Butler County, Ohio - Chapter 6, 1905 (part 15 of 18)

Fiftieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was subsequently transferred to the Sixty-ninth and served over three years at the front. He participated in many of the hard-fought battles of the Western army, and went on Sherman's memorable march to the sea. Soon after the battle of Murfreesboro he was transferred to the engineers' corps of the Cumberland Army, and was there enabled to turn his mechanical knowledge to good account, having charge of the various mechanical appliances of that department. The uninitiated may draw the conclusion that this position relieved Mr. Ritchie of the exposures of the battle-line. But not so; the engineers' corps was often the advance guard of an army. It was one of their duties to lay pontoon bridges across unfordable streams, and this was frequentlv done, in fact almost always, under a galling fire from the enemy's pickets, skirmishers or scouts. The examination and strengthening of bridges which happened to be only partly destroyed was another of their perilous duties, and every old soldier knows that the sappers and miners" (a term equivalent to engineering corps) were not only the most advanced and dangerous positions, but they were often under fire while the main army was sleeping. Their labors were extremely arduous and exhausting to the physical force, hence only strong, able-bodied men, with fearless hearts, were selected. Their labor consisted mostly in handling heavy pontoon boats, timbers and planks, felling trees for abattis to protect road crossings or bridges, taking up their pontoons and reloading them upon wagons, cars, etc. And here again they were often exposed, if the troops they served happened to be retreating or abandoning the locality, since the enemy was always anxious to capture this necessary adjunct to military maneuvers. Every old soldier who was at the front has a well-grounded respect for the brave, fearless and industrious men, whose intelligence and ready action often saved thousands of men from death or the horrors of a prison pen. Assuredly it was no sinecure to be a member of the engineers' corps during the Civil war. Mr. Ritchie was one of the judges of election in the Cumberland Army, on the re-election of President Lincoln in 1864, and believes that he is the only survivor of that election board. He was in Atlanta at the time the city was burned, and was ordered by General Sherman to return to Chattanooga to conduct a pontoon train to Atlanta. Returning with the train as far as Big Shanty, he was stopped by pickets, who reported that the Rebel General French was between his train and Big Shanty. They retired to Moon Station, where they lay until about one o'clock at night, when scouts reported French's advance within half an hour's march of the station. The train was then backed to Altoona Pass, where there was a fort garrisoned by twelve hundred soldiers, while there was a million and a half of rations there awaiting shipment to Sherman's army at Atlanta. About twenty minutes after his arrival at Altoona he received a dispatch from General Corse, at Rome, Georgia, to unload the train and hasten to Rome for troops. This was done and the train returned with General Corse and about twelve hundred soldiers to reinforce the garrison at the fort. They arrived about five o'clock the next morning and immediately after unloading, the pickets were driven in by the advance of French's army. Here was fought one of the bloodiest little battles of the Civil war. Out of twenty-six hundred men engaged, twelve hundred fifty were killed and wounded in the fort; hut they held possession, thus saving to the government a million and a half of rations, and enabling Sherman to make his memorable march to the sea. This is one of the "little" things which assisted in crushing the great Rebellion.

Mr. Ritchie was discharged in January, T865, at Savannah, Georgia, and returned to Hamilton and the peaceful pursuits of life. He resumed his former position with the firm of Owens, Lane & Dyer, and thus commenced his future career as previously outlined. The attainments and achievements of William Ritchie are wholly the result of his own unaided efforts. Whatever he has accomplished in the business world is chargeable to the sterling qualities of energy, intelligence, economy and personal push. In American citizenship this combination usually brings success, the degree of which is measurably dependent upon an equal balance of the characteristics included in the "formulae."

Mr. Ritchie was married, in 1870, to Miss Pattie Nifong, a native of Missouri and a lady of many accomplishments of head and heart. Chief among these was her congeniality and willing co-operation in making the family home the happiest and most desired place in the world. The only child born to this union is Oscar N., who was bom in 1874. He is now the secretary and treasurer of the Advance Manufacturing Company, of which his father is the president and principal owner. Oscar N. was educated in the public schools of Hamilton and in the Cincinnati Technical School. He is a thorough machinist and practical business man. His home is still under the parental roof. Mr. Ritchie was appointed in 1892, by President Harrison, as a federal commissioner of the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago. He was chosen as chairman of the committee on machinery, and assisted in planning and installing the marvelous exhibit in Machinery Hall.

The subject is well advanced in the mysteries of the Masonic fraternity, having attained to the thirty-second degree. He is also prominently identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Republic, in each of which organizations he has passed the principal official stations. He and family are members of the Christian church.

Oakey V. Parrish

It is not an easy task to describe adequately a man who has led an eminently active and busy life and who has attained a position of relative distinction in the community with which his interests are allied. But biography finds its most perfect justification, nevertheless, in the tracing and recording of such a life history. It is, then, with a full appreciation of all that is demanded and of the painstaking scrutiny that must be accorded each statement, and yet with a feeling of satisfaction, that the writer essays the task of touching briefly upon the details of such a record as has been that of the honored subject whose life now comes under review.

16th of October, 1844. His parents were Jared and Phoebe (Van Hise) Parrish, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of New Jersey. The subject is indebted to the schools of his native village for his early educational advantages, which were supplemented by an attendance of three years at Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio. At this time the country was in the midst of that terrible internecine struggle, the greatest civil conflict in all history, and feeling that his country needed his services to assist in the suppression of the insurrection, Mr. Parrish enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixty-seventh Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving from May 16, 1864, to September 7, 1864, receiving an honorable discharge at the close of his service. Upon his return from military service Mr. Parrish entered the Ohio Wesleyan University, where he completed his collegiate education, which had been interrupted by his enlistment in the army. In 1866 he entered into business at Dayton, Ohio, but a year later he went to Cincinnati, where he engaged in the sewing machine business. In 1869 he came to Hamilton, Butler county, and for a number of years was here engaged as an agent for the Singer Sewing Machine Company. He was fairly successful, but felt that he had not yet found the proper field for the exercise of his talents. He subsequently engaged in the real-estate business, with which he combined the selling of insurance policies, and such has been his success that he has since then given his continuous attention to these lines of business, meeting with a success commensurate with his efforts. For some time the firm was known as the Parrish Agency. In 1893 Mr. Parrish took his son, Charles J. Parrish, into partnership and the firm was known by the style of O. V. . Parrish & Son. The firm has been phenomenally successful in the business lines in which it is engaged and has long commanded the confidence of the public, this being evidenced by the large share of patronage which it has received. The subject and his son are both men of sterling worth and integrity of character and have honestly earned the enviable position which they now occupy in the community. In April, 1873, Mr. Parrish organized the Home Loan and Building Association and continued as its secretary and manager for a period of thirty years, building up the assets to three-quarters of a million dollars, and paying to the stockholders a half million dollars in dividends.

On the 7th of October, 1868, at Dayton, Ohio, Mr. Parrish was united in marriage with Miss Augusta S. Curtis, a union which resulted in the birth of the following children : Charles Jared, Luella C., Elizabeth

F. and Lee N. Mr. Parrish's religious belief is in harmony with the creed of the Methodist Episcopal church and he takes an active interest in all matters affecting the welfare of the congregation with which he is affiliated. Politically he has always been a Republican and has been a delegate to many important county, district and state conventions of his party and was a delegate to the national convention at Philadelphia in 1900, at which William McKinley was renominated for the presidency. April 16, 1887, Governor Joseph B. Foraker appointed Mr. Parrish a member of the board of affairs for Hamilton, and on January 6, 1902, Governor George K. Nash appointed him a member of the board of trustees of Miami University. May 25, 1893, he was appointed an aide-de-camp on the staff of Commander-in-Chief A. G. Wessert, of the Grand Army of the Republic. On July 13, 1902, President Roosevelt appointed him postmaster of Hamilton. It is thus seen that the subject's abilities have been signally recognized on various occasions and today few men have a higher standing among their confreres or in the community at large. Socially Mr. Parrish is a meml)er of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Knights of Pythias, having been a charter member of the local lodge of the last-named order. Aside from his business associations already referred to, Mr. Parrish is a member of the directorate of the Second National Bank of Hamilton and of the Cincinnati Trust Company. In all the relations of life he has been found faithful to every trust confided in him and because of his genuine worth, courteous manners and genial disposition he has won and retains the warm regard of all with whom he associates, the latter including the best people of the county.

