses and but one store. He passed some years working in distilleries in different parts of the county, and finally bought a farm of 200 acres in Mad River township; subsequently he purchased another farm of 160 acres, and still later another of 160 acres, thus owning 520 acres at the time of his death, which took place on his original farm in 1870, at the age of sixty-eight years. He was in religion a member of the Presbyterian church, and in politics a republican. His children were named William, James, Alvin, Annie (deceased), Jennie, Edith, Anna M. (now Mrs. Booher), Elizabeth, Lottie and Louie. Mrs. Smith, his widow, is now a resident of Dayton, and is seventy-seven years of age. Her maiden name was Sarah Snyder, and she was born in Pennsylvania in 18 19, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Crum) Snyder, who came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1820. ^yy»ILLIAM WELLS, whose post-office Mm is Vandalia, Ohio, is one of the \_\_/l most substantial farmers of Butler township, Montgomery county. His father, Samuel Wells, was born in Virginia, and became an orphan in early life. From his seventh year, in which he lost his parents, he was reared by his uncle, Samuel Wells, who came to Ohio when his nephew Samuel was still quite a small boy. This uncle settled near the north line of Montgomery county, and here young Samuel grew up among the pio- neers. Receiving only a limited education, he became a farmer at an early age. He married Mary Johnson, and they settled in Butler township, on seventy-three acres of land, then covered over with woods. This land Mr. Wells cleared and made a good home and pro- ductive farm. His children were as follows: Rebecca, Mary, Nancy, Sarah and William. Mr. Wells took a deep interest in religious matters, and was a member of the Christian church. He was a highly-respected citizen, and lived to the good old age of eighty-seven. William Wells, the subject of this sketch, 1-204 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD was born May 16, 1830, on the Wells home- stead in Butler township. Receiving the usual common-school education of his day, he was brought up a farmer, an occupation which he has followed all his life. On May 22, 1850, he married Nancy Sunderland, who was born March 25, 1832, in Butler township, on the old Sunderland homestead. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wells settled on the farm on which they have since lived, beginning on twenty-seven acres of land, all of which was covered with timber. This farm Mr. Wells cleared up, and, by continued hard labor and thrift, at length added thereto until to-day he owns a farm of 327 acres, all of which is in an excellent state ot cultivation. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wells are members of the United Brethren church, and in politics Mr. Wells is a republican. He is one of the most practical and able farmers of Butler township, as is shown by the growth of his possessions. He is emphatically a self-made man, and, aided by his faithful wife, he has achieved de- served success. Their children are as follows: Ellis E., William S. and Charles H. Ellis E. married Emma Clemmer. Will- iam S. married Laura Brentlinger, and has one child, Irene. Charles H. married Cora Beeson, and has one child, Ralph. The three brothers are all farmers upon the home place. The Wells family is one of the pioneer families of Butler township, and stands high in the community. By industry they thrive, and by right living they win the respect of all their neighbors. -j*ACOB SEYBOLD, a prosperous farmer m of Mad River township, Montgomery A 1 county, Ohio, was born in Harrison township, same county, April I, 1842. He is a son of John George and Jacobina (Fulmer) Seybold, both natives of Wurtem- berg, Germany. They were the parents of twelve children, seven sons and five daughters, six of whom are still living, as follows: John G. ; Frederick; Mary Ann, wife of Abram Prugh; Jacob, the subject of this sketch, and William. John George Seybold, father of these chil- dren, was a baker by trade in his native coun- try, came to the United States and settled two miles north of Dayton, where he lived until his death. He owned 360 acres of land at the time of his death, which is evidence of his industry and economy. He died when sixty- two years of age. His wife survived him until April 11, 1893, when she died at the age of ninety-one years and nine months. Both were members of the Lutheran church, and were most excellent people in every respect. Mr. Seybold was a quiet, unobtrusive man, strictly attentive to business, and strongly in favor of temperance, theoretically and prac- tically. The paternal grandfather of Jacob Seybold died in Germany. He was a promi- nent man in his day, and a soldier in the Ger- man army. The maternal grandfather also died in Germany. Jacob Seybold was reared in Harrison township, Montgomery county, attended the district school, and remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age. He then began the battle of life on his own account, by work- ing for his father for $160 per year, using only ten dollars of that sum during the entire year. Then, buying a team, he began farming and lost nearly $300 the first year. His brother then offered him employment, which he de- clined, but continued to work on the farm, to buy stock, and has since accumulated a hand- some property, his first year's experience hav- ing been of great value to him. Mr. Seybold was married, February 23, 1 88 1, to Miss Maggie E. Null, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Walts) Null, the former of whom was born in Berberia and the latter in Montgomery county, Ohio. No children were born to this marriage. Mrs. Seybold was a good woman, and a member of the Re- formed church. She was of a happy and lovable disposition, and made friends of all with whom she came in contact. She died April 26, 1894. Their home was a mansion in its dimensions, there being twenty-two rooms therein, and the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Seybold was well known to a great circle of friends. Mrs. Seybold was always of a cheerful disposition, carrying brightness and sunshine into the lives of those about her. Mr. Seybold is of a peculiarly frank and generous disposition. As a farmer he is in- dustrious and successful, has one of the best of farms, finely improved, and is an intelligent and well-informed citizen. As an independent democrat he has held the office of township supervisor for fifteen years. Few men, if any, in the county stand higher in the estimation of the people generally than does Jacob Seybold. Os& OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1209 >Y*ACOB DETWILER, one of the most ■ venerable citizens of Montgomery coun- (• / ty, Ohio, was born in Montgomery county, Pa., September 6, 1814. He is a son of John and Catherine (Jones) Detwil- er, who were of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. Jacob Detwiler, the grandfather of the subject, was a farmer of Montgomery county, Pa. He owned a farm of 100 acres, upon which he lived until his death, which occurred in Penn- sylvania. His eldest son, John Detwiler, fa- ther of Jacob, was born in Montgomery county, Pa., and was by occupation a farmer. To him and his wife there were born, beside Jacob, the following children: James, Amos, John, Abraham, George, Abel, Benjamin, Catherine, Elizabeth and Sarah. John Detwiler was a Mennonite in religion, and lived to be sixty-six years old, dying on his farm. He was one of the successful farmers of his day and an up- right citizen. Jacob Detwiler, whose name opens this sketch, was reared to hard work on the farm, received a good education in the common schools, and learned the wagonmaker's trade. He was married March 9, 1848, in Montgom- ery county, Pa., to Elizabeth Rittenhouse, who was born April 24, 1824, and was a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Riner) Rittenhouse. Her grandfather and great-grandfather were both named Martin Rittenhouse. Martin Ritten- house, the grandfather, was of Pennsylvania- Dutch stock, and was of the third generation from the original founder of the family in America. The family were Quakers in religion and Rittenhouse Square was named for David Rittenhouse, the first director of the United States mint in Philadelphia. Martin Ritten- house lived near Germantown, Pa., in what is now included in the town of Rittenhouse. He was an extensive land holder, and now lies buried in the old cemetery at Germantown, near where once stood the old Penn treaty 54 tree. He married Susan Detwiler, by whom he had the following children: Jacob, Nicho- las, Joseph, Martin and William. He was a prosperous citizen, a prudent man and his long life was fruitful of good to his generation. He died of old age. Jacob Rittenhouse, the father of Mrs. Det- wiler, was born in Germantown, was married in Montgomery county, Pa., to Mary Riner, daughter of Henry and Susan (Guispart) Riner, and was a substantial farmer. He and his wife reared the following children: Henry, David, Martin, Jacob, William, Samuel and Elizabeth. In religious views and opinions he was unusually liberal for the day andage in which he lived. He died when sixty-one years old. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Det- wiler settled at Evansburg, Pa., and after living there one year came to Ohio, locating in Mont- gomery county, near Dayton, where Mr. Det- wiler worked at his trade, that of wagonmaker, which he had began to learn when he was eighteen years old in Pennsylvania. After working in Dayton five years he bought a farm of ninety-three acres near Brookville, lived upon it one year, and then went to Nebraska, but not long afterward returned to Montgom- ery county, and engaged in the saw-mill busi- ness near Amity. Then removing to Brook- ville he bought eighty-seven acres of land in Clay township, living upon it five years, after which he bought a farm of upward of ninety acres, which he occupied for one year. He then removed to a farm of 130 acres north of Brookville, which he still owns, as well as four acres in Brookville. Mr. Detwiler has been an honorable and industrious man, has reaped the reward of his energy and thrift. He has lived a retired life for the last thirteen years, and for the past seven years has been confined to the house. In politics he is a republican. His children are Malinda, Elizabeth, Medora, Jeanette, Theodore and Franklin. 1210 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD %S~\ EV. JOHN H. BRUMBAUGH, Clay I <^ ton post office, one of the successful P farmers of Randolph township, and a minister in the German Baptist church, is of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. His grandfather, Daniel Brumbaugh, was a brother of the father of the original pioneer of Ran- dolph township, Samuel Brumbaugh, who was the father of John R. Brumbaugh, whose sketch appears on another page. Daniel Brumbaugh owned a farm in what is now Lincoln township, Huntingdon county. Pa., in Woodcock valley. In religious belief he was a German Baptist and was a deacon in his church for many years. He married Nancy Bowers, by whom he had the following chil- dren: John, Abraham, Daniel, Isaac, Eliza- beth and Nancy. Daniel Brumbaugh lived to be eighty years old, and throughout his entire life was a strong, rugged man. He was one _ of the first settlers in his neighborhood, and, owning several farms, he gave to each of his children land. A hard-working, industrious man, he was much respected by all for his ex- emplary christian character. Daniel Brumbaugh, third son of the above, and father of John H., was born on his father's farm in Huntingdon county, Pa., and lived on the old homestead all his life. He married Mary Hoover, who was born in Blair county, Pa. , and was a daughter of Jonathan and Eliza- beth iPuterbaughj Hoover. To this marriage there were born nine children, as follows: Elizabeth, David, Levi, Nancy, John H., Mary, Daniel, Kate and Samuel. Mr. Brumbaugh was a member of the German Baptist church, a devout Christian and an upright man. His death occurred on his farm when he was sixty- eight years old. Rev. John H. Brumbaugh was born July 20, 1848, on the old Brumbaugh homestead. His education was limited to that obtainable in the district school, and he was reared a farm- er, though by assiduous private reading and study he has become one of the best informed men of his day. At the age of twenty-one he came to this county and went to work for his brother David, in Randolph township, and for this brother he worked for two years. On No- vember^, 1 87 1, he married Miss Sophie Book- miller, who was born July 2, 1848, and is a daughter of Frederick Bookmiller. Frederick Bookmiller was born in Germany and married there. By his first wife he had three children, Augustus, Sophie and Minnie. The mother of these children died and he married again, also in Germany, came to the United States with his family, and is now living in Toledo, Ohio. Rev. Mr. Brumbaugh and wife settled in Clay township, lived there two years, and then re- moved to Randolph township, where they rented land of Samuel K. dinger, who was a member of the German Baptist church. Mr. dinger's wife having died, he left his farm of ninety-nine acres to Mr. Brumbaugh,, with the exception of a bequest to the church. Mr. Brumbaugh has since lived on this farm. To the Rev. and Mrs. Brumbaugh there have been born the following children: Addi- son, Loida, Effa, Delia, Martha and John. Mr. Brumbaugh has always been a devout member of the German Baptist church, having been made deacon in 1881, and in November, 1887, having been ordained minister. He has served his church in that capacity ever since, to the acceptance of the members of the church. He is a man of high character and of extensive reading, and is well qualified for the position which he so acceptably fills. ^"^EORGE HORNER, of Lewisburg, ■ ^\ Ohio, springs from Pennsylvania- \^J Dutch stock. He is a son of Will- iam and Ellen (House) Horner, and was born April 9, 1836, in Perry township, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1211 Montgomery county, Ohio, received a good common- school education, and was brought up a farmer. He married, November 13, 1854, in Darke county, Ohio, Elizabeth Norris, who was born November 23, 1836, and was a daughter of Samuel and Lydia (Ireland) Norris. After his marriage Mr. Horner settled on the old homestead, and to himself and wife there have been born eight children, as follows: Lydia E., Ida M., Florence, Minnie, Charles, Flora, Ettie and Frank E., their names being given in the order of their birth, and all of whom are now living. On August 8, 1862, Mr. Horner enlisted at Lewisburg, Preble county, Ohio, in company H, Ninety-third regiment, Ohio volunteer in- fantry, under Capt. Matthias Desher, to serve three years or during the war, and going to the front left his wife on the farm with three small children. He served his country faith- fully for nearly three years, being honorably discharged by reason of the close of the war, May 24, 1865, at Camp Dennison, Ohio. After a service of one year he was promoted to corporal for meritorious conduct. He was in the battles of Chickamauga and of Mission- ary Ridge; in a hard shirmish at Dandridge, Tenn. ; in the battle of Chattanooga; on the Atlanta campaign, being in the battles of Dal- las, Resaca, Buzzard Roost Mountain and Kenesaw Mountain. In the last named en- gagement he had one finger of his left hand shot off, and beside was shot through the right shoulder by the same ball as he was loading his gun. He was then in the field hospital until taken back to Chattanooga, where he was in the hospital for some time, and was then transferred to Nashville and placed in hospital No. 1. After a month spent there he was furloughed home, remained ninety days i and then returned to the same hospital. After a stay here of two months he was transferred to Louisville, and thence to Madison, Ind., where he remained two months, being then transferred to Camp Dennison, Ohio, where he remained until discharged. Mr. Horner lost his hearing at the battle of Chickamauga. Beside the battles mentioned, Mr. Horner was in many skirmishes and on many hard marches, always performing his duties as a soldier with promptness and faithfulness. He was sick with typhoid fever in Kentucky, and was cared for in a private house for two months. He participated in all the battles, skirmishes, marches and campaigns of his regiment, and after the war was over returned to his home, and has ever since lived on the same farm. Both Mr. and Mrs. Horner have been members of the United Brethren church since 1856, and he has held the office of steward, and assisted to build the church at Lewisburg, contributing liberally toward its support. Po- litically he is a sound republican, though in early life he was a democrat. He has taken an active part in public affairs, has been for sixteen years a member of the school board, and is in every respect an excellent citizen. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and a gentleman of public spirit and enterprise. His grandfather, George Horner, came from Pennsylvania, and was the father of the following children: George, Henry, Michael, Jacob, John, William, Catherine, Susan, Eliza- beth and Dorothy. George Horner removed with his family to Montgomery county as one of the early pioneers, settling in the woods of Perry township. His death occurred when he was yet quite a young man, and his wife and boys cleared the farm. Mrs. Horner was a woman of great force of character and an ex- cellent manager. The family were members of the Lutheran church. William Horner, father of George, was born in Perry township, Montgomery county, about 1 8 14, was reared on the farm, and mar- 1212 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ried Ellen House, daughter of George and Catherine House. They settled on the farm now occupied by the subject of this sketch, containing eighty acres of land, where William Horner died a few years later, at the age of twenty-six. He was the father of two chil- dren, George and Sarah, the latter of whom died at the age of twelve. Mrs. Horner lived to be fifty-eight years of age, dying on the home place in 1873. She was a woman of many excellent traits of character, and had many warm and admiring friends. Samuel Norris, the father of Mrs. George Horner, came at an early day with his family from Canada, and settled in Hamilton county, Ohio. He was the father of nine children, as follows: Thomas; Mary and Louisa, twins; Rachaeland Elizabeth, twins; Maggie, Almira, Andrew and Lydia Jane. Mr. Norris removed to Darke county, Ohio, and cleared a farm of eighty acres, upon which he lived until he was eightv-five years old, and died in Lewisburg. One of his sons served in the Civil war, and was killed in the battle of Chickamauga. >*j*ESSE L. JACKSON, a well-known J farmer of Butler township, Montgom- A 1 ery county, Ohio, was born in Fulton county, Pa., December 6, 1843, and is a son of Stiles and Anne (McLoughlin) Jack- son, both natives of the Keystone state. Stiles Jackson came of colonial ancestry and was a farmer in Fulton county, Pa., where he was born and reared and where he married Miss McLoughlin. To them were born the following children: Elizabeth, Samuel, John, Charles W., Stiles H., James R., Jesse L. , and one child who died young. Mr. Jackson and his wife were members of the Methodist church, and in politics he was a republican. He lived to be seventy-nine years of age. Two of his sons, Charles W. and Stiles H., were soldiers in the Civil war — the former for four months, and the latter, as an officer, for over three years. Stiles H. Jackson is now a county commissioner of Coffey county, Kans. Jesse L. Jackson received a very good com- mon-school education and remained on the home farm until nineteen years of age, when, August 22, 1862, he came to Ohio and settled in Montgomery county, and married, March 22, 1866, in Miami county, Miss Catherine Smith, born August 7, 1848, a daughter of John and Catherine (Yount) Smith. Mr. Smith was descended from one of the pioneers of Montgomery county, and was twice married, his first wife, Catherine Yount, becoming the mother of two children — Catherine (Mrs. Jack- son) and Ira; by his second wife, Mary Ide- miller, he became the father of nine children, viz: George, John, Elizabeth, Alexander, Peter, Jane, Ida, Leo and Esther. Both pa- rents are now deceased. Mr. Jackson and wife lived for a year after their marriage near Dayton, and then bought land in Butler township, but shortly afterward went to Darke county, where Mrs. Jackson died April 24, 1872, the mother of the follow- ing children: Ira, Charles, Frederick and Re- becca, the last of whom died in infancy. Mr. Jackson's second wife was Mary E. Tobias, whom he married in Darke county September 28, 1873. She is a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (White) Tobias, and was born near Vandalia, Montgomery county, Ohio, January 1 1, 1850. Daniel Tobias, a retired farmer, is a native of Ohio, of German descent, and was married March 18, 1847, :o Elizabeth White, daughter of Barney White. Beside Mrs. Jackson, Mr. and Mrs. Tobias have had born to them six children, viz: Jonathan, Sarah, Laura, Amelia, Walter, and one who died in infancy named David. Mr. Tobias, as a farmer of Butler OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1213 township, was both successful and prominent, but has now retired to private life. He and his family are members of the Lutheran church. After his second marriage, Mr. Jackson lived for a year in Darke county; and then re- turned to Butler township, Montgomery county, where he permanently settled, in 1875, on ms present farm, which then consisted of but 100 acres, but now comprises 360, beside which he owns too acres near Vandalia. Mr. Jackson has been prosperous in all his undertakings, and is now reaping the reward so justly due to his early industry and economy. In politics he is a republican, but has never been an aspirant for public office. The ten chil- dren born to Jesse L. Jackson and Mary E. (Tobias) Jackson are named Flora, Annie, Mar- tin, Laura, Harry, Samuel, Bertha, Mamie, Arthur and Edith. Of the children born to Mr. Jackson's first marriage, Ira married Min- nie Idemiller, and is a farmer in Miami county; Charles, also a farmer in Miami county, mar- ried Dora North; Frederick, engaged in the same vocation in the same county, married Lillie Idemiller. Of the children born to the second marriage, Flora is married to Joseph Hartley, who lives on the home farm, and has one child; Annie is the widow of Luther Heid- emyer, and has one child, a school-teacher. QISS SARAH SOPHIA MUNGER, who lives in Mad River township, was born in Dayton, Ohio, and is a daughter of Warren and Elizabeth (Shoup) Munger, the former of whom was a native of Washington, Litchfield county. Conn., and the latter of Hagerstown, Md. Warren and Elizabeth Munger were the par- ents of six children, two sons and four daugh- ters, as follows: Elizabeth, wife of Thomas J. Whyte; Sarah Sophia; Alice M., wife of William F. Gebhart; Edmund Grove, Warren and Harriet E. Elizabeth and Sarah Sophia are the only ones now living. In his early life Warren Munger, the father of the subject, was a lawyer, and followed this profession for some years, but on account of failing health he adopted farming as a voca- tion, purchasing a farm of between 400 and 500 acres in Mad River township in 1S32, and moving upon it in 1840. Here he passed the remainder of his life, dying in January, 1877, when he was nearly ninety years of age. His widow died in January, 1880, at the age of seventy-six. Both were members of the Prot- estant Episcopal church. During his resi- dence in Dayton, Mr. Munger was county recorder for fourteen years. The father of Warren Munger was Edmund Munger, and was known as Gen. Munger. He was a native of Connecticut, and in 1799 re- moved to Marietta, Ohio, and to Dayton in 1800. In April, 18 12, when President Madi- son issued orders calling out a force of 1,200 Ohio militia for one year's service, Gen. Mun- ger was ordered to raise a company in Dayton. Soon after the arrival of Gen. Meigs in Day- ton, on May 6, 1 8 12, Gen. Munger was sent by him to Greenville to inquire into the situa- tion of the frontier settlements. Edmund Munger settled on a farm twelve miles south of Dayton, on what is called Yankee street, on which he lived the rest of his life. His prop- erty, which was of considerable value, he divided among his children, of whom he had ten. He was a Presbyterian in religion, his house being the home of the pioneer preachers of the day. He was a most popular man, of a genial and pleasant disposition, and had hosts of friends. His death occurred when he was eighty-six years old. His wife sur- vived him, and lived to the remarkable age of 100 years. Both lie buried at Centerville. The Munger family are noted for their iongev- 1214 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ity, a brother of the general living to be ninety- four years of age. The maternal grandfather of Miss Munger was named Shoup, and his wife was a Miss Dorothy Groff, which name afterward came to be spelled Grove. He was of English descent but a native of Maryland, while she was a native of Germany, or of German descent. Mr. Shoup came to Ohio about 1812, and bought the mills now known as the Harris mills, which he operated for a short time only before his death. Miss Sophia Munger, or "Aunt Sophia," as she is familiarly called by her neighbors and friends, was reared and educated in Day- ton. She lived at home until the death of her parents, when the large farm was divided into three parts — she and her brother Grove living in the old home place until her brother's death in 1889. Her sister Harriet also lived there until her death, which occurred in 1893. Neither of these sisters ever married. The old home is now occupied by Miss Sarah Sophia Munger. She is a member of Christ Episcopal church, of Dayton, which was or- ganized in 1819. She personally manages her farm, which consists of 132 acres. Miss Mun- ger has always taken great interest in the wel- fare of the city of Dayton and of Montgomery county, by whose people she is held in the highest esteem. ^VOHN MYERS, a representative farmer fl of Montgomery township, one of the /• ■ oldest settlers of Clay township, and a son of one of the early pioneers, was born July 29, 1828, about thirty miles west of Columbus, Ohio. He is a son of Martin and Eva (Besecker) Myers, the former of whom came from Virginia to Ohio with his father, and was of Dutch stock. Martin Myers, who was a son of John and Margaret Myers, married in Columbus, Ohio, and settled on a farm. He and his wife were the parents of the following children: Barbara, John, Catherine, Margaret, Elizabeth and Susannah. Mr. Myers removed to Montgom- ery county, Ohio, about 1834, and settled on an eighty-acre tract of land, then covered with timber, and now owned and occupied by his son John. Upon this tract he erected his log cabin, and by continuous hard work for many years cleared up his farm. His wife was a good woman, skillful with the distaff and the loom, and spun and wove wool and flax, in this way materially aiding her husband in the long struggle for existence. He made shingles from the large oak and poplar trees, thus managing until times had gradually improved. He was a strong and hardy pioneer, working with great industry and perseverance to make a home for himself and family. He lived to be fifty-five years old, and died on his farm in 1854. Mr. Myers was well known to all the settlers in his part of the country as a man of honesty and high character, and at his death had many friends who mourned his loss. John Myers was about six years of age when he came with his father to Montgomery county. His education was from necessity ex- ceedingly limited, and he was brought up to the laborious life of the farm. He married, December 17, 1 851, in Clay township, Mary Ann Ganger, of Jackson township, Montgom- ery county, Ohio, who was born November 22, 1834, and was a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Richard) Ganger. George Ganger was born September 5, 181 1, in Pennsyl- vania, and was the son of John and Barbara ( Redmond j Ganger, the former of whom came to Ohio and settled in Montgomery county as one of the earliest of the pioneers, locating in Jackson township. His children were as fol- lows : John, Samuel, Jacob, Joseph, Chris- tina, Mary and Fannie. John Ganger settled OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1215 in the woods, cleared up a farm, and lived to be eighty-six years old. George Ganger came to Montgomery county with his father, and here married Eliza- beth Richard, by whom he had the following children: Mary Ann, Joseph, Katirann, Will- iam, George, Levi and Elizabeth. Mr. and Mrs. Ganger settled on land two miles south of Brookville, afterward moving to Bachman, Clay township, Montgomery county, where he bought eighty-six acres of land, clearing most of it of its timber, making a good home, and later purchasing forty acres more near Bach- man. Mr. Ganger lived to seventy-nine years of age and died on his farm. He was a man of excellent character, and earned the appro- bation and confidence of neighbors and friends. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Myers lived in Clay township, and in 1854 settled on the Myers homestead. Here they have re- sided ever since, and the well-directed labor of Mr. Myers has resulted in his possession of a fertile, finely improved and beautiful farm. He and his wife lived many years in the old log house, which stood for half a century. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Myers areas follows : Sarah A., John H., Susannah, Samuel, Eliza- beth, Mary E., Charles and Ambert M. — the last a school-teacher. Mr. and Mrs. Myers are members of the United Brethren church. Mr. Myers is a democrat in politics, and is a citizen of standing and influence. He and his wife have reared a large family, of which both are very proud. Sarah A. married Daniel Boose, a farmer of Preble county, and by him has three children : John H. married Sarah A. Gebhart, of Clay township, and has three children ; Lizzie married Joseph Havermale, a farmer of Montgomery county, and has two children ; Mary E. married Clarence Rasor, a farmer of Clay township, and has two chil- dren ; Samuel married Kate A. Hamel, is a farmer of Clay township, and has one child ; Ambert M. married Clara Leis, and has one child ; Charles married Cora B. Leis, and Susannah is at home. Elizabeth (Richard) Ganger, the mother of Mrs. Myers, was a daughter of Joseph and Mary ( McPherson ) Richard. She lived to be seventy-four years old, dying March 4, .1891. Mr. Myers' mother lived to be eighty-six years old, dying in 1890. t/^VETER RASOR, one of the oldest and 1 ■ most respected farmers of Clay town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, is also descended from one of the oldest pioneer families of the county, as will be seen by the following record. John Rasor, his grandfather, was the orig- inal settler of Clay township. He was born in Dauphin county, Pa., and married a Miss Forney, the union resulting in the birth of eight children, viz: Daniel, John, Barbara, Sarah, Annie, Fannie, Elizabeth and Katie. He came with his family to Ohio in 1805 or 1806, and settled in Clay township on the land on which Jesse Kinsey now lives, but which was then all woodland and peopled only by Indians. He built a log cabin, cleared his first farm of 160 acres, and also entered nine other farms in the vicinity, of 160 acres each, com- prising, in all, nearly 1,500 acres. He became homesick, however, and made a trip on foot back to the Keystpne state, and on his return to Ohio died at the age of about sixty-three. Daniel Rasor, son of John, had preceded his father to Montgomery county and had found- ed the town of Union, in Randolph township, where he built a grist-mill and distillery. He had examined the land in Clay township, and through his reports the father was induced to immigrate to this locality. John Rasor, the second son of John, the pioneer, and father of Peter Rasor, was born ii'if. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD in Dauphin county, Pa., in 1790, and was about sixteen years of age when he came to Clay township with his father. He was reared on the homestead among the Indians, for protection against whom the settlers built a block house on the present site of Salem, in which "they were several times compelled to take refuge. In 181 5 Mr. Rasor married Miss Hannah Michael, who was born in Lancaster county, Pa., in 1797, a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Myers) Michael. Jacob Michael was also one of the early pioneers of Montgomery county, and first lo- cated on Bear creek, but finally settled at Salem, Clay county, about 1809, on a tract of 640 acres, of which he induced John Rasor, the original pioneer, to purchase 276 acres, which constitutes the present John Rasor homestead. Mr. Michael was a capital marks- man and a mighty hunter, but nevertheless cleared up a large farm and became a prosper- ous and influential citizen. He lived to reach eighty-six years, and was the father of the fol- lowing children: Hannah, Polly, Henry, Sal- lie, Elizabeth, Katie and Jacob. To the marriage of John Rasor were born eleven children, viz: Peter, John, Elizabeth, David, Daniel, Jacob, Henry, Samuel, Cather- ine, Mary and Noah. Mr. Rasor was an ex- cellent manager and accumulated 1,600 acres of land, with which he endowed all his chil- dren. He was a prominent and influential factor in the affairs of his tpwnship for more than half a century, and died January 19, 1869, a member of the United Brethren church, his widow surviving until June 26, 1875, when she also expired in the same faith. Peter Rasor, whose name opens this bio- graphical memoir, was born on the Rasor homestead, in Clay township, April 15, 18 17, the eldest of the children born to John and Hannah (Michael) Rasor. His opportunities for an education were limited, there being but few schools in the neighborhood, and they of the class known as subscription. But he be- came an excellent farmer, and May 23, 1839, he married, in Clay township, Miss Ann Maria Limbert, who was born in Pennsylvania, Sep- tember 20, 1 82 1, a daughter of Henry and Catherine (Wagner) Limbert. Henry Limbert was born in Perry county, Pa., in 1787, a son of Henry Limbert, a farm- er, born in Lancaster county, Pa., of German parentage, and a founder of the United Breth- ren church in Pennsylvania and of Otterbein college. Henry, the father of Mrs. Rasor, had born to him thirteen children, viz: John R. , Barbara, Lewis, Henry, Catherine, Peter, Ann M., George, Levi, Adam, Susan, Eliza- beth and Sarah. Mr. Limbert came to Mont- gomery county in 1823 or 1824, and settled on a tract of 172 acres in Clay township, which he transformed into a profitable farm. He was a member of the United Brethren church in high standing and assisted to erect the edi- fice at Arlington and that in Clay township, he being a founder of the denomination in the lat- ter place. He died June 27, 1869, a truly good man, honored and venerated by people of all creeds and of all conditions of life. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Rasor, immediately after marriage, settled on the farm they still occupy, which comprises 160 acres and was then covered by the forest; but this he has changed by hard and diligent work, and, with the assistance of his faithful wife, has made a home equal to any in the township. The mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Rasor has been blessed with a family of thirteen children, who were born in the following order: John H., Will- iam F., Samuel M. , Joseph, Adam S., Sal- oma E., Hannah C. , Ezra M. , Martha A., Edward G., Marietta, Ira N. and Clarence L. Mr. and Mrs. Rasor are devoted members of the United Brethren church and are active and liberal in its support, and also take much in- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1217 terest in educational matters. Mr. Rasor ranks among the best and most trusted citizens of the community, enjoying the confidence and esteem of all. lS~\ AVID RASOR, one of the oldest na- I tive-born residents of Clay township, /^^J Montgomery county, Ohio, was born on the old homestead, January 17, 1 82 1. John Rasor, his grandfather, was born in Lancaster county. Pa., was a farmer by oc- cupation, and married Miss A. Showers. They were the parents of the following children: Daniel, John, Lizzie, Barbara and Fannie, all of whom were born and reared in Lancaster county, Pa. He was a member of the Amish church and was descended from the ancient stock that came from Germany in the early history of the state of Pennsylvania. About 1805 Mr. Rasor moved with his family to Ohio, and when they passed through Dayton there was in that place but one log cabin. David Rasor settled on the land where Jesse Kimer now lives. At that time the country was all woods, and Mr. Rasor entered a large tract of land, giving to each of his children a farm. He lived to be sixty-two years of age, dying two years after locating in Clay township, and lies buried on the farm. John Rasor, his son, and the father of David Rasor, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., and when he came to Ohio with his par- ents was fifteen years old. He was brought up among the pioneers, amid primitive sur- roundings and conditions, which did not per- mit of much educational culture, but he was always a reading man, and was well informed. He married Hannah Michael, who was born in Pennsylvania and was a daughter of Jacob and Mary Michael, pioneers of Clay township. To Mr. and Mrs. Rasor there were born eleven chilren, who grew to mature years, as follows: Peter, Elizabeth, John, David, Daniel, Jacob, Samuel, Henry, Noah, Polly and Katie. John Rasor, the father of these children, was reared on the land that his father entered, and cleared up a large farm, there being 280 acres in the homestead, beside which he owned a large tract which he gave to his children. He and his wife were members of the United Brethren church. He was one of the sturdy pioneers, and a man of unflagging industry. During the early days of the settlement he was accustomed to drive a four-horse team before a large wagon twice a year, taking a load of produce sixty-two miles to Cincinnati to market, and returning with a load of supplies, thus making himself of great use to the early pioneers. David Rasor, the subject of this sketch, was reared on the farm, receiving but a lim- ited education in the old-fashioned log school- house. But he learned to read and write at school, and, upon this knowledge as a basis, has built up an education that is thoroughly practical, and has always been a well-informed man on all subjects of general interest, being specially well-versed in all subjects connected with agriculture. In July, 1843, he married Delilah Swenk, who was born in Perry town- ship, in 1820, and was a daughter of John Swenk, a biographical sketch of this family ap- pearing elsewhere in this volume. