TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 377 ever allowed professional and business interests so to monopolize his time as to exclude his participation in and enjoyment of those things which make for culture and which bring a broader vision and keener insight into the history of the past and present. Charles Granville Wilson was born in Fremont, Sandusky county, Ohio, June 27, 1846, and is a representative of one of the old and honored pioneer families of the state. His great-grandfather, James Wilson, a native of New England, removed to Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, about 1791 and there two years later he wedded Rebecca Orwig. In the same year, while making a journey to the forest, he was murdered by Indians. He was a lawyer by profession and a man of liberal education for that day. His only son, Samuel Wilson, became a prosperous merchant, banker and landowner of central Pennsylvania, residing for many years at New Berlin, that state. It was there that James William Wilson, the father of Charles. G. Wilson, was born on the 1st of February, 1816. He supplemented his early public school education by study in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia and was there graduated in March, 1837, receiving the M. D. degree. For two years thereafter he practiced his profession in Center county, Pennsylvania, and in July, 1839, removed to Fremont, Ohio, then known as Lower Sandusky. He was not long in gaining a large practice and he continued to make his home in Fremont until his death, which occurred July 21, 1904. He never hesitated to respond to the call of the sick, no matter what personal discomforts or sacrifice might be involved thereby and he never stopped to consider whether any pecuniary reward would be forthcoming.. He held to the old-fashioned ideas that a physician is to serve humanity and his life work was of the greatest benefit and blessing to those among whom he lived and labored. He also became an active factor in organizing the First National Bank of Fremont in May, 1863, theirs being the fifth national bank charter issued in the United States. Dr. Wilson continued to act as vice president of the organization until January 27, 1874, when he was elected to' the presidency and so served until his demise. He was, also one of the founders of the Fremont Savings Bank in April, 1882, and continuously filled the office of president from the day the bank opened its doors until his life's labors were ended. He prospered as the years passed by and he placed not a little of his funds in that safest of all investments—real estate—acquiring property in Sandusky, Wood and Lucas counties. At different periods he was called upon to fill various offices of honor, trust and responsibility and at no time did he seek to evade his duty in this regard. Dr. Wilson was united in marriage to Nancy Justice, a daughter of James Justice, who was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, August 18, 1794, and was of English lineage. In his boyhood he .accompanied his parents on their removal to Chillicothe, Ohio, and in 1820 he wedded Eliza Moore, who was of Scotch descent, and a. granddaughter of George Davis, who was a Revolutionary war soldier. In 1822 James Justice established his home in what is now Fremont, Ohio, there residing until called to his final rest in 1873. The same spirit of patriotism that characterized another of the ancestors of C. G. Wilson was manifest in him by his service in the War of 1812 and his participation in some of the campaigns in northwestern Ohio.. He aided in large measure in planting the seeds of civilization and development in this section of the state. In 1825, when but thirty-one years of age, he was elected associate judge of the court of common pleas and was commissioned for seven years by Governor Jeremiah Morrow. In 1832 he was reelected and was commissioned for another term of seven years by Governor 378 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY Duncan McArthur. He possessed a seemingly unlimited fund of common sense, a quality which is too often lacking, causing many a failure. He was also endowed with that "saving sense of humor" and at the same time he possessed qualities so vital in the attainment of business success, which he won along the lines of manufacturing and banking. It will thus be seen that in both the paternal and maternal lines Charles Granville Wilson represents pioneer families of this state. He was a pupil in the public schools of Fremont until April, 1863, when he matriculated in a college preparatory school conducted by the Rev. Mr. Brayton at Painesville, Ohio, being there a schoolmate of several boys who were later numbered among the most distinguished citizens of Toledo. He there continued his studies for a little more than a year and in September, 1864, entered Milnor Hall, a college preparatory school at Gambier. He next became a freshman in Kenyon College at Gambier and completed a four years' classical course on the 25th of June, 1868, being graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree. Three years later, on the 28th of June, 1871, Kenyon College conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree. During his college days he was much interested in athletics and played on the first baseball nine of the college throughout his four years' course as shortstop and catcher, while during his junior and senior years he was captain of the team, being known as the "home-run getter." At that time his weight was between a hundred and thirty and a hundred and forty pounds and he was very active and strong, making it his rule to practice in the gymnasium almost every day. During his preparatory and college courses he never encountered defeat in contests of running and high and broad jumping. In his freshman year he was elected to membership in the Alpha Delta Phi, one of the first as well as one of the leading college .fraternities of this country. He was also identified with the Nu Pi Kappa, a literary and debating society. During his senior year he was elected president of his class and he was one of the four editors of the Kenyon Reveille, the senior class publication. In 1868, with four fellow fraternity men of the senior class, he took the master's and the two preceding degrees in the Masonic lodge at Mount Vernon, Ohio. Following his graduation from Kenyon College, Mr. Wilson continued his studies in the law office of Buckland, Everett & Fowler at Fremont until October, 1869, when he matriculated in the Harvard Law School and pursued the full two years' course, whereby he won the LL. B. degree at his graduation on the 28th of June, 1871. On the 4th of September of the same year he was admitted to the bar of Elyria, Ohio, upon examination before the district court there. On the 2d of October of the same year he became a resident of Toledo and entered into active association with the law firm of Pratt & Starr. Following the withdrawal of Charles C. Starr from the partnership in July, 1872, he joined Charles Pratt in a partnership, under the style of Pratt & Wilson. A third partner was added on the admission of Erskine H. Potter in 1879, but the firm of Pratt, Wilson & Potter was discontinued in 1880, through the withdrawal of Mr. Potter, the association of Pratt & Wilson then being maintained uninterruptedly until 1884, when they were joined by Henry S. Pratt, a son of the senior partner, under the style of Pratt, Wilson & Pratt. Again the old firm name of Pratt & Wilson was assumed with the withdrawal of Henry S. Pratt in 1890 and so continued until February 1, 1895. For almost twenty-four years Mr. Wilson was thus actively associated in practice with Charles Pratt, who at the last mentioned date severed the partnership relation in order to accept the position of judge of the common pleas court. The firm of Pratt & Wilson was long recognized as one of TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 379 the most forceful and capable at the bar of Ohio, for their practice covered Ottawa and Wood as well as Lucas counties. Mr. Wilson looked after the greater share of this outside business and thus became a familiar figure in the courts of the different counties. Since the dissolution of the partnership Mr. Wilson largely practiced alone. He ranks as one of the most distinguished members of the bar of this state, his arguments being based upon the facts in the case and the law applicable to them and at all times he displays a profound knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence. He enjoyed for many years an extensive clientage of a most important character but in later years he has more and more largely withdrawn from active practice, until he is now virtually retired from the bar. This has been due to the growth of his business interests through active connection with corporations and by reason of the extent of his investments. On the 1st of November, 1893, Mr. Wilson was made a director of the First National Bank of Fremont and has since been one of its directors. On the 5th of August, 1904, he was elected vice president and on the 4th of April, 1906, was elected to the presidency, in which position he continues. He is also a director of the Fremont Savings Bank & Trust Company. In recent years he has given much of his time and capital to the production of crude petroleum oil from wells drilled on some of his own land in Sandusky county. He has likewise contributed in large measure to the agricultural development of Ohio, owning many farm properties in Lucas, Wood and Sandusky counties, which under his direction have been most carefully and profitably cultivated. He is likewise a stockholder in many corporate interests and industrial concerns, also a number of banks and thus his constantly expanding business activities are making ample demand upon his time and energy. On the 6th of September, 1876, Mr. Wilson was married to Miss Cornelia L. Amsden, a daughter of Isaac and Cornelia B. Amsden of Fremont. Their children are : Cornelia A., the wife of William. F. Johnson of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; and Justice, a prominent attorney of Toledo. The wife and mother passed away in this city, January 18, 1911, and all Toledo, as well as her immediate family and her close friends, had reason to mourn her death, because of the active part which she had taken in the charitable and benevolent work of the city. She was most loyally devoted to a number of institutions of this character and was particularly interested in the Toledo Boys' Home, of which she was president for fifteen years. Her time, her means and her efforts were always at the command of the institution and her work was one of the most valuable contributing elements to the success of the home. Mrs. Wilson likewise served as vice regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution and she was a most consistent and faithful member of the Trinity Episcopal church. She was fifty-five years of age at the time of her demise. Mr. Wilson has membership in Sanford L. Collins Lodge, No. 396, A. F. & A. M., also Toledo Commandery No. 7, K. T., and the various Scottish Rite bodies, including the Toledo Consistory, while with the Nobles of Zenobia Temple of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He belongs to the Toledo Club, the Country Club, the Toledo Commerce Club, the Fremont Chamber of Commerce of Fremont, Ohio, and for many years was identified with the Burns Curling Club. Along strictly professional lines his connection is with the Lucas County and Ohio. State Bar associations. His political allegiance has ever been unfalteringly given to the republican party and he has frequently been a delegate to its conventions. He served for many years as ward committeeman and was a member at different times of the city and county central committees and 380 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY also of the executive committee. He has acted as chairman of the republican city committee and as a member of the judicial committee for Lucas county. In 1884 he was nominated for the office of judge of the common pleas court for the first subdivision of the fourth judicial district, comprising Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Erie and Huron counties. This is normally a strong democratic territory but his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him was indicated in the fact that he ran far ahead of his ticket in every county, especially in Lucas county, where he makes his home, and for a time after the election it was conceded that he was the successful candidate. When the back district of Ottawa county finally reported it was found that he had been defeated, however, by a small majority. Notwithstanding, he received a very large vote and his support was all the more noticeable as it was in this year that Grover Cleveland was elected president of the United States. In 1888 Mr. Wilson was again nominated for the same office. While undoubtedly not without that laudable ambition which is so great an incentive for capability and fidelity in public office he has nevertheless regarded the pursuits of private life as in themselves worthy of his best efforts and as a private citizen he has done great good for his community in various fields of activity and service. HENRY J. SPIEKER Death seems to love a shining mark and often removes from our midst those whom we can ill afford to lose because of their contribution to and support of all those activities and forces which are of real value in the upbuilding and progress of a community. Such a citizen was Henry J. Spieker and Toledo profited by his worth and work for a period of more than a third of a century. He became the founder and promoter of the Henry J. Spieker Company, conducting one of the largest contracting and building enterprises in northwestern