class that graduated from Miami University, at Oxford. On the completion of his course he entered the ministry. For two years he also served as a teacher in the University. In 1865 he came to Springfield and thereafter lived retired until he died in 1871. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Amanda Hurin, was born in Lebanon, Ohio, in 1810. She survived her husband a number of years, passing away in Springfield in 1885. In their family were seven children. Professor John S. Weaver spent his boyhood days under the parental roof, being eighteen years of age when his parents came to Springfield. Prior to this time he pursued a preparatory course in Monroe, Ohio, after which he became a sophomore in Wittenberg College, in the fall of 1864, graduated in 1867, and at once entered upon the profession which he had made his life work. He taught school in Clarke, Greene and Wayne Counties, and for one year was a teacher in the academy at Canaan, Ohio. In the year of 1874 Mr. Weaver went to Sioux City, Iowa, remaining there until 1880, in the capacity of Principal of Schools. In the latter year Mr. Weaver returned to Springfield, Ohio, to accept the position of Principal of the old Eastern School, a position he held until 1892, when he was appointed Principal of the Springfield High School. In 1900 he was elevated to the Superintendency of the public schools of that city, a place he filled with such success that he was re-elected to that position ever since. Professor Weaver is a born educator and a most capable instructor, having the ability to impart with readiness and clearness to others the knowledge of the branches of learning. which he has mastered. He has entire charge of the educational features of the public schools of Springfield, and under his guidance the Springfield schools have become a model institution. In 1876, in LaMar, Iowa, Mr. Weaver was married to Miss May Burlingame. Two children are the issue of their union—Helen, the wife of Mr. Van C. Wilson, of Canon City, Colorado, and Catherine Weaver. The Weaver family attends the Third Presbyterian Church at Springfield. Mr. Weaver is a member of Mitchell Post, G. A. R., having served four months in Company B of the One Hundred and Forty-sixth O. V. I. Regiment during the Civil War. He was mustered in at the age of seventeen years. He also belongs to the college fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi, to the National Teachers' Association, and to the Clark County Teachers' Association. Francis W. Wenner, Superintendent of the Public Schools at Martin's Ferry, Ohio, was born on the 28th of January, 1861, at Tiffin, Ohio, where his father, Mr. Henry Wenner, was a prominent carriage manufacturer. His mother's maiden name was Sarah Kaull, a native of Pennsylvania, the same State in which his father was born. Mr. Wenner is of German descent, his great-grandfather on his mother's side coming from the pretty little city of Bingen on the Rhine, a - 700 - place celebrated by reason of its many his-torical events. He received his education in the public and High Schools of his native city, graduating from the High School in 188o, when he began teaching in the country schools. Later he attended Heidelberg College, graduating from that institution with the degree of B.S. He taught in the grammar and High Schools of Tiffin, and. was science teacher four years, and one year Principal of the Bellaire High School, which position he left in 1889, being called to his home to settle the estate of his father. We next find him as Superintendent of Schools at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, where he remained for a period of seven years. At North Baltimore he filled the same position for six years, resigning from the same in 1904 to accept a similar position offered to him at Martin's Ferry, one of the most enterprising and flourishing cities on the Ohio in the eastern part of the State. For three years Mr. Wenner taught at the summer school in Lakeside. In politics he is a Republican. In 1890 he was united in marriage to Miss Corinne Spayth, and is the father of two boys. Mr. Wenner is the holder of a State life High School certificate, issued to him in 1890. Socially, he is a Mason and K. of P.; also a member of the Ohio State Teachers' Association and the National Teachers' Association. Mr. Wenner is known to be one of the pro-gressive exponents of modern ideas in his profession. William Henry Weir, Principal of the High School at Springfield, Ohio, was born on the 11th of November, 1854, at the above-mentioned city. He is the son of John Shaw Weir, a stonemason, and Nancy (Reid) Weir, both of whom were natives of Ireland ; the father emigrated to this country in 1847, and the mother three years later. William Henry Weir received his education in the public schools of his native city, and at Wittenberg College, from which institution of learning he graduated with honors, June, 1875, receiving the degrees of A.B. and A.M. At the age of twenty-one years he took up the pro-fession of teaching, starting in active life as a public school teacher in Springfield. During the period of 1892-1894 he occupied the responsible position of Superintendent of pub- - 701 - lic instruction in his home city. In 1895 he engaged in the manufacturing business, placing on the market of the country incubators and brooders for the artificial raising of chickens, and continued in that business for two years. Returning to his original profession, he was appointed Principal of the Springfield High School, which office he holds at the present time. Mr. Weir is the author of different papers on the history of educational and religious institutions. In politics he is a lifelong Republican. He belongs to the college fraternity, Beta Theta Pi. On the 2d of March, 1880, he was married to Harriet Beecher Grant. Six children are the issue of that union, as follows : Martha Grant Weir, Horace Garner Weir, Chester Irving Weir, Benjamin Grant Weir, Elizabeth Fairbanks Grant Weir, and Harriet Grant Weir, all of whom are living, with the exception of Martha and Harriet. Mr. Weir is a member and ruling Elder of the Presbyterian body, and attends the First Presbyterian Church at Springfield, Ohio. His residence is located at No. 129 South Shaffer Street, and his offices in the High. School Building, Springfield. N. D. O. Wilson, Superintendent of .the Public Schools of Bowling Green, Wood County, Ohio, enjoys the enviable reputation of being one of the most progressive and successful educators in the northwestern part of Ohio. The schools of his city are considered to be on 'a plane of equality with any schools in the State, largely through the efforts of the gentleman who presides over their destinies. Mr. Wilson is an educator of exceptional ability and of long and varied years of experience. He has filled all positions in school work, and has always taken an active interest in all educational movements, teachers' institutes, etc. Before he came to the- beautiful little city of Bowling Green, he had charge of the Cardington (Morrow County) public schools. There, as well as at Bowling Green, his success was marked. He was, elected to the position which he now holds in the summer of 1903. Outside of his duties of Superintendent he is also engaged in teaching classes in the High School of that thriving city. During his residence in Cardington, Mr. Wilson was married to an accomplished young lady of Morrow County. His office is located in the High School building of Bowling Green, and his residence is to be found on Court Street in that city. Jacob Wellington Wyandt, Superintendent of the Public Schools of Bryan, Ohio, an educator of great proficiency in the northwestern part of the State, and a man of high literary attainments, was born on the 7th of October, 1862, in a log house in Van Wert County, Ohio. The progenitors of Mr. Wyandt followed the occupation of farming as far back as the family history has been traced, and Mr. Wyandt is the first member of his family who devotes his life to the noble profession of teaching. His education was received at Ada ; the Tri-State Normal College at Angola, Indiana, and the Chicago University. He graduated from Tri-State Normal - 702 - College in July, 189o, after having taken a philosophical course. All his mature life, Mr. Wyandt has been a student, as well as an instructor, and has made his own way in the world, earning his living by teaching and thereby obtaining the necessary means to further his educational desires. As a student he has a remarkable record. While having charge of the Superintendency of the schools of Angola, Indiana, in the summer of 1896, Mr. Wyandt took examinations in twenty-five branches, and secured an average of 98.5 per cent. The following spring he took examinations. in thirteen branches, and. was granted a life license to teach in the State of Indiana. He started his career as a teacher in the country schools at the age of twenty, and in 1893 accepted the position of Superintendent of the Angola schools, coming from Van Wert, where he had been Assistant Principal. He held his position in Angola until 1903, when he was tendered the Superintendency of the schools at Bryan, Ohio, which position he now fills with credit to himself and the people who have placed him in that responsible office. He _also is City School Examiner. In political