BIOGRAPHICAL ROBERT CUMMING SCHENCK. With the passing of Robert Cumming Schenck, Dayton lost one of the chief promoters of her greatness. He was of the highest type of American manhood and chivalry—a dynamic force in business circles,. a man of honor and respect in every relation of life and most of all where he was best known. His record constitutes an integral chapter in the history of Dayton, a fact recognized by all who have to any extent studied the annals of the city and noted the means and measures of its progress and upbuilding. Mr. Schenck was born in Franklin, Warren county, Ohio, October 2, 1845. As the name indicates he came of Holland ancestry—a member of one of the oldest Holland families of the new world. He made no boast of the fact and yet his ancestral history could be traced back in unbroken line from generation to generation through many centuries. The name appears in its primitive form in the Latin as Pincerna. In the fourth century Ulfilas, the Goth, made the literary world acquainted with the term pugg, pronounced pung, and applied it to a purse or leather money bag. St Jerome, about a century afterward, mentions the barbarous word pincerna as the common appellation of the chief vintner in his day and adds that the office of cup-bearer was one of the first dignitaries in the courts of foreign princes. Under the form of Schenck the word relates more particularly to the •office of cup-bearer and from this office this family name is derived. The erz-schenck was a hereditary dignity, a prefect of the household, next to the king or lord. After this office became an hereditary one in Europe many noble families bearing the name of Schenck became established. Especially in Germany and Holland these families were numerous, possessing various escutcheons. The direct ancestry of Robert Cumming Schenck begins with that of the Schenck, Barons van Toutenburg. History „relates that Colve de Witte, Baron van Toutenburg, was killed at the battle of Clodius against the Dane in 878 A. D. The records of the various successors of this ancient title and barony are imper- 6 - DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY feet but sufficient of them have escaped the destruction of the wars of the middle and succeeding ages to establish the fact that the same Schenck family held possession down to, and even much later than, the year 1234, when one of its cadets became the first of the family of Schenck van Nydeck. The family of Schenck van Nydeck had as its arms : Sable, a lion rampant; Or langued et arme. Gu. and Az. Christianus, the second son of Reynier Schenck, Baron van Toutenburg, was the first of the family of Schenck van Nydeck and in the records of the thirteenth century it is found that he held the office of cup-bearer to the Count de Gulick as Christianus Pincerna de Nideke. In 1346 Henrich Schenck van Nydeck, knight, lord of Afferden, is found to have been the head of the family. As his elder son, Wienand, left no direct heir to the titles the estate passed to the younger brother Heinrich, whose eldest son was Diederick, lord of Afferden and Blynbeek, who held other offices and died in August, 1487, at Mai. He married Adelheit van Buren, heiress of. Aersen and Belden, the daughter of Johan and Aleid van Arendahl. The fourth child of this marriage was Derick, lord of Afferden, Blynbeek and Walbuk, who died at Blynbeek August 3, 1525. He married Aleid Casters of Aerzen and their son Derick succeeded as lord of Afferden and Blynbeek and married Maria van ,Galen. The eldest son of that marriage was Derick, lord of Afferden and Blynbeek, who married Anna van Berlaer. They were parents -of five children,' the second being General Peter Schenck, who was born at Gosh, Holland, in 1547. He served with great distinction in the wars of his time and rose to the rank of a general officer in the service of the Netherlands. At Doesburgh, May 15, 1580, he married Johanna van Scherpenzeel. Martin Schenck, son of General Peter Schenck, was born at Doesburgh August 7, 1584. He is thought to have come to the Nieu Netherlands with his children, three of whom came to America in 1650, arriving at New Amsterdam, probably on the ship de Valckener, which sailed from Holland in March, arriving on the 28th of June. Roelof Schenck, son of Martin Schenck, is the American ancestor of the branch of the family from which Robert Cumming Schenck is descended. While he is generally 'spoken of as Roelof Schenck, his name was Roelof Martense Schenck. He was born at Amersfoort, Holland, in 1619 and probably came to America because of the misfortune which overtook his ancestors and family during the Netherland wars of the sixteenth century and the action taken by the several courts respecting the ancestral estates. He was accompanied by his Brother. Jan and sister Anetje. After his arrival he lived for a time at Brenklyn. In 1.660 he married Neeltje Conover, a daughter of Gerrit Wolphertse and Altie Cornelisen (Cool) van Couwenhoven and about that time settled at Flatlands, formerly Amersfoort, Long Island, where he lid until his death in 1704. The first mention of him in the early colonial records is concerning a grant of twenty-three morgans of land at Amersfoort, dated January 29, 1661. On the 21st of February, 1664, he was one of the magistrates of the "five Dutch towns" on Long Island, who joined in a request to the director general to call a meeting of delegates from these towns on account of the English outrages and for the purpose of sending a deputation to. Holland. At a government council held August 18,, 1673, Roelof Schenck was appointed one of the schepens for the town of DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY - 7 Amersfoort and on the 25th of October, of the same year, was elected a lieutenant of militia. On the 26th of March, 1674, he attended as a deputy the council held at the city hall in New Amsterdam. A valuage of Amersfoort property in September, 1676, shows that only one other had holdings exceeding his own in value. He was made justice for Kings county, New York, December 12, 1689, and captain of horse January 13, 169o. In the civil list of the province of New York for 1693 his name appeared as a justice for Kings county. When the church records of Flatlands, Long Island, were commenced the names of Roelof and his brother Jan stand first on the list of church members in that vicinity and he served as deacon or elder, perhaps in both of those offices as is indicated by the fact that his name appears on a roll of church officials who met to make arrangements about church matters. Gerritt Roelofse Schenck, the sixth