TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 251 house, becoming familiar with every phase and department of the business as he worked his way upward from a very minor position to that of shipping clerk. He afterward returned to Toledo and shortly after became a partner in the Ohio & Michigan Paper Company, with which he has ever since been identified. He represented this house on the road as a traveling salesman for twenty years and succeeded in developing its trade, which largely contributed to its success. in 1920 the business was incorporated, with F. D. Hegamaster as president, V. D. Sisson as vice president, and Mr. Winegar as secretary and treasurer. In addition to his official connection he is also the manager of the building paper, paint, roofing and linoleum departments. This company handles the "Certain-teed" products as jobbers. The business is now one of the leading wholesale houses of Toledo in its line, and enjoys a reputation for commercial integrity not surpassed by any of its contemporaries. On the 3d of September, 1909, Mr. Winegar was united in marriage to Miss Frances Leta Mignin of Stryker, Ohio, and they have become, parents of one daughter, Mary Louise. They belong to the First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Mr. Winegar is a valued representative of the Masonic fraternity, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in the consistory. He is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs to the United Commercial Travelers, is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and is one of the patrons of the Toledo Art Institute. He stands for all those forces which have to do with the city's upbuilding and improvement, not only along the line of material growth but in connection with those interests and forces which make for cultural uplift, for civic advancement and for the adoption of higher ethical and moral standards. Mr. Winegar is a self-made man in the full meaning of the term and is readily accorded a high position among Toledo's strong, capable business men and her best citizenship. His home is at No. 3131 Collingwood avenue. CHARLES AUGUSTUS EHERNMAN Charles Augustus Ehernman, secretary of the Auburndale Savings & Loan Association of Toledo, was born in Allen county, Ohio, near Lima, on the 12th of April, 1868, the son of farming people, Isaac and Margaret (Mosier) Ehernman.. His youthful days were spent under the parental roof and he early became familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. His educational opportunities were those afforded by the public school system of his native county and in young manhood he became identified with the life insurance business as a representative of the Prudential Company. In 1900 he was transferred to Toledo as assistant superintendent of the division here and remained in that connection until 1916, when he established a real estate and insurance agency, handling fire insurance. He thoroughly acquainted himself with realty values and built up a substantial business in both departments. In April, 1922, he aided in the organization of the Auburndale Savings & Loan Association, of which he was made secretary, and as one of the officials of the company he is still actively engaged in the real estate and insurance business, in both lines having had wide experience, which makes him an important element in the successful conduct of the affairs of the new company. On the 16th of April, 1894, Mr. Ehernman was married to Miss Elnora 252 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY Lawrence of Lima, Ohio. They 'have gained many friends during the period of their residence in Toledo. For a quarter of a century Mr. Ehernman has been a loyal follower of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to both subordinate lodge and encampment. His fidelity to any cause which he espouss is one of the marked characteristics of Mr. Ehernman and in business his close application, thoroughness and progressiveness have constituted the strong foundation upon which he has built his success. WILLIAM T. BAILEY Among the successful business enterprises of Toledo, in the wholesale trade, is The Ainsworth Shoe Company, of which William T. Bailey is the vice president Ind general manager, and the development and prosperity of the corporation are largely attributable to his initiative spirit and administrative powers. William T. Bailey was born in Ingham county, Michigan, March 9, 1878, and is a soil of James W. and Kitty (Taylor) Bailey, the former a native of New York state, and when a young man he located in Ingham county, where he has since been connected with the lumber industry. William T. Bailey acquired his education in the public schools of Ingham county, Michigan, and his initial commercial experience was obtained with the wholesale shoe house of G. E. Creighton of Lynn, Massachusetts. Eventually he became a traveling salesman, covering the state of Nebraska, and for twelve years was thus occupied: He located at Toledo in 1911, forming a connection with The Ainsworth Shoe Company, wholesale dealers of high grade shoes, and in 1916 was made vice president and general manager of the firm, which offices he is now filling. Mr. Bailey was married in Toledo on the 10th of July, 1905, to Miss Nellie De Soe, a daughter of Orin and Emma De Soe, well known residents of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey have a daughter, Barbara Ruth, who was born October 9, 1919. Mr. Bailey gives his political support to the republican party and he is a member of the Toledo, Toledo Automobile and Toledo Commerce clubs and a director of the Dime. Savings Bank. In Masonry he has attained the thirty-second degree, belonging to both the York and Scottish Rites and is also a shriner: Mr. Bailey's business success affords an excellent illustration of what can be accomplished through. untiring effort and determined purpose, when guided by intelligence and sound judgment, and he ranks with the representative business men of the city. ROBINSON L. BIDWELL, M. D. Dr. Robinson L. Bidwell, one of Toledo's foremost physicians and surgeons, was born in Madison county, Ohio, April 18, 1884, a son of Lester and Anna (Colliver) Bidwell, who were also natives of this state, in which they have spent their lives. The father was long identified with the live stock industry in Madison county and is now living retired at London, Ohio. His wife,passed away in 1909, TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 255 at the age of fifty-seven. There were three children in their family : Robinson L. ; Nathan, who is living in Boston,. Massachusetts ; and Dr. P. J. Bidwell of Toledo, where he is well known as a physician and surgeon. In his youthful days Robinson L. Bidwell attended the public schools of West Jefferson, Ohio, and taught district school in Madison county for two years. He then took a course in pharmacy and science at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, after which he matriculated in the Starling Medical College, at Columbus, Ohio. There he was graduated with the M. D. degree in the class of 