Harry E. Engle

Harry E. Engle, the efficient and popular treasurer of Butler county, is a native of Zanesville, Muskingum countv, Ohio, and was born on the 3d of October. 1838. His early years were spent in his native locality, where he received a good practical education in the public schools. The familv home was located at Putnam, Muskingum county, for many years, and there the subject's father conducted a successful business, but he ended his days in Champaign county, where he passed away at the age of seventyfive years. His name was David Engle, a native of Pennsylvania, of German antecedents. His wife was Miss Elizabeth Alexander, a native of Putnam, Ohio. She died in young womanhood, leaving a family of six children, the youngest of whom was an infant. The subject of this sketch never knew the priceless value of a mother's love, being but two years old at the time of her death. After that sad event in the family life, the children were scattered, and the family relations were never afterward renewed. John was the eldest of the family. He went south in early life, and married a Miss Frierson in Columbia, Tennessee, where he was successfully engaged in mercantile pursuits, when he died in middle life. He left a wife and several children who still reside in the vicinity of Columbia. The Frierson family is prominent and well known in that locality. The second born was William, who now resides at Springfield, Ohio. David, the third in order of birth, joined the fortv-niners, and made the overland trip to California, where he lost his life, being killed by a runaway team. He left a wife and children on the Pacific coast. Sarah became Mrs. Sullivan. and now resides in Illinois. Edward died in young manhood, at the age of twenty-five years. Harry E., of this sketch, was the next in order of birth, and George completes the family circle. He is also deceased, so that one-half of the family have passed to the other shore.

Harry Engle was but a boy in his teens when he engaged in life's duties on his own account. He was employed as a clerk in Dayton for about ten years and became a resident of Butler county in i860, though he was married in this county on the 22d of February, 1859. On that date he led to the marriage altar Miss Ida Ryerson, a daughter of Michael F. and Eleanor Ryerson, a well-known and prominent pioneer family in Butler county. Mrs. Ryerson was a member of the Boylan family, who came from New Jersey in 1802, and soon thereafter located in Butler county. The family made the trip down the Ohio from Pittsburg in a flatboat and landed in Cincinnati in 1802. After his marriage Mr. Engle located on a farm two and a half miles south of Middletown, and there the family home has been continued for forty-five years. With the onward march of time it has been improved and beautified, and the building of the Cincinnati, Dayton & Toledo electric road has added materially to the convenience and attractiveness of "Engleside," the local name of the place. Since his induction into office Mr. Engle makes the trip daily from his country home to the office, returning to his pleasant home in the evening. Mrs. Engle enjoyed excellent educational advantages and is a lady of culture and refinement. She completed her education in an institution of higher order than the public schools at Richmond, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Engle have an interesting family of five children, the survivors of whom, by their culture and accomplishments, add greatly to the pleasure and enjoyments of the home circle. Miss Mary, the eldest of the family, occupies a prominent position in the public schools of Middletown, where she is employed as director of drawing. She is a young lady of exalted accomplishments and high literary attainments. After finishing her scholastic work at Glendale (Ohio) Female College, her artistic talents were developed bv attendance at the art schools of Boston and Chicago. She has been employed in the Middletown schools for several years and is considered an adept in her chosen calling. Harry R. was the second born. After completing his school work, he accepted a lucrative position with the Harding Paper Company at Franklin, Ohio, where he now resides. He is married and has one child, a daughter. Miss Eleanor is her mothers companion and assistant in the domestic duties of the home. She was educated at the Methodist Female Seminary, Hillsboro. Ohio. Louis was married in girlhood, becoming the wife of George W. Hood, a native of Cincinnati, but after marriage a resident of Middletown. This happy union was severed in the morning of its beauty and loveliness, by taking away the central figure in a happy domestic life. Her death occurred at the age of twentyfour, leaving two sons and a daughter, Harned. Eleanor and Robert. The youngest of the family is Fred W., who is his fathers efficient deputy. He is a young man with bright prospects for a career of prominence and usefulness. Like his sisters, he has enjoved excellent educational advantages, while his early advancement to a position of trust and responsibility emphasizes his fitness and integrity.

The subject of this review has been active and prominent in local political affairs all his mature life. He is a recognized leader and wise counsellor in the ranks of the Democratic partv. He has served in various minor offices in Lemon township, and on committees, etc. For six years he held the position of township clerk of his home township, and served the people of Butler county as their treasurer, by appointment, from September. 1882, until September, 1883. He succeeded to the office at this time by reason of the death of Thompson Gray, who was elected, but died during the interval between election and installment. On the election of W. S. Brown, in 1898, Mr. Engle was tendered the deputy treasurership, but his personal affairs would not permit his acceptance until one year of Mr. Brown's first term had expired. He became the deputy treasurer in 1900, and served three years in that capacity. In recognition of his ability and sterling integrity, he was nominated by his party in 1902, elected triumphantly, and took possession of the office as principal in September, 1903. He has surrounded himself with careful and obliging assistants, and launched upon his first term with years of successful experience in the subordinate positions. It is usually a safe conclusion that a man who makes a success of his private affairs will be equally successful in the management of a public trust. Measured by this standard, the administration of Harry Engle bids fair to equal that of any of his predecessors.

Mr. Engle has never united with any religious organization, though he is a liberal supporter of all worthy religious and benevolent enterprises, and a believer in the divine realities of the Christian religion. His wife and daughter, Miss Mary, are members of the Freewill Baptist church, while the deceased daughter was a member of the same. Miss Eleanor is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Engle sustains membership in the time-tested Masonic fraternity, being a member of St. John's lodge at Dayton, Ohio. He is also a member of the Knights of Honor. On the maternal side, the subject is descended from Scotch royalty, the Alexanders being a very prominent family in Scotland, whose

Luke Brannon

Luke Brannon, the very efficient and obliging sheriff of Butler county, is a native of the city of Hamilton, born on the 9th of December, 1859. He is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Roger Brannon, early residents of the city and descendants of Irish ancestors. Luke possesses many of the characteristics peculiar to his nationality, being genial and witty, a warm friend in time of need, but brave and fearless in the discharge of official duty. He seems specially qualified for positions requiring the exercise of strong will power, ready and prompt action in emergency, and utter disregard of personal safety in places of danger. For a number of years prior to 1890 he was a constable of Hamilton township, and on the date last written he was chosen by Sheriff Peter Bisdorf as his first deputy, taking possession of that office on the 6th of January, 1900. During a period of four years in this position he demonstrated his entire fitness for the higher office, to which he was inducted on the 4th of January, 1904. It is largely due to Mr. Brannon's efficiency that the term of Sheriff Bisdorf, just closed, was one of the best in the history of Butler county. It may be said incidentally that the term of Sheriff Bisdorf was one fraught with great responsibilities and active warfare against an unusually large number of criminals. Perhaps no sheriff in Butler county was ever called upon to arrest and bring to trial as great a number of murderers, nor to employ greater detective ability in ferreting out crime and in placing it where it belonged. In the discharge of this onerous duty Deputy Sheriff Brannon's services were in constant demand and his counsels eagerly sought. The notorious Knapp trial was one of several wherein the criminals were brought to the electric chair. It is reliably stated that Mr. Brannon, alone and single-handed, rescued a would-be murderer from the hands of an infuriated mob, even after the rope had been adjusted about the victim's neck, and brought him to Hamilton, where he received a legal trial and, probably, a just conviction. In the administration of the affairs of the sheriff's office Mr. Brannon is thoroughly familiar with every detail, and is prompt, methodical and efficient. The people of Butler county have made no mistake in elevating the deputy to the principalship in one of the most important offices within the gift of the county. Mr. Brannon is a man who will render a good account of his stewardship and bring honor to himself and satisfaction to his constituency. As an official he is careful and painstaking, discharging his duties with proper regard to the rights of others and a sympathetic consideration for the criminal. But he never hesitates in the performance of any duty, believing in the majesty of the law and the ultimate correction of wrongs through legal channels.

Luke Brannon has spent his entire life in Butler county. He is one of the most widely known men in the county, and each day of his life he comes in contact with men whose heads are whitening with years, with whom he played "hide and seek" in the knee reeches of thoughtless, happy youth. He was educated in the city schools and was considered a rather delicate youth and unable to engage in life's activities until he was well past the years of maturity. He possesses a strong will power, which characteristic has aided him in battling disease to as great an extent possibly as in fighting the battles of later life.

Mr. Brannon was married on the 6th of January, 1896, when he chose for his life companion Miss Emma K. Yauck, a most estimable young lady, with whom he spent five years of wedded life. Two bright children came to bless the domestic fireside and keep green the memory of the sainted mother, who passed away, after a brief illness, on the 27th of March, 1901. No one without experience can suitably picture the bereavement of such an hour. To be left on the threshold of life's young morning obscures the light of hope and renders the future dark and gloomy ; but the bereavement is doubly severe when young and helpless children, the fruit of a happy marriage, are left motherless and dependent. But in the society of Marie and Luke, Jr., Mr. Brannon has learned to bear his poignant grief and to feel grateful to divine providence for the remaining links in the claim of domestic felicity.