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Rasor settled in Salem, where they remained two years, and in 1846 located on 120 acres of land, which he had received from his father, all covered with tim- ber except a small clearing. By dint of patient industry — the only means in those days of get- ting on in the world — he cleared his land and added to it until at length he owned 245 acres in his home farm, beside other lands in Brook- ville. To him and his wife there were born seven children, who grew to maturity, as fol- lows: Henry, Ephraim (who died at the age of twenty-one), Mary A., Jane, Sarah A., Amanda 1218 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD and Susannah. The parents were members of the United Brethren church, and Mrs. Rasor died March 4, 1894, aged seventy-three years, a woman of many virtues. Mr. Rasor was one of the original republicans of the county, and has always belonged to that party. All his long life has been passed in Montgomery county, where his family has been reared, and where he stands high in the esteem of all as a citizen of integrity and worth. Henry Rasor, son of David, was born in 1846 on his father's farm. He was well edu- cated in the common schools of the day, and when nineteen years of age enlisted at Day- ton, Ohio, in February, 1865, in company B, Eighty-first regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, to serve six months, under Capt. Fanch. His services were rendered in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania. In July, 1865, he married Susan Shelt, of Pre- ble county, and a daughter of Amos and Eliza- beth Shelt. Mr. Rasor, from his youth, has worked upon the home farm, but is now living in West Baltimore. Politically he is a repub- lican, and is one of the public-spirited, pro- gressive citizens of the county. m 'ILLIAM H. REYNOLDS, an ex- soldier of the late Civil war, and a citizen of Montgomery county, springs from Irish and Pennsylvania- Dutch ancestry. William H. Reynolds, Sr. , his father, was born in Pennsylvania January 26, 1817, and was the son of a soldier of the war of 1812. He was a millwright by trade, and came to Ohio about 1831, settling at Salem, Mont- gomery county. He married Elizabeth Rasor, who was born December 8, 1820, and was a daughter of John and Hannah (Michael) Rasor, a biographical sketch of the former of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Rey- nolds and wife a few years after their marriage settled on an eighty-acre tract of land given to Mrs. Reynolds by her father. This land was covered with timber, and upon it he built a log cabin, cleared away the forest and made a good home. Mr. Reynolds was for many years a class leader in the United Brethren church, of which he and his wife were mem- bers. They were the parents of the following children : John W., George F. , William H., James R., Andrew J., Susannah, Daniel R., Mary E. and Hannah C. Politically Mr. Reynolds was a strong republican, and three of his sons served as soldiers in the Civil war. Joseph was a member of company B, Seventy- first regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, veter- anized, served four years and seven months, and participated in many battles. He was promoted to second lieutenant for meritorious conduct at the battle of Nashville, and was killed in the last battle in which his regiment was engaged. George F. was a member of company C, One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and William H. was also a good soldier in the war. Mr. Reynolds in 1872 removed to Jay county, Ind. , and set- tled in Red Key, where he bought 146 acres of land south of town, upon which he passed his remaining days. He was an industrious man and an honored citizen, serving as town- ship trustee and as clerk of his township sev- eral times. William H. Reynolds, the subject of this sketch, was born February 8, 1845, on his father's farm. Receiving the common-school education of the day, he became well prepared to struggle with the world, and has been un- usually successful. Enlisting in company B, Eighty-first regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, at Dayton, Ohio, February 4, 1865, "when he was about twenty years of age, he served until July 13, of the same year, when he was mus- tered out and discharged, on account of the OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1219 closing of the war. He served under Capt. Ira Foutz, and was on the hardest march in history, from Savannah to Washington, D. C, his regiment joining Sherman at Raleigh, N. C. , and often marching thirty-six miles per day. He participated in the grand review at Wash- ington, D. C. , which took place May 24 and 25, 1865. After the war he returned to Montgomery county, and on December 7, 1865, married Rachael Werts, who was born March 28, 1846, in Preble county, Ohio, and is a daugh- ter of David and Elizabeth (Piles) Werts. David Werts was of Pennsylvania-Dutch de- scent, and his father, Jacob Werts, was a pioneer settler of Preble county, Ohio. David Werts was a carpenter, a cooper and a miller, and lived many years at West Baltimore, Ohio, where he was a prominent citizen. He was a republican in politics. His children were as follows: Rachael, Corilla, Amanda, Martha J., Joseph D., Perry D. and Eliza- beth. He lived to be about sixty-five years old, and died at West Baltimore, Ohio, in August, 1 891. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Rey- nolds settled on his father's farm, living there one year, and have ever since lived in Mont- gomery county, Ohio, with the exception of twelve years, when they were in Jay county, Ind., and in Kansas, where Mr. Reynolds worked at his trade, that of carpenter and housebuilder, from 1872 to 1883, returning to their present farm in the latter year. Both Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds are members of the United Brethren church, in which Mr. Rey- nolds is a trustee. Politically he is a republic- an, and is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds are the parents of the following children: Marley, Ulysses S., Elizabeth E., Alice L., Corilla A., Perry A., Nora J. and William O. These children have been brought up with the great- est care, and given a good education. Ulysses S. married Lena Heartenstein, of Salem, is a butcher by occupation, and has three sons and one daughter; Elizabeth married Lewis Oaks, a farmer of Dayton, and has three sons; Alice married Charles Kress, a farmer of Miami county, and has one son. Corilla married Ezra Sarber, a farmer of Darke county, Ohio, and has three sons. All are prosperous and well-to-do people, and stand high in the es- teem of their respective communities. »-j*OHN SAYLER, whose post-office is ■ Clayton, Ohio, is one of the leading /• 1 farmers of Clay township. He sprang from Swiss ancestors, who settled in Maryland in old colonial times. His grandfa- ther, Jacob Sayler, was born in Maryland, and was a son of Daniel Sayler, whose father came from Switzerland. The family belonged to the German Baptist, or Dunkard, church. Jacob Sayler was a farmer of Frederick county, Md., and a Dunkard preacher, follow- ing both callings during his life. The farm upon which he always lived lay in Frederick county, Md. He married Hannah Garber, by whom he was the father of the following chil- dren : Reuben, Mary, Catherine, Betsey, Sarah, Jacob, Henry and William. Mr. Say- ler was one of the substantial farmers and most prominent citizens of his county. He was a consistent member of the German Bap- tist church. Reuben Sayler, father of John Sayler, was born July 4, 18 18, in Frederick county, Md. , was self-educated and followed successfully the occupation of a farmer. He married Hannah Smith, who was born in 1 821, in Frederick county, Md., and who was a daughter of Sam- uel and Catherine (Linn) Smith, the Smith and Linn families being of German ancestry. Mr. and Mrs. Sayler settled on a 160-acre farm in 1220 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Frederick count}', Md., and there passed the period of their active lives. They then retired to Union Bridge, in Carroll count}', where, after twenty years, Mr. Sayler died in 1878, at the age of sixty-eight. In his younger days he was a hard-working and industrious man, and was always prosperous. When he died he left a valuable estate, in farming lands and in city property. He served as a member of the council of Union Bridge, and also as mayor of the town. Politically, he was a democrat, and was an unusually intelligent and useful citizen. He was a reader of history, a patron of the best literature, and took an active inter- est in educational and religious affairs. John Sayler, the subject of this sketch, was born June 18, 1842, in Frederick county, Md., and was reared a farmer's boy on his father's farm. His education was such as was then supplied by the common schools. Removing to Dayton, Ohio, in 1862, a young man, he became engaged in the flour-mills, and contin- ued to work therein for tvvo years. On April 18, 1865, he married Harriet E. Wampler, who was born in Harrison township, Montgomery county, four miles north of Dayton, June 15, 1845. She is a daughter of Jesse and Cath- erine (Puterbaugh) Wampler, the former of whom was born January 5, 1820, in Carroll county, Md. In 1827 Jesse Wampler removed with his parents to Montgomery county, his father, Philip, being an original pioneer set- tler in this county, locating on Still Water river. Philip Wampler was of Swiss origin, of an old colonial family, and a soldier in the war of 1812. He married Catherine Rogers, of Carroll county, Md., and by her had the fol- lowing children: Edward, Jesse, William, John, Samuel, David, Joseph, Mary A., Han- nah, Elizabeth, Catherine and Anna. When he removed to Montgomery county in 1827 it was with horses and wagon, and upon his ar- rival he bought 160 acres of fine farming land, paying therefor $14 per acre. Afterward he purchased other lands, up to the number of 300 acres, all in one body. He died in 1878 at the great age of ninety years. He was a prominent member of the German Baptist church for many years, and was well known far and wide as an honorable and upright man. Jesse Wampler, his son, and the father of Mrs. Sayler, settled on a farm after his mar- riage, at which time he received from his father 250 acres of land in one body, which he later divided among his children upon his retirement to a homestead on which he has lived ever since. He has long been a member of the German Baptist church. His children are as follows: Harriet, William, Louisa, and Laura, deceased wife of David Klepinger, who was at the time of her death thirty-two years of age. Mr. Wampler is one of the progressive men of the county, a constant reader of the best cur- rent literature, and thus keeps himself fully abreast of the times. The Wampler family is one of the best in the county, noted for many sturdy and valuable traits of character and for safe and reliable qualities of citizenship. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Sayler settled in Harrison township, and lived there six years, removing to their present farm De- cember 14, 1 87 1. It contains 104 acres of land, and has been greatly improved by Mr. Sayler. He is now carrying on dairying on an extensive scale, and is also engaged in the manufacture of native wine. To Mr. and Mrs. Sayler there have been born the following children: Jessie, Charles, Lloyd, Dr. Howard and Milton. The children have all been well educated and Dr. Howard Sayler is a practicing physician at Union, Montgomery county, Ohio. Mrs. Sayler is a member of the German Baptist church. Mr. Sayler is a democrat in politics, has served as school director, and is among the best and most useful citizens of Montgomery county. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1221 K^\ ARTHOLOMEW WILSON, one of l/**^ the oldest business men and farmers J^J of Wayne township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born here, on his father's farm, July 26, 1826, and is of remote Scottish extraction. Israel Wilson, father of Bartholomew, was born in Loudoun county, Va., May 24, 1798, but at the age of three years was left an orphan and was bound out to Moses Miller, of the same county. In 1812, when Israel was four- teen years of age, Mr. Miller came to Ohio, bringing with him his family, young Wilson included, and settled in the woods of Wayne township. Israel here began learning black- smithing under Mr. Miller, but, disliking the trade, was permitted to learn millwrighting under a Mr. Staley. In March, 1824, Mr. Wilson married, in Wayne township, Miss Elizabeth Booher, who was born in Washing- ton county, Pa., August 16, 1804, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Crull) Booher. John Booher was a native of Washington county, Md., whence he moved to Pennsylvania, and in 1807 brought his family to Wayne town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, and settled on a tract of 160 acres, the title to which he received from the government in 18 14. His children were named John, Margaret, Cather- ine, Samuel, Elizabeth, Bartholomew, Mary, Daniel, Anna, Sarah and Levi. Mr. Booher died on his farm at the age of eighty-six years, a member of the German Baptist church; his widow lived to reach the great age of ninety- three years and seven months, and died at the residence of her son Daniel, in Harrison town- ship, her descendants numbering eleven chil- dren, eighty-six grandchildren, 1 18 great-grand- children, and one great -great-grandchild. After his marriage Mr. Wilson settled on seventy acres of wooded land in Wayne town- ship, and this farm he increased to 201 acres. He and his wife were members of the United Brethren church, of which he was a steward and trustee for many years. In politics he was at first a whig and then became a republican, and for several years served as township treas- urer. His death look place January 16, 1874, in his seventy-sixth year, and he left behind him a spotless name. The children born to Israel Wilson and wife were named Bartholo- mew, John, Ephraim, Isaiah and Mary J. The mother of this family died August 17, 1872, at the age of sixty-eight years, and was a woman of many estimable qualities. Bartholomew Wilson, at the age of twenty years, in 1846, began burning lime on his father's farm. He furnished lime for the old stone court house in Dayton and for many other large buildings in the city and elsewhere, and carried on the business for forty-eight years, when he retired with a competency. October 25, 1846, he married Miss Margaret A. Bren- ner, who was born in Wayne township June 2, 1828, a daughter of Jacob S. and Sarah A. (Mathews) Brenner, and went to housekeeping on the Wilson homestead, where they lived for three years. They then moved to a farm three miles south of the Miami river, where they lived seven years, when Mr. Wilson bought a farm in company with John L. Brenner, at present a member of congress from the Day- ton district. This farm contained 163 acres, and here Mr. Wilson lived for three years, when he built the first house in Sulphur Grove, where he resided for ten years. In 1880 he moved to Dayton, where he made his home until 1893, when he retired to his present place. The marriage of Mr. Wilson was blessed with six children, viz: Henry, Sarah E., Dr. Isaiah B. , Levina, Laura and Mary. Mrs. Wilson was called from earth April 3, 1893, in the faith of the United Brethren church, and on December 7, 1895, Mr. Wil- son married Miss Catherine Brenner, who was born in Wayne township October 10, 1846, a 1222 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD daughter of Elias and Barbara (Detrick) Bren- ner. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are members of the United Brethren church, in which Mr. Wilson has served as steward, choir. leader and trustee. In politics he is a republican, and served as township treasurer for ten years from i860; fraternally he is a member of Os- born lodge, No. 414, I. O. O. F. Mr. Wilson is a man of enterprise, liberality and public spirit, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of the entire community. He has done much toward the development of Wayne township, and the product of his industry is scattered throughout the county as a component part of many a substantial building. ISAIAH WILSON, a prominent citizen of Wayne township, is a son of Israel and Elizabeth (Booher) Wilson, of whom mention is made in detail in the biography of Bartholomew Wilson, published above. Isaiah Wilson was born on the Wilson homestead in Wayne township, Montgomery county, Ohio, August 6, 1835, received a good common-school education, and for thirty-five years was in the lime business. At the age of twenty-eight years he married, in Montgomery county, January 23, 1863, Miss Elizabeth Brenner, who was born on her father's farm in Wayne township, December 9, 1833, a daugh- ter of Michael and Mary (Booher) Brenner. Michael Brenner, father of Mrs. Wilson, was a native of Fauquier county, Va., a son of Lewis and Dorothy (Reprogel) Brenner, and was a mere boy when he came with his father to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1 808. He here grew to manhood and married Miss Mary Booher. After marriage, Isaiah Wilson settled on the Wilson homestead, and this has ever since been his place of residence. He has consid- erably improved the farm and has a substan- tial modern dwelling, containing every feature essential to a pleasant home. Mr. Wilson is a member of the Odd Fellows' lodge at Day- ton, and socially stands with the best citizens of the county. In politics he is a republican, for three years was treasurer of Wayne town- ship, and has always held the confidence of his fellow-townsmen. He is very fond of the chase, and has made many trips to the woods of Michigan and Minnesota for the purpose of gratifying his taste for that exciting sport. BRANK WILHELM, a native-born farmer of Butler township, Montgom- ery county, Ohio, descends from a wealthy colonial family of Pennsyl- vania, and was born July 19, 1840. Jacob Wilhelm was the first of the family to come from Germany to America, brought with him considerable means and settled in Lancaster county. Pa. His grandson, also christened Jacob, was the great-grandfather of Frank, the subject of this biographical notice, and early kept a hotel in Harrisburg. He also owned forty acres of land immediately east of the state house, and this ground is now cov- ered with costly buildings. He died about the year 1830, at the age of ninety-three years, a member of the German Reform church. He served in the Revolutionary war, and had been twice married, and by his first wife was the father of four children, viz: John, Peter, David and Catherine; to his second marriage no children were born. John Wilhelm, the grandfather of Frank Wilhelm, was born in Harrisburg, Pa., was a tanner by trade, and married Anna Longe- necker, who bore him ten children, viz: Benjamin, Daniel, Mary, Samuel, Elizabeth, Joseph, Catherine, Sarah, Sophia and John. In 1820 he brought his family to Ohio, and OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1223 for one year lived in Red Lion, Warren coun- ty; in 1 82 1 he came to Montgomery county and bought a farm of 160 acres, eight miles north of Dayton, on the Covington pike, in Randolph township. He developed a fine farm, and finally retired to Vandalia, where he passed his declining years until his death, at the age of eighty-seven years, in the faith of the German Baptist church. Daniel Wilhelm, the second son of John and father of Frank Wilhelm, was born in Harrisburg, Pa., in 1802, and was about eighteen years of age when brought to Ohio by his parents. He received a good common- school education and was reared on his father's farm. In 1825 he married Miss Barbara Stouder, daughter of David Stouder, a native of Pennsylvania, whose children were named John, Barbara, David, Sarah and Daniel. After their marriage, Daniel Wilhelm and wife settled, in 1826, on the farm of 160 acres now owned by their son Frank. This land was at that time covered with timber, but Mr. Wil- helm cleared away the primeval forest, placed the land under cultivation, and eventually had one of the best-improved farms in the town- ship. The children born to Daniel and Bar- bara Wilhelm were named Hester (died in 1850), Levina, Mary, Joseph (died in 1885), George, Martha, Sarah, Frank, Catherine (died in infancy) and Zimri (who also died an infant). Mr. and Mrs. Wilhelm were mem- bers of the United Brethren church and in politics Mr. Wilhelm was a democrat. The death of Mr. Wilhelm took place on his farm November 2, 1882, at the age of eighty years, and his name stands to-day as a synonym of integrity. Frank Wilhelm was reared on his father's farm, now his own, and was well educated in the district school. In 1859 he crossed the plains to Pike's Peak, Colo., whence he went to Denver, where he remained one year, and then returned to his farm in Ohio, on which he remained until 1865. He then joined a United States survey party and again went west, overland, to Des Moines, Iowa, down to the Indian Territory, and over to Julesburg, Colo.; to Denver; to Salt Lake City, Utah; to Montana (where he was a member of the vigilance committee), and on to British Colum- bia, encountering Indians at various points in hostile struggles, and enduring all the hard- ships of winter travel over the plains. He did considerable gold mining, met with good fortune, and in 1869 returned to Ohio, where he has since passed his days in farming, enjoy- ing the well-deserved respect of all who know him and being equally as successful in his agri- cultural pursuits as he was in his search for a fortune in the west. ^YOLOMON WORMON, one of the *^^KT most venerable residents of Clay h<_y township, Montgomery county, is of Swiss ancestry, and was born on his father's homestead, south of Dayton, Septem- ber 23, 181 1, being thus, also, one of the old- est native-born citizens of this township. Henry Wormon, grandfather of Solomon, was a child aged but one year when brought from Switzerland to America by his parents, who first located in Pennsylvania and after- ward removed to Maryland and settled in Washington county. There Henry was reared to manhood, married Miss Magdalena Cour, and had born to him nine children, viz: George, Mary, Henry, David, Anna, Jacob, Margaret, Eva and Barbara. Of this family, David, who was born in Washington county, Md., married Mrs. Mary Shonk, who was born in Maryland, May 15, 1780, and at the time of her marriage with Mr. Wormon was the widow of Henry Shonk, and by her first mar- 1224 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD riage was the mother of one child, Elizabeth, who married John Schroyer. David Wormon and wife came to Ohio in 1806 and settled in Montgomery county, Oc- tober 1 1, near the then hamlet of Dayton, and found shelter in a log cabin on what is now known as the Lebanon turnpike, but was then a mere wilderness. Here he bought a tract of 160 acres, which was improved only with this log cabin and two acres of cleared land. The remainder, however, he cleared up, and bought or entered other tracts until he owned 700 acres, which, at his death, he distributed among his children. They were six in num- ber, and were named Sarah, who was born December 26, 1805, in Maryland; Mary, born in Ohio in September, 1807; Lydia, Solomon, Margaret and David — these four also born in Ohio. David Wormon and wife were mem- bers of the United Brethren church and ardent promoters of the faith, aiding liberally in the support of the local congregation, and in the pioneer days threw their hospitable doors open to the itinerant ministers, and contributing to the erection of the first United Brethren edi- fice in Montgomery county. The death of Mr. Wormon occurred May 7, 1854, at the age of seventy-nine years. Mrs. Mary Wormon died December 22, 1854, in her seventy-fifth year, having lived to see thirty-two grandchil- dren and seven great-grandchildren. Solomon Wormon, son of David and Mary Wormon, was reared on the home farm and received such education as the limited facilities of the pioneer schools afforded. In March, 1849, he married Miss Lydia Spitler, who was born in Montgomery county December 13, 1823, a daughter of Jacob and Susan (Wise) Spitler. Jacob Spitler was born in Botetourt county, Va. , came to Ohio in 1804, settled in Montgom- ery county, and here died February 11, 1857, the father of the following children: John, Elizabeth, Sarah, Jacob, Lydia, Mary, Joseph, Esther, Daniel and Ann. For several years after marriage Mr. Wormon lived on his fa- ther's farm, but March 10, 1856, moved to his present farm, then consisting of 182^ acres, which he has since increased to 280 acres. He destroyed the old double log house that occu- pied the premises when he first took possession, erected a modern farm dwelling, and has now one of the best farms in the county. The marriage of Solomon and Lydia Wormon was blessed with five children, named William, Sarah S., Julia, Emma and Jane. Mr. and Mrs. Wormon were long members of the United Brethren church, which they liberally supported with their means, and in the faith of which they reared their children. In politics Mr. Wormon was a republican, and at the age of eighty-five years had a clear apprehension of his duty to his party and to his country. Mrs. Lydia Wormon died February 11, 1895, aged about seventy-one years, and Mr. Wor- mon died December 11, 1896. Of their children, Emma is now the widow of Jordan Falkner, and has three children — Ward W., Olive M. and Beatrice P.; Sarah S., deceased, was the wife of Henry Binkley, an architect of Dayton, and the mother of two children — Edwin W. and Edith B. ; William married Caroline Binkley, is a stock dealer in Clay township, and has five children — Howard, Clark, Carrie, George and Earnest; Julia was married to Aaron Mummert, a farmer, and has two children — Florence and Hayes; Jane mar- ried Alonzo M. Campbell, of Brookville. Of the survivors, all maintain an excellent stand- ing in the esteem of the members of their respective communities. Edith Binkley, daughter of Henry and Sarah S. (Wormon) Binkley, married Allen Howard November 4, 1894, and is the mother of one child, Lowell E., who was born March 23, 1896, and is the only great-grandchild of Solomon Wormon. ^0\£f<_ J# vli-&x_ MRS. GEORGE BIXLER. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1229 ^^EORGE BIXLER, now living in re- ■ ^\ tirement in Brookville, Clay town- ^iW ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Carroll county, Md., Decem- ber 1 8, 1820. His great-great-grandfather came from Germany and settled in Maryland in the old colonial days. Peter Bixler, grand- father of George, was born in Frederick county, Md., but located in Carroll county early in life, married a Miss Vance, and had born to him the following children : John, Polly, Samuel, Elizabeth, Sallie, Benjamin and Joel. The father died in Carroll county, aged eighty-two years, a well-to-do farmer. Samuel Bixler, son of Peter and father of George Bixler, was born in Carroll county, Md., October 6, 1799, and in his youthful days learned milling, which he followed for ten years. He married, in Carroll county, Miss Leah Maus, who was born in 1802, daughter of George and Mary (Kittsmitter) Maus, and to this marriage were born seven children, viz : George, Savilla, Eliza, Mar- garet (who died at two years of age), Kate, Mary and David. Samuel Bixler, after work- ing for several years in his father-in-law's mill in Maryland, came to Ohio in 1828, and for three months lived in Lewisburg. Preble county ; then moved to what was then known as Fisher's mill, on Twin creek, remained there a year and a half, and then, in 1830, came to Montgomery county and bought a 160-acre farm in Perry township, about ten miles west of Dayton, at $5 per acre, sixty acres being cleared and improved with a good log house and barn. This farm he paid for in silver — $800; of this sum he borrowed $500 from his father, in Maryland, making the trip thither on horseback. He stowed the silver in his saddle-bags, and was twelve days in crossing the mountains on his return. At night he would stop at some old-fashioned inn and trust his saddle-bags to the safe-keeping 55 of the landlord. Mr. Bixler succeeded in clear- ing up his farm and in making an excellent home, where he died in 1859, aged nearly sixty years. He and his wife were members of the New Lutheran church, and in politics Mr. Bixler was a democrat. He reared his family in respectability, and he himself died an honored man. George Bixler was reared to hard farm labor, and aided his father in clearing the home farm on coming to Ohio, he being then but eight years of age. He attended school two months each winter until seventeen years old, and at the age of twenty-seven, February 22, 1847, in Perry township, Montgomery county, married Miss Rachael A. Clemmer, who was born December 20, 1827, a daughter of John and Phebe (Nevins) Clemmer. John Clemmer was a native of Virginia, married in Rockingham county, that state, and brought his family to Ohio, about 18 12, and settled on Twin river, in Perry township, Montgomery county, cleared a farm of 160 acres, and there died at the age of eighty-one years. He was the father of ten children: Fannie, Mary, Jane, John, George, William, Rachael A., Martha, Silas and Catherine. Mr. and Mrs. Bixler, just after marriage, located on a farm of eighty acres in Perry- township, of which fifteen acres had been cleared. Mr. Bixler lived here but one year, having in the meantime built a log house. He then moved upon his father's farm, where he lived for a year, going thence to a farm of 148 acres in the same township, which he still owns. To this he added until he owned 250 acres in Montgomery county and 380 acres in Darke county, and finally retired from his farm residence to Brookville, February 28, 1895, having given each of his children sufficient means to start them well in life. In politics Mr. Bixler was first a democrat, but was early imbued with republican ideas, and was one of 1230 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD the organizers of that party in Montgomery county, voting for its first nominee for the presidency of the United States, John C. Fre- mont. He and his wife are members of the New Lutheran church, in which faith they have reared their seven children, who were named, in order of birth, Phebe, Samuel, John, Mary, David, William and Jesse F. The fam- ily are held in high esteem throughout the township and in all parts of the county, where the name is widely known. WOHN F. BEARDSHEAR, a well-known m farmer of Harrison township, Mont- hs 1 gomery county, Ohio, was born on the farm on which he still resides, August 23, 1838, and is a son of Isaac and Sarah (Booher) Beardshear, also natives of Mont- gomery county, and who were the parents of three children, viz: Levi; Sarah Ann, wife of Ezra Bimm, and John F. The father was a skillful and thriving farmer, accumulated con- siderable land, and in 1850 erected the dwell- ing in which his son, John F. , now lives. He died June 5, 1882, at .the age of seventy-six years, in the faith of the Baptist church, while his wife, who was a Methodist, survived until September 20, 1888, when she died at the age of seventy-two years. George Beardshear, the paternal grand- father of John F. Beardshear, was a Pennsyl- vanian by birth, and at a very early day came to Ohio, bought or entered several tracts of land in what is now Harrison township, reared a large family, and here died somewhat past middle life. John Booher, the maternal grand- father of John F. Beardshear, was born near Baltimore, Md., and was also an early settler of Ohio. John F. Beardshear was reared on the farm of his birth, received a good common-school •education, and at the death of his parents bought out the interest of the other heirs to the home place, upon which he has since re- sided. He owns eighty-two acres of excellently cultivated land, improved with every modern convenience. He has never married, and his pleasant home is under the care of his aunt, Mrs. Catherine Booher, widow of Daniel Booher. Politically, Mr. Beardshear is an independent democrat. £~V AMUEL BRUMBAUGH, a farmer of *^^KT Perry township, Montgomery county, ^ ^ J Ohio, is descended from Pennsyl- vania-Dutch stock, the founder of the family in America having come from Germany. He was Conrad Brumbaugh, and was the grandfather of Samuel Brumbaugh. It is be- lieved that he was married in Germany. Two of his brothers also came to America, but the date of their coming is not now known. From these three brothers sprang all the Brum- baughs of Pennsylvania. Conrad Brumbaugh settled in Lancaster county, Pa., probably before 1761, as it is be- lieved that all of his large family were born in Pennsylvania, and the youngest of his thirteen children was born in 1787. After a part of his children were born he removed to Morrison's Cove, Bedford county, Pa., but the Indians becoming troublesome he returned to the more thickly settled portion of the state. When he reached Morrison's Cove he found the Indians in possession, and that they had destroyed everything he had left behind, and had killed all the remaining settlers. After the Indian t oubles ceased, Conrad Brumbaugh returned to this place with his family, made a home and lived there for some time. Then remov- ing to Allegheny county, Pa., he made a home for his family there in the wilderness, and be- came one of the pioneers of that section of the state. His children were John, Daniel, Jacob, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1231 William, Conrad, David, George, Elizabeth and Christiana. Mr. Brumbaugh was well ed- ucated in Germany, and after reaching this country taught school and became a minister in the German Baptist church, being one of the first ministers of that church in America. George Brumbaugh, father of Samuel, was born April 2, 1788, at Morrison's Cove, Pa., and received the meager education of the times in which he lived. Brought up on the farm, he himself became a farmer, served in the war of 1812, and in 181 5 married Eliza- beth Vaniman, who was born in Pennsylvania, September 15, 1789. She was a daugh- ter of John and Catherine (Martin) Vani- man, the former of whom was born in Eng- land, but came to America at a very early day, lived for many years in Pennsylvania, and then removed to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1805. John Vaniman settled in Madison town- ship and entered a full section of government land. He erected a log cabin three miles south of the present home of Samuel Brum- baugh. In those early days he was surrounded by Indians, who were, however, friendly, and frequently went to his cabin for food. Mr. Vaniman put in a piece of corn on the Mad River bottoms, had a good crop, and during the first winter he and his family lived on corn bread, turnips, and wild game, the latter being then quite plentiful. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Vaniman were John, Jacob, Catherine, Elizabeth, Pol- ly and Hannah, all of whom lived to become men and women. Mr. Vaniman was a Ger- man Baptist in religion, and lived to a good old age, dying on his farm. He was well known for miles around as one of the sturdy, honest and industrious pioneers. By his con- stant and well-directed efforts he accumulated considerable property, gave to each of his chil- dren 160 acres, and left to his widow 320 acres of land. George Brumbaugh settled on 160 acres of land which his wife had received from her fa- ther. He cleared the entire tract of its tim- ber, excepting four acres, which had already been cleared, and made it into a good farm. He lived on this farm until March, 1848, when he died, leaving the honored name of a good, useful and upright citizen. His children were Samuel and Catherine. Samuel Brumbaugh was born February 4, 1823, on his present farm, and received the usual common-school education of the day. He was reared a farmer, and at the age of twenty-two, on September 11, 1845, married Miss Mary Rife, who was born February ii, 1823, in Rockingham county, Va. She is a daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Barker) Rife. Jacob Rife came to Perry county about 1837 and lived there until his death, which occurred when he was sixty-eight years old. His children were as follows: By his first wife: Daniel, Annie and Catherine, and by his second wife, Jacob, Sarah, Elizabeth, Mary and Frances. Samuel Brumbaugh has always lived on his present farm, upon which his father settled in 181 5, eighty-two years ago. To the origi- nal 160 acres of land he has added twenty-six acres, so that his farm now contains 186 acres, and is well improved with excellent buildings, and under a high state of cultivation. Mr. Brumbaugh is a member of the German Bap- tist church, and stands high among his fellow- citizens. To him and his wife have been born the following children: George. Jacob, Eman- uel, Catherine, Elizabeth, Sarah and Isaac. ^-VESSE GILBERT, a well-to-do farmer A of Jackson township, Montgomery nt 1 county, Ohio, is a native of Frederick county, Md., and was born July 18. 