1908 and for three years previous he was first assistant to Dr. Thomas C. Hoover of the Starling Medical College and Columbus Hospital. On the 28th of September, 1908, he began practice on his own account, specializing in surgery, to which he has given his attention mainly throughout the intervening period. He was formerly on the surgical staff of the Toledo Hospital, specializing on diseases of women, and is a member of the staff 'of St. Vincent's Hospital. While his hospital practice has been extensive and of an important character, he has a large private practice and the thoroughness and ability with which he performs every task that comes to him in the line of his profession has established him in the front rank as a most skillful and Conscientious physician and surgeon. He has further qualified for his chosen life work by postgraduate courses in the Harvard University, in the Massachusetts General Hospital and in the New York Postgraduate Hospital and he keeps in touch with the trend of modern thought through his membership in the Toledo Academy of Medicine, the Ohio State Medical Association and the American Medical Association. On the 24th of November, 1909, Dr. Bidwell was married to Miss Caroline Baird, formerly a director of the Model Kindergarten of Columbus, Ohio, and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Baird, the former a well known merchant of Pataskala, Ohio, but now deceased. Dr. and Mrs. Bidwell are members of the Presbyterian church and he belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the degrees of both York and Scottish rites and. is a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. His name is likewise on the membership roll of the Elks Lodge of Toledo, the Sylvania Golf Club, the Maumee River Yacht Club, the Optimist Club and the Chamber of Commerce. WILLARD CHARLEY WALLAR Willard Charley Wallar, now president and general manager of the H. C. Wason Lumber Company and also treasurer of the Auburndale Savings & Loan Association, is thus busily occupied with commercial interests, whereby he has been successful. There have been no unusual chapters in his life history, but while less spectacular the record of the capable business man is none the less vital and none the less essential to the community and the commonwealth, than is that of the military or political leader who figures more prominently, perhaps, in the public eye. Mr. Wallar is a native of Guernsey county, Ohio, born June 18, 1868, and a son of Jeremiah T. and Marjory (Adams) Wallar. The father devoted his life to the occupation of farming. The son obtained a country school education while spending his youthful days under the parental roof and in summer seasons worked in the fields, early becoming familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. In early manhood he taught school for a period of 256 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY seven months and afterward he learned the carpenter's trade and was also employed in a planing mill. Step by step he has progressed and each change in his business career has marked an advancement. In 1902 he accepted a position as traveling salesman in connection with lumber interests and mill work and in January, 1914, he arrived in Toledo. Here in March of the same year he became associated with the Swan Creek Lumber Company as manager of the Millwork department and in December, 1915, he transferred to the H. C. Wason Lumber Company, with which he has since been connected, familiarizing himself with every phase of the business in principle and detail. Upon the incorporation of the company he was elected president and general manager and has since directed the affairs of the corporation. He has also extended his efforts into other fields. He was one of the founders and the first treasurer of The Auburndale Savings & Loan Association, also a member of its directorate since its inception, thus taking active part in real estate negotiations in Toledo. On the 2d of August, 1888, Mr. Wallar was united in marriage to Miss Janette I. Marple of Zanesville, Ohio, and they have become the parents of four children: Lee, born March 7, 1890, in Cambridge, Ohio, married Viola Klinger of Guernsey county, Ohio. He is supt. of mill work for the South Side Lumber Company of Toledo, and has two children, Beulah and Howard. C. Homer, born April 27, 1893, in Zanesville, Ohio, married Harriet Hutton of Toledo. He is chief clerk for the Pullman Company at their Toledo office. Herbert W., born July 4, 1900, in Cambridge, Ohio, is in the auditing department of the Pennsylvania company's freight offices in Toledo. Mary, born August 5, 1902, in Cambridge, Ohio, resides with her parents. Mr. Wallar belongs to the Auburndale Chamber of Commerce and is interested in all those forces which make for public progress and improvement. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons and with the Modern Woodmen of America, loyally following the teachings of these organizations. He is also one of the patrons of the Toledo Art Museum and his aid and influence are ever given on the side of those agencies and activities which make for the cultural benefit and civic development, as well as the material upbuilding, of the city. JOHN SHERRING PRATT For a quarter of a century John Sherring Pratt has been a representative of the Toledo bar, at which his father won distinction as a lawyer and jurist. The son is now special assistant to the attorney general of the United States and has filled various official positions in the line of his profession. Throughout his life his indefatigable energy has declined no call to labor or public service and a strong sense of duty and obligation has guided him in all of his relations to the courts and to the public at large. Born in Toledo, on the 5th of June, 1875, John S. Pratt is a son of Charles and Catherine (Sherring) Pratt. The family is of English lineage and was established in Massachusetts during the colonial epoch in the history of this country. The Pratt family is also noted for longevity. The grandfather, Alpheus Pratt, born in Massachusetts, became a pioneer settler of western New York in 1819 and in 1833 removed from the Empire state to southern Michigan, establishing his home at what was known as the Bean Creek country, now Hudson. There he passed away in March, 1884, at the notable old TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 257 age of ninety-one years, while his widow also reached an advanced age, spending her last days in the home of her son, Judge Pratt, in Toledo. The Judge was born near Rochester, New York, January 15, 1828, was reared amid frontier surroundings in Michigan and after attending the local schools to the age of sixteen became a student in a select school at Adrian Michigan, and later in a seminary at Albion. He then read law and was admitted to practice in 1852, when he became a partner in the law firm of Hill, Perigo & Pratt at Toledo. Following the withdrawal of Mr, Perigo the firm of Hill & Pratt continued in practice until 1870, after which the Judge was senior partner in the firm of Pratt & Wilson until 