The subject has been allied with the Democratic party in Butler county from his early youth, and is one of the leaders in local politics. For the benefit of future readers of these pages, it may be said that local Democracy is not a unit in Butler county. There are two or more factions claiming supremacy, and each succeeding to a greater or less extent at each local election. Recognizing this branch in the party politic, mary election untrammeled by promises or impossible conditions. The primary election which made him the nominee was hotly contested by a number of prominent men, any one of whom would have filled the position acceptably and well. The good-natured rivalry was prosecuted with vigor and intelligence during a long anteprimary campaign. But Mr. Brannon received a nice plurality over all contestants and thus became his party's standard bearer, ordinarily equivalent to an election in Butler county. At the polls he received a flattering majority over his Republican contestant. After a period of three years devoted to the rearing and educating of his children, to whom Mr. Brannon filled the place as nearly as possible of both father and mother, he was happily remarried on the 29th day of December, 1903, choosing for his companion and helpmeet Miss Catherine Bloderlein, of Hamilton, Ohio. The parents of the subject were married in Hamilton fifty-three years ago and have spent their lives in this city. Of their family of seven sons and two daughters, all are living, including the parents, who are both hale and hearty.

The subject of this review is the able and popular incumbent of the office of clerk of the courts of Butler county, and has here passed virtually his entire life.

Mr. Hoffman was born in the city of Hamilton, on the 19th of October, 1862, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Petri) Hoffman. The father of our subject was bom in Ausbach Byrne, Germany, and came to the United States in 1851, being then a lad of thirteen years. He located in Hamilton, this county, where he has ever since maintained his home, having devoted the active years of his life to his trade, that of blacksmith, and being known as one of the sterling citizens of Hamilton, where he is now living practically retired. He served for three years in the Civil war, as a member of the Thirty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and re-enlisted as a veteran, but soon afterward received injuries which resulted in his discharge from the service, on account of disability. Ever since that time his health has been somewhat precarious. His devoted wife passed away in 1891, at the age of forty-eight years. They became the parents of six sons and two daughters, the immediate subject of this sketch being the eldest. .

educational discipline in the public schools of his native city, and at the age of thirteen years he began work in the manufactory of the firm of Long & Allstatter Company, and after he had been thus engaged for a short time his sendees ceased by reason o a most deplorable accident, his escape from death being almost miraculous. He was caught by a machine belt and his right arm was tom from his body, his right leg broken and both feet crushed, rendering him a cripple for life. This accident occurred on the 17th of February, 1876. and after recovering as far as could be from his terrible m juries Mr. Hoffman attended school for ten months, at the expiration of which he initiated his independent career. He first secured a position in the office of a local coal vard, where he was employed eig ^ months, receiving one dollar a week for is services. His employer, Peter C. Schneider, took special pains in teaching him bookkeeping and instructing him in general business forms and methods and while thus working Mr. Hoffman also attended night school for ten weeks, and so perfected his knowledge that thereafter he was able to materially add to his income by keeping books at night for physicians and small mercantile concerns. The ambition and tenacity of purpose of the young man were thus manifested and he has gained preferment through his own efforts and fidelity, having the implicit confidence and high regard of all who know him. He left the employ of Mr. Schneider in 1878 and secured a position in the office of Jacob Reister, who was likewise a coal dealer, and with this gentleman he remained for five and one-half years, continuing to devote his evenings to the handling of the bookkeeping for merchants, physicians and others, having all the work he could do along this line. On the 16th of July, 1883, Mr. Hoffman secured the position of bookkeeper for the firm of Carr & Brown, of Hamilton, who own the largest flouring-mill plant in the Miami valley, and with this firm he remained for sixteen years, resigning to enter upon the duties of the office of clerk of the courts, to which he was elected in the fall of 1898 and in which capacity he has ever since continued to serve, with marked efficiency and to the satisfaction of all concerned. He took up his official duties in August, 1899, and was reelected without opposition in T901. being the only candidate before the primaries, though confronted by an opponent on the opposition ticket. He is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Democratic party and takes an active part in its local work.

but he has many friends in the Republican ranks, as is evident from the support which he has received in connection with his election to office. Mr. Hoffman is a member of Harmony Lodge, No. 14, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Butler Encampment, No. 7, and has held honored stations in the order; he is also a member of Hamilton Lodge, No. 93, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and Hamilton Camp, No. 4448, Modern Woodmen of America. He and his wife are members of St. Paul's Ger- .man Protestant church.

On the 2d of February, 1888, Mr. Hoffman was united in marriage to Miss Caroline M. Suttner, who was born and reared in Hamilton, being a daughter of Conrad and Katherine Suttner, both of whom are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman have one child, George William, who was born August 9, 1889. and who is now a student in the high school.

Abraham G. Clendenin

Nearly eighty years have dissolved in the mists of time during the lifetime of the venerable subject of this review, a period of time including the most momentous events and witnessing the most phenomenal growth and development in all the annals of human history. A life of such length, however devoid of event or tragic feature, is not without its lessons of value and it is hoped the following brief outline of a protracted and useful career and the honorable tribute to modest manly worth may be read with profit by the young man whose achievements are yet to be wrought out and whose destiny is a matter for the future to determine. Paternally, Abraham G. Clendenin was descended from sturdy Irish stock and his genealogy in this country goes back to the colonial period. Some time prior to the war of the Revolution three Clendenin brothers, Isaac, John and William, left their native home in the Emerald Isle and came to America, the first named settling at Princeton, New Jersey, where he married the daughter of a well-to-do Dutch immigrant and engaged in the mercantile business. He spent the remainder of his life in that city, accumulated considerable means and became widely and favorably known in the public as well as the commercial circles of his adopted commonwealth. George Clendenin, son of Isaac and father of the subject of this sketch, was born in New Jersey and, when a young man, went to New York city, where he devoted his active life to teaming and draying. He married, in New York, Miss Nancy Crane and reared a family of six children, only two of whom survive, Abraham G., of this review, and Elizabeth, widow of the late George Straut, who at the time of his death was one of the wealthy business men of New York city.

Abraham Clendenin was born in the city of New York, November 27, 1822, and spent the first twenty-three years of his life in the place of his nativity. His education was neglected and at the early age of ten years he began an apprenticeship to a blacksmith, with whom he remained until attaining his majority, receiving in addition to his board the sum of twenty-five dollars for each of the first two years, after which his yearly salary was increased to thirty dollars. At the age of twenty-one years Mr. Clendenin began as a journeyman at his trade and was thus engaged in New York city until 1845, when he came to Ohio, locating at Franklin, where he followed his trade for some months at fairly liberal wages. Leaving that place he worked successively in Dayton and Cincinnati and in June, 1847, he came to Middletown, where he was employed as a journeyman during the eleven years following. In 1858 Mr. Clendenin established a shop of his own in the village of Heno, across the river from Middletown, and in due time built up a large and lucrative business, laying aside in the course of the six years and eight months spent at that place the sum of sixteen hundred dollars, besides providing himself with a valuable outfit of tools and a full complement of household goods, to say nothing of other personal property which a wellto-do mechanic usually collects. With this substantial start he sold his shop in Heno and, returning to Middletown, opened the large blacksmithing establishment which he operated with such marked success for so many years, in addition to which he also ran a boarding house for a considerable time, realizing almost as liberal profits from the latter as he received from his regular business.

After working at his trade until the year 1869, Mr. Clendenin disposed of his shop and turned his attention to a less strenuous line of business, entering into the sale of groceries for four years, when he engaged in the sale of sewing machines for a local agent whose interests he represented in Middletown and adjacent territory for a limited period. Severing his connection with his employer, he accepted the agency for the Victor Sewing Machine Company, and after a few years began selling the Domestic machines, which he handled and to which he devoted especial attention from about 1879 up to the time of his death. Mr. Clendenin's stand on Third street was one of the old, reliable and best-known business places in the city and from his rooms he sent out hundreds of machines every year, his patronage, which was very large, extending over a considerable portion of Butler county and parts of counties adjoining. His long experience in handling machines made him familiar with the business in its every detail and notwithstanding his protracted age and the infirmities naturally incident thereto, he was numbered among the most aggressive and efficient agents of the Domestic Company in the state of Ohio. Mr. Clendenin, in addition to his long and active business career, had a military record, having served from May 2, 1864. to September 8th of the same year in Company G, One Hundred and Sixty-seventh Ohio Infantry, for which service he was the recipient of a liberal pension.

In politics Mr. Clendenin was originally a Democrat, but during his later years he gave his support to the Prohibition party, the liquor evil in his judgment being a greater and more important matter to the American people than any of the various issues which attract public attention. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Jefferson Lodge, No. 90, Middletown Chapter, No. 87, Royal Arch Masons, and Reed Commandery, No. 6, at Dayton, in all of which branches he held high official positions and received many honors. Religiously, the Baptist church represented 1 his creed and for many years he was an influential member and leading worker of the congregation worshiping in Middletown,

In the year 1850 Mr. Clendenin entered the marriage relations with Miss Margaret J. Pierce, who was bom near Winchester, Virginia, July 13, 1826, and who accompanied her parents to Butler county, Ohio, in the year 1832. Of the eight children born to this marriage, only three survive, namely : Frank P., whose birth occurred September 6, 1852; Henry N., June 13, 1856, and James L., who first saw the light of day on October 22, i860. Abraham G. Clendenin died October 4, 1903, and his death was sincerely mourned by a large circle of friends.

