TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY, OHIO 1623 - 1923 VOLUME III ILLUSTRATED CHICAGO AND TOLEDO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1923 BIOGRAPHICAL EDWARD DRUMMOND LIBBEY A history of Toledo would be incomplete without a sketch of Edward Drummond Libbey, one of its truly great business men and public-spirited citizens. One of the pioneers in the business world, he has helped make Toledo one of the important industrial centers of the United States. Through his public spirit he has established in Toledo the greatest art museum now existing in any American city of its size, making Toledo one of the great art centers of the United States. His career has been a constant and steadying 'influence in Toledo business and civic and artistic life for more than a third of a century. Primarily his name is associated with glass manufacture, particularly cut glass. Two generations of the family have been identified with the development of this industry. It is said that the story of cut glass in the United States began with Deming Jarvis, the pioneer glass manufacturer of New England. Deming Jarvis was senior member of Jarvis & Commeraise, glass importers and manufacturers, with a factory located in South Boston. In 1850 this firm took into its employ as confidential clerk William L. Libbey. The latter was .born in 1827 and died in 1883, a son of Israel and Mary Libbey. He remained with the firm of Jarvis & Commeraise only five years, or until 1855, when Mr. Jarvis sold the plant to the former clerk, and it was successfully conducted for ten years by William L. Libbey. At the end of that time he concentrated all of his attention upon the manufacture of glass-, ware. A successful business was built up, but he sold in 1870 and took the position of general manager of the New England Glass Company at East Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1880 he bought the entire business and at that time took in his son Edward as a partner. Edward Drummond Libbey was born at Chelsea, Massachusetts, April 17, 1854, a son of William L. and Julia M. (Miller) Libbey. He acquired his early education in the public schools of Boston and later attended lectures at Boston University. In 1874, at the age of twenty, he was given an interest in his father's glass business. It was, by a most strenuous apprenticeship that he was fitted for executive responsibility. He performed the most trivial of office duties and filled nearly all the clerical positions in order to learn every detail. On the death of his father in 1883 he succeeded as sole proprietor of the business and it went forward in the same successful manner under his leadership. It was the discovery of natural gas in northwestern Ohio, and consequent cheap fuel to manufacturers, that brought Mr. Libbey to Toledo. He moved his business to the city in 1888 and incorporated it as The Libbey Glass Company. This is now one of Toledo's most noted industries. This city has the largest cut glass factory in the world in the Libbey Glass Manufacturing Company, and for this distinction the city and its citizens are indebted to the enterprise of Mr. Libbey, who was the pioneer in this special industry. Under normal business conditions the company employs several hundred men. No other nation has excelled America in the cutting of glass into intricate and beautiful designs, and among cut glass manufacturers the Libbey Glass Manufacturing Company stands deservedly at the head. It is a business with a. great record of success and of progressive ideals, and the - 5 - 6 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY excellence of the Libbey product is unmistakable under whatever conditions it is tested. At the Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893 the Libbey Glass Company erected at a cost of more than one hundred thousand dollars a beautiful building in which the art of making and cutting glass was carried on in all its branches. That beautiful and practical exhibition probably did more than anything else to familiarize the world with this art and secure its just appreciation. What the Libbey company did then was the culminating effort of almost a century of steady progress in glass cutting, but the progress has continued uninterruptedly throughout the subsequent thirty years. Again, at the World's Fair in St. Louis, more than ten years later, the Libbey cut glass was prominent as an attraction and as a sharer in the awards. Mr. Libbey became president of the Libbey Glass Company at the time of its incorporation and served as its chief executive officer until a few years ago, when the Libbey Glass Manufacturing Company succeeded to the name. A number of years ago he turned his attention to a problem and in helping forward its solution has practically revolutionized glass manufacture. This has been brought about by the manufacture of automatic machinery for the making of glassware, particularly the ware which must be "blown," and that for generations the only method was the old hand and lung practice. Mr. Libbey has done much to introduce to the trade the Owens machine, which blows glass automatically. He is president of the Toledo Glass Company, a corporation established by him in 1894, and in 1903 he organized the Owens Bottle Machine Company, an Ohio corporation. This company secured an exclusive license from the