child of Roelof Schenck, was born at Flatlands, Long Island, in October, 1671, and must have obtained a fair education for his times as evinced by his subsequent life. He removed from Flatlands, probably in the spring of 1696, to a farm of two hundred acres which he purchased. His will indicates that he was a very prosperous man who owned several tracts of land and a wharf in the vicinity of what is now Keyport, New Jersey; land at New Brunswick, New Jersey ; while in 1737 he and his cousin John van Couwenhoven, purchased of John Penn a tract of six thousand, five hundred acres near Princeton, New Jersey. He was among the original members of the church of Freehold, New. Jersey, and on its organization in 1709 was one of the first two deacons and subsequently an elder. He was a member of the provincial assembly of New Jersey from 1721 to 1726 and he enjoyed the title of "general." He was also for a time a commissioned officer in the provincial militia. He married Neeltje Coerten van Voorhees, who was born at Flatlands, Long Island, baptized December 5, 1680. She was a daughter of Coert and Maritje (Conover) van Voorhees, the former a son of Steven and William-pie (Roelofse) van Voorhees. Gerrit Roelofse Schenck died at Pleasant Valley, Monmouth county, New Jersey, September 5, 1745. Koert Schenck, the, fourth child of Gerrit Roelofse Schenck, was born at Pleasant Valley in 1702. He settled on a large farm which was thought to be poor sandy. soil and therefore worthless but upon this place marl was discovered and one hundred thousand tons were taken out, so that the poor and sandy farm was transformed into a beautiful and productive tract. When not yet thirty years of age he was chosen to serve as a deacon in the Reformed church and later became an elder. He was married at Freehold, New Jersey, to Mary Piterse van Couwenhoven, who was born in New Jersey in 1700 and died at Marlboro, New Jersey, May 17, 1787. Koert Schenck died near Marlboro, June 2, 1771. William Schenck, who was the sixth child of Koert Schenck, was born near Marlboro, August 13, 1740, and was baptized January 20, 1741. He entered Nassau Hall of the College of New Jersey, now Princeton College, November 12, 1761, and in his old memorandum book are many curious remarks relating to his expenses during his college days. He was graduated in 1767 and his diploma was in the possession of Robert Cumming Schenck of Dayton. He afterward studied theology with the Rev. William Tennent at Freehold, New Jersey, and was licensed by the New Brunswick Presbytery in 1770. He married Anna 8 - DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY Cumming, March 17, 1786. She was born at Monmouth, New Jersey, May 3, 1750, and died at Franklin, Ohio, June 23, .1848—"a mother of many children and as full of virtuous honors as of years." The year succeeding his entry into the ministry in 1771, Rev. William Schenck was ordained pastor of the Presby. terian church at Allentown, New Jersey, where he preached "15. sabaths before ye year 1772." Rev. Schenck was connected with the patriot army as a chaplain at the time of the Revolutionary War. In 1777 he and his family were driven out of New Jersey by the British and went to Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where he became pastor of the church of North and Southampton called the Neshaminy church. On the 3d of March, 1777, he went to Southampton and moved to the parsonage, remaining there for three years. In April, 1780, he went to Pittsgrove, New Jersey. From Pittsgrove he removed to Balston Spa and on the 26th of August, 1788, was installed pastor of the congregation there. He was one of the ministers. chosen to organize the Presbytery of Albany,. New York. ;His ministry must have been an active one during the seven years in which he remained at Balston Spa, for there are records of his labors at Freehold, Milton, Cherry Valley, Cambridge and many points between. In June, 1793, he went to Huntington, Long Island, and Thompson's history of Long Island speaks of him as.' "a man of much personal dignity who maintained a character which challenged the respect of all who knew him." He remained at Huntington until 1817; when he retired from the active duties of the ministry and went to the home of his son, General William C. Schenck, at Franklin, Ohio, which town- is indebted to him for its church organization. He died there September. 1, 1823. His life was one of marked influence in every community in which he lived, the moral progress of the race being greatly accelerated through his efforts. John Noble Cumming Schenck, son of the Rev. William Schenck, was born in Churchville, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, January 24, 1778. He was married in. Franklin, Ohio, ,September 2, 1802, to Sarah Tabscott. His second wife, Whom he wedded in Cincinnati, October 8, 1843, was Phebe W. Wheeler, who was born April 15, 1803, and died at the residence of her son, James F. Schenck, near Downey, Iowa, June a5, 189o. She was a daughter of Jesse Reeder and Phebe Wheeler and was the widow of William R. Schenck when she became the wife of John N. C. Schenck. The last named died in Franklin, Ohio, October 27, 18'67. He had acquired his education under the supervision of his father and in the schools of Balston, New .York, and Huntington, Long Island: On the advice of his brother William he came to the "western country" in 1799 or 1800, being in Cincinnati in the latter year. For a time atter his arrival he was employed as agent for Martin Baum, an enterprising merchant of that place, who sent him On one or mare occasions down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers on flat or keel boats to New Orleans with the usual produce of the country. Mr. Baum afterward established him in business in Franklin, where he became a prosperous merchant, his commercial pursuits together with his wise investments in Cincinnati real estate enabling him to retire in 1847, about twenty years prior to his death, with what was considered for those times a very considerable fortune. He was a man. of Strict business probity and his known reliability led to his being selected to transact much business for eastern parties. His children were twelve in number. James T., born in Franklin, Ohio, July 28, 1806, passed DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY - 9 away March 27, 1807. Ann C., who was born February 27, 1806, married Dr. Otho Evans, December 24, 1824, and died November 16, 1875, leaving four sons and two daughters. John, who was born, March 29, 1810, died July 24, 1825. William T., born January 10, 1812, married Elizabeth