This well-known and popular physician of Hamilton is a native of Louisville, Kentucky, and was born on the 17th of August. 1864. His father, Rev. Charles A. Hermann. D. D., was then pastor of a church in Louisville, at which point he was discharged, after serving three months' time in the Union army at the beginning of the Civil war. A complete and accurate history of Butler county could not be written without giving more than a passing notice of the life character of Rev. Charles A. Hermann, hence, to avoid repetition, the reader is referred to the personal sketch of this eminent divine, now gone to his reward. In this connection, however, it is necessary to mention briefly some of the leading characteristics of his life work. He was bom in Germany, where he received a liberal education, and was graduated from the theological school at Ruebingen. In 1848 he came to America, being then a young man of eighteen years. At first he located at Long Island, New York, where he was engaged in manual services, working on a farm and in a brick yard. His superior talents were accidentally disclosed, and he was soon accorded the position to which his attainment entitled him. In due time he received his first pastoral assignment at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Responding to the President's first call for troops, he enlisted in the Eighth New York Infantry, serving the prescribed term of three months. He was at Louisville when this term expired, and there he resumed his ministerial labors for the succeeding five years, and came to Hamilton in 1866. Here Rev. Hermann had pastoral charge of St. John's German Evangelical church, with an intermission of a few years, for thirty-seven years. Under his able pastorate, the church grew in numerical strength, from a few hundred to over two thousand communicants, while outlying missions were established, now included in three or four prosperous churches. In the secular affairs of life Rev. Hermann was equally zealous and influen- . tial. He was an ardent supporter of the public-school system and served many years as a member of the city board of school examiners, and was president of that body for several years. He was prominently identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Masonic bodies, and took an active interest in all phases of benevolent work. He was ever ready *to respond to the relief of distress, and a willing helper in time of need. In his social life he carried the impress of a strong character and conveyed to the observer a true appreciation of his vital piety and intensely religious nature.

His views on public questions were peculiar to himself and his habits of life savored of his independence of thought and action. He was always pleasant and agreeable to every one, regardless of the station in which they moved. This was one of the strong features in his pastoral life; human sympathy was a characteristic of his every-day work, and a broad philanthropy rendered it effective and beautiful. Rev. Hermann sustained exalted relations with the legislative machinery of his church and was president of the Cincinnati district conference for several years. This distinguished divine departed this life on the 10th of September, 1903, in the sixtyninth year of his age. As previously intimated, a more complete sketch of the family appears in this volume, under proper title.

Dr. G. A. Hermann is the eldest in a family of three sons and four daughters born to Rev. C. A. and Anna (Bauer) Hermann. The mother is still living. Dr. Hermann received his elementary education, after the manner of minister's children generally, in the public schools of Hamilton, Cleveland and Steubenville, Ohio. He completed a thorough business course in the Iron City Commercial College at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and was engaged in the banking business in that city for nearly eight years. He entered the employ of the West End Savings Bank as teller, being advanced to the position of assistant cashier. But his inclination was toward professional life, with a strong preference for the medical. In the furtherance of this plan, he entered the Western Pennsylvania Medical College at Pittsburg, in the spring of 1893, and completed a thorough course in medicine, being graduated in the spring of 1896. As supplementary to ' this, he took an additional course in the Col-

During his residence in Pittsburg, Dr. Hermann was married and, after graduation, he brought his wife and daughter to Hamilton, where the parental home had been reestablished. Here he engaged in practice in September, 1896, and soon demonstrated his superior ability along professional lines. Dr. Hermann at once took high rank among the physicians of the city and has achieved a degree of success beyond his most sanguine hopes. He enjoys a large and lucrative private practice, while he was recently appointed to a five-years term as a member of the board of health. He is a careful and diligent student along professional lines, and keeps abreast of the onward march of the sciences of medicine and surgery. In furtherance of this end, he has allied himself with all the leading professional societies, in the deliberations of 'which he takes an active part. Of these may be mentioned the Butler County Medical Society, the Union District (or Tri-State) Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Society, the Ohio State Pediatric Society and the American Medical Association. Of the social fraternities and beneficial or insurance orders he is also an active and influential member of the following: Washington Lodge, No. 17, Free and Accepted Masons, Hamilton Chapter, No. 21, Royal Arch Masons, Hamilton Council, No. 19, Royal and Select Masters, Hamilton Commandery, No. 41, Knights Templar, of the Masonic bodies, while of the social and beneficial orders he is a member of the Royal Arcanum, Modem Woodmen of America, Ancient Order of United Workmen and Tribe of Ben Hur.

The marriage of Dr. Hermann occurred on the 5th of September, 1889, the lady of his choice being Miss Christina Vierheller, a native of Pittsburg, where she was bom in 1864. She is a daughter of Philip and Margaret Vierheller, a prominent and wellknown family in the Smoky City. Her father amassed a fortune in mercantile pursuits, and retired with his family to a handsome suburban home near Pittsburg, where he died August 12, 1899, at the age of sixtyseven years. The mother is still living at the home where her husband left her. They were natives of Germany, but married in Pittsburg. Mrs. Hermann was the third child in a family of six. She was educated in the public schools of her native city and spent her girlhood years in her father's mercantile business. The eldest of the family is Lizzie, now the wife of W. C. Gundelfinger ; Albert is an undertaker by profession ; Mrs. Hermann is next; Edward is a realestate dealer and public official ; Bertha is the wife of Philip Vierheller; Lewis is a civil engineer. All of the above except Mrs. Hermann are residents of their native city. Amanda, the only one of the family who is not married, completes the family circle. She is worthy of more than passing notice. After completing a most elaborate musical training in her own country, she went abroad to cultivate her magnificent voice under the tutorship of foreign masters. She has been in Europe for five years. With headquarters in Berlin, she is touring the continent of Europe as a concert singer. Previous to leaving this country, her voice thrilled the audiences of many of the lead- ing churches and private assemblages in the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Hermann have but one child, an idolized daughter named Gretchen, who was born in Pittsburg, July 5, 1890.

The family are members of St. John's German Evangelical church, and Mrs. Hermann is an active and zealous worker in the ladies' societies of the same. Dr. Hermann is an accomplished musician by natural inheritance, as his father enjoyed a similar distinction, which in his early years distinguished him from the common laborers with whom he was then associated. On several occasions our subject has been employed as organist in churches, notably at Steubenville, Ohio, and Pittsburg. He is master of the gamut of musical instruments and is perfectly at home in the use of any. This talent is somewhat obscured by the sterner duties of professional life, but his leisure moments are pleasantly employed in amusing himself and in entertaining his friends with this most charming accomplishment.

The pleasant family home is located at No. 202 South Second street, in a handsome and valuable property recently purchased and remodeled into a modern residence. The Doctor's offices are in the same building. Dr. Hermann and his family sustain a high station in the society of Hamilton, a recognition most worthly bestowed.

The subject of this brief review is one of the representative physicians and surgeons of Butler county, has been a member of the faculty of Miami Medical College for the past twenty years, while his genial personality and deep appreciation of all that is true and good in humanity has made him in a significant sense humanity's friend and gained to him unequivocal popularity among old and young. His is the buoyant, gracious spirit of perennial youth, and by temperament and mental power he is an optimist.

Dr. Millikin is a native of Fairfield township, where he was born on the 17th of April, 1845, being a son of John M. and Mary G. (Hough) Millikin, the former of whom was a lawyer by profession and engaged in practice until he had attained the age of forty years, when he withdrew from his professional work and devoted the residue of his active life to agricultural pursuits. He died in April, 1884. an<3 bis devoted wife survived him a little more than fifteen years. The Millikin genealogy is traced back to Scotch-Irish origin, but the paternal grandmother of the Doctor was of stanch old New England stock, she having been a Minor and a representative of ancestors who came from England soon after the arrival of the Mayflower and settled in New England.