1826, of remotely German ancestors, who, on 1232 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD coming to America, made their home in the wilderness of Frederick county, Md., where many of the family name reached distinction. The Ohio family may be traced back to George Gilbert, whose children, Adam, David, James and Isaac, were all born in Maryland, where George himself lived and died. Adam Gilbert, son of George Gilbert, and the father of Jesse, was born in Frederick county, Md., February 5, 1800, was reared a farmer, and married Catherine Diffenbaugh, a native of the same county, and a daughter of Henry and Catherine Diffenbaugh, also of Ger- man origin. To Adam Gilbert and wife were born ten children, viz: Jesse, Eleanor, John, Jane, Nelson, Mary, Joshua, Julia A., Louisa and Rebecca. The farm of Adam Gilbert was situated in Carroll county, Md., which county was cut off from Frederick and Baltimore counties after the birth of his son Jesse. He owned about 200 acres of land, located near Westminister, and there he died in 1865, a member of the Reformed church. In the later years of his life he was a strong republican in politics and a stanch supporter of the Union during the Civil war. Jesse Gilbert received a fair common- school education, was a strong and rugged boy and did a great deal of useful work on the home farm. When about twenty-two years of age, in 1848, he came to Ohio, and located in Jackson township, Montgomery county. He here married Mrs. Hannah Mullendore, who bore the maiden name of Swinehart, and was a daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Swinehart. Peter Swinehart was of German descent, a na- tive of Washington county, Pa., and came to Jackson township among the early pioneers, entering the land upon which Jesse Gilbert now lives, the tract consisting of 160 acres. Mr. and Mrs. Swinehart were the parents of eight children and were strict members of the Dun- kard or German Baptist church and worthy members of the community in which they lived. Hannah Mullendore (Mrs. Gilbert), by her first husband, Daniel Mullendore, was the mother of five children — Anna Maria, Josiah (who died young), Leona, and two others (who also died young). Jesse Gilbert and wife, at their marriage, settled on the Swinehart homestead, and here Mr. Gilbert has since lived. Mr. Gilbert has done much toward clearing up and improving this homestead, working long and industriously to bring it to its present condition of fertility and productiveness. He has been very pros- perous, being expert in his calling, and is now the owner of 300 acres of excellent farming land. To the marriage of Jesse and Hannah Gilbert were born two children — Adam and Alice — the latter deceased. Mrs. Gilbert was called away February 13, 18S0, dying in the faith of the Dunkard church, of which Mr. Gilbert is also a member. The son, Adam, was born on the homestead July 18, 1854, married Miss Elizabeth Moyer, and has two children, Jesse and Pearl. In politics Jesse Gilbert was formerly an old-line whig, but of recent years he has affiliated with the demo- cratic party. He is public-spirited and disposed to aid all undertakings designed for the public good, and he enjoys the sincere respect of all his fellow-citizens and neighbors. HOMAS GILBERT, farmer of Perry township, Montgomery county, Ohio, sprang from sterling English ancestry on his father's side and from German stock on his mother's side of the family. George Gilbert, his father, was born in Maryland, Oc- tober 2, 1786. He was a carpenter by trade, and married Catherine Wampler, January 27, 1825. To them were born the following chil- dren: James, born November 23, 1825; Sam- uel, born September 10, 1827; Thomas, born OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1233 January 18, 1829. The mother of these chil- dren died, and Mr. Gilbert married a widow named Mary Wampler, whose maiden name was Brown. To this marriage there were born George and Gideon. Mr. Gilbert and family settled three-fourths of a mile east of Liberty, in Jefferson township, on 160 acres of land, which was at the time partly cleared of its tim- ber. To this he added until at length he owned 300 acres of excellent land, which he improved both by intelligent cultivation and by the erec- tion of good buildings. He was an unusually prosperous man, and was well known for many miles around as a straightforward, honorable citizen. Mr. Gilbert was a democrat in poli- tics and was honored by his fellow-citizens with election to the offices of township trustee and township treasurer, beside several other minor offices of trust. He died in 1862, at the age of seventy-six, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Thomas Gilbert, the subject of this sketch, was born in Jefferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio. He received the education then given to the country-bred children, in a sub- scription school, and upon arriving at a suita- ble age was put to learning the carpenter's trade, at which he subsequently worked for many years. He married, when he was twen- ty-seven years of age, July 4, 1855, Miss Ellen E. Colliflower, who was born in Maryland and was a daughter of Peter and Mary Colliflower. Peter Colliflower was born in Maryland, of German extraction, and lived and died in his native state. His widow then brought her family to Ohio and settled in Liberty in 1848. The children were William, Joel, Abraham and Ellen E. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert settled east of Liberty on three acres of land, he working at his trade for fifteen years. He then purchased forty acres of land in Jackson township, where he lived until 1866, when he removed to Perry township, having purchased here ninety-eight acres of land, partly cleared. This farm he has greatly improved, and in 1872-3 erected his present commodious resi- dence. He is a most careful and practical farmer, and now has his farm under a high state of cultivation. The eldest child born to Mr. and Mrs. Gil- bert was Leroy, who educated himself and graduated from the high school of Trumbull county, Ohio, attended Oberlin college, also a college in Tennessee and the college at Dela- ware, Ohio. He was professor in an eastern college, and iater was vice-president of a col- lege at New Orleans. Then going to Wash- ington, he became superintendent of the public schools at Tacoma, where he died, leaving a reputation for high character and fine scholar- ship. He married Miss Harriet Faulkner, of Trumbull county, Ohio, by whom he had two children. The second child of Thomas Gil- bert is Charles, who married Margaret Lamkin. He is a farmer of Jackson township, and has three children. Emma lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. Nettie married John Bowman, a farmer of Jackson township, and has two children. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics Mr. Gilbert is a democrat and as such he has been elected a school director of his district. In private as well as in public life he has always been looked upon as a man of integrity and of honorable character. Mr. Gilbert learned his trade as carpenter very thoroughly, serving two years as an ap- prentice and two years as journeyman, acquir- ing all the knowledge necessary for a first-class mechanic, and has erected many business build- ings and residences. The great-grandfather of Thomas Gilbert came from England, settled in Maryland, and married a German woman. He had two chil- dren, Jeremiah and Susan, to the former of 1234 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD whom he gave a farm. On May 9, 1779, Jere- miah married Catherine Weaver, whose father was a soldier of the Revolution, and the chil- dren of this marriage were Thomas, Elizabeth, Catherine, George, Hannah, Jeremiah, Sophia and one that died in infancy. The mother of these children having died, Mr. Gilbert married for his second wife Miss Powell, August 27, 1793, and by her he had the following chil- dren: Reuben, Jeremiah, William, Isaac, James, Sarah, Rhoda, Mary, John, Joseph, Lydia, Benjamin, Elizabeth and Solomon. In all he was the father of twenty-three chil- dren, two of whom died when quite young. Jeremiah Gilbert was a prosperous farmer, a good citizen, and died in 1822, when sixty-one years of age. He was a member of the Ger- man Baptist church. <^~\ EV. SAMUEL HORNING, one of I /«^ the present preachers of the German P Baptist church in Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, and also a progressive and successful farmer, came from excellent Penn- sylvania-Dutch ancestors. His remote ances- try came from Germany, and were among the early German Baptists to settle in Pennsyl- vania. His great-grandfather, Ludwig Horn- ing, was born in Germany in 1708. Among his children were Peter, Samuel and John, the last named of whom was born in 1755, lived on the old homestead in Skippack township, Montgomery county, Pa., and was married to Elizabeth Hall, May 11, 1780. Their chil- dren were Jacob, Lewis, Catherine, John, Mary, Ann, Samuel, Henry, William and Isaac. William Horning, the father of Samuel, was born in Montgomery county, Pa., Febru- ary 16, 1801, and received a common-school education in his native state. Being of a me- chanical turn of mind he learned the mill- wright trade and in many ways showed that he was possessed of rare ability in this direc- tion. He married in his native state, August 12, 1826, Hannah Price, who was descended from one of the oldest of the German- Baptist ministers of the country. Jacob Preisz was the original founder of the Price family in America, and was born in Wetzenstein, Prussia, about the beginning of the eighteenth century. He came to this country in the fall of 17 19, being one of the many who were persecuted on account of their religious principles in their native land. After reaching America he remained for a time at Germantown, Pa., and about 1721 settled at Indian Creek, Lower Salford township, Mont- gomery county, Pa. He was a preacher of great power and influence. Jacob Preisz died and his remains lie buried on the old home- stead now occupied by his great-great-grand- son, Abraham Price. He had one son, John, who was also a minister, and who wrote poetry of considerable merit, a collection of which was published by Christopher Sam in 1753. John Price married young, and was the father of two sons, Daniel and John. Daniel Price, of the third generation from the founder of the family in America, was the father of thirteen children, of whom the following married and reared families. These children were John, George, Henry, Daniel, , Elizabeth and Hannah. George Price, who was of the fourth generation, was the father of eight children, of whom the names of six are remembered, viz: Mary, Sarah, Daniel, George, Hannah and John. John became a minister of the gospel so young that he was known far and wide as "Johnny Price, the boy preacher." Wher- ever he went to preach people of all denomi- nations flocked to hear him. He originated the Sunday-school in Coventry, not without much opposition. In his early life he kept a store in the house now occupied by John Ellis, and while thus engaged he changed the name to OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1235 Price to correspond with its pronunciation. When he died the entire church mourned his loss, for " Lo, a great man is fallen in Israel." John Price was the father of twelve children, ten of whom lived to marry and rear families of their own. These ten were Isaac, George, Rebecca, Mary, Hannah, Sarah, Elizabeth, Lydia, Anna and John R. The Price family have long been prominently identified with the progress and prosperity of Pennsylvania. They appear to have been a priestly race as far back as we have any knowledge of them, as Jacob was a noted preacher in Europe, and his son, John, was a preacher and poet. Daniel, son of John, was also a preacher, and had two sons who were preachers, while in every gen- eration since there have been one or more ministers of the gospel. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. William Horning settled in Montgomery county, Pa., and there he ran a grist-mill and a clover- mill on his farm. He and his wife had seven children born to them, as follows: John P., Elhanan, Daniel, Elizabeth, Mary, Jonas and Samuel. In the fall of 1840 Mr. Horning moved from Pennsylvania, settling in Perry township, Montgomery county, Ohio, where he purchased 160 acres of land, to which he later added 100 acres. To him and his wife there were born the following children: Re- becca, Lydia and Samuel. Mr. and Mrs. Horning were members of the German Bap- tist church. Mr. Horning was an ingenious mechanician, having built a threshing machine in Pennsylvania and also a feed-cutter, which he himself invented. In Ohio he invented the force-feed grain-drill, which was constructed on the same fundamental principle as those now in most general use. He also invented a horse hay-rake and a horsepower for thresh- ers, and a two-roller cane-mill, beside several minor implements He was both skillful and industrious, and was known far and wide for his integrity of character and for his genial disposition. He was one of the early advo- cates of the temperance cause and among the first who undertook the suppression of the use of intoxicating liquors as a beverage in his neighborhood. Rev. Samuel Horning, the subject of this sketch, was born March 5, 1848, on the old homestead in Perry township, Montgomery county, Ohio. He was educated in the public schools, was reared a farmer and learned of his father the trade of blacksmith, thus becom- ing familiar with the use of all kinds of tools. When he was twenty-three years of age he married Anna Matilda Eversole, who was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, September 11, 1850, and who is a daughter of Abraham Ev- ersole and his wife, who was Margaret Fol- krath. The father of Mrs. Horning was born December 8, 1804, in Shepherdstown, Jeffer- son county, Va. , and was a weaver and a farmer. He located in Hagerstown, Md., and there married Mary Logue, removing to Ohio in 1832, and settling in Greene county, where his first wife died. He afterward married Marga- ret Folkrath in 1834, and by this second mar- riage had ten children, as follows: Daniel, Catherine, Maria, Henry C, Elizabeth, Julia, Anna M., Sarah F., John C. and Laura L. He is a most excellent neighbor and an hon- ored member of the community. While a member of no church, yet he is a supporter of religious work, giving the ground for the build- ing of the Eversole church, which is located on his farm. Mr. Eversole is the last living member of his father's family, Mrs. Elizabeth Roop, another member, having recently died. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Horning settled on the farm and moved into the ancient mansion, remaining there three years, then bought part of the old homestead and erected excellent modern buildings, where they still re- side. Their children are as follows: John, 1236 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Jr., who died at the age of twenty years; Ed- win L. and Clara. Rev. Samuel Horning has been a minister of the German Baptist church for the past fourteen years, or since August 31, 1882, and has worthily followed in the footsteps of his ancestors. He is possessed of a broad and liberal education, and so highly appreciates the advantages of educating the youth, that he has given his children the best education within his means, and the best the facilities of the present day permit. He is a man of wide and careful reading, informed on all current topics, and well versed in ancient and modern history and theology. He and his wife have been members of the church since 1872, their children also uniting with the church in early life. HBRAHAM NEFF, of Perry township, one of the oldest and most respected native-born farmers of Montgomery county, Ohio, is a native of Jefferson township, was born June 7, 181 8, and is re- motely of German descent. Leonard Neff, his grandfather, was a na- tive of Virginia, and when a young man re- moved to Somerset county, Pa., where he married Elizabeth Miller. He went thence to Kentucky, where he was a compatriot of the famous Daniel Boone, and at one time found shelter in the same fort with him during an In- dian raid. Mr. Neff cleared a plantation in Jessamine county, Ky., and there died at the age of about seventy-six years, the father of the following children: John, Peter, Eliza- beth, Mary, Michael, Jonathan, Joseph and Margaret. Michael Neff, father of Abraham, was born in Kentucky in 1794. He was reared to farm- ing in Jessamine county and also learned the blacksmith trade. He came to Ohio in 181 5 and was married in Montgomery county, in 1 8 1 6 or 1 8 1 7, to Esther Weaver, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1795 or 1796, a daugh- ter of Peter and Elizabeth (Heistand) Weaver, the latter a native of Pennsylvania and of German extraction. Peter Weaver was born in Germany, came to America when a young man, and first made his home in Pennsylvania, married in that state, later brought his family to Ohio, and was a pioneer of what is now Jefferson town- ship, Montgomery county, and at one time owned a section and a half of land, which at the present time is divided into eight farms. His children were named John, Jacob, Henry, Elizabeth, Barbara, Esther, Peter and Abra- ham. He was for many years a faithful mem- ber of the German Baptist church, lived to the great age of ninety-four years, and died in Elkhart county, Ind., at the home of his eld- est son, John. Michael Neff and wife, after their marriage, settled on the Peter Weaver farm in Jefferson township, and here were born their four chil- dren — Abraham (the subject of this memoir), Margaret, Michael and Elizabeth, and here, also, Mrs. Esther Neff was called from earth about 1824. Mr. Neff next married Miss Barbara Floro, daughter of Joseph Floro, and this union resulted also in the birth of four children — Sarah, Joseph, Eve and Jonathan — all probably born in Perry township, whither after his second marriage Mr. Neff removed about 1827 or 1828, and settled on 160 acres in the woods, of which tract, however, twenty acres had been cleared. This land had been entered by Peter Weaver in 18 12, the deed being signed by President Madison; the parch- ment is still preserved by Abraham Neff, who now lives upon the farm. Michael Neff thoroughly developed this place and lived upon it until failing health called a respite from la- bor, when he made a visit to Charleston, W. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1237 Va., in hope of recuperating, but there died July 10, 1 85 1 , at the age of fifty-seven years. He was a whig in politics, an unswervingly honest man, and honored universally as a useful citizen. Abraham Neff, with whose name this biog- raphy is opened, was reared to farming and was educated in an old-fashioned log school- house. He learned from his father the black- smith's trade, also, and, when of a little over twenty-two years old, was married January 9, 1840, in Jefferson township, to Tracy Bellmier, who was born in Washington county, Md., December 15, 1S17, a daughter of Gabriel and Margaret (Toby) Bellmier, the former of whom was a Marylander by birth, but of German de- scent. He was a farmer and came to Mont- gomery county in 1827 or 1828, settling on 160 acres of land in Jefferson township, but about 1850 removed to Ogle county, 111., where he died at the age of sixty-four years, the father of the following children: Catherine, Susan, Elizabeth, Mary, Tracy, John, Charity, Mar- tin, Harrison, Caroline, Ruan and Thornton. Abraham Neff and wife, after their mar- riage, lived for four years on an eighty-acre farm in Defiance county, and then returned to the old Neff homestead in Montgomery county, their present home. To this farm Mr. Neff has given much intelligent labor, improving it with modern and convenient buildings, and bringing it under a high state of cultivation, so that it now ranks among the best places in the town- ship. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Neff are John, Miranda, Allen, Mary, Maggie, Amelia and Althea (twins), Peter, Hettie and Minnie. The family are members of the old-school Ger- man Baptist church. Mr. Neff is very popular with his fellow-citizens and has served them as town trustee for ten terms and as a member of the school board for seventeen years. He has always been a promoter of good schools, has liberally aided other churches beside his own, and has done all in his power to promote good roads and other essential public improve- ments in his township. ISAAC C. HAINES, farmer, of Mad- ison township, Montgomery county, Ohio, sprang from German and Irish ancestry, his paternal ancestors being from Germany and settlers in Pennsylvania. Three brothers named Haines came from Ger- many at an early day. Allen Haines, the father of Isaac C, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., was a shoe- maker by trade, and married, in Lancaster county, Nancy Lemmon, who was brought from Ireland by her parents when she was seven years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Haines were the parents of the following children: Lemmon, Frank, Catherine, Caroline, Isaac C, Cyrus, Levi, Israel, Henry, Samuel and John. In 1826 Mr. Haines came to Ohio, set- tling in Clay township, near Phillipsburg. Later he removed to Miami county, where he passed the remainder of his days, dying at the age of sixty-seven years. His wife was a member of the Lutheran church and lived to a good old age. Isaac C. Haines was born October 9, 1826, in Lancaster county, Pa., and was brought to Montgomery county, Ohio, by his parents when he was about six months old. Receiving a common-school education, he was reared a farmer, and when twenty-one years of age he married, August 17, 1846, Miss Bar- bara Alice Teetor, who was born December 17, 1829, in Washington county. Pa. She is a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Donson) Teetor. Her grandfather, Francis Teetor, came from Germany with his family. His wife, Catherine Donaldson, was born in Ger- many. Their children were as follows: John, George, Catherine, Barbara, Susan and Jacob. 1238 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Francis Teetor settled on the Ohio river at an early day, and was a member of the German Baptist or Dunkard church. Jacob Teetor, the father of Mrs Haines, was born December I, 1S05, on the Ohio river, and was reared a farmer's boy, though losing his father when he was but two years of age. He grew to manhood and married in Washington county, Pa., the maiden name of his wife having been Elizabeth Donson. She was born in Maryland, and was a daughter of Thomas and Barbara (Garber) Donson. Thom- as Donson was a wealthy man, one of the orig- inal pioneers of Union and Randolph town- ships, and owned saw-mills and distilleries in the early days. Jacob Teetor came to Ohio in 1827 with his family and first settled in-Union, Randolph township, where he purchased a farm of 160 acres of land. Later he purchased 160 acres of land in Madison township, upon which he lived for a time, afterward removing to Weaver station. Here he bought a tract of fifty acres, and later removed to Stringtown, Madison township, where he purchased seventy-five acres, upon which he remained until his death, reaching the great age of eighty-five years. He was always an active man and held several im- portant positions of honor and trust, such as superintendent of the Montgomery county in- firmary for five years, and also that of town- ship trustee for some time. Politically he was a republican and in religion he belonged to the German Baptist church. He and his wife reared the following children: Barbara Alice, Thomas, George, Henry, Elizabeth and Daniel. Mr. and Mrs. Isaac C. Haines, after their marriage, settled in Madison township near Trotwood. In 1 85 1 or 1852 Mr. Haines pur- chased land in this township and lived upon it for some years. In 1879 he was appointed superintendent of the Montgomery county in- firmary, a position which he held with credit for seven years. In 1886 he purchased his present farm, which contains 155 acres in Mad- ison township, and which is well improved. Politically Mr. Haines is a democrat and as such has served the people as township trustee for some years. As a man of character he stands high in the community, and enjoys gen- eral confidence and respect. His children are Eva, Webster, Sallie, Birdie Emma, Walter and Clarence. Mr. Haines had three brothers in the late Civil war — Henry, Samuel and John. Henry was a member of the Fifteenth U. S. infantry, and the other brothers served in Ohio regiments. Eva Haines married Charles Winters, a hardware merchant of Braidwood, 111., and has two children — Pearl and Amy. Sallie married Charles Hoffman, of Little York, Montgomery county, and has three children, Claudie, Ethel and Roscoe. Walter, who is clerk of Mad- ison township, married Laura Stauffer; Clar- ence married a Miss Mumma, and is a car- penter, but living on a farm. >Y* AC0B A HEPNER, a farmer of Perry M township, and a grandson of one of the /• 1 original pioneers of Montgomery county, springs from German ancestry. His great-grandfather, George Hepner, was born in Hanover, Germany, in r 73 1 , and came to this country a young man, accompanied by a brother, in 1757. He settled in Lancaster county, Pa., and in 1760 married Nellie Kline. Their children were Henry and Catherine. Later he removed to Rockingham county, Va., where he settled on a farm. Still later he came to Ohio with his son Henry, who settled in Jackson township in 1806. Here the old man died in 1S08, when he was seventy-seven years of age. He was a member of the Lu- theran church, a man of strong character, and the founder of the Hepner family in America. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1239 He was buried in the woods one and a quarter miles southeast of New Lebanon, his last rest- ing place being on what is now the farm of Henry Schoenfeld, but formerly the farm of Henry Hepner. Henry Hepner, the grandfather of Jacob A., was born in Lancaster county, Pa., in 1762, was reared a farmer and learned the blacksmith trade. In his native county he married Mary Hyser, and by this marriage he became the father of the following children: George and Polly, twins; John; Sophia; Lydia and Leona, twins; the first four being born in Virginia, and the last two in Ohio. Henry Hepner brought his family to America in 1806, and located on the line between Jefferson and Jackson townships, entering 160 acres of land in the latter township and forty acres in the former township. Selecting a huge oak tree, he cut it down and built his cabin round the stump. This stump trimmed and dressed to bring it into proper shape, served for a table for a number of years. Mr. Hepner was well known among the pioneers in all that region as a man of safe and reliable judgment and was unusually influential in his neighborhood. Be- ing a vigorous and energetic worker, he pros- pered and became a substantial farmer. He was a member of the German Baptist Church. John Hepner, father of Jacob A., was born in Rockingham county, Va., in 1797, and was therefore but nine years old when brought to Ohio by his father. Educated principally in the German tongue, yet he acquired a sufficient knowledge of the English to enable him to read and converse in this language. His father being a blacksmith as well as a farmer, young Hepner was trained in both callings. He married Elizabeth Diehl, who was born November 29, 1800, in Bedford county, Pa., and was a daughter of Jacob Diehl, for fuller mention of whom the reader is referred to the biography of the Diehl family, published else- where in this volume. Mr. Hepner settled on section 34, Perry township, on 110 acres of land in the woods, which had been entered by Jacob Diehl. This land Mr. Hepner cleared and upon it built his home. In his earlier life, in this then wild country, he was accustomed to do a great deal of hunting, killing many deer, wolves and wild turkeys, wildcats and panthers. He was a most industrious man on his farm, and by thrift and careful manage- ment of his affairs he came to own 271 acres of excellent land in Montgomery county, and also 150 acres in Lake county, Ind. Relig- iously he was a member of the German Baptist church, and was noted for his strong, upright, christian character. Politically he was an old-line whig. Mr. Hepner lived to be forty- four years of age, and died on his farm. His children were George, Jacob A., Elizabeth, Rosanna, John and Lydia. His wife died when she was forty-nine years of age, a mem- ber of the German Baptist church. Jacob A. Hepner was born May 24, 1828, on his father's farm. Obtaining the common- school education of his day, he was reared a farmer, and on September 19, 1852, married Miss Eve Neff, who was born February 6, 1836, in Perry township, and was a daughter of Michael and Barbara (Floro) Neff. For fuller mention of Miss Eva Neff the reader is referred to the biography of Abraham Neff. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hepner settled on the homestead farm, on which they lived until 1857, when they removed to their present farm of 107 acres. Of this Mr. Hep- ner cleared about forty acres, which he ma- terially improved. Adding other acres to its original number, he at length became possessed of 136 acres of good farming land. He and his wife reared the following children: Mary C, born August 22, 1853, died March 26, 1854; Minerva, born September 23, 1854; Sarah A., born April 22, 1856; Amanda, born 1240 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD October 9, 1858; Elizabeth, born December 23, 1860, died a married woman; Emma, born April 7, 1862, died in April, 1893; Clara, born March 22, 1865; George W. , bom January 4, 1867; Jacob A., born April 12, 1870; William A., born January 14, 1872; Morris, born Jan- uary 3, 1876, and died January 10, iS76;and Omar V., born February 27, 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Hepner are members of the German Bap- tist church, and Mr. Hepner has been an active politician for many years, being an excellent speaker and an efficient worker. Politically he was in early life an old-line whig, but has been a member of the republican party since its organization. He has always taken an act- ive interest in educational matters, and exer- cises his influence in the direction of good schools. He has for this reason served as a member of the school board for many years. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hepner mar- ried as follows: Minerva married John H. Wehrly, of Dayton, Ohio, and has one son; Sarah A. married Samuel Fasnacht, a farmer of Sumner county, Kans., and has one child; Amanda R. married Martin B. Fasnacht, a farmer of Sumner county, Kans., and has five children; Elizabeth married James L. Weaver, of Boulder county, Colo., had three children, and is now deceased; Emma married David C Cloppart, a farmer of Montgomery county, Ohio, and has one child; Clara married for her first husband Lucien Berk, by whom she had one child, and after the death of her first hus- band Mrs. Berk married William T. Ninning- er, of Johnson county, Mo. ; George W. mar- ried Clara Bowser, of Montgomery county, and has two children; Jacob A. married Hattie Bowser, is living on the home farm and has one child, and William A. married Bessie Sly- der, is a farmer of Montgomery county, and has one child. The Hepner family is one of the most respected in Montgomery county, and comes from good, old pioneer stock. ISAAC MILLER, whose post-office is Chambersburg, Ohio, is one of the old soldiers of the Civil war and a highly- respected citizen. He was born in But- ler township, Montgomery county, Ohio, March 7, 1828, and is a son of Isaac and Eliz- abeth (Sunderland) Miller. Isaac was a son of James Miller, who came to Montgomery county, Ohio, from Kentucky, in 1794, settling in Butler township. "His children were John, James, Mary, Martha and Isaac. When he came to Ohio in 1794 James Miller settled on 140 acres of land, being the first settler within the limits of Butler township. His farm con- sisted of an unbroken forest, which he cleared as fast as possible, in the meantime making a part of his living by hunting. Later he left Butler township and settled on the Wabash river near Lafayette, Ind. He was a typical pioneer, and lived to a great age, dying in the last-named state. Isaac Miller, father of the subject, was born in 1790, and came with his parents from Ken- tucky to Ohio in 1794. Growing up in the wilderness among the pioneers, his education was necessarily limited. He married in 181 1, when he was twenty-one years old, Elizabeth Sunderland, who was born in 1794, in Penn- sylvania, and who was a daughter of Richard and Nancy Sunderland, for fuller mention of whom the reader is referred to the biography of Richard Sunderland, in this volume. After their marriage Isaac Miller and his wife settled on the old Sunderland homestead, and lived there the remainder of their lives. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was stationed at Greenville about eight months. He and his wife had the following children: Nancy, Mar- tha, Pattie, Massie, Richard, Martin, William, Isaac, Benjamin, John and Elizabeth. Mr. Miller lived to be seventy-nine years old. He was a member of the German Reformed church, and in politics was first an old-line OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1241 whig and became a republican upon the for- mation of that party. Four of his sons were in the Civil war, viz: Richard, Martin, Ben- jamin and Isaac. Martin was a private soldier in company H, Thirty-fifth Ohio volunteer in- fantry, served his full time and was in many battles. Benjamin was in an Illinois regiment, served three years and veteranized, and partici- pated in many engagements. Isaac Miller, the subject of this sketch, was born March 7, 1828, in Butler township, and was educated in the common schools. Reared on the farm he naturally became a farmer. On October 14, 1833, was born Martha Wester- man, whom Mr. Miller married in Butler town- ship. She was a daughter of Henry and Ellen (Harrison) Westerrnan, the former of whom was of English ancestry, and married his wife in Maryland. His children were as follows: Mary, Martha, Elizabeth, Thomas, Lafayette, William, and one that died in infancy. Henry Westerrnan came as a pioneer to Butler town- ship and purchased a good farm of 100 acres. He lived to be eighty-two years old, an hon- ored citizen and an upright man. Mr. and Mrs. Miller settled on the old Sun- derland homestead, upon which they lived for thirty years, and then moved to Henry West- erman's farm in Butler township, upon which they lived ten years. They then removed to their present home in Chambersburg. Mr. Miller now owns a farm of fifty-six acres and is in comfortable circumstances. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have had the following children: Ellen, Henry, who died at the age of eleven years, and Elizabeth. The parents are mem- bers of the Lutheran church, and Mr. Miller has been a trustee of his church for twenty- five years. In politics he is a republican. Mr. Miller enlisted in the army, leaving his wife and three little children at home. At that time he was thirty-five years old. He be- came a member of company F, Seventy-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, and enlisted to serve three years, or during the war. He served until he veteranized at Chattanooga in 1864, in the same organization, and served until mustered out at Camp Dennison, July 17, 1865, thus serving his country faithfully three years and nine months. He was in the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. The principal battles in which he took part were Stone River, Dalton, Buzzard's Roost Mountain, Peachtree Creek, Big Shanty, Kenesaw Mountain, the battle of Atlanta, in which McPherson was killed, and Jonesboro. Mr. Miller was also in many minor battles and skirmishes, and went with Sherman to the sea, taking part in the battle of Savannah. He was in all the battles, marches and skirmishes in which his regiment was engaged. He is a member of Milton Weaver post, No. 594, G. A. R. , and has held the offices of junior and senior vice-com- mander. Mr. Miller is now a hale and hearty man, and is a splendid specimen of the veteran American soldier and the true and worthy American citizen. >-j*OHN R. PEIFFER, one of the most J expert mechanics of Miamisburg, Ohio, /• 1 was born in Newmanstown, Lebanon county, Pa., March 14, 1850, a son of John and Catherine (Rabold) Peiffer, also na- tives of the Keystone state, and of German descent. John R. Peiffer received an excellent edu- cation, both common-school and academical, in his native town, and then served two years as an apprentice to a miller. He followed this calling until he reached his majority, and then, in March, 1871, came to Miamisburg, Ohio, which has since been his place of resi- dence. Here he entered the employ of the Bookwalter Wheel company, starting as a day- lL'42 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD man, and was so attentive and faithful in the performance of his duties that he was pro- moted, from time to time, until he was finally placed in charge of the bentwood department. After filling out the long period of twenty years with the Bookwalter company, he accepted a position with the Acme Folding Boat com- pany, as general mechanic, and this place he has most creditably filled. Mr. Peiffer was united in marriage, Decem- ber 25, 1870, with Miss Alice C. Fidler, a a daughter of Augustus and Catherine (Treon) Fidler, of Womelsdorf, Berks county, Pa. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Peiffer have been born three children, viz: Catherine (Mrs. Ira C. Koehne), Edward and Luella. The family worship at the German Reformed church. In politics Mr. Peiffer is a republican, serving at present his first term as a member of the city council. He is fraternally an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, a Forester and a Knight of Honor, and is held in high regard as a public-spirited and useful citizen. >^OHN RIEGEL, one of the old and sub- t stantial farmers of Jackson township, A 1 Montgomery county, Ohio, and a resi- dent of the county since six years of age, was born in Berks county, Pa., July 12, 1826, of German ancestors. John Riegel, his grandfather, also a native of Berks county, was there married and had born to him the following children: Samuel, Adam, Jonas, Joseph, Susan, Rebecca, Han- nah, David, Lydia, Polly and Sallie. John Riegel came to Ohio in 1832 and settled in Perry township on 160 acres of land that had been cleared only in small part, and here he built a log house and in course of time cleared all his land and made a comfortable home. David Riegel, son of John, the pioneer and the father of subject, was also born in Berks county, Pa., and there married Elizabeth Koucker. He followed farming and milling until 1832 in his native county, and then came to Ohio, lived for a short time in Germantown, Montgomery county, and then bought a tract of 160 acres in Perry township, all in the woods, but which he subsequently converted into a fertile and profitable farm. He also purchased an additional tract of 301 acres, and became one of the most respected and solid men of the township. The children born to David Riegel and wife were named Mary (who died at the age of thirteen years), John, Leah, Franklin J. and Harry. The parents were long members of the United Brethren church, and contributed largely toward the erection of the house of worship belonging to that denomi- nation in Perry township. In politics Mr. Riegel was a democrat, but never sought public office. John Riegel, the subject of this memoir, grew to manhood on his father's farm. Feb- ruary 15, 1849, he married, in Jackson town- ship, Miss Rebecca Leis, who was born in Berks county, Pa., June 9, 1832, a daughter of Henry and Rebecca (Fidler) Leis. Peter Leis, grandfather of Mrs. Riegel, was of German descent and came from Berks county, Pa., to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1831 or 1832, bought a farm of 160 acres and lived to an advanced age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Kalbough, bore him nine children, viz: Henry, John, Adam, Polly, Peggy, Sallie, Katie, Leah and Hannah. The family were all devoted members of the Reformed church. Henry Leis, father of Mrs. Riegel and also a native of Berks county, Pa., came to Ohio when his father came, brought his family with him, settled on 160 acres of land near Slyfer's church in Jackson township, Montgomery coun- ty, and cleared up an excellent farm. His children were named Israel, Peter, John, Adam (who died at the age of twenty years), Henry OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1243 (who died at thirteen years) and Rebecca. This family also were members of the Reformed church, and in politics Mr. Leis was a demo- crat. He lived to be about seventy-five years of age and died a well-to-do farmer and an honored citizen. John Riegel, the subject of this memoir, at his marriage, settled on his present farm, which he bought from his father, and which com- prised 177 acres, all in the woods with the ex- ception of about fifteen acres. Through per- severing industry he cleared up the entire tract, improved it with substantial buildings and all the accessories proper to the success of hus- bandry, and has now as fine a farm as there is in the township of Jackson. To his marriage there have been born eight children, in the following order: David, William H., John A., Franklin, Mary A., Amanda, Emma K. and Rebecca E. The parents are members of the United Brethren church, and in this faith have reared their family. They freely contribute of their means toward the support of their de- nomination, and Mr. Riegel was largely in- strumental in causing the erection of the Johns- ville church edifice, to the construction of which he also freely contributed. In politics, Mr. Riegel is a democrat. Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Riegel, David is a farmer of Jackson township, married Belle Fulse, and has five children; William, also of Jackson township, married Mary A. Minderman, and has four children; John A., living on the home farm, married Lucy Dechant, and has eight children; Franklin, farmer of Jackson town- ship, married Mary Sheppard, and has two children; Mary A. is married to Peter Leis, and has two children; Amanda (deceased) was married to Benjamin Comar (deceased), and had five children; Emma K., married to Theo- dore Dechant, has one child, and Rebecca E. is married to Oliver Patterson and has four children. Mr. and Mrs. Riegel, now nearly half a century married, have had eight chil- dren, have thirty-one grandchildren and one great-grandchild. They have resided for forty- seven years on their present homestead and have so lived as to have been able to confer many benefits upon the community and in turn to win the respect and esteem of the residents of the country all around them. ■p-VOSHUA SWARTZEL, farmer of Jack- ■ son township, Montgomery county, (• 1 Ohio, comes of Pennsylvania-Dutch an- cestors, his grandfather haying been Matthias Swartzel, who came from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania. His children were Abraham, Henry, Philip, Matthias and one that died in infancy. These children he brought with him from Germany, beside a sis- ter of his, who afterward married a Boomer- shine and settled in Montgomery county, Ohio. Matthias Swartzel came to Jackson town- ship after his son, Abraham, had settled here. While he married three times, all his children were by his first wife, who came with him from Germany. He lived to be seventy years of age and died on the farm adjoining that on which Joshua Swartzel now lives. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and served as fifer under Gen. Washington. Abraham Swartzel, father of Joshua, was born in Pennsylvania, and there married Eliz- abeth Izor, also a native of that state. Their children were as follows: Annie, Matthias, Philip, John, Elizabeth, Sarah, Abraham, Henry, Daniel, Polly, Joshua, Susan and one that died in infancy. In the year 1800 they came to Ohio, living for about one year in Franklin, Warren county, and removing in 1 801 to Jackson township, where they settled on the section on which Joshua Swartzel now lives. Abraham Swartzel was, in fact, the second man to settle in the township, the first 1244 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD having been a man by the name of Stoner, who lived on the south line of the township. Mr. Swartzel was the second man north of Germantown, there being no one in the count}' to the north or west of him, and the country being literally a howling wilderness, filled by wolves, panthers, deer, bear, and many other kinds of wild animals. Erecting a small log cabin, Mr. Swartzel cleared up a portion of his farm. He entered an entire section, 640 acres, and made a comfortable home for him- self and family, putting up good buildings, and continuing to buy land, so that he was able to give each of his children a farm. The land on which Farmersville now stands he sold to his brother Henry, all of his brothers being set- tlers in Montgomery county. Mr. Swartzel was a member of the German Reformed church, and aided in the erection of several church buildings in Montgomery county. He was one of the most prominent mem- bers of Stiver church, assisting to erect the building, and afterward liberally supported the organization, and filled the offices of deacon and elder for many years. Politically he was a Jackson democrat. He died in 1840, at the age of sixty-one. Joshua Swartzel, the subject of this sketch, was born May 7, 1819, on the farm which ad- joins his present farm on the west. Brought up among the pioneers, he learned their habits of industry and simple living, and cleared up a considerable body of land. On May 7, 1840, he married Catherine Miller, who was born March 3, 18 19, in Warren county, Ohio. She was a daughter of Jacob Miller, who was one of the pioneers of that county, and whose father was Christian Miller. Beside Catherine, the children of Jacob Miller were John, Eliza- beth, Susannah, Joseph, Mary A., Rose Ann and Adam. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Swart- zel lived on the old home farm for about ten years, and in 1851 moved to his present farm, which then contained 128 acres, nearly all of which he cleared. By quiet and persistent in- dustry he made his farm one of the best in Montgomery county. His children by his first wife were as follows: Elizabeth, Jefferson, who died in infancy; John J., Joshua D., Jos- eph F., Manassa W., Orange O, Cordelia C. , Rosette M. and Lucy. Mrs. Swartzel died in August, 1873, when about fifty-three years of age, and Mr. Swart- zel married for his second wife Sarah Albaugh, a widow, whose maiden name was Michael. Mr. Swartzel is now living on the old farm, his children having all married and gone to homes of their own. He is a new-school Lutheran, and a democrat. He has always been liberal in his support of his church, as well as public-spirited in relation to enterprises designed to benefit the general community. While he is now seventy-eight years of age he is yet hale and vigorous, and has probably many years of usefulness and influence yet be- fore him. ^yj»ILLIAM DUCKWALL, a pioneer mm of Ohio, and one of the most ven- \jLJI erable ol the citizens oi Montgom- ery county, Ohio, was born in Berkeley county, Va. , August 15, 1808. His parents were Henry and Rosanna (Lingerfel- ter) Duckwall, both of German descent. Henry Duckwall was a native either of Maryland or Virginia, and was a son of Lewis Duckwall, a local Methodist preacher, who, about 1804, settled in Highland county, Ohio, and died at the advanced age of ninety-seven years, the father of the following-named chil- dren: Henry, Mary, John, Frederick, Eliza- beth, Jacob, Samuel, Lewis and Daniel, to each of whom he, being the owner of a large estate, gave a home. Henry Duckwall came to Ohio rffq~± Q^< ccyi^^^c^c x^Cp ^^v^X^-L-t- C&--^C^&T*^rsljC' OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1249 in 1 812, lived in Clinton county two years, and in 18 14 came to Montgomery county and bought 320 acres in the woods in German township, which land, with the assistance of his sons, he cleared and converted into a fer- tile farm. He was a man of considerable im- portance in his township, and in the early days his house was a place of entertainment for the pioneer land-seeker. In politics he was first a whig and later a republican, and filled the office of justice of the peace for many years. He died at the age of about seventy-three years, a member of the Method- ist church, of which his wife was also a com- municant. To his marriage there were born the following children: William, Mary, Lewis, Elizabeth, Henry, John, Susan, Daniel, Jacob and Sarah. William Duckwall, the subject, was but four years of age when he was brought to Ohio by his parents. Here he was reared — as were all other backwoods lads in the pioneer days — to the hard work of clearing and de- veloping the primitive farm. He was first married, July 8, 1834, in Middletown, Butler county, Ohio, to Miss Eleanor Bake, who was born January 8, 1813, but died May 25, 1836, themotherof one child — Edwin. The second marriage of Mr. Duckwall was with Miss Caro- line Bruner, who was born in Virginia, Jan- uary 27, 1820, a daughter of Daniel and Ellinor (Custard) Bruner. Daniel Bruner, whose father came from Bingen on the Rhine, Germany, was born in Virginia, but for some time lived near Fred- erick, Md., and came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1826. He reared a family of five children, viz: Elizabeth, Caroline, Margaret, Ellen and Mary Jane. His death took place at the age of eighty-six years in the faith of the Methodist church, of which his wife was also a member. He was first a whig in politics and later a republican, an influential and well-to- 56 do farmer, and left to each of his children a comfortable competence. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Duckwall first located on a farm of eighty acres, but later moved to a farm of 116 acres near Brookville, which farm Mr. Duckwall improved with good buildings and cultivated until 1893, when he retired to Brookville to pass in com- fort his remaining years, but still owns his farm. In politics he was in his early days a whig, and voted for Henry Clay for president, but on the disintegration of that party he as- sisted in founding the republican party, voted for John C. Fremont, and still adheres to that organization. He and his wife have long been consistent members of the Methodist church, and are the parents of the following children: Sarah A., John William, Mary J., Laura, Charles, Francis, Clayton, Clara (who died at seven years of age) and Elmer E. Of these Francis is a physician of Dayton; Laura has been a teacher within the county for the past twenty-five years, of which five years were passed in Brookville; John was a soldier for four years during the Civil war in the Sixty- third Onio volunteer infantry, was a veteran, and served with Sherman through his famous, campaigns. The Duckwall family is widely- known in Montgomery county, and its venera- ble head, William Duckwall, who has fourteen grandchildren and one great-grandchild, stands high in the esteem of its citizens. a LARK YOUNT, one of the old-time farmers and citizens of Butler town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, de- scends from an old pioneer family and is himself a native of the Buckeye state, of re- motely German ancestry. George Yount, his great-grandfather, was a native of Hanover, Germany, and, in com- pany with three brothers and one sister — 1250 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD William Henry, Jacob, John and Catherine — came to America many years prior to the opening of the Revolutionary war, landed in Philadelphia, Pa., and thence went to North Carolina, some years later, where they all founded their homes, close to Deep river. In 1801, however, George Yount brought his family to Ohio and located in Warren county, near Lebanon, but later moved to a farm on the east side of the Stillwater, near Union, Montgomery county, where he passed the re- mainder of his life, dying April 23, 18 10, a Quaker in religion. His wife bore the maiden name of Rosanna Waymire, was born in Ger- many, and died August 16, 1814. They were the parents of the following children: John, George, Frederick, Rebecca, Rachel, Polly, Milly and Rosa. John Yount, grandfather of Clark Yount, ■was born in Pennsylvania September 23, 1768, and there married Mary Low, who was born March 28, 1 77 1 , and to this union were born Henry, Delilah, Rebecca, Solomon and Fred- erick. John Yount moved with his family to North Carolina, probably about the year 1799. About two years later the family went to Ken- tucky, and a year afterward, in 1802, came to Montgomery county, Ohio, and settled on a tract of 156 acres in the wild woods, for which Mr. Yount paid $2 per acre. The Younts, Hoovers and Marts, who all came at the same time, are thought to have been the first white men to tread the wilderness of this part of the •county. They had to cut a wagon road through the woods to Dayton — the first in this part of the township. Indians were numerous, game abundant, and the hardships and toil un- remitting. But industry conquered all things, and Mr. Yount died a wealthy man, at the age of about fifty years, in the faith of the Society of Friends, December 1, 1822. His widow, first a (Quakeress and later a Dunkard, died July 22, 1842. Frederick Yount, father of Clark, was born in North Carolina, July 30, 1799, and was brought to Ohio by his parents in 1802. He grew to manhood on his father's farm, which, as he grew in years, he aided in clearing, and also worked in his father's saw-mill on Dry Branch creek. At the age of twenty-two years, in February, 1821, he married Miss Catherine Engle, who was born in February, 1802, a daughter of Michael Engle, a pioneer of Covington, Miami county, Ohio. Mr. Engle was of German descent and had a family of ten children, viz: John, Michael and Philip (twins), Adam, Henry, Matthew, Catherine, Sallie, Eve and Abraham. The sons were all great hunters, and one, Abraham, acci- dentally shot himself while engaged in the chase. They were all patriots and served in the war of 1812. To Frederick Yount and wife were born the following children : Enos, born November 17, 1821; Sarah A., January 16, 1823 — died February 7, 1823; Clark, born July 10, 1824; Henry, born February 7, 1826; Eve, July 1, 1827 — died April 5, 1850; Solo- mon, born March 28, 1829; Emily, born Sep- tember 11, 1830; Elizabeth, March 10, 1832; Johanna, May 12, 1834 — died February 7, 1889; Ira, born January 2, 1836 — died Sep- tember 27, 1837; Mary A., born December 17, 1838 — died in 1 841 ; Oliver, born March 2 9- 1837 — died March 11, 1838; Eli, born September 24, 1840; Rebecca, born January 4, 1842. Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Yount passed all their days on the old homestead, and no family in the county stood higher in the esteem of their fellow-citizens. They were faithful in their adherence to the Quaker faith and were endowed with all the good qualities for which the Society of Friends are so justly famous. Clark Yount was reared on the homestead of his parents near Fredericksburg, Ohio, which was named in honor of his father. The OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1251 original Yount homestead, entered by John Yount, covered the site of that village — ex- tending, as it does, from Mongomery count)' into Miami county, in the latter of which counties Fredericksburg is situated. Clark received a good education in a select school, and at the age of twenty-one years married, in Dayton, June 8, 1845, Miss Mary Smith, who was born November 12, 1825, a daughter of David and Elizabeth (Whitehead) Smith. David Smith was a pioneer farmer of Mont- gomery county, and to him and wife were born the following children: Susan, Jacob, Mary, Esther, John, Solomon, Samuel and Levina. Mr. Smith was the owner of two good farms and he and his wife were members of the German Baptist church. His death took place at the age of forty-eight years. After marriage Clark Yount lived on his father's land for a year, then for a year east of Union, and in 1848 moved to his present farm, which consisted of 1 57 acres and was but partly cleared. He now has a model home of 172 acres, improved with a modern dwelling and giving evidence of thrift and prosperity. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Yount have been born the following children: Oliver F., Eliz- abeth C, Catherine, Emily, Rebecca A., Le- vina and Eli. Mr. Yount and all the family are members of the German Baptist church, of which Oliver F. was an elder and minister for sixteen years prior to his death in 1888. David P. Sollenberger, who married Miss Rebecca A. Yount, October 10, 1875, is a son of John W. and Catherine (Peffley) Sollen- berger. John W. is a son of Jacob, who was born in Lancaster county, Pa., there married Annie Wenger and came to Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, in 1827. He settled two miles west of Dayton, and died on his farm the same year, leaving two children — John W. and Eliz- abeth. His widow married John Miller. John W. Sollenberger was born in Pennsylvania March 10, 1823, and came to Ohio with his parents. Here he was reared by his mother and step-father, and March 7, 1843, married Catherine Peffley, who was born November 6, 1824, in Montgomery county. He then moved to Elkhart county, Ind., bought 160 acres of land, lived there eight years, then returned to Montgomery county, Ohio, and settled on 100 acres in Randolph township, and there died March 22, 1892, aged sixty-nine years, his wife having died on February 7, 1876, at the age of fifty-two. Mr. Sollenberger was for many years a minister in the German Baptist church, and was greatly respected. His children are named Jacob, John, David, Aaron, Moses, Elizabeth, William and Henry. David P. Sollenberger was born November 14, 185 1, in St. Joseph county, Ind., and his wife was born on the Yount homestead Janu- ary 13, 1854; they are now the parents of six children — John J., Mary. E., Phebe C, Oliver C, Isaac J. and David Laurel. Mr. Sollen- berger has been a deacon in the German Baptist church for nineteen years, and for two years a minister. He is the owner of a fine farm of 117 acres in Miami county, and is an esteemed and useful member of society. 'Jrj'OHN R. BRUMBAUGH, Union post- M office, Ohio, a farmer of Randolph (Q J township, Montgomery county, is a grandson of one of the original pio- neers of the county. His remote ancestor came from Germany, four or five brothers of the family corning across the sea together, and settling in Pennsylvania. They were among the first of the German Baptist pioneers that came to this country on account of religious persecutions in their native land. Henry Brumbaugh, the grandfather of John R., was a son of Jacob Brumbaugh and was a 1252 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD farmer in Woodcock valley, Pa. While still living in Pennsylvania he married Elizabeth Fulk, who was reared at Morrison's Cove, in that state. He and his wife had the following children: Jacob, Samuel, Daniel, George, Henry, Esther, Nancy, Susan, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary. In 1 8 14 Mr. Brumbaugh moved to Montgomery county with his family, floating down the Ohio river in a boat and thence coming by wagon across the country to Dayton. Entering land in Randolph town- ship, 160 acres covered with timber, he built a log cabin on it, and proceeded as rapidly as possible to clear up the land. In the course of time he added other acres and became a prosperous farmer. He was one of the hardy and successful pioneers, a man of great strength, and lived to a good old age. He assisted in the founding of the German Baptist church in Randolph township. Samuel Brumbaugh, son of Henry, and father of John R., was born April 12, 1806, in Huntingdon county, Pa., and was a boy of eight years of age when he came to Montgom- ery county. Reared on a farm he became a farmer, and, in Preble county, Ohio, married Elizabeth Rhinehart, who was born in Vir- ginia, and was a daughter of Jacob and Susan (Brower) Rhinehart. Mr. and Mrs. Brum- baugh settled on ior> acres of land in Clay township, which was then in the woods, and this tract Mr. Brumbaugh cleared of its tim- ber and made productive. Afterward he re- moved one mile south of where his son, John R., now lives, settling on a good farm of 240 acres, upon which he lived the remainder of his days. He was in religious belief a Ger- man Baptist and for many years a deacon of his church. His children were as follows: John R., Hannah, Mary, deceased; Lydia, Sarah, Jacob and one that died in infancy. Mr. Brumbaugh lived to be eighty-nine years of age, was well known to all the old settlers, and enjoyed the well-earned esteem of the community. John R. Brumbaugh, the subject of this sketch, was born in Clay township, December 24, 1829. Reared on the farm, he early be- came inured to hard work. On August 21, 1852, he married Elizabeth Heckman, who was born October 6, 1832, in Clay township, Montgomery county, and who was a daughter of William and Mary A. (Brandenburgh ) Beck- man. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Brumbaugh settled on his present farm of 112 acres. Their children were born as follows: Clara, Mary A. and Simon, the latter of whom died at the age of nine years. Mrs. Brumbaugh died April 21, i860, a woman of many excel- lent qualities of character and disposition and a member of the German Baptist church. Mr. Brumbaugh was married the second time, in October, 1861, to Nancy J. Heckman, who was born September 6, 1837, and is a sister of his first wife. The children by this second marriage are Harriet, Amanda, Martha, Enos and Jessie. Mr. Brumbaugh has continuously lived on the same farm, and by his thrift and toil has added thereto until at the present time he owns 350 acres, and has also given 139 acres to his children. He has been a life-long member of the German Baptist church and is one of the most prominent citizens of his town- ship. Politically he is a republican. 'g' QUIRE HENRY CUPPY, a native of Wayne township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born on the farm on which he still lives, July 4, 1825, and descends from ancestors who came to America prior to the Revolutionary war. John Cuppy, his grandfather, was a native of Prussia, came to America a young man and landed in New York in 1750. He went to Canada as a soldier in the French and Indian OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1253 war of 1754, and after his return married Elizabeth Devore. He then settled in New Jersey, near Morristown, where he combined his trade of stonemason with the vocation of farming. His children were named Abraham, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Catherine, John and Ann. From New Jersey Mr. Cuppy moved to Hampshire county, then in Virginia, but now in West Virginia, and settled near Romney, where he died at the age of eighty-six years, and where he had been a substantial farmer and, for a number of years, served as a justice of the peace. John Cuppy, his son, and father of 'Squire Cuppy, was born in New Jersey March 11, 1761. He received as good an education as the common schools of that early day afforded, and was reared a farmer. He grew to man- hood in Virginia and there married, in Hamp- shire county, Rachel Caxton, the union result- ing in the birth of Abraham, Benjamin, Daniel, Elizabeth, Catherine and Hannah. The mother of these children died in Virginia in 1820, and Mr. Cuppy again married, his second wife be- ing Miss Lydia Oilar, whom he married in Montgomery county, Ohio, in October, 1823. She was born in Greenbrier county, Va. , Feb- ruary 8, 1798, a daughter of Henry and Eliz- abeth (Hanks) Oilar, her maternal grandmother being a relative of the mother of Abraham Lincoln. Henry Oilar was of German de- scent, was a carpenter and farmer, came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1808, and set- tled on Mud creek, but died, at the age of sev- enty-eight years, in Lafayette, Ind. To the second marriage of Mr. Cuppy were born three children — Henry, Fletcher and John A. John Cuppy, father of 'Squire Cuppy, when a young man, was a soldier in the Revolu- tionary war and served under Gen. Greene; also fought at the battle of the Brandywine and afterward was a scout for Gen. Wayne on the Ohio river, and had many encounters with the Indians. He was later captain of a Vir- ginia militia company, and took part in the famous whisky rebellion in Pennsylvania in 1794. The same year he passed the spot where Dayton now stands, being at that time a bearer of dispatches from Cincinnati to Gen. Wayne, who was encamped on Mad river, near where the town of Osborn now stands. Simon Kenton, the famous Indian fighter, scout and backwoodsman, was a frequent visitor to Mr. Cuppy in his old age in Ohio. On coming to the Buckeye state Mr. Cuppy bought 320 acres of land from Daniel Sunderland, in Wayne township, Montgomery county, a small spot only being cleared; but he brought eighty acres under cultivation and made a comforta- ble pioneer home, and this land now belongs to Henry Cuppy. Mr Cuppy also bought tracts of land in Tippecanoe, Wabash and Dearborn counties, Ind., and at his death was able to give all his children farms. Mr. Cuppy was converted and baptized by the eccentric pioneer preacher, Lorenzo Dow. In politics he was successively a Jackson democrat, a whig and a republican. He voted for Wash- ington for president, and thereafter voted at each presidential election until the time of Fre- mont, in 1856. He was awarded a section of land for his services as scout, which he located in Virginia, on the Ohio river, and in his old age he received a land warrant for his services in the Revolution, which he located in Wapello county, Iowa. He reached the patriarchal age of 100 years, three months and seventeen days, dying June 8, 1861. Henry Cuppy received the usual instruction to be obtained in the pioneer schools of Ohio, and was reared a farmer. While still young he taught school in Wayne township for seven months, and among his pupils were the now famous Gen. Geo. W. Crook and his brothers, Capt. Walter Crook and Chas. Crook. He married in Dayton, in 1878, Sarah A. Cuppy, 1254 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD a very distant relative, who was born near Mount Pleasant, Jefferson county, Ohio, a daughter of Abraham and Susan (Perrin) Cuppy. Abraham was a farmer and coal miner on his own land; he was a son of Abra- ham Cuppy, who was a son of John, the founder of the family in America. To the parents of Mrs. Henry Cuppy were born seven children, viz: John, William, Caroline, Mary, Sarah A., Elthiza and Margaret. To 'Squire Cuppy and wife were born three children, the only survivor being Emma, a teacher in the public schools. Mrs. Cuppy died June 18, 1887, a member of the Protestant Methodist church, and Mr. Cuppy married for his second wife Mary Griffin. In politics Mr. Cuppy is an independent democrat and was elected a justice of the peace three years ago. This office he has administered to the entire satis- faction of the public and with much credit to himself. He is hale and hearty at the age of seventy-two years, has lived an honorable, upright and useful life, and stands to-day among the most respected of the citizens of Wayne township. >-j*OSEPH M. HENDRIX, a well-known M farmer of Madison township, Montgom- A 1 ery county, is of Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry. The founder of the family in this country was Adam Hendrix, his great- great-grandfather, who came from Germany and settled in York county, Pa., where for many years he followed farming. His sons were William and Joseph. The eminent statesman, Thomas Hendricks, of Indiana, was a member of this family, different branches thereof spelling the name in different ways. Several members of the family served the cause of the patriots in the Revolutionary war. William Hendrix, eldest son of Adam, set- tled in South Carolina, and from him sprang the southern branch of the family. Joseph Hendrix, who was the great-grandfather of Joseph M. , was, like his father before him, a farmer of York county, Pa. In that county he lived and died, leaving two children, Joseph and Isaac. The elder of these two sons, Joseph, was the grandfather of the subject. A native of York county, Pa., and a farmer, he married Miss Agnes McDonald, by whom he had the following children: Adam, Isaac, John, Daniel, Washington, Sarah A., and Joseph, the latter of whom was a physician of Oxford, Pa. The father of these children was a man of wonderful constitution and health, and lived to be eighty-three years of age. He was a member of the Wesleyan Methodist church, and a man of great strength of char- acter as well as of body. The third son of Joseph Hendrix, John, was the father of Joseph M. Hendrix. He was born in York county January 4, 18 14. His wife, whose maiden name was Rebecca Murray, was born in Carroll county, Md., near Baltimore, and was a daughter of John Mur- ray', who was of Scotch descent. Mr. and Mrs. Hendrix came from Pennsylvania to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1841, lived there a year and then removed to Preble county, Ohio, locating near Winchester. By continu- ous labor and thrift Mr. Hendrix increased his landed possessions until he owned some 400 acres, and became a most prosperous man. He and his wife had the following children: Joseph M., Sarah A., Agnes J., Virginia R. , John E., Delos F. , Franklin D., Edwin and Clara. In politics Mr. Hendrix was a demo- crat, as such serving as township trustee sev- eral terms. Joseph M. Hendrix was born in 1842 in Montgomery county, near Farmersville. While yet an infant he was taken to Preble county, Ohio, where he received a common-school edu- cation and was reared on a farm. On Janu- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1255 ary 24, 1874, he was married in Harrison township, Montgomery county, Ohio, to Re- becca A. Wampler, who is a daughter of Will- iam and Mary (Roop) Wampler, and was born in Harrison township. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hendrix settled on their present farm, and to them were born the following children: Elmer D., Edith R. and Nora A. Mr. Hendrix has always been a successful farmer and a man of principle and sterling character. Politically he is a democrat, and religiously a devoted member of the German Baptist church. David Wampler, great-grandfather of Mrs. Hendrix, was of German ancestry, and came to Ohio from Carroll county, Md. He married in Maryland, and upon arriving in Montgom- ery county, settled on Wolf creek and cleared up a farm. His children were Philip and David. Philip was the grandfather of Mrs. Hendrix, was a native of Maryland, and mar- ried Catherine Royer, by whom he had the following children: Mary A., Edwin, Jesse, David, William, Maria, Elizabeth, Catherine, Samuel, Annie, John and Joseph. Philip Wampler settled in Harrison township, cleared up a farm of 162 acres, was a valued member of the community, and lived to be seventy-nine years old. He was a member of the German Baptist church. William Wampler, the father of Mrs. Hendrix, was born in Carroll county, Md., on Sunday, February 29, 1824. When three years of age he was brought by his parents to Montgomery county. Receiving the usual common-school education of the times, he grew to manhood upon the farm, and upon at- taining his majority married Mary Roop, daughter of David and Rebecca (Grimm) Roop. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wampler settled on a farm in Harrison township con- sisting of 162 acres of land, to which he added until he ultimately owned 459 acres in Ohio, besides 1,000 acres in Missouri. He was known for his probity of character no less than for his thrift and success in business. He and his wife had the following children: Re- becca A., Catherine, Elizabeth, David and William. Politically he was a republican, re- ligiously a member of the German Baptist church, and in every respect a useful and most worthy citizen. HARON KIMMEL, one of the oldest settlers of Montgomery county, sprang from Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. His grandfather was Daniel Kimmel, from Berks county. Pa., a farmer and a mem- ber of the German Baptist church. He mar- ried Barbara Kroner, by whom he had the following children: Susan, John, Daniel, Jonas, Lewis, Michael, Mattie and Hannah. He made several journeys to Montgomery county, Ohio, on horseback, and one trip to southern Illinois, in the same manner. This was at a very early day, and on his journeys he was accustomed to camp out wherever night overtook him. About 18 10 he removed his family to Montgomery county, settling five miles west of Dayton in the woods, on 160 acres of land. Clearing this land of its timber, he made of it a fine farm, and in course of time bought more land. He lived to be about sixty years old. Michael Kimmel, son of Daniel and father of Aaron Kimmel, was born in Berks county, Pa., in January, 1810. He received the usual common-school education of the times, and was reared a farmer's boy. He married Cath- erine Armantropt, who was born in Ohio, March 15, 181 5, and was a daughter of Peter Armantropt, of Maryland. Peter Armantropt was one of the pioneers of Warren county, Ohio, settling there at a very early day. In religion he was a Lutheran. His children 1256 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD were as follows: Volumtin, Jeremiah, Philip, Jesse, Elias, Catherine and Elizabeth. Mr. Armantropt died in Warren county at a com- paratively early age, though his wife lived to be over ninety years old. After his marriage, Michael Kimmel settled in Jackson township, in the woods, on 172 acres of land. This farm he cleared and im- proved and set out upon it one of the finest orchards in that part of the country. In 1855 he sold this farm and removed to Jefferson township, where he bought 196 acres, upon which he died in 1889 at the age of sixty-eight. He and his wife are members of the German Baptist church. They reared the following children: Henry S., Aaron, Mary, George W., Michael C. , Sarah, David O. and Susan. Aaron Kimmel was born May 2, 1835, ' n . Jackson township, Montgomery county, and was fairly well educated in the district schools. On June 1, 1858, he married Elizabeth Wal- lace, who was born May 18, 1839, in Mont- gomery county, Ohio. She is a daughter of William and Margaret (Brown) Wallace. Mr. Wallace was of sterling Scotch ancestry, a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Brough) Wallace, and was of an old Virginia family. William Wallace was a merchant of Liber- ty, coming to Ohio directly after his marriage. By trade he was a hatter, but became a mer- chant. He died in 1849 of cholera, when he was thirty-nine years of age, his wife having died seven years before. They left the follow- ing children: Sarah, Eli, John, Elizabeth and Mary A. After the death of his first wife Mr. Wallace married Mary Beck. To this mar- riage there were born three children, viz: James A., Samuel and Margaret. Mr. Wallace was a member of the United Brethren church, and a man of strong character, and stood high in the community in which he lived. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Kimmel settled a short distance north of Liberty, and lived on the Kimmel homestead five years, moving thence to Jackson township, where they settled on fifty-three acres of land. In 1865 Mr. Kimmel sold this farm and moved to Crawford county, 111., where he bought a farm of ninety acres. Returning to Montgomery county in the same year, he bought his present farm of eighty-one acres, which he has greatly improved by judicious cultivation, by the plant- ing of orchards, and by the erection of good buildings. To him and his wife there have been born the following children: Jonathan P., Althea, Emma, Harvey M., Mary A., Les- lie B., Jessie D. and Carl W. Mr. and Mrs. Kimmel have been members of the United Brethren church for twenty years. Politically Mr. Kimmel is a prohibitionist. He is an un- affiliated member of the Odd Fellows fraternity, Randolph lodge, and is in all ways an excel- lent man and citizen. m. 'ILLIAM N. KINSEY, whose post- office is Kinsey, is the proprietor of the oldest and one of the largest of the nurseries of Montgomery county, it having been established by his father in 1 852. He springs from Virginia ancestry, his great- grandfather having come from Virginia to Montgomery county, Ohio, by horses and wagons, in the early days. He was a brother of the grandfather of Jesse Kinsey, a German Baptist minister, whose biography is published elsewhere in this volume. The maiden name of his wife was Miss Beckener, and by her he had the following children: Levi, Mathias, Joel, Levina and Judah. Mr. Kinsey, upon ar- riving in Montgomery county, settled in the woods, on what is now the Truxel farm, one and a half miles east of Salem. This farm he cleared of its timber, lived upon it until he reached old age, and then removed to Whitley county, Ind., where he died at the age of sev- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1257 enty years. He was a member of the German Baptist church, and a deacon thereof for many years and a man of fine mind and high moral character. Joel Kinsey, grandfather of William N., was born in Virginia, and came with his par- ents to Ohio when a boy. He was the eldest child, was reared on the farm and married, in Randolph township, Elizabeth Brumbaugh, who was from Morrison's Cove, Pa. After their marriage Joel and Mrs. Kinsey settled near Covington, Miami county, Ohio, and he there died when but thirty-three years of age. He was a member of the German Baptist church, and his children were Samuel, Lydia, Noah and David, the latter of whom died when quite young. Samuel Kinsey, father of the subject, was born near Covington, Ohio, May 26, 1832, re- ceived a good common-school education, and learned the carpenter's trade. He married at the age of twenty years, on the farm on which William N. Kinsey now lives, on April 23, 1852, Barbara Nead, who was born December 19, 1832, and was a daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Yount) Nead. Peter Nead was born in Maryland in 1796, near Hagerstown, and was a son of Daniel Nead, a farmer and slave- owner, who also owned a large tannery. He was a member of the Lutheran church. Peter Nead married in Virginia, managed a tannery near Broadway, Rockingham county, Va., mov- ing later in life to Augusta county, where he engaged in farming. In 1846 he came to Ohio, when his daughter Barbara was fourteen years old. Settling near Trotwood on ninety acres of land partially cleared, he cleared the re- mainder of the farm, improved it and made of it an excellent home for his family. He and his wife were parents of the following children: Samuel, Daniel, Mary and Barbara. Mr. Nead was first a Lutheran, then a Methodist, and later a member of the German Baptist church. He was an elder and a minister of the last- named church for many years, and was distin- guished by being among the first ministers of that church to preach in English. He lived to the great age of eighty-one years, and died on his farm. His wife died when she was seven- ty-seven years old. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Kinsey lived on In- dian lands in Indiana for a year or two after their marriage, and then settled on the farm adjoining the Nead farm. Of this Mr. Kinsey cleared up fifty acres, and by degrees added to it until he had 185 acres of good land in one body, besides seventy-five acres in Indiana and eighty acres in Kansas. Mr. Kinsey established his nursery in 1S52, and was exceedingly pros- perous in the business, being a practical and skillful nurseryman. Both he and his wife were members of the German Baptist church, in which he was an elder and a minister for many years. They had born to them the fol- lowing children: Almira J., Mary E., Cyn- thia A., Clarinda, William N., Lydia L. , Sallie C. , Ellen B., Charles P., Jesse E., Allen V. and two that died young. Mr. Kinsey was a man of great industry and attended to his busi- ness with the closest application. He was a man of sterling integrity of character, and died in 1883, at the age of fifty-one years. William N. Kinsey was born July 17, 1859, on the old homestead, on which he now lives. Receiving a good common-school education, he afterward attended the Northwestern Nor- mal academy at Ada, Ohio, and also the Miami Commercial college, at Dayton, Ohio. When thirty years of age he married, July 30, 1889, Nettie B. Seiber, who was born July 25, 1872, in Montgomery county, Ohio, and is a daughter of Ephraim and Sarah J. (Leighton) Seiber. Ephraim Seiber came from Pennsyl- vania, and is of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. Marrying in Ohio, his children are Susan, Amanda, William, John (who died a young 1258 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD man), Aldebal, Nettie B. and Lottie. To Mr. and Mrs. Kinsey have been born two children, Roy H. and Isabel, the latter of whom died at the age of four years and seven months. Mr. Kinsey is a deacon in the German Baptist church, a man of ability, and has all his life been engaged in the nursery business. He was thus employed with his father for many years, which thoroughly qualified him for the successful management of the enter- prise, and at his father's death he took it up and has since carried it on. Mr. Kinsey was a member of the County Agricultural society for several years, and thus became widely and well known in this part of the state. His nur- sery contains about lOO acres, and in it he grows all kinds of fruit trees, shrubbery, and small fruits of many leading varieties. *y OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1267 >Y*OHN Q. A. COOVER, whose post of- m fice is Spanker, Ohio, is one of the /• 1 most prominent farmers of Butler town- ship, Montgomery county. He springs from Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. Michael Coover, his grandfather, was born in Cumber- land county, Pa., November i, 1781, and be- came a farmer and one of the early ministers in the United Brethren church. He married in Pennsylvania, April 14, 1S07, Elizabeth Shopp, who was born in the same county with himself, August 20, 1788, and their children were John M., Jacob, George, Michael, Sam- uel, Sarah, Isaac, David, and William H., all but the last born in Pennsylvania. In 1829 the Rev. Mr. Coover removed to Montgomery county, Ohio, settling on the farm on which the subject of this sketch now lives. The farm then contained 120 acres, which he cleared from the woods, with the exception of a small portion. He was a prosperous man, and bought more land, until at length he owned 234 acres, and became a very wealthy and substantial farmer. He was one of the earliest of the United Brethren ministers in Butler township, and rode a circuit for many years, becoming well known for many miles around. Beside carry- ing on his farm and preaching among the pio- neers, he ran a distillery for many years, as was the custom in those days. The United Brethren church of Butler township was or- ganized in 1829 at his residence, services being held there and at the residences of other mem- bers, until a church edifice was erected at Van- dalia. Mr. Coover died April 19, 1839, aged fifty-seven years. John M. Coover, father of John Q. A., was born February 13, 1S08, in Cumberland county, Pa. He was about twenty-one years old when he came to Ohio with his parents. He followed farming all his life, and married Mary Duncan, who was a daughter of William 57 Duncan, one of the earliest pioneers of But- ler township. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Coover settled on the Coover homestead, upon which they lived all their remaining days. Their children were Benjamin F., Martha E. and John Q. A. Mrs. Coover died when her youngest child was but six weeks old. Politic- ally in his early life Mr. Coover was a whig, taking an active interest in politics, and being a member of the state legislature in i860 and 1 86 1. He was a man of integrity and of true christian character. He died in 1876, in his sixty-ninth year, regretted by the entire com- munity in which he had so long lived. John Q. A. Coover was born February 13, 1S47. He was educated first in the common schools, then at the Otterbein university at Westerville, Ohio, and then at Wittenberg college, Springfield, Ohio. At this latter school he remained three years. He has always followed farming and has been very successful. He was married June 18, 1874, to Sella C. Beardshear, who was born in Montgomery county, May 21, 1855, and is a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Coleman) Beardshear, both of whom were of Scotch- Welsh ancestry. John Beardshear was born in Pennsylvania, and came to Ohio in 1802. He became a sub- stantial farmer of Harrison township, and married in Montgomery county, in 1848, Eliza- beth Coleman, daughter of Robert and Mary (Van Cleve) Coleman. They had the follow- ing children: William, Sella C, Rilla M. and Emma D. Mr. and Mrs. Beardshear were members of the United Brethren church, and the founders of Beardshear chapel, Mr. Beardshear being the principal contributor to the building of the church edifice. In politics he was a republican. He was a man of excel- lent moral and christian character, exerting a a wide influence for good, and died January 1268 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 20, 1873, aged about fifty-eight years, honored by all his fellow-citizens. William M. Beardshear, LL. D., son of John Beardshear, is a graduate of Otterbein university, and a post-graduate of Yale college. He was president of Western college, at To- ledo, Ohio, for eight years, and is now presi- dent of the Iowa State Agricultural college, at Ames, Iowa. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Coover settled on his father's farm, where they still reside. The farm now consists of 250 acres, and is in an excellent state of preservation. Upon it Mr. Coover erected a pleasant and tasteful residence in 1880. To Mr. and Mrs. Coover there have been born the following children: Winifred F., Leila A., Mabel E. and John W. The parents are members of the United Brethren church, of which Mr. Coover has been a trustee for several years. Politically he is a republican, and has served as township trustee for four years. He is a mem- ber of the Industrial Order of Foresters, coun- cil Cooper, Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Coover is a man of liberal education, and a most valuable member of the community, his education ren- dering him a practical business man, as well as a practical farmer. Mrs. Coover attended Otterbein university at Westerville, Ohio, and is a highly educated woman, and a suitable helpmate for her husband. WOHN W. UNDERWOOD, of Vandalia, ■ Ohio, one of the honored citizens of A 1 Butler township, Montgomery county, and who has served as justice of the peace for twenty-five years, sprang from ster- ling English ancestors, who settled in Virginia in colonial times. His grandfather, Joseph Underwood, was a farmer in the Shenandoah valley, Virginia, and there lived all his days, dying at the great age of ninety years. His children were John and William. John Underwood, the eldest son of Joseph, and father of John W., was born in the Shen- andoah valley, Virginia, May 5, 1776. When yet a young man he removed to Lexington, Ky. , and was there married to Miss Mary Scud- der, daughter of James Scudder, of that place. Shortly after their marriage John Underwood and his wife removed to Ohio, in 1808, settling in Shelby county. They located on 1 60 acres of land, which he cleared of its heavy timber and made a good farm and a comfortable home, building the first brick house in the county. His children were Lucinda, William, Esther, Hugh M., Sarah and John W. John Underwood served his country as a soldier in the war of 18 12, under Gen. Anthony Wayne, and partici- pated in the battle of Fallen Timbers. He and his wife were life-long Methodists, and were among the early members of the Method- ist Episcopal church in Ohio. Mr. Underwood lived to be about eighty-one years of age, dying in 1857 at the residence of his son, John W. John W. Underwood was born May 6, 1828, in Shelby county, Ohio. His education was received in an old-fashioned log school- house, made of large, round logs, with a stick and clay chimney at one end, and with slabs for benches. At that time there were no regular school books, but instead any books that could be found in the community were taken to school for the pupils to read and study. Among these books, when young Underwood attended school, were the New Testament, the life of Daniel Boone and an English reader. Thus it was possible for him to receive only a very limited education in the schools; but this was supplemented by private instruction at home, sufficient for all the really practical purposes of a farmer's life. Mr. Underwood was married March 28, 1852, in Montgomery county, on his own farm, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1269 to Miss Margaret Hoover, who was a daughter of Felix and Lydia (Fry) Hoover, and who was born in Miami county, Ohio, in Decem- ber, 1832. Felix Hoover was a native of Ken- tucky, and he and his wife settled in Miami county some time in the 'forties on a farm of eighty-eight acres, upon which they lived until his death, which occurred in 1846. His chil- dren were John, Margaret, Harriet, Mary, Isaac, Wilson, Adam, Elizabeth and Lydia. Politically he was a democrat, and was always actively interested in the success of his party, though not an office-seeker. Mr. Underwood settled on the parental homestead, which he farmed for two years, and then purchased a canal boat on the Miami & Erie canal, and was on the canal for ten years. During this period he bought two more boats, and was unusually successful and pros- perous. Returning to the homestead in 1864, he has since followed farming. To Mr. and Mrs. Underwood there have been born the fol- lowing children: Frank, John, Alice, Charles, William, Shannon, Adam and Emma. In politics Mr. Underwood was formerly a whig, but upon the organization of the republican party became a republican and has so remained ever since. During the late Civil war he was one of a committee whose duty it was to see that the quota of the township was filled, and in all ways he was essentially the friend of the Union soldier. Mrs. Underwood is a member of the United Brethren church. Mr. Underwood has been one of the township trustees for over thirty years. He was elected justice of the peace in October, 1871, and has served in that capacity ever since. During his entire career as justice of the peace he has had but four cases ap- pealed to higher courts, though his docket contains the record of about 1,500 cases. Esquire Underwood is a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity, and was one of the earliest members of Vandalia lodge, No. 57, I. O. O. F. He has always taken an active interest in all matters pertaining to the education of the young and to the improvement of the schools. As a public-spirited man he has taken deep in- terest in the improvement of the public high- ways, believing that the condition of such roads indicates to a great extent the state of the civilization of the people. He stands high in the community for his sterling worth, integ- rity of character and high sense of justice. Esquire Underwood, in 1890, was one of the appraisers of real estate in Butler township, and it is much to the credit of his work and his judgment that no changes in his valuations were made by the board of equalization. He is, in short, one of the most intelligent and reliable of the citizens of his township and county, and a credit to the community in which he lives. -^VACOB CARMONY, a citizen of Wen- ■ gerlawn, Montgomery county, Ohio, /• 1 and a native of this county, was born July 10, 1823, in Washington township. He is a son of Jacob and Mary (Stensel) Car- mony, the former of whom was a son of John Carmony, who was of Pennsylvania-Dutch descent. John Carmony was a farmer of Dau- phin county, Pa., and descended from one of the original settlers of that state. He was the father of the following children: Jacob, Sarah, Mary, John, Joseph, Catherine, Margaret and George, all of whom were born in Dauphin county, Pa. John Carmony removed to Ohio with horses and wagon in 18 10, and settled two miles south of Centerville, Washington township, Montgomery county, there entering 160 acres of land, which was covered with timber. This land he cleared and developed into a good farm. He erected a log cabin near a fine spring, and this cabin stood for many 1270 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD years. For some years he ran a still on his farm, and in this way supplemented his agri- cultural labors. In religion he was a Lutheran and in politics a democrat; was known far and wide for his high character, and lived to be seventy-two years old. Jacob Carmony, his son and the father of the subject, was born in Dauphin county, Pa., October 17, 1790, and was reared among the pioneers. He was about twenty years old when his father came to Ohio, and in this state he followed farming. On June 9, 1814, he married Mary Stensel, who was born January 4, 1796, in Mason county, Ky., and was a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Allen) Stensel. Henry Stensel was born in central New York, of Catholic parents. In the year 1774, before the Revolutionary war, the In- dians were friendly with the white settlers, and were frequently at his father's house. When the war broke out Henry was about thirteen years of age, and the Stensel family were at the settlement a few miles from the farm. One day Henry, his two brothers, and all the men who worked for them, returned to the farm to look after the stock they had left there, and while they were thus engaged they discovered the Indians coming toward them, and the boys ran for their lives, the savages giving chase. William Stensel was shot and scalped, and the other brother made his escape to the settlement. Henry was captured and was kept for several years a prisoner among the Indians. He was, however, at last traded to the British troops, and allowed to return to his home. From the time of his capture to his release, Henry had greatly changed in appearance. He looked in fact more like an Indian than a white man, and none of his family recognized him but his mother, who identified him by a scar on his face. Soon after Henry came of age he had a disagreement with his parents on religious matters, he having united with theOld- School Baptists, and when he was twenty-one years of age he went to Kentucky, working his way to Lexington, which was then only a fron- tier station. Here he remained a couple of years, and by industry and hard work pros- pered, becoming a land owner. Henry Sten- sel married Elizabeth Allen, sister of Jeremiah Allen, and in 1802 moved to Montgomery county, Ohio, and settled in the woods of Washington township, on 160 acres of land, which he converted into a fine farm and ex- cellent home, there passing the remainder of his days, dying in 1833, when he was seventy- two years of age. He was a man of high character and was much beloved by the old settlers. He was a great hunter, and was a bosom friend of Simon Kenton, who is well known to all familiar with the early history of Ohio. His children were as follows: Martha, Mary, William, Jeremiah, Enoch, Henry, Elizabeth, Sarah, Clarissa, Isaac and John. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Carmony settled in Washington township, on a farm in the woods, which he cleared of its timber. This farm contained seventy-five acres of land. He and his wife were the par- ents of the following children: Henry, John, Elizabeth, Martha, William and Jacob. Mr. Carmony lived to be seventy-eight years old, and died at the home of his son, Jacob, in 1868. Politically he was a democrat, and in all respects was an estimable citizen. Jacob Carmony, the subject of this sketch, was born July 10, 1823, in Washington town- ship, on his father's farm. Reared a farmer's boy, he received a common-school education, and at the age of twenty-three married Mary Tice, who was born April 24, 1829. She was a daughter of Joseph and Jane (Hulse) Tice, the former of whom was born February 22, 1 80 1, in Monmouth county, N. J. Joseph Tice was a son of Elias and Sarah (Horn) Tice, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1271 Elias Tice being a tavern keeper, at whose tavern George Washington was frequently a guest. Joseph Tice was married January 22, 1826, to Jane Hulse, who was born March 14, 1805, in New Jersey, and was a daughter of Anthony and Mary (Vaughn) Hulse. The Tice family were descended from four different nationalities — English, Irish, German and Scotch, and the Hulse family were of Dutch stock. Joseph Tice removed to Ohio in 1833, settling at Centerville, Montgomery county, where he for some years worked at his trade. In politics he was a democrat, and in religion a Universalist. His children were Ann E., Mary, Jerome, Sarah A., Anthony and Joseph. Mr. Tice lived to be about seventy years of age, dying in 1871. His wife had died Feb- ruary 21, 1852. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Carmony settled on land in Washington township. In 1866 he bought about 166 acres of land, only half of which was then cleared, but the whole of which he brought under cultivation. He and his wife are the parents of the following children: William J., Joseph T., Mary. J., Franklin, Armita, Clarissa, Sarah E., Henry J. and Jacob S. Mr. Carmony is a democrat in politics, and Mrs. Carmony is a member of the New-School Baptist church. Both are excellent people, liberal in their views, chari- table in their deeds, and enjoy the respect and confidence of all that know them. HARON MILLER, a prominent and substantial farmer of Madison town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, is a son of John and Susan (Bowman) Mil- ler. John Miller was a son of Daniel Miller, the noted pioneer of Montgomery county, who lived on Wolf creek, and who is frequently re- ferred to in this volume. John Miller was eleven years of age when brought to this coun- ty by his parents in 1804, was given the best education obtainable in the country schools of his day, and was brought up to farm life and labor. Remaining at home until he was thirty- three years of age, he then married Mrs. Annie Sollenberger, a widow, whose maiden name was Winger. To this marriage there were born six children, as follows: Annie, Susan, Aaron, Sarah, Mary and Moses. By her first husband, Mrs. Sollenberger had two children, John and Elizabeth. John Miller settled on a farm containing 160 acres of land in Harrison township, which at the time was covered over with timber and which his father had entered. This farm he cleared up from the woods, and by prudence and good husbandry became a prosperous man. He added other acres to his possessions until he had 240 acres in his home farm, 160 acres in Madison township, and also eighty acres in Harrison township. To each of his children he gave a good home, and to each of the Sol- lenberger children he gave eighty acres of land in Indiana. Daniel Miller and his sons built flat-boats, which they loaded with the products of the farm and still, and thus laden permitted them to drift down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to Natchez and New Orleans, where they sold their products and boats, returning by steam- boat. They made three such trips, and did well with their merchandise. Daniel Miller, after settling on Wolf creek, cut a road from his home to Dayton, which village at the time contained not more than two or three houses with shingle roofs. Aaron Miller, the subject of this sketch, was born January 25, 1834, in Harrison town- ship, on a farm, and was well educated in the common school. On March 18, 1855, he was married to Miss Eva dinger, who was born in Madison township March 23, 1838, and is a daughter of John K. and Nancy (Kuntz) Olin- 1272 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ger. John K. Olinger was born in Trotwood and was a son of John and Eva (Kagen) Olin- ger, coming to Montgomery county about 1804. John K. Olinger settled in Madison township, near Salem, and cleared up a farm of about 160 acres of land. He and his wife reared the following children : Susan, Eva and Mary. Mr. Olinger was a member of the German Baptist church, a republican in poli- tics, and a man of exemplary character. He died when sixty-nine years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Miller, after their marriage, lived on a farm for one year, and in 1856 re- moved to a farm he had purchased, containing 168 acres, upon which they have lived ever since. This farm he has greatly improved in every way, but especially with excellent build- ings, including a large residence. Mr. Miller's life has been that of a progressive, well- informed farmer, and he has gained merited prosperity and success. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Miller there have been born six children, as follows: John; Jane, who died at the age of thirty- three years; Andrew, who died when twenty- one years old; Moses, who died in infancy; Martha and Lorinda. In religion Mr. Miller is a member of the German Baptist church, and in politics a republican. Of his children, Jane married Dr. Samuel Toman, and left four children; Martha married John H. Con- way, and has two sons; Lorinda married Clayte Brosier, a resident of Dayton, and John married Lizzie Gunther, and has one son. Mrs. Aaron Miller died January 20, 1896. \S~\ EV. JESSE KINSEY, a leading min- I /^ ister of the German Baptist church W and a substantial farmer of Clay township, Montgomery county, Ohio, is a native of the county and was born Novem- ber s, 1836, of Pennsylvania-German descent. David Kinsey, his grandfather, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., was there married to Margaret Eltzroth, and became the father of eleven children, viz: Elizabeth, Polly, Jacob, Rebecca, Susan, Eli, David, Sallie, Catherine, Delilah and Nancy. In 1805 he brought his family to Ohio with a horse and wagon, first camped at Cincinnati, and then came directly to Dayton, arriving in the spring. Dayton was then but a small hamlet of a few log houses, and the party, which comprised four families — the Kinseys, the Crips, the Millers, and another, whose name is forgotten, settled near Wolf Creek. Mr. Kinsey entered 160 acres in the woods, and, being a strong, robust man, soon developed, with the assistance of his sons, a good farm and comfortable home. Game was very plentiful, and food was easily obtained from this source at the beginning. Mr. Kinsey in the early day was a noted team- ster, for which his great strength well-fitted him, and in that capacity he made many trips to and from Dayton. The three families who came with his were all members of the Ger- man Baptist church, and at first meetings were held in the cabins of the settlers, but through the energy of Mr. Kinsey a log church-build- ing was soon erected, and large numbers of German Baptists from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia came flocking to the neighbor- hood, and thus a moral and christian commu- nity was early founded in Clay township. David Kinsey prospered in his new home, and owned at one time over 1,000 acres of land, and after giving to each of his children an eighty-acre tract, had left a fine farm for his own use. He lived to reach the age of eighty years, was conspicuous and influential in the affairs of his township and county, and left to his family a heritage much more valuable than his land — that of an honored name. Jacob Kinsey, son of David, the founder of the family in Montgomery county, was born OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1273 October 19, 1805 — the fall of the year the fam- ily came here. He was reared on the farm among the pioneers and received his limited education in the frontier school, but was very intelligent and possessed of an excellent judg- ment, which afforded him a compensatory sub- stitute for mere book-learning, and he, also, became a leader in the community. He mar- ried Miss Susan Boyer, who was born in Bo- tetourt county, Ya., March 14, 1812, a daugh- ter of Samuel Boyer, who came to Ohio about 1815, and who was a blacksmith by trade, but bought 160 acres of land in Montgomery county and became an opulent farmer. His children were named Susan, Elizabeth, Henry and Eli. He died at the age of seventy years, a member of the German Baptist church. Jacob Kinsey and his wife went to house- keeping on the old homestead, where he passed all the active years of his life, and then retired to Stringtown, where he bought a small place, on which he died December 30, 1S82, at the age of nearly eighty years, beloved and re- spected by all who knew him. He was a deacon in the German Baptist church, and a sincere Christian. To Mr. and Mrs. Kinsey were born the following children: Noah, Jesse, Margaret, Harriet, David, Sarah, Elizabeth, Susan, Mary A., and four who died in infancy. Rev. Jesse Kinsey received a very good common-school education and was reared a farmer. He married, February 23. i860, Miss Christina Wolf, who was born December 28, 1840, in Madison township, Montgomery county, a daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Miller) Wolf. Jacob Wolf was born in Penn- sylvania, of German descent, and when a young man came to Ohio with his father, who settled in Greene county, where he grew to manhood, became a wealthy farmer, owning 500 acres of land in the Miami valley, and died in 1863, at the age of seventy-five years, the father of the following children: Daniel, Mary A., Susan, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Cather ine, Sarah, Christina, Joseph, Harriet, Lydia. For the first five years of their married life Mr. Kinsey and wife lived on a rented farm in Randolph township, Montgomery county, and in 1865 purchased their present farm, which is now finely improved and cultivated and com- prises 1 1 2 acres. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Kinsey no children have been born, but they have reared four orphans, viz: Samuel Graybill, William Danner, Christian Wolf and Emma E. Wolf, whom they have cared for and educated with as much devotion as if they were their own. Mr. Kinsey has long been active in church work, began preaching about 1868, and was ordained an elder in 1883, as well as minister. His voice is influential in its councils and his labors as a minister tireless and faithful. IRVIN THOMAS, of Center, Ohio, a veteran soldier of the late Civil war, was born in Clay township, Montgom- ery county, Ohio, January 29, 1838. He is a son of Isaac and Tamar (Mendenhall) Thomas, and was reared a farmer boy. On August 21, 1862, when he was twenty-four years of age, he enlisted at Dayton, Ohio, in company A, One Hundred and Twelfth Ohio volunteer infantry, under Capt. Thorn. In November this regiment was consolidated with the Sixty-third, and he became a member of company H, of the new organization, his cap- tain being now O. L. Jackson. He veteran- ized in January, 1864, and was honorably dis- charged at Camp Dennison, Ohio, July 18, 1865. He was mustered out at Louisville, Ky. , having served his country faithfully and well for nearly three years. He was in the battle of Parker's Cross Roads, and in the famous Atlanta campaign, during which the Union troops were constantly under fire for 1274 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD nearly four months. While on this campaign he was in the battles of Dallas, Resaca, Pump- kin Vine Creek and of Kenesaw Mountain, and was then on detached duty as cook for Dr. Stewart, of the First division, Seventh army corps. On July 22, 1864, he was taken sick and for three days lay under a tree at Decatur, Ala., at the end of which time he was ordered away to avoid capture by the rebels, who were about to take possession of the town. He was taken care of by comrade Henry Meshler, of Clay township, and partially recovered, but on account of exposure contracted a deafness from which he has not recovered. Shortly afterward he rejoined his regiment, and was in the battle of Jonesboro, afterward going on the great march to the sea. He was also in the battle of Snake Creek Gap, and marched on to Washington, D. C, participating in the grand review. Then going to Parkersburg and thence to Louisville, he was mustered out at the latter place. Mr. Thomas participated in all the battles in which the Sixty-third was engaged after he joined it. and endured with courage all the hardships of a soldier's life. After the war was over he returned to Montgomery county, where he has since re- sided. Mr. Thomas has been married twice — first on November 7, 1S58, at Phillipsburg, Ohio, to Sarah Tibbs, daughter of Jackson and Mary (Falkner) Tibbs. To this marriage there have been born five children, who are still living, as follows: Arnold C, Francis O.,. William W. , Cora O. and Webster E. Mrs. Thomas, the mother of these children, died in 1 88 1, a consistent member of the Christian church. Mr. Thomas was next married to Mrs. Ellen Pugh, daughter of John Smith. After the close of the war Mr. Thomas en- gaged in farming in Clay township, on his fa- ther's farm, and in 1872 purchased from his father eighty-five acres of land. Upon this farm he lived until he removed to Phillipsburg, in 1892, building in this place an attractive residence. Mr. Thomas takes a deep interest in all things pertaining to the welfare of the old soldiers and the good of the country in gen- eral. He has manifested the strictest integrity in his dealings with his fellow-men during all of his life, and as a consequence he is held in the highest esteem by all who know him. Isaac Thomas, father of Irvin Thomas, was born in North Carolina, and removed to Clay township, Montgomery county, in 1826 or 1827, being thus one of the pioneers in that part of the county. He cleared a farm of ninety-two acres of land, and through toil and economy prospered greatly, eventually becom- ing the owner of about 400 acres of land. He lived to be about seventy-six years of age, his children being Parmelia, Harriet, Milo, Caleb, Seth, Irvin and Susannah, twins, and Elam. Seth Thomas was a soldier in the same company with Irvin, and died at Memphis, Tenn., in September, 1863. Mr. Thomas was a Quaker in religion. Irvin Thomas has been an Odd Fellow since July 28, 1874, a member of Phillipsburg lodge. No. 594, of which lodge he has been treasurer twelve years. He is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, of Foster Marshall post, of Brookville. His mother, Tamar Mendenhall, was born in Miami county, Ohio, September 1, 1802, and was the daugh- ter of Caleb Mendenhall, a Quaker pioneer of Miami county, Ohio. She was the first white child born in Union township, Miami county, and a woman of excellent character. ISAAC STOCKSLAGER, one of the old settlers of Butler township, Montgom- ery county, is of German ancestry. His grandfather, John Stockslager, was born in Maryland, the father of John coming OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY 1275 from Germany. John Stockslager owned a good farm of 160 acres of land in Washington county, Md., and was the father of the follow- ing children: John, Katie, Jacob, Philip, Con- rod and Betsey. He died on his farm in Mary- land, when about eighty years of age. In religion he was a Lutheran. John Stockslager, eldest son of the above, and the father of Isaac Stockslager, was born in Washington county, Md., was a farmer by occupation, and married Regina Schlenker, who was a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Schlenker. John Stockslager and wife were the parents of four children, as follows: Isaac, Barbara, John and Jacob. They were all born in Maryland, where Mr. Stockslager had a farm of 160 acres of land. He was killed when a young man by being run over by a heavily laden wagon. He was a member of the Lutheran church, and devoted to his re- ligion and to his family. A few years after the death of her husband Mrs. Stockslager came with her children to Ohio, settling in Butler township, Montgomery county. This was in 1833, and Mr. Schlenker reached Dayton, Ohio, by team. May 1, 1833. His children were as follows: Daniel, Solo- mon, Polly, Sallie, Betsey and Lavina. One daughter he left in Maryland. He lived to be an aged man, dying in Montgomery county. He was a member of the Lutheran church and a man of sterling character. Upon arriving in Montgomery county, Mrs. Stockslager rented a house in Union, and there made her home. After a few years she mar- ried John Lambert, by whom she had one daughter, Elizabeth, who died when eighteen years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Lambert bought a farm of forty acres in Butler township, and upon this farm she died at the age of eighty years. She was a woman of many fine traits of character and a consistent member of the Lutheran church. Isaac Stockslager, the subject of this sketch, was born December 7, 1823, in Pennsylvania, and was but ten years old when he came to Ohio with his mother. Receiving a limited education, he was reared a farmer, and mar- ried, July 9, 1846, in Butler township, Mary Cress, who was born February 15, 1823. She is a daughter of John and