Thackery and on November 26, 1864, was again married, his second union being with Ruth Kelsey Tibbals. He died July 25, 1872. James T., was born January 6, 1814, and married Mary B. Barkalow. Sarah T., born February 5, 1816, was united in marriage to William A. Van Horn, September 3, 1834, and passed away February 3, 1883. John Christopher, born September 5, 1818, was married August 21, 1844, to Elizabeth Felling Barkalow, who died December 9, 1857, and on the 24th of October, 1861, he married Ione Holbrook. Mary B. was born September 3, 1820, and died March 23, 1822. Lucy H., born February 23, 1823, was twice married. On August 23, 1844, she married Joseph Burrows and her second union was with George W. Ewin, the date of this marriage being September 15, 1870. Mary B. was born September 9, 1825, and was married on the 6th of February, 1845, to Charles Butler. Catherine L., who was born December 13, 1828. passed .away August 27, 1830. All were born in Franklin, Ohio. Robert Cumming Schenck, the youngest member of the family spent his boyhood largely as a pupil in the schools of Franklin, Ohio, and in Miami University at Oxford, from which institution he was graduated. He had hardly completed his studies when he entered upon active service on a gunboat during the raid of Kirby Smith. Later he was on active duty with the militia when John Morgan made his raid into the north and in May, 1864, he enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-sixth Regiment of the Ohio National Guard, serving in the campaign in the mountains of West Virginia, where he proved himself valorous and brave. When the war period was over he spent two years as a law student in the office of Davies & Lowe of Dayton but did not pursue the practice as a life work, although his knowledge of law constituted a forceful factor in his business judgment in later years. Entering into commercial circles, he joined S. W. Davies in a lumber enterprise, with which he was connected until 1870, after which he spent considerable time in European travel. He was an enthusiast by nature and loved to secure that culture which he believed travel alone could give. On his return to America he joined others in organizing the American District Telegraph Company, which installed the first telephone system in Dayton. In 1880. he accepted the government position of chief deputy and cashier in the third internal 'revenue district of Ohio and his systematic methods in handling the work entrusted to him won the favorable attention of his superiors and without his knowledge they arranged to place him in charge of the office in the place of E. S. 'Williams, the internal revenue commissioner. Mr. Schenck, however, went to Senator Garfield and flatly refused to accept the position over the head of his chief, to whom. he felt that he could not be disloyal -although he appreciated the honor. He continued as deputy in the revenue office until 1882, when he became identified with the cornice works of Charles Wuichet & Company and was chosen president of the Dayton Malleable Iron Works. Under his capable business management. the business was greatly extended in its scope and in its trade relations. When he assumed' the position of chief executive the plant 10 - DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY comprised but one factory building beyond the railroad in western Dayton. Today it covers fifty acres and the works of the Malleable Iron Company are hardly equaled in all the country. His master touch was constantly on the pulse of the great throbbing manufacturing machine and success and business prestige were continually promoted under his management. He was president of this company until his death nor did its control indicate the limit of his resources and ability. He understood conditions of other business enterprises and his sound judgment was a factor in their successful management. He acted as a director of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad ; the Columbia Insurance Company ; the Dayton Asphalt, Roofing & Paving Company ; and was a trustee in the Woodland Cemetery Association. He served for some years as a director of the Dayton National Bank and later occupied the presidency until his life's labors were terminated in death. The marriage of Robert C. Schenck was celebrated in 1868, when Miss Julia Crance Davies, the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Watts Davies, became his wife. Her •father was a son of Samuel W. and Mary Stall (Thomas) Davies, the former a son of John Davies. Mary (Peirce) Davies, the mother of Mrs. Robert C. Schenck, was a daughter of Joseph and Henrietta (Elliot) Peirce. Four children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. Schenck. Mary D., is the wife of J. Sprigg McMahon, a son of the Hon. John A. McMahon, known and honored among the legally learned of the United States. Graham C. died in 1874. Reneltje W. is the wife of Charles Paxton, of Chicago, and Peirce Davies is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. Robert C. Schenck was always a public-spirited citizen who never allowed personal interests or ambition to dwarf his activities relative to the public good. To such movements he gave sage advice and generous assistance and Dayton profited by his labors and his counsel. He knew when and where and how to best further the interests of the city and his work in that regard as well as in business lines stands as a substantial monument to his memory. In 19o2 he went to the Adirondacks to spend the summer and, becoming ill there, at his summer home, he was removed to Paxton Hospital at Utica, New York, where after two operations he passed away. The announcement of his death caused profound sorrow, and outside of his family his loss was most keenly felt by his employes who knew him as a man, just and equitable in all relations, caring for their interests as for his own. When his remains were laid to rest at Woodland he was carried to the grave by pall-bearers selected from the employes who desired to perform this last and final service for their employer. Many were the words of respect, honor and affection spoken of him by those who were his associates in business, his colaborers in the public interests and his friends in the social circles of life. He was gifted by nature with a broad mind, to which were added the embellishments of travel and culture. He possessed, moreover, that indomitable spirit that has been characteristic of the Schenck family in peace and war. His name was representative of all that is best in manufacturing and banking circles in Dayton, for he was forceful, resourceful