1895. For five years he served as judge of Abe court of common pleas, terminating his service February 1, 1900, because of ill health. Later he became a partner of his son, John S. Pratt, and William K. Terry and remained in practice until his death at the age of seventy-two years. In politics he was first a whig and afterward a republican and his religious faith was manifest in his membership in the Westminster Presbyterian church. He served as president of its board and was also at one time president of the Toledo Young Men's Christian Association, while at all times he took a helpful interest in Sunday school and temperance work. In early manhood he wedded Catherine Sherring, who survived her husband and passed away at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Sidney Lathrop, at Portland, Oregon, March 27, 1910, at the age of seventy-six years. John S. Pratt, one of A family of seven children, continued a student in the public schools of Toledo until graduated from the high school in 1893, after which he matriculated. in the University of Michigan, pursuing both literary and law courses until June, 1897. With his admission to the bar at that date he returned to Toledo and became associated with the law firm of Swayne, Hayes & Tyler. This connection was discontinued in 1899, when he became junior partner in the firm of Pratt, Terry & Pratt, so practicing until 1901, when he received the appointment of United States commissioner from Judge F. J. Wing of the United States district court. Much of life since that time has been devoted to public service, greatly to the benefit of city and state. In April, 1904, the Toledo city council appointed him judge of the city court to fill a vacancy and in the following November he was elected to the office for a three years' term. At the end of that time he declined again to become a candidate, wishing to devote his attention to a rapidly growing private law practice. His devotion to his clients' interests has ever been proverbial and he won many. notable cases during the, period when he practiced independently. On the 15th of March, 1908, however, he was again called to public office through appointment as assistant United States district attorney by Hon. Charles J. Bonaparte, who was then attorney general of the United States. On the 1st of January, 1909, Mr. Pratt entered into partnership with Judge Doyle, a relation that was maintained until the 1st of April, 1915. He continued to act as assistant United States attorney for this district from 1908 until 1917 and at the present time is special assistant to the attorney general of the United States. He belongs to both the Lucas County and Ohio State Bar associations and his high conformity to the most advanced ethical standards of the profession has gained him the unqualified respect and confidence of his fellow practitioners. Judge Pratt has been married twice. On the 9th of June, 1906, he wedded Miss Genevieve Doyle, daughter of Judge John H. and Alice F. Doyle. She passed away January 6, 1912, in Toledo, leaving one child, Alice Doyle Pratt, who was born in 1908. On the 29th of June, 1918, Judge Pratt was again married, 258 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY this second union being, with Miss Helen Mitchell. They are members of the First Congregational church and Judge Pratt is identified also with the Masonic fraternity and with the Toledo Chamber of Commerce. His interest centers in those activities which are looking to the material, intellectual, social and moral progress of the community and his support and earnest cooperation can be counted upon to further any cause that promises to be of worth and value to the municipality or to the commonwealth. JESSE DAVID HURLBUT Jesse David Hurlbut, secretary and treasurer of the Toledo. Grain & Milling Company, is well known as a progressive and highly respected business man of this city, in which his life has been passed. He was born here July 1, 1870, his parents being Jesse and Mary J. (Richardson) Hurlbut, the former a native of the Empire state, while the latter was born' in Ogdensburg, New York, and came to Toledo in early life. The father was captain of the first volunteer fire department of this city and was the f blinder of the present department, the efficiency of which is unsurpassed in any city of equal size in the country. It was Mr. Hurlbut who purchased the first team of horses for the department and he ever advocated the most progressive measures in connection with the establishment and conduct of the entire system. He became one of the first paid firemen of the city and rose to a captaincy in this department of public service. He died in the year 1873, being long survived by his widow, who passed away in 1909. In their family were three children, one of whom is deceased, the others being Mrs. D. F. McIntosh of Boston, Massachusetts ; and Jesse David. The latter, Jesse David, having mastered the branches of learning taught in the grades, attended the Central high school and then putting aside his textbooks was employed in connection with various occupations. In 1897 he became associated with the grain trade as representative of the Toledo Grain & Milling Company, having charge of city sales, while later he was promoted to the position of secretary and treasurer. In that official connection he continues and has also broadened the scope of his activities by becoming director of a number of the substantial and worthy commercial and industrial enterprises of Toledo. On the 21st of September, 1900, Mr. Hurlbut was united in marriage to Miss Jennie G. Camp of this city, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. D. W. Camp, well known and prominent residents of Toledo but Mr. Camp is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Hurlbut have one child, Geraldine C., who attended the Smead School for Girls, and completed her education at Southfield Point School for Girls at Stamford, Connecticut.' She is now engaged in kindergarten work here. Mr. Hurlbut belongs to the Masonic fraternity and has taken the degrees of both York and Scottish Rites. He has attained the thirty-second degree in the consistory and is a past potentate of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs to the First Unitarian church and is interested in all those forces which make for uplift and development in the community. He is identified with the Chamber of Commerce, the Toledo Produce Exchange, of which he is second vice president, and he belongs to the Toledo Club and to the Inverness Club. His political endorsement is always stanchly given to the republican party and he now fills the position of commissioner of publicity and efficiency, entering upon his seventh year in this TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 261 position. His record of service is a most commendable one, for at all times he has the interests of the city at heart and labors intelligently, earnestly and effectively to further the general good. He is one of Toledo's most popular and highly respected native sons, having here a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintance. His