400 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY and dealers in lumber, but was curtly informed that just at that time the firm needed no help. Confident in his ability to satisfy the most exacting employers, Mr. Chesbrough asked permission to work for nothing until he could demonstrate what he could do. His request was granted and he was placed with a gang of choppers, where his work soon won the admiration of his employers. and within twenty-four hours he was placed on. the pay-roll at the highest rate of wages paid to men of his occupation. He remained with Cameron & Moody until 1855, having risen from the humble position of chopper to the management of the vast lumber interests of the firm. By this time he had accumulated enough to justify him in starting in business for himself, and, upon looking over the field, he decided that Toledo was the proper place for him to make a beginning. In a short time his past experience began to hear fruit and he became acquainted with farmers and laborers all over Northwestern Ohio, among whom he was known as a man of the highest probity and strictest integrity—a man whose verbal promise was as good as his written obligation. With such a character and an untiring energy. it was only natural that he should succeed. As his business grew he became interested in the timber regions of Michigan, as well as Ohio. The last twenty-five years of his life his 'business headquarters were with the old well-known firm of Bell, Emerson & Co., wholesale grocers, at the corner of Madison and Summit streets, and in latter years known as Emerson & Co., and for more than thirty years prior to his death he resided in East Toledo. In addition to this vast timber interest he was connected with other financial enterprises, having served as vice-president of both the Second National Bank of Bay City and the Exchange Bank of Lockport. N. Y., in which capacity his executive ability was recognized by his associates. Mr. Chesbrough was an excellent judge of human nature and was rarely deceived in men. It was to this faculty, as well as to his unerring judgment regarding the merits of any business proposition, that his success was largely due. In 1855, Mr. Chesbrough married, at Niagara Falls. N. Y.., Miss Sarah J. Tufford, who was born in that place, Oct. 13, 1825, her parents having been natives of New Jersey and Vermont respectively. In 1874 she joined her husband in Toledo, where she became well known to many of the residents of the city as a woman of great force Of character. After the death of her husband she resided with her son, Aaron, until her death, May 17, 1893, aged sixty-eight years. Four sons of Alonzo and Sarah J. Chesbrough survive. They are Fremont B., of Boston, Mass.; Frank P., of Detroit, Mich.: Abram M. and Aaron, of Toledo. James A. Dailey, head of the James A. Dailey Company, brokers and underwriters, with offices at 221 Colton Building, Toledo. was born at Dunkirk, N. Y., Feb. 12, 1856. His parents, James and Hannah (Hallanan) Dailey, were both born in Ireland, the father in County Westmeath and the mother in County Limerick. They came to this country about 1846, at the time of the great famine in Ireland. and were married in the State of New York. The mother died at Dunkirk, N. Y., Jan. 1, 1885, and the father at Toledo, April BIOGRAPHICAL - 401 27, 1890.. At the time of their respective deaths, the mother was seventy-one and the father seventy-five years of age. Hannah Hallanan's brothers were professional men—physicians and attorneys—in Ireland. After coming to the United States, James Dailey, Sr., was for thirty-five years in the employ of what is now the New York Central lines, and was retired on account of old age, but that was before the company adopted the system of granting a pension to old and faithful employes. He came to Toledo about two years before his death and passed the remainder of his life in the home of his son, whose name stands at the head of this review. The parents are buried in St. Mary's cemetery, at Dunkirk, N. Y. They had three sons and one (laughter, of whom James A. is now the only one living. Mary, the eldest, died in 1883, the same year as her mother. She was known as Sister Mary Boromeo, of the Community of St. Joseph. James A. is the second of the family, and the younger sons were named John and Thomas. James A. Dailey was educated in the parochial schools of his native city and the Dunkirk Academy, where he graduated in the commercial course, in 1873. Upon completing his schooling, he came immediately to Toledo to accept the position of assistant cashier in the offices of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railway, the New York Central lines, which position he held until 1895, a period of over twenty years. He was then elected secretary of the Catholic Knights of Ohio, and as the duties of this office required all his time and attention, he resigned his place with the railroad company. He was secretary of the board of fire underwriters until the board was abolished, and after that was connected with H. S. Walbridge in the insurance and real-estate business for some time. In April, 1909, he launched the James A. Dailey Company, which does a general insurance business, acts as underwriters, and deals in real estate, and under the direction of Mr. Dailey, who has the advantage of a large acquaintance in Toledo, the company is on the road to prosperity. In April, 1910, he was appointed by the Rt. Rev. J. P. Farrelly, D. D., as superintendent and secretary of Calvary cemetery. Mr. Dailey belongs to the Catholic Knights of Ohio, the Knights of Columbus, and also to the Irish National organization, and he is a member of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, in which he was for ten years a member and secretary of the council- manic board. On Feb'. 8, 1882, he was married, at Dunkirk., N. Y., to Miss Mary Toomey, whom he had known from early childhood, and brought his bride to Toledo, where they have since lived. Their marriage has been blessed by eight children, six 'of whom are now living, viz.: Mary Florence, -Margaret Teresa, Grace Cecilia, Helen Anastasia. Regina Loyola and Paul. Margaret Teresa is now a nun and is known as Sister Mary of St. Joseph, of the Ursuline Convent of Toledo, in which institution she was graduated. Mrs. Dailey is noted as an organizer and promoter of Catholic societies. She has served as president of the Ladies' Catholic Benevolent Association of Toledo, and was its delegate to the national conventions, at Asbury Park in 1899, at Detroit in 1901, and at St. Paul in 1904. She has two sisters who are nuns, is a woman of 402 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY great earnestness and a high order of executive ability, and has many warm friends. The family resides at 122 Rockingham street. Samuel Warren, deceased, was one of the pioneer business men and manufacturers of the city of Toledo, and his kind hearted and generous disposition won him hosts of friends and gained him widespread popularity. Mr. Warren was born in 1818, and as a lad he left the home of his parents and resided with a married sister who lived in Tecumseh, Mich. There he remained until he had reached man's estate, when, in search of a business opening, he came to Toledo and that city ever afterward was his home. He began business for himself as the owner of a livery stable, and later he established a wagon and carriage manufacturing institution, in which business he continued for a number of years. He was always a great admirer of fine horses, and among horse breeders and dealers he was well known all over Northern Ohio. Mr. Warren was married to Miss Mary von Gorton, a native of Berne, Switzerland, and of this union two daughters were bornNanetta and Frances—both of whom are residents of Toledo. Mr. Warren died in 1878. Charles R. Bowen, treasurer of the Lucas County Agricultural Society, and one of the best known men in the county, was born in Otsego county, New York, May 26, 1837, a son of Daniel W. and Sarah (Richardson) Bowen. The father was born in the State of Connecticut and the mother at Cherry Valley, N. Y., where they were married. The Bowens are of Welsh descent and trace their ancestry back to the Mayflower. Daniel W. Bowen's father was with Ethan Allen at the capture of Ticonderoga, and he was also in the battles of Bennington and Saratoga. The father of Sarah Richardson was one of the few children who were saved at the massacre and burning of Cherry Valley by the Indians. hence it will be seen that Mr. Bowen's ancestors on both sides were of Revolutionary stock, and some of them also took part in the War of 1812. In 1854, Daniel W. Bowen removed with his family to Lenawee county, Michigan, locating at Ogden, where he bought a farm of 120 acres. but sold that and bought eighty acres in the Raisin valley. This farm he also sold and went to Berrien county, Michigan, where he remained for about a year, at the end of which time he returned to Adrian. where his wife died. He died some time afterward. at Ypsilanti, where he had gone to live with his son, Elmer, but he was buried by the side of his wife, at Adrian. Daniel W. and Sarah Bowen were the parents of twelve children, seven of whom are yet living, but only two—Charles R. and Mrs. Krueger—reside in Lucas county, the latter living near the village of Holland, in Springfield township. Charles R. Bowen lived with his parents on the farm, attending the common schools during the winter months, until he was seventeen years of age. He then went to Rockford, Ill., where he remained for about a year, when he returned east, stopping for a while in Lenawee county, Michigan, to visit his parents, who had in the meantime located there. In the spring of 1858, he made a trip to the Rocky mountains and spent a year in hunting and prospecting. In June of that year he, with BIOGRAPHICAL -103 eighteen others, when in the mountains about fifty miles from the present city of Denver, Colo., were surrounded by forest fires started by the Indians. All of the party perished except Mr. Bowen and one other man, and they were severely injured. In 1859, he returned to Lenawee county, Michigan, where he remained until after the breaking out of the Civil war, when he