BIOGRAPHICAL - 225 of business he never loses sight of them. He is extremely public spirited, and conducts the affairs of his establishment along such lines as lead to the profit, health and comfort of the community. It was his activity, cheerful willingness and marked aptitude that made him a valuable apprentice and popular with all with whom he came in contact, and these same virtues have aided him in establishing his magnificent patronage of today. Fraternally, he is a member of the Toledo lodge of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the lodge of Eagles, the Business Men's Club of Toledo and numerous German societies. Mr. Gradwohi has never sought the marriage altar; and resides in a pleasant suite of rooms at the Michigan Apartments, on Madison avenue, Toledo, familiarly termed the "Bachelor Apartments." Thomas McKinney, late a well-known resident of Toledo, came to that city, in 1851, from his birthplace in County Monaghan, Ireland, and some ten years later he engaged in the business of building pavements, sewers, etc., in which line of activity he continued for the remainder of his life. At the time of his death, which occurred March 28, 1906, he was at the head of the firm of Thomas McKinney & Son. During his long and successful career, extending over a period of forty-five years. he won a reputation as an honest and reliable man, punctual in the discharge of the contracts awarded him, and the work constructed under his supervision has stood the test of time, thus demonstrating that he was always faithful and conscientious in everything he undertook. Among the large contracts awarded his firm by the municipal authorities of Toledo were the large Adams street sewer and the Orange street relief sewer, the latter of which Mr. McKinney was superintending when he was stricken with the illness that resulted in his death. The work of the firm was not confined to Toledo, however, as large and important contracts were executed in Adrian, Coldwater and Morenci, Mich., and in St. Mary's and Montpelier, Ohio. In addition to the fine business ability and unswerving integrity that brought him into public esteem, he possessed a genial disposition that won for him a host of personal friends. He was a member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church from the time of its organization until his death and was a liberal contributor to its many worthy charities. He also belonged to St. Leo's Branch of the Catholic Knights of Ohio, and Branch No. 147, Catholic Knights of America. Mr. McKinney died at his home, at the corner of Monroe and Twenty-second streets, where he had resided for many years, and is survived by his widow and five children : viz., Helen, James T., Charles \V., Thomas J. and Francis E. Thomas J. and Frank E. both reside in the city of Los Angeles, Cal., where the former is engaged in business as a contractor. Francis E. holds a responsible position with the Union Tool Company, of Los Angeles. James T. and Charles W. have succeeded to the business established by their father, which they now carry on successfully under the firm name of McKinney Bros., with offices at 201 Wayne Building, and have completed some very large contracts for the city of Toledo. Both were born in Toledo, James T. on Feb. 10, 1866, and Charles W. on 226 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY May 28, 1868. They were educated in their native city, both attending the Davis Business College, and were brought up to the contracting business by their father, under whose able preceptorship they mastered all the details of that line of work ; hence they are well qualified to handle any and all contracts that may be entrusted to their care. James T. is a Republican in his political affiliations and Charles W. is a Democrat. Both belong to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Since the death of Thomas McKinney his widow spends part of her time with her sons in California and part of her time in Toledo, which city she calls her home, as it is hallowed by the recollection of so many pleasant associations. Henry J. Spieker, founder and president of the Henry J. Spieker Company, and one of Toledo's foremost contractors and builders, is a product of Germany and her institutions, his birth haying occurred in Hanover, Germany, Jan. 19, 1857. He is a son of Garhart Henry and Eliza (Clausing) Spieker, both of whom were also natives of Hanover, where they maintained their residence throughout their lives, the father having departed this life in December, 1908, and his good wife having died when the subject of this memoir was but eleven years of age. Garhart H. Spieker was for three years during his earlier life a member of the cavalry of the German army, and his chief occupation was that of hotel landlord. Of the children born to the parents, five—three sons and two daughters—are now living, of whom Henry J., of this sketch, is the eldest ; the others being : Mrs. Casper Sieck, of Toledo ; Mrs. Otto Eye, of Hanover, Germany ; and John and Herman, of Butte, Mont. Henry. J. Spieker's educational advantages were those of the public schools of his native land, and upon leaving school he learned the carpenter's trade, which he continued to follow in Germany until 1880, when he came to the United States, landing in New York city, and coming directly to Toledo, where he commenced to work at his trade the day following his arrival in the city. He began his career as a contractor, in 1888, and has erected many of Toledo's large and stately structures, among them being : the Young Men's Christian Association Building, the Ohio Building, the National Union Building, Madison Court on Madison street, the People's Bank Building, the Newsboys' -Building, the Michigan Building, the Standart-Simmons Building, the Museum of Art on Monroe street, the Collingwood Avenue Presbyterian Church, St. Mark's Church and Convent. the Schmidt Building, in which he has his offices ; the "Farm" on Collingwood avenue, the Country Club, the Yacht Club, and the Ford, Baldwin, Simmons and Berdan residences. Mr. Spieker was married. May 18, 1884, to Miss Sophia Kuhlmann, a member of one of Toledo's oldest and most highly respected German families, and daughter of Christian and Freund Kuhlmann, both of whom are deceased. Mrs. Spieker was born in Toledo, and it was there that she was educated and grew to womanhood. She and her husband are the parents of six children—three sons and as many daughters—viz., Frederick, Irene, Gideon, John, Florence and BIOGRAPHICAL - 227 Francis, all of whom were born and educated in Toledo. In his political proclivities, Mr. Spieker is a stanch supporter of the men and measures of the Republican party, and he is a member of the Salem Lutheran Church, on Huron street. He is a splendid example of a self-made man, as all that he is and has is due wholly to his own honest, persistent, enterprising endeavor. Landing in this country a. poor and ragged immigrant youth, with scarcely a penny in his pockets, he has, through his indefatigable energy, frugality, perseverance and intelligence, as well as a strict adherence to correct business principles, attained to his present enviable position and prosperity. His career illustrates not only the opportunity which this country affords the humble and friendless immigrant to make something of himself, but also the gain which this republic receives through the enterprising, honest and intelligent foreigners attracted to her shores. While Mr. Spieker has enjoyed a generous measure of prosperity, and has accumulated considerable wealth. it has not been at the expense of his fellow-beings, for he has maintained a charitable and benevolent attitude and has helped many in humble circumstances to better their condition and there is not one cent of his numerous possessions but what was rightfully and honestly acquired. Naturally, he enjoys in the fullest measure the respect and esteem of those in whose midst he lives and labors, and his well established reputation for rugged integrity has won him many friends in the commercial world who realize that he can be relied on to carry out his contractural obligations to the very letter. Public-spirited and broad-minded, he has ever been a stanch advocate of public improvements of a permanent nature, and his judgment is of such a character that he is frequently consulted by men in public life, his many friends and associates, in matters of importance. The Spieker home is at 1317 Erie street, and Mr. Spieker's office is in the Schmidt Building, at 409 Michigan street. John F. Wernert, for thirty-five years actively identified with the old Merchants' National Bank, of Toledo, and now living retired in that city, is a son of the late Ignatius Wernert, a resident of Toledo for more than half a century and one of her prominent and most highly esteemed citizens. The latter was born in Alsace, Germany, Feb. 4, 1813, immigrated to America in 1847, arriving in Toledo on Nov. 1 of that year, and there he continued tO reside until his death in 1898. When he came to Toledo it contained a population of approximately 2.000 inhabitants, and during his long residence there he saw it develop from a hamlet -into a large and flourishing metropolis. He was for many years actively engaged in the contracting business, doing much street paving, grading, sidewalk building, and various other kinds of construction work. He was one of the foremost Catholics of the city and was one of the founders and charter members of St. Mary's parish, aiding in the erection of the first church edifice, and seeing the congregation grow from a mere handful to one of the largest and most prosperous in the county. Ignatius Wernert was one of Toledo's public-spirited and philanthropic citizens and gave liberally of his time and means 228 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY to every movement having as its object the betterment of the city and its people. He was strictly upright and honest in all his dealings with men, which won him hosts of friends in t1). business world, who came to realize that he could be relied on to fulfil his contractural obligations to the very letter. Always tolerant of the opinions of others, and willing to yield in minor matters, he never compromised with what he believed to