Butler County, Ohio - Chapter 6, 1905 (part 17 of 18)

The subject of the article is a native of Hamilton, born on the 13th of November, 1854. He was the third child in a family of nine, born to David and Catherine (Sipp) Lingler, both of whom were natives of Rheinburg, Germany. David Lingler, the father of the subject, was a son of Martin Lingler. lie learned the blacksmith's trade in his native land, and emigrated to this country in 1844. His brother, John Lingler, had preceded him to the United States, but died in New York, where he left a son, also named John. Father Lingler, having some old country acquaintances in Hamilton, came to this city to find a home, and here, in 1848, he married Miss Catherine, a daughter of William Sipp, a carpet weaver in Germany, but a successful farmer near this city, where his days were ended. William Sipp was the father of four daughters and five sons, a number of whom still live in the city and are worthy representatives of this early established and prominent German family. David Lingler employed his early years in agricultural pursuits, but in later life was the proprietor of a boarding house in Hamilton, where he was very well known as an honorable, upright citizen. He was twice elected to the office of city marshal, and was serving in that capacity when he died, at the age of fifty-three years, on the 5th of February, 1875. His wife survived him and lives at the old home in Hamilton. The children in this family were named William, Mary, David, John, Katie, George, Louise, Adam and Dora. Adam died in childhood. The survivors of the family are happily married and for the most part are living in the vicinity of their birth.

Both father and mother were devoted and active members of the German Evangelical church. David Lingler was educated in the public schools of Hamilton, though by careful reading and observation he has largely supplemented this elementary training. At the age of fourteen he began an apprenticeship to the iron moulder's trade, and this constituted his principal employment until he began his career in public life. He is a man well-informed on the current events of the day, keen and shrewd in business affairs, and is regarded as one of the public-spirited and progressive citizens of Hamilton. His long continuance in an office of public trust and responsibility is the best evidence of his popularity and fitness.

Mr. Lingler was married on the 10th of October, 1877, when he chose for his companion in life, Miss Elizabeth Brooks, a native of Hamilton and a daughter of Jacob Brooks, a former business man of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Lingler have been blessed in their domestic relations with a happy family of children, six in number, named as follows : Elizabeth, Carl, Mary, Alma, David and Edna. The first two named have passed to the other shore. Mr. Lingler and family are members of the Zion Evangelical Lutheran church. They are recognized as one of the leading families in Hamilton, where their lives have been spent. Mr. Lingler has for many years taken an active part in politics and is a recognized leader in local Democracy. He is fair and honorable in his dealings with men and a valued citizen in the community.

John Wehr

The subject of this review, who long held worthy prestige among the leading farmers and stock raisers of Wayne township, recently abandoned active labor and at this time is enjoying the fruits of his industry and thrift in a life of retirement, having accumulated a sufficient amount of worldly wealth to render the remainder of his days comfortable and free from care. John Wehr is a native of the township in which he resides, but, as the name suggests, his family is of Teutonic origin, his parents, George and Mary R. Wehr, having been born and reared in Germany. Shortly after his marriage George Wehr immigrated to America and settled in Indiana, where he purchased and cleared a small tract of land, but after residing for a few years in that state he disposed of his possessions and moved to Butler county, Ohio, locating on Hickory Flat, in the township of St. Clair. He followed agricultural pursuits in that neighborhood for some years and there bought the place in Wayne township which he developed and on which he spent the remainder of his life, dying April 21, 1889, m his seventy-seventh year. Mrs. Wehr,

Andrew, Lena, John, Mary, Maggie and Lizzie. George Wehr came to this country a poor man, but, like the majority of his nationality, he was industrious and thrifty and spent many a hard year's work to put his farm on equal footing with others in the township. In the end he was successful beyond his expectations, for at his death he left to his family a fine farm of one hundred and thirty-six acres, the same which the subject of this review now owns and on which he also achieved such marked precedence as an agriculturist.

John Wehr was bom April 26, 1854, on the family homestead in Wayne township and spent the years of his minority assisting his father to cultivate and manage the farm. When not engaged in the fields he attended the public schools and in this way spent the winter seasons until his twentieth year, his diligence in the prosecution of his studies enabling him to master the common branches and obtain a good practical education. When a young man, Mr. Wehr began working by the month for his father and in this way spent four years, during which time he saved his earnings with the object in view of setting up a domestic establishment of his own. In November, 1880, he married the young lady of his choice, Miss Ellen Schenck, of Madison township, and from that time on devoted his attention very closely to agricultural pursuits, his success being commensurate with the industry and energy displayed in his labors.

of Wayne township and in clue season he found himself financially able to purchase the home place. Since becoming owner of this fine farm he has added greatly to its value, remodeling the buildings, erecting new ones, besides making other improvement and in various ways increasing the attractiveness of the place until it is now one of the most beautiful and desirable rural homes not only in the township of Wayne, but in Butler county. It is situated about three miles north of the village of Seven- Mile, in one of the richest agricultural districts of this part of the state, and its deep, rich soil, which is well watered and drained, makes it especially adaptable for general agriculture and pasturage.

As already indicated, Mr. Wehr is not engaged in farming at the present time, having rented the place to his son-in-law a few years ago in order to enjoy the rest and recreation which his long devotion to his chosen calling made almost imperative. He still looks after his live-stock interests and business affairs, however; gives the benefit of his advice to the management of the farm and, while no longer under the necessity of laboring for a livelihood, he is quite a busy man, preferring to make good use of his time, rather than to fritter or dream it away in inactivity and idleness.

Mr. Wehr has always manifested a lively interest in public matters and as an enterprising citizen devotes considerable attention to the political questions of the day. He is a Democrat in all the term implies, takes an active part in promoting the success of his party, and in recognition thereof his friends at different times have honored him with important official positions. In 1900 he was elected one of the trustees of

Wayne township and in April, 1903, was chosen his own successor by a very decided majority, his administration of the office being able, business-like and eminently satisfactory to the public.

Mrs. Wehr was a native of Madison township, Butler county, her birth dating from the year i860. She was a faithful and consistent member of the Presbyterian church of Jacksonburg, and in a gentle, womanly way won the high regard of the best social circles of the neighborhood in which she lived, being esteemed by a large number of friends and acquaintances for her many excellent qualities. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Wehr was blessed with one daughter, Jessie, who was born in 1881 and who is now the wife of Calvin Sheley and the mother of two offspring, Vernon and Hazel. Mrs. Sheley died on February 3, 1904.

Arm In Berkowitz

This popular young business man has been a resident of Hamilton but a few years, though he has in that time established for himself a reputation as one of the city's most successful men. His birth occurred in Austria-Hungary, where he received a liberal education. At the age of eighteen he emigrated to the new world and took up a temporary residence at St. Louis. From there he went to Indianapolis and was engaged in the liquor business in the Hoosier capital for several years. In 1892 Mr. Berkowitz came to Hamilton and purchased the wholesale and retail liquor business of Kilsheimer & Company and at once set about increas- mg the stock and enlarging and beautifying the place. His location is one of the best in the city and is a popular resort for the better class of customers who enjoy a social glass or a satisfactory smoke. One of the distinguishing features of the place is the fact that neither money or skill have been spared in rendering it attractive and pleasant. The goods on sale, either at wholesale or retail, embrace the most popular and well known brands of liquors and cigars. This trade in each is very large, the wholesale department reaching into distant cities and states. Mr. Berkowitz enjoys the distinction of being the only cigar jobber in Butler county. He has established a reputation second to none in furnishing fine wines and liquors for family use and medicinal purposes in the city and adjoining territory. He is also distributor in the county for the celebrated "Bethesda" Waukesha water and the Tallewanda" pure spring water. His commodious place comprises nearly eight thousand square feet of floor space, carefully arranged as to economy and convenience. The front is partitioned off for a cigar salesroom and neat and attractive office. In this department may be found all the essentials to please the taste of the most exacting customers. The wholesaling of smokers' articles is an important feature of the immense business transacted in this well-known and popular house. The wholesale liquor department is probably the largest in the county, and all the intricate knowledge of the business, backed by ample capital and a disposition to cater to high-class trade, are the influences which popularize this institution. Mr. Berkowitz is a social and genial gentleman, active as a thorough -going business man, but public-spirited and benevolent in his daily life.