and aggressive in business, while in addition to his keen decisive business acumen he possessed a nature which was quick to reply to the social requirements of his community. DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY - 11 MARTIN L. HALLER, SR. Martin L. Haller, Sr., is a retired gardener of Harrison township, Montgomery county, Ohio, and the owner of some fine truck land on Germantown street, just on the edge of the city of Dayton. He was born in Frederick county, Maryland, October 19, 1842, the son of Henry and Elizabeth (Barger) Haller. His paternal grandfather, Daniel Haller, was the first of the family to come to this county. He had retired from active life at the time of his arrival here and was accounted a man of means, as the holder of considerable land in the state of his birth. Henry Haller came to Ohio from Maryland in 1848 and located in Harrison township, where he was among the early settlers and did his share toward making the land ready for the great improvements and growth that the last half century witnessed. Six children were born to Henry Haller, of whom Richard, Mary Jane and Catherine, have died, but William, Susan and Martin are still living useful lives. Martin L. Haller was but a very small boy when he came with his parents to this county and might be said to have grown up with the region which has been his home for sixty years. He has taken part of this change and has witnessed it from many points of view, for he attended the country schools, the only schools he ever knew, before they even aspired to anything like their present proficiency, and during his youth and early manhood worked on the Patterson farm, which was absorbed by the growing city of Dayton, incorporated within its boundaries and made a part of its civic life. Many others are the transformations that Mr. Haller has witnessed during the years of his active life and many are the stories he could relate of that life now passed. He can also tell of the many acts of bravery that came under his own eyes during the course of the Civil war, for he was among that vast army that answered to the call of the nation when it was threatened with dissolution, having enlisted in' the One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry under Colonel Lowe. Upon his discharge from the army Mr. Haller devoted all his energies to that phase of life which had already engrossed the greater part of his time—farming. He worked diligently and saved carefully and soon had enough money to make the first payment upon his present farm. Truck gardening appealed to him as more profitable on his land than general farming, and of this he has made a very decided success. On the 29th of September, 1864, Mr. Haller was married to Miss Amanda Miller, who died in 1905, after having borne and reared eight children and seeing her later years gladdened by several grandchildren. Eva, who was the eldest of the family, married Joseph Bitner and became the mother of four children, Lottie, Estella, Clifford and Eugene. Harry, the first son, married Miss Emma Puterbaugh and is the father of two children, Elizabeth and Robert. Daisy is the wife of Luther Fraver, who has taken. active charge of things on the truck farm, and by whom she has one son, Harold. Luther Haller married Miss Amanda West and is now the father of Lelah, Ralph, Grace and Jeannette. Katie is the wife of John Dunkle, a preacher of the gospel, and they have four children, Sharon, Ruth, Catherine, and Agnes. Hattie is the wife of A. Scho- 12 - DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY palla and the mother of one daughter, Irene. Russell, the youngest son, lives at home. Elizabeth is deceased. Mr. Haller is a member of the United Brethren church and is a Christian in every sense of the word as exemplified by his daily acts. During all the years of his long life he has been dependent upon himself alone for his advancement. He early learned the secret of success and justly deserves the rest from active cares and the comforts he now enjoys on the farm, which was the scene of his arduous labors. JOHN R. BROWNELL. John R. Brownell, late president of The Brownell & Company, Dayton, was born in Fulton county, New York, July 7, 1839. His parents, Frederick and Ann (Dawley) Brownell, were both natives of Fulton county, New York. His father was a tanner and currier by trade, and with six of his brothers served in the war of 1812, being stationed at Sacket's Harbor under General Brown. Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Brownell were the parents of eleven children. John R. Brownell was the youngest of the family, and after his father removed from Green Springs to his farm near Fremont, he attended school two winters, three months each term, and worked at home during the balance of the year. After his father's death he worked for his board and schooling one winter at Green Springs. Further educational advantages were denied him, and from that early period in life he was thrown upon his own resources. During 1852 and 1853 he worked eighteen months for William Zimmerman at Green Springs, driving oxen and hauling wood to the old Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad Company, for which he received eight dollars per month. In 1854 he walked to Sandusky City and engaged as clerk and boy of all work in a general store. After being employed for a short period in this capacity he drifted to Johnstown, New York, where he engaged to work for his board and schooling. He remained in Johnstown for about four months and then went to Buffalo and spent the winter with Captain Hollister. The following spring (1855) he shipped on board the steamboat Empire State for Chicago. But after a short time he returned to Buffalo, procured a situation as second porter on the steamboat Northern Indiana, under Captain Pheat, and was paid sixteen dollars per month and extras. Out of his wages he saved one hundred and forty dollars, and when the boat was laid up for the winter, he returned to Green Springs, Ohio, and loaned the money at six per cent. interest. He then went to _Dayton and commenced work in the boiler shop of his brother, E. H. Brownell, where he remained until the fall of 1857. Here he managed to save forty dollars, by working overtime, and with this and the one hundred and forty dollars previously invested, he went to New York city, where he worked at his trade for three months at one dollar and twenty-five cents per day. From New York he took the steamer Texas, and went with Walker's expedition to Nicaragua, where he remained six weeks and then went to Aspinwall, and from there to