be wrong, and was as fair to those who differed from him as with those whose views were strictly in accord with his own. Men trusted him because he was honest, they followed him because he possessed the qualities of leadership, they loved him because of his beautiful Christian spirit ; and those who knew him best loved him most. He was the father of twelve children, of whom six are living, the survivors being Ignatius, Jr.; John F., of this review ; Charles, Katie, Lena and Rosa. The last named is a nun, having been admitted to the order at Monroe, Mich., and she is now a musical director. Louis, another of the children of Ignatius Wernert, passed away in Toledo, March 19, 1908, aged fifty-two years ; and another son, Joseph, was a gallant soldier in the great Civil war, enlisting at Toledo, in April, 1861, as a private in Company A, Fourteenth Ohio infantry, and serving for three and a half years. He won distinction for his gallantry, and at the battle of Chickamauga, though severely wounded, saved the company's colors after three of its bearers had been shot down. He was again wounded in the battle of Jonesboro, preceding the fall of Atlanta, and died in Toledo, March 15, 1869. Ignatius Wernert was for many years an honored member of the German Pioneer Society, the Catholic Knights of America, the German Workingmen's Society, the German Central Society, and the various societies and organizations of St. Mary's parish. He received his summons to the life eternal, April 3, 1898, at his late residence at 1028 Ontario street, while in his eighty-third year, and his faithful companion and helpmeet throughout their married life of over half a century survived him eight years, passing to her reward, July 11, 1906. Ignatius Wernert illustrates in his life, not alone the opportunity which America affords the poor and friendless immigrant to make something of himself, but also, the gain which this country receives through the people attracted to her shores. His career will long be held up as an excellent example of what a poor boy may accomplish in this great land of opportunity and equality, providing he is faithful, honest and persevering, and is guided by lofty ambitions and worthy principles. He has gone out of life, but his memory will never pass from the affection and respect of those who love and revere goodness. John F. Wernert, whose name initiates this article, first beheld the light of day in Toledo, Nov. 26, 1852. He was reared in his native city, and his early education was acquired in St. Mary's parochial school. after which he attended the University of Notre Dame, at South Bend, Ind., graduating and receiving his baccalaureate degree in that famous institution, as a member of the class of . 1872. He then returned to Toledo and entered the employ of the Merchants' National Bank, as a bookkeeper, in which capacity he continued BIOGRAPHICAL - 229 until shortly after the institution's consolidation with the Second National Bank of Toledo. He resigned, in June, 1907, and ever since then has been living retired in Toledo, though some of his time and attention is devoted to looking after his real estate interests. In political matters he has not aligned himself in the ranks of any of the parties, though actuated by a desire to promote the public weal. He casts his ballot for the candidate who his best judgment leads him to believe is the better qualified to discharge the duties of the office he seeks. Consequently, he is not controlled by party affiliations or wedded to party idols, but exercises his elective franchise as a free man should—candidly, fearlessly and intelligently. Reared in the Roman Catholic faith, he has been a lifelong member of St. Mary's parish, of which his honored father was one of the founders and charter members. Philip Schmidt, proprietor of the City Bottling Works, of Toledo, was born on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1843, in Bavaria, Germany, a son of Henry and Maria (Schmeltzer) Schmidt, both natives of Bavaria. Philip is the youngest of six children, of whom only two are now living—Henry, a retired gardener, living eight miles from Cincinnati, and the subject of this sketch. One brother and three sisters are deceased. Philip Schmidt was educated in his native land and, in 1860, came to the United States. Upon landing at New York he went direct to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was employed, until 1865, in learning the wood-working part of carriage building. In 1865, he came to Toledo, and for two years worked at his trade in the factory of A. B. Waite, located on the corner of Summit and Monroe streets, where the Bostwick-Braun Company is at present. After that, he was occupied for two years in the management of a summer garden, called the Grasser & Brand garden, at the corner of St. Clair and Clayton streets. In 1869. he formed a partnership with John Shrenk, under the name of the City Bottling Works, for the manufacture of soft drinks. Their place of business was near the old jail. on the site now occupied by the courthouse. In 1878, Mr. Schmidt purchased his partner's interest, and the following year erected the bottling works on Michigan street. to which he transferred his business, in 1880, and where it is still located. About the same time he built his handsome brick residence on Michigan street, on the .property adjoining the factory. Mr. Schmidt manufactures a full line of mineral waters, ginger ale. etc., cider and vinegar. He also erected the Schmidt Building, on the corner of Michigan and Adams streets, one of the best locations in the city of Toledo, and the building is a credit to the city as well as to the enterprising spirit of its builder. Politically, Mr. Schmidt is a Republican on national questions, but on local matters he reserves the right to vote as his judgment dictates, without regard to party lines. Fraternally, he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the German Workingmen's Society, and the German Pioneer Society, of which he is president. He also belongs to the Toledo Chamber of Commerce. On Sept. 21, 1869, Mr. Schmidt married Miss Elizabeth Riese, who 230 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY was born and educated in Toledo, a daughter of Jacob Riese, one of the city's pioneers. a passenger coach builder, who was .employed for forty years in the Wabash shops, at Toledo. Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt became the parents of seven children, six of whom are yet living: viz., Mrs. Charles Baither, of Toledo ; Amelia ; Charlotte M.; Walter H., a graduate of Harvard, and now associated with his father's business ; Carl, also a graduate of Harvard, and now employed with the New York "Sun"; and Maria L. All the children are graduates of the Toledo High School. Homer T. Yaryan, of Toledo, chemist and inventor, is a native of the Hoosier State, having been born at Liberty, Ind., Dec. 23, 1842, the youngest of three children born to John and Clarissa (Ward) Yaryan. The father was a prominent attorney of Indiana and served with distinction as a member of the legislature, holding a seat in that body at the time of his death, in 1896. The mother was born and reared in Covington, Ky., where her marriage with Mr. Yaryan was solemnized. She died when the subject of this sketch was but eight years of age. Of the three children, Homer T. is now the only one living. Emeline, the eldest, married a Mr. Poundstone and died some years ago. John L., the second, was educated at Oxford, Ohio, where he graduated with the class of 1861. He enlisted as a lieutenant in the Fifty-eighth Indiana infantry, and was promoted to the rank of aide-de-camp on the staff of Gen. T. J. Wood, who frequently mentioned him in official reports for gallantry and meritorious conduct, especially in the Chickamauga campaign. After the war, he took up the practice of law and died, at Richmond, Ind., in 1898. Although born at Liberty, Homer T. Yaryan was practically reared in Richmond, whither his father moved some years before the breaking out of the Civil -war. After a good preliminary education, he studied chemistry with Gordon Bros.. of Cincinnati, Ohio, a firm which is still in existence. Upon completing his studies with this firm, Mr. Yaryan turned his attention to the invention of improved methods of producing various articles of commerce. His first notable invention was a process for extracting linseed oil from flaxseed, and since its introduction nine mills have been erected for the purpose of employing this system. These mills are located at Toledo, Chicago, St. Paul, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit and San Francisco. and all are doing a profitable business. It was in connection with the Toledo oil mill that Mr. Yaryan became a resident of that city, where he has ever since been an active and useful member of the community. He is also the inventor of what is known all over the world as the "Yaryan Vacuum Evaporator," which will be found in sugar houses everywhere that sugar is produced. and is one of the best known appliances for the production of distilled water, a plant for that purpose costing from $75,000 to $100.000. He installed one of these outfits at Key West, Fla., to be used in distilling water for the use of the United States troops quartered there. Another important invention of Mr. Yaryan's is the system of heating residences by hot water, supplied through underground mains. The first successful plant of BIOGRAPHICAL - 231 this character was established in Toledo, in 1893, though an attempt had been made to introduce the system in Boston, Mass., five years before, but it was a failure. By this method of heating the temperature of one room in a dwelling can be regulated without affecting the adjoining rooms. Mr. Yaryan remained connected with the Toledo heating plant until 1905, when it was sold to the Toledo Railway & Light Company, which now supplies heat to the district from Seventeenth street to Detroit avenue and from Monroe street to Delaware avenue. Plants are also in operation at La Porte. Ind. ; Mattoon, Alton and Bloomington, Ill.; La Crosse, Wis., and a number of other places. Mr. Yaryan's latest, and probably his greatest, achievement in the field of invention is a process for extracting turpentine