The subject of this sketch is a son of Ignatz and Sarah (Stern) Berkowitz. They were natives of Hungary, where they were married and the mother's life was spent. She was the mother of the following children: Armin, Lena, Nathan, Bert, Max

(deceased), Jacob, David and Harry. The daughter is now Mrs. Greenwald, of Indianapolis, where the father and five sons are now living. David and Harry are sons by the father's second marriage. Nathan is engaged in the liquor business on his own account and Jacob is a partner with his father in similar business. Mr. Berkowitz was married March 14, 1897, to Miss Fannie Klein, of Cleveland, Ohio. She was reared and educated in her native city and is a lady of culture and refinement, possessing many personal charms. Two bright and interesting children have come to bless this happy union, viz: Alfred, born February 18, 1898. and Sylvia, who was bom on the 10th of November, 1900. Mr. Berkowitz is a man of a high order of intelligence and business capacity. Fie believes in moderation in all things and is himself opposed to intemperance. His place of business is always quiet and orderly, and his employes are courteous and honorable. At the head of these is his brother, Bert, a young man of good habits and strict integrity. The subject of this sketch is prominently associated with various fraternal organizations, in the social features of which he takes much pleasure. Among these may be mentioned the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Improved Order of Red Men, Improved Order

Knights of Pythias and Fraternal Order of Eagles. Besides these he sustains membership in a Jewish society, "O. B. A." and in the Hamilton Hebrew Synagogue, the religious house of his ancestors.

J. W. Kyle

There ~re individuals in nearly every community who by reason of pronounced ability and force of character rise above the heads of the masses and command the unbounded esteem of their fellow men. Characterized by perseverance and a directing spirit, two virtues that never fail, such men always make their presence felt and the vigor of their strong personality serves as a stimulus and incentive to the young and rising generation. To this energetic and enterprising class the subject of this review very properly belongs. Enjoying distinctive prestige as a farmer and stock raiser, he has achieved success far above the average man, while his practical intelligence, mature judgment and sound business principles have had much to do in moulding public sentiment in the community.

J. W. Kyle is a native of Butler county, Ohio, as was also his father, William Kyle, both of whom were born and reared in Liberty township, where the family settled in a very early day. The first of the name to come to this part of the state was the subject's great-grandfather, Thomas Kyle, who moved from Pennsylvania, many years ago, and purchased the homestead in Liberty township which is still in possession of one of his descendants. William Kyle grew up on this place, married Miss Sarah Cheeseman, whose people were also early comers, and reared a family of four children, namely : J. W., of this review; Lydia, who married John Van Skik; Martha, who is unmarried and still an inmate of the old home, and Louis, the last named and Mrs. Van Skik being deceased.

J. W. Kyle was born November 15, 1842, and, as already indicated, obtained his first practical experience on the family homestead in Lemon township, where he grew to manhood under the wholesome discipline of the farm. After attending the common schools until mastering the usual course of study he spent some time in an academy, thus acquiring an education which enabled him to transact successfully the duties of a very active and useful life. Mr. Kyle remained with his parents until attaining his majority, when he started out to make his own way, chosing for his life work the pursuit of agriculture, which, in connection with the raising of live stock, he has since followed, with encouraging financial results. In 1865 he entered the marriage relation with Miss Mamomi Van Sik, who proved a true and lovable helpmeet until her lamented death, on August 1, 1872, and who bore him two children, one of whom, a daughter by the name of Tena, is living, making her home with her grandmother, in whose household she was reared. Subsequently Mr. Kyle chose a second companion in the person of Miss Lizzie Ammons, but after a mutually happy wedded experience of twenty-six years' duration she

For a number of years past Mr. Kyle has been regarded as one of the leading agriculturists and representative stockraisers of Liberty township, his interests in both these branches being large and his success far in advance of that achieved by the majority of the people of the community who are so engaged. He has a wide reputation as a breeder and raiser of fine horses and there has long been a constantly growing demand for his animals, many of which have sold for high prices both at home and in more remote markets. Another of his specialties is the Poland China breed of hogs, which he raises in large numbers and for which there is always a greater demand than he can possibly supply. Wherever exhibited these animals have taken first prizes, their many points of excellence bearing testimony to his success as a breeder of high-grade swine, and to him perhaps more than to any other man is due the credit of arousing an interest among the farmers of his own and neighboring townships in the matter of improved live stock. Mr. Kyle is an excellent judge of domestic animals and, having given the matter of breeding a great deal of intelligent study, his suggestions and advice relative thereto are accepted as authority by those whose interests run parallel with his own. He has always manifested a pardonable pride in marketing nothing but first-class stock and some idea of his success in this line may be gained from the fact that he recently disposed of a fine animal of the Poland China breed that tipped the beam at the remarkable weight of twelve hundred and seventy-five pounds.

has long been an influential factor, having filled a number of positions of honor and trust and taken an active part in the political affairs of his township and county. He has affiliated with the Democracy since old enough to exercise the rights and prerogatives of citizenship and in 1886 was elected by his party superintendent of the county infirmary, which position he filled two terms of two years each, having been elected the second time in the year 1890. He has served about ten years as trustee of Liberty township, of which office he is the present incumbent, and he also served in the same capacity in the township of Lemon and for several years was treasurer of the Monroe high school, discharging the duties of these various position ably and conscientiously and making a record as a public servant of which his numerous friends as well as himself have every reason to feel proud. Fraternally Mr. Kyle is a member of the Pythian order, but is not as active in the work of the organization as formerly, though still identified therewith and a marked example of the principles upon which it is founded. Personally he is the soul of generous, large-hearted fellowship and as a neighbor is accommodating and liberal to a fault, no worthy individual or legitimate enterprise ever appealing to him in vain for assistance. His course through life has been prudent and upright, his stand has ever been on the right in matters of moral issue and as a citizen he has discharged his duties in such a way as to meet the approval of his conscience and conserve the public good. While fortunate in the accumulation of wealth, he is also rich in the possession of a reputation above reproach and a character which will bear the closest and strictest scrutiny.

William H. Paullin

Success in this world comes to the deserving. Man gets out of life what he puts into it, plus a reasonable interest on the investment. The individual who inherits large wealth or a vast estate and adds nothing to its value can not in sober truth be termed successful. He that falls heir to a fortune and by earnest endeavor increases it is successful in proportion to his gains, but the man who starts in life with no inheritance save that with which nature has endowed him, and by his own unaided efforts overcomes obstacles and forges ahead in spite of discouraging circumstances, until he acquires a competency and wins an honorable name, achieves success such as those reared in the lap of luxury can not understand or in any degree appreciate. To the former class belongs the sturdy honest yeomanry who constitute the very bone and sinew of the country, who exercise such a strong and abiding influence on the body politic, and it is of such an one that the biographer is pleased to write in the paragraphs that follow.

William H. Paullin belongs to one of the old families of Butler county and of late his life has been very closely identified with the township of which he is now an honored resident. He was born in Madison township, January 2, 1847, being the oldest child of Isaac and Ellen (Schenck) Paullin, and grew to maturity as a tiller of the soil, receiving a practical education in the district schools, which he attended of winter months until a youth in his teens. His acquaintance with the varied duties of the farm began at an early age and he was reared to regard toil as honorable and idleness a disgrace. As soon as old enough he took his place in the fields and early and late bore his part in the cultivation of the soil and the harvesting of the crops, and in this way assisted his father until twenty-one years of age, when he left home to make his own way in the world.

On December 29, 1868, Mr. Paullin was united in marriage with Miss Rachael Hinkle, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Selby) Hinkle, and immediately thereafter began farming for himself by renting a part of his father's land, his industry being his main capital. He made commendable progress and in the course of a few years found himself on the road to prosperity. Land being high in this part of the country, he deemed it advisable to continue renting rather than to go in debt, accordingly he remained on his father's place until able to purchase to advantage, which he did in 1894 by investing in the fine farm of one hundred and seventy-one acres in Wayne township on which he now lives. Since taking possession of his farm Mr. Paullin has made many improvements, and by industry, thrift and good business management he has won a conspicuous place among the leading agriculturists of the township. He is an excellent farmer and in addition to the different grain, vegetable and fruit crops which he raises in abundance, he devotes considerable attention to live stock. His buildings and fences are in good repair, the fields show evidence of successful tillage, and everything on the place attests the care and attention which he has exercised in order to make not only a profitable farm but also a comfortable home in which beauty and good taste are by no means unknown quantities.