Toledo Glass Company for the United States for the manufacture of machines and machine-made bottles. Since then the company has introduced the bottle machines into many of the largest plants in the United States. The Owens machine has been one of America's most wonderful inventions and in its success has almost rivaled Standard Oil in the returns to the original investors. Until recently Mr. Libbey was president of the Owens European Bottle Machine Company, which was organized in 1905. This company purchased from -the Toledo Glass Company all European rights for the Owens Bottle Machine, but a few years ago these rights were sold to a syndicate of European bottle manufacturers. In 1911 Mr. Libbey and his associates began a series of experimentations toward the perfecting of a process of drawing window glass in flat, continuous sheets. The basic idea, conceived by the late Irving W. Colburn, was sold at a receiver's, sale and was purchased by the Toledo Glass Company and at great expense was successfully developed, resulting in a machine quite as revolutionary in the manufacture of sheet glass as the bottle machine in its branch of the glass industry. In 1906 the Libbey-Owens Sheet Glass Company was organized and purchased the sheet glass patent from the Toledo Glass Company, and Mr. Colburn was identified with these corporations until his death. Mr. Libbey is president of the Owens Bottle Company and the Libbey-Owens Sheet Glass Company, all of his various glass companies being leaders in their several fields. With this brief exposition of his business interests and achievements, it remains to state what Mr. Libbey has done for his home city apart from the stimulation and establishment of business and industrial well-being. There is no reason to doubt the assertion that has been made that he has done as much for Toledo as any resident who ever lived here, It is not merely a diversion but a sincere interest which has made him always a lover of, art. That interest has taken TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 7 its chief direction in his benefactions in establishing the Toledo Museum of Art. On May 29, 1909, he and his wife, Florence (Scott) Libbey, conveyed by deed to the trustees of the museum seven lots and all the buildings thereon. This place was the homestead of the late Maurice A. Scott, father of Mrs. Libbey, and situated in the Scottwood addition to the city. The terms of the deed are that the trustees hold the same for fifty years, erect thereon a museum for the advancement and display of works of art, and after the lapse of the stated time the trustees may do with the property as they may desire. In addition to this gift Mr. Libbey has purchased three hundred feet on the west side of the new museum property on Monroe street, thus giving the museum a total frontage on Monroe street of about eight hundred feet and about five hundred feet on Grove place. This acquisition was purchased for the purpose of protecting the museum from any future encroachment on the part of unsympathetic property owners who might erect unsightly buildings close to the beautiful museum structure. The Toledo Museum of Art was incorporated in 1901 and Mr. Libbey has always been the president and greatest patron of the institution. Upon the ground a magnificent structure has been erected through the benefactions of Mr. Libbey and thousands of other Toledo citizens, which is praised by critics everywhere. Mt. and Mrs. Libbey have presented many beautiful paintings and other works of art to the museum. One of the former's recent gifts is a collection of ancient glass, which with previous gifts in the same field makes the Toledo museum glass collection perhaps the foremost in America. In 1916 an endowment fund of six hundred thousand. dollars was raised among Toledo citizens for the Museum of Art, even children contributing their pennies, and to this fund Mr. Libbey was the largest donor. He has also promised to almost double the size of the present building. Altogether, his benefactions to this institution will approximate more than one million dollars. He is vice president of the American Federation of Arts, the leading national art organization, and is a member of and a liberal contributor 'to the Egyptian Exploration Society. On July 26, 1922, Mr. Libbey was signally honored by King Albert of Belgium, who conferred upon him. the Belgium Order of the Crown, with rank of commander, in recognition of his great accomplishments. The order is conferred upon those who have distinguished themselves in artistic, literary or scientific work, or in the sphere of commerce or industry. This order has been conferred upon only a few Americans. Mr. Libbey thus receives international honors in recognition of his preeminence in the encouragement of art and in commerce and industry. He has taken a prominent part in the upbuilding of Toledo, particularly with reference to the schools and the development of the civic center and city plan commission. He was elected to the board of education a few years ago by an almost unprecedented vote and to this work he gave his time unstintingly. He was honored with the presidency of the board but declined reelection. The new Edward Drummond Libbey high school in the south end of the city has been named in his honor in recognition of his efforts in behalf of the schools. A worthy