Catherine (Plum- mer) Cress, the former of whom was a native of Virginia, and of German and Irish stock. He came to Montgomery county a young single man, married Catherine Plummer, and had by her the following children: Jacob, David, Andrew, Sophie, Simon, Alexander, John, Mary and Betsey. John Cress became a pros- perous farmer and lived to be an aged man. Isaac Stockslager and wife, after their mar- riage, settled on the homestead farm. From his earnings prior to his marriage he had saved $500, which he applied in partial payment on a farm of eighty acres, and by the utmost econ- omy and persistent industry he not only accu- mulated the funds to complete his payments, but also added sixty-nine and a half acres to his original purchase. The latter portion of his farm he has given to his children, and has still the original amount, eighty acres, for him- self. He and his wife had two children who lived to mature years. John died when seven years of age; Louis at the age of seven months, and Amanda and Jacob are still living. The parents of these children are members of the Adventist church. Politically, Mr. Stockslager is a republican. He has always been a hard- working man, and is highly esteemed as a man and as a citizen wherever he is known. WOHN FRANCIS ALLEN, a represent- ■ ative farmer of Wayne township, Mont- /• 1 gomery county, Ohio, was born on the old Allen homestead, on which he still lives, May 27, 1869, and is a son of Stephen 1376 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Johnes and Margaret (McConnaughey) Allen, of whom further mention will be made. Col. John Allen, grandfather of John Fran- cis, was born in Monmouth county, N. J., November 19, 1797, and was a son of William and Sarah (Johnston) Allen, natives of the same state. The mother died about the year 1 80 1 and the father in 181 1, and the orphaned John was bound as an apprentice to a black- smith until his majority, when, having learned his trade, he came on foot to Ohio, worked here at his trade a few months, and then re- turned to New Jersey. He there married Margaret Johnes, of Middlesex county, N. J., a daughter of Bergen and Martha (Titus) Johnes. June 4, 1830, Col. Allen came back to Ohio, bringing his wife and three children — Sarah, Andrew J. and Stephen J. He re- mained in the vicinity of Franklin for a few months, and then, September 15, 1830, set- tled on 160 acres in Wayne township, in the extreme northern part of Montgomery county, on which farm John F. Allen, the subject, now lives. Here were born his two younger chil- dren, William and Alice. He was an intelli- gent and practical man, accumulated 1,000 acres of land, and as a democrat served as township trustee for twenty-three years. Mrs. Allen was called away December 14, 1871, and Mr. Allen lived to be eighty-five years, four months and seven days old, at which great age he passed away, a greatly hononed citizen. Stephen J. Allen, father of John F. Allen, was born near Hightstown, N. J., April 28, 1830, and was but six weeks old when brought to Ohio by his parents. He was reared to hard work on the farm, received the ordinary common-school education, and on March 16, 1854, in Wayne township, married Miss Mar- garet McConnaughey, who was born March 28, 1829, in Miami county, a daughter of David and Anna McConnaughey, who were old set- tlers of that county. David McConnaughey was of Irish descent, was a substantial farmer, and his estate still remains in the possession of his descendants. His children were named Maria, James, Thomas, John, William, David, Margaret, Ann, Robert and Belle. After his marriage, Stephen J. Allen settled on the old Allen homestead, having received from his father 162 acres, to which, by his thrift and good management, he added until he owned 950 acres, becoming one of the most solid farmers of the township. In politics he was a democrat, as such rilling the offices of township treasurer, clerk, and trustee, and serving as treasurer of Montgomery county for two terms, ending with 1884. In this latter office he became well and widely known to the people of the county, who entertained for him the highest confidence and regard. His chil- dren were named William, Anna M. , David F. and John F. John Francis Allen was reared on the orig- inal Col. Allen homestead, and was educated in the common school, the high school and the commercial college at Dayton, and the law department of the university of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. He inherited 450 acres of farm land from his father, and his life has been passed chiefly in agricultural pursuits, although other lines of industry have also engaged his time and attention. September 23, 1891, he married, in Day- ton, Miss Esther W. Keplinger, a native of that city, born May 19, 1868, a daughter of David and Mary Elizabeth (Whitley) Keplinger, and this union has been blessed with two chil- dren — Margaret Esther and Anna Mary. Mrs. Allen is a member of the Presbyterian church at Dayton. In politics Mr. Allen is a demo- crat. Beside managing his large farming in- terests, he is a director in the Eagle Paper company, of Franklin, Warren county, Ohio, a director in the Cast Steel Plow company, of Dayton, and secretary and treasurer of the OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1277 Miami Coach Horse company, of Tippecanoe City, Ohio. The great-grandmother of Mrs. Allen was Mrs. Catherine Thompson, who died at the age of eighty-two years. She had previously been Mrs. Catherine Van Cleve, and was the mother of Benjamin and William Van Cleve. She was the first female resident of Dayton, to which place she came on the ist of April, 1796. She was also one of the earliest inhabitants of Cincinnati, having moved to that place before its name was changed from Losantiville, and when two small hewn-log houses and a few log cabins constituted the whole town. Her first husband, John Van Cleve, was killed by the Indians on June 1, 1791, within the pres- ent corporate limits of Cincinnati. Her second husband, Samuel Thompson, was drowned in Mad river. She was the mother of thirteen children, and her grandchildren numbered eighty-seven, and her great-grandchildren ninety. She was a worthy member of the Methodist church. The parents of Mrs. Allen are David K. and Mary E. (Whitley) Keplinger, of Dayton. The father was born in Mad River township, Montgomery county, Ohio, July 24, 1838, and is the son of William and Eliza (Kneisley) Kep- linger, both of whom were natives of Pennsyl- vania. The mother was born in Richmond, Ind., on May 2, 1842, and is the daughter of James and Effie (Van Cleve) Whitley, natives of Virginia and Ohio respectively. For thir- teen years David K. Keplinger has been a trusted employee of the United States Express company in Dayton. His children are named Kneisley, Eva Stella, Esther Wagner, William Whitley, Bertha Cora Etta, Emma and Mor- ris. The parents are members of the Lutheran church, and in politics Mr. Keplinger is an uncompromising republican. Mr. Allen has a delightful country residence and a fertile and profitable farm. He is a fac- tor in the affairs of his township, of which he is one of the most active and useful citizens and an honored member of society. >-j»OHN SPITLER, a descendant of one fl of the pioneer families of Clay town- /* 1 ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born here, on the original Spitler home- stead, April 10, 1S14, and is now one of the oldest citizens of his native township. Jacob Spitler, his grandfather, was a na- tive of Lancaster county, Pa. Jacob's father was slaughtered by Indians in a massacre in that county about the time of Braddock's defeat, but his mother escaped with her three children — Jacob, John and a daughter. Jacob married in Pennsylvania a lady who had borne the maiden name of Bookwalter, but who was the mother of four children by a former hus- band, named Lane, from whom descended the Gen. James Lane, of Kansas border war fame. After his marriage Jacob Spitler removed from Pennsylvania to Berkeley county, Va., thence to Rappanhannock county, and finally to Botetourt county, where he died at the age of sixty years, his wife following him to the grave within a week. Their children were named Cally, Joseph, Jacob, Betsey, John, Polly, Samuel and Anna. John Spitler, son of Japob and father of subject, was born in Berkeley county, Va., February 9, 1785, was re?/ed a farmer, and came to Ohio in 1805, in company with his sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Buntraeger, riding horse- back more than 500 miles. Late in the same year Mr. Spitler settled in Clay township, Montgomery county, on the present site of Brookville, and in 1807 married Miss Barbara Rohrer, who was born in 1789, in Lancaster county, Pa., a daughter of Joseph Rohrer, who settled in Clay township in 1804, being the first of the pioneers. Joseph Rohrer, a 1278 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD native of Pennsylvania, was left an orphan at the age of six years, was reared a farmer, and married Mary Raesor. He became well to do, owned about 1,400 acres of land in Clay township, and at his death, when fifty-five years of age, gave 320 acres to each of his living children, who were named Barbara, John, Joseph and Daniel; two others died young, one of whom was a boy that was drowned at the Pinnacles, at the first settle- ment on the Miami river. After marriage John Spitler cleared up a large farm in Clay township, and during his active life became possessor of about 2,000 acres. He bequeathed 160 acres to each of his eleven children, who were born and named in the following order: Polly, Jacob, Joseph, John, Susan, Andrew, Elizabeth, Samuel, Hannah, Barbara and Solomon, all of whom lived to reach mature age. Mr. Spitler was a man of great strength of character, and made his mark as a leader of men, being wise in counsel, and always consulted when it became necessary to adjudicate or arbi- trate difficulties among his neighbors. He lived to the advanced age of nearly ninety years and died in 1874, a conscientious mem- ber of the German Baptist church, of which his wife was also a member. John Spitler, whose name opens thissketch, was educated in the first school-house erected in Clay township and was reared to be a thorough farmer. April II, 1839, he married Miss Esther Warner, who was born in Ran- dolph township, March 5, 1820, a daughter of Jacob and Rosannah (Ligenfelter) Warner. Her father, Jacob, was born on a farm in Bed- ford county, Pa., and came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 18 12, settled in Randolph township and cleared a farm of 160 acres. By his first wife he was the father of thirteen chil- dren, of whom Mrs. Spitler was next to the youngest, and by his second wife there were born four children. The second wife bore the maiden name of Susan Bruebaker, but at the time of her marriage with Mi*. Spitler was the widow of a Mr. Warner, a distant relative of Mrs. Spider's mother. Jacob Warner lived to be sixty-two years of age, and his widow survived him thirty years, dying at the great age of ninety-seven. For some little time after marriage John Spitler lived on the homestead, but in 1841 moved to Darke county, where he cleared from the woods a farm of 160 acres, and later re- turned to Clay township, Montgomery county, where he pursued his vocation as a farmer until 1894, when he retired. Mr. and Mrs. Spitler had born to them a family of fourteen children, born in the following order: Oliver, Barbara, Elizabeth, Solomon, Susan, William, Hannah, Lydia, John, Benjamin, May E. , Ephraim W., Flora M. and Charles S. In their religion Mr. and Mrs. Spitler are Ger- man Baptists, and in politics Mr. Spitler was in his early years a whig, casting his first presi- dential vote for Gen. William Henry Harrison, but with the change of parties fell into line with the republicans, and was a sound Union man His son Solomon served for three years in company H, Sixty-third Ohio volunteer in- fantry, in defense of the national flag during the Civil war. Dr. Ephraim W. Spitler, son of John and Esther Spitler, was born July 2, 1859, and re- ceived an excellent academic and collegiate education; he taught school five years in Darke, Miami and Montgomery counties, stud- ied medicine under Dr. J. H. Spitler, and graduated from the Medical college of Ohio, at Cincinnati, in 1885. He began the practice of his profession in Jamton, moved to Phillips- burg in 1886 and is a successful and progress- ive physician. The marriage of the doctor took place April 26, 1885, in Miami county, to Miss OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1279 Emma A. Hershey, who was born in that county, March 20, 1861, a daughter of John P. and Elizabeth (Kolp) Hershey. Her fa- ther, John P. Hershey, is a native of Lancas- ter county, Pa., and before coming to Ohio, in 1849, was the first conductor on the Penn- sylvania railroad between Mount Joy and Phil- adelphia. He is the father of seven living children and still survives at the age of seventy- five years. In politics Dr. Spitler is a repub- lican, and fraternally is an Odd Fellow. * w * EVI BAKER, one of the most prom- | inent business men of Brookville, ^J Clay township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born here June 11, 1836, on his father's farm, and is a descendant of one of the oldest pioneers in the county, Michael Baker, and of one of the wealthiest ante-Revolutionary families of Pennsylvania, whose genealogy will be given at the close of this memoir. Michael Baker, grandfather of Levi, and his wife, Elizabeth (Smucker) Baker, came from Somerset county, Pa., to Clay township in 1805, and settled on a tract of 200 acres of land in the wilderness, on which there was a camp of 200 Indians, who were friendly and proved to be good neighbors. He cleared up this farm and added to his possessions until he was the owner of about 2,000 acres. Mr. and Mrs. Baker had a family of ten children, viz: John, Samuel, Jacob, Michael, Ben- jamin, Catherine, Elizabeth, Susannah, An- nie and Mary. The father lived to be over eighty-two years of age, and his wife expired at the age of eighty, both devoted members of the Dunkard or German Baptist church, and the large property was distributed among the various children. Benjamin Baker, son of Michael, and father of Levi, was born on the original Baker homestead in Clay township, March 24, 18 10, and was reared to agricultural pursuits. He received as good an education as the schools of the neighborhood afforded at that early day, and in 1830 married Miss Frances Niswanger, the union resulting in the birth of twelve chil- dren, viz: Sadie, Malinda, Noah, Levi, Cyrus (who died at the age of five years), Mary, Simon, Amanda, Sarah H., Sylvester, Jona- than and Minerva. About 1850, Benjamin Baker engaged in the grain trade in Brookville, being the first to enter into that business in the village. He built a warehouse, and hauled his grain by wagon to Dayton until 1853, when the rail- road was constructed and a track or switch extended to his warehouse. For a few years he was associated in this trade with Richard Reily, but in i860 Levi, his son, bought Mr. Reily's interest, and the business was contin- ued by father and son until 1866, when the father retired. Benjamin Baker was a most energetic and enterprising business man. He was one of the founders of Brookville, opened its first general store, and was its first station and express agent. He at one time owned about 500 acres in different farms — one of 1 50 acres one-half mile east of Brookville — and in connection with his grain trade was a large buyer and shipper of tobacco. Benjamin Baker was at first a whig in politics, was one of the original republicans of Montgomery county, and during the Civil war was a pronounced Union man. In religion he was a member of the German Baptist church, in which faith he died, and was highly es- teemed for his christian benevolence and un- swerving integrity. Levi Baker was reared on his father's farm and received an excellent common-school edu- cation. January 10, 1856, he married, near Brookville, Miss Catherine Ganger, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Richard) Ganger, 1280 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD and to this union was born one child, Mary A., who married Louis Cotterman, and died at the age of twenty-two years. Mrs. Catherine (Ganger) Baker died in 1876, a member of the United Brethren church. The second mar- riage of Mr. Baker took place October 17, 1878. at Chambersville, Va., with Miss Re- becca Koontz, who was born January 3, 1861, a daughter of Abraham and Susannah (Floro) Koontz. Abraham Koontz was from Pennsyl- vania, was of German descent, was married in Rockingham county, \'a. , and was a resident of that state at the outbreak of the Rebellion, when he was drafted into the Confederate service, but escaped and brought his family to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1861 or 1862, and settled near Harrisburg. Here he worked at his trade as carpenter until his death, at the age of about forty-nine years, a member of the German Baptist church and the father of the following children: Sarah, Catherine (who died when thirty-seven years old), Min- erva, Rebecca, Mary and Alice. Levi Baker began his business life as a farmer, which vocation occupied his time for four years; he then joined his father in the grain trade at Brookville, and in 1867 built a residence in that town, but had the previous year bought his present farm of 1 14 acres. For several years he was in partnership, in the grain trade, with Daniel Litter, but for the past nine years has been associated with Daniel C. Williamson. This firm bought their brick warehouse in 1885, Mr. Baker being also a buyer and shipper of tobacco on a large scale. The firm of Baker & Williamson do an extensive business in grain, and are also the station and express agents in Brookville. In politics Mr. Baker is a republican and served as assessor in Clay township for thirteen years; he is postmaster of Brookville, having been appointed under the Harrison adminis- tration; he has been land appraisortwo terms, a member of the school board and of the town council, for three years county infirmary director, and is the present town treasurer. He is president of the Citizens' Bank of Brook- ville, and is in every way energetic and pro- gressive as a business man and citizen. To Mr. and Mrs. Baker have been born two chil- dren, named Edith Lillor and Arlie Levi. It may be proper here to trace the Baker family of Ohio to its origin in America. George Peter Baker, who was born and who lived and died in Strasbourg, Germany, had four sons who came to America in 1727, viz: George, Jacob, Henry and Peter. Of these, George died a youth; Jacob married, but died without issue; Henry died a bachelor; Peter inherited property from his father, and the accumulated property of his brothers through long leases and also by will. Part of this es- tate is now covered by Fairmount park, in Philadelphia, and by the zoological gardens in the same city. To this valuable estate the Baker family of to-day still lay claim, as the original deed granted it "To Peter Baker, his children and grandchildren forever;" and, be- ing thus entailed, the claim is considered to be valid. Peter had born to him two children — Jacob and Elizabeth. Jacob married Hannah Lemon, and Elizabeth married Leonard Ellm- sker. Jacob had born to him ten children, of whom one, Lemon Baker, is the great-grand- father of Isaac Baker, of Lawrence, Kans. Peter, to whom the above mentioned estate was granted or devised, was the great-great- grandfather of Levi, the subject; Jacob was the great-grandfather; Michael, who settled in Montgomery county, Ohio, was the grandfa- ther, and Benjamin the father, as has already been shown. Many members of the Baker family went to Canada about the beginning of the present century, and in that country have been found the bibles containing the old family records, establishing the identity of the many OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1281 heirs there and in the United States without a missing link. One of these ancient volumes is 165 years old and another is 135, but the rec- ords are all legible and convincing. y'-V'OLOMON BEYL, an old settler of •\^^%T Wayne township, Montgomery county, r<_J Ohio, an ex-soldier and a successful farmer, was born in Northampton county, Pa., February 6, 1830, of sterling German ancestry. Jacob Beyl, his father, was also a native of Northampton county, Pa., was born in 1806, and was a son of Jacob Beyl, Sr. , who owned a large farm on which he passed all his life, and reared a family, of whom the names of Jacob, John and Joseph only can be remem- bered. Jacob, father of Solomon, was reared on his father's farm, and was married in Le- high county, Pa., to Magdalena Hartman, who was born in that county July 27, 1804. Im- mediately after his marriage, Jacob Beyl went to housekeeping on his father's farm, and there all his children were born, viz: Elizabeth, Solomon, Catherine, Matilda, Sarah, John and William. In 1838 Jacob Beyl brought his family to Ohio by means of wagons, and for about four years lived at Fairfield, Greene county, where he purchased forty acres of land, but about 1844-45 removed to Jasper county, Ind., where he purchased a tract of eighty acres; he was not, however, satisfied with the change, and four months later re- turned to Ohio, and for two years conducted a grocery buriness at the market-house in Day- ton and on Third street. About 1846 he moved to Wayne township and purchased the farm on which Solomon, his son, now resides, and which then comprised 147 acres, of which but forty acres were cleared. The remainder he himself subsequently cleared and improved, eventually converting it into a profitable and comfortable farm, where he passed the re- mainder of his days and died at the age of eighty-five years. He and wife were members of the Lutheran church, in which he had been an elder for many years; in politics he was first a whig, afterward a republican, and for two years was a justice of the peace. He was of a very liberal disposition and was the chief factor in the erection of the Lutheran church at Osborn, contributing freely of his own means for that purpose; and this, united with many other generous acts, won for him universal re- spect and gratitude. Solomon Beyl, it will be seen, was about eight years of age when brought by his parents to Ohio. He here received a good common- school education, was reared to a sound un- derstanding of agriculture on the home farm, and was also taught the millwright's trade. October 21, 1852, he married, in Wayne town- ship, Miss Mary Rubsam, who was born in Union county, Pa., September II, 1835, a daughter of Henry and Mary (Shane) Rubsam. Henry Rubsam, father of Mrs. Beyl, was born in Fulda, Germany, August 24, 1798, a son of John and Cornelia (Swanger) Rubsam, the former of whom was a baker by trade and lived and died in the land of his birth, and whose children were named John J., Phebe J., Henry, Benedict, John, Frances W., Ludwig, Cather- ine, Elizabeth, Carl and Theresa. Of these, Henry Rubsam left his home at the age of nineteen years, came to America and for some years followed his trade of fuller and then be- came a farmer. He married, in the Keystone state, Mary Shane, who was born in Lycoming county, September 18, 1804, a daughter of Jacob and Susannah (Swartzi Shane, of Penn- sylvania-Dutch stock, and the parents of nine children, viz: Mary, Michael, Peter, Rosan- nah, William, Sophia, Jacob L. , Theresa and Susan. For some time after marriage Henry Rubsam continued to follow his trade in Penn- 1282 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD sylvania, and in i S3 5 came to Ohio, settled on eighty acres of land in Wayne township, Montgomery county, cleared up and improved his place, and here reared his children — Eliza, Sarah, Henry, Mary, John and Jacob (twins) and George. He was a republican in politics, and in religion a German Baptist. Solomon Beyl, after his marriage, settled on the old homestead, which he has increased from its original dimensions to 205 acres and greatly improved. His children were named, in order of birth, as follows: Jacob (who died at the age of two years), Emma, John, George, Mary and Minnie. Mrs. Beyl is a member of the German Baptist church. Mr. Beyl is in politics a stanch republican. His enlistment took place August 22, 1862, in Osborn, Ohio, in Capt. Aaron Spangler's company F, One Hundred and Tenth Ohio volunteer infantry, to serve three years, and he was honorably discharged, with the rank of corporal, at a Cleveland hospital, in June, 1865, on account of the close of the war. He took part in the battle of Winchester, Va., was captured and sent to Libby prison, thence to Belle Isle, and at the close of thirty-three days was paroled. He returned home, but at the end of three months rejoined the army at Alexandria, Va., where he was stricken with rheumatism and was sent to the Howard hospital, in Washing- ton, D. C. , whence, having contracted small- pox, he was transferred to a hospital in George- town, D. C, and then furloughed home. On reaching Columbus, Ohio, he was so enfeebled that he was sent to Cleveland. He there re- covered sufficiently to do light duty, and was one of the guards at the time that the remains of the martyred Lincoln lay in state in the city of Cleveland. On his return home Mr. Beyl resumed his agricultural pursuits, in which he has prospered and is now recognized as one of the most sub- stantial farmers of Wayne township and one of its most honored citizens. He still holds his affection for his old comrades in arms, being a member of Steele post, No. 623, G. A. R., in which he at one time served in the office of quartermaster. aHRISTIAN A. COLER, of Dayton and Farmersville, Ohio, and one of the leading farmers of Jackson town- , ship, springs from old colonial stock of Maryland. His ancestry is both German and English. Adam Roller, as he spelled the name, was a native of the northern part of Maryland, and owned a farm on the line be- tween that state and Pennsylvania (Mason & Dixon's line), his land lying chiefly in Pennsyl- vania. His children were Joseph, John, Polly and Elizabeth. In religious belief Adam Rol- ler was a Lutheran, and was opposed to slav- ery. He lived to be seventy years of age, and his wife lived to be seventy-five. Joseph Roller, son of the above, was born on his father's farm in Maryland, was reared a farmer and married, in Pennsylvania, Eliza- beth Eby, daughter of Christian and Susan (McDaniel) Eby, the Eby family being of German and the McDaniel family of Scotch- Irish ancestry. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Roller first settled in Baltimore county, Md., on a farm, but came to Ohio in 1832, locating in Montgomery county, in Jackson township, on 160 acres of land, which was partially cleared, and which Mr. Roller fin- ished clearing. This he made into a good farm and upon it he passed his remaining days. He died at the early age of forty-five years, a member of the German Baptist church. Mrs. Roller died at the age of eighty-nine years, an exemplary mother and Christian, a member of the German Baptist church. Mr. Roller was well educated for his day, and was an unusual- ly successful man, accumulating by his thrift ^f//?^W^ OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1285 and good management 540 acres of land. The children born to him were Susan, Christian A., Noah and Jane. Christian A. Coler was born May 26, 1825, in Baltimore county, Md., and was therefore seven years of age when brought to Mont- gomery county by his parents. He was well educated in his youth, attending not only the common schools, but also Wittenberg college and, later, Miami university, from which he graduated in 1858. He had been a teacher for several years before entering college, teach- ing in both Ohio and Indiana. After his grad- uation he resumed farming and married Cather- ine Bear, born in 1840, in German township, Montgomery county, Ohio, and a daughter of Henry and Lydia (Swihart) Bear. Henry Bear was born in Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, and was of German stock. He was a son of an early pioneer of Montgomery coun- ty, was a good farmer, and by his first wife had one child, Catherine; and by his second wife, Ellen Bruner, the following children: Albert S., Florence, Ira, Paul and Myrtle. Mr. Bear is still living and is now eighty-three years of age. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Coler settled in Jackson township, on the line of German township, on a farm of 264 acres of land, which Mr. Coler purchased. After six- teen years of successful farming he removed to his present farm, where he owns 165 acres of excellent land, beside several pieces of prop- erty in the city of Dayton. In 1894 Mr. Coler moved to West Dayton, but spends several months during the summer and fall on his farm , two miles southeast of Farmersville, on the Germantown and Farmersville pike. In 1862 Mr. Coler was commissioned captain of com- pany C, Twelfth regiment, Ohio national guard, which position he held until entering the United States service in the spring of 1864. On the call of the president for troops, 58 Mr. Coler reported for duty May 2nd, and was commissioned first lieutenant of company F, One Hundred and Thirty-first regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, was on duty in Virginia and Maryland, was honorably discharged August 25, 1864, and with his company re- turned to Dayton. Politically Mr. Coler is ai republican and Mr. and Mrs. Coler were pres- ent at the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln, the first president of the party. Mr. Coler, was a member of the Sixty-first general assembly of Ohio, the only man save one elected on the republican ticket in Montgomery county in the fall of 1873. While in the legislature in 1875, he advocated the enlargement of the Miami & Erie canal to the capacity of the Erie canal of New York, and introduced a resolu- tion to that effect. Mr. and Mrs. Coler are members of the Baptist Brethren church. Mr. Coler being an educated man, has always taken a deep in- terest in educational matters, and has for sev- eral years served as manager of the Farmers' institute, to which he has contributed papers. He is a member of the G A. R. , Carlton Bear post, 516, Germantown, also a member of the P. of H., and has always sympathized with the interests of the farmers. He has also taken an active interest in school affairs, serving as a member of the school board for several years. Mr. Coler is a man of wide reading and has a well-selected library. He- has long enjoyed the confidence of the people- and has been called upon to settle a number of estates, and has transacted much business with the courts. A public-spirited man, he has aided churches, favored good roads, andl encouraged all enterprises calculated to advance the public good. In the many positions of trust which he has filled, he has been faithful and true, having given entire satisfaction to all who were associated with him, and having won credit for himself in every capacity, 1286 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD ***-* EWIS F. HOFFMAN, of Randolph f township, Montgomery county, Ohio, \ is a son of one of the early pioneers. His ancestors were of strong Penn- sylvania-Dutch stock. His great-grandfather came to the United States from Germany in about 1750, when he was sixteen years of age. The tradition is that two brothers came to America at that time, and that their services were soJd to pay their passage across the sea, as was often the case in those early days. George Hoffman, grandfather of Lewis F., was born June 21, 1775, was married in Perry county, Pa., to Elizabeth Limpard, and their children were as follows : Philip, Joseph, John, Catherine, Barbara, Martha, Jesse, Lewis, Levi and George. The father, George Hoffman, was a farmer and also manufacturer of woolen goods in Pennsylvania, and in 18 19 removed to Montgomery county, Ohio, with his wife and children, making the journey with a team of five horses and a big wagon. He settled in Randolph township, one mile south of Harrisburg. where he bought land. He cleared this land from the woods, and ex- perienced all the hardships and deprivations of pioneer life, becoming a most substantial farmer, owning 300 acres of productive land. George Hoffman lived to be nearly sixty-four years of age, dying April 1, 1839. He was a prominent ministerof the Methodist Episcopal church, and was among the first to preach at Conccrd, before there was any church build- ing erected in that part of the country, the meetings being held in his house. He was one of the founders of the church at Concord, and was accustomed to preach in all parts of the county. He died on his farm, regretted by all who knew him as a man of great worth and usefulness. Joseph Hoffman, father of Lewis F. , was born in Pennsylvania in 1801, and was about eighteen years of age when he drove the team brought to Ohio in 18 19. Receiving his edu- cation in the subscription schools of his youth- ful days, he was brought up to farm labor and became a good farmer and business man. In his early life he was a teamster, and hauled flour, whisky, etc. His first wife was Sarah Worman, and by her he had the following children: Eliza, David, Anna, Levina, Solo- mon, Mahala, Jesse, Levi and Sarah. After his first marriage Mr. Hoffman settled in Ran- dolph township, on 106 acres of land, which he bought of his father, and by toil and econ- omy he added to this farm eighty acres, so that he had a good farm of 186 acres, which he partially cleared from the woods, and upon which he erected a comfortable dwelling. After the death of his first wife he married Mary Fry, by whom he had two children, Lewis F. and William R. Mr. Hoffman was a practical and successful farmer. He also followed team- ing to Cincinnati, and afterward to Dayton for some time. He was a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and in politics was in his early life an old-line whig and later a repub- lican. His two sons, Lewis F. and William R. , entered the one hundred days' service, in com- pany A, One Hundred and Forty-seventh regi- ment, Ohio volunteer infantry. Their time hav- ing expired, William R. re-enlisted for one year, and died while in service, at Columbus, Ohio. Joseph Hoffman died in 1863, aged about sixty-two years, leaving the record of a busy and useful career. Lewis F. Hoffman was born on his father's farm, November 15, 1842, and received the common-school education of the time, which was of a higher order than that obtainable in the boyhood of his father or of his grandfather. On May 2, 1864, he enlisted in company A, One Hundred and Forty-seventh Ohio volun- teer infantry, for one hundred days, and was discharged from the service, by reason of expi- ration of his term of enlistment, in August, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1287 1864. His service was rendered at Arlington Heights, and on the farm of the Confederate leader, Gen. Lee, and he saw quite active service during Gen. Early's raid on Washington. On September 24, 1867, he married Miss Mary A. Maugens, who was born January 10, 1847, near Tippecanoe, Miami county, Ohio, and is a daughter of John and Olive (Jenkins) Maugens, the former of whom was born in Frederick county, Md. , of German ancestors. John Maugens was a son of David and Cath- erine (Blickenstaff) Maugens. The Maugens family is an ancient one in Maryland. The children of David and Catherine Maugens were Elizabeth, John and Mary. David Maugens was a well-to-do farmer, and lived to a great age. John Maugens came to Ohio when a young man, was married in Miami county, and his children were David K. and Mary A. Mr. Maugens, who was a capable and enterprising citizen, died in Miami county when his daugh- ter, afterward Mrs. Hoffman, was nine months old. Olive Jenkins, his wife, was a daughter of Esquire David Jenkins, a pioneer of Miami county. David Jenkins was twice married, his first wife being Rosetta Russell, and his second wife Ann Pierson. Mr. Jenkins was a well- known pioneer and a justice of the peace for forty years. In early times the elections were held at his house. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hoff- man settled on the home farm of fifty-four acres, which he has greatly improved and brought to an advanced condition of produc- tiveness, and upon which he is engaged in the raising of nursery stock. His children are as follows: Homer K., born November 10, I 868; Theodore C, born November 10, 1871; Albert, born May 31, 1876; and Howard, born September 7, 1882. In politics Mr. Hoffman is a republican, and has six times been elected trustee of Randolph township, serving nine years. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Hoffman takes great interest in educational affairs, and has served on the school board for six years. Fraternally he was formerly a member of St. John lodge, of the Masonic fraternity, and is a member of Little York lodge, No. 696, I. O. O. F., and has filled all the chairs. Mr. Hoff- man is a progressive and capable citizen, standing high in the estimation of his friends and neighbors. <>^V ANIEL BOOMERSHINE, of Farm- I ersville, Montgomery county, Ohio, ^^^J and a prominent farmer of Jackson township, is a grandson of one of the original pioneers. He springs from German stock, his grandfather, Henry Boomershine, having been born in Prussia, Germany. Henry Boomershine was impressed into the German army and became one of King George Ill's Hessian soldiers in the war of the Revolution, coming to America with them to aid in sup- pressing the revolt against the rule of that king. Like many others of the Hessian troops, he took advantage of his opportunity to remain in America and to become a citizen of the country. Settling in Pennsylvania, he married and became the father of the following children: Peter, Henry, Jacob, Abraham, John, Susan and Elizabeth. Mr. Boomershine moved with his family to Ohio some time during the last decade of the eighteenth century, settling in Hamilton, Butler county. In 1802 he moved to German township, Montgomery county, settling on the north line of the township on 160 acres of land, all of which was covered with dense woods, he being one of the very first to settle in that part of the country. Mr. Boomershine was one of the first mem- bers of the Evangelical Lutheran church in his vicinity, and in politics was a thorough- li?SS CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD going Jacksonian democrat. He was a typi- cal pioneer and the founder of his family in Ohio. He lived to the great age of eighty- eight years, dying in 1836. Abraham Boomershine, father of Daniel, was born in Hamilton, Butler county, December 25, 1801, and was three months old when his parents came to Montgomery county. Reared in the wilderness, he attended one of the old- fashioned log school-houses, 14 x 14 feet in size, which was four miles from his home and which was reached by going through the woods the entire distance, a path having been made and marked out for the purpose. This school, however, he attended but a short time, learning to read German at home. Becoming a farmer, he married Catherine Cook, who was born in 1794, in Berks county, Pa., and was a daughter of Frederick and Margaret Cook, the former of whom was of Pennsylvania- Dutch stock, and a pioneer of Jackson town- ship. Abraham Boomershine settled at first in Germantown, where he lived two years, and then removed to eighty acres of land in the woods, one-half mile from Farmersville, on which not a stick of timber had been cut. By hard work he cleared up this farm and added other acres thereto until at length he owned 239 acres, and became a wealthy and substantial citizen, erecting excellent farm buildings, among the best in his township. He and his wife had the following children: Henry, Abraham, Michael, Lewis, Daniel, William F., Elizabeth, Catherine and Sarah. The parents were members of the Lutheran church, and in politics Mr. Boomershine was a democrat. He died in June, 1889, at the great age of eighty-nine. Daniel Boomershine was born June 18, 1838, on the Boomershine homestead. Re- ceiving a common-school education, he was reared a farmer, and on June 6, 1867, married Sarah A. Peck, who was born August 13, 1844, in German township, and is a daughter of James W. and Phebe (Snethen) Peck. James W. Peck was born in Kentucky, Au- gust 22, 1803, of English ancestors, and his wife was also born in Kentucky, February 8, 1808. They were married in Montgomery county, August 17, 1834. James W. Peck came to Ohio when a boy, and received the common-school education of his day. While a young man he followed teaming, and settled on eighty acres of land in German township, which were covered over with timber, but which he cleared and made fertile and pro- ductive. His children were : Susannah, George E., Mary J., Hannah, James F., Elizabeth, John, Samuel, Sarah, Alexander and Matilda. Mr. and Mrs. Peck were mem- bers of the Christian church of Franklin, and in politics Mr. Peck was a republican. Mrs. Peck died January 10, 1865, aged about fifty- eight years. Mr. Peck died November 4, 1869, aged sixty-six years. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Boomer- shine settled on the old homestead, lived there three years, and then one year at Boomer- shine mill. He then removed to Farmersville in 1 87 1, and worked six years in a mill in which he owned an interest with his brothers, Michael, Lewis and William — a flouring and saw-mill on Big Twin creek. He was afterward engaged in the butcher business for five years; he bought the Boomershine homestead in 1883 and enrered into the lumber and coal busi- ness. As a democrat he has held the office of constable for six years, and has been collector of delinquent taxes for twenty-two years, and treasurer of the town of Farmersville four years, also treasurer of Jackson township six years, all, as will be seen, being offices of trust. He was one of the charter members of Farmersville lodge No. 482, F. & A. M., and has held the offices therein of junior warden, junior deacon and treasurer. OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1289 Mr. and Mrs. Boomershine are members of the Reformed church, of which he has held the office of treasurer. To Mr. and Mrs. Boomershine there has been born one son, Clement L. Boomershine. Clement L. Boomershine, who is at pres- ent mayor of Farmersville, was born Septem- ber 14, 1868, on the Boomershine homestead. He was first taught in the public schools, and afterward attended the Heidelberg university at Tiffin, Ohio, where he graduated June 21, 1889. After teaching school in Jackson town- ship one year he was elected justice of the peace in 1890, and has ever since filled that office. He was elected mayor of Farmersville in the spring of 1893, and re-elected in the spring of 1895. He is a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity and secretary of his lodge. Politically Mr. Boomershine is a democrat, and is deservedly popular not only in Farm- ersville but throughout the county, where his professional and business ability are generally recognized. When first elected justice of the peace he was but twenty-two years of age, and when first elected mayor of Farmersville he was only twenty-five years of age, facts which in themselves testify strongly to his ability and popularity. •""V* HEREBIAH JOSEPH BRADFORD, *^^fc£ a prosperous farmer of Van Buren k^_J township, Montgomery county, and a member of a prominent Ohio family, and one of the oldest families of the United States, was born October 12, 1870, on the farm upon which he now resides. He was trained to be a farmer, and has made an unquestioned success in that vocation. He is a son of George G. and Elizabeth (Butterfield) Brad- ford. On the first of September, 1892, he was married to Miss Annie E. Rice, daughter of Fleming and Mary E. (Miller) Rice, and has one child, George Fleming. Mr. and Mrs. S. J. Bradford are members of the United Presbyterian church, and in politics he is an independent republican. He farms 165 acres of the old homestead, upon which his grand- father settled many years ago. It is finely improved and has upon it one of the best orchards in the county. George G. Bradford, father of S. J. Brad- ford, was born on the farm upon which he now lives, March 14, 1833. He is a son of George G. and Margaret (McCandless) Bradford, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. They were the parents of nine children, five sons and four daughters, only two of whom are now living, viz: J. J. and George G., the latter being the father of S. J. Bradford. George G. Bradford, the grandfather, was a farmer and died in 1841, when his son, George G., was eight years of age. His wife died in 1882, aged seventy-six years. She and her husband were members of the Presbyterian church, and he was a soldier in the war of 18 12. The great-grandfather of S. J. Bradford was of Scotch-Irish ancestry and a native of Pennsylvania. He came to Ohio at an early day, and located in Van Buren township, north of Beavertown, Montgomery county, where he bought land and lived until his death, which occurred when he was very old. He had a family of eight children. The maternal grandfather of George G. Bradford was James McCandless, of Scotch ancestry and a school- teacher. George G. Bradford, father of S. J. Brad- ford, has always lived on his present farm. After his father's death this farm was divided between him and his brother, George G. still later purchasing his brother's share. On March 29, 1S60, he married Miss Elizabeth Butterfield, daughter of Sherebiah A. and Mary Butterfield. To this marriage there were 1290 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD born six children, three sons and three daugh- ters, four of whom are still living, as follows: Annie, Sherebiah J., Jennie and Blanche. Annie married William Bryan, of Dayton, and has two children, Alonzo and Marguerite. Sherebiah J. married Miss Annie E. Rice, and is living on the farm. Jennie and Blanche are living at home. Mr. and Mrs. George G. Bradford are members of the United Brethren church, and in politics he is a republican. The Bradfords of Van Buren township de- scended from John Bradford, who was a first cousin of William Bradford, the second gov- ernor of Massachusetts. John Bradford, the founder of the family in this state, came to Ohio in 1800, settling in Beavertown in 1801, and bringing with him a family of nine chil- dren. Here he carried on farming, and here died at an advanced age. He was a native of Pennsylvania, and married Miss Mary Gilles- pie July 15, 1782. To them there were born twelve children, the names and dates of birth of whom are as follows: Robert, born Janu- ary 7, 1784, and died March 4, 1795; George G., born April 29, 1787, and died June 1, 1840; John, born April 25, 1790, and died February 9, 1863; Jean Eleanor, born March 14, 1792, and died April 19, 1831; James G., born Jan- uary 27, 1794, and died October 14, 1823; William, born May 15, 1796, and died Septem- ber 25, 1862; Samuel D., born September 22, 1798; Mary, born December 15, 1800, and died June 28, 1812; Margaret, born February 22, 1803, and died March 16, 1856; David D., born July 30, 1805, and died April 8, 1833; Martha Allen, born October 27, 1807, and died April 16, 1808; Allen, born December 12, 1809, and died October 25, 1866. John Bradford, father of the above-named children, died March 22, 1820. Robert Charl- ton and Jean E. Bradford were married May 29, 1817. James G. Bradford and Caty Ann Conover were married October 7, 18 17. John Bradford and Rachel Retenhouse were mar- ried September 9, 1S19. George G. Bradford and Margaret McCandless were married March 29, 1 82 1. John Bigger and Mary Bradford were married October 23, 1823. Joseph Bigger and Margaret Bradford were married October 26, 1825. William Bradford and Margaret Logan were married May 2, 1825. Samuel D. Brad- ford and Mary Ann Johnston were married April 24, 1S27. David D. Bradford and Ser- phina Crane were married May 10, 1827. Allen Bradford and Eliza Johnston were mar- ried December 20, 1831. John Bradford was one of the first settlers in the vicinity of Dayton. He came to Ohio in the year 1800, and located near Cincinnati, where he remained one year, and then entered 160 acres of land a short distance south of Dayton, upon which he moved with his family in 1 80 1. To him and his wife there were born twelve children, of whom all save two lived to adult years. All of those that reached ma- turity followed farming for a living. In 1801, when Mr. Bradford settled near the present site of Dayton, there were but four log cabins within about five miles, and one of these was on the bank of the river at the head of what is now known as Main street. George G. Bradford, grandfather of S. J. Bradford, was born in Redstone, Pa., and came with his father, John Bradford, to Cin- cinnati. Afterward he located on a farm near Beavertown, which farm was later owned by George D. Bradford. George G. Bradford married Miss Margaret McCandless, daughter of James McCandless. To this marriage there were born nine children, as follows: James J.; Mary A. ; John; Jane A. ; William; George G., father of the subject of this sketch; Mar- garet; Martha D.; and Joseph A., all of whom lived to be men and women. George G. Brad- ford was a member of the Associate Reformed church, and in politics he was a whig. His OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1291 death occurred June i, 1840, and his widow died September 17, 1872. James J. Bradford, son of the above-named George G. and Margaret Bradford, and who is a deacon in the United Presbyterian church, supplied this work with most of the history and genealogy of the Bradford family. He was born February 13, 1822, and, of course, had but limited educational advantages in his youth. He lost his father when he was eighteen years of age, and the duty of caring for the family devolved upon him. For eleven years he worked for his mother by the month, and this was the way in which he began life on his own account. By dint of hard work, integrity of purpose and a natural aptitude for business, he became a prosperous and wealthy man. On February 13, 1861, he married Miss Har- riet P. Wead, who was born August 26, 18 19, and was a daughter of Robert and Mary Wead, of Van Buren township. To this marriage there was born one daughter, Mary G., born July 30, 1862. James J. Bradford has been for many years a deacon in the United Pres- byterian church. In politics he is a repub- lican, and while he has not sought office, he has been elected to various positions of honor and trust. His wife's parents, Robert and Mary Wead, settled near Beavertown in 1799. They reared a family of eleven children, ten of whom lived to become men and women, but only four of them are now living. The father of Mrs. Bradford, Robert Wead, was born September 17, 1781, in York county. Pa. He was by trade a tailor, and removed with his family to Kentucky in 1797, remaining in that state two years. He married Miss Jane Gip- son, who was born February 13, 1784, the marriage occurring September 30, 1806. They were the parents of two children, John S. and Mary J. Mrs. Wead died November 7, 181 1, and for his second wife Mr. Wead married Miss Mary Gipson, who was born April 5, 1788. Their marriage took place November 25, 1813, and they became the parents of nine children, as follows: Ebenezer G. ; Eliza; Harriet P.; William W. ; James W. ; Samuel G. ; Margaret H. ; Joseph W. , and one that died in infancy. The others lived to become men and women, but only four of them are now living. Mr. Wead was a member of the Associate Reformed church, and in politics was a whig. His second wife died September 12, 1871, and he died July 30, 1873, being then nearly ninety-two years of age. He had lived on his farm near the asylum more than sixty-seven years. Elizabeth (Butterfield) Bradford, mother of S. J. Bradford, is a daughter of Sherebiah and Mary Butterfield. Mr. Butterfield was a descendant and representative of an ancient and noble family of Scotland, which for about three hundred years owned one of the re- nowned castles of that country. At the time of the contest between England and Scotland, which resulted in the union of the two kingdoms, an old man and his five sons were banished to the American colonies. They landed in Bos- ton, Mass. , and it is from them that the But- terfields of this country have descended. One of these five sons was the father of Benjamin Butterfield, the father of John Butterfield, the father of Jeremiah Butterfield, the latter of whom was born in Massachusetts March 4, 1776. In 1787 John Butterfield traveled through the northwest territory, now Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and on into the country then belonging to Spain. In 1800 he made a second journey through this great section of country, accompanied by nis brother and brother-in-law, who returned in the fall. He was engaged in surveying and assisted in establishing the Ludlow line of survey. In 1799 Jeremiah Butterfield married Mary Campbell, a native of Massachusetts, who was born in 1781. Returning to New York he then in 1802 brought his wife to their new 1292 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD home in the wilderness, and erected his first cabin within the limits of Hamilton county, Ohio. Here he owned upward of a section of land, which he cleared and improved, but afterward built a house in Butler county, where the remainder of his life was spent. Mr. Butterfield traveled thousands of miles in the wild western country, and endured many hard- ships seldom experienced even by the pioneers. He traveled on foot, on horseback, and in every way then in vogue. He swam and waded streams, exposed himself to danger from wild beasts and Indians, as well as to the diseases peculiar to a new and unsettled country, yet came through all unharmed. After settling in Butler county he dealt largely in hogs, making frequent trips by means of flat boats to New Orleans. On arriving in that city he sometimes found the market over- stocked with hogs, and would then take ship for Havana, Cuba. Sherebiah Butterfield, eldest son of Jere- miah, was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, was reared a farmer and was familiar with all the trials and hardships of the pioneer farmer's life. He used to accompany his father on his trips down the Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans. His marriage was celebrated in 1828, and his grandson, Sherebiah J. Bradford, has in his possession a gun which Mr. Butterfield's uncle carried through the Revolutionary war, and which his father carried on his journeys in the northwest. In the entire city of New York there is per- haps no more interesting spot than Trinity churchyard. Upon one of the tombstones therein is the following epitaph: •' Here lies the body of Mr. William Brad- ford, Printer, who departed this life May 23, 1752, aged ninety-two years. He was born in Liecestershire, in Old England, in 1660, and came over to America in 1682, before the city of Philadelphia was laid out. He was Printer to this government for upward of fifty years, and, being quite worn out with old age and labor, he left this mortal state in the lively hopes of a blessed immortality. " Reader, reflect how soon you'll quit this Stage. You'll tint! but few attain to such an Age. Life's full of Pain: Lo ! Here's a place of Rest. Prepare to meet your God, then you are blest." " Here also lies the body of Elizabeth, wife to the said William Bradford, who departed this life July 8, 1 73 1 , aged sixty-eight years.' Vy^ ALTER L. MARTINDALE, one of mm the younger members of the bar of \_jLzl the fifth generation bearing his name in the Buckeye state, is a son of Capt. Samuel and Melvina Cary (Strong) Martindale, allusion to the former of whom is made in the history of Martindale family, and whose biography in full will be found on page 1304. Capt. Samuel Martindale was born Janu- ary 10, 1830, in Monroe township, Miami county, Ohio, a son of John and Amelia (Camp- bell) Martindale, and was always a tiller of the soil. He received a good common-school education, also attended the college at Dela- ware, Ohio, for a year or more, and continued to live on the paternal farm until twenty-three years of age, when he married, in Butler township, Montgomery county, June 3, 1853, Miss Melvina Cary Strong, who was born in Butler township, April 14, 1835, a daughter of John and Sarah (Pearson) Strong. Col. John Strong, Sr. , great-grandfather of Walter L. Martindale, was born February 17, 1724, and was married to Louisa Crouch, his first wife, in 1744; to them were born four children. He was married to his fourth wife, Deliverance Cary, whose maiden name was Grant, widow of Dr. Samuel Cary, of Lynn, N. H., in 1786; of this last marriage were born John Strong, Jr., at North Hetford, Vt. , March 2 5> I 7^7> an d Zebulon Strong, born Septem- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1295 ber 7, 1788. Col. John Strong, Sr. , died No- vember 17, 1795, aged seventy-one years. His wife, Deliverance Strong, died at Cincin- nati in 1 8 10. When a young man, in company with his brother, Zebulon, John Strong, father of Mrs. Martindale, came to Ohio and located at Col- lege Hill, near Cincinnati, where he was em- ployed for some years at his trade of carpenter and cabinet-maker, and first married, Febru- ary 4, 1 8 1 3, Miss Sarah Pearson, who was born April 7, 1793. In August, 1832, he came to Butler township, Montgomery county, and in 1833 entered 319^ acres of land, all in the woods. He proved to be a capable farmer and added 120 acres to his first entry, and his homestead was one of the best in the township in its day. In politics he was a whig and in his religious views was independent. To his first marriage were born the following-named children: Sarah, John, George, Mary, Eber, Gil- bert L., Julia Ann, Benjamin G. , Bela F. and Melvina C. — all now deceased with the excep- tion of the youngest (Mrs. Martindale). Mrs. Strong died January 25, 1846, a devoted mem- ber of the Methodist church, and September 20, 1852, Mr. Strong married Phebe French, but to this union no children were born. Mr. Strong was himself called away January 15, 1897, a t the age of seventy-nine years, nine months and twenty days, and no man of his day stood higher in the esteem of the commu- nity. Mrs. Phebe (French) Strong survived until 1895. Samuel Martindale and wife, at their mar- riage, first located on a part of the Strong homestead, where they made their home until 1869, but between these two dates a digression may be made in order to record the war history of Mr. Martindale, which must be brief: In August, 1 86 1, he enlisted in Dayton, and was assigned to the recruiting service. He organ- ized a company in Butler township for the three years' service, which was mustered in at Camp Hamilton, September 9, 1861, as com- pany H, Thirty-fifth Ohio volunteer infantry, of which company he was commissioned first lieutenant, under Capt. Michael Gunckel, and took part in the engagements of Corinth, Perryville, Tullahoma, Chickamauga, Mission- ary Ridge, Buzzard's Roost, Atlanta, Dalton, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Chattanooga, Pine Mountain (general assault) and Peach Tree Creek. He was promoted to be captain of his company in October, 1862; at the siege of Chattanooga his hearing was destroyed through concussion caused by the bursting of a shell (1863), and he was finally honorably discharged, at the same point, April 8, 1864. Capt. Martindale, after his return from the war, remained on the Strong homestead, as stated, until 1869. He then moved to the western part of Butler township and settled on a farm of 143 acres, was industrious and man- aged well, and in due course of time acquired 800 acres, located in Butler township, Mont- gomery county, and in Union township, Miami county. Before the war and during its prog- ress Mr. Martindale was in politics a repub- lican, but afterward became a democrat. He held the office of county commissioner from 1872 to 1875, and served also, at different periods, as township treasurer and township trustee, and was likewise an officer in several stock companies; fraternally, he was a mem- ber of the Dayton lodge of Freemasons, and in religion was a consistent member of the United Brethren church. To the marriage of Capt. and Mrs. Martin- dale were born the following children: Ed- mund D., Warren O., Florence L., Samuel C, Wilson C, Walter L., Urilla A. and Ar- thur A. The death of the captain took place April 29, 1894, at the age of a little over sixty-four years. He was a faithful soldier, always active and prompt in the discharge of 1296 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD his duty; was possessed of excellent business abilities; he was a loving husband, a kind father, faithful and warm in his friendships, and a power in the community in which he lived. Mrs. Martindale is now living in Har- risburg. Through her father she is connected with the well-known New England family of Carys and also with the famous Ohio poets, Alice and Phebe Cary. Walter L Martindale, the subject proper of this biographical memoir, was born Decem- ber 19, 1868, on the Martindale (or John Strong) homestead in Butler township, Mont- gomery county, Ohio. His preliminary edu- cation was acquired in the district school, and when sufficiently advanced, he attended the Ohio Normal university at Ada. After his grad- uation from the literary department of this in- stitution, he taught school for five years — three in Ohio and two in New York state — at the same time studying law. He then entered the law department of the Ohio Normal university, and graduated from both the scientific and law departments in 1894, in which year, also, he was admitted to the bar of the state of Ohio. He at once entered upon the practice of his profession at Harrisburg, Montgomery county, where his abilities were speedily recognized, and where, during the short space of time since intervening, he has secured a patronage respectable in its proportions and remuner- ative in its returns. Mr. Martindale was happily united in mar- riage June 2, 1892, in Stokes township, Logan county, Ohio, with Miss Minnie L. Brubaker, who was born October 8, 1871, a daughter of Joseph T. and Sarah (Loudenbock) Brubaker. For a year after marriage, Mr. Martindale taught school in Vandalia, Montgomery county, and it was shortly after the birth of his daugh- ter, Ethel M., July 13, 1894, that he located in Harrisburg, his present home. In politics he is a democrat, and fraternally is a member of the I. O. O. F. lodge at Union, Ohio. As a citizen he is respected and well-to-do, own- ing 350 acres of excellent farming land, and as an attorney is well-equipped, popular and unusually successful. Joseph T. Brubaker, father of Mrs. Martin- dale, was born November 12, 1846, in Page county, Va., and is a son of Peter Brubaker, who was of Pennsylvania descent, and in Page county, Va. , was a wealthy planter and slave- holder and the father of the following children: Joseph T., John, Perry, Abraham, Charles, Emma and Linna. Joseph T. Brubaker was a well-educated gentleman, and married, in Champaign county, Ohio, December 15, 1870, Sarah R. Loudenbock, and first located in Washington township, Logan county, on Loudenbock land, comprising 218 acres, and later settled on 100 acres of his own land in Stokes township. His wife died May 13, 1874, the mother of two children — Minnie L. (Mrs. Martindale) and one that died in infancy. Mr. Brubaker still resides on his farm and is an ex- cellent citizen. During the Civil war he was drafted into the Confederate army at the age of eighteen years, and served until the close. «>^\ OBERT CARSON, one of the ex- ■ /^ soldiers of the late Civil war, springs P from Scotch ancestry, his parents be- ing natives of Scotland. He was born October 3, 1838, on the Atlantic ocean off the banks of Newfoundland, while his par- ents were on their voyage to the United States. Reared in Newark, New Jersey, he received there a good common-school education, and when twelve years old became a cabin boy on the sea, sailing until he was fifteen years of age, and visiting different countries. After some further schooling he taught for a time, and then learned the painter's trade. In 1862 he enlisted at Buffalo, N. Y., for three years, or OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1297 during the war, in company B, Sixteenth New York volunteer infantry, which regiment, after seeing some service, was consolidated with the Twelfth New York volunteer infantry. After serving nearly three years he was honorably dis- charged on account of wounds received in the service. At the time he was discharged, in 1865, he was in hospital at Washington, D. C. Mr. Carson was in many skirmishes in Virginia, on the Potomac river, at Alexandria, and was in Washington when Gen. Early made his famous raid on that city. He was also with Sherman on the march from Atlanta to the sea, and took part also in many skirmishes and foraging ex- peditions in the southern part of the country. He received his wound in the battle of Gettys- burg, in a cavalry charge, the ball passing through the right shoulder, paralyzing his en- tire right side and limbs. He lay in hospital at Washington eight months, and after leaving there went to Rochester and thence to Cham- bersburg, Ohio, where he had lived before the war, and where he owned land. Mr. Carson is a member of Weaver post, G. A. R. , of Vandalia, Ohio. In politics he is a republican, and in religion a Presbyterian. He is one of those who served his country well during her hour of need and trial, and thereby lost his health, and partially lost the use of his body. John L. Carson, his father, was born in Scotland, near the town of Dumfries, learned there the trade of painter, and married Mar- garet Miller. They became the parents of two children — Robert and Isabella. Mr. Car- son came to the United States in 1838, settling in Newark, N. J., where Mrs. Carson died. By a second marriage Mr. Carson became the father of five children. John L. Carson and his first wife were members of the Presbyterian church, his second wife being a member of the Baptist church. Robert Carson first married Mary Brooker, of Chambersburg, who died February 24, 1894, and who was a member of the United Breth- ren church. His second marriage took place October 21, 1895, at Chambersburg, Ohio, to Kate Hilderbrand, a widow, whose maiden name was Watkins, and who was a daughter of David and Angeline (Whittacer) Watkins. David Watkins is a prominent citizen of War- ren county, and his children were Oscar, Kate, Almira and Esther. Mr. Watkins' first wife died, and he then married Jerusha Witcey, by whom he had one daughter, Emma. »-j'OHN W. DRILL, of Chambersburg, ■ Ohio, one of the old soldiers of the late m 1 Civil war, is a son of George and Je- mima (Leakins) Drill. He was born February 9, 1828, in Frederick county, Md., and was brought the same year to Montgomery county, Ohio, by his parents. Reared among the pioneers, he acquired their habits and cus- toms, and was educated in the little log school- house, common in the country in the days of his boyhood. When he was about twenty-one years of age he married, November 30, 1849, Lebina Hosier, who was born in Butler town- ship, October 21, 1829, and was a daughter of Robert and Nancy (Compton) Hosier. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Drill settled on land in Harrison township, which Mr. Drill had pur- chased, and lived thereon two years, when he sold it and bought ten and a half acres, where he now lives. To Mr. and Mrs. Drill there were born the following children: Martha J., who died at the age of three years; Mary J., who died at the age of twenty-eight years; Nancy and Jemima; Robert, who died in in- fancy; and Josephine. The mother of these children died December 11, 1896. Mr. Drill enlisted in October, 1 861 , in Capt. Walter Crook's company, F, Seventy-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, to serve three v ears L298 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD or during the war, and was honorably dis- charged at Savannah, Ga., by reason of the ex- piration of his term of service, January 6, 1865. At the time of his enlistment Mr. Drill was thirty-five years of age and left at home his wife and one child. He was at the battles of Stone River, Chickamauga, Lookout Mount- ain, Missionary Ridge and many smaller bat- tles and skirmishes, including all of those of the great Atlanta campaign, when the Union troops were under fire for four months. He was in the battle in which Gen. McPherson fell, and in that of Jonesboro, after which he went with Sherman to the sea. He was in the battle of Savannah, and that at Columbia, after which he was discharged, his term of service having expired. Sent by ship from Hilton Head to New York, he returned home from this latter city. He was one of the for- tunate soldiers of the war, never being wounded nor taken prisoner and being sick in the hos- pital at Nashville only three weeks. He was in all the marches, campaigns, battles, and skirmishes in which his regiment was engaged, and was always prompt and cheerful in the per- formance of his duties. As a republican he has held the office of supervisor ten years and is an honored member of Yandalia post, No. 94, G. A. R. George W. Drill, father of John W., was born in Frederick count}', Md., October 7, 17S7, and married in that county Jemima Lea- kins, who was born December 6, 1791, in the same county. Their children were Daniel. Elizabeth, Jacob, George. John W. , Ann R. and Thomas. All except Ann R. lived to ma- ture years. In 1828 Mr. Drill came to Mont- gomery county, Ohio, making the journey with a four-horse wagon and a one-horse carriage, or rockaway, as it was called. He settled in Harrison township, three miles from Dayton, at Ebenezer church. Here he purchased 160 acres of land, mostly Stillwater bottom land. With the exception of ten acres he cleared this tract of its timber, made of it a fine farm and lived thereon the remainder of his days, dying January 26, 1835. His wife died June 23, i860, at the residence of John W. Drill. Mr. Drill was a member of the Protestant Episco- pal church, and the Ebenezer Methodist Epis- copal church was built on his land. He was of German ancestry, his father having come from Germany to the United States. Robert Hosier was born in Virginia, was a farmer by vocation and was a teamster in the war of 18 1 2. He married in Montgomery county, to which he came when about thirty years of age. His wife was Nancy Compton, born in South Carolina, daughter of William and Tetty Compton, both of English descent. Robert Hosier was one of the original pioneers of Montgomery county, settling here when there was but one store in Dayton. He en- tered 300 acres of land one-half mile east of Chambersburg before the Indians had left the country. He and his wife had the following children: Nancy, Isaac, Zimri, Rebecca, Rho- da. Mary, Joshua. Eli, Leona and one that died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Hosier were members of the Christian church, and he was well known throughout the country as a sturdy and prosperous pioneer. (D OSES EVANS, one of the most sub- stantial fanners of Butler township, whose post-office is Fidelity, Ohio, springs from Welsh ancestry. His grandfather, Joseph Evans, was a farmer of Georgia, and in 1773 married in that state Miss Esther Buffington. Their children were Sam- uel, born January 27, 1775; Hannah, born October 27, 1776; Isaac, born November 7, 1778; Moses, born September 24, 1780; Mar- garet, born October 17, 1782; Adam, born De- cember 30, 1784; John, born February 16, OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1299 1787; Robert, born February 7, 1789; Phebe, born December 13, 1790; Mary, born Decem- ber 8, 1792; Aaron, born January 13, 1794, and Sally, born May 31, 1797. Joseph Evans, father of these children, moved to Ohio in 1802 by means of wagons. The Evans family were Quakers, and moved away from Georgia on account of their opposi- tion to slavery. They settled in Butler town- ship, Montgomery county, near Yandalia. Here Mr. Evans passed his remaining days, dying August 31, 1828, when seventy-nine years and eleven days old. Esther Buffington, his wife, was born February 1, 1756, and died May 30, 1830. Mr. Evans was one of the sturdy, thrifty pioneers, and owned land enough to give each of his children a good farm. Robert Evans, his son, and the father of Moses Evans, was born in Georgia, and ac- cording to his own statement was a small boy when the family moved to Ohio. Robert Evans received a fair common-school educa- tion in his youth, and became a farmer. July 12, 1812, he married Esther Jenkins, of Ohio, daughter of Thomas Jenkins. Mr. Evans after his marriage settled in Miami county on 170 acres of land, which he cleared from the woods. The town of Tippecanoe, Ohio, now stands on this farm. Mr. Evans became a prosperous man, and bought additional land for his chil- dren. This land lay in St. Joseph's county, Ind. Politically he was an old-line whig and later a republican, and a strong Union man. Four of his sons were in the Union army, Jesse, Robert, Moses and Eli. The first three were in company G, One Hundred and Forty- seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, and served 100 days, and Eli served in an Indiana regi- ment. Mr. Evans was a Quaker in religious belief, like his ancestors before him. His children by his first wife were Thomas, Joseph, William, Moses, Morris, Eli and Esther, all of whom grew to mature years, and all married and reared families. There were several other children who died young. The mother of these children died January 26, 1835, an d Mr. Evans again married, his second wife being Mary Jenkins, by whom he had the following children: Jesse, Mary L., Robert, Elizabeth and one that died young. Moses Evans was born January 17, 1826, on his father's farm in Monroe township, Miami county, Ohio. His early education was only a limited one, but sufficient for all the practical purposes of a farmer's life. When about twenty-one years old he married, on February 25, 1847, Elizabeth Pearson, who was a daughter of Noah and Florentine Pearson. Noah Pearson was an excellent man and a good farmer of Miami county. His children were Simeon, William, Elizabeth, Mary and Henrietta. Mr. Pearson was also a Quaker in religion and lived to the age of seventy years. After their marriage Moses Evans and wife settled in Monroe township, within four miles of Tippecanoe, on his father's farm, of which his father gave him eighty acres. In 1865 he sold it and moved to his present farm of eighty acres, which he has much improved. His wife died October 13, 1856, a woman of excellent character and many virtues. December 31, 1857, Mr. Evans married Ruth Russell, who died April 25, 1859, leaving no children. On May 3, 1865, Mr. Evans married Delilah Fanner, a widow, whose maiden name was Yount. She was born in Montgomery county, July 21, 1833, and was a daughter of Solomon and Eve (Fouts) Yount. Solomon Yount was a son of John and Mary Yount, the former of whom was a pio- neer of Montgomery county and of German descent. He came with his family from North Carolina with the old Friends or Quakers, and settled in Butler township. His children were Frederick, Henry, Rebecca, Delilah and Solo- 1300 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD mon. Solomon Yount was born July 22, 1797, in North Carolina, and came with his parents to Ohio in 1802. He married Eve Yount, a widow, nee Fouts, who was a daughter of Michael and Elizabeth (Sinks) Fouts. Solo- mon Yount settled on the land where now lives Isaac Macy, which land he cleared and then removed to another farm in Butler town- ship, this latter farm containing 170 acres, and upon which he became a substantial farmer. His children by Eve Yount were Enos, Fred- erick, Mary, Roanna, Elizabeth and Delilah. He had previously been married to Joanna Insco, and by her had one child, Insco Yount. In religion Mr. Yount was a Quaker or Friend, and in politics was first a whig and then a republican. He died April 10, 1870, a man of most excellent character and of strict integrity. Mr. Evans is a member of the Christian church, as also his wife. He served in the one hundred days' service as a member of company E, One Hundred and Forty-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, and was stationed at Fort Marcy, W. Va. Mr. Evans is an hon- ored citizen, and has held the offices of super- visor and member of school board. By his first wife, he had four children who are now living: Hester M.; Nancy J.; Noah D. and Harriet. Mrs. Evans was married first to Allen Fanner, a farmer of Miami county, and by him had three children, Webster, Callie and Arnold. Allen Fanner died at the age of twenty-seven years. HE ARNOLD FAMILY.