and rosin from the stumps and dead timber in the yellow pine districts of the Southern States, or from the Norway pine stumps of the pine regions of the North. For years. nearly all the world's supply of rosin and turpentine—known in commerce as naval stores—has come from a limited area in the Southern States. The rapid consumption of yellow pine for lumber, and the old, wasteful method of "boxing" the trees to secure the turpentine, have reduced the output until the prices of naval stores doubled in the decade from 1900 to 1910. Mr. Yaryan's invention is simply another case of "the man and the hour." Just as it began .to appear as though the production of these valuable and useful commodities was at an end, the new process steps in and insures a supply for years to come, and this supply is to be obtained from material that hitherto has been regarded as worthless. The new method is thus described by its inventor : "The stumps or dead wood, cut into cordwood sizes, are fed to a chipper and cut into chips, three-eighths of an inch thick. These are conveyed, to an extractor, where superheated steam is introduced, and the spirits of turpentine is vaporized and condensed. The chips are. then treated with a petroleum solvent that removes rosin, heavy turpentine and oil of pine, and by distillation of the solution they are recovered, and the solvent rendered pure. to be used over again an indefinite number of times." By this method, a cord of good wood will yield from twelve to sixteen gallons of the first distillate of turpentine, six to eight gallons of heavy turpentine. two to five gallons of oil of pine, and from 400 to 1.000 pounds of rosin. Mr. Yaryan erected a turpentine plant of this character at Cadillac, Mich., and a much larger one began operations at Gulfport, Miss., late in the year 1909. The latter is owned and controlled by The Yaryan Naval Stores Company, of which Jay Secor, of Toledo, is president ; Homer T. Yaryan, vice-president ; Lawrence B. Beckwith, secretary and treasurer. and J. E. Lockwood, general manager. Prior to the introduction of the Yaryan evaporator, the wood pulp industry was on the wane, but, with this appliance. the business took on new life and activity, so that every wood pulp manufacturer in the country owes a debt of gratitude to Mr. Yaryan. Politically, Mr. Yaryan gives his support to the principles and policies advocated by the Republican party, but he takes no part in political affairs, 232 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY further than to go to the polls and cast his vote on election days. The only official position he ever held was that of chief of the internal revenue secret service for a time during the second administration of President Grant, and while serving in that capacity he was instrumental in sending to the penitentiary some seventy persons who had been connected with the frauds practiced upon the government by the so-called "Whisky Ring," or in some other way guilty of peculations with the public funds. In this work he had the support of Benjamin H. Bristow, who was at that time secretary of the treasury. Mr. Yaryan was finally removed by the President, who thereby called down upon himself a great deal of criticism, as the position was not considered- a political job, and the removal of an holiest and capable man led some people to charge the President of being in collusion with the persons who were robbing the government. While the scandal was at its height, a number of the members of the whisky ring employed Col. Robert G. Ingersoll to defend them. During the trial, Mr. Yaryan became acquainted with Colonel Ingersoll, the acquaintance ripened into a warm and lasting friendship, and whenever the latter visited Toledo he was always a welcome guest at the Yaryan home. It is worthy of note that every one of the men defended by Colonel Ingersoll in the internal revenue cases was acquitted. In his religious views, Mr. Yaryan holds to the same opinions that his friend, CoIonel Ingersoll, advocated, and classes himself as an agnostic. On May 5, 1880, Mr. Yaryan and Miss Josephine, daughter of Maj. E. 0. Brown, of Toledo, were united in marriage. Mrs. Yaryan was born in the city of Lafayette, Ind., but was educated in Toledo, having come to that city when in childhood. Two sons have blessed this union—Edward B. and Homer L.—both born in Toledo, where they received their elementary education, after which Edward attended the Culver Military Institute, at Culver, Ind., and Homer completed his education in a school at Asheville, N. C. Mr. Yaryan and his family reside at the corner of Collingwood avenue and Monroe street, and he has his office at 1222 Nicholas Building. Clifford G. Ballou, for years connected with the Toledo public schools, and known throughout Ohio as one of the State's most efficient and progressive teachers, but now engaged in the practice of law in Toledo, was born in the town of Waterville, Lucas county, Ohio, in 1864. He received his elementary education in the public schools of his native town, and after completing the course there entered the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, where he graduated in both the classical and scientific departments in 1888. While in college he held the position of tutor, was active in the literary work of the institution and stood high in oratory, winning several honors in that connection. Upon leaving college he had charge of the classics in the Toledo High School for one year, and was the first teacher of Greek and Latin in Toledo. Later he was made principal of the high school, upon the resignation of Prof. Adams, and after holding that position for a time was made superintendent of the school. Altogether, he was connected with the BIOGRAPHICAL - 233 work of the city schools for about fifteen years, or until June, 1903, when he gave up teaching to enter upon the practice of law, establishing his office at 923 Spitzer Building, where he is still located. In connection with his legal business, Mr. Ballou devotes considerable attention to real estate transactions. Regarding this part of the business, one of the Toledo papers recently said : "It isn't stating more than many friends and acquaintances know, that Mr. Ballou knows more about the chemistry of land and about farming and is in a better position to accommodate buyers of farm land more profitably to the purchaser than any person or dealer in Toledo or this part of Ohio." Mr. Ballou has brought to his new profession the same zeal and enthusiasm that characterized his career as a teacher, and by his own efforts he is winning success. Although doing a general law practice, he rather makes a specialty of real estate law and the settlement of estates. Mr. Ballou is one of the most prominent Masons in the State, holding the Thirty-second degree in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and in 1904-05 he filled the position of Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ohio, Free & Accepted Masons, being at the time the youngest grand master in the United States. He is now the youngest past grand master in the State of Ohio. Mr. Ballou resides with his family in a cozy home at 2105 Warren avenue. Matthew Seyfang.—Among the men of active enterprise and forceful business methods, whose activities have counted so Much in the past and are working so effectively for Toledo and her industrial advancement, is Matthew Seyfang, senior member of the well-known firm of M. Seyfang & Co., wholesale cracker, cake and bread bakers, and jobbers in fancy groceries, with headquarters at Lafayette, Ontario and Michigan streets, and a branch store on Market Space. He first beheld the light of day in Wurtemburg, Germany, Jan. 18, 1860, and his earliest educational training was acquired in the excellent public school system in his native land, after which he learned the baker's trade. In 1877, when seventeen years of age. he left the land of his birth and set sail for American shores, landing at N ew York city in August of that year, and coming directly to Toledo. Here he attended a private school for a time and entered the employ of the former firm of Seyfang & Scheuerman, bakers, composed of Mathias Seyfang, a cousin of Matthew's, and John Scheuerman, remaining with this concern for about thirteen years. after which he purchased Mr. Scheuerman's interest therein. The firm became known as M. Seyfang & Co., which was continued for two years, when Frederick Seyfang, Matthew's brother, pur- chased Mathias Seyfang's interest in the concern, which retained the old firm name. The establishment was then located in leased quarters at 15 and 17 Market Place, but upon the expiration of their lease the brothers erected their present factory, of which they took possession in 1900. Through the indefatigable industry, executive ability and intelligence of its owners, the plant has come to be one of Toledo's most prominent and widely known manufacturing institutions. The quarters embrace over 150,000 square feet of floor space, all of which is utilized. The trade territory of the firm 234 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY extends over the states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and a portion of Ontario, Canada, which is thoroughly covered by an extensive force of efficient traveling salesmen. The establishment is the oldest of its kind in the city and contains seven large ovens, which have a capacity of 30,000 loaves of bread daily. The city business is so. large that eighteen delivery wagons are kept constantly on the move. Cleanliness is the first rule of the company, and a visit to the plant will convince the most skeptical that it is no longer necessary to bake bread and other bakestuffs in any but the most cleanly and wholesome surroundings. The Seyfang bread, cakes and crackers are household favorites, commended everywhere for their excellence and wholesomeness. and the house also manufactures macaroni, spaghetti and noodles, and deals in candies and fancy groceries. The Seyfang bakestuffs have done as much. if not more, than any other commodity, to encourage and sustain home industry and quicken into action capital, labor and enterprise. The concern's latest conception is "Holsum" bread, which is. indeed, a modern triumph, the acme of ideal