enlisted in Company F, Fourth Michigan cavalry, and served with his regiment until severely wounded at the battle of Stone's River, Tenn. On March 7, 1863, he was honorably discharged, at Murfreesboro, Tenn., and returned to Adrian, Mich. Although his wound prevented his return to active military duty in the field, he was active in enlisting and organizing several companies for the Ninth and Eleventh Michigan cavalry. His brother Elmer was with General Sherman in the famous "march to the sea" and now resides at Ypsilanti, Mich. In 1868, Charles R. Bowen located in Toledo, where, for about three years, he was engaged in the manufacture of brooms. He then removed to Adams township, where he had purchased a small farm of twelve acres, and began raising small fruits and vegetables, in which he was eminently successful. He continued to dwell in Adams township until 1906, when he sold the farm to his son Lawrence and returned to Toledo, and now resides at 1819 Dunham street, in that city. Mr. Bowen was elected treasurer of the Lucas County Agricultural Society, in 1909, and prior to that time had served for nineteen years as the society's secretary. He is president of the Adams Land Company, an incorporated concern which deals in city property, farm lands and mortgages, and is the owner of considerable property in the city and county. In his political affiliations he is a Democrat and, while living in Adams township, he held most of the important township offices, serving for eighteen years as justice of the peace and for nearly twenty years was president of the board of education. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the lodge at Adrian, Mich., and he also belongs to Forsyth Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Toledo. He is chairman of the board of trustees of the Maplewood Methodist Episcopal Church, of Adams township, where he has held his membership since the church was started. In 1865, Mr. Bowen married Miss Cecilia J. Carter, daughter of Philo and Louisa Carter, of Adrian, Mich. Mrs. Bowen was born at Cuba, Allegany county, New York, but came with her parents to Adrian while still in her childhood. To Mr. Bowen and his wife have been born five children, four of whom are now living.. Chester R.. the eldest, was born in Adrian, and the others in Adams township, Lucas county. Chester now lives in Toledo ; Louis A. is deceased : Clarence and Lawrence (twins) reside in Adams township, and Lorena June is at home with her parents. All were educated in the schools of Lucas county and the twins attended Steedman's Business College, in Toledo. Johnson Thurston is one of the conspicuous members of the legal fraternity of the city of Toledo, and throughout a period of twenty-five years he has been identified with the professional circles and has taken an active interest in civic affairs. Mr. Thurston was 404 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY born in Peru township, Morrow county, Ohio, July 20, 1858, and is descended from a long line of American ancestry, being of the eighth generation of the Thurston family in this country. Daniel Thurston was the first of the name to migrate to America, and he came from Gloucestershire, England, and settled at Newbury, Mass., in 1635. Moses Thurston, the great-grandson of Daniel, the immigrant, and the great-great-grandfather of the subject of this review, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He first enlisted June 19, 1775, two days after the battle of Bunker Hill, in Capt. Reuben Dow's company, and upon the expiration of his term of service with this command he enlisted in Capt. Daniel Emerson's company, which was raised for the defense of Ticonderoga. Johnson Thurston is a son of Elihu and Martha Thurston. the former of whom was born in Granville, Licking county, Ohio, Dec. 4, 1824. Throughout an exceedingly active career the father devoted his attention to breeding and dealing in stock and he was also a rather extensive farmer. In June, 1849, he was married to Miss Martha Cowgill, who was born Nov. 25, 1826, at Delaware, Ohio, and they settled in Peru township, Morrow county, Ohio, from which place they removed, in April, 1874, to Kalida, Putnam county, and there the father died as the result of an accident, June 1, 1891. The mother is still living at Kalida. Johnson Thurston, to whom this review is more particularly dedicated, received his preliminary education in the public schools, supplementing the same by a course in Baldwin University, at which institution he graduated with the class of 1883, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Deciding upon the practice of law as his life's vocation, he matriculated in the law department of the University of Michigan in the autumn of 1883, and at the end of his first year of study, in June, 1884, he was admitted to practice in the courts of Michigan. in the same month and year he established his residence in the city of Toledo, where he purposed engaging in the practice of his profession, but in the fall he returned to school at Ann Arbor and received his degree from the law department of the university there in June, 1885. He then returned to Toledo. was admitted to the bar in Ohio in the fall of 1885, and at once began the practice of his profession, in which he has won honor and enviable distinction. On Jan. 1, 1886, he formed a partnership with W. H. Harris, under the firm name of Harris & Thurston, and this association continued uninterruptedly until July, 1896: The offices el this law firm were first located in an office addition to the old Gardner residence, at the corner of Superior and Madison streets, in the city of Toledo, and from that place they later removed to 317 Superior street, where they were located on the second floor of a residence building. Still later, the firm obtained quarters in the new Gardner Building, which is situated on the site of the old Gardner residence. Since July 1, 1896, Mr. Thurston has been engaged alone in the practice, with offices at 303-304 Gardner Building, and later at 843-844 Spitzer Building. His practice is of a general nature. not specializing in any particular line, and the degree of success that he has achieved is a sufficient commentary upon his thorough preparation, natural ability, and the painstaking attention which he BIOGRAPHICAL - 405 gives to all matters entrusted to his care. He has never entered public life in the role of an aspirant for office, and he held no position of a public nature until June 10, 1909, when he was appointed a member of the Board of Sinking Fund Trustees and Tax Commissioners, to the duties of which office he still gives careful attention. He is a close student of political and economic questions, and his opinions in those matters have been formed as a result of close investigation and logical reasoning from premises that cannot be gainsaid. Originally he gave allegiance to the Republican party, but in 1904 he became one of the organizers of the "Independent Voters" movement in Toledo. In the furtherance of the aims of this organization he became very active and he maintains a position wholly independent in both local and national politics. He believes that the highest form of free government cannot be attained by conducting political affairs for the benefit of a few individuals or of parties, or in fact for the benefit of anyone short of the whole people concerned. He rightly affirms that the sole question as to any political matter when presented for consideration should be, Is it the best thing for the people ? rather than the usual inquiry : "Is it the best thing for the party and will the people stand for it:" With these ideas firmly grounded, the extent and character of his political activities during the more recent years are so well known as to need no comment at this time ; but suffice to say that in the success of the movement which has dominated municipal affairs in the city of Toledo for the past several years no one has been more earnest and active than he. And ,in the beneficent results that have come from repeated triumphs of the movement he takes a pardonable pride. In recognition of his unselfish efforts in behalf of the Independent movement, his firm stand in favor of a non-partisan judiciary, and of his especial fitness for the office, on Aug. 10, 1910, he received the nomination at the Independent convention for judge of the Sixth Ohio Circuit. Upon this occasion Mayor Brand Whitlock, in a message to the convention said : "I would consider it an honor to vote for the nomination of Johnson Thurston, the noblest Independent of them all." Professionally, he was a member of the Ohio State Bar Association for a number of years, and since first locating in practice in Toledo he has been a member of the Lucas County Bar Association. In the year 1904 he became a member and trustee of the old Adams Street City Mission to fill the vacancy caused by the death of George Tait, and he has ever since continued his membership, being at the present time vice-president of the organization. On Dec. 15, 1887, Mr. Thurston was married to Miss Kate Rice Thrift, daughter of Dr. Robert W. Thrift. of Lima, Ohio, and of this marital union there have been born three children : Edwin R., Flora M., and Norman T., all of whom were born in Toledo. Edwin R. graduated in the Toledo High School in June, 1908, and is now a student in the literary department of the University of Michigan ; Flora M. is attending Harcourt Place School at Gambier, Ohio, and Norman is a student in the Toledo High School. 