residence is at No. 361 Winthrop street. AARON LUFKIN KELSEY It is given to but few men so near to approach the century mark as did Aaron Lufkin Kelsey, who died in Toledo at the age of ninety years, after having been closely associated with the commercial life and development of the city for sixty-three years. He was indeed a familiar figure in the business circles of the city and Toledo in many ways found him a benefactor, as his activities contributed in substantial measure to her growth and improvement. Mr. Kelsey was born in Guilford, Maine, July 12, 1823, and was of English and Irish lineage, being a grandson of Joseph Kelsey, who settled in Massachusetts in young manhood, becoming one of the residents of that state during the colonial epoch in its history. He served in the Revolutionary war throughout the full seven years of conflict and was honorably discharged after American independence was won. He refused a pension and walked from Philadelphia to his home in Shirley; Massachusetts. His son and namesake, Joseph Kelsey, removed to Maine about 1800, settling at Guilford, where he became a prosperous and prominent citizen. He represented his district' in the Maine legislature for thirty years and was active in framing the constitution of that state in 1820. Aaron L. Kelsey was one of a family of nine children and the last survivor, having outlived his brother, Joel W. Kelsey of Toledo, for a period of ten years. In his youthful days he was given the advantages of a good education, being graduated as a surveyor from the Foxcroft Academy at Foxcroft, Maine, while his efficiency secured for him an appointment as government surveyor when but nineteen years of age. In that capacity he had the distinction of assisting in running the national boundary line in 1843 as established by the Webster-Ashburton treaty. For three years his life was fraught with great privation and toil as he followed his profession in the wilderness of the north, hut the outdoor experience also brought him rugged health and much knowledge concerning the out-of-doors. His entire course was characterized by the faithful performance of his duties and these three years were a fitting prelude to a long, honorable and useful career. Mr. Kelsey arrived in Toledo in 1850, finding here a struggling frontier village. For six years he was interested in lake navigation, being associated with Darius Cole of Detroit in building the Northerner, the first passenger boat that went up the Great Lakes. It was sunk, however, on its initial trip just beyond Port Huron after being rammed in a fog. Mr. Kelsey in 1856 entered into partnership with Nathan Reeve, under the name of Kelsey & Reeve, for the conduct of a lumberyard, for which there was a splendid field, owing to the fact that the adjacent state of Michigan was rich in its great forests of hardwood and of white pines. Their wharf and lumberyard was on Water street, north of Cherry, where their business grew rapidly. In that business Mr. Kelsey continued for thirty years, the firm style becoming Kelsey-Lawton & Company in 1868, and upon his 262 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY retirement in 1886 he was succeeded by his son, H. Reeve Kelsey, who formed a partnership with George L. Freeman, the business being then carried on under the style of Kelsey & Freeman. For three decades, however, Aaron L. Kelsey had figured as one of the most prominent lumbermen of the city and had contributed in large measure toward making Toledo one of the lumber trade centers of the middle west. In 1873 he became associated with others in the purchase of the business of the Milburn Wagon Company, of which he remained a director for an extended period, while at the time of his death he was one of the large stockholders of the company. Into still other fields he directed his labors, being a director of the Merchants National Bank from its inception until his retirement from active business life. In Waggoner's History of Toledo and Lucas County it was said : "Mr. Kelsey has been among the foremost citizens in public spirit, ready to cooperate in whatever promised the public welfare." He withheld his aid and support from no movement for the general good and he was one of the organizers of Toledo's third Board of Trade, which constituted an important and vital force in promoting the early business and industrial development of the city. In 1854 Mr. Kelsey was married to Miss Helen M. Lawton of Cape Vincent, New York, whom he survived for twenty years. To them was born one child, Hiram Reeve, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work. One of the local papers, following the death of Mr. Kelsey on October 25, 1913, said of him : "He will be remembered as a quiet and retiring gentleman of kindly nature and a quick and lively intellect. In his death there passed away one who in his lifetime contributed his full share to the development and progress of his day and generation." Mr. Kelsey erected the house at No. 1729 Summit street, which was his residence for fifty-two years, or until his death. VINE DE PUGH SISSON Vine De Pugh Sisson, active in the management of the Ohio & Michigan Paper Company, of which he was one of the organizers and is the vice president, is also identified with several other business corporations, each one of which has benefited by his cooperation and sound judgment. In all business affairs he has readily discriminated between the essential and the non-essential and on many occasions has united seemingly urelated or diverse elements into a harmonious whole. He never stops short of his objective, realizing at all times that when one avenue of opportunity seems closed he can carve out other paths whereby to reach the desired goal. Vine De Pugh Sisson was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, on the 12th of March, 1868, and is a son of Charles and Emma (Widmer) Sisson, the former a millwright, devoting his life to that trade. The public schools of Sandusky, Ohio, accorded Vine D. Sisson his educational opportunities, for during his early boyhood his parents removed from Pennsylvania to that city. Early in his business career he became a traveling salesman, spending some time on the road as representative of a wholesale candy house. Later he became connected with the retail grocery trade and in 1888 he moved to Toledo, where during the intervening period of thirty-four years he has made his home. Here he entered the retail grocery field, conducting a well appointed store for a period of four years, during which he built up a good trade. On the expiration of that period, in asso- TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 265 ciation with two others, he purchased the business of the Ohio & Michigan Paper Company, of which he has since been the active vice president. As one of its officials he has taken helpful part in formulating the policy and in directing the business of this company and its trade relations have steadily broadened in scope and become increasingly more important as the years have passed by. Today this company controls