Dr. Millikin received his early education in the public schols of Hamilton, this county, being graduated as a member of the class of 1862, and in 1863-4-5 he was a student in the Sheffield School, of Yale College. He was then matriculated in the Miami Medical College, in Cincinnati, and was graduated in 1875, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In his youthful days he set up a small laboratory in his home and gave private study to chemical work and investigation, this being in a measure a preparation for his collegiate studies. Immediately after his graduation Dr. Millikin established himself * in the practice of his profession in Hamilton, and his devotion to his work has been unflagging, while his success has come as the result of his ability and assiduous application. He has taught in his alma mater, Miami Medical College, since 1884. He first held the chair of medical chemistry, and after two years of service in this capacity he assumed the chair of materia medica, while since 1893 he gives only a short course each year on medical jurisprudence. The Doctor is not only essentially a man of science and of high professional attainments, but is also a man of letters, having a recondite knowledge along general lines of literary thought. His' services are much in demand in connection with lecturing on topics far removed from medical science. His greatest delight aside from professional work is the elaboration of a popular lecture and its subsequent delivery. No better idea of the genial and kindly nature of the Doctor can be given than that expressed in his own cheery uords: I 'train' with young people for the most part, and I trust that the new crop, now ten-year-olds, will love me when we are all ten years older." In politics Dr. Millikin is not partisan, and in state and national affairs he usually exercises his franchise in support of the nominees of the Republican party.

On the 9th of October, 1866, Dr. Millikin was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Hunter, of Hamilton. They have two childien . Dr. Mark Millikin, who was born on the 23d of March, 1868, and who is now engaged in the practice of his profession in Hamilton, and Mary, who was born on the

Waldo F. Brown

Among those who have honored and dignified the great basic art of agriculture through personal interposition and able contributions to the literature of the great science as touching theoretical and applied phases, is the subject of this review, who is one of the leading farmers and influential citizens of the county and the editor of that valuable little brochure, "Experiments in Farming," which has reached its fourth edition and attained a circulation of thirteen thousand copies.

Waldo F. Brown is a native of the old Bay state, having been born in the city of Worcester. Massachusetts, on the 24th of October, 1832. He is a son of Lewis and Mary Elenor (Knowlton) Brown, both of whom were born and reared in Massachusetts, the former being of Scotch-Irish lineage and the latter of Welsh, while both families were represented in the early settlement of New England. The genealogy of the Knowlton family is clearly defined for more than four centuries, and the valuable and interesting family record covering this long period is in the possession of the subject of this sketch, three brothers of the name having come from Wales to America in the early colonial epoch of our national history, while their descendants are now disseminated throughout divers sections of the Union. Waldo F. Brown initiated his educational work at a very tender age, entering the infant class in the schools of his native city when but four years old, while at the age of five he could read with no little facility, being at this time appointed to read aloud to the school twice each week. In 1838 he accompanied his parents on their immigration to the West, and the family settled on a farm near Brownsville, Indiana, and here the educational advantages were limited and he was not able to avail himself to a full extent of the opportunities afforded, since he was needed at home, to assist in the work of the farm. When he was sixteen years of age his parents removed to Butler county, Ohio, and located near Oxford, in which vicinity he has ever since continued to make his home. Here he prosecuted his studies in the country schools for four years during the winter terms and supplemented this discipline by attending the graded school in Oxford for one term. That he made the best use of the advantages thus afforded is evident when we revert to the fact that he made himself eligible for pedagogic work, being a successful teacher in the district schools of the county for several terms, while in the fall of 1854 he entered Miami University, where he continued his studies for one term. Thereafter he was employed as a teacher in the Oxford schools for one term, at the expiration of which he took charge of the school at Millville, this county, retaining this position for part of one term. In 1859, at the age of twenty-seven vears, Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Miss Hyla J. Sample, a cousin of the late David Sample, well-known in this county, and she died in 1868, after an illness of very brief duration. On the 13th of February, 1871, Mr. Brown wedded Miss Laura A. Cross. Of the first union were born five children and of the second, two, and all are living. For a number of years after giving up the work of teaching Mr. Brown devoted his attention to market gardening and general farming, and for more than half a century he has resided on his present fine farm, which has the best improvements and which is looked upon as a model in its line, the same comprising ninety acres and being located two miles northwest of the attractive village of Oxford. He has been very successful in connection with the horticultural industry, not depending upon the raising of grain and live stock, and his careful study and investigation and his progressive methods have not only brought him marked success but have also gained him a wide reputation, which has been greatly augmented bv his many and valuable articles published in the newspaper press and issued in book and pamphlet form. In 1863 Mr. Brown began the propagation of various products for seed purposes, and in this line built up a satisfactory business. In this year, it may be appropriately noted, he secured a seed goard and from the same grew some prodigious speciments, one ot the number holding eleven gallons and three pints. This was placed on exhibition at the fair of the American Agricultural Association, in New York, and attracted much attention, while there was a large concomitant demand for seeds from the stock. In connection with the raising of the various seed products Mr. Brown eventually built up a business amounting to an average of three thousand dollars a year. His success and prominence in this line led to his being chosen as editor of the agricultural department of the Cincinnati Enquirer, in 1872, five years later was offered much better salary and accepted the position as associate editor ol the Ohio Farmer, which position he held for a number of years, and in the spring of 1897 became agricultural editor of the Cincinnati Gazette. He has thus been engaged in editorial work along this line for more than thirty years, and he has done much to further the interests and success of the farming community and has gained prestige as a vigorous and able writer, handling his subjects with marked discrimination and intelligence and presenting his views and the results of his experience and experiments in such a way as to prove of great practical value. He is one of the staff contributors of the New York Tribune, the Country Gentleman, and Home and Farm, while he has contributed for many other papers along the special line to which he has so long given his attention. Among his more notable published works may be mentioned the following: "Home on the Farm," "Farm and Stock Encyclopedia," and "Nineteenth Century Progress in Agriculture," besides a number of smaller works which have been widely circulated. He is known as one of the most able and practical writers on agricultural topics in the Union, and his prestige has continued to increase from year to year. Realizing most fully the dignity and the possibilities offered by the farm industry, he is an enthusiastic advocate of its claims, and has advised many young men to "stick to the farm," knowing that industry and wise management would here give as good returns as in any other field of business enterprise. In 1864 the militia company to which Mr. Brown belonged was ordered into active service and was attached to the One Hundred and Sixty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the subject receiving an honorable discharge at the expiration of his term. He is a man of great public spirit and advanced ideas, and has wielded much influence in public affairs of a local nature. He has given a stanch allegiance to the Republican party, having voted for its first presidential candidate. John C. Fremont, but he has never sought official preferment. He became a member of the Presbyterian church at the age of eighteen years and has ever since been a zealous worker in the same, being now a ruling elder in the church at Millville, of which Mrs. Brown likewise is a member. He was one of the first to suggest the holding of farmers' institutes, and was personally engaged as a lecturer in institute work for many years. In this connection he has traveled more than sixty-four thousand miles, having visited all the counties in Ohio except five. He is a man of inflexible integrity and is one of the valued and honored citizens of Butler county, where his friends are in number as his acquaintances. Mr. Brown is a member of Milligan Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Oxford.

An able and successful representative of the dental profession in the city of Hamilton is Dr. Caldwell, whose office is located at 244 High street. He was born in St. Clair township, this county, on the nth of March. 1875, and is the son of John R. and Mary C. (Underwood) Caldwell, both of whom were likewise bom in Butler county. William Caldwell, the great-grandfather of the Doctor, was numbered among the earliest settlers of Butler county, having located here prior to the organization of the county, whither he came from the Carolinas. His son George R., grandfather of the subject, was born on the pioneer homestead in this county, as were also the Doctor and his father, so that the place has been in the possession of the family for four generations. This ancestral farmstead is located in St. Clair township, about three and onehalf miles north of the city of Hamilton, and the family name has thus been prominently identified with the founding and upbuilding of this favored section of the Buckeye state. John R. Caldwell continued to follow the vocation of a farmer until his death, which occurred on the 19th of January. 1897, and his widow is now residing in the village of Oxford, this county. The family still retain the old homestead, which comprises three hundred and twenty acres, the same being highly improved and one of the most valuable farms in this section. It is now operated by tenants. John R. and Marv C. Caldwell became the parents of four children, of whom one died in infancv. George S., the eldest son, died at the age of twenty-one years, having completed his educational work and having been a young man of much ability and great promise. The younger brother of the Doctor is John C., who is a member of the class of 1904 in the Oxford high school.

Dr. Caldwell received his rudimentarv educational training in the public schools of his native township, and he early began to assist in the work on the homestead farm, thus continuing during his vacations while he continued his educational work. In 1893 he began the study of the science of dentistry under the direction of Dr. H. C. Howells, of Hamilton, and remained in the office of this able preceptor nearly two years. In 1895 Dr. Caldwell was matriculated in the Ohio Dental College, in Cincin nati, where he completed a three-vears course, being graduated on the 3d of April, 1898, with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. After leaving school he was employed by older members, of his profession about two years, at the expiration of which, in 1900, he established himself in an individual practice in Hamilton, where he has since continued to meet with gratifying success, gaining prestige in his profession an:l securing a representative support. In politics Dr. Caldwell was reared in the faith of the Democratic party, but his attitude is not that of a strict partisan and he is independent in political affairs. He and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian church and are zealous workers in the same, taking a specially active part in the work of the Sunday school.