Ohio—a business that is still carried on by his son, A. Gideon Spieker. Henry J. Spieker remained in active connection with the business until a few months prior to his death, which occurred on the 31st of July, 1916. He was at that time fifty-nine years of age, his birth having occurred in Hanover, Germany, January 19, 1857. He was the eldest in a family of five children whose parents were Gerhardt Henry and Eliza (Clausing) Spieker, who were likewise natives of Hanover, where they spent their lives. The father died in December, 1908. The mother passed away when their son Henry was but eleven years of age. Henry J. Spieker continued a resident of Germany to the age of twenty-three and acquired a good education in the schools of that country, also learning the carpenter's trade through serving a regular apprenticeship thereto. The year 1880 witnessed his arrival in the new world and he made his way direct from New York to Toledo, here finding employment the following day as a carpenter. Steadily he advanced in business connections and in 1888 became a building contractor, his labors eventually resulting in the organization of the Henry J. Spieker Company, which became one of the foremost concerns in the contracting and building business in this section of the state. Mr. Spieker, as head of the Company, erected some of the finest structures in Toledo and elsewhere, including the Toledo Museum of Art, the Collingwood Avenue Presbyterian church,. St. Mark's .Episcopal church,. the Young Men's Christian Association building, the Ohio building, the People's Say- TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 383 ings Association building, the National Union building, the Ursuline convent, the Schmidt building, the Newsboys building, the Country Club, the Toledo Yacht Club, the Scott and Waite high schools and a large number of the finest and most attractive residences of the city. On the 18th of May, 1884, Mr. Spieker was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Kuhlmann, a daughter of Christian and Freund Kuhlmann, both representing old German families of Toledo. Her father is deceased: Mrs. Spieker was born in this city and by her marriage became the mother of the following named : Fred G., A. Gideon and John, all active members of the Spieker Contracting Company ; Mrs. Thomas Eslinger of Battle Creek, Michigan ; Florence ; and Frances. A most attractive modern residence was being erected by Mr. Spieker for his family when death called him. In politics he was a stanch republican and he was a generous supporter of the Salem. Lutheran church on Huron street. He belonged to the Toledo Commerce Club, to the Toledo Yacht Club and to the Toledo Lodge of Elks. He possessed a generous disposition and his philanthropy was wide, yet his charity was at all times most unostentatiously given. He was a man of unquestioned integrity and his life displayed many sterling qualities that gained for him the respect and confidence of his fellowmen and made him one of the foremost residents of Toledo. He deserved much credit for what he accomplished. Without special advantages at the outset of his career, he worked his way steadily upward through the force of his own character and the improvement of the opportunities which came his way. His indefatigable energy declined no call to labor or to service and he left to his family not only a handsome competence but also the priceless heritage of an untarnished name. FRANK MICHAEL AND GEORGE BERNARD SCHRAMM Frank Michael and George Bernard Schramm are members of the firm of Schramm Brothers, Florists, of Toledo, where they are conducting a business that was established by their grandfather. Throughout the intervening period the business has been in possession of members of the family and today is being further developed and enlarged by the two enterprising and progressive men who are at its head. Frank Michael Schramm was born in Toledo, September 28, 1889, and is a son of Anton and Margaret (Reuscher) Schramm. His father was a son of Bernard Schramm, who came to Toledo in 1859 and in 1864 established business as a florist, continuing in active connection with the business to the time of his demise. He was then succeeded by his sons, who conducted the enterprise and the son, Anton, was also a prominent factor in the further development and conduct of the business until he was called to his final rest in 1904. It was then that his sons, Frank M. and George B. Schramm, took charge and have since carried on the business at Nos. 1307 to 1315 Cherry street. Frank M. Schramm pursued his education in St. Mary's parochial school and after his school days were over he became the associate of his father, taking over the business in, 1910, after the father's demise. . There is no phase of the business with which he is not thoroughly familiar and his labors have been an important element in promoting the further development of the trade. On the 12th of June, 1912, Frank M. Schramm was married to Miss Elizabeth G. Textor of Toledo and they have become parents of three children : Dorothy 384 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY Louise, Robert Frank and Bernard George. The religious faith of the family is indicated by its membership in St. Mary's Catholic church and Mr. Schramm is identified with the Knights of Columbus, also with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Loyal Order of Moose and the Woodmen of the World. He likewise belongs to the Kiwanis Club and in these different organizations enjoys the friendship and comradeship of many of his fellow members. George Bernard Schramm, who is associated with his brother in the conduct and ownership of the florist business, was born in Toledo, July 10, 1895. He was educated in St. Mary's parochial school and in St. John's College, being graduated from the latter with the class of 1912. He later became actively identified with his brother in carrying on the business, which had been established by their grandfather and was later owned and managed by their father. George B. Schramm is a member of several fraternal, organizations and clubs. He belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Loyal Order of Moose, the Knights of St. John and the Foresters of America and he is also associated with the Lions Club and with the Riverside Boat Club. The brothers are well known and representative business men of the city and have fully sustained the high record that has always been associated with the name of Schramm since the grandfather arrived in this city more than sixty-four years ago, while the business which he founded fifty-eight years ago is still in existence and is a monument to his progressive spirit. The same fidelity, earnestness and enterprise has been manifest in succeeding generations and is expressed in the business record of the present proprietors. JOHN HENRY GERKENS Starting out in the business world to provide for his