an extensive and gratifying business and its success argues well for the capability of the men who are at its head. Mr. Sisson has also become one of the directors of the Toledo Glove Manufacturing Company and he is likewise a director of the United Associates Company, which handles mortgages. In this organization he is serving with the executives. He is likewise the president of the Troy Oil & Gas Company, a director of the Oberle Tool & Die Manufacturing Company and has other important business associations, and belongs to the Elks. His labors have ever been guided by sound judgment and his keen sagacity is manifest in the excellent results which have attended his efforts at all times. He is today regarded as one of the forceful and resourceful business men of Toledo and his work has been a most valuable contributing factor to the continued commercial growth and expansion of the city. On the 23d of May, 1892, Mr. Sisson was united in marriage to Miss Esther Mayer of Sandusky, Ohio, and they have become parents of a daughter, Shirley E., who is now the wife of Floy Nichols, and they have a daughter, Patricia Sisson Nichols. Mr. Nichols is with the Ohio-Michigan Paper Company. Mr. Sisson belongs to the United Commercial Travelers. He finds his recreation in touring and in golf, greatly enjoying both. He has been quite active in political circles as a supporter of the republican party and for two years he filled the position of mayor in the town of Bettsville, being the youngest mayor in Ohio at that time. His years, however, seemed no bar to his capability, for he proved an efficient executive, giving to the little city a businesslike and progressive administration. He belongs to the B. P. O. E. and is one of the patrons of the Toledo Art Institute. He is interested in all those forces which make for higher standards and ideals in civic affairs, in city government and along those lines which make for cultural uplift and intellectual advancement. Mr. Sisson's residence is at No. 731 Orchard road, Ottawa Hills. JOHN IRVIN O'CONNOR John Irvin O'Connor, filling the responsible position of secretary to the mayor, to which office he was appointed on the 1st of January, 1922, and recognized as one of the representative young members of the Ohio state bar, was born August 3, 1893, in this city, and is a soh of Timothy and Mary (Dawson) O'Connor. The father is well known here, having for twenty years been a member of the city fire department, with which he is still associated. In the acquirement of his education John I. O'Connor attended the public schools, also the Central high school and St. Francis de Sales Academy. He afterward. began preparation for the bar as a law student in St. John's University and after completing a thorough course was admitted to practice on the 1st of July, 1915. He then entered upon the general work of the profession, trying all kinds of cases and trying them well. He displayed versatility and ready adaptability in the preparation and presentation of his cause before the courts and was ever ready with strong argument and logical deduc- 266 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY tions to prove the correctness of his position. He continued in general practice until the 1st of January, 1922, when he was appointed secretary to the mayor and is now filling this position. Mr. O'Connor entered the military service of the country during the World war, becoming a private of a machine gun company in an infantry division. This was in July, 1917, and he was discharged November 25, 1918, at Camp Hancock, Georgia. He now has membership with the American Legion and is a loyal supporter of that organization that is making such a splendid record in promoting the high ideals of American citizenship in days of peace, just as it stood for the splendid principles that actuated America in her entrance into the war. He is also connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, with the Knights of Columbus, with the Young Men's Christian Association and with the Chamber of Commerce, while along strictly professional lines he is identified with the Lucas County Bar Association. The game of golf affords him pleasurable recreation and he is also much interested in baseball. CARL H. HARTMAN Among the varied manufacturing enterprises which are contributing to the industrial prosperity of Toledo is that of the Valve Bag Company, of which Carl H. Hartman is vice president and secretary, and his intelligently directed efforts have materially promoted the success of the undertaking, which is one of large proportions. He was born in Woodville, Ohio, November 27, 1889, and is a son of Louis H. and Minnie (Bruns) Hartman, the former also a native of Woodville and the latter of Toledo. The father was reared, educated and married at Woodville and in 1906 he aided in organizing the Valve Bag Company of this city, of which he has since been treasurer and manager, and he is also identified with the Toledo General Manufacturing Company, engaged in making machinists' tools, dies, auto parts and special machinery. He is numbered among the foremost business men of this city and maintains a beautiful home at Woodville, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Hartman have become the parents of five children : Otto, Arthur and Carl H., all of whom are residents of Toledo ; and Alma and Laura, who are living in Woodville. The grammar schools .of his native town and the high school of Toledo afforded Carl H. Hartman his educational opportunities and in 1910 he entered the employ of the Valve Bag Company in the capacity of bookkeeper. After filling that position for three years his able and conscientious service won for him promotion to the office of assistant manager and in 1920 he was made vice president, in addition to which he is now serving as secretary of the company. They utilize one hundred and twenty-five employes in the operation of their plant, in which they manufacture patent valve paper bags for cement, lime, plaster, etc., and theirs is one of the largest concerns of the kind in the country. Mr. Hartman gives careful oversight to all phases of the business and is constantly seeking to increase the efficiency of the plant and to extend the trade of the company to new territory. On the 2d of September, 1914, Mr. Hartman was married to Miss Clara Kortier of Delphos, Ohio, and they have become the parents of a son, Robert, who was born July 10, 1915, and is attending the public schools. They are members of St. Paul's church of Toledo and Mr. Hartman gives his political support to the TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 267 republican party. His keen interest in the welfare and upbuilding of the city has led to his identification with the Chamber of Commerce and he is also a member of the Exchange Club and the Credit Men's Association. He possesses keen perception and unusual business sagacity for one of his years and is a representative of the younger generation of business men whose energy and progressiveness promise so much for the development of the city. HENRY HARMON CONVERSE Henry