Panama, Central America. Here he was arrested and turned over to the American minister, and having no ticket for California, and being only DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY - 15 seventeen years of age, he was ordered sent . back to New York. But he eluded the officers and, getting on board the steamer Orizaba, a San Francisco boat, was soon on his way to California. While on the ocean the boilers of the steamer got out of repair and they had to run in at Acapulco. To repair boilers was Mr. Brownell's particular line of work, and he received one dollar per hour. Out of the amount thus earned he paid his fare to California and had one hundred and eighty dollars in gold besides. At San Francisco he worked at his trade for a short time and then went to Plumas county to work in the mines. In 1861 he returned to Dayton with two thousand three hundred dollars in gold and commenced business with his brothers, E. H. and J. H. Brownell. In February, 1861, J. R. Brownell joined the Dayton Light Guards and in May of the same year disposed of his business and volunteered with his company. August 20, 1861, he reenlisted as sergeant in Company K, Thirteenth Missouri Volunteer Infantry, for three years ; was promoted, to commissary sergeant March 25, 1862, and as second lieutenant, August 6, 1862. The most important actions the regiment engaged in were : Fort Donelson, February 14 and 15, 1862 ; Shiloh, April 6 and 7 ; siege of Corinth, April 30 to May 30; battle of Corinth, October 3 and 4; siege of Vicksburg, June to July 4; and capture of Little Rock, September t0, 1862. Mr. Brownell was honorably mustered out at Columbus, Ohio, April 16, 1864. He immediately returned to Dayton, Ohio. Here he engaged in the boiler business with his brother under the firm name of Brownell & Company. In 1864 J. R. Brownell organized the company of Brownell, Roberts & Lee, composed of J. R. Brownell, George J. Roberts, and Josiah Lee. The business of the firm consisted in the manufacture of machinery and general foundry work and was located at 437 East First Street. On May 8th, 1865, F. J. Brownell, a brother, was admitted to the firm and November I, 1867, it was reorganized under the name of Brownell, Roberts & Company with the following members : George J. Roberts, F. J. Brownell, Josiah Lee, Samuel C. French, C. H. Kielmeyer and Tames H. Brownell. At the. same time J. R. Brownell bought the boiler business of Brownell & Company and conducted it under the name of J.. R. Brownell. Several changes occurred in the firm of Brownell, Roberts & Company during the years 1869 and 1870 and June I, 1870, John R. Brownell bought James H. Brown-ell's interest. In February, 1871, George. J. Roberts retired from the company, and it was then incorporated as the Brownell & Kielmeyer Manufacturing Company, with a capital of two hundred thousand dollars. They continued business until 1878, when, owing to the panic of 1873-78, were compelled to make an assignment. At the sale, J. R. Brownell bought two-thirds of the property and Martin Schneble one-third, and the business was continued until 1884. In this year. J. R. Brownell bought Martin Schneble's interest, and conducted the business alone, under name- of Brownell & Company, until January, 1888, when it was reorganized as Brownell & Company, with a paid-up capital of one hundred thousand dollars. In 1891, J. R. Brownell bought the interest of his partners. The business remained at its original location .until September, 1888, when a fire occurred, destroying the buildings and machinery. They then removed to Findlay street, north of First street, where a portion of the boiler plant had been since 1882. When they had a capacity of one million dollars yearly output and had 16 - DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY room for five hundred men, three hundred and eighty-seven men were actually employed and their output amounted to six hundred thousand dollars annually. Mr. Brownell was also interested somewhat in politics. He was defeated once for councilman and three times for water works trustee on the republican ticket, but when a candidate again he was elected county commissioner and member of the council, and in 1880 state senator in a district strongly democratic. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Old Guard Post ; the Loyal Legion of the United States and the Union Veteran League. He was married in the autumn of 1875, to Miss Harriet Alice Smith, daughter of Abraham Smith, of Maryland. By this marriage he had four children, three daughters and one son : Carrie J.; Alice J. now the deceased wife of McCurdy K. Huffman, who survives her, with one daughter, Jane H. Huffman ; Mary L., the wife of Arthur H. Richards ; and John R. Brownell, Jr. His death occurred at his home March 27, 1901. IN MEMORIAM. The death of J. R. Brownell demands on the part of the stockholders a grateful and heartful acknowledgment of his worth as a man and of his invaluable services as an officer of this company. From the beginning he has served as its president and given an amount of labor and watchful supervision to its affairs, which money could not have purchased. To his skillful management the company is indebted for its prosperous financial condition, and which attests his abiding interest in it until the time of his death. Endowed with a vigorous intellect he had improved it by diligent study. Few men have cultivated so wide a field of knowledge and yet few were so thorough, possessed of a most retentive memory; there were few subjects with which he was not familiar. A striking trait of his character was his unbending integrity. His scrupulous honesty was so well known and appreciated that he was frequently selected for the discharge of the most responsible trusts. No one was more thoroughly versed in the history of the concern or felt a livelier interest in its prosperity. A. D. WILT. A. D. Wilt, whose position as a representative of education in preparation for commercial life is indicated in the fact that he was honored with the presidency of the National Business Educators' Association, has been at the head of the Miami Commercial College for over forty years. But while under his guidance this school has been a potent force for education in commercial lines, President Wilt is also known for his deep and stimulating interest in all those topics and questions which indicate the trend of modern thought or are relative to the progress and advancement of the world's work. His birth occurred at Dayton, Ohio, on the 21st of September, 1841, his father being Jacob Wilt. His mother was a daughter of Abram