O11 the 29th of April, 1902, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Caldwell to Miss Mary E. Stitzel, who was born and reared in Hanover township, this county, and a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families. Dr. and Mrs. Caldwell are popular and prominent in the social life of the community, where their friends are in number as their acquaintances.

Noah B. Yingling

Among the successful, self-made men of Butler county whose efforts and influence have contributed to the material upbuilding and general business activity of their respective committees, the gentleman of whom the biographer writes in this connection occupies a conspicuous place. Thrown upon his own resources at an age when children ( most need a father's guidance and care, and obliged while a mere youth not only to provide for his own necessities but to contribute of his meager earnings to the support of a widowed mother and younger children, he accepted his discouraging situation without murmur and, resolutely facing the future, gradually surmounted the difficulties in his way and in due time rose to a prominent position in business circles, besides winning the confidence and esteem of those with whom he was brought into contact. The family of which Mr. Yingling is a representative had its American origin in Maryland, and its history was long identified with the rise and progress of certain parts of that commonwealth. The subject's grandfather lived and died in his native state and was a farmer by occupation, as were his antecedents for several generations. Benjamin Yingling, father of Noah B., was born in Maryland and grew to maturity a tiller of the soil, marrying when a young man Miss Mary Baird, whose ancestors were also among the old families of Maryland. In the year 1849 Benjamin Yingling moved his family to Butler county, Ohio, and from that date until his death, in 1852, followed agricultural pursuits for a livelihood, meeting with but indifferent success in the matter of accumulating property, 1 though providing comfortably for those dependent upon him. His widow is still living at an advanced age and of his family of five sons all but one survive, their names being as follows: John, Joseph, Noah B. and Alpha A., George, the third in order of birth, dying in his youth.

Noah B. Yingling was bom in Maryland December 16, 1849, t^le same year in which his parents changed their abode to Butler county, Ohio. At the early age of eight years he lost his father, whose death left the family in rather straitened circumstances, and from that time on he was obliged to labor at anything he could find to do in order to assist his mother and younger brothers. At first his wages were meager, but as he grew older and stronger and better able to work to advantage, his wages were increased in like ratio, and it was a proud time in the lad's experience when he found himself able to earn the munificent sum of eight dollars per month. He retained barely sufficient of his wages to keep himself respectably clad, the rest being contributed to the support of the family, and from this time until attaining his majority he laid aside a generous share of his earnings for his mother, whose comfort and interests were always uppermost in his mind. Shortly after his father's death the family moved to Seven Mile, at which place the subject has made his home since the year 1856. During his youth he was variously employed, but later he went to the city of Hamilton, where he turned his attention to mechanical work, being, like his brothers, naturally adept in the use of tools and skilled in almost every kind of handicraft.

While in the above city Mr. Yingling learned to operate an engine and to this line of work he gave considerable time, his efficiency as a machinist and his knowledge of the mechanism of engines causing his services to be in great demand. In the year 1875 he took to himself a wife and help meet in the person of Miss Rebekah Mc- Clain, after which he moved to Cincinnati, where he spent one year manufacturing pumps. At the end of that time he returned to Seven Mile and engaged in the coal business, which he continued until 1895, when he began handling agricultural implements and machinery, a line of trade which he still carries on.

Since engaging in his present undertaking Mr. Yingling's success has been truly remarkable and today he ranks with the most enterprising and progressive business men of Butler county. From a small beginning, he has gradually acquired an extensive patronage and in his large establishment is to be found every article in the way of machinery and implements needed in the successful prosecution of agriculture. His stock, which is full and complete, represents all the leading manufactures of the kind in the United States, while his annual sales, amounting to considerably in excess of ten thousand dollars, show the volume of business which sound judgment, clear sagacity, and prudent forethought can build up in a comparatively short time when directed by honorable motives and a sincere desire for fair dealing.

In his political views Mr. Yingling is a Republican and, while exercising a strong influence in party circles, he has never been an office seeker, not at any time aspired to public recognition. Notwithstanding his aversion to official preferment, however, he has filled at different times important positions, having served for eight years as a member of the school board of Seven Mile and for two years represented his ward in the common council. He has long been active and enthusiastic in secret benevolent work, being a member in high standing of the Masonic, Odd Fellows and Pythian fraternities, while the Presbyterian church, in which he holds the positions of elder and trustee, represents his religious creed, Mrs. Yingling being also identified with the same congregation of worshipers to which he belongs.

The family of Mr. and Mrs. Yingling consists of three children, the oldest of whom, Maude, is now the wife of Gus Kumler; Grace, the second daughter, is a graduate of the Seven Mile high school and one of the county's successful teachers ; and George, the youngest of the number, is stenographer at the Niles Tool Works in the city of Hamilton.

The physician who would succeed in his profession must possess many qualities of head and heart not included in the curriculum of the schools and colleges he may have attended. In analyzing the career of the successful practitioner of the healing art it will be invariably found to be true that a broad-minded sympathy with the sick and suffering and an honest, earnest desire to aid his afflicted fellow men have gone hand in hand with skill and able judgment. The gentleman to whom this brief tribute is given fortunately embodies these necessary qualifications in a marked degree and by energy and application to his professional duties is building up an enviable reputation and drawing to himself a large and remunerative patronage.

county, Ohio. His parents, Bryan and Anna (Henry) Sharkey, were both natives of the Emerald Isle and emigrated to America when in their teens. They were from poor, but honest, peasant families and after reaching Cincinnati, Ohio, they met and were united in marriage. The subject received such educational advantages as were afforded in the common schools of his native town, being permitted to attend school, however, only until his twelfth year, when he was compelled to go to work, much to his regret, as he was an ambitious lad and desired to perfect himself in that knowledge which is so essential to the greatest degree of success in life. His first employment was in the capacity of "duster boy" in the mills of the Harding Paper Company, at Excello, Ohio, at the wage of "one dollar the day." This was not a large salary, but was under the circumstances accepted as a matter of necessity. Mr. Sharkey worked for the paper company for a few years and in 1882 he began the study of telegraphy under the instructions of the night operator at Middletown, Ohio, on the Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago & Indianapolis Railway (now the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway) and finished his instruction at Monroe Station, on the same road. During this time he daily walked a distance of three miles to and from home and paid his "tuition" by cleaning and carrying in the morning and out at evening the seven switch lamps. Upon becoming a competent operator he was employed as telegraph operator and freight and ticket agent at various stations on the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & Indianapolis Railway and the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway until October, 1890, when he resigned from the railway service in order to take up the study of medicine, for which profession he had long desired to prepare himself. He matriculated at the Medical College of Ohio, at Cincinnati, in October, 1890, aiid was graduated therefrom on the 6th of April, 1893. In competitive examination Dr. Sharkey won the position of house physician, or interne, in the German Protestant Hospital at Cincinnati, serving in this position from June, 1893, until April, 1894. In June of the latter year he came to Hamilton and commenced the active practice of his profession, in which he has since been continuously engaged. He has achieved marked success since his establishment here and has won the confidence of the public, as is attested by the large share of the public patronage which is accorded him. His abilities have been signally recognized, as is evidenced bv the fact that he has been the incumbent of several important official positions. He was city physician of Hamilton from January, 1895, until January, 1898; United States pension examining surgeon from September, 1894, until September, 1898, being secretary of the board; a member of the city council from March, 1896, until March, 1898, and county coroner from January, 1901, his term in the latter office expiring in January, 1905.

In politics the Doctor is a pronounced Democrat, believing the policy of that party to be the one most conducive to the welfare and prosperity of the American people, and he takes a keen interest in the questions of the day, being well able to give account for the faith that is within him. He keeps in touch with all movements having for their object the advancement of the interests of his profession and holds membership in the

Butler County Medical Society. He is also a member of the Catholic Knights of Ohio, Catholic Benevolent Legion, Catholic Order of Foresters, Royal Legion, Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and has been honored with the position of medical examiner in each of these orders. His religious principles are those embodied within the creed of the Roman Catholic church and he is a faithful adherent of the holy mother church, attending worship at St. Mary's church, Hamilton.

On the 15th of September, 1903, at St. Peter's Cathedral, Cincinnati, Ohio, Doctor Sharkey was united in marriage with Miss Bessie Palmer. She is a native of Burlington, Boone county, Kentucky, and was born May 23, 1881. In 1891 she accompanied her parents upon their removal to Lawrenceburg, Indiana, where she received her education, graduating from the high school at that place. Subsequently the family removed to Hamilton, where Mrs. Sharkey's father is employed as a machinist in the Niles Tool Works. Mrs. Sharkey has proved a true helpmate to her husband in the fullest sense of the word and much of his success has been due to her personal qualities, which have endeared her to a host of warm friends.