406 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY John W. Oswald, who is one of the oldest devotees of the photographic art in the city of Toledo, where he has resided for a period of forty-five years, is one of the loyal sonS of the republic who went forth in its defense in the climacteric epoch of the Civil war, and in the "piping times of peace" he has manifested the same fidelity and loyalty and has gained victories which stand equally much to his credit and honor. Mr. Oswald was born in Ashland, Ashland county, Ohio, Oct. 5, 1842, son of Levi and Caroline (Sidler) Oswald, the former of whom was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, and the latter in the city of Worms, on the Rhine, in Germany. The mother came to the United States with her parents when she was eleven years old, and they settled in Wayne county, Ohio, the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Oswald taking place in Wooster. On the paternal side the subject of this review is descended through a long line of American patriots, his great-grandfather, George Oswald, haying commanded "Oswald's Battery" in Washington's army during the Revolutionary war, and his grandfather, also named George Oswald, was a soldier in the war of 1812. For a number of years after their marriage, the parents of John W. Oswald resided in Ashland county. Ohio, but later they removed to Weston, Wood county, where they resided for a period of forty years and finally laid clown the burdens of life and closed their eyes in death. The father was a farmer and followed that ancient and honorable calling throughout all of his active career. To him and his estimable wife were born eight children—five sons and three daughters—five of whom grew to maturity and three are now living, the subject of this review being the eldest. Jacob and Samuel, younger brothers, both reside in Weston, Ohio. John W. Oswald. to whom this review is more particularly dedicated. received his education in the schools of Ashland, Ohio. and was but a few months past eighteen years of age when the tocsin of war was sounded and his youthful ardor was fired by the news that Fort Sumter had been fired upon. He hesitated not a moment in deciding what was his duty under the circumstances, and with a promptness that bespoke the valor of a patriotic ancestry he volunteered his services in defense of the Union and enlisted as a private in Company G, Twenty-third Ohio infantry. This was the regiment made famous not only by its valorous conduct on the field of battle, but by the additional fact that among its officers and in its ranks were men destined to win undying fame in the after years of life. It was first commanded by that gallant soldier. William S. Rosecrans, who subsequently became one of the military leaders of the war : another of its colonels was Rutherford B. Hayes. who but little more than a decade later became President of the United States ; Stanley Matthews, afterward United States senator from Ohio and Justice of the United States Supreme Court, for a time officiated as lieutenant- colonel ; and last but not least, the sainted McKinley, himself but a mere lad, was a commissioned officer in one of the company organizations of this famous regiment. The organization of this command took place at Columbus. and on June 7, 1861, Mr. Oswald became enrolled as a member as already stated. BIOGRAPHICAL - 407 With the regiment he left the state the following July for Western Virginia and was at once launched into the arena of war. He was in line of battle at Carnifix Ferry in September and engaged in sharp skirmishing with the enemy. At Princeton, the following May, he was with the regiment when attacked by four regiments of the enemy's infantry and six pieces of artillery, but the command made a determined stand, and when overwhelmed and forced to retire did so in good order, fighting as it went. With his regiment Mr. Oswald proceeded to the city of Washington, in September, 1862, and a few days after arriving there the command was ordered to Maryland, where it took part in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. In November, 1862, the regiment went into winter quarters in the Great Kanawha valley and remained there until March, when it was ordered to, Charleston, W. Va., and remained at that place until July, performing little or no duty with the exception of a few scouts, an advance as far as Raleigh, W. Va., and its participation in the movements against the Morgan raid in July. In the last named affair the regiment performed good service in heading off Morgan's band on the line of the Ohio river at Buffington Island and near Hockingport, picking up a number of the guerillas as they attempted to cross the river. The regiment then returned to Charleston and lay there in camp until the spring of 1864, when the battle of Cloyd's Mountain was fought. In May there was an affair at New River Bridge, in which Mr. Oswald participated with his regiment. The regiment then started on the long march to Lynchburg and the subsequent retreat from that place. After three years and one month of the most arduous service, in July, 1864, Mr. Oswald was mustered out of the service, his term of enlistment having expired, and with all the honors that come to the faithful soldier he retired to private life. Soon after being mustered out at Columbus he went to Cleveland, Ohio. and there, under the direction of Messrs. North & Schwerdt, he learned the art of photography. which business he. has since followed. One year later. in 1865, he came to Toledo and in company with A. C. North, a son of his preceptor, he opened a photograph gallery. The name of the firm was North & Oswald and their place of business was first located at No. 327, Summit street. but later they removed to the old Chamber of Commerce Building. corner of Madison and Summit streets. Still later they removed to the Hall Block, corner of St. Clair and Jefferson streets, which subsequently burned down, as did also the old Chamber of Commerce Building, the latter being succeeded by a new structure on the same site. Mr. Oswald and Mr. North continued their partnership relation for a period of eighteen years, when the former sold his interest in the business to the latter. Mr. Oswald then purchased an interest in the business of Mr. McKecknie, his present partner, and they have been associated together up to the present time under the firm name of McKecknie & Oswald. When the present partnership arrangement was first entered into the business was located at 37 Summit street, but later it was moved to the Nearing Building, corner of Adams and Summit, and still later quarters were occupied on St. Clair 408 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY street, opposite the Steedman monument. Since 1905, however, the place of business has been at 335 Superior street, and the proprietors have the distinction of being the oldest photographers established in business in the city of Toledo. In politics Mr. Oswald gives allegiance to the Republican party ; his fraternal relations are with Volunteer Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Toledo, and the Rubicon Masonic Lodge, in which he is a Master Mason ; and in religious affairs he contributes to the support of the Central Congregational Church of Toledo, of which his wife is a member. Professionally he has membership in the Brush and Lens Club of Toledo. His recreation in life has largely been as a disciple of Izaak Walton, and he yet takes great delight in catching the elusive members of the finny tribe. In consequence of his great interest in this branch of sportsmanship he was one of the organizers of The Castalia Trout Club, of Castalia, Ohio, a club which now has more than 600 names upon its membership list. Among the members of thiS organization are some of the leading men of the State, but of those who gave it birth and had thus the honor of being called the charter members, but two are now living—Mr. Oswald and Jeremiah Atwater. Mr. Oswald was one of the most active in perfecting the organization of the club, and he is affectionately referred to now by the other members as "the father of the club.'' At the time of its organization the stock in the club was worth about $15 per share, but as an evidence of its growth and its popularity as an organization, and the property of which it has ownership, each share of its stock to-day is worth at the minimum quotation $1,500. Of its more than 600 members, at least sixty are residents of the city of Toledo. On May 5, 1865, Mr. Oswald was married to Miss Cordelia Cordell, daughter of Samuel and Catharine (Carnes) Cordell, deceased, who were highly respected citizens of Ashland county, Ohio, where Mrs. Oswald was born and reared, her parents being natives of Loudoun county, Virginia, opposite Point of Rocks, Maryland. Of the marital union of Mr. and Mrs. Oswald have been born three children—one son and two daughters—of whom the following specific mention 'may be made : Charles C., the son, is at present one of the confidential Men in the employ of the Libbey Glass Company, and he is married to Miss Mabel Fassett, daughter of the late Elias Fassett, one of the honored pioneer citizens of Toledo, who is mentioned more at length on another page of this volume. The daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Oswald are Mrs.. Edwin A. Todd and Mrs. Harry L. Halsted, both of whom reside in Toledo. Mr. and Mrs. Oswald reside in a nicely appointed home, which is pleasantly located at 2046 Fulton street. Louis Mathias.