Darst, who came to Dayton in 1805 and was for many years active and prominent in churCh, social and business affairs. Jacob Wilt came to Dayton in 1835 and established DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY - 17 a factory for the manufacture of rifle gun barrels, which until 1859 continued to he the largest in the west and supplied the hunters, trappers and early settlers of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and the territories with nearly all the arms they used. He invented the machinery with which he made his wide reputation.. A. D. Wilt was educated in the public schools of the city of Dayton, Ohio. As a boy he had access to an excellent library which was the first in the state to be created by an association and which is the predecessor of the present public library of the city. Stimulated by the excellent training in English which he received in the high school and from his home and other associations, he was fortunately able to make much of this fine privilege and laid the foundation for a love of good literature which made him a broadly informed man and in a measure recompensed him for his lack of college training, which he has always regretted. One of the most fortunate happenings of his youth, as he regards it, was his father's wise step in subscribing his name for the New York Weekly Tribune and requiring him to get it on his way from church on Sundays and carefully read and discuss it. Under Horace Greeley's editorship in those days, with such associates as William Cullen Bryant, Bayard Taylor, Parke Godwin and a number of other highly cultivated literary and political writers, the Tribune was not only the ablest and most influential political journal of the country but at the same time was one of the most elevated and brilliant literary publications and afforded so eager a reader one of the very best means of training in political, social and literary questions. His first employment, which began as a boy of sixteen, was as a district school teacher in districts adjoining the city. This continued for two years, in which he was credited for excellent success notwithstanding his youth. After this, in 1860, he took a course in bookkeeping in the Miami Commercial College, which was founded that year by Edwin D. Babbitt. Mr. Babbitt was a man of much cultivation, with broad ideas, and the young man gained much from his fine influence which contributed to Whatever his success has been. Mr. Babbitt admitted Mr. Wilt to a partnership in 1863 and during this connection, which continued until 1865, when Mr. Babbitt retired, the firm published a system of penmanship which was widely received with much favor. From 1865 to 1904 Mr. Wilt was sole owner of the Miami Commercial College. In 1904 it was incorporated and he continues as president. Large numbers of prominent business and professional men have received a training for business here and the college has for many years ranked as one of the foremost in the United States. Mr. Wilt was honored with the presidency of the National Business Educators' Association, which met in Washington, D. C., in 1884, and has for many years been prominent as an official and otherwise in the affairs of the National and State Business Educators' Associations. He has twice been president of the Ohio State Business Educators' Association. He served for some years as a member of the Dayton board of education and as a member of the board of city school examiners. During his service he was largely instrumental in having the board establish a system of free night industrial drawing schools, which continued very successfully for some years, with an able corps of teachers who taught hundreds of young artisans of the city. He was also chairman of the 18 - DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY normal school committee of the board and also of the public library committee and was highly commended for his efficient service. In 1884 he was appointed postmaster of the city and served with credit for five years under the administration of President Arthur. He has always taken an active part in the political, intellectual and other activities of his city and was at one time president of the Literary Union, an organization which had a membership of some hundreds of leading citizens divided into a number of sections for the study of literary and scientific questions. He was the founder of the Present Day Club, an organization which numbered three hundred or more prominent professional and business men, who for a period of ten years, from 1895 to 1906, met at the leading hotels twice a month for the discussion of a great variety of present day topics—greatly to general edification and advantage. After a lapse of several years the club was felt to be of such general usefulness that it was revived in 1908. Mr. Wilt is now (1909) chairman of the educational committee of the Dayton chamber of commerce. He has always been more or less of a contributor to the daily press of the city and has at times edited one of the leading dailies. He is also one of the original members of the Saturday Club, a literary club of eighteen members which has existed for thirty-eight years, and is also the sole English member of the German Club of the city, a club composed of a number of leading German citizens. The Montgomery County Horticultural Society has included him in its membership for the past forty years and he served as its secretary at one period. He was married in 1872 to Ella, daughter of Mrs. William A. Bickham, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and youngest sister of the late Mayor W. D. Bickham, editor of the Dayton Journal for many years. His family numbers two daughters and a son : Mrs. Jerome B. Thomas, of Brooklyn, New York ; Mrs. William H. Schweppe, of Los Angeles, California ; and A. D. Wilt, Jr., who is a graduate of Harvard University and now a manufacturer of Detroit, Michigan. As this sketch shows, Mr. Wilt has been an active citizen, always ready in the promotion of public welfare. GUSTAV REINIGER, JR. Gustav Reiniger, Jr., is the owner of a large greenhouse situated on ten acres of valuable land on the Wolf Creek pike in Stillwater Junction. He is a native of Eberswalde, Germany, in the province of Brandenburg, his natal day being January 28, 1874. When nine years of age he accompanied his parents, Gustav and Augusta (Buchholz) Reiniger, on their emigration to the United States, the family home being established in Dayton. August Reiniger, the parental grandfather, spent his entire life in the fatherland. After taking up his abode in this county Gustav