examplar of the Masonic fraternity, Mr. Libbey is a member of Sanford L. Collins Lodge, No. 396, F. & A. M.; Toledo Chapter, No. 161, R. A. M. ; and Toledo Commandery, No. 7, K. T. Socially he has membership in the Toledo; Country, Inverness and Carranor Hunt and Polo clubs of Toledo, the Sylvania Golf Club of Sylvania, Ohio, the Metropolitan Club, the Lotus Club, the Salmagundi Club, the National Arts Club and the Bankers Club of New York and the Midwick Country Club of Los Angeles, California. He is also a member of the Institute of Social Sciences of New York. Mr. Libbey's residence is at 2008 Scott- 8 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY wood avenue. His winter residence is in Ojai, Ventura county, California, where he spends several months. Here as well as in Toledo, in his characteristic manner he has remodeled the little village from the usual unsightly appearance of most of America's villages, into a beautiful little town with Spanish type of architecture, building a civic centre among the beautiful live oaks, a post office and acquiring a large tract of land. in the center of the village which he has had improved and dedicated' as a public park. JOHN W. HARBAUER John W. Harbauer, deceased, founder of The Harbauer Company and its president from its incorporation in 1904 until his death, which occurred August 18, 1917, was numbered among Toledo's substantial business men and highly respected citizens. He was born in Maumee, Ohio, May 10, 1865, and more than thirty-five years ago came to Toledo, where for a number of years he was connected with the Leroux Cider & Vinegar Company. In 1902, however, he established business on a small scale, his enterprise constituting the origin of The Harbauer Company of today, manufacturers of table condiments. From a humble beginning the business has been steadily developed until it is today one of the largest concerns of the kind in the country. It was incorporated in 1904 and John W. Harbauer remained its president to the time of his death, which occurred on the 18th of August, 1917. The Harbauer Company 'manufactures all kinds of, tomato products, vinegars, pickles and a large line of table condiments. The sales are confined exclusively to the wholesale grocery and jobbing trade, being made ,in carload lots. Each year there are more than two thousand acres of tomatoes and fifteen hundred acres of cucumbers purchased by the company to be manufactured into the products which they send out. The Toledo plant and its numerous branches employ from six hundred to eight hundred people during the harvest season and theirs is one of the cleanest, most sanitary and most modern manufacturing plants of any kind to be found in the entire country. The plant seems to be the last word in building and equipment of this character. It is operated throughout the year and during the busy season there are two shifts in each twenty-four hours, while the output is over ten cars of one thousand cases each per day. The factory can turn out two hundred and forty thousand bottles per day, all labeled and packed ready for shipping, and this represents only the bottle ketchup, for great quantities are also put up in glass jugs and cans for hotel and restaurant trade. A notable feature of the plant is the comparatively few employes necessary, for the machinery is operated automatically. There are thirty or forty girls to each bottling line, turning out an average of ninety bottles per minute per line of ketchup ready for the cases. The machines which constitute the equipment of the factory are the first and only ones of their kind in existence, the work being entirely automatic. Adjoining the Harbauer factory is a prominent glass factory in which are made the great number of bottles used for the packing of ketchup. In the Harbauer factory these bottles are conveyed. to the bottling machines, which work on an endless chain or belt plan, and by this the bottles are carried along through a sterilizing process, being washed, cleaned, sterilized and dried, after which they pass through the filler, where they are automatically filled and capped and again TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 11 washed on the outside, dried and packed. When the label is put on them; one movement of the machine places both label and neck-band uniformly and perfectly on the bottle, and the whole operation requires an average of less than one second to each bottle. In order to operate the. plant continuously there is put up great quantities of tomato puree in five-gallon tin containers. This puree is the product derived exclusively from whole, red, ripe tomatoes. There is a laboratory in which each run of ketchup is tested, and it must come up to a certain standard before it is bottled. Pickles are brought to the factory in great tanks of brine from the numerous pickle stations which. the company maintains in Michigan and other points and there is a vast vinegar plant for making pure apple cider vinegar to the extent of thousands of barrels of this commodity a year, while the box-making, packing and shipping facilities constitute a business in themselves. Something of the immense volume of the business is indicated in the fact that the company uses thousands of dollars worth of spices each year from one importer alone, in addition to large sums that are paid to glass, case