Lucian C. Overpeck

L. C. Overpeck, a native of St. Clair township, Butler county, Ohio, was bom on the 15th of May, 1853, and is a son of David and Rachel (Warwick) Overpeck, being thus a representative of two old and prominent pioneer families. He early evinced an interest in art work and had a decided predilection toward mechanics. From childhood he had a desire to be an artist, though his ambition was not immediately gratified. He attended the public schools, and at the age of fifteen years constructed an amateur photograph gallery in a shed, making a skylight from a window. This ''plant" was largely the product of his own ingenious hands. If it did nothing else, it showed the bent of the child's mind. In 1870 he engaged in the drug business at Trenton, continuing that work for three years. His leisure moments were spent in the study of chemistry, with special reference to the application of this science in the work which he then designed to pursue. He also used a part of his spare time in testing and perfecting his appliances and in making pictures. In the summer of 1873* he rented an old abandoned gallery and started in business with a capital stock of forty dollars. The business was a success from the start. His pictures readily attracted attention for their clearness, distinctness of outline, softness of detail and excellent light and shade effects. From that day to the present Mr. Overpeck has stood at the head of his profession in Butler county. Soon after launching out in business he visited the galleries of the large eastern cities with a view to perfecting hijnself in all details and securing ''first hand" any new ideas in the business. Mr. Overpeck promptly allied himself with various professional associations and has been a regular attendant . at their stated meetings. He is a member of the Photographers' Association of America and of the Ohio State Association of Photographers. He was one of the founders of the last mentioned, and served as a member four years on its executive board, and in the ca- pacity of president, vice-president and secretary. At the meeting of the National Association in Minneapolis in 1888, Mr. Overpeck received a cash prize of fifty dollars in gold for superior excellence in flash-light work and a medal for excellence in cabinet photography. At the Ohio State Association in 1893 he was awarded the three principal prizes offered by the association. The same year he received from the National Association two medals for superior excellence of carbonette pictures and photographs of machinery. Mr. Overpeck has taken out patents on flash-light photography, and photographing background carrier, also on a newspaper vending device, for dropping in a coin and getting a newspaper, which also has a change-making arrangement attached.

Mr. Overpeck is a member of the principal secret societies, about eight in number. He holds the position of drill master in the Tribe of Ben Hur. In 1903 he was appointed member of the national committee on secret work of the American Insurance Union. He has served as district deputy of the Knights of Pythias and is a past grand of the Odd Fellows, past chief of the Ben Hur, past president of the American Insurance Union, and at present is sir knight commander of the Modern Maccabees.

Art and music usually go hand in hand, and Mr. Overpeck is no exception to this nile. He is especially talented in music and has attained great proficiency in it. He was a charter member of the Hamilton Harmonic Society and was leader of the Hamilton Glee Club for several years. He is an affable and pleasant gentleman, whose place of business is "a thing of beauty and a joy forever."

The man who devotes his talents and energies to the noble work of ministering to the ills and alleviating the suffering of humanity is pursuing a calling which in dignity, importance and beneficial results is second to no other. If true to his profession and earnest in his efforts to enlarge his sphere of usefulness, he is indeed a benefactor of his kind, for to him more than to any other man are intrusted the safety, the comfort and in many instances the lives of those who place themselves under his care and profit by his sendees. Prominent among the rising physicians and surgeons of Butler county is Dr. R. Ed. Burdsall, of Collinsville, who, though a young man and of comparatively limited experience as a practitioner, has already achieved distinguished success and won a leading place in the front rank of his profession in this part of Ohio. Dr. Burdsall is a native of Clermont county, Ohio, born in the town of Marathon on the 10th day of March. 1872. His father, Rev. J. W. Burdsall. also an Ohioan by birth, was also reared in the county of Clermont, where he first saw the light of day, and for many years has been a well-known minister of the Methodist Episcopal church and a teacher in all lines of religious work under the auspices of that denomination. In addition to the duties of his holy office, he has devoted considerable attention to agriculture, owning a farm in his native county, which he personally manages, although the greater part of his time during the last four years has been given to various lines of religious work under his charge. The Burdsalls are of Scotch descent and the first of the family to come to

America settled many years ago in New Jersey, the subject's grandfather having been a native of that commonwealth. Martha Shumard, wife of J. VV. Burdsall, is of English-Dutch lineage and traces her family history in this country to an early day ; she was born in Clermont county, Ohio, and is the mother of seven children, the subject of this review being the second of the number.

The early life of Dr. Burdsall was spent on the home farm in Clemont county and he grew up accustomed to the rugged duties of the same. At the proper age he entered the district schools and after finishing the branches constituting the usual course of study, became a student of the Ohio Wesleyan University, from which he graduated in 1898, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Having decided upon the medical profession as his life work, he began preparing himself for the same by entering in the fall of the above year the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati, where he prosecuted his studies and researches until completing the prescribed course, being graduated, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, in the spring of 1901. Dr. Burdsall was obliged to rely upon his own resources while obtaining medical education, and to earn sufficient money to defray expenses devoted his vacations to farm labor and to work on the street-car lines in Cincinnati. He made a creditable record as a student and, with a mind well-disciplined by intellectual and professional training, opened an office immediately after receiving his degree, af Dublin, Indiana, where he practiced for only a short time, removing thence to Collinsville, Butler county, on September 12. 1901. Since locating in his present field he has made rapid progress and now commands a large and lucrative practice, which is steadily growing in magnitude and importance, being as successful financially as he has been professionally. A diligent student and painstaking investigator, he is fully in touch with modem medical thought and occupies a conspicuous place not only in the confidence of his patients and of the public generally, but also in the esteem of his professional brethren in a community long noted for the high order of its medical talent.

On September 9, 1900, Dr. Burdsall was united in marriage to Miss Olive Logan Kerr Bennett, of Brooksville, Indiana, the union being blessed with one child, Olive Sophia, whose birth occurred on the 22d day of December, 1902. Dr. Burdsall and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Seven Mile, Butler county, and active workers in the same. He has charge of the music in the Sunday school at Collinsville, being chorister. He is not only an accomplished vocalist, but is also somewhat skilled as a player upon several instruments. He received a thorough musical vocal training under the direction of leading masters and has been enthusiastic in promoting an interest in the art, believing it to be not only highly educational from an intellectual point of view but also refining and elevating in its influence upon the minds of those who study it properly. The Doctor is a Republican, but the pressing duties of his profession leave him little time to devote to political work; he votes his principles freely and fearlessly, sometimes irrespective of party, and supports the candidates of his choice by every legitimate means at his command, but persistently re- fuses to stand for office although well qualified to fill any position of honor and trust within the gift of the people. Dr. Burdsall has a beautiful modern home in Collinsville. He is greatly interested in Collinsville's growth and development, giving his influence and support to all progressive movements with these objects in view and encouraging every enterprise making for the advancement of the community along educational, social and moral lines. His present position and influence he has attained entirely by his own exertions, being, as already indicated, a self-made man, and as such ranks with the ablest and most public spirited of his compeers. In every relation of life he has sought the good of his fellow men and his right to a place among the representative citizens of Butler county, is cheerfujlv conceded by all who know him. He believes in the motto of his father before him, "live and let live." Fraternally Dr. Burdsall is a member of Covenant Lodge, No. 54, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Somerville, Ohio.

Dr. Burdsall's paternal great-greatgrandfather, Samuel Burdsall, was an Englishman and, with two brothers whose names are unknown, came to America at a very early date and settled in New Jersey. At the outbreak of the war of the Revolution he enlisted in behalf of the colonists and won distinction for his bravery, being wounded at the battle of Trenton, New Jersey. At the close of the war the three brothers separated, one going to Loudoun county, Virginia, another to New York state, while Samuel remained in New Jersey, the state for which he had offered his blood that it might be free from "England's oppressive yoke." Of the New York brother and his offspring little is known. The Virginia branch became very numerous and were generally a well-to-do people and religiously inclined, being members of the Friends (or Quakers) church. Very many of them are settled throughout Ohio.

Richard Burdsall, author of hymn No. 330 in the Methodist Episcopal Hymnal, is thought to be one of the subject's ancestors. He was born in 1735 and died in 1824 and was a local preacher of the Wesleyan church for about sixty years.

Doctor Burdsall's great-grandfather, Elijah Burdsall, was born in Burlington county. New Jersey, November 1, 1778. He acquired a good education and was a school teacher and surveyor for many years, making many large surveys through the western country, including this part of Ohio. He was a man of wide information, a genial companion, full of pleasantries and possessing a remarkable memory. He died February 10, 1837. He was married to Esther Prickett (later called Pickett), who was bom in Burlington county. New Jersey, on February 10, 1776, and died December 20, 1841, at Bethel, Ohio. Ten children were born to them, six sons and four daughters, of whom one died in childhood, the rest living to maturity. They are Samuel, Elijah, Levi, Henry, John and Edmund. The daughters were Hannah, Esther, Lydia and Mary, all of whom are dead.