—Hearty and sincere appreciation of personal worth, offered voluntarily, during the lifetime of a man who has earned it, is perhaps the largest dividend that can fall to one, and this is the reward that has come to the honored subject of this review. In nothing is there a more weird and mysterious charm than in the plaintive and solemn melodies drawn by a master hand from a violin. It is the language of the soul, with the tragedy of life in vibrant undertones which form the shadows into which the BIOGRAPHICAL - 409 high lights radiate from dazzling joyousness. But the love of a violinist for his art is equaled always by the love which the violin-maker has for his handiwork. The maker's joy in the complex instrument is of a part different from that of the performer, but as he thins and glues and manipulates his intricate pieces of wood there grows upon him the love for the creation of his fingers, a sympathetic understanding of the possibilities in the little fragments which he carves. It is this indefinable charm, possibly, which has made Louis Mathias more ready to talk of the instruments which he has manufactured than to dilate upon his personal achievements as a teacher and a director of music ; which has caused him to enjoy thoroughly the positive personality of the violins he has made, rather than to discuss himself and the great influence into which his long and useful life has materialized in Toledo. Louis Mathias was born at Oberweiler, Tiefenbach, Germany, Aug. 22, 1826, and in the Fatherland he secured his preliminary education and laid the foundation for his eminently successful career, of which he is now, in the sunset days of a well-spent life, so loth to speak. His life before he came to America was one of those that can only be found in the pages of history surrounding the earthquake year. In the village of Odenbach he early made his home. He was a member of the "Home Guards." He remembers his father as a soldier of thereat Napoleon, and he was a true son of his father. He remembers the Prussian uprising, when the "Home Guards" were outnumbered. Then came the Bavarian supremacy again, and as he witnessed the struggle between the people and the ruling powers, and saw swept away the rights for which he fought and contended. he decided to leave the picturesque scenes of the Rhine and cast his lot with the men who were breathing the free air of America. He landed in New York city in 1850, there organized a concert company, and then, his genius unfettered by a tyrannical government, he began a musical career in the land of his adoption. In the course of a western tour with his concert quartet, he came to Toledo in 1852, end since then his history has been that of the best in the musical life of the city. His great ability was. recognized by the Brand and Lenk families and inducements sufficient to make the artist remain in Toledo were offered. Among the first of his pupils were the children of Chief Justice Waite. and at no time in his long career has there been a lack of the keen appreciation of his early and later services to the cause of music in the city. He brought with him a ceaseless energy for the advancement of his loved art, in whose pioneer kingdom he blazed the way, and he is personally responsible for the highly cultivated musical taste which everywhere characterizes the resident of Toledo, who has made this city a home during the past half century. He organized the first orchestra within a year after his arrival: It was known as the "Music Verein," and a short time later he organized a singing club, known as the "Gesang Verein." The Philharmonic Society, 410 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY an English singing club, had been formed about the same time, and after an attempt to manage a joint concert, Mr. Mathias was given the directorship of all three. These organizations he kept alive, sometimes under one name and sometimes under another, until the breaking out of the Civil war occasioned a demand for his services in a different field. He then enlisted as a member of the regimental band of the Thirty-seventh Ohio infantry, which moved to a point on the Kanawha river in West Virginia, in the fall of 1861, and spent the ensuing winter in that region. In the spring of 1862 it was engaged in some severe and unsuccessful fighting at and near Princeton, and at Fayetteville and Cotton Hill it was also engaged. Mr. Mathias remained with his regiment until the order providing for brigade bands did away with the regimental music organizations, a year and a half after he went into the field. He then returned to Toledo and took up the work of instructing, organizing orchestras. training choruses in grand opera, managing Saengerfests and reaping laurels from all quarters. As director of the chorus he assisted in the giving of Weber's "Der Freischutz." He was a leader of the Teutonia Maennerchor, and with that organization and others he went to Adrian, Jackson. Fremont, and other places, winning prizes and credit for Toledo wherever they appeared. In 1876 he organized and directed an orchestra of forty-five men for the production of Dudley Buck's centennial cantata, the magnificent production of which many Toledoans yet remember. And a striking illustration of his great ability was presented on this occasion. After all arrangements were made for the entertainment it was impossible to get the orchestration for the cantata on account of the great demand for the work. Mr. Mathias shut himself up in his studio with the piano score. and when he emerged four days later he had a most satisfactory orchestration, which was used in one of the most brilliant concerts given in the city, and in which Toledo was in line with the great municipalities of the country in production. Theodore Thomas in Philadelphia had no more of honor than Louis Mathias in Toledo. The venerable subject of this review was a member and the leader of the Beethoven quartette, the achievements of which are still well remembered, and among the magnificent productions which he superintended in earlier days are the "Doctor of Alcantara," in the old Wheeler opera house, and Weber's "Preciosa," in 1856, in Stickney hall. Mr. Mathias has had many public testimonials of the appreciation of his work during his life in Toledo, but the crowning event of that nature was the Mathias Golden jubilee, a three days' festival given in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of his settlement in Toledo. The festival was given on April 13, 14, and 13, 1902, and the occasion will never be forgotten by those who were privileged to share in the pleasures of the great programmes presented. Among those participating in the exercises of the festival was Miss Nellie Cook (now Mrs. Lewis Perry Cubberley). who took her first musical instructions from the man then being so signally honored. Mr. Mathias laid the foundation for this lady's rare musical attainments and for some BIOGRAPHICAL - 411 time he was identified with her remarkable musical career. In a studio on Summit street that is redolent with memories of the Toledo of today and the Toledo of more than a half-century ago, this most genial, most talented, and most brilliant of men still devotes his time to the art which he loves. There he is surrounded by many mementoes of the past, among which are autograph letters of Remenyi, of Karl Formes, and other well known artists. On the wall hangs an old etching of Vieuxtemps, with whom the master was acquainted, and with whom he has broken bread. Upon the walls also appear the pictured faces of a number of old-time students, comparatively few, however, of the 4,000 pupils who have shared in a life devotion to music. Among these pictures are to be found likenesses of Miss Rose Clouse (later Mrs. C. L. Lewis), one of the divinely inspired organists and pianists of the immediate past ; of Mrs. Nellie (Cook) Cubberley, a musical inspiration and pride to the Toledo of today, whose superior ability has been recognized in every considerable city in the United States ; of Miss Lottie Demuth (now Mrs. Williams, of Chicago), who has created a furore in Leipsic and other German cities with her violin work and her piano playing, and of a number of others. Mr. Mathias is slow to claim the honors that are his. He smiles quietly over the encomiums of his friends and admirers, and takes just so much of their tribute to his worth as he thinks is becoming to a modest man. His pupils, however, appreciate his reticence and proclaim his praises from the housetops ; and in the hearts of the older men and women of the city of Toledo he has built himself a lasting fame in love and in grateful recognition for the opening of the soul to the possession of newer beauties. Jacob H. Tappan.—Time is now rapidly thinning the ranks of the stalwart pioneers who can recall the days when this favored section of Ohio was scarcely more than a forest wilderness, and it is well that the reminiscences of those who laid the foundation for the wealth and prosperity of the Maumee Valley he perpetuated through such publications as the one for which this article is prepared. Within the limits of Lucas county can be found few, if any, who can claim priority of residence over Jacob H. Tappan. It has been his privilege to witness the various stages which have marked the development of this section to its present status of opulence and advanced civilization. and he has not failed to contribute his share to this progress. During his active career he followed the vocation of contractor and builder and was known as one of the representative men of the country and as a citizen Leal, and Loyal in all relations. He now resides at 326 Fifteenth street, in the city of Toledo. where he has an attractive home. and is living measurably retired, after years of ceaseless toil and endeavor. Mr. Tappan was born in Morris county, New Jersey, about fifteen miles from the city of New York, Nov. 28, 1827, and is a son of Moses O. and Hattie (Miller) Tappan, both of whom were also natives of New Jersey, where their ancestors were Revolutionary patriots. In fact,.. Jacob H. Tappan. was born in a famous old house near Morristown. N. J.. built in 1770, by his maternal grandfather, Jacob Miller, who was 412 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY a soldier in Washington's army. The old house is still standing, and a photograph of it is one of Mr. Tappan's most valued possessions. Mr. Tappan says that when he was a little boy it was as common to see and talk with Revolutionary soldiers in New Jersey as it is to see Civil war veterans in Toledo to-day. Moses Q. Tappan first saw the light of day on Feb. 1, 1804, and his wife was born June 16, 1806. They were married in the place of their nativity—Morris county, New Jersey—and there they continued to reside until 1835, when they came to Ohio, locating in Toledo, where they remained until 1840, when, with their four children, they journeyed on to Fulton county and took up their residence on a farm in \\hat is now Pike township, the land at that time being covered by the native .,forest. The father instituted the work of reclaiming his farm and continued to reside on the same until his death, which occurred June 27, 1858 ; his wife passed away Sept. 16, 1899. They, became the parents of seven children, concerning whom the following brief record is incorporated : Quinby, who was born Sept. 25, 1825, died in February. 