Reiniger, the father of our subject, was employed in several factories in Dayton and by earnest labor and careful expenditure at length accumulated capital sufficient to enable him to purchase property at the corner of Dover and Lorain streets. DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY - 19 Gustav Reiniger, Jr., whose name introduces this review, obtained his education in the schools of Dayton and after putting aside his text-books secured a position as assembler with the National Cash Register Company. With the money which he had saved from his earnings he afterward bought property on Dover street but subsequently traded this for his present business and, as before stated, is the owner of a large greenhouse situated on ten acres of rich and productive land. The success which has attended his undertakings is all the more creditable by reason of the fact that it has been attained entirely through his own diligence and industry and he is well known as a substantial and enterprising citizen of the community. On the 28th of November, 1896, Mr. Reiniger was united in marriage to Miss Lena Praeg, a daughter of Fred and Margaret Praeg, the father being a carpenter of Dayton. Unto them have been born four children, namely : Augusta, Helen, Fred and Arthur, all of whom are attending school. Mr. Reiniger is a devoted and consistent member of the Lutheran church and is widely and favorably known throughout the county in which he has now made his home for more than quarter of a century. DR. N. W. COWDEN. Dr. N. W. Cowden, one of the younger of Germantown's successful physicians, was born in Quaker City, Ohio, on the 11th of March, 1872, and is a son of William and Deborah (Laughlin) Cowden. The father was also born on the old family homestead in Quaker City and became a prominent farmer and land owner of that part of the state. His parents were David and Margaret Cowden and the former was a son of William and Margaret (Newman) Cowden, who came from County Antrim, Ireland, to the new world and were among the early settlers of Pennsylvania. Subsequently they continued on their westward way to Ohio and, going to Guernsey county, David Cowden, the progenitor of the family in the United States, there lived a retired life. William Cowden, the father of our subject, was a worthy representative of a pioneer family that was prominently and honorably connected with the early development of the Buckeye state. He made farming his life work and attained success and prominence in that field of labor. As he prospered in his undertakings he made further investment in land until he became the owner of a section of the best land in the county. He was very widely known and was an influential and public-spirited citizen, whose aid and cooperation could always be counted upon to support and promote any measure for the public good. He was recognized as one of the political leaders in political circles in the county and three times was a candidate for the state legislature. He was also a member of the state tax commission, being appointed by Major William McKinley. That he occupied a prominent position among the raisers of sheep is indicated in the fact that he was chosen secretary of the Ohio Wool Growers' Association. Neither did he neglect the higher, holier duties of life for he was active in the work of the United Presbyterian church, giving loyal support to its interests and closely 20 - DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY following its teachings. For a long period he was one of the elders of the church and was also very prominent in the work of the Sunday school. In his family were seven children : David L., a physician ; William K., who is a practicing attorney ; Dr. N. W. ; Mrs. Jennie M. Henderson ; Henrietta, who is in India ; Deborah, at home ; and Harris S., who is practicing dentistry. Dr. Cowden, whose name initiates this review, was a pupil in the public schools of Quaker City, Ohio, to the time of his graduation in the class of 1891. He then taught school for a year but regarded this merely as an initial step to other professional labor, desiring to become a member of the medicai profession. To this end he entered the- Starling Medical College, at Columbus, Ohio, from which he was 'graduated with the class of 1897. He afterward pursued a post-graduate course in 1899 and again in 1904 further supplementing his knowledge by post-graduate work, for he holds to high ideals in his profession and puts forth every effort in his power to attain proficiency in his chosen field that will make his work of permanent value to his patrons. In the fall of 1904 he came to Germantown, where he has since enjoyed a large and steadily increasing practice. His church membership is still with the United Presbyterian church of Quaker City. He belongs to the Masonic lodge, the Knights of Pythias, the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, the Modern Woodmen and the National Protective Legion, all of Germantown. He is a gentleman of unfailing courtesy and genial manner, whose circle of friends is an extensive one. JOHN W. STODDARD. In contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is never without honor save in his own country, John W. Stoddard stands today as one of the distinguished and representative men of Dayton, his native city. He has largely devoted his energies to manufacturing and with marked ability to plan and perform he has put forth many new and practical ideas in the business world that have been resultant factors in the attainment of success. Moreover, in all of his business career there has not been a single esoteric phase, his record being one which at all times will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny, his success being won in close conformity with a high standard of commercial ethics. Mr. Stoddard was born October 1, 1837, a son of Henry Stoddard, who in pioneer times became a resident of Dayton and was closely associated with the growth and development of the city for many years. His birth occurred in Woodbury, Connecticut, March 18, 1788, his ancestors -being among the pilgrims of New England and among those who fought for American liberty in the Revolutionary war. Asa. Stoddard, grandfather, of John W. Stoddard, was a direct descendant of the Rev. Anthony Stoddard, of London, England, who in 1670 established his home in Boston, Massachusetts, since which time many of his descendants have occupied positions of prominence and honor in the New England, eastern and middle states. DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY - 23 Henry Stoddard acquired a common-school