and can manufacturers. As an illustration not only of the magnitude of its business in one item of raw material but as well the value of the company to Toledo and surrounding country, it dispenses an average of two hundred thousand dollars in a season for tomatoes alone. This money goes to farmers and gardeners within a radius of twenty miles of Toledo. During the World war The Harbauer Company supplied great quantities of its product to the United States government. The success of this industry reflects great credit upon its management from its inception to the present time, and while John W. Harbauer passed away in 1917, the company has kept abreast with the most advanced and progressive methods known to the table condiment industry. The present officers of The Harbauer Company are Arthur E. Harbauer, who. succeeded his father as president and is also treasurer, and Moses Jacobs, who is vice president and secretary. Both of these gentlemen have had long experience in the business. Arthur E. Harbauer entered it after leaving school, while Mr. Jacobs has had a long and important connection with its growth and develop ment. His activities have had to do largely with the sales management and have been no small factor in the company's success. WILLIAM WELLS CAMPBELL William Wells Campbell, one of the well known members of the Toledo bar, was born in Sandusky, Ohio, May 29, 1868, a son of William H. and Emmeline (Allen) Campbell. He was reared on a farm and acquired a public school education, afterward taught school for three seasons and then became a student in Oberlin College, which he attended in the years 1891-92-93. He subsequently read lam, and was admitted to the bar in 1894. He engaged in the general practice of law at Fremont, Ohio, for a period of seven years and in 1902 he came to Toledo. Here he has since followed his profession with success and his ability has brought him to a creditable position in the ranks of the leading lawyers of the city. He belongs to the Lucas County Bar Association and to the Ohio State Bar Association and his colleagues and contemporaries in the profession entertain for him the highest respect because of his fidelity to the highest ethical standards of the profession.. While he was well grounded in the principles of common law when admitted to the bar, 12 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY he has continued through the whole of his professional life a diligent sudent of those elementary - principles that constitute the basis of all legal science." On the 24th of December, 1891, Mr. Campbell was married to Miss Mertie M. Laird of Sandusky, Ohio, and they became parents of three children : Claude Allen, who is now secretary of The Ohio Savings Banks & Trust Company of Toledo ; Leota M., the wife of Frank A. Sullivan of Toledo ; and Dorothy C. Fraternally Mr. Campbell is connected wiBenevolentns and with the Berievolent Protective Order of. Elks. JOHN HENRY BERKEBILE John Henry Berkebile is the president of the J. H. Berkebile Company, general building contractors of Toledo, and has long figured prominently in connection with building operations in this city, as he was formerly president and general manager of the .Henry J. Spieker Company. Actuated by a most progressive spirit, he has long since advanced beyond the ranks of the many and stands among the more successful few. A large percentage of the finest buildings of this city are monuments to his skill, enterprise and business ability. Mr. Berkebile was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, May 23, 1867, his parents being David and Sarah (Stutzman) Berkebile, who were also natives of the Keystone state, whence they removed to Delta,. Ohio, in 1871, The father engaged in farming two miles west of Delta and spent his remaining days in that section of the state. His widow now resides at Wauseon, Ohio. In his boyhood days John Henry Berkebile attended the country school near his father's home and also the Delta high school and in 1887 he came to Toldo, where he entered into active connection with Henry J. Spieker in the general contracting business. The company, which started in a small way, grew to be one of the largest general contracting concerns in the state. The company was organized in 1888 and fine buildings of all descriptions in Toledo were erected by it. These include the great administration building of the WillysOverland Company, one of the finest business structures in the city ; the Ohio building, which is the property of the Ohio Savings Bank & Trust Company ; the Toledo Museum of Art, which is the most classic structure, the exterior being of white Italian marble and the roof of solid copper; the plant of the Urschel-Bates Valve Bag Company ; the office and plant of the Tillotson Carburetor Company ; the plant of the Mountain Varnish & Color Company ; the entire plant of the Mather Spring Company ; the building of the Simmons Hardware Company ; the Toledo Public Library ; the Toledo Club building; the Toledo Newsboys' Building theatre; the building of the Toledo Owens Glass Sand Company ; various hotels, apartment blocks and schools, residences and notable business structures, all of which stand as monuments to the superior skill and abiliCompany, ofenry J. Spieker Company,.of which Mr. Berkebile was formerly the president and general manager. He is no longer