bread-making, as it is widely recognized as the very best bread ever made by any baker or bakery in this section of the commonwealth. The Seyfangs are thorough Toledoans and are widely known as among the progressive and reliable business men of the city and county. They never have been without faith in their city, and are active, progressive and enterprising exponents of that quality of success which grows and continues for the best and greatest business interests of the city—in fact, has become a fundamental part of the foundation upon which rests the industrial growth and prosperity .of Toledo. Matthew Seyfang is a member of the United Ancient Order of Druids, the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Men's Club, the Toledo Mannerchor, and St. Paul's Reformed Church. on Erie street. He was married, in October, 1883, to Miss Mary Nordheim, of Pettisville. Fulton county. Ohio, where Mrs. Seyfang was born and received her educational training. Mr. Seyfang and wife have four children—three daughters and one son—and their home is at the corner of Michigan street and Avondale avenue. Benjamin F. Wade, ex-sheriff of Lucas county. at one time United States Marshal in the Northern District of Ohio, founder and for many years president of the prominently known book bindery, printing, engraving and stationery house of the E. F. Wade & Sons Company, one of Toledo's foremost commercial institutions, and a leader in its line, with headquarters at 228-230 Superior street, is a native son of the old Keystone State, having first beheld the light of day in Wilkesbarre, Pa., Oct. 4, 1849, a son of Edward and Harriet C. Wade. His educational advantages were those afforded in the public schools of Milroy, Pa., and, Jan. 4, 1864, when only fifteen years of age, began his long and highly. successful business career as a printer in the office of the "Forum.” at Bucyrus, Crawford county, Ohio. On May 1, 1870, he embarked in business on his own account, as a printer, stationer and blank-book manufacturer, under the title of the B. F. Wade Company, of which he was president. In 1901, he erected his BIOGRAPHICAL - 235 present establishment, at 228-230 Superior street, one of the most substantial and best equipped business blocks in that locality. In 1907, Mr. Wade's sons—Thomas A. and Earl H.—became associated with the concern, which then assumed its present title, the B. F. Wade & Sons Company, of which the immediate subject of this review is still president ; Thomas A. Wade is vice-president ; Frank Monroe is secretary ; Earl H. Wade is treasurer ; and James F. McManus is the other director. The products of this widely known institution have attracted attention to Toledo and her various enterprises, as much as any other one concern. The catalogue, blank-book and artistic printing work are not excelled anywhere in the United States, and its equipment for turning out artistic jobs of printing is perfect, so no concern in the land acquits itself more creditably in this respect. Mr. Wade is as active and aggressive in his management of the house as ever, is an exponent of active business methods, enterprising endeavor in behalf of the public good, and such progressive citizenship as involves the greatest good to all the people. He is solicitous for the maintenance of the loftiest trade standard and the highest interests of commerce and trade. The trade territory of the concern covers the states of Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. No citizen thinks better of Toledo than B. F. Wade. He has a deep and abiding faith in her resources and promises of future growth and prosperity. In April, 1883, he was elected to the city council of Toledo. more upon his merits as a public-spirited citizen than on his record as a politician, continuing as a member of the council for four years. In 1884, he was appointed by the governor of the State as one of the five commissioners to represent Ohio at the New Orleans Exposition. In the fall of 1883, he was elected sheriff of Lucas county and, early in February, 1888, was appointed by President Grover Cleveland to the office of United States Marshal for the Northern District of Ohio, which appointment was confirmed by the United States Senate on the 14th of that month, and Mr. Wade occupied this important position for four years. He was appointed by ex-Governor Campbell as one of the original members of the Park Board and served thereon for six years. In political matters, he has ever been a stanch supporter of the Democracy, though he is not an "offensive partisan," and numbers among his friends many Republicans. Mr. Wade is prominent in York and Scottish Rite Masonry, being a member of Rubicon Lodge, No. 237, Free & Accepted Masons ; Fort Meigs Chapter, No. 29, Royal Arch Masons ; Toledo Commandery No. 7, Knights Templars ; and Cincinnati Consistory, Sublime Princes -of the Royal Secret, in which he has attained the Thirty-second degree. He is also affiliated with Toledo Lodge, No. 53, Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, in which he is a past exalted ruler ; and the Toledo Club, of which he is a charter member. His sons, Thomas A. and Earl H., signalize their interest in the commercial progress of the city by their membership in the Business Men's Club and the Chamber of Commerce. On Aug. 26, 1870, was solemnized the marriage of B. F. Wade to Miss Margaret Jane Tate, of Bucyrus, Ohio, and of this union 236 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY have been born five children : Robert, who died in infancy ; Thomas A. and Earl H., who are associated with their father ; Mrs. Harry Tiedtke, who resides in Toledo, and Lucretia, also a resident of that city. Robert, Thomas A., and Mrs. Tiedtke were born in Mansfield, Ohio ; Earl H. and Lucretia in Toledo. The daughters were educated in the old Smead School, of Toledo, and the sons acquired their collegiate training in the University of Notre Dame, at South Bend, Ind. The family is associated with the First Congregational Church, of Toledo, and the B. F. Wade home is at 1965 Summit street. William H. Gould, one of Toledo's leading civil engineers and surveyors, was born April 16, 1878, in the city where he now resides, and which has always been his home. He is a son of William and Emma T. (Henderson) Gould, the former of whom was born in London, England, July 25, 1844. When six years of age, the father migrated with his parents to Cleveland, Ohio, where he secured his education and learned the carpenter's trade, after leaving school. He continued to reside in Cleveland until 1862, when he removed to Toledo, and there followed carpentry as an artisan for two or three years, and later was foreman in the Mitchell-Rowland mill for about six years. He was for thirty years a carpenter contractor in Toledo, erecting various business houses and residences, but for the past ten years has been living practically retired at 2534 Detroit avenue, enjoying a well-earned respite from the exacting duties of his busy career, and he and his good wife are communicants in the New Jerusalem Church, on Lawrence avenue. The maternal grandfather, Alexander Henderson, was a native of the Emerald Isle. born in County Antrim, in the north of Ireland, in September, 1802, and when about sixteen years old came to New Brunswick, Canada, with his father. About .1835, he took up his residence in Toledo, and with a brother, Fulton Henderson, established the first foundry in the city.- He came to be a prominent figure in local affairs ; was at one time Street Commissioner, and was a student of engineering. He enjoyed a generous measure of prosperity and accumulated considerable property, at one time owning old Fort Crogan, where a daughter, now Mrs. Butler, who lives at 327 Woodland avenue, Toledo, was born. He also owned other real estate throughout the county, and the triangle at Detroit and Lawrence avenues, where Mr. and Mrs. William Gould have made their home for over thirty years, is a portion of the old Alexander Henderson homestead. Alexander Henderson passed to his reward on Easter Sunday, 1874, in Detroit, Mich., where he had gone on a visit. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Camp, was a daughter of old David Camp. the first surveyor to establish his domicile in Sandusky county, Ohio, and was the first county surveyor of that county. Mr. Henderson and wife became the parents of five children, of whom Mrs. Butler and Mrs. William Gould are the only ones who survive. William H. Gould, to whom this memoir is dedicated, is the third in order of birth of the six children born to his parents, the others being: Dr. P. A. Gould, of Gibsonburg, Ohio : Alexander Henderson Gould; BIOGRAPHICAL - 237 Mrs. John C. Hayes, of Toledo ; Mrs. J. W. Saul, of Chicago, Ill.; and Miss Margaret, a teacher in Toledo. All of the children were born and educated in Toledo, two of them—Mrs. Saul and Miss Margaret—being graduates of the high school, the former as a member of the class of 1904, and the latter of 1907. The subject of this sketch studied civil engineering and surveying under the able direction of James Winans and others, in Toledo, after which pupil and preceptor formed a partnership, which was continued until Mr. Winans removed from the city, at which time Mr. Gould assumed charge of the business and became associated with John B. Marston (a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work), one of the oldest survivors in the county, the title of the firm being Marston & Gould, which professional relationship was continued until Mr. Marston assumed the duties of county surveyor, in September, 1909; and since then Mr. Gould has been engaged in the work of his chosen vocation by himself. As is generally known, he does the largest line of local work and, in 1908, disposed of some extensive contracts, including one of $100,000, at Springfield, Ohio, and he also did the work of laying out the new Toledo postoffice building and many other large structures in the city. He is now very busy looking after work throughout the county and city, and landscape architecture is an important feature of his work. He is widely recognized as one of the proficient members of his profession in this section of the commonwealth ; also as having the very highest conception of its best