education, spent five years as a salesman in a store, and then after thorough preliminary reading of law was admitted to the bar in 1812. In 1817 he made permanent location in Dayton, traveling westward on horseback with the Hon. George B. Holt. Although the little village of six hundred inhabitants did not seem to offer an extremely promising field, yet he undertook his professional labors here,, riding the circuit at an early day to attend court in the different counties. In the course of years he became recognized as one of the distinguished lawyers of Montgomery county, Ohio, continuing in active practice until 1846 when he retired. In the meantime he had become connected with various business interests and thereafter his attention was given to private affairs. He was prominent in the First Presbyterian church of Dayton, in which he served as ruling elder and in that faith he passed away November 1, 1869. His first wife was Harriet L. Patterson, who died October 1, 1822, leaving a son, Asa P. Stoddard. His second wife, who bore the maiden name of Susan Williams, died April 5, 1861. Their children were: Henry, of California ; John W., of this review ; Mrs. Samuel B. Smith, of Dayton ; and E. Fowler, deceased. Reared in his native city John W. Stoddard attended private schools here and completed the work of the freshman and sophomore years in Miami University. As a junior he entered Princeton College and is numbered among its alumni of 1858. He then became a student in the Cincinnati Law School and was graduated in 1860, after which he devoted two years to successful law practice, but, abandoning the law for a commercial career in 1862, he began the manufacture of linseed oil in partnership with his brother Henry and Charles G. Grimes under the firm style of Stoddard & Grimes. For three or four years the business was continued on the original plan and was then extended in its scope to include the manufacture of varnishes, while a wholesale trade was established in paints, oils, window _glass, etc., under the name of Stoddard & Company. After several years' connection with the business, John W. Stoddard disposed of his interests to his brothers Henry and E. Fowler Stoddard in 1869 and joined John Dodds in a partnership under the firm style of John Dodds & Company, for the manufacture of agricultural implements. A change in partnership occurred five years later, when the firm of J. W. Stoddard & Company was formed, E. Fowler Stoddard and William A. Scott being admitted. In 1884 the Stoddard Manufacturing Company was organized and John W. Stoddard remained at the head in the position of president and principal stockholder. It was one of the leading manufacturing industries of Dayton, its output being shipped to many sections of the country, while its trade constantly increased and its well equipped factories and skilled employes secured an output of the highest grade. In 1905 this company was practically succeeded by the Dayton Motor Car Company, manufacturers of the Stoddard Dayton Automobile, one of the largest and most successful motor cars manufactured in the United States. Of this company John W. Stoddard is president. While there are now many kinds of automobiles on the market, experience has .shown that all are not of equal value. In fact the kinds of high grade cars are comparatively few but the Stoddard machine is one which meets the requirements of the most exacting and the most fastidious. The utmost care is taken in the selec- 24 - DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY tion of the material and in the construction of the car, together with supplying its equipments, and the Stoddard automobile today has a' very wide reputation as a high class and thoroughly satisfactory machine. Before another year has .passed another company will be formed, which will be a separate organization from the Dayton Motor Car Company, for the purpose of manufacturing taxicabs, smaller cars and heavy trucks. Although this will be a separate concern, Mr. Stoddard will be interested therein as a stockholder. In May, 1861, Mr. Stoddard was united in marriage to Miss Susan Keifer, whose father, Daniel Keifer, was one of the pioneer residents of Dayton. The family now numbers a son and three daughters : Charles G., vice president and superintendent of the Stoddard Manufacturing Company ; Mrs. Charles M. Wood ; Mrs. E. F. Platt and Mrs. E. S. Reynolds. The family home is a beautiful residence on a hillside in Dayton and is the center of a cultured society circle. Mr. Stoddard is well known as a prominent member of the Dayton Club, of which he was honored with the presidency. He holds friendship inviolable and true worth can always win his regard. He believes in the aristocracy of worth rather than of birth and has commendable hatred of sham and pretension. He is today one of the most honored and respected citizens of Dayton, for the use which he has made of his opportunities and his talents has brought him prominently before the public in various relations and in all things he has measured up to the full standard of honorable manhood. JOHN A. McMAHON. John A. McMahon, recognized as one of the influential factors in the ranks of the democratic party in Ohio, doing much to shape its policy and mold its destiny, is moreover one of the leading members of the Dayton bar, his extensive practice being indicative of the high position which he occupies in the ranks of the legal fraternity in this city. His views upon all vital public as well as professional questions are so practical, his insight so keen and his labors so effective as to make him one of the men of affairs of Dayton. A native of Maryland, his birth occurred in Frederick county on the 19th of February, 1833. His father, John V. L. McMahon, of Baltimore, was a distinguished lawyer, ranking among the leaders of the Maryland bar. In his youthful days the son became a pupil in St. Xavier's College of Cincinnati and completing the full collegiate course, was graduated with the class of 1849. Something of his scholarship and his popularity with the faculty may be indicated in the fact that he was retained in the school as a teacher until June, 1850. Mr. McMahon's connection with Dayton covers much more than a half century, for he arrived in this city in 1851, in which year he entered upon the study of law with Hon. C. L. Vallandigham as his preceptor. After reading for three years Mr. McMahon was admitted to the bar in 1854 and entered into partnership relations with his former preceptor, who was also his uncle—the husband of his father's sister. Mr. McMahon was not long in winning for him-