Mrs. Paullin was bom in Madison township, October 27. 1849, received a good common-school education and, like "her husband, is greatly esteemed by all who know her. Her father, Joseph Hinkle, was a native of Butler county and a member of one of its old pioneer families, the Selbys having also been among the early settlers of this part of the state. To Mr. and Mrs. Paullin two children have been born, viz : William, whose birth occurred on August 23, 1879, and who is engaged in the sawmill business m this township. The other child died in infancy.

Brandon R. Millikin

This well-known attorney of Hamilton is a representative of one of the most distinguished families in Butler county. He is descended from pioneer stock, and the name of Millikin in Butler county stands for a high class of citizenship and, among the males, almost invariably, for a professional career. Dr. Dan Millikin was the first physician in Hamilton. He and his brother Samuel took up their residence in this city on the 7th of May, 1807, and to this early pioneer family is traceable the entire Millikin family now living in Butler county. Samuel Millikin, before mentioned, opened the first drug store in Hamilton.

Brandon R. Millikin, of this review, is descended in direct line, four generations removed, from Dr. Robert B. Millikin, a brother of Dr. Dan and Samuel. He was the sixth son bom to James and Dolly Millikin, the former a native of Ireland, born on the 5th of January, 1752, in County Antrim.

He came to America in 1771, and located Washington county, Pennsylvania, where he married Miss Dolly McFarland, a native of Massachusetts, on the rst of March, 1778. James Millikin had a family of nine children, all of whom attained to years of maturity. They were Daniel, James, John H Samuel. William S.. Robert Andrew, Abel and Mary.

Robert B. is the paternal great-grandfather of Brandon R., of this sketch. At the time his three brothers departed for the West to seek new homes he was a lad in his fourteenth year, and he remained with his parents until about twenty, when he became imbued with the spirit of emigration and followed his older brothers to Hamilton. He arrived here in the spring of 1813 and took up his residence with the family of his brother, Dr. Dan, where he remained until the time of his marriage. In Hamilton he completed his preparatory education and took up the study of medicine under the tutorship of his elder brother. In 1817, having mastered the intricacies of professional lore, he was licensed to practice medicine, established an office in Hamilton, and began his professional career. He devoted his attention closely to his profession for many years and was successful in the accumulation of property, as well as in the relief of the distressed. As he approached the age of middle life he relaxed his professional efforts somewhat, though he never retired entirely from the practice of medicine. He was a man of resourceful mind and readily adapted himself to other lines of human effort. He was for years a brigadier general of the Ohio state militia and discharged the duties of several other honorable positions.

served for a time as county treasurer, was one of the commissioners for the selection of canal lands belonging to the state, and served as a member of the Ohio legislature.

Dr. R. B. Millikin, on the 6th of December, 1816, married Sarah Gray, who was connected with many of the pioneer families of that day. She died in young womanhood, leaving three children, who arrived at the age of maturity. The eldest of these was Samuel, who resided in Hamilton for many years, but subsequently removed to Missouri, where he ended his days. Thomas was the second born in this family, and the paternal grandfather of the subject of this review. Elizabeth, the youngest child, married William A. Elliott. Both are now deceased. Dr. Robert B. Millikin married, for his second wife, Mrs. Ann Eliza Yeaman, who survived him. Dr. Millikin died on the 28th of June, i860, at the age of sixty-six years, six months and nineteen days.

Thomas Millikin, grandfather of the subject, was born in Ross vi lie, now Hamilton, on the 28th of September, 1819. No man ever lived in Hamilton who contributed more to the growth and progress of the city, or who maintained a higher grade of citizenship than Thomas Millikin. He was abreast of the times in everything, and the later years of his long and illustrious life were as fertile as the earlier ones. His life career was devoted to professional work, and he never sought, nor would he accept, a purely political office. Thomas Millikin was liberally educated, beginninghis career in the classics, under the tutorship of Rev. Joseph G. Monfort, in 1832. After two years of this preparatory work he entered Miami University and was graduated from that institution in July, 1838. In the autumn of the same year he became a student of law in the office of Elijah Vance, and was admitted to the bar December 20, 1840. He at once engaged in active practice, which continued without interruption for more than half a century. In 1843 he was appointed prosecuting attorney and served one year under this appointment, but never again, during fifty years and more, do we find the name of Thomas Millikin announced as a candidate for any office not purely professional. But throughout all of these years he held the post of honor at the Butler county bar. None were there to dispute it. He was a lawyer, and desired to be nothing more. As a public speaker, however, there were few his equal and his voice was always heard as one of the principal orators on occasions of state. His style was terse, convincing and pleasing. Never in his life did he resort to the petty methods of the pettifogger, even in the most animated political debates. He was always a gentleman and treated his adversaries as such, whether they were or not. He was an ardent supporter of the Union during the Civil war and sent two stalwart sons to the front in its preservation. Yet he never believed in the necessity of a resort to arms.- He believed in peaceful arbitration of national difficulties, and recognized the "power of might" only as a last resort. But all of his public utterances breathed an ardent desire for the suppression of the Rebellion and the preservation of the national union, at any cost.

Mr. Millikin was the originator of the Hamilton Gas Company and also of the Lindenwald Electric Transit Company. He was chosen the first president of the latter corporation and remained in that position until the day of his death. As a promoter of these two beneficent enterprises, without which the city could scarcely exist today, he proved himself a man of public spirit and advanced ideals. From 1852 until his death he was attorney for the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad Company. Subsequent to 1852 he was also selected as attorney for the Big Four Railroad Company, serving in that capacity for many years. In 1874 he was tendered a commission as one of the judges of the supreme court of Ohio, an honor which he declined. There are mapy of Mr. Millikin's public addresses now in print, but probably the masterpiece of his lifetime is the address delivered on the hundredth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This was delivered in Hamilton, on July 4, 1876. His address on the occasion of laying the cornerstone of the new court house in Hamilton is another of the sacred relics of past days. It is tempered throughout with a spirit of love and justice between man and man, the sentiment of which could not have been uttered by any save a pre-eminently good man. During the later years of his life he took two partners into his legal business, his grandson, Brandon R. Millikin, of this sketch, and Robert N. Shotts, under the firm title of Millikin, Shotts & Millikin.

Thomas Millikin was married in Columbus, Ohio, November 4, 1841, when he wedded Mary, the daughter of the late William B. VanHook. She was born in 1824, and proved a most exemplary wife and mother. The union was a most happy one, and after walking side by side on life's journey for fifty-two years, it was terminated on the 13th of January, 1894, when Mrs. Millikin was called to her final earthly rest. They were the parents of seven children, namely :

William B., Robert B., Sallie G., Murray G., Matie M., Ira S. and Julia M. William, Murray and Matie are deceased. The others are, for the most part, residents of their native city. William served as a soldier in the Thirty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war and Robert B. was a member of the Ninety-third Regiment in the same service.

But it is as a lawyer that Thomas Millikin achieved the highest honors and most brilliant success. For more than a quarter of a century there was scarcely an important case brought to trial in Butler county that Mr. Millikin did not appear on one side or the other. He has also carried some very complicated cases through the higher courts of the state and nation, where his ability and sterling integrity were always recognized. Mr. Millikin was a lover of history, and delighted to dwell on reminiscences and scenes of the past, especially during the period of the seventy years with which he was so familiar. He was exceptionally well informed on the current history of Butler county and took special pleasure in discussing the events of the early days. His death occurred in Hamilton, on the 10th day of November, 1899.

The father of the subject, Robert Barbour Millikin, was born in Hamilton, March 2 r, 1844. He acquired his elementary education in the schools of his native city. He then spent two years at the Park Latin Schools, in Boston, Massachusetts. Soon after this he entered Miami University, and, after two years' study there, his college career was suddenly terminated by his enlistment as a soldier in the Union army. He entered the service on the 16th of July, 1862, as a member of the Ninety-third Ohio

Volunteer Infantry. After serving two years at the front and being twice promoted, he resigned his commission as first lieutenant on the 22d of November, 1864, by reason of disability contracted in the service. Mr. Millikin has filled various offices of trust and responsibility. He was the city clerk of Hamilton from 1875 to 1881, retiring from the office to accept the office of clerk of the courts of Butler county, to which he was elected in t88i, and served until 1887.

Mr. Millikin engaged in the manufacture of farm implements and machinery in 1865, continuing that business for many years. He is now quite extensively engaged in real estate and insurance business in Hamilton. R. B. Millikin was married August 16, 1865, at Piqua, Ohio, to Miss Carrie E., daughter of Abel and Martha Brandon, a prominent pioneer family of Miami county. These are the parents of Brandon R. Millikin, the subject of this sketch.