interests, which are so closely allied with home interests and the beauty and excellence of a city. He has the public confidence to a great extent, and enjoys the most extensive patronage in the city. Toledo has no greater admirer and none give aid to her worthy interests more cheerfully. He believes in her resources and promises of future growth and prosperity, and he well occupies the position of a progressive leader. He is a . Republican, and loyal to the principles which have triumphed in the past for citizen and country. He is fraternal in his nature, and belongs to Toledo Chapter. Royal Arch Masons ; the Toledo Society of Engineers ; and the Spanish-American War Veterans, having served for four months in the United States navy during the Spanish-American war, in 1898. On June 30, 1909. was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Gould to Miss Winifred Towle, who was born and educated in Detroit. Mich.. and daughter of Charles Towle, of that city. Mrs. Gould's maternal grandfather is Maj. Thomas A. Barry, a United States army officer. Mr. and Mrs. Gould reside in a beautiful home at 2331 Lawrence avenue, and his offices are in rooms 418-419 Valentine Building. Hon. James H. Southard, senior member of the law firm of Southard, Zable & Carr, and ex-member of Congress for the Ninth Ohio district, was born on a farm in Washington township, Lucas county, Ohio, Jan. 20, 1831. His father. Samuel Southard. was a native of Devonshire. England, who immigrated to the United States, in 1833, and located in Lucas county, Ohio, where he continued to reside until his death, in March, 1896. He was a successful farmer, and a man of affairs in the community. He married 238 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY Charlotte Hitchcock, a native of New York, and they had nine children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the eldest son. The late E. B. Southard, of Toledo, was a younger brother, as is also C. C. Southard, who is an attorney with offices in the Nasby Building. James H. Southard spent his early life on his father's farm, attending the district schools during the winter months, thus laying the foundation for an education. Subsequently, he attended the public schools in the city of Toledo, after which he prepared for college at Adrian, Mich., and Oberlin, Ohio. He then entered Cornell University, at Ithaca, N. Y., where he was graduated with the class of 1874. The following spring he began the study of law, in Toledo. and, in the spring of 1877, was admitted to the bar. Immediately upon his admission, he opened an office in Toledo, where he has since been engaged in the practice of his profession, and he is recognized as one of the most brilliant and successful attorneys in Northwestern Ohio. In 1882, Mr. Southaru was appointed assistant prosecuting attorney, and two years later was elected prosecuting attorney. In 1887, he was re-elected, and during the two terms he served in that office he made an admirable record as a fearless and efficient official. Mr. Southard is a Republican in his political convictions and has served his party in many ways. He is a man of commanding presence, a forceful and convincing public speaker, and has taken an active part in political campaigns almost ever since he attained to his majority. In 1894 he was the nominee of his party for Congressman from the Ninth district, composed of Lucas, Ottawa and Wood counties, and was elected by a majority of 6,606 over his Democratic and Populist opponents. The district is one of the most populous in the State, and as its representative in the lower branch of the national legislature Mr. Southard proved true to his trust, favoring and working for the passage of such legislation as he thought would be advantageous to his constituents. His advice was often sought and his influence frequently felt in many questions of national and international importance. Some time after retiring from Congress, Mr. Southard formed a partnership with John O. Zable and John M. Carr, under the firm name of Southard, Zable & Carr, and they established their offices at 546-530 Spitzer Building, where they conduct one of the leading law practices of Toledo, numbering among their clients some of the leading industrial and financial institutions of the city. Mr. Southard married Miss Carrie T. Wales, of Toledo, and they have three children, viz.: Clare Louise, Myrtle and James H., Jr. On May 29. 1909, Miss Clare Louise Southard was united in marriage to George Winters Shaw. of Toledo, the ceremony being performed at Trinity Church by Rev. George Gunnell. Mr. and Mrs. Southard reside at the Belvedere. Francis W. Bainbridge, a well known resident and financier of Toledo, is a native of the Empire State, having been born at Varick, N. Y., Nov. 29, 1846. a son of William and Mary A. (Sweet) Bainbridge. Both parents were born in Seneca county, New York, where they were married and passed their entire lives, the father following the occupation of a farmer, though, from the age of BIOGRAPHICAL - 239 twenty-five to thirty years, he taught school. The Bainbridge ancestry came from England, where the family possessed a coat of arms. William and Mary A. Bainbridge were the parents of four children, of whom Francis W. is the eldest and the only son. His three sisters are all living in the State of New York. He was educated at the Ovid Academy and the Lima University, but, owing to the fact that his health became impaired, he was compelled to leave the latter institution before he graduated. After spending some time on the farm, to regain his health, Mr. Bainbridge came to Toledo, in 1873, and for two years was engaged in the hotel business, as manager of the old Dwight House—later known as the St. Charles. After that he was for several years associated with the B. F. Wade Company, blank-book manufacturers, at the corner of Jefferson and St. Clair streets. Again his health became impaired and he traveled for a time. He was One of the organizers of the Dime Savings Bank, of which he is still one of the directors, vice-president, and chairman of the finance committee. He is also president of the State Savings Bank, of Maumee, where he has a summer home, though he claims his residence in Toledo. Mr. Bainbridge is a Republican in his political views, but is not a seeker for public honors. Fraternally, he is identified with the Toledo Lodge. Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, and his church membership is with the Ashland Avenue Baptist congregation. On Sept. 23, 1880, Mr. Bainbridge married Miss Ellenore A., daughter of Robert Thompson, of St. Clairsville, Belmont county, Ohio, where she was born and educated. Solon Trembley Klotz, of Toledo, was born April 5, 1864, in the city where he now resides, and which has always been his home. He is a son of John Calhoun and Sarah Ann (Culp) Klotz, the former a native of Culpeper county. Virginia, and the latter of Fairfield county, Ohio. John C. Klotz first beheld the light of day in 1820, and in early youth came with his parents to Lancaster, Fairfield county, Ohio, where he received his early education in the public schools,. and was reared to manhood. He completed his educational training in the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio, and in the early sixties of the last century removed to Toledo. where he embarked in the business of manufacturing cigars, in which he was actively engaged for upwards of sixty years. He took an active interest in public affairs, and was at one time a member of the common council of Toledo, performing his duties therein with credit to himself and to the judgment of the people who elected him. .He endeared himself to all who honestly have at heart the highest interests of the city and the citizen, and he was a devoted champion of the toiler, often pleading the cause of labor through the columns of daily papers. A native of old Virginia, he was a firm supporter of the doctrine of State Rights, and, though his sympathies were with the South during the antebellum and Civil war periods, he was a strict Abolitionist and an enemy to human slavery. His attitude was misunderstood by many of his fellow-citizens, and his views regarding secession caused him no little trouble. He took a profound interest in representative 240 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY government, and probably no citizen of Ohio was better read or more thoroughly informed concerning republics and their history than was John C. Klotz. He was philanthropic to an extreme degree and originated the homestead idea, with a view of providing a home for the toiler, giving his theory a practical test by purchasing, with others, on the co-operative plan, an addition on the East Side, which came to be known as "Homestead Addition," and which proved to be a great success, as many an honest, hardworking laborer, in humble circumstances, secured a home of his own. In early manhood, John C. Klotz was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and, though he did not join any of the Toledo churches, he was a sincere Christian in every sense of the word, and his life was strictly in accord with the teachings of the lowly Nazarene. He joined the "silent majority," April 16. 