Harmon Converse, who for more than twenty-two years has been identified with the Haughton Elevator & Machine Company, of which he is now the secretary, having been one of the officials through a period of sixteen years, was born in Mantua, Portage county, Ohio, March 1, 1869. His father, Henry Harrison Converse, is a tanner by trade, having devoted much of his life to that line of business. He married Orcelia Harmon and they are still living at Mantua. As a student at Hiram College of Hiram, Ohio, Henry Harmon Converse supplemented his early educational training, which he had received in the public schools of Portage county and by his college work he became well qualified for life's practical and responsible duties. Be afterward went on the road as a traveling salesman, spending four years in that connection and in 1889 he arrived in Toledo, where he entered business circles as a representative of the real estate interests of W. L. Holbrook, in whose employ he continued for six years. In 1900 he became associated with the Haughton Elevator & Machine Company in the capacity of bookkeeper and afterward was advanced to the position of auditor. In March, 1916, he was elected secretary of the company and has continued in that official connection, concentrating his efforts and attention upon the active management and control of the business, which has been one of steady growth and has reached gratifying proportions. On the 25th of May, 1897, Mr. Converse was united in marriage to Miss Mabelle Parker of Hiram, Ohio, and they have become parents of a daughter, Gertrude Harmon. Mr. Converse is well known in Masonic circles. He has attained high rank in the order, has become a member of the Mystic Shrine and is an honorary thirty-third degree Mason. He has ever been most loyal to the teachings of the craft and active in support of the organization and he enjoys in notable measure the esteem and confidence of his brethren of the fraternity. He is likewise connected with the Toledo Chamber of Commerce and his interest in public affairs centers in those channels through which flows the greatest and most permanent good to the greatest number. EBEN DEWITTE MOON Eben DeWitte Moon has since 1920 figured in the business circles of Toledo as the secretary and treasurer of the Toledo Standard Commutator Company. He also has business connections in other cities of the middle west and is recognized as a man of undaunted enterprise and progressiveness. He is possessed of unfaltering energy and industry that never flags and by reason of these qualities has worked 268 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY his way steadily upward.. Mr. Moon is a native son of the Empire state, his birth having occurred at Dunkirk, New York, April 14, 1885, his parents being DeWitte Clinton and Helen (Brownell) Moon. The father was for years general manager of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company and is now chairman of the labor board of the New York Central Railroad, and one of the foremost figures in railway circles of the country. Eben D. Moon is indebted to the public schools of Dunkirk and Watertown, New York, for the early educational opportunities which he enjoyed and later he attended the Culver Military Academy at Culver, Indiana, from which he was graduated with the class of 1904. Starting out in the business world he became a telegraph operator and was also connected with general service in the interest of the New York Central Railroad, becoming eventually division superintendent with that corporation, a position which he occupied for a number of years. He dates his residence in Toledo from 1920, at which time he was chosen secretary and treasurer of the Toledo Standard Commutator Company and in this connection employment is given to sixty-five men, well trained for the duties that devolve upon them, so that the business is wisely carried on and is proving a profitable investment. Mr. Moon has also extended his efforts into other fields and is now the vice president of the Commerce Finance Corporation of Elkhart, Indiana, and vice president of the Hillsdale (Mich.) Mercantile Corporation. On the 11th of July, 1912, Mr. Moon was married to Miss Florence Hooker of Fredonia, New York, and they have become parents of three sons : Warren DeWitte, Eben DeWitte, Jr., and David Brownell. Mr. Moon is interested in golf as a means of pleasure and recreation. He also belongs to the Toledo Club, in which organization his personal qualities have won him wide popularity. There have been no unusual or spectacular phases in his life record but his entire course has been marked by fidelity to duty and improvement of opportunity and step by step he has advanced in a business way until his position and his success are now most creditable. JAMES KENT HAMILTON The close of the year 1918 brought with it the close of a life, which for sixty years has been one of great usefulness and of unselfish effort in behalf of the community, the state and the country in which he lived. James Kent Hamilton was a distinguished member of the bar, an official over whose public career there fell no shadow of wrong nor suspicion of evil, and a man who in every relation of life measured up to the highest standards. There are few men who have figured so prominently in public life, who have been touched so, lightly by calumny or envy. The great public paid to him a tribute of well merited honor and respect and his close associates prize his friendship as something most dear and precious. Mr. Hamilton was born in Milan, Erie county, Ohio, May 17, 1839, his parents being Thomas and Sarah O. (Standart) Hamilton of Auburn, New York. His ancestors were English and Scotch and all came to America prior to the year 1700. One or more of his direct ancestors served in the Revolutionary war and through the maternal line he traces his ancestry back to one of the Mayflower passengers. From Massachusetts a removal was made by later generations of the family to New York and thence to northern Ohio, where settlement was made in pioneer times. James Hamilton, the grandfather, took up his abode at Lyme, Ohio, about 1830, TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 271 and Thomas Hamilton, the father, born in Washington county, New York, accompanied his parents to this state and for many years was a prominent citizen and leading merchant of Milan, Erie county, successfully conducting an extensive grain business, for at that date Milan was one of the centers of the grain trade. In 1861 he removed to Toledo and contributed in large measure to the upbuilding of the city as a grain center, continuing actively in business there until his death in 1876. In politics, too, he figured conspicuously as a supporter of the whig party and at one time represented his district, comprising Erie and Huron counties in the Ohio senate. His wife was also of New England lineage, although a native of New York. James Kent Hamilton was one of a large family and he did the hard work, enjoying the benefits of the sunshine and out-of-door life, which was the heritage of those early days. After