The Doctor's grandfather, Edmund Burdsall, was the youngest son, born August 17, 1806, and was married to Hester Ann Giberson July 7. 1827. Their family consisted of twelve children, namely: Joseph, Lyle, Hannah, Elizabeth, Sarah, Hester, Rebecca, John. Jennie, Edmund, Josiah, William and Lydia. Edmund Burd- sail was, in his fifteenth year, licensed to exhort by the Methodist Episcopal church at Greenland, New Jersey, and in the fall of 1829 came over the mountain with his wife, making the trip in a little one-horse wagon.

He was licensed to preach at the Concord Methodist Episcopal church in June, 1848, was ordained deacon in Cincinnati, on March 14, 1850, by Bishop Hamline, and ordained local elder by Bishop Scott on September i, 1854.

He was commissioned as captain of the Sixth Company, Third Regiment, Third Brigade, Eighth Division, Ohio State Militia, under Joseph Vance, and was later promoted to major. When the war of the Rebellion broke out he at once offered his services and raised a company for the Twentyseventh Ohio Infantry, but was rejected himself because of physical disability. Later he raised another company for the Fortyeighth Ohio Regiment, but was again rejected. He now consented for his eldest son, John Wesley, to represent the family in the Eighty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantrv, and later Edmund, through strategy, made his father believe he was old enough to enlist, by changing the record of his birth in the old family Bible, and he likewise enlisted, first in Company D, Seventh Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, and later in Company L, Ninth Ohio Cavalry. Grandfather Burdsall was a man of such genial temperament and lovable disposition that he drew about him hosts of friends. In marriage and funeral services he was one first chosen by these friends over a large portion of Clermont and Brown counties. He died January 4, 1866. His son John Wesley, father of the Doctor, now possesses the old homestead, near Marathon, Ohio, and is still carrying on the work of his father, being a live and successful evangelist in the Methodist Episcopal church.

Peter G. Thomson

Peter G. Thomson, president of the Champion Coated Paper Company, who more than any other man is responsible for the conception and final construction of the Hamilton Belt Railway, was born in Cincinnati on December 16, 1851. His education, so far as schools are concerned, was limited to what was offered by the public schools of Cincinnati and his commanding position in the business world has been reached by no influence but his own brains and his own exertions. Without a capital of one dollar, Mr. Thomson went to work at the age of seventeen years, for Robert Clarke & Company, the Cincinnati book dealers. For three years he worked for three dollars per week and when, at the end of a service of six years, he left his employers to embark in an enterprise of his own, he carried with him a knowledge of the trade and a literary taste that marked the first pro nounced stage in his unusual business career. At twenty-three years of age he opened a book and stationery store at the southwest comer of Vine street and the Arcade. Here Mr. Thomson became the first tenant of t e then new Emery building. While in t is business Mr. Thomson did much literary work, both as an author and a publisher. His most notable work was a "Bibhograp y of the State of Ohio," prepared after vast research in the leading American libraries. It won for its author recognition throughout the literary circles of the entire Englishspeaking world, and as a result Mr. Thom-1 son is today a member of the Royal Geographical Society of France, to which he was elected in 1881. and a life member of the Historical and Geographical Society of Ohio. Eulogistic notices of the work were printed in the literary journals of England and America, and personal letters of commendation and interest were elicited from many men of eminence, including Presidents Hayes and Garfield, Francis Parkman, the historian, Rufus King and many others.

After Mr. Thomson had sold out his book business, he embarked in the novel field of the publication of children's toybooks and games at Everett and Baymiller streets, Cincinnati. His plant was burned on October 9. 1884, but he promptly removed to the Rtissell-Morgan building, on Race street, opposite Shillito's, and resumed business. It was soon after this that his first great successful business coup was made. The firm of McLaughlin Brothers, of New York, had previously enjoyed a monopoly of the toy-book and game publication business of America, and the existence of live competition in their field did not rest well on their commercial stomachs. Meantime Mr. Thomson kept on increasing and expanding his business until, in 1887, they were glad to buy out his good will for one hundred thousand dollars, cash, and retire him from the field. Today he is under bond to forfeit five hundred dollars on every toybook or game that he sells during the remainder of his life. After the sale above stated Mr. Thomson, in 1892, bought the one-hundred-and-eighty-seven-acre tract known as the Prospect Hill and Grand View Addition, Hamilton, Ohio. It was to develop this property that he conceived the idea of building the Black Street bridge, to which he contributed a bonus of fifteen thousand dollars. And too, it was to further develop this property, rather than to primarily establish a business, that he purchased certain patents connected with the coating of paper, which greatly simplified, the process, and established the Champion Coated Paper Company, now the largest paper mill and the largest coating mill in the world. It was then also that the idea of a belt railway, which would give the best shipping facilities to the new territory, was conceived, though five years were required for the execution of the plan.

Mr. Thomson's home is on College Hill, and it is not too much to say that what that beautiful suburban village has beyond the gifts of a prodigal nature, it owes to him. He has been for years and is today its leading spirit in every enterprise. For sixteen vears he has served as a member of the village council, and to Mr. Thomson's efforts is due the fact that the village has street-railway connections with Cincinnati. By his personal efforts the bonus of thirty thousand dollars was raised, which induced the consolidated company to extend its tracts to the village. He is a director of Belmont College and the Ohio Military Institute, and was chairman of the building committee that gave College Hill her handsome new Presbyterian church. So highly were these services appreciated that in December his fellow townsmen presented Mr. Thomson with a loving cup. Next day, when he returned to his business at Hamilton, his employees presented him with another. To have been the recipient of two such tokens in two consecutive days, and to have budded, at fifty-two years, an honorable fortune, from no capital but brains and energy, is not given to many men.

The subject of this sketch is a native of Millersburg, Ohio. He had all the advantages of a liberal education and special training in his youth. At the age of sixteen he was prepared for college, entered the Ohio State University and was graduated with the class of 1881. He early decided upon the medical profession as his life work and pursued a two-years course in the medical department of the University of Michigan, but before completing the course he transferred his allegiance to the famous Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York city, and was graduated into the profession from that well-known institution. On competitive examination he wras chosen to the position of interne in St. Peter's Hospital, Brooklyn, New York, and thus for one year witnessed the practical application of the theories of former studies. He was in general practice for five years at his native place, his experience in that time demonstrating the wisdom of a restricted practice and preparation along a special line, in the varied intricacies of the medical profession. The Doctor wisely concluded that the field of medicine and surgery is too broad and intricate to be covered successfully in all details by any one individual. He was not of the class who would be content with mediocre attainments in his professional life. He chose as his field of labor the science of ophthalmology and devoted all his energies along this fertile field of special practice. In 1889 he became a student and assistant at the ophthalmic clinics of Doctors Loring and Burnett, of Washington, D. C., two of the most eminent oculists in the United States. After two years devoted to study under these able instructors, he went abroad and completed his already liberal training under the renowned Hirschberg. in Berlin, and at the Royal Ophthalmic and Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospitals in London. He returned to America in 1892, and soon thereafter, upon the advice of friends, located in Hamilton. The wisdom of the Doctor's choice, in the matter of location, has been fully verified, while the people of Hamilton feel highly honored in welcoming the dignified and scholarly gentleman to the social and professional circles.

As the name indicates, the subject of this review is of French descent, his great-gran father having come to America as a soldier in the army of General LaFayette. At t e close of the Revolutionary war he decided to remain in the country and after receiving his discharge settled in Baltimore county, Maryland, where in due time he married and became the father of several children One of his sons, the grandfather of the su ject. who was reared to manhood m his native state of Maryland, moved to Butler county. Ohio, about the year 1837 and settled in Liberty township, where he purchase^ land and spent the remainder of his life as a farmer. Nicholas LeSourd, father of the subject, was born and educated in Maryland. He accompanied his parents on their removal to Butler county and later married Miss Elanor Gorsuch, of Liberty township, who bore him five sons and one daughter, namely: Elisha, John P., Charles, Joseph, Silas B. and Laura (wife of Quincy Davis), only two of whom are living, the subject of this review and Silas B., an adjuster of the Ohio Farmers' Insurance Company, residing at Xenia, this state.

Nicholas LeSourd followed agriculture for a livelihood and for many years was one of the most thrifty farmers of Liberty township, also a leading citizen of his community and a prominent man of affairs. He was an influential Republican and a local leader of his party, a Methodist in his religious belief, and enjoyed the unbounded confidence and high regard of the people of his community. He and his faithful wife died at their home in Liberty township, and left to their surviving children an honorable reputation, which the latter have in no wise sullied nor in any wav brought the good name of the family into disrepute.

The birth of John P. LeSourd occurred in Liberty township, Butler county, December 4, 1843, an(l he grew up familiar with the duties of the farm, a discipline which had a decided influence in developing his character and determining his future course of life. At the proper age he entered the district schools, where he pursued his studies until acquiring a pretty thorough knowledge of the common branches, and until his twenty-third year remained at home assisting his father to cutivate and manage the farm.