connected with this company but has oown, witha business of his own, with his sons as partners, under the name of the J. H. Berkebile Company. He occupied the presidency of the former corporation for seven years, from 1914 until 1921, and he is now president of the newly organized company, in which in connection with his sons he is now conducting a general building and contracting business. He is a man of the broadest possible TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 15 experience and there is perhaps no other resident of Toledo who has been as closely and prominently associated with building operations in this city through the past third of a century or more. In March, 1892, Mr. Berkebile was united in marriage to Miss Erepta Napier, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Orris Napier, and they haye become parents of three children : Betty B., born in Toledo in 1892, pursued her early education in the public schools of Toledo, afterward attended Wellesley College of Wellesley, Massachusetts, and took a course in dramatic art in the Leland Powers School of Boston, Massachusetts. She was also a student in Simmons College of Boston and is now a resident of Denver, Colorado ; the second of the family, John Clifford Berkebile, was born in Toledo, December 10, 1896, and after attending the high school here continued his education in the Howe Military School. He is now associated in business with his father. He married Gertrude Hughes of Port Clinton, Ohio, and they have become the parents of two children, John Clifford, Jr., and Betty. Orris N. Berkebile, the youngest of the family, was born in Toledo, June 27, 1898, also attended the Scott high school and then entered the University of Pennsylvania, in which he pursued a scientific course, being graduated in 1921. He is also with his father in business. He enlisted in the United States navy at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is now an ensign of the United States Naval Reserve. Fraternally Mr. Berkebile is a Mason, having taken the degrees of both York and Scottish Rites up to and including the consistory degree, and he is a Shriner. He belongs to the Toledo Chamber of Commerce, to the Merchants & Manufacturers Association and to the Disciples church. His life has ever been characterized by high and honorable principles and actuated by a most commendable purpose.. Starting out in life empty-handed, he has steadily worked his way upward. Not only has he been connected with many of the most important building projects of the city but as the architect of his own fortunes he has builded wisely and well. He may truly be called a self-made man, deserving all the praise which the term implies, for it has been through the development of his powers that he has reached the present high position which he .occupies in the business circles of his adopted city. His residence is on River road. FRANK L. FARMAN, M. D. Since coming to Toledo Dr. Frank L. Farman has made continuous progress in the field of professional service, and earnest effort, determination and ability have enabled him to establish his position among the successful physicians of the city. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, December 25, 1885, and is a son of John Henry and Anna (Sweeney) Farman, the former a native of England and the latter of Illinois. When five years of age the father was brought to the United States by his parents, who settled in Illinois, and he was reared and educated in that state and in Indiana. He later became a contractor and builder, which business he successfully followed for many years. He is now retired and he and his wife are living in Toledo. They became the parents of three children but the subject of this review is the only one now living. Frank L. Farman was a pupil in the grammar and high schools of Indianapolis, Indiana, and later entered the medical department of the University of Indiana, from 16 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY which he was graduated in 1912. He afterward served as interne at the City Hospital of Terre Haute, Indiana, and at the General Hospital of Cleveland, Ohio. From Cleveland he came to Toledo, and was a member of the staff of the Toledo State Hospital serving as assistant superintendent, which position he left to enlist for service in the World war. He is a member of the medical staff of Mercy Hospital and his practice is a large and growing one. He subordinates all other interests to the demands of his profession and does everything *possible to perfect himself in his chosen vocation. Dr. Farman was commissioned a first lieutenant in the World war. He was sent to Camp Sherman and remained in the service for a year, receiving his discharge in 1919. He is a. member of the Toledo Automobile Club and his professional relations are with the Toledo & Lucas County Academy of Medicine, the Ohio State. Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He holds to high ideals in his professional activities and is devoting his life to the welfare of his fellowmen. BASIL BUTHEWAY BRIM, M. D. Dr. Basil Butheway Brim, a man of versatile talents, is recognized as one of Toledo's leading physicians and in the field of business he has been equally successful, establishing his position among the foremost realtors of the city. He was born at Woodville, Ohio, April 8, 1880, and his parents were James Jeffreys and Elizabeth (Butheway) Brim. The mother was a native of England and when eleven years of age she came to the United States with her parents, who settled in Ohio, in which state her marriage occurred. The father was born in Woodville and on reaching manhood he took up the occupation of farming, which he followed in Sandusky county, Ohio, for many years. His demise 'occurred at Toledo on the 26th of December, 1914, when he was seventy-five years of age. He was an honored veteran of the Civil war, enlisting 'ins the Union army, and for four years he served as a sergeant under General William Tecumseh Sherman. The mother passed away at Woodville in 1906, when sixty-three years of age. They had a family of four children : Charles, deceased ; Mrs. Myrtle Campbell, whose home is situated at the corner of Sylvania and Commonwealth avenues in this city ; Mrs. Maude Bushnell, a resident of Woodville ; and Basil B. Basil Butheway. Brim acquired his early education in his native city, finishing his high school training when sixteen years of age, after which he took a preparatory course in Woodville Academy. The next two years were spent as a student at the Lutheran Seminary and he then entered the Toledo Medical College. He was graduated from the medical department of the University of Maryland, in 1902. In 1903 he located in West Toledo, which was then a village on the outskirts of the city, and as the years have passed his practice has steadily grown as he has demonstrated his ability to cope with the intricate problems which continually confront the physician in his efforts to restore health and prolong life. In 1913 he took postgraduate work at Harvard University, for he has never lost the attitude of a student toward his profession. He is visiting physician at the Mercy and East Toledo hospitals and holds to high standards in his professional labors. Seeing the possibilities for development in West Toledo, Dr. Brim made extensive investments in land, which he improved and placed upon the market, and TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 17 during the period of his identification with real estate interests he has laid out the following subdivisions : Baltimore Heights, Silver Creek, Commonwealth, Chestnut Hills and the Brim addition to Trilby. He replatted part of the Collinsdale addition and is now developing his seventh subdivision. He has sold five hundred and fifty-eight lots and his operations are conducted on an extensive scale. His judgment is rarely at fault concerning the value of real estate and its possible rise or diminution in price and in development projects he has not only studied present needs and conditions but has looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the opportunities and possibilities of the future. The force of his personality and the keenness of his insight have brought him to a position of leadership in real estate circles of Toledo and his work has been of signal service and benefit to the city. At Washington, D. C., on the 11th of January, 1902, Dr. Brim was married to Miss Bertha T. Justice, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rusher Justice of Accomac, Virginia, arid they have one child, Dorothy Deane, who was born January 20, 1911, and is attending school. For a number of years Dr. Brim filled the office of health officer of Washington township, Lucas county, and during the World war he was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Medical Corps. He was stationed at the Base Hospital at Camp Greene, North Carolina, and later was transferred to Camp Hancock, Georgia, remaining in the service for six months. He keeps in touch with the onward march of the profession through his connection with the Toledo & Lucas County Academy of Medicine, the Tri-State Medical Society, and the Ohio State Medical Society. For the past five years he has been a member of the Toledo Real Estate Board and he is also identified with the Toledo and West Toledo Commercial clubs, the West Toledo Business Men's Club, the West Toledo Gun Club and the Toledo Automobile Club and he is also a member of Central Grove Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Dr. Brim is a tireless worker and has ever been actuated by the spirit of enterprise and determination which never allows him to stop short of the successful accomplishment of anything he undertakes.. His ability has won for him high, standing in his profession and his activities in the real estate field have been a direct agency in the improvement and upbuilding of the city. His residence is at No. 1119 Sylvania avenue. FRANK HAMILTON GEER Frank Hamilton Geer, member of the well known law firm of Geer & Lane, is one of the prominent members of the Toledo bar, where he has been engaged in active practice for nearly twenty-five years. He was born in Lucas county, Ohio, November 6, 1869, and is a son of Amos W. and Mary E. (Lloyd) Geer, the former a farmer by occupation. Frank H. Geer pursued his education in the schools of his native county and of Toledo and entered upon the study of law in the office of King & Tracy, who directed his reading until his admission to the bar in March, 1899. He practiced alone for a number of years, making steady and substantial progress in his profession and had become well established in his chosen life