Brandon R. Millikin was born in Hamilton. August 19, 1868. He enjoyed the excellent educational facilities of his native city, where he fitted himself for entrance upon a collegiate course. This he did in 1885. when he entered the classical department of Amherst College, in Massachusetts. Returning from that institution, he took up the legal profession as a life work and entered the office of Hon. Thomas Millikin, where he passed one year in preparatory study. Continuing his professional studies, he entered the Law School of Cincinnati, where he completed the prescribed course and was graduated in 1891. Mr. Millikin then returned to Hamilton and soon thereafter the law firm of Millikin. Shotts & Millikin was formed, the subject becoming the junior member.

Since the death of Thomas Millikin, the senior partner, the firm title has been Shotts & Millikin. The subject is a thorough scholar and endowed with all the characteristics which constitute a successful lawyer. He has the prestige of a long line of ancestors distinguished in the learned professions, the counsels of his late preceptor, and the example of a successful life career fresh in his mind. Mr. Millikin is an exceedingly popular and talented attorney. Along professional lines he inherits many of the peculiar characteristics of his lamented grandfather and early preceptor, and has already established for himself a career of prominence and usefulness. Though a pronounced Democrat, and zealous in the supremacy of party principles, he has never entered politics as a candidate for public honors, but is content with assisting his party and friends with his voice and influence.

Mr. Millikin was married on the 9th of January, 1895, when he chose as his life companion Miss Grace E. Jewett, of Wyoming. Ohio. She is a daughter of Joseph E. and Cecelia C. Jewett. Her father was a prominent business man at Wyoming for many years and is now the president of the Cincinnati Carriage Goods Company. Mrs. Millikin was educated at the Wyoming high school, subsequently taking an extensive course in the Cincinnati College of Music, where she studied piano and organ. Mr. and Mrs. Millikin have three children, Caroline E., Margaret B. and Jewett. Mrs. Millikin is a member of the First Presbyterian church, which the family attend regularly.

Col. Charles A. Stroble

The chief of the Hamilton police force is better known in the affairs of civil life than at the head of the city's guardians of the peace. "Charley" Stroble, as he is familiarly called by his friends, is the proprietor of Hotel Stroble. on the corner of Third and High streets, which is without doubt one of the most popular and up-to-date hotels in the city of Hamilton. It is not only the handsomest building devoted to the purposes of public entertainment, but the interior arrangements are perfect in all details. The traveler seeking quiet repose in a luxuriously furnished room, with every comfort and convenience afforded by a modern European hotel, will find it at Hotel Stroble. Special efforts are made by the gentlemanly clerks and attendants to guard the guests from the noise and commotion usually found about public lodging houses. The comforts of clean beds, steam heat in every room, and a quiet and orderly arrangement throughout are accommodations which the traveling public appreciate in the highest degree. Operated by the same management and at a convenient distance from the hotel, is Stroble's Restaurant, the most popular and liberally patronized institution of the kind in Hamilton. The capacious dining room has a capacity of more than a hundred, where every luxury afforded by the market may be found ready on call. At the same time the guests whose pocket books deny them the luxuries of life, or whose economical dispositions require a cheaper fare, may be served with the regular meals at a nominal price. This institution, which is presided over for the most part by Mrs. Stroble and a corps of competent and obliging assistants, is the most popular resort in the city. In connection with the restaurant is also to be found a store devoted to the sale of sporting goods of all kinds, from a fishing hook to a repeating rifle, with all the intermediates. Colonel Stroble is also extensively interested in farming, and has a handsome country home near the city, where he often entertains his friends in true farmer style. This splendid property is not only a source of pleasure and satisfaction, in the relief it affords from the perplexities of actual business, but it is also an item of great profit to the owner. It produces thousands of dollars worth of choice vegetables, fruits and other necessities which are consumed at the restaurant. The mik, cream, eggs and poultry come from the farm, while early lambs, calves and hogs are also slaughtered from the fine herd kept there. All the potatoes consumed at the restaurant come from the same source, while it yields the smaller vegetables in abundance and great variety. Pork and lard are other items of considerable expense, which come from the Stroble farm as needed. This valuable property is located only two miles from Hamilton, and seldom a day passes that it is not called upon to contribute something to the tables of the famous restaurant. It is valued at about twenty-five thousand dollars and pays a very fair interest in its daily contributions to the popularity of the Stroble Restaurant. While the subject has made a success of life, and is reputed to be very well-to-do, the accumulation of riches has not been his principal object. He is warmhearted and generous by nature, a lover of innocent sports, a friend to the oppressed or unfortunate, and believes in seeing the world as he passes through it. He has been an extensive traveler and has had broad experience in the world of business. With his friends he is liberal to a fault, and has often contributed to their relief when in distress without any hope of ever receiving the amounts advanced.

The question would naturally arise : "What does a man in affluent circumstances, already overwhelmed with profitable business, want with a subordinate position in the city government?" The reply comes from a hundred men, "It is one of the eccentricities of Charley Stroble." He has always taken an active interest in political affairs, and has been one of the "wheel horses" of local Democracy. He has stood by his party and political friends through "thick and thin" and has been unwavering in his zeal and devotion. Some kind of recognition seemed necessary, and the position he now occupies was the only one within the gift of the municipal government which he would or could accept. We therefore find Mr. Stroble at the head of the police department and as zealous in the protection of the people's interests and as aggressive in the apprehension of criminals as though his bread and butter depended upon his official success. He has inaugurated a much-needed system of reform in the department and instituted some measures for the protection of the city from the depredations of petty thieves and housebreakers (chicken thieves especially) never before introduced. His broad experience and extensive travels and observations in larger cities renders him familiar with the methods of law breakers, and, being tactful and resourceful, the name of Col. Stroble will soon become a terror to evil doers in Hamilton.

Mr. Stroble was married October 14, 1879, to Miss Marie Louise Kunz, of Glendale, Ohio. He is a member of the Knights and Ladies of Honor, Royal Arcanum, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Fraternal Order of Eagles and Knights of Ancient Rome. Mrs. Stroble is a member of the Baptist church. She is a lady of fine executive ability and business tact. Much of Mr. Stroble's success in business life is due to the more careful and conservative methods of Mrs. Stroble. To her husband she has been a "helpmeet" indeed. Their domestic life has been supremely happy throughout a period of twenty-five years spent together on life's journey. The married life of this worthy couple has been one perpetual "honeymoon," entirely free from domestic bickerings or corroding influences. Their love has not been divided with children, since all of their offspring died in early infancy. This is considered a great misfortune, yet it is not without its compensating influences.

John C. Slayback

John C. Slayback, attorney and counsellor at law, is a native of Butler county, Ohio, born in Liberty township on the 16th of February, 1848. He is a son of William and Sarah Slayback, whose ancestors were among the early pioneers of Butler county. John C. Slayback spent his early years on the parental farm in Liberty township, working and attending school until he attained the age of twenty. During this time he had acquired a common-school educa- tion, and began life on his own account as a teacher. He was ambitious to possess a thorough education, and in the furtherance of this laudable desire he entered the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio, and was graduated from the classical and scientific departments of that institution. He spent one year as a student in the law department of the University of Michigan, after which he pursued a supplementary course in the law office of Hon. James E. Campbell, and in the autumn of 1878 entered the Cincinnati Law School. Due credit was given for his previous studies, and he was admitted to practice May 14, 1879. Two months later he came to Hamilton and has since been thoroughly identified with the legal profession in Butler county. Mr. Slayback has been a partner in three law firms, but since 1888 he has been associated with Hon. William H. Harr, ex-probate judge of Butler county.

John C. Slayback has had a brilliant career during his active professional life and has been successful in a marked degree. Public sentiment places him among the leaders of the Butler county bar. He is devoted to his profession and proverbially prompt in attendance upon any business intrusted to his care. As a counsellor, he is careful and conservative, and always reliable. His thorough familiarity with the lawr is fully recognized in the community and he has, perhaps, as large a practice as any attorney in southwestern Ohio.

In political affiliations Mr. Slayback is an uncompromising Republican. While he has never sought official honors, he has been ever alert and active in the interests of his party. He has attended the meetings of

In the social affairs of life, Mr. Slayback takes great interest in Masonry, and has attained to distinguished recognition in that time-honored fraternity. He has spent many years in studying the mysteries of the organization connected with Masonry and has mastered the unwrritten work of thirty-two degrees.