own support when a youth of fourteen years, in a minor clerical position, John Henry Gerkens has advanced steadily' through the utilization of his powers and his chances for progress, until 'he is now the treasurer of The Willys-Overland Company and a prominent figure in connection with Toledo's largest industry. Born in Toledo, on the 25th of January, 1887, he is a son of Edward E. and Alice. E. (Whittingham) Gerkens. The, father was connected with railroad interests for twenty-seven years but is now deceased. The public schools of Toledo accorded John Henry Gerkens his educational opportunities and he pursued his studies through the age of fourteen years, when he put aside his textbooks, becoming a clerk in the inspector's office of the Toledo Produce. Exchange, where he remained for a year. He was afterward employed as messenger at the Merchants National Bank and later held various positions in the Second National Bank, thus acquainting himself with many phases of the banking business. In November, 1909, he became connected with the Overland Company, first as a bookkeeper, and his rise from that time has been through the years of the company's wonderful growth and development, he being now one of the oldest officials of the company in point of service. On the 9th of May, 1922, he was elected to the treasurership of The Willys-Overland Company and as one of its officials he is bending his efforts to an administrative direction that has brought it up among the .first four companies in the automobile industry of the country. In Toledo, on the 19th of August, 1916, Mr. Gerkens was united in marriage TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 387 to Miss Myrtle M. Marion, a native of this city. Mr. Gerkens is a Mason, who has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in the consistory and also become a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Toledo Club, the Inverness Club and the Chamber of Commerce, and finds his greatest recreation in golf. Mr. Gerkens is a loyal Toledoan and has spent his life in this city, where many of his warmest friends have been acquaintances from. boyhood. ALBERT J. NEUHAUSEL Albert J. Neuhausel is the vice president and the general manager of The Neuhausel Brothers Company, conducting a wholesale and retail dry goods establishment in Toledo. The business has enjoyed a continuous existence of a half century and throughout the period the name has stood for progressiveness, efficiency and reliability. The same characteristic qualities have been manifested by the younger generation that has been called to take over the management of the business and those who are now in charge have added new laurels to an untarnished family record. Albert J. Neuhausel was born in Toledo, June 25, 1868, being a son of Nicholas and Barbara (Huster) Neuhausel, both of whom were natives of Germany but were brought to America in early life. The grandfather in the paternal line was Nicholas Neuhausel, Sr., who was born in Ober Roden, Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, January 1, 1810, and was about ninety years of age when he passed away in Toledo. He learned the tailor's trade from his father and also became familiar with agricultural pursuits while spending his youthful days in his native land as one of a family of four brothers and two sisters. Three of the brothers removed to southern France but Nicholas Neuhausel, Sr., chose America as the scene of his future labors and with his family came to the new world, settling first in Baltimore. He had been married in 1833 to Anna Mary Becker. They spent six years in Baltimore and in 1858 came to Toledo, where they spent their remaining days, traveling life's journey together as husband and wife for fifty-one years. They celebrated their golden wedding in 1883, Mrs. Neuhausel passing away the following year Nicholas Neuhausel, Jr., was largely reared on this side the Atlantic and he became one of the founders of the present business in association with his brothers. The store was opened nearly a half century ago by Nicholas, Jr., Martin, John F. and George C. Neuhausel, who in 1852 had accompanied their parents on the emigration from Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, to Baltimore, where they arrived on the 10th of July. After coming to Toledo in 1858 the brothers were employed by one of the several dry goods merchants prominent in connection with the early commercial history of the city. Soon after the Civil war, in which Martin Neuhausel had fought in defense of the Union, the brothers decided to establish a store of their own. It was a modest entrance upon the commercial life of Toledo that the young merchants made on the morning of August 15, 1866. Their stock required but one side of the aisle of a single little store on Summit street but it was a well chosen, fairly priced' stock of only the kind of merchandise that could be safely recommended. A small but well begun business, which through its strict adherence to its established high standards of merchandising, through an unswerving policy of fair and honest dealing in exclusively worth-while goods, was 388 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY destined to grow to be one of the city's best known and most profitable mercantile establishments. On the evening of July 8, 1892, the store was destroyed in a great fire that wrecked the building and practically burned the entire stock. It is a notable fact, however, that though comparatively put out of business by so disastrous a fire, not a day's time was lost. ' The adjoining store was immediately acquired on the following morning and by noon business was resumed, though of course, in a limited. way. Negotiations were opened at once for the purchase of the ground on which the burned store had stood. The deal was soon closed and the erection of a new store begin, into which the stock was removed in 1893. Since the very beginning of their commercial career in Toledo the Neuhausel Brothers have enjoyed a peculiarly unstinted confidence and the goodwill among the shopping public of Toledo and surrounding territory, a confidence that is merited through the unquestioned probity that has marked their business methods throughout the past half century. The firm today has the distinction of enjoying the same reputation for integrity, the same reputation for dealing in exclusively dependable merchandise, as it did at the beginning, nearly fifty years ago, and it is to this close adherence to open; straightforward business methods that it owes the goodwill of its many thousands of friends and patrons. The Neuhausel Brothers are also known for their warm-hearted solicitude for the welfare of .their employes. The regard of the firm for its workers was never better illustrated than on December 24, 1912, when, due notice having been given, the store closed its doors at six o'clock. This was the first time in the history of