work when in 1914 he entered into partnership with Joseph W. Lane under the firm style of Geer & Lane. Mr. Geer is attorney for the Commercial Savings Bank & Trust Company, the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, and a number of other corporations, and to a large extent has specialized in corporation law. He has always 18 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY remained a student of legal principles, broadening his knowledge by reading as. well as by experience. On June 2, 1897, Mr. Geer married Miss. Mary E. Summerskill, now deceased.. He lives at 2553 Glenwood avenue, Toledo, with his three daughters, Ruth, Gertrude and Gratia. He was president of. the Toledo Bar Association in 1918 and 1919. When the United States was organizing its man power into an army in connection with. the World war, with the cooperation of the attorneys and judges of Lucas county, he conducted an organization at the courthouse which prepared and assisted with over forty-five thousand affidavits and questionnaires for registrants and their dependents. During the war he was also a member of one of the legal advisory boards. He belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and all Masonic bodies, is president of the Social Service Federation of Toledo, a warden of St. Mark's Episcopal church and a trustee of the Toledo Y. M. C. A. In 1918 he was chairman of. the Lucas County Republican campaign committee and in 1920 an alternate to the Republican National convention at Chicago. FRANCIS JOSEPH GRASSER Francis Joseph Grasser was born in Hochfelden, Alsace, February 14, 1828, a son of Anton and Margaret (Wernert) Grasser. Desiring to escape the influences of militarism as practiced in Germany, he came to America in 1848. .He had acquired his early education in his home town and started out in the business world by' learning the carpenter's trade. He did not find it congenial, however, having. no natural talent in this line, so he went to a brewers' school in Strasburg and also another at Nancy, learning the brewing business in all of its phases. With his arrival in the new world in 1848, Mr. Grasser made his way to New Orleans, where he remained for two and a half years, working in a brewery until yellow fever broke out, when he made his way northward to St. Louis. He spent two years in that city and then removed to Cincinnati, where he resided for an equal time. On the 1st of August, 1854, he accepted employment in the brewery of Kohler & York of Toledo, which afterward became the Buckeye Brewery, and there he remained for two and a half years. On the expiration of that period he purchased the building at Nos. 715 to 719 Michigan street and there started the Grasser Brewery, thus embarking in business on his own account. This was later sold to the firm of Lang & Stetter and in company with Henry Brand he organized the brewery carried on under the firm style of Grasser & Brand, of which he was manager. Under his very capable and businesslike control the business grew to great proportions and yielded very satisfactory profits. The plant was located on, St. Clair street, at the corner of Williams, and there Mr. Grasser continued in business until about 1905, when after more than fifty years of activity in this field he retired and the Grasser interests were a part of the merger forming the Huebner Toledo Breweries Company, at which time Edward. J. Grasser was elected to the board of directors and later vice president of the corporation. On the 6th of December, 1853, Francis Joseph Grasser was united in marriage to Barbara .Scharf and they became parents of two children : Anton, who is now living retired at No. 155 Amherst Drive. He married Amanda Pressler of Toledo, and they had four children, Walter, Violet, Dorothy and Bessie; and. Mrs. Rosa TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 21 Hoffmann, the wife of Emil Hoffmann of the Alaska Fur House of Toledo. Their three children are, Emily, Rose and Frederick. Mrs. Grasser passed away in August, 1869. On the 28th of April, 1870, Mr. Grasser was married to Christine Pressler, by whom he had five children : A. Christine, who remains at home ; Edward J., who married Jessie Martin, daughter of Thomas Martin of Toledo, and died September 13, 1920, leaving one daughter, Irene ; Katharine L., the wife of William F. Meister ; E. Augusta, now Mrs. Arthur G. Im Oberstag of the Home Realty Company of Toledo ; and Joseph M., who is president and general manager of the Grasser Motor Company, situated at the corner of Sixteenth street and Madison avenue. He married Jean Klemmer of Detroit, Michigan, and they have three children : Elizabeth, Christine and Jean. Mr. Grasser was long actively interested in public affairs in Toledo and at one time was a trustee of the waterworks board. In that connection he was instrumental in infusing business methods into the control of the waterworks and this resulted in stopping the deficit and putting the system upon a paying basis. The effect was secured by making the people pay for all the water they used. Mr. Grasser belonged to the German Pioneer Association, also to the Toledo Maennerchor and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was very prominent among the citizens of German birth or descent in Toledo and had wide influence among them. Politically he was not bound by party