On the 1 6th of February, 1881, Mr. Slayback w^as united in marriage with Miss Irene A. Dodds, of Mason, Warren county, Ohio. She is a daughter of Hon. John A. Dodds, who was a member of the Ohio legislature in the early 'fifties.

The beautiful home of the Slayback family is located on North Third street, and is a model of architectural and mechanical skill. Three daughters have come to brighten the happy domestic fireside, tw^o of whom are young ladies just entering society, while the third is a little miss busy writh her elementary school work.

The eldest, Miss Leta, was graduated from the Hamilton high school, the Oxford Female College, and specialized in Chicago University, and has been elected a member of the faculty of Oxford Female College. Miss Jessie is a graduate of the Hamilton high school, and at present a student at Oxford Female College. Miss Ruth is the youngest of the trio.

James Fitton

It appears in the learned professions and in the financial affairs of the county, as well as in the less public, but equally important, records of private enterprises in the county from a remote period in its history, and they as a people have become numerous and prosperous, with the growth and progress of their adopted county.

The ancestors of James Fitton, in whose name this sketch is written, were of pure English origin, the father, James Fitton, being born at Heywood, England. He came to this country in early life, and died in Hamilton, Ohio, on the 6th of July, 1864. His wife, who was Miss Hannah Bailey Fitton, was born near Manchester, England, on the 15th of October, 1805, and died in this city. February 7, 1873. These were people of high moral rectitude and much force of character. They introduced into their adopted locality many characteristics of the older and more stable country from which they came and had much to do with the elevation of society to a higher plane of morals. The father of the subject, accompanied bv two brothers, landed at Philadelphia and established homes in different localities, this immediate family locating in the Queen City. James Fitton became an employe of his father-in-law-to-be, in mak-» ing wagons, which trade he had learned in England. This .business association led to Mr. Fitton's acquaintance in the family of his employer, and finally to the marriage of his employer's daughter. The father-in-law was also named Fitton. and a native of England. but sustained no relationship to his son-in-law.

products satisfactory. At one time a customer who had more land than money offered Mr. Fitton two lots for a wagon, a proposition which he declined. These lots are located near the present court house, in Cincinnati, and today represent the value of a large fortune. The city at that time presented no evidences of its ever becoming the metropolis of Ohio, or indeed of its ever being more than it was then - an overgrown country town. Some years after his marriage, James Fitton came to Hamilton, and established himself in business here, which was terminated by his death.

James Fitton was born at West Charleston, Miami county, Ohio, on the 5th of April. 1843. As an infant, he was brought by his parents to this city, and here he was reared and educated, and has spent his life, with the exception of only a temporary absence. His education was acquired under the tutorship of Professor Nathaniel Furman. then a noted educator in Hamilton.

Mr. Fitton was approaching the years of young manhood when the war cloud darkened the land, and, like thousands of others, inspired with the spirit of patriotism, he sacrificed his opportunities for higher education and followed the "old flag* to the front. He enlisted on the 26th of August, t86i, as a member of Company C, of the gallant Thirty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served the full term of three vears, being present with his command on all the bloody fields where his regiment was engaged. The commanding officer was, for the most part. Gen. George H. Thomas, but later subordinate to General Sherman.

regiment bore in the suppression of the Rebellion. Besides these general engagements, there were many skirmishes, and minor battles, equally hazardous to the men engaged, but at that time thought unworthy of being recorded as general engagements. The battles in which the subject participated with his regiment were the siege and battle of Corinth, battles of Perryville, Tullahoma campaign, Chickamauga, where the regimental losses equalled fifty per cent, of the men engaged, Missionary Ridge. Buzzard's Roost, Atlanta campaign, Dalton, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Pine Mountain, Pine Knob, general assault on Kenesaw Mountain. Peach Tree Creek, and eleven davs engaged in the siege of Atlanta. While thus employed the term of service expired, and the regiment left the trenches in front of the enemy to the care of a relief regiment, and were mustered out of sendee on the 8th of September. 1864. This is a record of gallant service of which any patriot may justly feel proud. It is a record to inspire coming generations with a spirit of loyalty and devotion to country, which no boasted triumphs on sea or land can excel. Mr. Fitton returned to his maternal home, and soon thereafter was united in marriage with Miss Minnie Flanders, of Richmond. Indiana. This union was blessed with one daughter. Mabel Freeman Fitton. now at home. Upon the death of his first wife Mr. Fitton married Miss Katie Shank, of Hamilton.

In 1869 the subject engaged in mercantile pursuits, continuing in the dry-goods business until 1881, when he disposed of his interests and engaged in the occupation °f a real-estate broker. In connection with this he has also added the feature of fire insurance and represents a number of leading associations of the country. This business he has conducted successfully for about twenty-five years, in which, as in all other enterprises which have engaged his attention, he enjoys the full confidence of the people. No man in the city sustains higher social and business relations than James Fitton. In connection with his other business, the subject is also the secretary of the People s Deposit, Improvement and Loan Company, an institution that bears upon its list of officers and directors some of the most prominent and successful business men of Hamilton.

Mr. Fitton has always been an unfaltering Republican in his political affiliations. He has served continuously as a member of the city board of elections since 1897. He is an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic, of the Royal Arcanum, and the National Union. He and his estimable , wife are active members of the Methodist Fpiscopal church, Mr. Fitton becoming a member of that church before he was fifteen years of age.

The immediate family of James Fitton. Sr., comprised nine children, all of whom lived to mature life, and six are now living. The eldest was William H.. a well-known carpenter and builder, who died in 1901. Mary, the second, married Samuel C. Belden. One of her sons. Hon. Edgar A. Belden. is a prominent lawyer in Hamilton, and is the present common pleas judge. She has been dead for many years. Thomas is * the deputy collector of internal revenue for the district of which Hamilton forms a part. Frances is now a resident of Los Angeles, California. She married J. P. P. Peck, who went to the Pacific coast in the hope of improving poor health by the climatic change, but died there. Hannah became the wife of William T. Crawford and both are now deceased. Rachel A. is unmarried and a resident of her native city. D. Webster is a well-known dry-goods merchant in this city. James, of this sketch, was the next in order of birth, and Samuel D. completes the family circle. He is president of the First National Bank in Hamilton. The parents of this well-known family are resting side by side in beautiful Greenwood cemetery, where a suitable monument marks their resting place; but it records only the facts of their birth and death. The record of their grand and noble lives, the duties they performed for humanity, the love, sympathy, and patience, and personal sacrifices for the good of their loved and loving family remain only as sacred memories. The devoted mother survived her husband for twenty-seven years, and upon her, more than the father, fell the responsibilities of rearing and educating a large family. She lived to rejoice in the consciousness of duty well done, and knew that her sons and daughters would sustain the exalted relations in life for which she had labored, and honor her memory when she was dead. This sacred trust has not been betrayed. The Fitton family stands today on the solid basis of truth, honor, fidelity and uprightness of character.

William O. Schlosser

William O. Schlosser, a well-known and prominent business man of Hamilton, was born in Collinsville, Butler county, Ohio, on the 2d of March, 1857. Wien a child of two years, he was brought by his parents to Hamilton, and here his life has since been spent. Mr. Schlosser is a typical representative of the popular and successful German- American citizenship so prominently identified with the history of Butler county. His ancestors were of purely German stock, whose long-continued residence in Hamilton has identified them with nearly every phase of material progress in the city. The father of the subject of this article, the well-remembered Henry Schlosser, was born in Erbenhausen, Hesse-Darmstadt, July 16, 1832. He was the eldest son of George and Maria (Schmitt) Schlosser. He was reared to agricultural pursuits and received a liberal education in his native land. In 1849 he decided to seek his fortune in the New World and emigrated alone to the United States. Even' one knows the trials of the raw German boy among the Englishspeaking people. Henry Schlosser worked for two years as a farm hand in Hamilton county, Ohio, near Burlington, receiving the meager pay of seventy-five dollars a year. Later he learned the miller's trade, continuing that employment for a number of years. He came to Hamilton in 1854 and took up his residence in this city as an employe of Tapscott & Russell, proprietors of the People's Mills. By close application and strict economy, he soon saved enough money to pay the passage of his father and brothers, Jacob and George, and they joined him in this city in 1854. In 1855 he married Miss Henrietta Bauersachs, a native of Nuremberg, Germany, who was born on the 27th of November. 1828. Soon after his marriage, Mr. Schlosser rented a small custom mill at Collinsville, Ohio, and conducted it profitably for four years. The water power failing, he gave up the mill and entered the employ of Jacob Schaeffer, of the Hydraulic Mills in Hamilton. In 1863 Mr. Schlosser purchased a one-third interest in this property and continued with the business until 1865, when he engaged in the commission business in Cincinnati, also purchasing and operating flouring mills at Connersville and Milton, Indiana. As a nucleus to this apparent acquisition of wealth, Mr. Schlosser made some profitable investments during the Civil war, the results of which brought him into affluent circumstances.