1899, thus closing an eventful and exceptionally useful career of nearly fourscore years, his devoted wife having departed this life, May 18, 1896. They were the parents of three children—James Phocion, Solon T. and Lillie. The last named passed away, May 29, 1906, and James P. now lives in the old Klotz home, at 209 East Woodruff street. Solon .T. Klotz received his education in the Toledo schools and has been engaged in various occupations during his career. His first venture was as a hardware salesman, then as a musician with a theatrical company for about two years, traveling in that time all over the nation. He then became a salesman again, continuing as a "knight of the grip" for about two years, after which he entered the Toledo postoffice as a clerk, where his punctuality, aptitude, and loyal devotion to duty won him the approbation of his superiors, which naturally led to his promotion until he was placed in charge of the city delivery, when he organized the inquiry division of the postoffice. Later, he became a member of the Civil Service Examining Board, having served as its chairman for about eighteen years, and reading law in the meantime. He was admitted to the bar, in 1901, and practiced his profession in connection with his official duties. Mr. Klotz has for many years been prominently identified with Sunday school work in Toledo and Lucas county. He has served as president, secretary and treasurer of the Toledo and Lucas County Sunday School Association, though he occupies no office in the organization at present, but he is still a Sunday school teacher ; and he has been president of the Toledo Church Federation. He is now secretary of the Christian Socialist Fellowship, and a member of the Ashland Avenue Baptist Church, where for many years he has been very active in church and Sunday school work. In politics. Mr. Klotz is classed as a Democrat, though possessed of Socialistic proclivities, believing that the party system has outlived its usefulness. For many years he was a frequent contributor to the "Toledo Blade," his "Blade Whittlings" having been widely quoted in the newspapers and magazines of the country. It was doubtless his .success in this line that caused him to take to the lecture platform. When he made up his mind to this venture, Robinson Lc cke, president of the Toledo Blade Company, wrote BIOGRAPHICAL - 241 him as follows : "I have just learned that you are going on the lecture platform, and I desire to wish you the greatest possible success. Your work on the 'Blade' was so excellent, the humor of your stories so genial, the wit so sparkling, that I am confident your lecture audiences will be as well pleased as were the readers of your delightful drollery, sugar-coated wisdom, and happy philosophy, in the columns of the 'Blade.' The lecture piatform needs just the sort of entertainment as you propose giving, and your success should be instantaneous and permanent." Mr. Locke's hope and predictions have been fully realized, for testimonials from delighted audiences have come unsolicited and unstinted to Mr. Klotz. He has a fine, library and is thoroughly familiar with its contents, as he is a diligent student on all subjects that tend to lift mankind to a higher level. He is a prominent figure in fraternal circles, being a member of Rubicon Lodge, Free & Accepted Masons ; Toledo Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Toledo Council, Royal & Select Masters ; and St. Omar Commandery, Knights Templars, in which he holds the office of generalissimo, and he is a past high priest of the Royal Arch Chapter. He also belongs to Anthony Wayne Lodge, Knights of Pythias, in which he is a past chancellor ; the Modern Woodmen of America. the Toledo Press Club, and the Musicians' Union. On July 2, 1901, Mr. Klotz led to the altar Miss Florence Bruning, daughter of Henry Bruning, of Pemberville, Wood county, Ohio. Mrs. Klotz was reared and educated in Toledo, where her parents resided for a number of years, but after the daughter's marriage they removed to Pemberville, where the father is engaged in business, as a farmer and oil operator. Mr. and Mrs. Klotz have one son, Robert Ensign, born in Toledo, Nov. 3, 1905. George Strafford Mills, one of the leading architects of Toledo, who has had a large practice in the city and throughout the State, is a native of England, having first beheld the light of day in London, Dec. 3. 1866. Mr. Mills is the son of George and Mary Huxley (Callow) Mills, the former of whom was born in Saxemundham, Suffolk county, and the latter in London, England. In 1868 George Mills, Sr., left his native land for America, his wife and children joining him later in St. Louis, Mo., where, as a journalist, he was for many years prominently identified with the leading papers of that city, having been at one time editor of the old St. Louis Times, and later of the Globe-Democrat. He passed to his reward at Excelsior Springs, Mo., Aug. 18, 1890. His widow has since returned to the land of her birth. Three children were born, George Strafford, of this sketch, being the youngest ; one daughter, Elizabeth, died in St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 20, 1881, and the other child, also a daughter, died in infancy. The immediate subject of this memoir was two years of age at the time his family moved from England to the United States, and his primary educational training was secured in the public schools of St. Louis. He attended the Manual Training School of Washington University, in that city, graduating as a member of the class of 1884. He then took up the study of architecture, under the able direction of George 242 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY I. Barnett, of St. Louis, and in August, 1885, when not yet nineteen years of age, took up his residence in Toledo, where, during the ensuing three years, he was instructor in mechanical drawing in the Manual Training School. He then became superintendent of the institution, which position he occupied for five years, and on Nov. 28. 1892, in partnership with H. W. Wachter, under the firm name of Mills & Wachter, architects, he established offices in the Nasby Building, in Toledo, which professional relationship was continued until April 30, 1897, when it was dissolved by mutual consent. Since that time Mr. Mills has been engaged in the work of his profession by himself. He became established in his present suite of offices, in the Ohio Building, of which he was the architect, upon the completion of that structure, in June, 1907. Mr. Mills also designed and supervised many of the other large buildings of Toledo, among which are "The Secor," "The Michigan," Berdan's wholesale grocery block, the "Dow-Snell Block," the Bostwick-Braun Building. Burt's Theater, The First National Bank, and the Nearing Building, all located in Toledo. Also the Masonic Temple at Lima, Ohio ; the Students' Building and those of the Agricultural College of the Ohio State University, at Columbus, and numerous others, all of which stand as monuments to his genius and professional skill. Mr. Mills is affiliated with the American Institute of Architects, and is well known in fraternal and club circles, being a prominent figure in York and Scottish Rite Masonry, in which he has attained the Thirty-second degree. He was a leader in the popular "King Wamba" festivities and the Mardi Gras of the North, which attracted thousands of visitors to Toledo during the last week of August, 1909. He enjoys a large circle of friends, gained by his optimism, good nature and square dealings, and since coming to Toledo he has been an active force in its commercial development. He is a "good mixer," one who makes friends easily, and his genial and companionable nature make him an important factor in the social life of the city. Mr. Mills was married in Toledo, Nov. 4, 1895, to Miss Alice Baker, a young woman of culture and refinement and a daughter of George and Fidelia (Latimer) Baker, both of whom are now deceased. Mrs. Mills was born and brought up in Toledo, received her early education in the Toledo public schools and later attended Rye Seminary, at Rye, Westchester county, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Mills have two children, viz., Fidelia Latimer and Elizabeth Mary, both of whom were born in Toledo. The family resides in a pleasant home at 2268 Scottwood avenue. Edward N. Riddle, president and treasurer of the Western Gas Fixture Company, of Toledo, was born at Franklin, Pa., March 25, 1870, and is the elder of two sons born to. Newton B. and Weltha A. (Burdick) Riddle. The other son, John W. Riddle, is now chief clerk in the office of the Lake Erie Transportation Company, at Toledo. The father was born and reared at Portersville, Pa., and the mother was horn at Little Genesee, N. Y. They were married at Oil City, Pa., where the father was an oil operator. He died at Prospect, Pa., in 1878, and his widow married William Curtin, BIOGRAPHICAL - 243 of Lima, Ohio, and is now living at Independence, Kan. At the beginning of the Civil war, Newton B. Riddle entered the Union army as a drummer boy, and later served as a private in the One Hundred and Twenty-first Pennsylvania infantry. Edward N. Riddle was educated at Richburg, N. Y., and at Eastman's Business College, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., where he graduated with the class of 1888. The following year he came to Toledo and accepted a position as clerk in the office of Gosline & Barber, coal dealers. Later, he was with a firm of grain dealers, until 1892, when J. J. Coon organized the gas fixture company—which was a partnership at first—and Mr. Riddle became associated with the new concern. When the business was incorporated under its present name, in December, 1896, he was elected treasurer, which position he has held continuously since, and, in 1907, he was elected president of the company. Charles C. Corwin is vice-president, and William J. Schlect is secretary. The headquarters of the company are located at 607-617 St. Clair street, where they manufacture a complete line of gas, electric and combination fixtures. The factory employs about seventy-five men, on an average, and two traveling salesmen dispose of the product in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Western Pennsylvania, with semi-annual trips to the West. Mr. Riddle is a member of the Toledo Chamber of Commerce and is interested in every movement for the promotion of the material welfare of the city. On Dec. 20, 1892, Mr. Riddle was united in marriage to Miss Julie J. Coon, daughter of the late J. J. Coon, founder of the company of which Mr. Riddle is now the executive head. Mrs. Riddle was born, educated and married in Toledo. Mr. and Mrs. Riddle have two sons—J. Newton, born May 8, 1894, and Cortland C., born Sept. 30, 1898. The family resides in a cozy home at 2415 Broadway. Julius J. Coon, late of Toledo, was for many years one of the most prominent and influential figures in commercial circles of the city. Born at Seneca Falls, N. Y., Nov. 8, 1841, death deprived him of his father in early youth, and he was obliged to support himself and mother, thus learning at a tender age the lesson of self-dependence. He began his real work in life as an employe of what is now the Great Central Railway System, having been numbered among its