life, Mr. Wyandt is a Republican, and, while residing in Van Wert, occupied the position of Deputy County Auditor. Socially, he is a leading member of the K. of P., and has a large and influential circle of friends. On the 26th of August, 1891, Mr. Wyandt was married to Miss Martha Purinton, by which union he is the father of four children, three of whom are living. The family attends the Congregational church, and resides at Bryan, Ohio. J. W. Zeller, For twenty-seven years Superintendent of the Findlay. Public Schools, was born on a farm in Hancock County, near Mt. Cory, Ohio. Superintendent Zeller has spent all his life in Northwestern Ohio. His father and mother came from Wurtemberg, Germany, sixty-four years ago, and became pioneers in the settlement of Hancock County. Reared on the farm, he began teaching in the rural schools at the age of seventeen years. Five winters as teacher in these schools, graduation from a normal school. and from a college, three years as teacher in village and, town High Schools and Superintendent; his Superintendency of the Findlay public schools for twenty-seven years, including the supervision for years of the rural schools of Findlay Township—this in brief tells the story of his public school work. During all these years Professor Zeller has been a close and hard student of the science and art of education and of the great educational problems of the day. He has also been a close student of subjects related to the science of education—political science and the science of jurisprudence —and completed a course in the former twelve years ago, for which work a degree was conferred on him, and the latter subject he completed eight years ago, and after a rigid examination was admitted to the bar. These subjects Were pursued, not with a view of leaving school work, but rather for the mental discipline and breadth of thought - 703 - afforded. Nowhere in the State has educational growth and improvement been greater during the last two decades than in Northwestern Ohio. Mr. Zeller has not only been closely allied to and identified with all the educational agencies and movements in this section, but of the entire State. In recognition of his high service he has been honored with many positions of trust in his chosen profession. .He was one of the original organizers of the Northwestern Ohio Teachers' Association, an organization which numbers more than one thousand active members, and is one of the most vital and effective educational agencies in the State. He has been present at and participated in every meeting since its organization thirty years ago ; he has frequently served on the Executive Committee, has been twice honored with the Presidency, and declined to accept this honor a third time when tendered him, at a recent session in Findlay. He has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Ohio State Teachers' Association, was a member of the Legislative Committee of the same association for eight years and six years ago was honored with the Presidency of the Superintendents' Department of the State Association. As institute instructor he has served two terms in half of the counties of the State, and at these meetings many of his co-instructors have been among the leading educators of the country. Mr. Zeller has been very fortunate in having been closely associated with such distinguished men as Drs. Schaeffer, State Superintendent of Pennsylvania ; White, Hinsdale, Harvey, Hancock, Lehr, and many others of equal renown. Superintendent Zeller also served two terms on a Board of Examiners, and holds a State life certificate granted in 1881 after passing a rigid examination in nineteen branches. His advice has been frequently sought by younger men of the profession and freely given on educational subjects, courses of study, school organization and administration. He has been an inspiration to many a younger teacher in Northwestern Ohio and will leave his educational impress on the schools in this section of the State. It has been the habit of his life to attend all the county quarterly institutes, and by these and other means he has kept in close touch with the work and needs of the county schools. No comments need be made on his efficient service in behalf of Findlay's schools. When he was chosen Superintendent of these schools twenty-seven years ago, there were two and a half school buildings, a corps of sixteen teachers, and nine hundred pupils. No city of this class in the State grew by such leaps and bounds, requiring the erection of so many school buildings, and the consequent expenditure of so much money. In four years Findlay leaped from a population of 4,500 to more than 18,000, with an enrollment of 3,600, which necessitated fourteen school buildings and a corps of eighty-three teachers. This rapid growth, demanding a large expenditure of money, has necessitated the practice of a most rigid economy in the administration of the city schools. These facts have made their administration an extraordinary task, and yet, despite this unavoidable, unfavorable circumstance, Findlay city schools rank with the best in the State. During all these years Superintendent Zeller has been fortunate in securing an able corps of teachers, and being a hard and effective worker, he has inspired his teachers to do hard and effective work. This brief sketch indicates that his educational career has brought him in touch with every phase of public school work, and that he is both by education and experience eminently qualified to render high service in his chosen profession. J. J. Burns, Of Defiance, Ohio, who during his active life was one of the best known educators in the State, and who, though now retired, takes the liveliest interest in all matters pertaining to educational advancement, enjoys the distinction of being one of the very few School - 704 - Commissioners of the State of Ohio that have been elected on the Democratic ticket, he having served in that important office in the years of 1878 to 1881. His experiences as a member of the teaching profession have been varied and extensive. He has filled all positions in his profession, from a teacher in the district and county schools, where he started his educational career at an early age, up to that of Superintendent of schools. As a lecturer on subjects applied to teaching he is well and favorably known all over the State of Ohio. For many years he has been Superintendent of Schools at Defiance, Ohio, and largely through his efforts, knowledge and initiative the school system of Defiance has grad-ually grown in usefulness and efficiency, until to-day it occupies a plane second to none in Ohio. Since his retirement from active life, Mr. Burns is quietly enjoying his declining years, occupied by literary labors, and at the present time is engaged in the compilation of a work which he intends to publish, pertaining to the history of schools of Ohio. He resides in Defiance, Ohio. William Fuchs, The popular instructor and composer, of Columbus, Ohio, was born in the capital city of Ohio on the 3d of July, 1877, and is the son of William and Amalia (Noethlich) Fuchs. After receiving a good education in the public schools of his home city, he entered into busi-ness life, and studied law for a short time, but soon turned his attention to music, for which he showed a great talent from his childhood. At the age of sixteen, Mr. Fuchs began teaching mandolin and guitar, and met with instantaneous success. His record of over one thousand pupils in ten years is one which few musical men can equal. In 1896 Mr. Fuchs won for his bride Miss Lillian de Tascher Schaub, an accomplished young lady, whose qualities of mind and heart, even more than her beauty, won universal regard and brought to him social success and popularity. Their married life lasted only five and one-half years. She died in 1902 in Florida, while on a visit for her health. Besides instructing over one hundred pupils each week, Professor Fuchs is a successful composer of songs, and is the author of over one hundred vocal and instrumental compositions. He is also connected with H. Turkopp & Co., commission merchants of Columbus, in the capacity of overseer of the accountant department, and is director of a mandolin and guitar club of over one hundred players, whose annual entertainments and concerts he manages. A. P. Bunker, Of Dennison, Tuscarawas County, Ohio, is recognized as one of the most promising young musicians in his part of the State, and it may well be said that he has a brilliant future before him. He is the son of German parents and a native Ohioan, born, bred and - 705 - educated in the Buckeye State. He received a good education, and in early youth developed a splendid talent for music. He therefore was given under the care of the best music teachers obtainable, and at the present writing he undoubtedly is the. best violinist of Uhrichsville and Dennison. Mr. Bunker has been teaching for a number of years, and among his pupils are the children of the foremost citizens of Tuscarawas County. Together with his efforts as a successful teacher, he is also conductor of the opera house orchestra at Dennison, in which city he makes his home. Thomas J. Gardner, A member of the City Council of Middleport, Ohio, and a very popular man in his part of the State, was born in the year of 1845, in West Virginia, that time a part of