In 1870 Mr. Schlosser established himself in the manufacture of malt, continuing that business in Hamilton the balance of his life time. This business was for many years one of the leading industries of Hamilton, and descended, after the father's death, to William O. Schlosser, of this sketch, as the only male representation of his family. Henry and Henrietta Schlosser were the parents of seven children, four of whom died in infancy, and George Carl, a promising young man, died at the age of twentynine; Carrie E. became the wife of Dr. George Trebel. a leading physician, preeminently successful in his profession, a ripe scholar, an author of more than local note, and a man universally esteemed, whose untimely death, on June 8, 1900, was greatly deplored by the people of Hamilton. To Dr. Trebel and wife one son. Edwin, and a daughter, Caroline, were born, both of whom survive. Their mother died on the 9th day of July, 1898, in her thirtieth year. The father of the subject died on the 16th of April. 1896. in- the fullness of years, with the record of a well-spent life as the heritage of those who come after. The history of this life, here briefly told, is one of thrilling interest, since it shows the result of industry and perseverance, coupled with business sagacity and well-directed energy. Coming to a strange land, a selfdependent boy, unacquainted with the prevailing language, or the customs of the country, Henry Schlosser's achievements as a loyal and upright citizen of his adopted country are worthy of emulation. He was scrupulously honest and honorable in all his dealings with men and was open-handed and charitable with suffering humanity. He lived and died in the faith of the Lutheran church, and he and his loved companion were regular communicants in Zion's Lutheran church in this city throughout all of their mature years. Mr. Schlosser was more than ordinarily successful in the financial affairs of life. The mother of the subject died July 2, 1891.

William O. Schlosser, the subject of this article, was educated in the city and parochial schools of Hamilton, supplemented by a business course at Nelson's Business College at Cincinnati. He was graduated from the tatter institution at the age of nineteen. He at once entered upon an active business career as bookkeeper in his father's extensive malting business. Later he was placed in charge of the foreign trade of the company, in which capacity he traveled extensively, and almost continuously, for many years. This experience was a valuable educator in the way of making him thoroughly familiar with the wants of the trade. On the death of his father he assumed the exclusive management of the entire business, which position he occupied with singular ability and success until the plant was merged into other interests of even greater magnitude. Probably no man in Hamilton is as familiar with the malting and brewing business, even to the minutest details, as William O. Schlosser. He has had a wide and successful business career and sustains very high business relations in Hamilton.

Mr. Schlosser was married on the 21st day of May, 1885, to Miss Sue Mason, a daughter of Martin and Barbara Mason, a well-known and highly respected family in Hamilton. This union* not only resulted in establishing happy domestic relations, but ultimately led to a change of business interests upon the part of Mr. Schlosser. Martin Mason, the eldest brother of Mrs. Schlosser, was the proprietor of the wellknown Eagle Brewery in Hamilton, and the subject soon became associated with that enterprise in the capacity of secretary and treasurer of the firm. This concern is one of the best equipped brewery plants in southern Ohio.

Mr. and Mrs. William O. Schlosser have an interesting family of four children, two sons and two daughters, named as follows: Roy Henry, born December 2. 1886; Marie, born September 29, 1893, and Martin Mason and Barbara Mason, twins, born December 12, 1897. A daughter, Henrietta, born August 19, 1890, died July 29, 1899, from the effects of measles, which she had six years before.

Clayton A. Leiter

Clayton A. Leiter was born in Middletown, Ohio, on April 23, 1872, and is the youngest son of Frederick Ziegler Leiter and Louisa Marian (Breitenbach) Leiter.

His father came to Ohio in 1852, from Leitersburg, Maryland, he being a descendant of one of the five Leiter brothers who came to America late in the seventeenth century and founded the little city which bears their name. His mother was a daughter of Josiali and Elizabeth (Shade) Breitenbach, who came to Hamilton from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, early in the 'thirties.

Mr. Leiter came to Hamilton with his parents in the spring of 1877, and was educated in the public schools of the city, graduating from the high school with the class of 1891. On the first of August, the same year, he accepted a position as a reporter of the Hamilton Evening Democrat, and in February, 1893, was made the city editor of the paper, succeeding Frank E. Brandt, who resigned to go to the Hamilton Evening Republican. Mr. Leiter retained this position, although there were several changes made in the ownership of the paper, until June 18. 1898, when he resigned to accept the editorship of the Evening Crisis, at East Liverpool, Ohio, under the management of James C. Deitrick. He remained with the publication until August 1, 1899, when he returned to Hamilton to again become the city editor of the Democrat and has since retained this position. When, in September, 1901, the Democrat was pur chased by Homer Gard, Mr. Leiter was made the vice-president of the Butler County Democrat Company.

Aside from his newspaper work m Hamilton, Mr. Leiter for a number of years took an active interest in the musical a fairs of the city, he having also been educated as an organist. He served as or ganist of the First Baptist church, then the Church of Christ, and of the First Re- formed church. He has also been interested in the theatrical affairs of the city and has done considerable work in the interest of the Globe Opera House and the Jefferson Theater, under the management of Tom A. Smith.

While Mr. Leiter has never taken any unusual interest in secret organizations, still he was one of the charter members of Hamilton Tent, No. 317, Knights of the Maccabees, and its first commander. He is also a member of Hamilton Lodge, No. 93, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and of Court Fort Hamilton, No. 1749, Independent Order of Foresters. Ever since childhood he has been a member of the First Baptist church and for a number of years was the secretary* and treasurer of the Sunday school of that church. Mr. Leiter is a Democrat in politics, but has never aspired to any political honors, although when the city government of Hamilton was reorganized in May, 1903, he was appointed a member of the board of trustees of the Lane Free Library, by Mayor Charles S. Bosch, for a term of two years, and upon the organization of the board was elected secretary.

Mr. Leiter was united in marriage with Miss Emma Louise Ziliox. daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Ziliox. April 21, 1897, by the Rev. S. Ezra Neikirk. pastor of the First Reformed church.

This popular and successful young physician was born in Batavia, Germont county, Ohio, on the 20th of February, 1879. He ^ie only living child of John

R. and Elizabeth (Wheeler) Hodges, both of whom are natives of Clermont county. In earlier life the father was a farmer and merchant in his native county, but in recent years he has been an employe of the Long & Allstatter manufacturing plant, in Hamilton, with whom he holds a good position. The family has resided in Butler county since about 1880, but located in Hamilton in 1901. Dr. Hodges received a liberal education, principally through his own unaided efforts. He attended the country schools of Butler county until sufficiently advanced, when he entered the Hamilton high school, pursuing his studies there for some time, when he decided upon taking a scientific course in an institution of higher learning. He entered the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio, and pursued this course until near the close of the senior year, when an opening appeared whereby he could enter upon the study of medicine, his previously chosen profession. He prepared for entrance to the medical college under the tutorship of Dr. E. C. Still, in Hamilton. He was graduated from the Medical College of Ohio on the 7th of May, 1901' with a very complimentary record in his class standing.

On competitive examination, Dr. Hodges was selected as house physician and surgeon at Emsworth Deaconess Hospital, at St. Joseph, Missouri, and served about one vear in that capacity. This was a practical experience, in addition to that of the previous years of theoretical study. He came to Hamilton and opened an office on the 23d of June, 1902, and has met with success from the start. He has established a fine general practice, largely exceeding his most sanguine hopes.

able gentleman, endowed with a humane and sympathetic nature which does much in the way of relieving human suffering and in concealing the nauseous potions which the curriculum prescribes. The Doctor is still enjoying the freedom and independence of "single blessedness," and remains at the parental home, No. 33 Main street. Jde was a formidable candidate for the office of county coroner, a position for which he is eminently qualified in 1904. Dr. Hodges aspires to public office at the hands of the Democratic party, with which political organization he and his ancestors for generations past have always affiliated. His grandfather, Thomas Hodges, was, in his day, a leading Democratic politician in Clermont county and served as county commissioner. Dr. Hodges is prominently associated with Lone Star Lodge, No. 39, Knights of Pythias, in Hamilton, and is the present chancellor commander. He is also a member of Red Cloud Wigwam, No. 18, Improved Order of Red Men, of Indianapolis, and the Dramatic Order Knights of Khorassan.