1902: Jacob H. is he to whom this review is more particularly dedicated William R., who was born in April, 1830, died in May, 1905 ; Oakley died in childhood Phineas K., who was born Feb. 16, 1835, is a resident of Colorado ; Nancy, who was born May 11, 1842, is the wife of Edward S. Sindel, of Winameg, Ohio ; and Herman M., who was born July 15, 1848, resides on the old Tappan homestead in Fulton county. In 1824, when General Lafayette made his last visit to the United States, Mrs. Tappan, the mother of our subject, was one of a party of young women who were engaged at Morristown, N. J., in preparing an elaborate din- ner for that distinguished Frenchman. While they were thus engaged a stranger asked for food and was curtly told that the girls were busy preparing- to receive General Lafayette and could not stop to wait upon him. Later. it transpired that the stranger was none other than Lafayette himself, the guest of honor, who had arrived hungry and unheralded. The Tappan family were three weeks coming from New Jersey to Toledo, traveling most of the distance by canal. Mr. Tappan relates that when they passed through Buffalo he saw the old "Walk-in-the-Water," the first steamboat that plied the lakes. She was out of commission then, a better boat having been built. Upon reaching the present site of Toledo the members of the family landed at what is now the foot of Lagrange street. No warehouses or docks were there at that time, but two had been built a little further up the river, at what was then called Port Lawrence, Not a white man lived between Swan creek and the village of Maumee, and there was a camp of Indians at about the site of the intersection of Summit and Cherry streets. There were no graded roads here, but a little plank walk extended from Monroe to Cherry street, winding around trees and over ravines. Mr. Tappan says he used to hunt all over this country, and that he has walked from East Toledo to Lower Sandusky, now called Fremont, without finding the habitation of a white man. He frequently saw the first steam locomotive ever brought to Toledo. It was landed on what was known as the Palmer dock in BIOGRAPHICAL - 413 1836, and was for use on the Erie & Kalamazoo railroad. A pen sketch of this old-time engine is one of Mr. Tappan's valued possessions. As a lad Mr. Tappan was employed in the old Toledo House, which was really the first hotel in town, and which stood, until it was burned, at the corner of Summit and Perry streets. At this hotel Mr. Tappan came in contact with many distinguished men of that early time, among them being Maj. George Croghan, the defender of Lower Sandusky. He saw Daniel Webster land here on the Palmer dock, and the entire community turned out to do honor to him. Mr. Webster arrived on the steamer Commodore Perry, of which David Wilkinson was commander. On the occasion of the visit of Gen. William Henry Harrison and staff to Toledo and Fort Meigs, in 1840, Mr. Tappan was present at "Old Tip's" reception. In the Civil war Mr. Tappan served as a member of the bridge and railroad construction corps, and was honorably discharged at Chattanooga. For many years he was a Toledo building contractor, and several of the smaller structures which still stand on Summit street were put up under his supervision. He retired from business a number of years ago, and is spending his declining years, with his wife, in a comfortable home at 326 Fifteenth street. The lot upon which the house stands was in the midst of a dense forest when the present occupants came to Toledo, and in that vicinity Mr. Tappan's father killed wild turkeys and other game in the thirties. Mr. Tappan was married July 5, 1857, to Miss Katherine Knowles, of Milan, Mich., the acquaintance being made while the young lady was on a visit to her sister in Toledo. The wedding occurred at Monroe, Mich., which even at that day was the Mecca of people of matrimonial intentions. They returned to Toledo. where a cosily furnished home awaited the bride. Their first residence was located on Eleventh street where the Boys' Home now stands, and was considered a good distance from town. Jackson avenue was a residence street then, and Mr. and Mrs. Tappan lived there for nearly twenty-five years. They were living there when the great flood- occurred and for twenty-four hours their house was surrounded by water, and the fact that the structure was built high above the street saved them being flooded, although the basement was submerged. On July 5, 1907, with the friends of earlier years, Mr. and Mrs. Tappan took a backward look over, the long journey they had traveled, and went over some of the earls' incidents of the early history of Toledo when the swamps reached to the very doors of the homes. A golden wedding anniversary is always an event of interest, but this one had more than ordinary interest attached to it because of the long residence of Mr. Tappan in the city. To him and his estimable wife were born three chil- dren, but they have all passed away. Charles, the first born, died in 1861, at the tender age of three years : Harry died in December, 1886, at the age of twenty-two, and Hettie passed away at the age of six, in 1885. Thomas Davies, secretary of the" George E. Pomeroy Real-Estate, Loans and Insurance Co.. secretary of the Toledo Transfer Co., and prominent in the management of the Eight Brothers Ce- 414 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY ment Paving Co. and the General Motor Truck Co., has been a resident of Toledo since 1887. He was born at Hubbard, Trumbull county, Ohio, Feb. 7, 1874, and accompanied his parents to Toledo when he was thirteen years of age. David T. Davies, his father, became prominent in business affairs in Toledo and was highly esteemed for his sterling attributes of character. Thomas Davies attended public school in Youngstown, Ohio, which was the home of the family during his boyhood. When the family became established at Toledo, Thomas worked for his brother in his East Side grocery store, was next employed as clerk in a clothing store on the East Side, and then in a bank in the same vicinity for eight years. Mr. Davies became connected with the Toledo Transfer Co. at the time the city transfer companies united their interests ; he has been connected with the well-known, important Pomeroy firm since 1908, when Elmer H., Close severed his association with that company. The General Motor Truck Co. is an organization established by the Davies brothers—Thomas, David T., Jr., and Hiram—and they are the principal stockholders in the business. This company is growing rapidly in prosperity and bids fair to become a very influential organization. Mr. Davies displays business ability of a high order, shrewdness, keen judgment and unimpeachable integrity. His rise in the financial world has been rapid and due to his own energy and perseverance ; he is recognized to be one of the foremost young business men of Toledo. Politically, Mr. Davies is identified with the Republican party. He is an enthusiastic member of the Masonic order, a member of the Toledo Lodge and the Yondota Blue Lodge. and has reached the Scottish Rite and the Thirty-second degree. He is also a member of the Business Men's Club of Toledo. On March 4, 1903, Mr. Davies was married, in Toledo, to Miss Agnes Tracy, who was born in Elmore, Ohio, daughter of Dr. James L. Tracy, now of Toledo. Mrs. Davies is a graduate of the high school of Toledo and has pursued extended courses of study in music. She is an accomplished vocalist, the possessor of a beautiful voice, and has studied with the best American masters. among them Evan Williams and Theodore Tait. Mr. Davies is a popular tenor singer and is tenor soloist of the choir of men's and boys' voices of Trinity Episcopal Church, which is one of the very best church choirs in the United States. He and his wife are in great demand at musicals and concerts. Mr. Davies is a member of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Davies—Elizabeth and James Tracy, both born in Toledo. The home of the family is situated at 352 Irving street, and there Mrs. Davies presides as hostess with rare tact and dignity. Mr. Davies is domestic in his tastes and devoted to his wife and children. The Tracy family, of whom Dr. Tracy is a well-known representative in Toledo, is of English descent. Henry A. Schligman.—One of the most representative German-born citizens of Toledo is Henry A. Schligman, the head Of the American Plumbers' Supply Company, organized by Mr. Schligman and his wife and their son, Maurice W. The firm is located in the new and commodious building erected for the company, at BIOGRAPHICAL - 415 616-622 Jackson street, in 1909. The company is exclusively a wholesale house and has a large list of patrons. Mr. Schligman's business integrity is above question ; his punctuality in the delivery of orders is most gratifying to his customers, and he is in every respect a most satisfactory man to deal with. He keeps informed as to all the new devices offered in plumbing appliances and is well qualified to advise the safety of their adoption. Mr. Schligman was born in Hanover, Germany, June 18, 1849. received his education in Germany, and immigrated to the United States in 1864. Mr. Schligman's parents, William and Caroline (Breifing) Schligman, came to Toledo five years later and there resided the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of eight children, of whom Henry A. is the eldest ; one other son and three daughters are living, all residents of Toledo. Henry A. Schligman was employed in the grocery store of Witker & Johnson for two years after he arrived in Toledo, was subsequently engaged in other occupations in the city, and, in 1871, became interested in the Toledo Pump Company, with which establishment he remained until 1890. In that Year he organized the American Pump Company, located at 518-5-20 South St. Clair street, and after successfully conducting that business a dozen years or more, he sold out the pump business and went into the plumbers' supply business, which, under his management, has increased enormously in value. Sound business judgment, natural ability and perseverance have been factors which determined Mr. Schligman's business success, and he is a self-made man in the best sense of the word. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge and of Toledo Lodge. No. 7, Knights Templars. Politically, Mr. Schligman is a stanch Republican, and has served twice as a member of the school board. On June 7, 1870, he married, in Monroe, Mich., Miss Katharine Simmons, who was born and educated in Monroe. Four children have blessed the marriage : Mrs. George W. Edwards, of Muncie. Ind. ; Mrs. Carl A. Senf, of Toledo : Maurice W.. who is associated in business with his father and is a capable and popular young business man ; and one son died in infancy. The children were all born in Toledo and the daughters graduated in the Toledo High School. The family has resided for some years at 573 Lincoln avenue and its members are widely. ac quainted in the city and widely esteemed socially. Col. George Plumb Waldorf was born upon the Western Reserve. in Brookfield, Trumbull county, Ohio, Dec. 20, 1849. Asa Burton Waldorf was the son of David and Eunice (Burton) Waldorf. and his wife, Jerusha Eliza, was the daughter of Ransom and Hannah Wilmot, and they were born and reared upon the farms of their respective parents, in Trumbull county, and were the parents of George P. and his brother, Wilmot David Waldorf. Asa Burton, the father of Eunice (Burton) Waldorf, was a wealthy farmer of Trumbull county, living to the age of ninety-two, and his wife, Eunice Webber, was the daughter of Col. Ebenezer Webber, of Worthington,. Mass., who commanded a company of State militia, and with his company enlisted in the Continental army and served throughout the Revolutionary war. Three 416 -MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY brothers by the name of Waldorf, born in the town of Waldorf, in Germany, came to this country prior to the Revolution, and from these descended those of the name in America. Authentic history is not in the possession of this branch of the Waldorf family, but tradition handed down says "that the German family from whom the three brothers sprang, lived in a 'stone house,' and was one of high standing and influence, and that the three brothers were soldiers in the Continental army." Colonel Waldorf's father was a lawyer, and moved his family to Lima, Allen county, Ohio, in 1852. There he practiced his profession in partnership with Matt H. Nichols, the latter serving in Congress for three terms from the Lima district, first as a Democrat, then as the Anti-Nebraska candidate, and last as a Republican. Waldorf was a Free-Soiler, then supported Nichols as a Republican. In 1858. he bought a farm three miles east of .Lima, and, owing to failing health, moved his family to the same, where he died, in 1859. In 1861, the family moved back to Lima, where the mother taught in the public schools until her sons were able to provide for her. It was here that young Waldorf was educated, except three years in the country school and one year in Phillips' Academy, in Exeter, N. H., where he went to prepare for Harvard College. In September, of the second year at Exeter, owing to a temporary lapse of health, he was compelled to suspend his studies, and this changed the whole course of his life, for he had planned to become a lawyer. At the age of sixteen, in order to aid his mother. he left school and took employment in the book-store of Woodward & Nichols, receiving $150 for the first and $250 for the second year's service. At the age of eighteen, he entered the employ of Joseph H. Dague, where he received $500 and $600, respectively, for two years' service as a dry-goods salesman. In September, 1870, after spending the prior summer in preparation, he entered the -middle year at Phillips' Academy. He became of age while there and cast his first vote, in Exeter, in the spring of 1871. for local township officers. In 1872, he went into business, purchasing the old book-store at Lima, in which he was formerly a clerk, and continued the same until 1883, when he sold the business and devoted his attention to the duties of postmaster. In 1885, petroleum was discovered at Lima, the first well of the field being drilled by B. C. Faurot, at his paper-mill, while in search of natural gas. Waldorf at once formed an association, in the oil business, with B. C. Faurot, Judge C. M. Hughes, and Tames B. Townsend, who was then prosecuting attorney of the county, and they soon after, in company with the McCalmont Oil Company, of Bradford. Pa., incorporated the first company in the new field, known as the Trenton Rock Oil Company, of which Colonel Waldorf became the general manager, as well as secretary and treasurer. This company became a considerable factor in the pioneer development of the new field, which rapidly attracted the oil men from the old fields and became famous in extent and richness. The Trenton Rock Oil Company drilled some fifty experimental wells along a line of about sixty miles, between Findlay and Celina, Ohio, where BIOGRAPHICAL - 417 they had acquired 50,000 acres of leases under the direction Of "Farmer Dean," Colonel Waldorf having charge of the leasing operations. The Standard Oil Company became the dominating power in the field, arbitrarily reduced the price of the crude oil to fifteen cents, and held it there until it was enabled to buy out the large majority of the producers, Waldorf's company among the rest, the latter going out of business in 1889, letting go thousands of acres that proved to be valuable producing territory. In April, 1891, Colonel Waldorf moved his family to Toledo, where he took up his residence. He had been appointed, the fall prior, to the position of Collector of Internal Revenue for the Tenth Ohio District, and as the principal office of the district is located in Toledo, convenience dictated the change in his residence. He retired from the above office, July 1, 1907. He is the president of the Standard Copper Mining Company, of Wyoming, in which State the company has valuable copper claims, which they are developing. He and his wife have valuable property interests in Toledo, Which he manages, and their residence in this city has become permanent. President Hayes, on May 11, 1877, appointed him postmaster at Lima, Ohio, which office he filled for nine years, under the administrations of Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, and Cleveland, retiring under Cleveland for a Democratic successor. President Harrison, on Sept. 18, 1889, appointed him Collector of Internal Revenue for the Tenth District of Ohio, in which position he served four years, and was succeeded by a Democrat, appointed by Cleveland. President McKinley, on May 28, 1898, appointed him to the same collectorship, in which position he continued, under Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt, until July 1. 1907, when a political friend, Gen. W. V. McMaken, succeeded him, thus completing twenty-two years of Federal service, twice broken by the election of President Cleveland. Governor Foraker, on Jana 11, 1886, appointed him a member of his military staff, with the rank of colonel. and reappointed him. Jan. 9. 1888. In politics. Colonel Waldorf has always been an ardent Republican and active in political work from the age of twenty. taking naturally to the same from his early youth. His father was closely identified with the leading men who were of antislavery proclivities, and many went to the farm to consult with him upon the questions that were casting the shadow of war, and which the civil conflict soon thereafter came to settle. In those times, to be a Republican was to be a patriot, and the stirring incidents rapidly following gave young Waldorf the inspiration to become a politician. He became the friend and confidant of John Sherman, William McKinley, Mark A. Hanna. Charles Foster, and George K. Nash, and was intimately acquainted with all the State leaders of his party from 1876 to the present time. He was elected a delegate to the Republican National Convention of 1888, from the Lima district, and a like honor was bestowed upon him by the Toledo district, in 1904, at which time he was selected by the Ohio delegation to serve upon the Committee of Notification, which he, accompanied to Oyster Bay, where President Roosevelt was notified, officially, of his nomination as the Republican candidate for 418 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY President. Colonel Waldorf is a member of the Anthony Wayne Chapter of the Ohio Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. He is a member of the Masonic order. Sanford L. Collins Lodge, No. 396, Free & Accepted Masons, Toledo, having been received as a member of Lodge No. 205, Free & Accepted Masons. at Lima, in 1873.. He is broad in his religious views, firmly believing in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man. He is a member and an elder of the Collingwood Avenue Presbyterian Church, of Toledo. Upon Thanksgiving Day. in Lima, in 1871. a double wedding was solemnized at the residence of Jane W. Holmes (widow of Branson P. Holmes. a prominent dry-goods merchant), and her two elder daughters, Elisabeth Viella and Mary Reed Holmes, were married to William L. Porter and George P. Waldorf. Mrs. Holmes, now eighty-six years of age, is still living at Lima, with her son, Frank W. Holmes. her daughter Florence—Mrs. William L. Mackenzie—living across the street from her. Mrs. Holmes' sister was the wife of Judge William H. West. of Bellefontaine, Ohio. Colonel Waldorf and his wife, Mary, had two children—Burton Holmes and Kate Williams—both living. The latter married Karl T. Kirk, of Zanesville, Ohio and she has two sons--Waldorf Tilton and William—aged thirteen and nine years. respectively. Burton Holmes Waldorf married Marion Tyler Andrews. the daughter of Samuel Andrews. of Toledo. in 1903. Colonel Waldorf's wife died in 1899. In 1901. he married Viella Holmes Porter. the widow of William L. Porter, the other surviving party in the double wedding above referred to. The colonel is strictly a home man, enjoys his friends and books. and still looks forward to a life of usefulness. He loves to serve his friends, and takes a lively interest in the political world, although he feels that he has served his apprenticeship. in the laborious work that clean politics demands, and delights in seeing younger men perform the active duties that should be cheerfully performed by every American citizen. Samuel Hildebrand, a well known contractor of Toledo. was born in Canton