Virginia, about thirty-five miles from Pomeroy. Both his parents were native Virginians, who came to Middleport in 1854. The venerable mother of Mr. Gardner still survives, and is now living on the old homestead at the age of seventy-seven years. Mr. Gardner was educated in the schools of his neighborhood, after which he became identified with the steamboat business.. During the War of the Rebellion he, in 1864, joined the One Hundred and Fortieth Ohio Regiment and served for a period of one hundred days. Mr. Gardner has been closely con-nected with the municipal affairs of his home city, and for twenty-four years has been continuously a member of the City Council of Middleport, with the exception of one term. He is a lifelong Republican, and in all probability will be rewarded by his party for his services by being nominated at the next municipal convention of the Republican party as its candidate for Mayor. He is a member of the G. A. R. Mr. Gardner was married twice. By his first wife he had three children, one of whom, a son, died, after reaching maturity. By his second wife he has one child. Mr. Gardner's residence is located at Middleport. Brooks Ford Beebe, M. D., Is one of the foremost physicians of Cincinnati, Ohio, and whose name since his graduation from the Medical College of Ohio has been closely identified with that institution. He was born on the 25th of June, 1850, in Washington County, Ohio. His father, William Beebe, M.D., was the only son of a prominent physician of the same name, one of the first who practiced his profession in Ohio, and a veteran of the Mexican War. Dr. Beebe's mother, Elizabeth Rathbone Beebe, was a native Ohioan and of New England ancestry. The Doctor's education was received in the common schools of his home county, after which he prepared himself for college under private tuition, finally entering Marietta Col-lege, from which he graduated with the class of 1873. Prior o completion of his education he had taught school for some years, commencing at the age of eighteen, when he successfully passed a teacher's examination, receiving a certificate of the highest grade. - 706 - Through his labors in this field he was enabled to complete his collegiate training. After leaving college he decided to enter into mercantile life, spending three years in those pursuits, but finding it not congenial, he subsequently began the study of medicine, to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He graduated from the Medical College of Ohio, now the Medical Department of the University of Cincinnati, on the loth of March, 188o, when he immediately took up the practice of his profession. Entering into a competitive examination, he received the position of resident physician of the Good Samaritan Hospital at Cincinnati, holding the same for one year. The next eight years he spent on the medical staff of the United States Marine Hospital at Cincinnati, as surgeon. Leaving that hospital, he became engaged in the general practice of his profession, meeting with marked. success. Dr. Beebe is a member of the Cincinnati Academy of Medicine and the Ohio State Medical Society. Lewis F. Barnes, An engineer of prominence in the city of Wellston, Jackson County, Ohio, and President of the Wellston Plumbing and Machine Company, was born on the 29th of January, 1863, in Jefferson County, New York State. His parents, Daniel Barnes, a lumber dealer and mason, and. Mary Gates, were both natives of the Empire State, to which their ancestors emigrated many generations ago. Mr. Lewis F. Barnes received his education in the schools of his native State, and at the age of seventeen started in business life. For a number of years he followed lumbering and farming, and then, displaying an unusual talent for mechanics, became engaged in the electrical business, and, after hard and diligent studies, finally entered the profession of an engineer, in which he attained a high standing. To-day he is recognized as an assayer of extraordinary ability, and is an authority on the testing of ores and other minerals. He is the originator of the Wellston Portland Cement Company, with which firm he was connected for a number of years. As President of the Wellston Plumbing and Machine Company, he directs the affairs of the thriving enterprise in a most creditable manner. In political life, Mr. Barnes is known as one of the strong adherents of the Republican party in his district, and in 1903 he was elected President of the Wellston School Board, a body he was a member of for four years. Socially, he is a prominent member of the Elks and K. of P. In 1887 he was united in marriage to a popular young lady, Miss Sarah J. Van Camp, of Peck, Michigan. By this marriage he is the proud father of two children both girls. Mr. Barnes is gifted with an analytical mind, joined with great executive ability, and possesses those sterling qualities which impel a man, to attain the highest pinnacle of success. John O. Eckert, Among the younger representatives of the bar of Hamilton County there is none who has a more promising future before him than the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. Mr. - 707 - Eckert's birthplace is the thriving city of Portsmouth, Ohio, where he was born on the 27th of November, 1874. He is of German ancestry, his great-grandfather having emigrated to this country in the commencement of the past century, settling in Scioto County, when the southern part of Ohio 'was thinly populated, and engaging in the milling business. Mr. Anton Eckert, his father, was a well-known lumber dealer of Portsmouth. After passing through the public and High Schools of his native city, Mr. John O. Eckert removed to Cincinnati, in which city he, after concluding to enter upon the study of law, attended the McDonald Institute, where he was thoroughly instructed in the details of his chosen profession. His admittance to the bar before the Supreme Court of Ohio followed in 1898. after which event Mr. Eckert immediately embarked in his legal career in Cincinnati, which has been a very successful one. His practice is ever growing, and day by day his reputation as a lawyer is increasing. In political belief he is a Republican, untiring in his efforts and aggressive in his manner of promoting the principles of Republicanism. He is one of the leading members of the Stamina League and has filled the most prominent administrative positions in that famous political organization. Socially, he is a Mason, Shriner, Knight Templar, and a member of the I. O. O. F. J. C. Clutts, Of Wellston, Ohio, a man whose name is synonymous in his home city for all that is progressive and enterprising, and one who is largely interested in the commercial and industrial life of Jackson County, is a man of most splendid abilities. He is a native of the city in which he resides, his father having been one of the pioneers of Jackson County, and one of the originators of the great industries that now flourish in that county. Mr. J. C. Clutts was carefully educated and prepared for the position which he now occupies He is heavily interested, not only in mining, but also in immense iron works. In political life, Mr. Clutts is a most important factor in his home county. A lifelong Republican, he has always been ready to foster and promote the interests of the great party with which he is affiliated. He is a man of splendid character, public spirited and forceful in execution. His business capacity is something to be wondered at. He is a married man, and resides in a beautiful home in Wellston, Ohio. William P. Rogers, Dean of the Cincinnati Law School, Cincinnati, Ohio, a man who ably fills the responsible position which he now occupies, is a native of Indiana, born on the 3d. of March, 1857, near Bloomington, that State. His father, William K. Rogers, was a farmer, whose English ancestors came to this country about the year 1700. On his father's farm Mr. Rogers remained until he had reached the age of seventeen years, when he began teaching school. Prior to his advent into active life he received such education as was possible - 708 - in the district schools of his neighborhood, and at the Preparatory School at Bloomington. For four years he followed the profession of teaching, attending in the meantime the Indiana State University at Bloomington, being enabled to continue his studies by means of his earnings as a teacher. This well-known institution. conferred upon him the degrees of A.B. and LL.B. After his admission to the bar in 1882, Mr. Rogers took up the practice of the legal profession, continuing in the same for the period of ten years. He was in partnership with Mr. John H. Louden, and their firm during the partnership enjoyed a lucrative practice in the city of Bloomington. In 1892 he was offered a professorship in the Indiana State University Law School, and retired from practice to accept the same. Obtaining a leave of absence from that institution, Mr. Rogers later attended the law school of the Columbia University at New York, and upon his return to the Indiana State University, he was elected Dean of the Law School, which position he held until 1902. In that year he was elected Dean of the Cincinnati Law School, which institution has had for its head some of the greatest jurists the State of Ohio ever produced : Judge Cox; William H. Taft, the present Secretary of War ; Gustavus Henry