The subject of this sketch was for many years one of the leading farmers and stock raisers of Butler county, but since the spring of 1902 he has been living a life of honored retirement in the city of Middletown, though still giving personal attention to his large and varied business interests. W. A. Sinkev is descended paternally from an old family that figured prominently in the early history of Pennsylvania, his grandfather, John

Sinkey, having been born and reared in that state. John Sinkey married Mary Shields, a native of Ireland, and raised several children, among whom was a son by the name of Daniel, whose birth occurred in Kentucky, to which state the family removed in an early day. Daniel Sinkey grew to maturity in Kentucky, and in the year 1806 came to Butler county, Ohio, settling in Lemon township, where he purchased land, improved a farm and spent the remaining years of his life as a prosperous tiller of the soil, dying on September 14, 1877. When a young man he married Miss Mary Van Sickle, of Madison township, this county, who bore him five children, among the number being W. A. Sinkey, whose name introduces this sketch.

W. A. Sinkey was born on the homestead in Lemon township, June n, 1844, 'and grew up pretty much after the manner of the majority of country boys whose early experience is closely identified with the rugged and wholesome duties of farm life. As soon as old enough he bore his part in the cultivation and harvesting of the crops, thus forming and fostering habits of industry and thrift, and under the direction of his father he early learned to appreciate the true dignities of self-reliance and honest toil. Meantime he devoted the winter seasons to study in the district schools, and while he cannot be called an educated man in the sense the term is generally understood, he is never theless well informed, the greater part 0 his knowledge being of the practical an valuable kind obtained by coming in contact with the world in various business capacities, a knowledge such as schools an colleges fail to impart.

father s able assistant until twenty-seven years of age, at which 'time he started out to make his own way, chosing the ancient and honorable calling of agriculture for his life work. On January 25, 1872, he was united in marriage with Miss Josephine Shafer, daughter of John R. and Sarah ^ Davis) Shafer, of Butler county, and immediately thereafter moved to the farm in Lemon township, which was his home until a recent date, and on which he achieved such encouraging success as an enterprising agriculturist and raiser of fine live stock. Mr. Sinkey's career in his chosen vocation has been eminently honorable and his prosperity such as few attain. For a number of years he devoted especial attention to fine live stock, in the breeding and raising of which he earned a wide reputation and it was from this source that he derived the greater part of the ample fortune which he now commands. In addition to raising fine shorthorn cattle and the best breeds of hogs obtainable, he also bought and shipped live stock upon quite an extensive scale, besides conducting public sales on his farm, which were attended by the leading stockmen in this section of the state. Mr. Sinkey always took a pardonable pride in his domestic animals and exhibited them at a number of county and state fairs, where they invariably won a goodly number of first-class premiums. To him more perhaps than to ally other man is due the credit for the improvement of the live stock in Lemon * township, many of the farmers imitating his example and learning by practical experience that it is just as easy and far more profitable to raise good animals than to waste time and labor upon poor and indifferent breeds.

his, agricultural and live-stock interests on the farm until March, 1902, on the 5th of which month he took up his residence in Middletown, where he is now enjoying some of the fruits of his industry and judicious management in a life of leisurely retirement. As already indicated, however, he still looks after his various business interests, which are large and important, and keeps in close personal touch with everything pertaining to agriculture and live stock, being fully up-to-date in his ideas and progressive in all the term implies. He possesses excellent judgment and wise foresight and is a notable example of those correct principles which invariably secure success, while his genial traits of character and sound, practical intelligence are such as to win and retain the esteem and confidence of his fellow men. As a citizen he discharges every obligation devolving upon him in a manner becoming his station, and his force of character and pleasing personality, combined with sterling integrity and fine social qualities, make him not only a useful man in the community, but popular with all classes and conditions of people. He has long been interested in the affairs of his township and county, served one term as real-estate appraiser, to the entire satisfaction of the public, and was also assistant appraiser of Lemon township at different times, besides taking an active part in the deliberations of the Democratic party, to which he has given his earnest support ever since old enough to exercise the rights and privileges of citizenship. In religious matters he subscribes to the Baptist creed, and with his wife belongs to the First church of this denomination in Middletown, both being faithful and devout members, liberal con-

Mrs. Sinkey belongs to an old family that settled in Butler county as early as the year 1803 moving to Ohio from Kentucky, and to that state many years previous from New Jersey. Her grandfather, William Shafer, served as a lieutenant in the war of 1812, was a farmer by occupation and died in this county, a number of years ago, at the remarkable age of ninety-six years. After receiving preliminary training in the district schools, Mrs. Sinkey entered Oxford Female College, which she attended until completing the prescribed course of study, graduating in 1867 with a creditable record as a student. She is a lady of intelligence and culture, possesses a beautiful Christian character and, in addition to being a devoted and loving wife and mother and also a true homemaker, she has always wielded a wholesome moral influence and is popular with a large circle of friends. Her only child, a daughter by the name of Jessie, who was bom in April, 1874, is also well educated, having spent three years in Glendale College, Glendale, Ohio, after which she became the wife of Hubert S. Vail, an employe of the Aetna Insurance Company of Hamilton.

Peter Bisdorf

Peter Bisdorf, ex-sheriff of Butler county, has in his career set at naught the application of the statement that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country. for he is a native of thi^ county, has here passed his entire life and has gained the unqualified confidence and esteem of its people. He was born in the city of Hamilton, on the 20th of April, 1866, and is a scion of sturdy German stock, a line notable for industry, honesty and good citizenship. His father, George Bisdorf, was bom in Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, on the 24th of July, 1835. 1848, when but thirteen years of age, he took passage on a sailing vessel at Bremen, and after a tempestuous voyage of six weeks' duration landed in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. After a temporary sojourn in the east, within which time he visited Philadelphia, Wilmington and other cities, he decided to work his way westward, and he finally arrived in the city of Cincinnati, where he was employed in a flouring mill for several months. His desire for travel in the new world, however, was not yet satiated, and the alluring tales concerning the discovery of gold in California led the adventurous youth to join the argonauts of '49, and he made the long and perilous journey across the plains to the new eldorado. He passed three years in the far West, and within this time visited Pike s Peak, of which little was known in those days, and also made a trip into Texas and other sections of the West. He finally returned to the East and made Chicago his destination. From that point he sailed on the great lakes for several months. In 1852 he came to Hamilton, having now satisfied his ambition for uncertain adventure, and of this city he has ever since been a resident, commanding unqualified confidence in the community and being one of the sterling old citizens of the county. He has always taken an active interest in public affairs and has held many positions of local trust and responsibility, performing his duties with ability and with inflexible regard to principle. His political life has been associated with the Democracy, and he has wielded no little influence in the councils of his party in this county. He is an active and valued member of St. John's German Evangelical church, in which he is a ruling elder. In 1882 his venerable mother joined him in America and remained a cherished member of his family circle until her death, in 1891. Mr. Bisdorf has been an active member of the Masonic fraternity about thirty-five years. In the city of Hamilton, in i860, was solemnized the marriage of George Bisdorf to Miss Katherine Streher, who has been a devoted wife and helprpeet, and they became the parents of ten children, of whom eight are living.

Peter Bisdorf, whose name initiates this article, secured his early education in the public schools of Hamilton and thus qualified himself for the active duties of life, while in the home circle he became familiar with the German language, which he speaks with as great fluency as does he the vernacular of his native land, this knowledge being of great value to him in his present position. After leaving the public schools he completed a thorough course in a business college, and thus on attaining to man's estate he was well equipped for the battle of life. After his school days he was engaged in various lines of business occupation until the political campaign of 1899, when he consented to permit his name to be used in the Democratic county convention in connection with the nomination for sheriff. His personal popularity became distinctively manifest in the nominating convention, where he received the highest number of votes ever given to any candidate for county office, and this signal victory was followed by an equally significant triumph at the polls, for the ensuing election rolled up to his credit the highest number of votes accorded to any candidate on the ticket. He assumed the active duties of the shrievalty on the first Monday of January, 1900, and so acceptable and able was his administration that he was chosen as his own successor in the election of 1901. Upon being inducted into this important office Sheriff Bisdorf surrounded himself with competent and. thoroughly trustworthy deputies and office assistants, and his regime stands creditable alike to himself, his corps of assistants and to the people of the county. He has now passed the statutory close of his official career, and he can feel a full measure of personal satisfaction in the thought that he did his best as a public servant and that his efforts were fully appreciated in the county, his administration having been careful and conservative. He made no effort to expand his official functions by irregular means for the purpose of increasing his emolument, but his aim was solely to discharge his duties promptly and efficiently for the conservation of law and order and good government.^ He dealt with a number of desperate criminals and was never found lacking in courage, though he showed a deep humanitarian spirit and did not lack in sympathy for those whose lives have been cast in shadow through their own malefactions.