acquiring the ordinary common school education he entered Kenyon College at Gambier, Ohio, and while attending this school financial reverses of the family made it necessary for him to put forth efforts and make, sacrifices unusual even in those days, in order to complete his course of classical study. He was graduated with honor, however, in 1859 and received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1862 he won the degree of Master of Arts and in 1912 his Alma Mater conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Law. In his student days he had taught school at intervals and was successively under the preceptorship of Hon. R. C. Hurd at Mount Vernon, Hon. S. F. Taylor at Milan and William Baker at Toledo, winning admission to the bar in 1862, when in his twenty-third year. Mr. Hamilton did not enter upon active practice, however, but joined the army as a private in the One Hundred and Thirteenth Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the Civil war. For bravery and gallantry he was promoted to the rank of captain and also served as an adjutant. He participated in all the battles in Middle Tennessee, including Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge and later he was in the Knoxville campaign and in 1864 was with the army of the Cumberland. He participated in the engagements at Resaca, Rome, New Hope Church, Kenesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek apd the Atlanta campaign and after the fall of the city of Atlanta he went with Sherman on his march to the sea and thence northward through the Carolinas, participating in the battles of Averysboro and Bentonville and finally in the Grand Review at Washington, D. C., where wave after wave of bayonet-crested blue swept by the reviewing stand, while over broad Pennsylvania avenue was suspended a banner bearing the words "the only debt which the country owes which she cannot pay is the debt which she owes to her soldiers." Fifty years later, in 1915, General Hamilton marched in the last grand review down Pennsylvania avenue, the occasion being the National Grand Army Encampment. At Chickamauga he was assistant adjutant general and chief of staff of the brigade commanded by General John G. Mitchell. He was with Granger and Steedman when they marched to the relief of the army of the Cumberland, their troops saving it from annihilation on the 20th of September, 1863. For Mr. Hamilton's conduct in this sanguinary engagement he was complimented for gallantry in the reports of his superior officers. With the close of the war and his admission to the bar, Mr. Hamilton at once entered upon active practice in Toledo and while advancement in the law is proverbially slow no dreary novitiate awaited him. Later he was admitted to practice before the United States supreme court. He advanced steadily in his profession and in 1867 was elected prosecuting attorney of Toledo and in the same year was 272 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY chosen prosecuting attorney of Lucas county, which office he filled with marked capability for two terms, or until 1871. In 1875 the people of Toledo called him to serve as city solicitor and his efficiency in that office was indicated by his reelection. By this time Toledo had become fully alert to the value of his service and his public spirit and in 1887, by popular suffrage, called him to the office of mayor and reelected him for a second term. It was a common saying, heard to this day, that "Kent Hamilton was the best mayor Toledo ever had." He declined to serve for a third term but he rendered valuable service in other connections, filling the office of member of the board of sinking fund trustees for a period of twelve years and member of the board of education for seven years, being most of this time president of the board. From 1896 until 1900 he was judge advocate general on the governor's staff and in 1913 he was made, against his urgent protests and personal inclination, president of the commission to prepare a new charter for the city of Toledo. These long and continued activities indicate most forcibly and eloquently the respect and esteem in which he was held but they more strongly indicate a notably loyal public spirit and a willingness to share in the utmost burdens of self government. Mr. Hamilton figured in business circles as a director of the Ohio Savings Bank & Trust Company from its organization until his death and as a director of the B. A. Stevens Company. But it was as a member of the bar that he was most prominently known and he always regarded himself as a lawyer and not as a business man or political leader. For forty years he maintained a position of distinction at the Lucas county bar. He appeared as counsel for the defense or prosecution in almost all of the leading cases tried in the county and his careful and comprehensive analysis, combined with his intimate knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, made him a most forceful figure in the courts. He was a man of the strictest integrity and possessed a most lofty conception of professional ethics and obligations. One who knew him long and well said : "He was a lion when aroused in the cause of his client or the discharge of his public duties, while in ordinary life he was as gentle and amiable as .a woman." Mr. Hamilton was married twice. On the 12th of September, 1876, in Toledo, he wedded Sibyl Williams, a daughter of J. R. and Sarah (Langdon) Williams and a descendant of Stephen Langdon, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. His first wife died in the year of their marriage. On the 27th of July, 1898, General Hamilton was married to Miss Ethel Beecher Allen, a daughter of Edward Herrick and Agnes (Beecher) Allen. Through the maternal line she is descended from the well known Beecher family, active in collegiate, patriotic and church societies, in which the members of the family have held many offices. Her grandfather, Rev. William Henry Beecher, is mentioned elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Hamilton was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, and holds the degrees of A. B. and A. M. from the Kansas State University, where she was a member of the Phi Beta Phi and was elected a Phi Beta Kappa. The Daughters of the American Revolution appointed her organizing regent and in that capacity she formed the Elizabeth Benton Chapter of Kansas City, the first chapter established in the state, and she was also the first state regent of Missouri, serving in 1896-97. Since coming to Toledo she has been a member of Ursula Wolcott Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. On April 2, 1913, she began her duties as state regent of Ohio. She is also a member of the Colonial Dames, the United States Daughters of 1812 and the Society of New England Women. To Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton was born a son, Allen Beecher Hamilton, whose birth occurred July 23, 1900, and TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 273 he graduated from Harvard in 1922. The family circle was broken by the hand of death, when