Wald and others. Mr. Rogers has always been a Republican, and during the years he practiced his profession was active in the affairs of his party. The only political office he ever held was that of Treasurer of the city of Bloomington, which position he filled for two successive terms. He retired from active political life when he began his career as a teacher of law. Dean Rogers is admirably equipped for the career he has chosen. He has strong intellectual endowments, clear conceptions and great powers of logic and analysis. A man of imposing appearance, affable in manners; broad in human sympathies, he combines all the qualifications which go to make a successful man in any walk in life. Emil Wiegand, One of the most talented violinists of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a He comes of a musical family, his father, Mylius Wiegand, now. his time one of the ablest conductors and musicians of Cincinnati. The son's musical career began very early, the age of ten years finding him playing first violin in his father's orchestra. Six years later he conducted an orchestra himself. After several years' training by his father, and continuous study on the violin, he entered the College of Music at Cincinnati, receiving instructions from some of the foremost European masters. He is a graduate and post-graduate on the violin from that institution, receiving both the Springer and post-graduate gold medals. After graduation 'he was tendered the position of violin instructor in the College of Music, which position he successfully filled for several years. Determined to establish an institution under his own name, he resigned from that position' and organized the Emil Wiegand Violin School. Later he went abroad and studied with the great Belgian violinist, Eugene native of the Queen City deceased, having been in - 709 - Ysaye. Upon his return he re-opened his school, devoting most of his time to solo work and teaching. He is a composer of merit, and has written works for the violin, piano and voice, a string quartette, and an overture for grand orchestra. Mr. Wiegand is identified with the foremost musical affairs of his city, and as a soloist and teacher occupies an enviable place in the musical world. Louis Waldemar Sprague, Of Dayton, Ohio, one who has made a reputation as a master in the music world, was born on the 22d of May, 1876, at Auburn; New York. He is the son of Dr. Edward Payson Sprague, director of the Cleveland Institute of Music, a native Of New York, and Maximilia Morris Sprague, who was born in Virginia. Mr. Sprague comes from good New England stock on his father's side. His great-grandfather, Daniel Sprague, was one of the founders of Poultney, Vermont; his grandfather was Rev. Isaac Newton Sprague, D.D., LL.D., whose influence brought Henry Ward Beecher into prominence in Brooklyn, who built the large free Catherine Street Church in New York City, and also largely from his own funds erected the handsome church on Bridge Street, Brooklyn. In this and other charities he expended several fortunes. The Spragues are direct lineal descendants of the English peerage. On the mother's side Mr. Sprague's great-grandfather was William Morris, of Revolutionary war time fame. (Lossing's history of the United States.) The maternal grandfather, William Morris, was a wealthy plantation owner of Virginia, and was known as the perfector of the artesian well drill. (Hardesty's history of Virginia.) Louis Waldemar Sprague received his education in the public and High Schools of Detroit, Michigan. He did not finish his course at the High School however, as private tutors. were engaged for him to prepare him to enter West Point. He later abandoned military instructions to take up the study of music, for which he always had a strong desire. Appreciating the study of sciences as a brilliant medium for mental training, Mr. Sprague attended lectures and clinics in the Medical Department of Wooster University. He never graduated from any collegiate institution, as he had too much practicing to do to regularly enter any college, realizing that the course would so absorb his entire time that he could not give attention to the special studies which he found necessary for his training for a musical career. His musical studies were begun under the tutorship of his mother, continued by his father and concluded under Chevalier Anton DeKontzki, that world-renowned Polish musician, and Dr. Hans von Buelow. At the early age of seven years, Mr. Sprague first appeared in public as soloist in boy choirs in Detroit. For six years he remained in choir work, after which his real career in music commenced. Mr. Sprague has made a name for himself as concert pianist, composer, lecturer, teacher of piano and theory, and as a director of musical affairs. He was formerly a Principal in the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Ohio Normal School. During the seasons 1897-1898 he - 710 - played with Madame Camille Urso, and was engaged by her to tour Europe and America and the South countries around the world. Madame Urso died, thus preventing the fulfillment of his contract. Since that time he has abstained from much public work. He has a tremendous repertoire. Mr. Sprague is the composer of two string quartettes, many piano pieces and numerous songs. His best-known works are for piano : Songs without words Tarantellas, Fantasies, Impromptus, and Little Lyrics. In songs, the following will be remembered : "Allah," "Love, Love, What Wilt Thou?" "Quo Vadis," "I Know a Rose." On the loth of July, 1903, Mr. Sprague was united in marriage to Helen Marie Burkitt, daughter of the late John L. Burkitt, a prominent basso and Mason of Dayton, Ohio. A son was born to the parents on the 12th of June, 1904. The family attends Christ Church at Dayton. His residence and private studios are located at No. 520 West Third Street, Dayton, Ohio, and he is the musical director of the Springfield Seminary, Springfield, Ohio and director of the Piano and Science Departments in the Dayton Conservatory. of Music corner of First and Perry Streets, Dayton, Ohio. W. S. Sterling, Director of the Metropolitan College of Music, of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a musician of recognized ability, who stands in the front rank of the musical artists of the Queen City. He is a native son of Cincinnati and was born on the 28th of November, 1859. His father, S. G. Sterling, was Village Clerk of Clifton. Mr. W. S. Sterling received his general education in the public schools and Woodward High School, Cincinnati, while his first musical training was obtained under Werner Steinbrecher. He entered the Cincinnati College of Music when it was organized, where he studied organ and composition under Professor George D. Whiting, graduating from that college in 1883, receiving as a. mark of his ability the gold medal for having made the best record. After leaving college, desiring to further his musical education, Mr. Sterling went abroad, and for three and a half years studied in "the city of Leipsic. Dr. Zwintscher was his teacher on the piano ; Dr. Reinecke and Jadassohn instructed him in orchestration and composition, while the celebrated composer, Hoffman, gave him special instructions in orchestration. Voice culture was studied by him under Mrs. Unger-Haupt and husband. From Leipsic he went to London, where for a period of two years he studied organ under Sir John Hainer and Dr. E. H. Turlin, and voice under the world-renowned William Shakespeare and Emil Behuke. During his stay' in London, Mr. Sterling for some time was organist of the West London Tabernacle, one of the most famous edifices of England's metropolis. He has been a soloist in many concerts in Europe and has received many flattering criticisms. Returning to America in 1888, he became a member of the Faculty of the Cincinnati College of Music, where for many years the organ depart- - 711 - ment was under his special care. After the resignation of Mr. Van der Stucken as Dean of that college, Mr. Sterling was selected to fill that place. He remained in this position until 1903, when he took the Deanship of the newly organized Metropolitan College of Music, located on Auburn Avenue, Mt. Auburn, Cincinnati. This institution, under his directorship, is acquiring a National reputation, and in the short time of its existence has already made itself famous, and is acknowledged to be one of the leading music institutions in Cincinnati. In 1893 Mr. Sterling was highly honored by being made organist of the World's Fair at Chicago, and later, in 1901, received the same distinction at the Buffalo Exposition. William August Becker, A musician who stands. alone among the American exponents of his art, a brilliant pianist and composer, located at Cleveland, Ohio, was born on the list of February, 1873 in the Forest City. He is of German descent ; his father, Oscar Becker, a contractor, was a native of Berlin, and his mother of Hessen Cassel. Mr. William A. Becker received a very careful education in the schools of Cleveland and New York, and in early youth displayed most unusual ability and talent for the art in which he has been so successful. At the age of eight years he began the study of the piano under competent teachers, and later, in 1892, had some training under the great pianist, Dr. William Mason, of New York City. The rapid progress