Berne. Switzerland, March 17, 1863. His parents also were natives of Switzerland and passed their entire lives in that country. The father died when Samuel was quite young, and at the age of five years he went to live with an aunt, Mrs. Jacob Knuth, a sister of his mother. His mother died after he came to the United States. His parents were poor people, his opportunities to secure an education were limited, and at the age of fifteen years he began to support himself. During the next ten years he visited various European countries and learned the trade of cabinet- maker. In 1888, he was employed at Paris in getting the buildings and grounds ready for the exposition of 1889, and there he joined a party of eleven—all French people except himself—to come to America. He landed at Castle Garden. unable to speak or understand a word of English. and, in the spring of 1889, came to Toledo. He found employment as a journeyman carpenter. and, after working for several employers, was for two and a half years in the Valentine Ketcham furniture factory, attending night school in BIOGRAPHICAL - 419 the meantime to learn the English language and supplement the meager education he had obtained in his native land. Concluding that it did not pay to work for some one else, he began business for himself as a contractor, March 1, 1892, and he was successful from the start. Among the buildings he has erected are the Stamm Building, corner of Thirteenth and Missouri streets ; the Mohler Block, on the opposite corner of the same streets ; Capf's Hall, on Western avenue, and a number of fine residences. One of his first contracts was for the erection of the Miller Club House in Oregon township, which was destroyed by fire in 1909. He built his own residence, 2436 Broadway, and recently has erected "The Hildebrand Terrace," at the corner of Broadway and St. James Court. This building has the distinction of being the first in Toledo to be constructed by what is known as the continuous hollow wall system, a process for which Mr. Hildebrand owns the exclusive right for Lucas, Wood and Ottawa counties. Double walls of concrete prevent dampness and deaden the noise, making this method one of particular advantage in the construction of apartment houses, etc. Mr. Hildebrand is the owner of sixty-eight houses, forty of which are in the immediate vicinity of his home. He has platted and added three additions to the city of Toledo and has dedicated two streets to the city—Hildebrand avenue and St. James court. In connection with the latter place there is an interesting bit of municipal history. Mr. Hildebrand, being the owner of all the abutting property on the street, was awarded a contract by the Board of Public Service to pave the street with Metropolitan block pavement, probably being the only case on record where the owner of the property would be taxed to pay himself for making improvements in front of his own premises. Some one wrote some rather pleasant verses on the subject, and these rhymes Mr. Hildebrand has framed. and it is said he smiles whenever he looks at them : "There'll be no kick from St. James court about the paving plan, No plaint at all—they're satisfied and like it 'to a man' ; And nary grouchy citizen will e'er be heard to say : 'Don't like the way the court is paved'—it's Hildebrand must pay. "It's Hildebrand to do the work and Hildebrand to use, The Hilde-brand of pavement—yes, it's Hildebrand to lose. If the paving isn't done right there can be but one lone wail— It's Hildebrand from start to end of .St. James paving tale ! "There'll he no citizen to say : 'Contractor's got a cinch' ; There'll he no kick about the costs no matter if they pinch ; 'Twill all be peace and harmony ; serene, out St. James way, For the street is owned by Hildebrand—he's on the job to stay !" Mr. Hildebrand is a fine example of what can be accomplished by industry and determination. Coming to this country with practically nothing, he has forged his way to the front until at the 420 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY present time he is regarded as one of the substantial and foremost citizens of Toledo. In his early days as a contractor he adopted the system of giving prompt attention to his contracts and employing nothing but good materials and workmanship. By this means he acquired a reputation for honest work and punctual fulfillment of his promises, and this has been the corner-stone of his success, to which he has added by sound judgment in making his investments. He is a Republican in his political views and has taken a somewhat active part in behalf of his party by serving as precinct committeeman, 'and in 1908 he was a delegate to the national convention that nominated Mr. Taft for the presidency. He has also represented the Tenth ward Republicans in the State conventions. He was one of the organizers of the Superior Builders' Supply Company of Toledo ; belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and the Builders' Exchange, and at nearly every meeting of the city council he is present with something for consideration. His church relations are with the Second German Reformed Church on Stebbins street. On May 9, 1891, Mr. Hildebrand married Miss Eva M., daughter of Jacob Seeburger, one of the oldest German settlers of Riga, Lenawee county, Michigan, where Mrs. Hildebrand was born and educated, and where .both her parents are buried. Mr. and Mrs. Hildebrand have four children—Elmer, Raymond, Alice and Florence—all attending the Toledo public schools. Charles H. Getz is engaged in the real-estate business in the city of Toledo and is known as one of the reliable and enterprising business men of this attractive and thriving metropolis of the Maumee valley. He was born at Waterloo, DeKalb county, Indiana, Dec. 13, 1873, and is the son of Edward and Elva A. (Munger) Getz, the former of whom was born in Mansfield. Ohio, and the latter in Jackson, Mich. Franklin Getz, the paternal grandfather, was a valiant soldier of the Union army in the Civil war, as was also the maternal grandfather, Dexter w Munger. Edward Getz, the father, was a blacksmith by trade, and he followed that occupation at Waterloo, Ind., until his death, and his wife also passed away at that place. They were the parents of three children —two sons and a daughter—but Primrose, the younger son, died Nov. 30, 1907. The daughter is the wife of William Shaffer and resides in Owosso, Mich. Charles H. Getz, to whom this review is more particularly dedicated, received his education in the public schools of Waterloo, Ind., and in his boyhood became apprenticed to the trade of a machinist, at which he was employed from 1893 to 1898. He then went on the road as a traveling salesman, representing the Michigan Stove Company, of Detroit, and for three years he was thus successfully employed as a "knight of the grip." In August, 1904, he came to Toledo, where he has since maintained his home and where he is now established in the real-estate business, in which he and his partner, James E. Montgomery, have built up a successful enterprise and secured a representative patronage. For the first five years after locating in Toledo, however, Mr. Getz was engaged alone in the business, and the partnership with Mr. Montgomery was formed on March 20, 1909, and the business they BIOGRAPHICAL - 421 control is one of the finest in that line in the city. Their offices are located at 1038 and 1039 Spitzer Building. Mr. Getz is a man of energy and progressive ideas, and his correct business methods have given him a tenacious hold upon the confidence of those with whom he has had dealings. His political support is not given unreservedly to any political party, but he is an independent voter, in the sense that he casts his ballot for the man he considers the best fitted for the office he aspires to, be he Republican or Democrat, or the position national or local. He is affiliated with the Toledo Lodge of the Masonic order, and also has membership in the Knights of Pythias. On Feb. 2, 1896, Mr. Getz was united in marriage to Miss Evelyn Barnard, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William M. Barnard. of Fort Wayne, Ind. She was born in Coldwater, Mich., but received her education in the schools of Fort Wayne. Of this happy marital union there have been born two sons—Cortland A., who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and George H., who was born in Toledo. The family home is pleasantly located at 2822 Detroit avenue. Walter G. Bennett.—An aphorism of the sage old philosopher, Epicurus. was this : "Earn thy reward ; the gods give naught to sloth." The truth of the statement finds verification in all ages and climes, and the lessons of success are to be gained from observing the accomplishment of those within the ken of every man. Walter G. Bennett is one who has earned his reward through well directed industry and who has made each progressive stage of his career count for something definite and worthy, so that he is well entitled to the esteem and confidence so uniformly vouchsafed to him, as well as to the material prosperity which represents the tangible results of his endeavors as one of the world's workers. He is today one of the extensive real-estate dealers and representative citizens of Toledo. and here has he won this prestige through personal ability and energy. Mr. Bennett was born in Toledo, Ohio, March 14. 