Toledo that a store had the courage to close early on Christmas eve and so afford its employes the opportunity of spending the evening at home with their families. Since the 1st of February, 1913, the Neuhausel store has closed its doors on Saturdays at six p. m.,"which was another truly progressive. move and which fol- lowed an effort on the part of the firm, covering two or three years previous, in the matter of agitating the question of early closing on Saturdays. Nicholas Neuhausel, Jr., remained an active factor in the conduct and success of the business for many years but is now living retired, enjoying in well earned rest the fruits of his former toil. His wife has passed away. They became parents of thirteen children, of whom nine survive and of these, four sons are active in the business of Neuhausel Brothers : Albert G. is vice president and general manager ; Charles A. is secretary ; Frederick J. is a director ; and Lawrence J. is likewise a director. Albert J. Neuhausel attended St. Mary's parochial school of Toledo and also the Jesuit College at Buffalo, where he remained a student for three years. At the age of sixteen he returned to this city and entered the business conducted by his father and uncles. His original position was that of bundle wrapper, since which time he has worked his way upward through various departments, winning various promotions until he became general manager. With the incorporation of the business he was also made one of the directors and is now vice president of the company. He has comprehensive knowledge of each phase and detail of the trade and in the further control of the store has displayed the same progressive spirit which has characterized the establishment from the beginning.. In. August, 1905, Albert Neuhausel was married to Miss Harriett Branek, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Branek of this city. They are members of the Roman Catholic church and he has attained the third degree in the Knights of Columbus council. He belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and to the Retail Merchants Board of Toledo and has long figured as one of the foremost factors in commercial circles here. The store, of which he is now one of the chief executives. TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 389 employs a hundred and fifty sales people and has long been regarded as one of Toledo's representative mercantile establishments. The members of the firm are justly proud of their success but are prouder still of the honor and good name that has ever been associated with the house. DALE WILSON, M. D. Dr. Dale Wilson, a Toledo physician, specializing in orthopedic surgery, was born in this city September 12, 1878, a son of Dr. Frank P. and Nancy (Raines) Wilson. The father's birth occurred in Lewisburg, Union county, Pennsylvania, December 5, 1841, his parents being Francis and Mary (Chamberlain) Wilson, who were also natives of Lewisburg, born in 1800 and 1810, respectively. Francis Wilson devoted his life to agricultural pursuits and he gave his political allegiance first to the whig and afterward to the republican party. Both he and his wife were long consistent members of the Presbyterian church and the former passed away in 1874, while the latter died in 1884. Both were descended from old colonial families that were represented in the Revolutionary war. Their son, Dr. Frank P. Wilson, who was one of a family of eleven children, supplemented his public school education by study in the Bucknell University at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and afterward attended the Princeton University of New Jersey and the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia. He was graduated from the last named institution in 1862 with the M. D. degree, but ere his diploma was accorded him he had enlisted, in April, 1861, as a private of Company A, Fourth Pennsylvania Infantry, with which he served until the expiration of his three months' term of service. He afterward reenlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Thirty-first Pennsylvania Infantry, for nine months' service, and when that regiment was mustered out became a contract surgeon. He was assistant surgeon of the Fiftieth Pennsylvania in the fall of 1864 and. so continued until the close of the war. In the meantime he participated in many important engagement's including the second battle of Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Not long after the close of the war he removed to Toledo, where he entered upon the active practice of medicine and surgery and soon won place among the leading physicians of the city—a position which he has continued to occupy to the present time. He belongs to the Lucas County Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Society, the. American Medical Association and the Ohio State' Academy of Medicine and he formerly served on the board of United States medical pension examiners. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias and he proudly wears the little bronze button that proclaims him a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, while politically he has been a republican since the organization of the party. He was married December 2, 1868, to Miss Nancy Raines, who was born in Greenville, Darke county, Ohio, a daughter of Thomas E. Raines, deceased, who for many years was a prominent retail lumber merchant of Toledo. Dr. and Mrs. Wilson became parents of a son and a daughter, Dale and Mary, the latter born November 22, 1882. Reared in his native city, Dr. Dale Wilson completed the high school course with the class of 1899 and then, having determined to follow in his father's professional footsteps, he entered the Toledo Medical College, in which he completed his course in 1901. He had previously served in the Spanish-American war with the Toledo 390 -TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY Cadets as a private of Company L, Sixth Regiment, but being stricken with fever returned home. When he had completed his preparation for a professional career he entered into active practice with his father, with whom he was associated for some time. Later he took up work in a New York hospital for the relief of crippled children and since that time has specialized in orthopedic surgery. He has pursued several postgraduate courses and is one of the best informed men in this branch of the profession in Ohio. Thoroughly understanding the basic principles which underlie orthopedic practice, he has accomplished splendid results and has won a most creditable name and fame in this field. Like his father, Dr. Dale Wilson also has a most creditable military record, for in the World war he served with signal honor, winning the rank of major for "extraordinary, meritorious and conspicuous service as director Ambulance Service, One Hundred and Twelfth Sanitary Train." This quotation is from a communication written in France, August 