he made in his art is shown by the fact that at the age of sixteen Mr. Becker made his debut as piano soloist: at the old Case Hall, at Cleveland, playing a concerto and various other numbers. Continuing his studies, year by year he advanced in perfection, and soon he became recognized as a thorough master of the piano, after having appeared as soloist in many concerts, receiving the most flattering criticisms by eminent authorities. Confident in his own ability and resources, Mr. Becker, in 1903, engaged in an undertaking never duplicated by any other American pianist. Without European prestige and European training, Mr. Becker started upon a concert tour through the great metropolises of the Old World, including London, Berlin, Dresden and Leipsic, and succeeded. His ability was conceded by the most eminent critics of Europe, and such an authority as Arthur M. Abell, of Berlin, says "Becker is the greatest American pianist." Bruno Sehrader, of Leipsic, says, "His playing shows the grand mastery." L. Wambold, of Leipsic, says, "He knows how to appeal to the heart." A. Ingman, of Dresden, says, "A piano poet." E. P. Frissell, of Dresden, says, "He ranks with the first." Professor B. Roth, of Dresden, says, "A true artist." Professor Herman Scholtz, of Dresden, says, "He has everything : touch, tone, technique and interpretation," and Johann H. Beck, of Cleveland, Ohio, says, "Becker combines the grandeur of D'Albert with the finesse of Sauer." Encouraged by the success of his first European tour, Mr. - 712 - Becker, in the fall of 1904, made his second appearance in the centers of the musical world and this time he had the honor and distinction to play his own piano-concerto with the world renowned Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The criticisms appearing in the Berlin press on the 14th of October, the day after Mr. Becker's appearance, were most laudatory, not only giving him unstinted praise for his ability as a pianist, but also for the piano concerto itself. Mr. Becker later played the same composition in Leipsic with the same results. These successful European tours establish forever his reputation as the foremost American pianist of the present time. He is a composer of many other piano pieces and songs. There is no doubt but that Mr. Becker has a brilliant future as piano virtuoso, as well as a composer, before him. He resides at Cleveland, Ohio. Eugene Baker Ackley, Of Sandusky, Ohio, ranks among the best-known musicians of Northern Ohio. He was born on the 1st of November, 1871, at Sullivan, Illinois, the son of Hawson R. Ackley and Eliza Robinson Ackley. He received his early education in the public schools of Bloomfield, while his musical training was mostly in charge of the celebrated Carl Kaltenborn, of New York City, and of his brother, Charles B. Ackley. Mr. Ackley started into public life at the age of seventeen years, traveling with various traveling organizations. After six years he located in Sandusky, Ohio, and-organized his present band, which is favorably and well-known all over the northern portion of the State. Mr. Ackley, who also is a composer of note, is at present director of Ackley's Band and Director of Music for the Cedar Point P. R. Co. Socially, he is connected with the Sandusky Lodge, No. 669, I. O. O. F. Mr. Ackley was married to Miss Ida Frohman, an accomplished young lady, on the 25th of March, 1902. He lives at No. 132 East Park Street, while his office is located at the West House, Sandusky. Ernest Frederick Appy, Professor of Music at Newark, Ohio, was born in East Brooklyn, New York, on the 13th of September, 1856. He came from a family rarely gifted in music. Henri Appy, the father, was crowned Musical Laureate of Holland, when only a lad. Jean Appy, the grandfather, was leader of the orchestra in the Chapel of King William of Orange. Mr. Ernest Frederick Appy was named for two uncles—Ernest, a fine cello player, and Frederick, a violinist. His mother, Ann Maria Paine, was an English lady and a concert singer of superior ability. Young Ernest inherited the ability to produce the same wonderful tone upon the violin with which his father had charmed. the world, but decided to become a teacher of violin, piano and harmony. When twenty-two years of age he was married - 713 - to Miss Instanella May Andrews, a pianiste, who has taught successfully with him. In 1880 Mr. Appy went o Granville, Ohio, and was at the head. of the music department of Granville Female College for fourteen years—its most brilliant period. Professor and Mrs. Appy are now located at Newark, Ohio. Their recitals, which are open o the public once a year, show their artistic work, and their pupils are successful artists and teachers all over the country. Mr. Appy has a fine collection of violins. A Carlo Bergonzi, which came by inheritance from his father, and a Vuilluame are probably the most valuable. Mr. Appy was leader of orchestra at the Wieting Opera House, Syracuse, New York, in 1878-1879, and of the Auditorium Orchestra, Newark, Ohio. from 1898 to 1901. He is a member of Center Star Lodge, F. & A. M., of Granville, Ohio, of which he is a Past Master ; also member of Warren Chapter, No. 6, R. A. M., and of St. Luke's Commandery, No.34, Knights Templar. Alfred Arthur, Composer, Conductor and Teacher of Music at Cleveland, Ohio, was born on the 8th of October, 1844, at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He received his musical education in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating from the Boston Music School in 1869. He had studied piano-forte with George Howard, singing with B. F. Baker, brass instruments with Mathew Arbuckle and. Henry Brown, and harmony and composition with Julius Eichberg, of the Boson Conservaory of Music. While in Boston, Mr. Arthur sang tenor in the choir of the Church of the Advent for a period of two years. He located in Cleveland in 1871, and since that time he has been prominently and closely identified with the musical growth of that city. Mr. Arthur has been eminently successful:in his profession, as well as teacher conductor and composer, and among his pupils are many who to-day take a high rank as successful public singers and teachers. The Cleveland School of Music, located at 781 Prospect Street, Cleveland, Ohio, which he established in 1886, has for nearly twenty years shown his ability as a teacher and director. The school has maintained a high - 714 - standard for scholarship, and its equipment is most modern and complete, located in a building of its own, with every facility for a thorough musical education. During the thirty years in which Mr. Arthur has been engaged in conducting Choral Societies, Choruses, Quartette Choirs and Orchestral Organizations, he has given the Cleveland public an opportunity to hear all the best standard oratorios of Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn, and all the modern choral work of note, including Berlioz's "Damnation Of Faust" and the "Requiem Mass" of the same composer ; Mozart's "Requiem ;" Verdis "Requiem Mass ;" Saint-Saens' "Samson and Delilah ;" Rubinstein's "Tower of Babel ;" Max Bruch's "Armenius" and "The Lady of the Bell," and numerous short works of Brahms, Gade, Dvorak, Barnby, Beethoven, Cowen, Raff, David, Smart, Hoffmann, Gounod, Schumann, Goetz, Glinka and others. all given with full orchestra. The Cleveland Vocal Society, of which Mr. Arthur has been conductor since its organization in 1873, has earned a National reputation for the splendid singing of Madrigals, Glees, Part Songs and Choral Works, which require delicate shading, rich tone, coloring and good phrasing. The Bach Society of the Woodland Avenue Presbyterian Church and the Sacred Music Society of Pilgrim Church were both organized by Mr. Arthur and directed by him, one for twelve years and the other for ten year's. They have been considered model choirs. Mr. Arthur has composed the Water Carrier (1876), "Roundheads and Cavaliers" (1878), and "Adaline" (1879), three notable operas ; the songs, "Memory's Dream" (1868), "Tell It, Silver Throat" (188o), "The Song of the Opal" (1880, "Progressive Vocal Studies" (1887), "Seventy-nine Short Studies for Alto or Bass" (1889), "Seventy Lessons in Voice Training" (1892), "Voice Technique" (1896), "Studies in Articulation" (1896) and "Exercises in Vocal Technique" (1901). On the 12th of December, 1871, Mr. Arthur was married to Kate, daughter of J. A. Burnham, of Delaware, Ohio, and has three sons, the eldest of whom, Alfred Franklin, is associated with him as a teacher ,of pianoforte and organ at the Cleveland School of Music. Mr. Arthur resides at Kirtland Cove, Lake Avenue, Lakewood, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. H. W. B. Barnes, Supervisor of Music in the public schools of Piqua, Ohio, and director of the Piqua Conservatory of Music, ranks among the best-known musicians in the western part of the State. Mr. Barnes was born on a farm in Holmes County on the loth of December, 1870, the son of Rev. W. S. Barnes, a Baptist minister, and Mrs. Jane Loder Barnes. His parents were natives of Ohio. Mr. Barnes received a very careful education. After attending the public schools of his home county, he entered Danville Normal School and later Denison University at Granville, Ohio. His musical training was obtained under private teachers, at the well-known Dana's Institute, at Warren, Ohio, and finally at the Cincinnati College of Music. When he had reached the age of twenty-four years he started in public life as a teacher of music and Dean of the music department of the Westfield - 715 - College, Illinois, where he remained for two years. He then accepted the position of Supervisor of Music in the public schools of Piqua, which position he occupies at the present writing, he filling that office for the past eight years. He also is director of the Piqua Conservatory of Music, in which institution he teaches voice and theory. Mr. Barnes is the director of the Piqua Choral Society, a splendid mixed chorus of one hundred and twenty-five voices. He also occupies the position of organist and choirmaster of St. James Episcopal Church of his home city. Mr. Barnes is the composer of numerous songs and church music, published by the John Church Company and Hatch & Co. On the 13th of December, 1894, he was united in marriage to Miss Mattie Winslow, and is, the father of two boys. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, an Elk, I. O. O. F., and a K. of P. His studios are loeated at the Scott Slanson Building, Piqua, Ohio. Alfred Rogerson Barrington, One of the leading artists and choir directors of Columbus, Ohio, is soloist and choir director of the Third Avenue M. E. Church in the Capital City. He is a native of England, and was born on the 13th of May, 1860, at Newton Heath, Manchester, England. He is a son of John Barrington, a silk manufacturer. Mr. Barrington obtained his education in the public schools of Manchester, and when a boy he was a member of the parish choir in his native city and attracted attention on account of his beautiful voice and talent for music. Mr. Barrington's success was so pronounced in England that he decided to come to America, and in 1880 he commenced the study of voice under such masters as Reuben Merrill, of Boston ; Frederick E. Bristol, of New York ; William Courtney, of London, and Reinhold Hermann, of the Royal Conservatory of Berlin. He also studied interpretation under Francis Fisher Powers. After finishing his musical education, Mr. Barrington began song recital and oratorio work, also the teaching of voice culture. He appeared with great success in New York, Boston ; Worcester, Massachusetts ; Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Denver, Cleveland and other cities. His repertoire includes "Elijah," "Messiah," "Creation," "St. Paul" and the popular cantatas, German Lieder, French and English songs. Mr. Barrington has achieved a high standing in his profession, and is known as a painstaking, conscientious teacher and a brilliant soloist, possessing a magnificent baritone voice of wide range. He is recognized as a leader in vocal work, his services being in demand for musical and social affairs. His position as a vocalist is second to none. Mr. Barrington has his studio in the Y. M. C. A. Building, Columbus, Ohio. Otto E. Bartel, President of Bartel's Musical College at Mantua, Portage County, Ohio, a well-known teacher of music in the northeastern part of the State, was born on the 18th of December, - 716 - 1873, at Lore P. O., Center Township, Dubuque County, Iowa, and is the son of Frederick Bartel, a shoemaker and farmer, and Dorothea Reinike-Bartel, both natives of Germany, who in the early '40's emigrated to America. The father died when Mr. Bartel was but four years old, leaving a family of thirteen children and a stepbrother and sister, the youngest child being only eight months old. Upon his death he left to the family one hundred and fifty acres of land. The mother proved to be a good manager, and earnestly and devotedly took up the battle of life to raise het= large family by her own efforts, unaided by any one outside of her own children. Every child was put at work according to its ability, and thereby the mother succeeded in not only preserving intact the land left by the father, but she acquired more property, until she accumulated nearly a section of land and reared every child, the youngest of which to-day is over twenty-five years of age. The mother is now wealthy and retired from active life. Mr. Otto E. Bartel received his early education in the district schools and attended Baylees Business College of Dubuque, Iowa. Early in life showing an aptitude for music, he was instructed on the piano by his uncle, E. A. Frenzel, a man who was a graduate from the Leipsic Conservatory of Music ; Dana's Musical Institute at Warren, Ohio ; Chicago Musical College and the Liffingwell Violin School. After preparatory study, Mr. Bartel entered Dana's Musical Institute, in which he received a thorough course, graduating in 1899 with the degree of M.A. As an example of the precociousness of Mr. Bartel, it should be mentioned that at the age of eleven years he was organist in the church at Lore, Iowa. While attending Dana's Institute, Mr. Bartel was leader of choir at the First Baptist Church at Warren, Ohio, from 1896 to 1899. After leaving college, Mr. Bartel was engaged in the teaching of his profession at Warren, Ohio, from where, in June, 1904, he came to Mantua and established in that city Bartel's Musical College. This school has been eminently successful and is conceded to be an institution where a thorough training in music can be obtained. Mr. Bartel is recognized as an artist on the violin and piano, of most rare ability and skill. He has kept in close touch with all that adds to his accomplishments as a musician and teacher. He is a member of the Masonic and I. O. O. F. fraternities. On the 4th of January, 1898, he was married to Miss Harriette May Boehm, and is the father of one boy, Donald F. Bartel. S. Leonard Bell, Director of the Conservatory of Music of Scio College, Scio, Ohio, was born near Zanesville, Muskingum County, Ohio, on the 11th of March, 1864. His parents, Jared C. and Martha Jane Bell, are highly esteemed and influential citizens in their community. They had a family of six sons, one of whom died in infancy. S. Leonard is the oldest of - 717 - the family, and manifested great talent for music at an early age, and at six years of age was started in music. His teachers were the best to be had in the community, and from the start his progress was rapid, and he was looked upon as a prodigy by his friends and all who heard him perform on the piano or organ. After completing a course of study in Muskingum College he took advanced work at Wooster University and the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Bell received a good literary training along with his music study. His teachers in music have been some of the best in the world. Mr. Bell is an excellent musician, fine pianist and organist, and possesses a beautiful baritone voice. He is also master of the theory and science of music. Mr. Bell has held the chair as Director of Music in Scio College for seventeen years, and has been very successful as a teacher and manager of this conservatory. He has educated many stands as one of the foremost in the State. He is fine artists, and as a musical educator stands as ont of the foremost in the State. He is also a composer of note. Politically, Mr. Bell is of the Democratic faith. On the 5th of September, 1889, he was married to Miss Clara Georude Keepers. Four children have been the issue of their union. Mr. Bell lives with family in the beautiful village Scio, Ohio. Karl Bernthaler, Teacher of Music and well-known musician of Cleveland, Ohio, is a native of Huettlingen, Judicial District of Aalen, Wuertemberg, Germany, and was born on the 17th of December, 1856. He is the descendant on his father's side of a long line Of musicians, and when quite young the hereditary instinct, which has dom-inated the career of his ancestors, became apparent in him. When but nine years old he began to receive a careful musical training by his father, who taught him the playing of the flute, on which instrument he subsequently became a master. At the age of fourteen, Mr. Bernthaler joined the band of the Wasseralfingen Royal Huettenwerk as "Bergmusiker." Outside of studying the flute, he also took violin lessons under Bandmaster Kittner. When nineteen years of age he joined as a volunteer the Royal Pioneer Music Band at Ulm, and served for a period of five years, - 718 - during which time he studied under Schwarz and Metzger, both famous musicians. After leaving the army, at the age of twenty-five, he emigrated. to the United States and came to Cleveland, where he soon became identified with the musical events of that city, playing in different musical organizations, the Symphony Orchestra, Philliarmonic Orchestra and popular concerts. He has been a teacher of music for many years, and it can be truthfully said that he has been very successful. Mr. Bernthaler was married to Katherina Setzer, and by this marriage is the father of six children, of whom three sons and one daughter survive. All the children have an undoubted talent for music, and are carefully trained in that art. One of Mr. Bernthaler's sons, Karl, is a prominent member of the Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra. Charles Ovid Blakeslee, A prominent musician of Mansfield, Ohio, was born on the 21st of June, 1867, in Geneva, Ohio, of a musical family, his father being specially gifted ; his grandfather also holding the then notable position as chorister and organist of