earliest employes and working as fireman and brakeman between Rochester and Buffalo, N. Y. In 1871, when thirty years of age, he came to Toledo and became depot-master of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company. In 1880, he embarked in the grain commission business by himself, later forming a partnership with the late F. N. Quale, with whom he was associated for several years, after which he founded and organized the J. J. Coon Grain & Provision Company, engaging in business again on his own account. Being of an ingenious turn of mind. and always progressive in his business methods, he conceived the idea of constructing iron tanks for the storing and handling of grain, and he organized, in 1894, the Iron Elevator Company, which, under his supervision, built the first iron elevator tank, it being located on Hamilton street and having a capacity of 200,000 244 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY bushels. The utility of this innovation in the grain business soon received recognition from others, and within a year after its construction he sold the above tank to the Toledo Salvage Company. Mr. Coon then, in conjunction with Milton Churchill and A. W. Boardman, organized the East Side Elevator Company, establishing the plant on the East Side, where was afforded ready access to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company's lines, and where many tanks, having a capacity of 1,000,000 bushels, were built. Other well-known and substantial industrial concerns in Toledo and vicinity which Mr. Coon organized, or was instrumental in organizing, are : The Western Gas Fixture Company, from which he retired, in December, 1905 ; the Ohio Packing Company and the Van Wormer Paper Box Company. Besides his interest in those enterprises, he owned stock in the Commercial Bank, of Bowling Green, Wood county, Ohio, in which for many years he was a director ; and for twenty-eight years he was associated with the firm of the Royce-Coon Grain Company at Bowling Green, disposing of his interest therein only a few months prior to his death. For fifteen years he was associated with David Wallace and the late Noah Bowlus, in various oil fields, and, with his son-in-law, Charles Stickney, he was for several years interested in operations in the Waterville oil fields. Shortly after taking up his residence in Toledo, Mr. Coon was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Wade. of Toledo, whose death occurred about a year prior to his. Of this union were born three children—two daughters and one son—viz., Mrs. Charles Stickney, Mrs. Edward Riddle, and Court C. Coon. Mr. Coon received the summons to the life eternal, Feb. 8, 1906; thus closing an eventful life of sixty-five years. The funeral services were conducted by his Masonic brothers, and he was laid at rest amid a vast concourse of sorrowing friends and acquaintances. He was for many years affiliated with Rubicon Lodge, Free & Accepted Masons ; and the Toledo Produce Exchange, in the affairs of which he was exceptionally active, having been for several years chairman of the wheat-inspection committee. Few men of affairs have had a more varied or successful career than did Mr. Coon, yet in all the crucial situations to which he was subjected he proved himself entirely equal to the demands. In his business affairs he was keen, sagacious, active and progressive, and, in his social relations, his kindly, courteous demeanor won him hosts of friends in every walk of life. In business circles, his great value as a citizen and business man was known and appreciated, and he was a powerful factor in the commercial development of the city. The inspiring story of his long and exceptionally industrious career will long be held up as an excellent example of what a poor boy may accomplish in this great land of opportunity and equality, providing he is honest, capable and persevering, and is guided by worthy incentives and lofty principles. And, although Mr. Coon was called away at the height of his success, and at a time when still greater success and prestige were most promising, it is a matter of satisfaction to reflect that he has left to posterity a record of good accomplished, in which others have been benefited even more than he himself. BIOGRAPHICAL - 245 James H. Wilson, manager of the Toledo Undertaking Company, located at 1801 Adams street, was born in Toledo, July 17, 1878, and has passed practically his whole life in his native city. His parents, Thomas and Elizabeth (Gilmartin) Wilson, were both born in Ireland, but were married in Toledo. The father was a drayman by occupation. and for years prior to his death was employed in that capacity by Isaac T. Smead, the widely known manufacturer of heating and ventilating apparatus. Thomas Wilson died, Dec. 18, 1899, leaving a widow and eight children, who are still living. The eldest daughter is now Mrs. D. J. Nyhan, of Findlay. Ohio, and the others all live in Toledo. They are : John T., Mrs. C. T. Lawton, Mayme, James H., Thomas I., Timothy A. and Joseph. All were born and educated in Toledo. James H. Wilson started to learn the printing business after leaving school, and for three years was in the employ of Andrews & Busse. He then entered the employ of D. J. Murphy, an undertaker of Toledo, where he served some time and then became a student in the Myers Embalming College, at Columbus. Ohio. In 1904, he graduated at this well-known institution, and the same year embarked in business for himself at his present location, under the name of the Toledo Undertaking Company, of which D. C. Donovan is president ; J. P. Degnan, secretary and treasurer, and Mr. Wilson, manager. Mr. Wilson is the only member of the concern that is actively engaged in conducting its business, as he is the only practical undertaker and embalmer connected with the company. On national questions, he acts with the Republican party, but in local matters he is thoroughly independent, casting his vote for the men that he believes will render the best service to the community. He is a member of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church and takes a commendable interest in its good works. Mr. Wilson has never married, and lives with his mother and unmarried brothers and sisters, at 229 Batavia street. Henry W. Seney, late of Toledo, one of the first circuit judges of the State of Ohio, was born at Tiffin, Ohio, May 23, 1847, and was the youngest of three sons and four daughters, born to Joshua and Ann (Ebbert) Seney, who were married at Uniontown, Pa., and there resided until 1831, when they removed to Ohio and settled at Tiffin, where they passed the remainder of their lives, his death occurring in 1834 and hers in 1879. Joshua Seney was born in Maryland and reared in the city of New York, where his widowed mother then resided, and where he received a legal and collegiate education and subsequently was admitted to the bar. He was a nephew of Albert Gallatin, and was the private secretary of that distinguished statesman when he was secretary of the United States treasury, under President Jefferson. Upon becoming a resident of Pennsylvania, he began the practice of his profession, at Uniontown. where he won distinction at the bar, but after his removal to Ohio he gave his time to other pursuits. Ann Ebbert was born in Pennsylvania and was the youngest daughter of George and Sarah (Wood) Ebbert. Her father was a prosperous merchant at Uniontown, and her ancestors on both sides were 246 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY persons of wealth and high social position in Philadelphia, a century ago. Joshua Seney was a son of Joshua and Frances (Nicholson) Seney, both natives of Maryland. His father was one of Maryland's most gifted sons. At the bar he was a great lawyer, and on the bench a great judge. He represented his native State with commanding distinction in the last Continental Congress, and in the First and Second Congresses under the Constitution. His father, John Seney, was also a native of Maryland, and was the first born of the Seney family in America. In his day he was a leader in public affairs. In the Revolutionary struggle, he was successively a captain, major and colonel in the Continental army, and after the war he represented, for many consecutive years, his native county of Queen Ann in the Maryland house of delegates. He was a member of the Maryland convention which ratified the Constitution of the United States, and also of Maryland's first electoral college, which cast its vote for George Washington for the first President of the United States. Frances Nicholson Seney, who survived her husband for more than forty years, was the youngest daughter of Commodore James Nicholson, a distinguished naval officer in the war for American independence. Joshua and Frances Nicholson Seney had two children : namely, Joshua, the father of Henry W.; and Robert, the father of George I. Seney, the well-known philanthropist of New York. The two brothers of Henry W. Seney, like himself, achieved high rank among the able lawyers of Ohio. The eldest, George E., resided at Tiffin, was a judge of the Common Pleas Court in his twenty-seventh year, and after eight years as a Representative in Congress again practiced at the bar. The other brother, Joshua R., was a busy practitioner of Toledo, and was on the Common Pleas bench in that city when he was thirty-one years of age. Henry W. Seney was reared at Tiffin. He was educated in the public schools and at Heidelberg College, in his native city, after which he attended Notre Dame University, near South Bend, Ind. Upon completing his college course, he went to Cincinnati, where, in January, 1870, he married Miss Lizzie, daughter of Allen Cullom, a prosperous farmer of Warren county, Ohio, and this union was blessed by a lovely daughter, Elma, and a son, Allen Joshua. Two years after his marriage, Mr. Seney removed to Ada, Ohio, where he began the study of law under the instruction of his two brothers, and, in 1873, was admitted to practice in the State courts. Later, he was admitted to the bar of the Federal, District and Circuit courts, and still later to the bar of the United States Supreme Court. Upon his admission to practice in the State courts, he formed a copartnership with