13, 1919, and signed "John . J. Pershing." When the country no longer needed his military aid Dr. Wilson returned to Toledo, where he continues in practice, giving his attention largely to his specialty. He is a member of the Lucas County Medical Society, the Northwestern Medical Association, the Ohio State Medical Society and the American Medical Association and through his connection with these bodies keeps in touch with the trend of modern professional thought, progress and investigation. He. is a member of the United Spanish-American War Veterans and of the American Legion and fraternally, is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias. The spirit of progress has actuated him at every point in his career and a laudable ambition has prevented satisfaction with what he has already attained. On the contrary, he has been constantly reaching out to achieve a point of greater usefulness and of broader activity, and judging by what he has already accomplished, one does not hesitate to predict that his future will be one of still wider interests and more effective service for the benefit of mankind. THOMAS DAVIES Thomas Davies is one of Toledo's well known business men whose activities along several lines of business have made for him an exceptionally wide acquaintance, and in more recent years his prominent connection with the real estate business has won him a place of leadership among the realtors of this city. Moreover, it would be giving an inadequate picture of Mr. Davies to mention him simply as a business man. He is a writer of creditable verse, the possessor of a fine tenor voice and he has also qualities which make for popularity wherever he is known, and back of all this are the high standards of manhood and citizenship which he always maintains. Thomas Davies was born in Hubbard, Trumbull county, Ohio, February 7, 1874, his parents being David T. and Martha (Williams) Davies, both of whom were natives of Wales, whence they came to the new world in early life. In 1864 David T. Davies became a resident of Hubbard, Ohio, where he was employed in a steel mill. Later he conducted a general store at Brookfield, Ohio, and afterward removed to Youngstown, Ohio, where he was superintendent of the Valley Rolling Mills. At a subsequent period he removed to Toledo and engaged in the rolling mill business until he retired from active life in 1900. He met an accidental death in TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 393 1908, being struck down by one of the cars of the Lake Shore Electric Railroad while crossing the tracks. His wife passed away in Toledo, March 4, 1904. In their family were thirteen children, eight sons and five daughters. Thomas Davies pursued his education in the grade schools of Youngstown, Ohio, and was a boy of about fifteen when his parents removed to Toledo, where he attended school for only one day. When twelve years of age he started out to earn his living and since that time has depended upon his own resources, and his entire course has been marked by a steady progress and indicates a splendid use of his talents and opportunities. He was first employed as delivery boy and clerk in a grocery store and remained in active connection with the grocery trade for eight years, winning advancement from time to time and constantly adding to his knowledge through experience. He afterward became a salesman in a large clothing house of Toledo, in which he remained for two years. After giving up his position as a clothing salesman, he decided to study banking and secured a position as bank messenger on the east side. He rose to the position of paying teller within six years and it was with regret on the part of the bank that he severed his connection with the institution, but he felt that broader opportunity called elsewhere. It was at this time that he organized a foundry company and devoted his undivided attention to the development and expansion of the business until the Maumee Foundry Company offered him an attractive price for his interest, and he sold out. With the capital thus acquired he purchased the business of the three leading transfer companies of Toledo and merged these into one, under the name of the Toledo Transfer Company, of which he remained the head and manager through five years of continually growing success. He then disposed of the business to become the secretary of the George E. Pomeroy Company, real estate and insurance firm, with whom he remained for several years and during this period, with his characteristic thoroughness and determination, he acquainted himself with every phase of real estate and insurance, and in this field has since directed his operations. After leaving the Pomeroy Company he became business manager for the E. H. Close Realty Company and so continued until 1918, when he organized the Thomas Davies Realty Company and in this connection he became one of the dominant factors in the real estate' field of Toledo. The company, of which he was president, specialized in handling business properties, and successfully negotiated one of the largest leasehold contracts ever taken over in Toledo, calling for more than a million and a half dollars. This transaction was made with the Woolworth Company of New York city, by which they are to pay a gross rental of ninety thousand dollars per year for the southeast corner of Superior and Adams streets. On June 1, 1922, Mr. Davies disposed of his interests in the Thomas Davies Realty Company and became connected with The Reuben Realty Company, of which he is a vice president and in charge of the business properties and factory sites department. On the 4th of March, 1903, Mr. Davies was united in marriage to Miss Agnes Tracy, a daughter of Dr. and Mrs. James L. Tracy of Toledo, and they are now parents of two children : Elizabeth, born in 1904; and James, in 1909. The daughter was graduated from the high school with honors, receiving a gold medal and a silver medal and she is now a student in the University of Toledo. Both Mr. and Mrs. Davies are prominent in the musical circles of the city and have been endowed with unusual talent in this direction. Possessing a natural voice of rare beauty, Mrs. Davies has received training under some of the most eminent American masters, including Evan Williams and Theodore Tait. Mr. 394 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY Davies has been a member of the choir of Trinity Episcopal church, regarded as one of the best choirs in the United States. For twenty years he has been in demand as a tenor soloist and has frequently received attractive offers to become a member of the Metropolitan Opera Company, but on account of his family and love of home he has always declined. Mr. Davies belongs to the American Insurance Union, to the Toledo Commerce Club, the Exchange Club and to the Toledo Auto Club. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and Shriner and also belongs to the Grotto. He has membership with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and with the Loyal Order of Moose. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and his religious faith is expressed in his membership in the Epworth Methodist Episcopal church. His is a well balanced make-up. He is sufficiently optimistic always to look upon the bright side of life, to believe in the triumph of good and the ultimate victory of the right, but he also believes that for this achievement every individual must do his part and Thomas Davies has never failed to do his in any relation of life. His residence is at No. 2601 Scottwood avenue. GEORGE LESTER McKESSON The life record of George Lester McKesson is characterized by a steady advancement that has brought him to the vice presidency and treasurership of the Haughton Elevator & Machine Company of Toledo. The steps in his orderly progression are easily discernible and indicate the constant development of his powers, combined with the wise use of his opportunities. At every point in his career he seems to have reached the utmost possible at that point and his life story is an illustration of what can be achieved through personal efforts, intelligently directed. Mr. McKesson was born July 9, 1876, at Collins, Huron county, Ohio, being the only son of Lester V. and Harriet (Fisher) McKesson. The parents were also natives of the Buckeye state, his father's birth having occurred at Enterprise, Erie county, while the mother was born at Sandusky and in that city their marriage was celebrated. At the time of the Civil war Lester V. McKesson responded to the call for troops to aid in defense of the Union, enlisting as a private in Company E, Eighth Ohio Infantry and rising to the rank of lieutenant. He was awarded a medal for heroic service and is numbered with that great army of Boys in Blue whose military record is a credit and honor to the state of Ohio, whence they went to the front. When the war was over Mr. McKesson established a sawmill and bending works at Collins, Ohio, where he continued in business until 1890 and then moved to Clarksville, Tennessee, where he conducted a similar business and also manufactured vehicle spokes. In the spring of 1898 the family residence was established in Toledo, where Mr. McKesson turned his attention to the real estate and investment business, becoming senior partner in the firm of McKesson & Cone. The family is noted for longevity, the father of Lester V. McKesson reaching the advanced age of ninety-two years. Lester McKesson still makes his home in Toledo and is mentioned elsewhere in this work. To him and his wife were born a son and two daughters, the latter being Jennie E., formerly principal of the Wayne public school in Toledo ; and Carrie E., deceased, who had married John W. Brandau, a prominent physician of Clarksville, Tennessee. All three were born at Collins, Ohio, where they attended the public schools, while Jennie E. McKesson was graduated from Baldwin University at Berea, Ohio, as a member TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 397 of the class of 1888, and Mrs. Brandau completed her study in Miss Law's training school in Toledo. The first fourteen years of his life were passed by George L. McKesson in his native state and he then accompanied his parents to Clarksville, Tennessee, where he was a student in the Southwestern Presbyterian University for a time. He afterward matriculated in the Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York, where after a thorough course he received his diploma in 1897. He subsequently spent two years in connection with his father's business in Clarksville, Tennessee, and with the removal of the family to Toledo he accepted the position of bill clerk with the Woolson Spice Company. A little later, however, he went to Cleveland and for two years was a representative of the wholesale hardware house of the George Worthington Company. On the expiration of that period he returned to Toledo and again entered into active connection with the Woolson Spice Company as traveling representative. When he resigned that position he went on the road for the Akron Belting' Company, which he represented for about three years, covering six of the central states and later he was trust officer with the Ohio Savings Bank & Trust Company of Toledo. With the organization of the United Supply Company he was made assistant secretary and treasurer and continued to act in that capacity until January 1, 1905, when he was appointed business director of the Toledo public schools and made a most splendid official in that connection. One of the local papers said of him : "When he took hold of the school affairs there was a woeful lack of system in the. matter of making repairs on the various buildings, in the purchase of supplies and in.the inspection of work done by contractors, but the very first year Mr. McKesson brought order out of chaos, and today there is as much system observed in all this work as there is in the management of any big factory or mercantile establishment in the city. Director McKesson was well fitted for the position by a long and varied training in commercial lines." An editorial published in the Toledo Blade, February 5, 1907, reads as follows : "Director McKesson of the public schools is said to combine the qualities of a financier with the knowledge of a builder, a mason and a plumber. Therefore, he is economical in expenditures and exacting in his demands on those who undertake to do business with the board of education. Efforts to slight work have been met with sturdy rebuffs until contractors. have learned that they will save themselves a heap of trouble by closely following specifications. The members of the board who have been cognizant of Mr. McKesson's activities declare that he is saving the city many times his salary and that is certainly complimentary to him." He remained in his official connection with the school until April 1, 1916, when he became associated with the Haughton Elevator & Machine Company as vice president and treasurer. He is also a director of the Ohio Savings Bank & Trust Company and president of the Peoples Savings Association. On the 27th of January, 1904, Mr. McKesson was united in marriage to Miss Fannie L. Kapp, a daughter of George J. Kapp, a leading jewelry merchant of Toledo, in which city Mrs. McKesson was born, reared and educated. They attend the Collingwood Avenue Presbyterian church and Mr. McKesson is a Mason of high rank, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in the Consistory at Toledo, while he has also become a member of Zenobia Temple of the Mystic Shrine.. His political endorsement is given to the republican party, where national questions and issues are involved, but at local elections he of ttimes casts an independent ballot. He was one of the organizers of the Fifty Associates. Company and is a member of its proxy