the first church and pipe organ of the village. But, although Charles was born under favorable circumstances, his path to success was early destined to be rough. Happily, the divinity that shapes the ends of genius makes its possession an abiding and calm joy that raises the fortunate artist above the possibility of becoming the slave and subject of the encounter with mere difficulties. He was left. without a father when only one year old., and his mother, without finances, was obliged to leave her boy with relatives and seek employment. But Charles, however, managed to climb over the seeming unsurmountables and at twelve years applied for the position and was elected organist of the little village church. He also began his career as teacher at this age. His education up to this time had been acquired by doing errands, his mother's needle and his grandmother's wash-tub. But from the age of twelve, Charles made himself independent. At fourteen he traveled as a boy singer. This brought him before the best people and into homes of culture, which is the only school he ever had, the privilege of attending. At eighteen he began a more extended study of music, studying pipe organ and piano. At twenty he entered the Cleveland School of Music, where he took a three years' course in piano, pipe organ and voice. At twenty-four he finished his education by studying voice with the renowned. Mme. Clara Brinkerhoff, of New York. He also studied action with Mme. Van Sangleter and composition with the famous Johann Beck. Professor Blakeslee has held some very enviable positions, being noted as having special ability as a trainer of boys' voices. His choir work has been very successful. At present the above subject is engaged in lec-ture song recitals, for which he has a particular liking and ability. Professor Blakeslee's qualifications are certainly versatile. As an improviser and composer he has few equals. - 719 - As an entertainer he is able to hold all classes. A well-known critic says Professor Blakeslee is not a mere mechanical automaton, but is in touch and sympathy with all music. To him song is indeed the sincerest and most natural expression of the soul's emotions. Charles E. Clemens, Was born in Plymouth, England, in 1858. At the age of eleven years he held the position of organist at Christ Church in Davenport. From that time on he has been in the constant service of the church, either in England, Germany or America. Although the piano has always been so faithfully studied by him that his ability as a pianist is recognized to be as great as his ability as an organist, he was inclined from the first to fathom the mysteries of the organ, and used to spend all his holidays and leisure hours, when a boy, making the acquaintance of the organists in the cathedral towns of England, studying the instruments and drinking in the inspiration of the environment. Although in England he was known almost equally well as pianist, choral director and organist, circumstances as he has matured seem to have pushed him ever on toward a special career as an organist. Mr. Clemens studied in England under Dr. Samuel Weeks, Dr. Bridge, Dr. Martin, Ernst Pauer, and was a pupil of the Royal College of Music. His busy career in the west of England as organist, pianist and choral director suddenly came to an end when his health gave out under the strain. After a long and severe illness, Mr. Clemens went to Berlin, under doctor's counsel, for a change and rest. He intended to return to England when he had recuperated, but the enthusiastic music lovers of Berlin, who heard the stranger play, willed otherwise. While on his vacation he played at the Royal Chapel, the place of worship attended by the late Empress Friedrich and her family, and this led to his permanent engagement there. To the last the Empress was a warm admirer of the successful English organist, and it was by her special permission that Mr. Clemens soon inaugurated the series of organ recitals at St. George's Chapel, which made him famous throughout Berlin. Not only did the Empress always attend them and stay to congratulate her favorite organist, but all serious students of the organ in the German capital were accustomed to be present as regularly as they took place. At the same time Mr. Clemens accepted a position in the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatorium, where he taught during his stay in Berlin. He was the only Englishman ever invited to teach in this exclusive German school. While teaching there, he wrote his great work on pedal technique, a standard in Europe and becoming more and more widely used in this country. It was through his position as teacher in the Conservatorium that the influences began working which finally brought Mr. Clemens to this country. All the American organists - 720 - who went to the noted Conservatorium for higher study became his pupils, and they so persistently urged him to take up his abode in the United States that he finally arranged to do so. The Empress Friedrich was greatly disappointed at his decision, as it was her fondest hope that Mr. Clemens would found a school in Germany for the teaching of the organ after his own methods. After six years of the most flattering success in Berlin, Mr. Clemens set sail for the United States. Engagements in a number of cities were available, but he .finally decided to begin his American career in Cleveland. Entirely without the usual modern methods of bombastic advertising, which is repugnant to the nature of the man, Mr. Clemens rapidly arose to practical leadership in the musical life of his new home city, and, indeed, of all Northern Ohio. Of his career in Cleveland, the Plain Dealer of February 18th, 1900, said : "Mr. Clemens is in some respects a unique figure in the city's musical life. He is not indigenous to the soil, but has slipped so quietly and naturally into his place that the music-loving public has come to accept him as a matter of course, and to forget that he has been in this country but a comparatively short time. So quietly and modestly, indeed, has he taken his high place here, that it is a safe hazard that but few know that Mr. Clemens has a reputation in Europe scarcely second to any. Professor Klindworth, head of the famous KlindworthScharwenka Conservatorium in Berlin, in accepting the dedication of a work by Clemens on pedal technique, writes : 'It is a work of great merit, and worthy of such a perfect player and master of the organ as you are.' High praise certainly, but what wonder when the young Englishman had a professional engagement, as organist when only eleven years old." Scarcely any phase of Cleveland's musical life is there which Mr. Clemens' influence has not touched directly or indirectly. He first became known as an organist and choir director at St. Paul's, the leading Episcopal church in the city. He found a quartette choir there, but soon had a vested mixed choir of thirty-five trained voices, which have won an enviable and more than local renown. It was not long until the educators of the city recognized in Mr. Clemens a scholar, as well as a master musician, and he is now connected with the Western Reserve University as a lecturer on musical history, and professor of theory and composition. His work at the University has given Dr. Clemens a name which well rounds out his reputation as a many-sided and deep musician and scholar. The rapid strides made by the Singers' Club, the largest and most ambitious male chorus in Cleveland, since Mr. Clemens became its conductor, attests his ability in that direction and his popularity in that role bids fair to rival that won for him previously by his organ recitals at St. Paul's, which have become a feature of Cleveland's musical life. Mr. Clemens has composed extensively, but, with the exception of church music, most of that which has been published is of the utilitarian kind—that which as been prompted by the requirements of his work as a teacher, such as schools for the organ, piano etudes and works on harmony. Of these the most important and most widely known is his work on Pedal Technique, already mentioned, which was published by Breitkopf & Hartel while the author was resident in Berlin. This is a standard in Europe, and is already well known in this country. Another and very important work, entitled "Modern School for the Organ," has just been issued by Schirmer & Co., and has already received the warm endorsement of the leading organists of England and America. It promises to do much towards extending Mr. Clemens' already wide reputation in the organ world. Of Mr. Clemens' organ recitals the critics, both in Cleveland and elsewhere in the United States have been enthusiastic in their expressions of appreciation. He has always consistently refused to cater in the least to popular taste where that meant to lower his standards of legitimate work, but the results have been a vindication of his belief that the - 721 - masses do not necessarily demand sensationalism. He has proved time and time again that legitimacy and. conscientiously high standards do not mean an uninterested audience, provided justice is done the programme in its performance. Mr. Clemens' engagement in the Temple of Music at the Pan-American Exposition was one of the most successful of the series. The Musical Courier of July 17th gives a sketch of Mr. Clemens, and adds