— Samuel, Joseph, Elizabeth, Henry H. and Abigail Arnold were born near Har- risonburg, Rockingham county, Ya., and with their parents, Daniel and Catherine 1 Harshbarger) Arnold, emigrated to Ohio in the year 1830. Samuel Arnold, a worthy citizen and pioneer settler of Wayne township, Montgomery coun- ty, Ohio, was born June 24, 18 17, and was thirteen years of age when brought to Ohio by his parents. He received a common-school education and became an energetic and suc- cessful farmer, managing the farm and raising the crops while his brothers worked in the saw- mill. At twenty-two years of age he married Miss Hannah Wolf, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Ullery) Wolf. Samuel Arnold, after marriage, settled on a farm of 110 acres on Little Bear creek, Montgomery county. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold are Jacob W., Abigail and Samuel A., all of whom are mar- ried and living on homes of their own in Mont- gomery county. Hannah (Wolf) Arnold was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, March 23, 1821, and died May 10, 1873. Samuel Arnold then, on March 3, 1878, married Mrs. Lizzie Stoneroad, who died in March, 1879. He then, in April, 1884, married Mrs. Polly Warner, with whom he is living a retired life near Brook- ville, Ohio. Samuel Arnold is of the Old Ger- man Baptist faith, and has held the office of deacon for many years. Rev. Joseph Arnold, a devout minister of the Old German Baptist church, was born Oc- tober 27, 18 1 8, and was twelve years of age when brought to Wayne township, Montgom- ery county. He received a good education and was reared on his father's farm. Being a natural mechanic, and particularly apt with carpenter's tools, he was able to erect all his own buildings, besides planning and aiding others in the construction of theirs. May 19, 1840, he married, in Clarke county, Ohio, Miss Elizabeth Frantz, who was born in Botetourt county, Ya., January 30, 1821, a daughter of Michael and Elizabeth (Crist) Frantz. Michael Frantz, father of Mrs. Arnold, was a native of Virginia, a grandson of Peter Frantz and a son of David and Elizabeth OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1301 (Garst) Frantz; David was a farmer, and died in middle life, the father of the following chil- dren: Michael, David, Abraham, Samuel, Christian, Jacob, Joseph, Annie, Elizabeth, Lydia and Susannah, all born in Botetourt county. After the death of her husband Mrs. Frantz came to Ohio and settled in Logan county, where she passed the remainder of her life, and in the year 1840, at seventy years of age, died in the faith of the Old German Bap- tist church. Michael Frantz, father of Mrs. Arnold, was born September, 1 791 , and mar- ried Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob and Marga- rette (Hoh) Crist, of Augusta county, Va., but who became residents of Botetourt county. Jacob and Margarette (Hoh) Crist reared a family of four daughters and one son, viz: Betsy, Barbara, Catherine, Jacob and Susan. Jacob Crist, the father of this family, died in Virginia, in 1805, aged about forty years; his widow, Margarette (Hoh) Crist, came to Ohio in 1826, and died in Clarke county in May, 1840, aged seventy-two years and five months. The children of Michael and Elizabeth (Crist) Frantz were David, Elizabeth and Catherine. Elizabeth (Crist) Frantz, the mother of Mrs. Arnold, died in Clarke county, Ohio, May 31, 1823, aged thirty years, seven months and seven days. The father next married Susan- nah Neher, and to this union were born John, Susannah, Lydia, Michael, Samuel and Annie. The mother of these children also died, and the father next married a widow, Catherine (Ohmarti Crist, who bore him one child, Aaron. Michael Frantz came to Ohio in 1823 and settled on 160 acres of land in Pike town- ship, Clarke county, cleared up a good farm from the forest, and died on his homestead in February, i860, aged sixty-eight years and five months. He was a member of the Old German Baptist church, and recognized as one of the most responsible and useful citizens of his township. After marriage, Joseph Arnold settled on his present homestead, which consists of seventy-six acres in Wayne township, Mont- gomery county, in a fine state of cultivation, and improved with a modern and commodious dwelling. Mr. Arnold also owns a fine farm of 126 acres in Miami county. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold have no children of their own, but have reared three with the kindest of parental care and affection, viz: Catherine Neher, who died at the age of twenty-two years; John and Melissa Baird, both now married and set- tled in life. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold are mem- bers of the Old German Baptist church. Mr. Arnold has been a minister since 1856, has ex- tended his labors in the cause of the church over at least twelve states of the Union, and has been in attendance at each annual confer- ence since 1870. Elizabeth Arnold was born November 29, 1 82 1, was nine years of age when brought to Wayne township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was here married to Daniel Funderburg in 1840, and settled on a farm of eighty acres in Miami county, Ohio, where Mr. Funderburg died in March, i860. Mrs. Elizabeth (Arnold) Funderburg married George W. Studebakerin February, 1863, and they are now living a re- tired life in Fredonia, Wilson county, Kans. Both are devout, active members of the Ger- man Baptist church, Mr. Studebaker being a minister and elder. Henry H. Arnold, one of the old-time farmers and mechanics of Wayne township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born January [ 1, 1827, and was but four years of age when brought to Ohio; he was reared to farming among the pioneers, received the usual com- mon-school education, and was also taught the use of tools, for which he had a natural aptitude, but he and his brother Joseph both worked in a saw-mill when young, and both learned to do millwright work. His maternal 1302 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD grandfather, Henry Harshbarger, who settled in Wayne township in 1830, at the same time with the Arnold family, bought the farm on which Henry H. now lives; this farm was then mostly in forest; game, such as deer and wild turkey, was plentiful. In the winter of 1830-31, he built a saw-mill on the farm on Dry Run, it being the first mill in Wayne township. He sold the farm in 1831 to his son-in-law, Daniel Arnold. This mill was run almost continuously until 1875, and here the two brothers worked for thirty-five years, both becoming expert saw-millers. At nearly the age of twenty-one years Henry H. Arnold was united in marriage, September 12, 1847, in Clarke county, Ohio, with Magdalena Crist, born in that county, August 5, 1825, daughter of Jacob and Magdalena (Frantz) Crist. Jacob Crist, the father of Mrs. Arnold, was born January 11, 1801, in Augusta county, Va., and was married to Magda- lena Frantz, of Botetourt county, Va., in 1822, emigrated to Ohio by wagons in 1823, settled on eighty acres of land in Pike town- ship, Clarke county, and cleared up a farm. Magdalena (Frantz) Crist, who bore to him two sons and one daughter, viz: Joel, Jacob and Magdalena, died in Clarke county, Ohio, August 5, 1825, at about twenty-five years of age, and is buried in the Meyers cemetery, Clarke county, Ohio. She was a daughter of Peter, Jr., and Peggie (Garst) Frantz. Peter Frantz, Jr., was a iarge landholder of Vir- ginia, and he and his family were members of the Old German Baptist church, Mr. Frantz being a minister and elder for many years. He died in Botetourt county, Va., in 1852, aged eighty-seven years. Jacob Crist was next married to Catherine Ohmart, in Clarke county, Ohio, in 1826, and in 1828 moved to Logan county, Ohio, bought 160 acres, and cut the first tree from the land, which was all in the forest. Here he hewed out a well-improved farm, on which they lived thirteen years, then returned to Clarke county in 1840, and cleared up another farm of 160 acres in Pike township, built a large frame dwelling and made a comfortable home. Catherine (Ohmart) Crist bore him nine chil- dren, viz: Polly, John, Adam, Christopher, Barbara, Margarette, Samuel, Catherine and Aaron. All his children excepting two reached mature age and were married. Jacob Crist died in Clarke county, Ohio, in January, 1849, aged forty-eight years, and is buried in the Meyers cemetery. He was an earnest Christian and a faithful member of his church, the Old German Baptist, for many years holding the office of a minister and elder. Henry H. Arnold, after marriage, settled on his present place of 144 acres, a part of the old Arnold homestead, which he bought of his father in 1861, and here there have been born to him nine children, viz: Elizabeth, Daniel (who died at the age of ten years), Silas J., Henry C, Emma A., and four who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold have been members of the Old German Baptist church for more than fifty years, and two of their chil- dren are likewise members. Aided by his faithful wife and children, Mr. Arnold has greatly improved the old homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold have met with the prosperity their industry deserves, and their undeviating rectitude has won for them the respect of the community. Abigail Arnold was born September 4, 1829, and was one year old when brought to Ohio, and died in Wayne township, Mont- gomery county, March 20, 1840. Samuel Arnold, the great-grandfather of this family, came to America from Germany, arriving at Philadelphia when it was quite a small town, and, with his wife, settled in Fred- erick county, Md. He was the father of Dan- iel, Zachariah, David. Samuel, Betsey and OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1303 Mollie. The father and sons were all farmers and of the Old German Baptist faith. Daniel, David, and Samuel were ministers and elders of their church, and Zachariah was a deacon. Zachariah Arnold, son of Samuel and grandfa- ther of our subjects, was born in Frederick county, Md., December 5, 1766, and married Abigail Miller, who was born in Germany Jan- uary 8, 1776; they moved to Hampshire coun- ty, W. Va., and settled on a large farm near Romney, where they reared a family of eight sons and two daughters, viz: John, Daniel, Joseph, Peter, Samuel, David, Benjamin, Zach- ariah, Betsey and Peggy. The family were members of the Old German Baptist church, Joseph and Benjamin being ministers and Zach- ariah and Daniel deacons. The sons all owned large farms in West Virginia, with the excep- tion of Daniel, who emigrated to Ohio; all were married and reared large families, except Peter, who remained unmarried and died in 1875, aged about eighty years. Zachariah Arnold, father of this family, died June 5, 1829, aged sixty-two years and one month. His wife, Abi- gail (Miller) Arnold, died October 24, 1856, aged eighty years, nine months and sixteen days; both are buried on the old Arnold home- stead in West Virginia, which is now in the possession of the third generation. Daniel Arnold, son of Zachariah, and fa- ther of our subjects, was born in Hampshire county, W. Va. , June 30, 1792, and Septem- ber 3, 1 8 16, was married to Catherine Harsh- barger, of Rockingham county, Va. , who was born in that county, January 17, 1795, and was the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Rhine- hart ) Harshbarger. To Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Arnold were born three sons and two daughters, whose names open this record. Daniel Ar- nold, after his marriage, bought 200 acres of land in Rockingham county, Va., and there followed the pursuit of agriculture until 1830, when he and his family, his father-in-law, 59 Henry Harshbarger, and part of his family, and Jacob Snell and family, a party of sixteen persons, emigrated to Ohio in wagons. This colony arrived in Wayne township, Montgom- ery county, in September, 1830; of this num- ber only five are living at this date, March, 1897; they are the three sons and one daugh- ter of Daniel Arnold above mentioned, and John Snell, of Miami county, all between the ages of seventy and eighty years. Upon his arrival, Daniel Arnold rented land in Wayne township, on which he passed the first-winter, and Henry Harshbarger bought the farm of 160 acres, which he sold a year later to his son-in-law, Daniel Arnold, who then moved on the farm. By hard work, as was usual as well as necessary in that early day, assisted by his sons, he converted the wilderness into a comfortable home, where he passed the remain- derof hisdays. On December 3, 1845, he bought fifty acres adjoining the south side of his farm; about the same time he sold seventy-six acres to his son Joseph, where he still lives. Daniel Arnold died at the home of his son Henry H., July 11, 1864, aged seventy-two years and eleven days, from injuries received by an acci- dental fall from a wagon. Catherine (Harsh- barger) Arnold died December 6, 1852, aged fifty-seven years, ten months and nineteen days. Both are buried in the family graveyard on the old Arnold homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Arnold were members of the Old Ger- man Baptist church, and were greatly re- spected for their general usefulness as citizens, and for the reason that they did as much as any pioneers of the township to redeem it from the forest and advance its civilization. Henry Harshbarger, the maternal grandfather of our subjects, was born in Virginia February 28, 1774, and was married to Elizabeth Rhinehart, who was born in Virginia March 18, 1775. They owned and lived on a farm near Dayton, Rockingham county, Va., where they reared a 1804 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD family of two sons and five daughters, viz: Catherine (the mother of our subject), Magda- lene, Elizabeth, Barbara, John, Henry, Jr., and Anna, all of whom came to Ohio, except John, who remained in Virginia. Mr. Harsh- barger, after leaving Wayne township, bought and occupied a farm in Bethel township, Miami county. Here his wife died, April 2, 1833, aged "fifty-eight years and fifteen days, being the first person buried in the Hickory Grove cemetery. Mr. Harshbarger then married a widow Ullery, and returned to Montgomery county, where he died at his home on Little Bear creek, June 3, 1847, aged seventy -three years, three months and three days, and is buried in Bright's cemetery in the vicinity. • HE MARTINDALE FAMILY is one of the oldest, most substantial and respected in the county of Montgom- ery, Ohio, and is noted for its intelli- gence, thrift, industry and sturdy traits of character, as well as for its prominence in the social and material progress of the county. The founders of the family in America were three brothers, who came from England in the colonial days, and settled near Philadelphia, Pa., and a son of one of these, Maj. James A. Martindale (or Martindill, as the name was originally spelled), was a patriot of the war of the Revolution, and was a great-great-grand- father of Walter L. Martindale, the lawyer of Harrisburg, Ohio. Maj. James A. Martindale was born in South Carolina in 1754. His father was of Irish and his mother, nee'Alexander, of Scotch parentage, and both came to America with their parents about the year 1735. James A. Martindale enlisted in 1780, served as a private one year, as lieutenant two years, and eventu- ally attained the rank of major, and in 1832 was granted a pension, having rendered valu- able service at King's Mountain, N. C, siege of Ninety-six, S. C, Cowpens and elsewhere. After the war he moved to Greenbrier county, now in West Virginia, where several of his children were born, and in 181 1 came to Ohio and settled in Gallia county. He was three times married — first to a Miss Bishop, and of the children born to this union the names of Samuel, Thomas and Mattie are re- membered; after the death of his first wife he again married, and after the death of his sec- ond wife he married a third, being then over ninety years of age. He came to Montgomery county from Gallipolis some time after his son Samuel had settled here, and it is remembered that at one time the major, his son Samuel, his grandson Jesse, and his great-grandson Ma- kinny — four generations — cradled wheat to- gether on the farm of Samuel, near Troy. The major lived to reach the age of ninety-six years, and his remains lie interred in the soil of the Buckeye state. Samuel Martindale, son of Maj. James A. Martindale and great-grandfather of Walter L. Martindale, was born in South Carolina and was twice married. After the death of his first wife he married Elizabeth Campbell, of Scotch descent, and to this second union were born Rebecca, John, Hester, Lydia, Rachel, Martha and Samuel. The father, Samuel, was a farmer and in 1803 came to Ohio, bought forty acres of land near Waynesville, Warren county, on which he resided until 1807, when he came to Montgomery county and settled on 160 acres on the north line of Butler township, prospered greatly, acquired several farms and became a citizen of great influence and prominence. He was an old-line whig in politics and he and his wife were members of the Christian church. He was really the founder of the Martindale family in Montgomery county, as his father, Maj. James A., was an aged man when he came here. He also lived to a great age, be- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1305 ing over eighty years of age when he died an honored pioneer. John Martindale, eldest son of Samuel and grandfather of Walter L. , was born in South Carolina in 1798 and was brought when a child to Montgomery county, Ohio, by his father. He here grew to manhood on his father's farm among the pioneers, and first married Miss Mary Sidney, a native of North Carolina, who had come to Ohio in company with two sisters, mak- ingthe trip on horseback, afterthe death of their parents. To this marriage was born one son, Jesse, and after the death of the mother, Mr. Martindale married Miss Amy Campbell, daughter of Robert and Amelia (Henderson) Campbell. This lady was born in Pennsyl- vania and her parents were of Scotch-Irish ex- traction. This second union was blessed with ten children, viz: Elizabeth, Robert, Mary, Samuel, Rachel, John, William, Stewart, Martin and Rebecca. John Martindale, after marriage, first located in Fidelity, Miami county, where he worked at the trade of black- smith (which he had learned when a young man) until 1821, when he settled on a farm of eighty acres on the north line of Butler town- ship, Montgomery county. This farm he cleared up in great part from the woods, made a success of farm life, and added to his posses- sions until he owned 520 acres, situated in Montgomery and Miami counties, Ohio, and in Indiana, thus becoming one of the most substantial citizens of Butler township. He was a man of sterling qualities, and was a deacon in the Christian church, and in politics was a whig. His death took place in 1859, at the age of sixty-one years, and his loss was deeply felt throughout the entire community. Of his sons, Samuel served three years in the Civil war as captain in the Thirty-fifth Ohio volunteer infantry; Stewart was an orderly sergeant in the Sixty-third Ohio infantry; Robert served in the One Hundred and Forty- seventh for 100 days and was promoted to be sergeant, and John served as private in the same regiment for the same length of time. Of Samuel Martindale, the fourth child born to John and Amelia (Campbell) Martindale, full mention will be made in the biography of Walter L. Martindale, of Butler township. £"V*AMUEL F. NORTH, one of the vet- •^V eran soldiers of the late Civil war, h<_J springs from Scotch ancestors on his father's side, and on his mother's side from German ancestry. His grandfather came from Scotland, and his father, David North, served as a soldier when he was eighteen years old, in the war of 18 12. David North married Susan Fair, a daughter of Michael Fair, in Dayton. She was born in Taneytown, Md., of German ancestry. Mr. North was a saddler by trade and lived in Dayton until he moved to Vandalia, where he died in 1849, at the age of fifty-three years, a member of the Lutheran church. Mrs. North, who still lives at the age of eighty years, is a member of the United Brethren church. The children of Mr. and Mrs. North were George W., Martha J., David V., John V., Samuel F., Michael J., Thomas J., Rebecca and Emma. Four of these sons served in the late Civil war, viz: George W. , Thomas J., Samuel F. and Michael J. George W. was in an Ohio regiment; Thomas J. was in the Seventy-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, marched with Sherman to the sea and partici- pated in many battles, and Michael J. was in company G, Second Illinois volunteer cavalry. David V., when a young man, went to Mem- phis, Tenn. , where he followed his trade, that of molder; he went with Gen. Walker on his ill-fated expedition to Nicaraugua and there perished with many others. Samuel F. North was born April 2, 1840, near Harrisburg, Ohio. He received a com- 1306 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD mon-school education, learned early in life what hard work meant, and was but nine years old when his father died. Becoming a farmer, he went to Mason county, 111., in the spring of 1 86 1, and then enlisted at Havana in July fol- lowing, being enrolled on the 23d of that month, in company C, Second Illinois volun- teer cavalry, to serve three years or during the war. He was honorably discharged from the service January 3, 1864, at Memphis, Tenn., in order to re-enlist as a veteran to serve again for three years or during the war. He was honorably mustered out the second time at San Antonio, Tex.. January 2, 1866, by reason of the close of the war. He was promoted to sergeant of his company, and held that office when finally discharged. He was in the battle of Holly Springs, Miss., and on the Obion river, Tenn., on the Tallahatchie, and in many skirmishes. He was in a raid with Col. Sper- ling from the Florida coast to Gravel Hill sta- tion on the Mobile & Columbia railroad, and on the Blakely & Claiborne when a fight oc- curred. He marched on through to Vicksburg and up the Red river country to Shreveport and then to San Antonio, Tex., being on the march from March 20, 1865, to August 18, 1865. Mr. North was a faithful and efficient soldier throughout the war. The great conflict having come to a close, Mr. North returned to Montgomery county, and on March 7, 1867, at Vandalia, married Cynthia A. Collins, who was born in 1847, and is a daughter of William and Nancy (Rob- erts) Collins. Mr. Collins was of Irish descent, but was born in Highland county, Ohio, and was a blacksmith by trade. He married Nancy Roberts, of New Antioch, Clinton county, Ohio, by whom he had two children, who lived to mature years: Henry and Cynthia A. Mr. Collins settled in Auglaize county, at Saint Mary's, where he ran a blacksmith shop and also managed a farm of eighty acres. He died January 1, i860, a member of the Christian church. His widow lived on the farm until November 17, 1895. when she died at the age of eighty-two years, two months and seventeen days. She was a member of the church and a woman of excellent traits of character and at- tractive disposition. Mr. North settled in Auglaize county, and there lived until within a few years, when he sold his farm and removed to Montgomery county, buying his present farm in Butler town- ship in 1891. His children are Jennie and Nannie. Mrs. North is a member of the Chris- tian church and the children are members of the Brethren church. Mr. North is a repub- lican in politics, and is a member of Milton Weaver post, G. A. R. His daughter Jennie married Sherman S. Sunderland, and Nannie married Allen T. Routson, and has one son, Nevin S. George North, the grandfather of Samuel F. North, came from England with Lord Balti- more. He was for many years a justice of the peace in Maryland, and died in Cumberland county, that state. His children were John, George, David, Michael, Samuel, Polly, Betsey, Nanny, Susan and Sallie. Mr. North was a member of the Lutheran church. David North, father of Samuel F., was born March 17, 1796, in Cumberland county, Md., and received a limited common-school educa- tion. While he was a farmer, he also carried on the saddler's trade at Hagerstown, Md., and, having married in Maryland, removed to Ohio, settling in Montgomery county. By his first wife he had no children. After her death, which occurred a few years after marriage, he married Betsey Harvey, in Montgomery county, Ohio, and by her he had two children, George and Martha J. This wife also died a few years after her marriage, and Mr. North then mar- ried Susan Fair, who was born March 10, 18 16, in Frederick county, Md., and was a daughter OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1307 of Michael and Sarah (Krouse) Fair. Michael Fair was a native of Maryland, his parents having removed thither from North Carolina. He was a soldier in the war of 1 8 1 2. He mar- ried in Maryland, and had the following chil- dren: Volusha, Mary, Elizabeth, Susan, Re- becca, Samuel and Sarah. Mr. Fair came to Montgomery county in 1834, settled in Dayton, and worked at his trade of shoemaker. He died in Chambersburg at the age of sixty-nine. He was a member of the Reformed church. £~V*AMUEL SOUDERS, M. D., a promi- *V^^%T nent physician of Montgomery coun- h<_y ty, living at Beavertown, was born near Zanesville, Ohio, September 15, 1830. He is a son of Jacob and Mary M. (Slater) Souders, both natives of Loudoun county, Va., and the parents of ten children, all of whom lived to mature age, and five of whom are still living, as follows: George, of Hocking county; Eli, of the same county; Samuel; Mary Ann, wife of G. W. Baughman, of Muskingum county, Ohio, and Amos, of Morgan county, Ohio. Jacob Souders, the father of this family, was a farmer by occupation, came to Ohio in 18 16, and located in Morgan county, building his log cabin just across the line from Mus- kingum county. He at first took up 160 acres of land for himself, and later bought land for his children. There he continued to live until his death, which occurred December 22, 1866, when he was seventy-six years of age. His wife survived him until August 10, 1886, when she died at the age of ninety years and five months. They were members of the Lutheran church. The father of Jacob Souders was a native of Maryland, in which state he died in middle life. His family consisted of three sons and two daughters. The maternal grandfather of Samuel Souders, John Slater, was a native of Loudoun county, Va., and there he died at middle age, and his wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Comfort, survived him for some years, dying at the ripe age of ninety-four. Samuel Souders, M. D., received his edu- cation in the district schools, making such good use of his opportunities as to begin teaching school when nineteen years of age. He con- tinued to follow the profession of teaching for eight years, attending Muskingum college in the meantime, and paying his expenses with the money he earned as a teacher. He was a regular graduate of the Ophthalmic hospital in New York in 1861, engaged in practice and intended to make ophthalmy a specialty; but, ophthalmy alone not being remunerative, he entered the medical department of the univer- sity of New York, and ten years later gradu- ated from Bellevue Hospital Medical college. In 1 87 1, after a thorough preparation. Dr. Souders began the general practice of his pro- fession in Beavertown, Ohio, and has continued to practice there ever since, but, as he had practiced from 1861 to 187 1, he has conse- quently been in continuous practice now for a period of thirty-five years. On the 6th of August, 1863, he married Miss Jennie O'Neill, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Sherman) O'Neill, natives of New Bedford, Mass. Mrs. Souders was born in Franklin county, Pa., October 28, 1842. She was educated in the east, and after coming to Montgomery county, Ohio, at the age of six- teen, was a successful school teacher from that time until her marriage. Dr. and Mrs. Souders are the parents of four children, all of whom are living, as fol- lows: Minnie Anna, wife of Rev. E. W. Darst, now of Chicago, but who was formerly minister for seven years in Boston; J. Maud, yet single; Samuel Mott, principal of the Beavertown public schools; and Myrtle, a graduate of the 1308 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD Conservatory of Music, in which she took the normal course, finishing in 1896. Dr. and Mrs. Souders are members of the Lutheran church. He is a member of the Montgomery county Medical society, and also of the state and national Medical associations. In his practice he has met with unusual success, and is recognized throughout a large district as one of the best of its physicians. In his early life he was a whig, voting first for Gen. Winfield Scott. From the organization of the repub- lican party he was a republican until 1871, when he became a prohibitionist, and has since adhered to that party. Dr. Souders has been a resident of Montgomery county for thirty- eight years, and has a beautiful residence in Beavertown. He is a firm believer in the education of the young, and all of his children have been given a classical education. In his profession Dr. Souders enjoys the confidence of a large circle of patients, and in the community where he has spent so many years of useful labor he is esteemed as a good and honorable citizen. >Y*OHN P. CREAGER, farmer, of Van J Buren township, Montgomery county, A 1 was born in Franklin, Warren county, Ohio, in 1844. He is a son of Will- iam and Susanna (Doland) Creager, the former of whom was a native of Maryland and the latter of Warren county, Ohio. When yet a small child William Creager was brought to Ohio by his parents and was reared at Franklin, where his father followed his trade, that of blacksmith, for some years, but after- ward bought a farm upon which he lived the remainder of his life. William Creager and his wife were the parents of eleven children, six sons and five daughters, seven of whom are now living, as follows: John P.; Mary Ann, wife of Otho Mundebaugh; Ezra; Susanna, widow of Nicholas Eylar; Jacob; Eliza Jane, widow of James Mehan; and Emma F., wife of Elmer Marshall. William Creager grew to man's estate near Franklin, in Warren county, and in 1856 moved to Van Buren township, Montgomery county, where he bought a farm of 1 5 1 acres, afterward selling six acres, and lived on this farm the re- mainder of his life, dying November I, 1892, aged nearly eighty years. His wife died March 18, 1893, aged seventy years. She was a mem- ber of the Catholic church, and he was a Lu- theran. Both were good citizens, and dying left many friends to mourn their loss. The paternal grandfather of John P., Cas- per Creager, was a native of Maryland, but of German descent. At an early day he came west and settled in Warren county, where he died at a great age. There also his wife died. They reared a family of five children. The maternal grandfather, Mr. Doland, located at Franklin count)', Ohio, as one of the pioneer settlers of the county, and died there at an ad- vanced age. John P. Creager, the subject of this sketch, was reared to farm life and labor on his father's farm, which he now owns. He received his rudimentary education in the district schools, but has added to and supplemented this edu- cation, which was necessarily somewhat crude and deficient, by personal study, reading and observation, and has thus become one of the well-informed and intelligent citizens of his county. On March 17, 1SS7, he married Miss Julia M. Ditman, daughter of Jacob Ditman, and by this marriage he has two children, viz: William Howard and John. Politically Mr. Creager is and always has been a democrat, but has never sought any official position, pre- ferring the certain profits and quiet happiness of farm life to the turmoil and disappointments of politics. His farm, which is among the best in the county, contains 145 acres, is well im- OF DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 1309 proved and stocked, and furnishes him and his family with all the necessities and many of the luxuries of life. Mr. Creager's excellent quali- ties have made him many friends throughout the surrounding country, wherever known. WOHN ZEHRING, a retired farmer of ■ Brookville, Montgomery county, Ohio, A 1 was born in Jackson township, in the same county, March 8, 1841, a son of Barnheart and Elizabeth (Swartzel) Zehring, who were of Pennsylvania-German stock, of whom mention is made in the biography of Rev. Aaron Zehring. John Zehring was reared on his father's farm, and was educated in the common schools. May 2, 1864, having enlisted in Johnsville, he was mustered into the Union service at Camp Chase, Ohio, under Capt. Coler, but served under Capt. David Holler- man at Federal Hill, Baltimore, Md., on guard duty, and was honorably discharged at Camp Chase, August 25, 1864, having served about two weeks over his term of enlistment. His marriage took place at Lewisburg, Ohio, Oc- tober 15, 1868, to Lucretia Kumler, who was born near Lincoln, Ohio, August 13, 1844, a daughter of David and Frances (Disher) Kum- ler, both of German descent and respectively of Pennsylvania and Virginia parentage. Rev. Henry Kumler, father of David, was a son of a pioneer minister, also named Henry, whose wife lived to the great age of ninety-seven years — her portrait, which is still in the fami- ly, being included in a group of five genera- tions. Rev. Henry Kumler, the younger, and the grandfather of Mrs. Zehring, was a bishop in the United Brethren church, and traveled through many circuits, but made his perma- nent home in Lewisburg, Ohio. He lived to be eighty years of age, and was the father of eight children, viz: David, Andrew, Noah, Henry, Susannah, Jesse, Salome and Samuel, of whom two of the sons — Jesse and Samuel — served three years each in an Ohio regiment during the Civil war. David Kumler was born in Harrison town- ship, Preble county, Ohio, was a wheel- wright, and also a surveyor, and lived to the age of seventy-two years. To him and his wife, Mrs. Frances (Disher) Kumler, were born two children — Lucretia and Savilla. Capt. Matthias Disher, the maternal grand- father of Mrs. Lucretia Zehring, was born on the banks of the James river, in Botetourt county, Va. , January 1, 18 17. His grand- father, Peter Discher (as the name was orig- inally spelled), came from Germany prior to the Revolution, was a soldier in that glorious struggle, and fought under Benedict Arnold at Quebec, Canada. At the close of the war he located in Maryland, but some years later removed to Botetourt county, where his death took place about 1821 or 1822. Of his seven children, the youngest, Chris- tian, was born in Maryland in 1788, was a lieutenant in the war of 1812, and was sta- tioned at Norfolk, Va. He married Frances Circle and settled on a farm in Botetourt county, Va. , where he lived until the fall of 1829, when he came with his wife and five children to Ohio, and settled on a farm in Harrison township, Preble county, where his son, Christian, now lives, and where he died in 1 87 1, at the age of eighty-two years and eleven months. His son, Capt. Matthias Disher, raised or recruited company H, Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry, and fought through the Civil war, thus continuing the military record of the family. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. John Zehring located on a farm of ninety-seven acres in Harrison township, where there were born to them three children — Estella, Clare and Ear- nest. In 1882 they removed to Brookville, 1310 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD where theyjbought a pleasant residence, which is still their home. They are members of the United Brethren church — old constitution — in which Mr. Zehring has held the offices of trus- tee and steward. He has always been zealous and active in his church work, and largely aided with his means in the erection of the United Brethren church in Perry township. He is a republican in politics, but has never been ambitious for public office. He is greatly respected by his neighbors in Brookville, and was always regarded with esteem in his town- ship as a man of the strictest integrity. HC 2 2. -»>• ,# % If/ \M w ', "bV" c- ♦* '-:. jP*^ ^ C ' • °o .. °* *° ••v ^ .vVA "oV* ^°?, .1 A. >■ '/^T' c.v 1> ^ V c o » o , *b V" ^ . *> •v 1^ "P >p^ ■> .0' » « * °- > v vv ^x <*> \ 4 >S> f° % ' ■4> . ^'r ^> <> G ^3, *• ■ <* ^\- ° <*_ **0« ^.^ :m&-~ *»J * vf\ > - \ s • • °°* **•-••' a°° V **.,■.•* ** ■■■%* -^"V >^ *o. » ^ A°° % * C V ^> A«" , .'•». V * ^ .n ,0 . \ 5 • * . ..*• -o . » • A •\o^ «7 V <^> 0> * o «o° .0 'T.. 1 A^ *o, '». A . . . ^* A V +^o« c u .* A- i°V *b V A V ^„A° V.** O * 5 „o' 0' ► c\ ,0' v^ ^ -"* A 4?% r« 'b^ • ,«* ,0' O -. . "i « A. A V , \s ^ s * • ' A^?n LIBRARY OF CONGRESS II: Mil I !i I'll 014 750 156 m