1863. and is a son of George R. and Mary Jane (Chesebro) Bennett, both of whom came from good old Empire State families, the father having been born at Manchester. N. Y., March 14, 1830, and the mother at Clayton. N. Y., in 1836. The name Bennett appears frequently in the annals of American history, and it also appears in the records of England, to which country the Americans of that name trace their ancestry. In the reign of Charles I the Bennetts were quite prominent in governmental affairs, and Sir Henry Bennett was private secretary to Charles II throughout the reign of that monarch. The name also appears among the men of science, authors. poets. musicians, theologians, and statesmen. Sir William Sterndale Bennett was a musical of renown, and at his death received the highest honor England can confer upon her sons—a grave in Westminster Abbey. The Bennetts flourished in England in the reigns of Edward II and Edward III, and one seat of the family was Pitthouse. Wiltshire. In 1619, in Youghal. an Irish seaport, Lord Boyle repaired a chapel which had been founded by Richard Bennett and Ellis Barry. his wife. The church record there goes back to the year 1100, which presumably is the 422 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY year of the chapel's foundation. The Colonial Governor of Virginia in 1654 was Sir Richard Bennett, who was appointed to act with the English commissioners in reconciling the colonists to the administration of Cromwell. The Bennetts have taken no small part in all the American wars, and affiliation with the Society of Colonial Wars may be claimed by descendants of Moses and Lieutenant Bennett, of King Phillip's war, in 1676. The New York roster of soldiers who served in the Continental army of the Revolution contains the names of twenty-five Bennetts. In 1676, Ardiaense Bennett was constable of New York and deacon of the Reformed Church, and when Wilkes-Barre, Pa., had but five white women inhabitants three of them were Bennetts. Last, but not least, it is fitting to mention that it was one of the Bennett name, living in America, who sent Stanley in search of Livingston, in Darkest Africa. Returning to the family of the subject of this review, his father, George R. Bennett, came to Toledo in 1861, and there engaged in the contracting and building business, in which occupation he continued until his retirement about ten years ago. He has lived in the city for nigh unto a half-century and has seen it grow from a fever-and-ague, mosquito and frog-infested pond to the finest, best, and future greatest city on the Lakes. His goodly wife, to whom he was married in 1853, died a number of years ago, and of the seven children born of their union four now survive. Walter G. Bennett, whose name initiates this sketch. received a common-school education in the public schools of Toledo, and afterward engaged with his father in the building business, which occupation he continuel to follow until 1905, when he entered the real-estate business, in which line of endeavor he is now engaged. Earlier in life he took- considerable interest in military affairs and served a term of enlistment in Company H, of the Sixteenth regiment, Ohio National Guard, Capt. William Moore. In this capacity he took part in the suppression of the big Cincinnati riot, in March; 1884, and later he received an honorable discharge from the State service. Fraternally, he is a member of Toledo Lodge. No. 144. Free & Accepted Masons ; Port Lawrence Chapter, No. 176, Royal Arch Masons ; Maumee Valley Lodge, No. 515, Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; Ruel Encampment, No. 250; Canton Lucas, No. 3, P. M.; and also of the Pathfinders and of the Toledo Maennerchoir. His religious faith is expressed by membership in the First Congregational Church, of Toledo. On March 27. 1895. Mr. Bennett was married to Anna M. Seyfang, and the family home is pleasantly located at 2380 Franklin avenue. Mathias Seyfang, deceased, was for more than forty years prominently identified with the business interests of Toledo, and he succeeded in building up a large baking establishment, which is still continued under the name of M. Seyfang & Company, at 810-812 Lafayette street. Mr. Seyfang was born in Wurtemberg. Germany, Dec. 15, 1835, and in that country he received his educa- tion and remained until he had arrived at the age of eighteen years. Then, in 1853, he migrated to America, and choosing Toledo as a location, he there secured employment in a bakery. Some BIOGRAPHICAL - 423 time later, in partnership with George Worts, he engaged in business on Summit street, between Monroe and Perry streets, and in later years a Mr. Jackman and George Scheurman were also taken into the company. In 1868, Mr. Seyfang erected a three-story building at 17-19 Market Space, in which was conducted an establishment known as the Seyfang-Scheurman Bakery, and there the firm manufactured all kinds of breads, crackers, pies, cakes, etc. Still later Mathew Seyfang. a cousin of the subject of this memoir, purchased the interests of Mr. Scheurman, and shortly before his death, which occurred Dec. 27. 1890. Mathias Sevfang sold his interests to Fred Seyfang, a brother of Mathew Seyfang, and these two gentlemen have since successfully carried on the business. The subject of this memoir was of an energetic. zealous. diligent disposition. and was exceedingly popular among his friends, being liberal in his views and charitable to an extreme degree. In early life he became a charter member of one of the first lodges of Druids established, and he was a member of the Pioneers, Washington Home, No. 34. of the Druids, and Lucas Capital. No. 4, B. A. Q. D. He was married to Anna M. Kinzer, of Paulding. Ohio, Aug. 12, 1879. and of this union there were born three children—John F., Anna M. B., and Caroline M.. the last named being a graduate of the Toledo High School in the class of 1906, and of the Toledo Normal Training School in 1908, and now is a teacher in the public schools. On March 27. 1895, the mother was married to Walter G. Bennett. a member of one of Toledo's old and highly respected families, and the family residence is at 2380 Franklin avenue. John F. Seyfang,. the only son of Mathias Seyfang, was born in Toledo, May 18, 1880. and this city has continued to be his residence up to the present time. Upon reaching manhood he took charge of the estate left by his father, and his time is fully occupied in looking after the real-estate interests of the family, which are quite extensive in the city. He has shown a decided capacity as a man of affairs and is considered among the substantial young business men of Toledo. In politics he gives an unqualified allegiance to the men and measures of the Republican party fraternally he has membership in Toledo Lodge, No. 144, of the Masonic order, and his religious faith is expressed by membership in the First Congregational Church of Toledo. Hon. Edward Malone, deceased, was one of the foremost building contractors in Toledo and also prominent in public affairs. He came to Toledo, in 1850, and learned the carpenter's trade in the shops of William Hoffman and C. A. Rowsey. In 1857, he formed a partnership with John O'Neil. and the firm secured contracts for a number of important buildings, which were faithfully and acceptably executed. Mr. Malone bore the reputation of being one of the most expert mechanics in the city. and his knowledge of his trade was thorough and complete. Nothing but careful and honest work by himself or his men ever satisfied him, and the results are seen in the substantial construction and endurance of the buildings he erected. One of his first undertakings was the Oliver House, during the construction of which he was foreman of the carpenters 424 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY engaged upon it. He built the high school building and, in 1870 and 1871, the Boody House, at that time one of the most imposing buildings in Toledo. These edifices established Mr. Malone's reputation, and his firm was nearly swamped by work at times. The Sisters' Hospital, the Ursuline Convent, St. Francis de Sales and St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church edifices, the Produce Exchange, the Carrington Block, the Myers Block and many other large buildings are examples of Mr. Malone's work. The residences of Messrs. Solomon Keeler, Robert Cummings, Secor, Berdan, C. F. Curtis, Birckhead, Truman Hoag, C. A. King and Richard Mott, as well as a great many others, were constructed under the supervision of Mr. Malone. He and his son, Michael J. Malone, were awarded the contract for the erection of the State hospital at Toledo. In addition to his business activities, Mr. -Malone was punctilious in the discharge of civic duties ; in April, 1867, he was elected a member of the police board, and in May, 1869, he was made a member of the Board of Education. As chairman of the building committee of the school board, Mr. Malone was influential in obtaining for Toledo the fine school buildings for which the city is noted. Mr. Malone was elected by the Democratic party to membership in the city waterworks board, and when he became a candidate for re-election he was endorsed by both parties. He became the Democratic candidate for the State Legislature, in 1883, was elected by a large majority, and completed his term of office, although during the last few months of his term ill-health obliged him to relinquish all active duties. On June 7, 1887, Mr. Malone finally succumbed to fatal illness and death at his home, at the corner of Washington and Nineteenth streets. In his death, the city of Toledo lost a most useful, industrious and worthy citizen. Unassuming in manner, there was a quiet force and dignity in his bearing which inspired trust and respect ; he was very popular among business and personal acquaintances and was mourned by many friends. In the congregation of St. Patrick's Church he was a familiar figure and is greatly missed in the church, where he was a liberal contributor to its enterprises and also active in church work. Mr. Malone was a native of Ireland, born in County Kings, Feb. 1, 1825 ; he worked on his father's farm until he attained his majority, and then became a dealer in sheep. In 1849, he immigrated to the United States, landed in Philadelphia, spent one year in that city and then went farther west, stopping first at Maumee, Ohio, and next at Toledo, where be remained permanently. The marriage of Mr. Malone to Miss Elizabeth Madden, of County Queens, Ireland, was celebrated Nov. 23, 1853, and eight children of this marriage were living at the time of Mr. Malone's death : J. J., Michael J. (deceased), W. F., J. A., Elizabeth, Nellie, Anna, and Mrs. J. F. Connolly. Mrs. Malone died some years ago. Michael J. Malone, son of the late Hon. Edward Malone, was born and educated in Toledo and resided there until his death, from Bright's disease, Jan. 31, 1908. He bore an excellent reputation among building contractors in the city and was employed in the construction of many large buildings. Several years before his