the following concerning his recitals at Buffalo : "His programmes showed thoughtful care. Each number, a gem from some noted composer, afforded as wide a range as possible, and Mr. Clemens' technique and registration leave nothing to be desired. He is a magnetic musician, carrying his audience with him, and the applause he received was his just due." The Buffalo Express said : "Mr. Clemens gave three recitals, which were greatly enjoyed. His clean, smooth technique, his exquisite coloring, his dexterity in handling the huge organ, and his legitimate organ programmes, all won for him the respect and admiration of the critics, as well as the approval of the general audience. Mr. Clemens played two highly interesting pedal etudes from his practice work on the organ, 'Modern Pedal Technique." An interesting and unusual incident which happened in the course of the Buffalo recitals is thus told by the Cleveland Plain Dealer : "A Cleveland man was the hero of one of the most interesting incidents of the season at the Pan-American Exposition, and there were doubtless many Cleveland people who enjoyed it. The setting was so unusual that those who were present will, not soon forget it. Mr. Charles E. Clemens, organist at St. Paul's Church, was engaged to give several recitals upon the immense organ in the Temple of Music. On the Sunday afternoon he gave one of the series and in the evening returned to practice in the deserted Temple. A storm came up, and the doors of the Temple were thrown open to give the crowds shelter. Mr. Clemens kept on playing, practicing this or that as he chose, without regard to the presence of the unexpected audience. Then suddenly the storm put the electric lights out, and the player and listeners were in total darkness. In order to still the alarm of the more nervous, the Cleveland man kept on playing, apparently undisturbed by the fact that neither keys, pedals nor stops could be seen. When he stopped, the great mass of refugees who had completely filled the huge Temple broke forth in applause, and would. not allow their invisible entertainer to close his impromptu programme. Playing thus from memory, or improvising, Mr. Clemens kept on in the darkness for over two hours, until finally the lights were turned on. Inspired by the sudden illumination, the organist struck up "America " Instantly the spirit of the vast audience was stirred, and they sang the grand National hymn as it has seldom been sung. Over two thousand voices rose in splendid volume, and almost drowned the great organ which led them. An enthusiastic musician from far away in Texas said afterwards : 'Why, it was the best thing of the Exposition. I would. have taken the long trip from Texas for that one thrilling experience.' Mr. Clemens thoroughly enjoyed it, too. His engagement at the Exposition was very successful." J. S. Van Cleve, Ph. D., Of Cincinnati, and Troy, Ohio, a musician and critic of National fame, was born at Maysville, Kentucky, in 1851. His father, a well-known clergyman of the M. E. Church and a Mason of eminence, being a prelate of the Grand Bodies of the Masonic fraternity for a third of a century, gave his son all the advantages of a thorough education. His mother was a typical Kentucky woman, loved and revered by all who knew her. As the name indicates, the original stem of the family was Holland Dutch, and was transplanted to this - 722 - country from the old and famous university town of Utrecht, the ancestors of Mr. Van Cleve coming to the New World early in the seventeenth century. When but nine years of age, a terrible calamity befell young Van Cleve ; he became sick with scarlet fever, and when the disease had run its course he arose from the bed, blind forever. At the age of ten he was sent to the State School for the Education of the Blind, at Columbus, Ohio, and remained there for five years, developing a wonderful aptitude for studies of all kinds, especially languages, music and abstract philosophy. In his fourteenth year he underwent a powerful and sudden awakening of the imaginative life, and an intense appreciation of the beauties of music and poetry, the former being aroused by hearing Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, and the latter from memorizing Milton's "Paradise Lost." He began the study of the piano at ten, developed a precocious talent, and became a boy celebrity as a singer. Two years later he began the study of musical theory. After leaving the School for the Blind he spent five years in the schools for the seeing. At Woodward High School in Cincin-nati, notwithstanding his sightless eyes, he was valedictorian of the class of 187o, and received the highest school honor, namely a prize for general scholarship, equivalent to the title of L.H.D. At the Ohio Wesleyan University- he again distinguished himself, and received the degrees of A.B. and A.M., and was admitted to be the most versatile student in the school, "the best read man in the class." During these ten years of general study he devoted much of his time to music. Circum-stances rendered. it obligatory on his part to earn a livelihood, and a teaching position being offered at the Ohio State School for the Blind. he began his musical career at the age of twenty-one, in 1872. He taught. at that insti-tution for three years and then accepted a similar position at the Jamesville (Wisconsin) School in 1875. The establishment of the College of Music in Cincinnati, in 1878, attracted him to the Queen City. Murat Halstead; editor of the Commercial Gazette, engaged him as a critic in 1879. From that time to 1897, during eighteen active years, Mr. Van Cleve was prominent in all the musical and literary enterprises of the city. He taught a large class of students, both piano and voice, wrote critical reviews of concerts, and didactic articles, literally by the thousand. He gave lectures in musical history and esthetics upon the entire field of English and American literature in series of ten and twelve each season, for a large number of years. He traveled frequently to deliver lectures on the Lyceum platform, and also gave piano lecture recitals. In 1897 he removed to Chicago, but is now re-established in Cincinnati. Mr. Van Cleve has been connected with the National Association of 'Musicians since 1878, and his name is frequently seen on its programs. He has filled every possible function with the Ohio. Music Teachers' Association—pianist, composer, lecturer, debater, etc.—and is now at the head of the executive department as President. As a composer, Mr. Van Cleve has a prominent place in the - 723 - musical world of, this country. Among his compositions is a cantata, especially prepared for the unveiling: of the Woodward Monument in Cincinnati ; a piano sonata in G sharp minor, played on various occasions by the composer; a piano and violin sonata in E major, which has received several public performances, and a popular Gavotte Humoresque, "Robin Good Fellow." Mr. Van Cleve has long cultivated the art of poetry, and a set of sonnets recently published in the New York Times- has excited wide comment. Some of the papers and magazines- for which he has written are the following : Cincinnati Commercial, the Enquirer, Times-Star, Post, Columbus Citizen, Columbus Dispatch, Dayton Herald, Chicago Times, The Musician, Music, The Etude and The Musical Courier. As a musical critic, Mr. Van Cleve is universally admitted to have ample information, keen and analytical powers, courage of his convictions, and a highly imaginative and easy style of expression. Stephen Commery, Director and Manager of the West Side Musical College, at Cleveland, Ohio, in which institution he also teaches piano, harmony and history of music, is a native of Cleveland, being born in 1862. His parents, Stephen and Eliza Commery, were natives of the former French province of Alsace, and Bavaria, respectively. His literary education was obtained in the schools of Cleveland, and his musical training under the best teachers. He began the study of music at the age of twelve, his first instructions being received from Miss Helen Wachsmuth, a graduate of the Leipsic Conservatory. and Mr. B. Hahn, who had been educated in the same institution. Miss E. Clifford, a graduate from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, was his next teacher. Subsequently Mr. Commery entered the College of Music at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he came under the tutorship of Mr. Charles Graninger. George E. Whiting and Charles Baetens were his preceptors in harmony and history of music. Since his return to Cleveland, Mr. Commery has taken a keen interest in the musical development of his native city, and for more than twenty years has been a teacher in his profession, gaining the highest standing in his community. His ability is ably represented by many of his pupils, who have become successful performers and teachers. He combines a thorough knowledge of music with rare executive ability, and the management of the institution which he has founded and now directs, is an evidence of his. successful career. The West Side Musical College is well equipped to give its pupils a most careful and complete training, and the Faculty is composed of some of the best musicians in the northeastern part of the State. The college is located in the Merrell Building, on Pearl Street, Cleveland, Ohio. - 724 -