on the 29th of December, 1918, General Hamilton was called to the home beyond. He was of the Protestant Episcopal faith, a member of Trinity church, in which he served as vestryman. In politics he was always a republican, standing high in the councils and activities of the party in city, state and country. During his college days he became a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon and of the Phi Beta Kappa. He belonged to the Toledo Club, to the Commerce Club and to the Country Club and he was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, of the Loyal Legion of America and of the Sons of the American Revolution. He became one of the charter members of Forsyth Post, G. A. R., which was organized November 19, 1866, and afterward transferred his membership to Toledo Post. At the national encampment held in Toledo in 1908 he was chairman of the local executive committee and was elected senior vice commander in chief of the order for the United States. From July, 1914, until July, 1915, he served as department commander of Ohio and he always cherished his association with his old army comrades. Many times he was called upon to speak at the funerals of his military associates and friends, his gift of oratory enabling him to pay beautiful tribute to their memory. Mr. Hamilton was also an active member of the old Maumee Valley Historical and Monumental Society during its existence and he likewise held membership in the Maumee Valley Pioneer and Historical Association. All who knew him, and his acquaintance was extremely wide, bear testimony to his kindly spirit and sympathetic nature. He never amassed wealth and this was due to the fact of his generosity, as he was continually extending a helping hand where aid was needed. It is doubtful if any man in public life in Toledo had so few enemies. The reason for this was found in his kind-hearted, sympathetic nature, his open and frank sincerity and the fact that his motives of conduct in public and in private were alike above suspicion. In one of the memorials prepared following his death it was said : "The emotions which were in the heart at the final farewell to one we long have cherished could group themselves about no finer or worthier character than James Kent Hamilton. He walked with hardly a misstep in the middle way of that wise faraway Greek who wrote so much but never so well as in describing the golden mean as the surest road of fair and duly proportioned happiness. His life in all its relations was plain, prudent, open, even and upright. Its loyalty and manliness, its power and tenderness, its rectitude and sympathy may well be an example to the younger members of the bar that such 'all the year 'round' virtues can still be at their best amid the fierce contention and confusions of the forum and the close, annoying exactions of public office and sordid business." He gave freely and generously to the world, of those powers with which nature had endowed him and which he had cultivated through a long and useful life, and viewed from any standpoint he measured up with the greatest and best in manhood and in citizenship. STEPHEN BROPHY Stephen Brophy, a native son of Toledo who occupies a prominent position in the ranks of the legal profession, has been identified with the bar of this city for the past thirty years, and that his course has at all times been an honorable and straightforward one is shown in the high regard entertained for him by his fellow practitioners and also by the general public. He was born June 14, 1863, 274 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY and his parents were Thomas and Catherine Brophy. In early life the father established his home in Toledo and in public affairs he took an active part, serving for many years as county recorder of Lucas county, while later he became one of the successful business men of the city. Stephen Brophy attended the grammar school at the corner of Jefferson and Warren streets in this city and after completing his high school course he entered the law school of Yale College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1891. He has since successfully followed his profession in Toledo and ranks with the leading attorneys of the city. He has a comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence and his careful analysis enables him correctly to apply his legal learning to the points at issue. The zeal with which he prepares his cases, the careful regard evinced for the interests of his clients and his assiduous and unrelaxing attention to his professional duties, have brought him a large practice and made him very successful in its conduct. He also has important business interests, being secretary and a director of the Page Dairy Company. Mr. Brophy stanchly supports the platform and candidates of the democratic party, and in 1896 was nominated on that ticket for the office of congressman from the ninth district, but met defeat at the polls. His high standing in his profession is indicated in the fact that in 1920 he was chosen president of the Toledo Bar Association and he is now serving as president of the Lawyers Club of Toledo. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, belonging to Barton Smith Lodge, F. & A. M., and he is also identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He never looks at a question in a superficial way, but delves to the root of the matter, and has the faculty of separating and eliminating the nonessential from the important elements of a case. Possessing all the requisites of an able lawyer, he has established his position among the successful and representative members of the legal profession of Toledo. GEORGE ROSS FORD George Ross Ford, manufacturer and financier, succeeded his father to. the presidency of the Edward Ford Plate Glass Company. Honored and respected by all, no man occupies a more enviable position in business circles in Toledo than he, not alone by reason of the success he has achieved but also owing to the straightforward and progressive business policy he has ever followed. It is true that he entered upon a business already established, but he started out in that business in a minor position and worked his way upward, acquainting himself with every phase thereof and qualifying for the responsibilities and duties which have devolved upon him in his promotion to the presidency. George Ross Ford was born July 25, 1882, in Creighton, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Edward and Carrie J. (Ross) Ford, mentioned at length on another page of this work. He pursued his early education in the schools of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, continued his studies in Detroit, Michigan, and afterward in the manual training school in Detroit. He then entered the employ of the Edward Ford Plate Glass Company. Parental authority was not exerted to give him an easy berth. He spent four years in mastering the various branches of the business and step by step advanced until he became treasurer and general manager, so continuing until he succeeded to the presidency upon his father's death in