Hon. A. B. Johnson, afterward a Common Pleas judge in the Tenth judicial district. The law firm of Johnson & Seney. located at Kenton, Ohio, did a large and lucrative business and commanded in a high degree public and private confidence. The senior member was an able and experienced attorney, and the junior was not long in showing himself to be thoroughly equipped for the practice of his profession. His advance from the rear to the front of the Hardin county bar was rapid, and, early in his BIOGRAPHICAL - 247 professional career, he became known in the courts of Northwestern Ohio as a lawyer of ability and a formidable antagonist in legal disputes. The partnership with Mr. Johnson lasted until 1880, after which Mr. Seney practiced alone until elected to the Circuit Court bench, in 1884. Seven years after he began the practice of law he was a candidate for the office of Common Pleas judge. In the nominating convention of his party his supporters were outnumbered by those who thought that lawyers should not be judges before they had reached middle life. Three years later, he again sought the nomination of his party for Common Pleas judge, but again he was defeated in the convention. Soon after the adoption of the amendment to the Ohio Constitution. in 1884, providing for the establishment of circuit courts, Mr. Seney announced himself as a candidate for Circuit Judge in the Third judicial circuit of the State, and in the nominating convention, in July of that year, after an animated yet friendly contest, he was nominated, over five able and experienced lawyers, each his senior in years and practice. At the election, in October following, he received 64,977 votes, his opponent receiving 54,248. At this election three judges were elected in each of the seven circuits into which the State had been divided, and the respective terms of the judges-elect were determined by lot, Judge Seney drawing in his circuit the full term of six years. When he took his seat upon the bench, in February, 1885, he was in his thirty-eighth year and the youngest of the twenty-one judges elected at the first election after the circuit courts had been created. Near the close of his first term, he was nominated by acclamation for a second term of six years, and at the election, in November, 1890, he received 56,266 votes—all the votes cast for circuit judge, except 3,240. Judge Seney and his two associates held two terms of the circuit court each year in each of the sixteen counties composing the Third judicial circuit. During this period, by assignment of the chief justice of the circuit courts, he sat as judge in the circuit courts at Cincinnati, Dayton, Cleveland and Toledo. Upon the bench, Judge Seney met the expectations of his friends. The lawyers in his circuit and in the other circuits where he sat spoke of him as an accomplished judge, and throughout the State his reputation as a jurist gave weight to his published opinions. In 1893, Judge Seney removed to Toledo for the purpose of furthering the education of his children, his daughter entering Smead's Seminary for Girls, where she graduated. and the son completed the course in the University of Michigan. In 1896, Judge Seney resigned from the bench and formed a partnership—with Hon. C. T. Johnson, afterward one of the common pleas judges in the Toledo district, and Charles K. Friedman, one of Toledo's city solicitors under Hon. U. G. Denman—under the firm name of Seney, Johnson & Friedman. This partnership was later succeeded by the firm of Seney, Johnson & Seney, and at the' time of his death Judge Seney was associated with his son, under the firm name of Henry NV. C. Allen J. Seney. In the first twelve years of his professional life, Judge Seney took an active part in politics. Before he became a voter he identified himself 248 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY with the political party which his grandfather helped Thomas Jefferson to found, and which his father, in his day, did much to maintain. Judge Seney was an alternate delegate to the convention at Cincinnati, in 1880, which nominated Gen. W. S. Hancock for the Presidency, and a delegate to the convention at St. Louis which renominated President Cleveland, in 1888. He declined a tendered nomination for Congress. when the nomination was equivalent to an election, seeming to have no ambition to hold official position other than a judicial one. He held no office except Circuit judge, and sought none other except that of Common Pleas judge, though, in the spring of 1908, at the earnest solicitation of his friends, both lawyers and laymen. he became a prominent candidate before the Democratic convention for judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio. He had the almost solid support of Northwestern Ohio, where his judicial attainments were best known and appreciated, but withdrew his name on the third ballot. He considered the proprieties of the bench such that, while a member of the circuit court, he did not actively participate in political affairs, yet he was not indifferent to them, nor could he be, with his conviction that Democratic measures are essential to the maintenance of government by the people. Judge Seney died Sept. 2, 1909, having suffered a second stroke of paralysis. He is survived by his widow, his daughter Elma, now the wife of James E. Richards, of Indianapolis, Ind., and his son, Allen J. Seney. Henry Carelton Wason, deceased, late proprietor of the well-known H. C. Wason & Co., lumber dealers, at 3060 Monroe street, Toledo, and for upwards of forty years an active figure in the commercial life of the city, was a native of the old Green Mountain State, having been born at Boltonville, Orange county, Vermont, July 6, 1844. He was a son of Thomas and Martha (Brown) Wason, the former of whom was born in Corinth. Vt., in 1800. Thomas Wason was a wool carder and cloth dresser by occupation, having learned his trade at Lyme, Grafton county, New Hampshire, and he continued to follow it until the advent of woolen factories, with their carding and dressing machines, made it unprofitable to have the work performed by hand. He was a prominent figure in Caledonia county, Vermont, having been for many, years the incumbent of the office of justice of the peace, and during his later years he was associate county judge. He possessed a natural aptitude for legal work and developed a profitable law practice, though never a member of the bar. He passed to his reward in 1882. thus closing an eventful life of eighty-two years, his good wife having died in Corinth in 1869. She was of English descent, being a member of the well-known Brown and Carelton families, and from the latter the subject of this memoir derives his middle name. Seven children were born to the parents—four daughters and three sons—among whom Henry Carelton, of this review, was the youngest, and a sister, now Mrs. Sarah Lake, of Barre, Washington county, Vermont, is the only surviving member of the family. Henry C. Wason acquired his educational training in the district schools of his native State, in the academy BIOGRAPHICAL - 249 at Corinth, and at the old D. T. Ames Commercial College, at Syracuse, N. Y. He taught school for a year in the public schools of Vermont, and in the fall of 1863 went to Chicago, Ill., where he was employed in a store until April of the following year, when he removed to Muskegon, Mich., and there worked first in a sawmill and later became secretary and treasurer of the Muskegon Booming Company, a concern which accumulated logs on the banks of rivers, rafted and floated them down stream to Lake Michigan, whence they were delivered to various sawmills along the shores of the lake, some of the logs being taken 130 miles. Mr. Wason remained with the above concern about four years, after which he went to Saginaw, Mich., where he purchased an interest in a tract of timber, but did not meet with much success in the venture because of the hard times which accompanied the memorable panic of 1873. He was associated with several of the well known lumbermen at that time, and in 1875 he took up his r( sidence in Toledo and established a retail lumber business in Auburndale, under the title of the H. C. Wason Lumber Yard, but at the end of two years was obliged to dispose of this on account of the depression in the business world, following the panic. In 1879 Mr. Wason, with J. R. McGlone and Nathan B. Bradley, established lumber yards at the foot of Superior street and on Swan creek, at the lower end of Bismarck street, the firm becoming known as J. R. McGlone & Co.. which was dissolved in 1884, Mr. McGlone retaining the yard on Superior street. Mr. Wason and Mr. Bradley retained the one on Bismarck street, under the firm name of H. G. Wason & Co., and conducted a wholesale and retail business there until 1888, when the concern was dissolved. Mr. Wason then established the yard on Monroe street, under the name of H. C. Wason & Co., and there he was located continuously until his death, a period of more than twenty-one years. He was extensively interested in Lucas county real estate, and a short time before his death platted a tract of ten acres at Point Place, on Maumee Bay, in Washington township, just outside the city limits ; and this place, to be known as Bay Park, will be one of Toledo's beautiful suburbs. He was also the proprietor of considerable real estate in the city, and in March. 1907, he sold a beautiful farm of 320 acres, in Washington township, for $25,000. which place was recently resold for 532.000. In politics he was aligned in the ranks of the Republican party, and, though interested in questions of public policy, he was not a politician. He was a charter member of the Builders' Exchange of Toledo, and was for many years affiliated with the Knights Templars, though he did not keep up his membership therein. Mr. Wason was united in marriage, Feb. 1, 1872, to Miss Lucena M. Arnold, of Sandwich, Dekalb county, Illinois. Mrs. Wason was born on a farm near Adrian, Lenawee county, Michigan, but prior to the Civil war she removed to Illinois with her parents, Edward and Nancy (Rickey) Arnold, and her education was acquired in the public schools of Amboy, in that State. Mr. Wason died March 3, 1910, and Mrs. Wason resides at 2210 Rosewood avenue, Toledo.