committee. In October, 1922; he was elected president of 398 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY the Elevator Manufacturers Association of the United States. He belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, to the Rotary Club, to the Inverness Club, the Sylvania Golf Club and the Overland Club, the Toledo Automobile Club and the Ohio Automobile Club. He is also connected with the Toledo Museum of Art and is interested in all those forces which make for the cultural advancement and material and moral upbuilding of the community. His activities have covered a wide scope and his spirit has ever been a most progressive one, leading to the accomplishment of many results valuable to Toledo. His residence is at No. 353 Winthrop street. CLARENCE B. STEINEM Clarence B. Steinem, a promising young lawyer of Toledo who made the supreme sacrifice during the World war, was born in this city December 31, 1890, a son of Joseph and Pauline. Steinem, the former a prominent real estate dealer here. In the acquirement of his education the son passed through successive grades in the Toledo schools, completing the high school course, and, in 1907, at the early age of seventeen years, he entered the University of Michigan. There he devoted his attention to the study of law and was graduated in 1911 upon the completion of the full four years' course, being admitted to the Ohio bar in the same year, when but twenty-one years of age. From that time until 1917 he was engaged in the active practice of his profession in this city with the exception of the year 1913, when he passed several months in touring Europe, visiting France, Holland, Germany, Italy and Austria. He made substantial progress in the practice of his profession, preparing his cases with great thoroughness and care, and presenting his cause with clearness, force and strength. In 1917 Mr. Steinem volunteered for military service in connection with the World war and was immediately assigned to the ordnance department at Wash, ington, D. C., where he remained until his death. On the 1st of December, 1917, he returned on a furlough to Toledo, taking back with him to the capital city his bride, who was formerly Miss Sarah V. Freed, a teacher in the Fulton school, the marriage ,being celebrated on the 6th of December,. 1917. At the beginning of October, 1918, Mr. Steinem suffered a fatal attack of influenza and succumbed after a very brief illness, his death occurring on the 9th of that month. Mr. Steinem was a republican in his political views and always kept well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He attended the Jewish temple and high and honorable principles actuated him at all points in his career. Aside from his profession he was interested in the real estate business and he was making steady advancement as a realtor and as a lawyer when he entered the army. When death called him, the bar association prepared the following memorial : "Mr. Steinem had remarkable endowments both of mind and heart. Even as a little child he showed a quick intelligence and an exceptional memory. Before he was four years old he picked up the German language during a three months' stay in Germany. When five years of age, and before he had learned to read, he could name and locate all the states of the Union and could name all their capitals, as well as countries and capitals of Central and South America. He was equally enthusiastic in work and in recreation and brought to both a keen, adroit mentality and a well trained physique. Whether canoeing or exercising in the gymnasium, playing tennis or hand, ball, bending over a chess table or a law book, he was TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 399 always energetic and proficient. His disposition was gentle, affectionate, cheerful and unselfish. He was devoted to his wife and kindred, cordial and true to his friends, loyal and patriotic to his country. As a lawyer he met the most exacting requirements in professional standards of ethics and learning. While we deeply deplore the sudden and untimely summons which he was called upon to answer, we are glad to keep with us the memory of his gifted mind and lovable nature. "(Signed) "CHARLES K. FRIEDMAN, "FRANK H. GEER, "B. W. JOHNSON, Committee." His commanding 'officer, Major John C. C. Williams, paid to him the following well merited tribute : "His devotion to duty and splendid soldierly spirit have made his loss in this hour of need of his country deeply lamented by us all. He died serving his country. May you find comfort and consolation in the knowledge that he did so splendidly make this sacrifice for the cause that means to all of us more than life itself." CARL F. HILLEBRAND One of the foremost representatives of mercantile interests in Toledo is Carl F. Hillebrand, who for over thirty years has been prominently connected with the furniture business in this city, and throughout the period he has maintained an unassailable reputation for integrity and reliability. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, March 29, 1869, a son of Bernard and Bernardina (Dirks) Hillebrand, both 3f whom were of European birth and came to the United States in 1840, crossing the Atlantic in one of the old-time sailing vessels. They settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the father followed the trade of cabinetmaking, which he had learned in his native land, and he afterward became superintendent of a large furniture factory in that city. There he continued to reside until his demise, which occurred in 1891. The mother passed away in 1918. Carl F. Hillebrand, the youngest in a family of eight children, attended the public and parochial schools and afterward entered St. Joseph's College of Cincinnati, from which he was graduated in 1886, on the completion of an academic course. On starting out in the business world he secured a position as traveling salesman for a Cincinnati supply house, which he continued to represent- until his twenty-first year, when he came to Toledo and purchased an interest in a furniture store, becoming a member of the Hillebrand & Foth Company in 1890. Later he took over Mr: Foth's interest in the undertaking and joined his brother in a partnership, the business having since been conducted under the firm style of Hillebrand Brothers. Starting with a capital of sixty dollars, Mr. Hillebrand has developed one of the largest furniture houses in the city and is deserving of great credit for what he has accomplished. He carries an extensive line of high class furniture, holds to the highest standards in the personnel of the house and conducts the establishment along the most modern and progressive lines. He is thoroughly conversant with the principles of merchandising and has succeeded in maintaining a high degree of efficiency in the operation of the business. On the 14th of April, 1891, Mr. Hillebrand was united in marriage to Miss