ties, voting always for the man who subscribed to the highest ideals and cleanest principles in citizenship. On the 28th of April, 1908, Mr. and Mrs. Grasser celebrated the thirty-eighth anniversary of their wedding and on the following afternoon he passed away quite suddenly while reading his daily paper. He was a most honorable, upright man, honest in all business dealings, and was sincerely mourned. His family is well known in Toledo and attends the Lutheran church of this city. The family residence is at No. 2630 Broadway, Mr. Grasser completing the home in 1888. BARNEY J. HEIN, M. D. Dr. Barney J. Hein, a member of one of the pioneer families of Toledo, is specializing in orthopedic surgery and the success which he has already won as a medical practitioner proves that he has selected the vocation best suited to the development of his talents and the exercise of his powers. He is one of Toledo's native sons and was born April 23, 1889, of the union of Gustave and "Anna (Huetmann) Hein, the former a native of Denmark and the latter of Germany. About 1870 they came to the United States, establishing their home in Toledo, and the father entered the employ of the Wabash Railroad Company, with which he was connected for forty-three years. His faithfulness and efficiency won him advancement and for a considerable period he had charge of the coach department of the road but is now living retired in this city, at the age of seventy-six. The mother passed away in 1911, when sixty-three years of age. In their family were four children : Gustave A., a well known druggist of Toledo; and George J., Amanda and Barney J., all of whom are residents of this city. In 1908 Dr. Hein was graduated from the Central high school of this city and his professional training was received in the Toledo Medical College, which conferred upon him the M. D. degree in 1912. After spending a year as house 22 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY physician at St. Vincent's Hospital he began the practice of his profesion as a member of the firm of Heath, Selby & Hein and this association has since been maintained. Dr. Hein has devoted much time to study and in 1914 took a postgraduate course in the Harvard Medical School.. He attended the clinics of the New York Post Graduate School in 1916 and completed a course at the Massachusetts General Hospital of Boston in the following year, thus preparing himself for the practice of orthopedic surgery, in which he specializes. He has developed expert skill in that branch of medical science and is connected with the orthopedic departments of St. Vincent's Hospital and also of the Flower and Lucas' County Hospitals of this city. At Chattanooga, Tennessee, on the 14th of December, 1917, Dr. Hein was married to Miss Helen Striggow, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John C. Striggow, members of a well known Toledo family, and they have become the 'parents of three children: Ned Barney, who was born in 1918; Lorene, born in 1920 ; and Jean, born in 1922. Dr. Hein is a veteran of the World war. In August, 1917, he was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Medical Reserve Corps and was called into active service September 26, 1917. He was sent overseas and on December 1, 1917, was placed in charge of the orthopedic department of the Evacuation Hospital. In March, 1918, he was commissioned 'a captain in the Medical Corps and he remained abroad for a year, being connected with 'Base Hospitals Nos. 9 and 114 and Evapartic Hospital No. 5. He partic.ipated in several major operations, at the battles of Aisne-Marne, Oise-Aisne, St.Ypres-LysMeuse-Argonne and Ypres-Lys, and after receiving his discharge returned to Toledo, where he resumed his professional activities. He is a member of the Toledo & Lucas County Academy of Medicine, the Ohio State Medical Society and the American. Medical. Association and is also deeply interested in the industrial progress of his city, which he endeavors to promote through his connection with the Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Lions Club, which is devoted to Americanism. and stands .for loyalty to country, community and home, and he is also a prominent Mason, having taken the thirty-second degree in the consistory, while he is likewise connected with the Grotto. Natural talent, acquired ability and earnest effort have brought Dr. Hein to an enviable position in medical circles of Toledo and in every relation of life he measures up to the highest standarto being a young man whom to know is to esteem and admire. HARRY COX HASSETT Intense and intelligently directed activity brought Harry Cox Hassett, merchandise broker of Toledo, now deceased, to a notable point of success in connection with the business interests of his native city. He was born February 21, 1874, a son of James B. and Sarah (Cox) Hassett. He had no special opportunities in his youth but when fourteen years of age started out in the business world by securing a position as office boy with Albro Blodgett, a merchandise broker. He was an indefatigable worker and possessed a commendable ambition. He continued for a number of years with Mr. Blodgett, and so rapid was his rise in this connection that after ten years he was enabled to purchase Mr. Blodgett's interest in the company and from that time on under his guidance the business steadily