He has been a zealous worker in the cause of the Democratic party and a prominent figure in its local contingent. Fraternally the subject is identified with Hamilton Lodge, No.

and also with the local organization of the Royal Arcanum, the Columbia Mutual Aid Society and the Monkey Mutual Aid Society. It is probable that the term "monkev" is used for euphony; certainly not in any sense of reproach, for the society mentioned numbers among its members a large following of the representative young men of Hamilton. The writer is inspired to add this word of explanation in order to forefend the popular inference that "any monkey" can join the order. This is an assemblage of "select monkeys," who have to pass a crucial test and bear the ignominy of serving a period of probation before attaining the highest rank in exalted monkeyship.

In the city of Hamilton, on the 21st of April, 1886, Mr. Bisdorf was united in marriage to Miss Clara Heckroth, who was born and reared in this city, where she is a favorite in social circles and who presides with gracious dignity in the home circle. Of this union were torn seven children, of whom five are living, Bertha, Stella, Elsie, Peter, Jr., and Warren G.

Sloane Gordon

One of the best known young men of Butler county, Ohio, and one whose acquaintance extends over almost the entire country, is he whose name appears above. His grandparents were of Scotch-Irish blood on the paternal side, while English- Welsh blood predominated on the maternal side. His maternal grandfather was a native of the state of Virginia and was a relative of President Thomas Jefferson. The subject's parents were James S. and

Margaret C. Turpin. The father was one of the most prominent newspaper correspondents of his day, having written under the non de plume of "Ithuriel" in the Cincinnati Enquirer, New York World, Philadelphia Press and other leading metropolitan papers. It thus becomes apparent that the subject must have inherited a natural tendency to or liking for the work which he has so successfully carried forth during the greater part of his active years.

Sloane Gordon is a native son of the old Buckeye state, having first seen the light of day at Foster's Crossing, Warren county, Ohio, on the 1st day of March, 1871. He was educated in the country schools at Foster's Crossing and at Newton, Ohio, and in the public schools of Washington, District of Columbia; Paris, Illinois, and in the Hughes high school of Cincinnati, Ohio, though he did not graduate from the latter. His first practical experience on his own account was in the capacity of a farmer boy, his condensation being five dollars per month and "found." In 1887 he went to Cincinnati and procured employment as a clerk in the office of Proctor & Gamble, the noted soap manufacturers, there receiving a good training in business methods. He resigned this position in 1891 to accept that of invoice clerk with the Wilson & Mc- Callav Tobacco Company, at Middletown, Ohio, but at the end of two years he also relinquished this position and became a reporter on the staff of the Middletown Signal, of which paper he subsequently became editor. A Democrat in political faith, he always took a keen interest in the trend of passing events and exhibited a remarkable insight into political situations, which, together with his trenchant and forceful style of writing, led to his engagement by the Cincinnati Enquirer as traveling correspondent, in which capacity he visited all parts of the country, describing accurately and succinctly the political conditions in each section he visited. He has reported many political conventions of both the dominant parties, both state and national, and was one of five correspondents who made the tour of the entire country with William Jennings Bryan during the memorable campaign of 1900. He enjoys the personal acquaintance and friendship of Mr. Bryan and many other leading men of both parties and is esteemed highly because of the faithful and able accounts he has given the public of leading events which have come under his notice.

On the 24th of June, 1896, the subject was united in marriage with Miss Bertha Y. Crawford, the daughter of James and Belle Crawford, whose father is a pioneer resident of Butler county and a leading merchant of Middletown. To this union have been born two children, James Sloane, who died in 1898, and Robert, who was bom May 28, 1900. Socially he is affiliated with the Fraternal Order of Eagles. In all the relations of life the subject has been true to every trust and today no man stands higher in popular esteem than does he.

George Kolbenstatter

George Kolbenstatter, who is one of the three trustees of Fairfield township, Butler county. Ohio, was born on a farm in Delhi township, Hamilton county, Ohio, on the 8th of August. 1854. His parents, Christopher and Sophia (Kern) Kolbenstatter, were born and reared in Bavaria, Germany, where they were also married. They came to the United States in 1850 and, landing at Baltimore, came direct to Cincinnati, removing thence to a farm in Delhi township. In 1862 they came to Fairfield township, Butler county, where they lived the balance of their lives, the father dying in March, 1886, aged sixty-five years, and the mother on January 10, 1904, aged seventy-six years. The father followed trucking and small farming all his life and had a stand in the market at Hamilton for many years, and was well and favorably known. To these parents the following children were born: Mary (died in infancy,) George (the subject), John, Mary (second ; died in infancy), Louisa and Fred M.

The subject of this sketch received a common-school education. He remained with his parents until he was twenty-three years old, and worked on the truck farm and "stood market" with his father in Hamilton. In 1877, at the above mentioned age, he married and then set up an independent home for himself and wife. He inherited the old family farm, near Hamilton, and still continues trucking and fruit farming. He is a Republican in politics and in April, 1902. he was elected as a trustee of Fairfield township, for a term of three years.

On February 7, 1877, Mr. Kolbenstatter was married to Miss Annie Appleby, who was born in Monmouth, Illinois, in 1858, being the daughter of Thomas and Maria Appleby. She died March 10, 1904. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Kolbenstatter children were born as follows: William C., Edward G.. Louisa, Walter. Charles and Frankie, the latter being now deceased. In all the relations of life the subject has proved faithful to every trust and because of his sterling personal qualities has won and retains a host of warm personal friends.

Stanley Shaffer

Stanley Shaffer, a well-known attorney in Hamilton, was born in this city on the 5th of October, 1861. He is the son of William Shaffer, a well-known and successful business man, who operated an extensive pork-packing establishment in Cincinnati in the days when that city was considered the "Queen of the West" along the lines of that and kindred industries. William Shaffer's intercourse with Hamilton was continuous throughout his entire business life, and the old Shaffer homestead, a handsome suburban residence, is still occupied by members of his family. William Shaffer married in Rossville, now the first ward of Hamilton, Miss Susan Lewis, who came to this city from New Jersey with her family. Both families were prominent in the early social and business affairs of Hamilton. They were the parents of a family of whom six still survive, and four of the sons were graduated from Yale College.

Stanley Shaffer spent the early years of his life in preparatory study, and was graduated from the Chickering Institute, at Cincinnati, in 1878. The year following he entered Yale, taking up the classical course, and was graduated with the class of 1883. Returning to his home in 1892. he took up a course in law at the Law School of Cincinnati, graduating in 1893. On the 1st of January. 1899. he formed a law partnership with W. C. Shepherd under the finn title of Shepherd & Shaffer. They occupy offices in the Jefferson building, and are rated as one of the strong law firms in the city.

Thomas H. Bateman

Thomas H. Bateman is a native of Cincinnati, born on the 13th of March, 1870. He was educated in the public schools of his native city, and, while yet a youth, secured a clerical position in the offices of the Chesapeake & Ohio and the Big Four Railroads. At a later date he was* promoted to the position of assistant depot agent in the employ of the Chesapeake & Ohio. During the memorable strike of 1894. owing to his sympathy and affiliations with the strikers, he lost his position and has never since returned to railroad work. In 1896 he came to Hamilton and was employed for a time as a salesman in a clothing house. This was followed bv his appointment to a more lucrative position as day clerk in the police department. He was thus employed for several vears. when he retired from the force, but in April, 190T, he was reappointed to his old position, retaining that place until called to superintend the advertising department of the Hamilton Evening Sun. This is a popular Democratic daily, ably edited, and an advocate of the people s interest, regardless of "where the chips may fly." Its growing strength in the city and county is the best evidence that it has stiuck the key notes of popular sympathy. Mr. Bateman is manager of the advertising department of the Sun, a position which he is eminently qualified to fill. His favorable and extensive acquaintance in the city brings to the position the prestige of strong influence. Mr. Bateman was married on the nth of May, 1892, to Miss Jennie Katerina Early. Three interesting children have resulted from this happy union: Thomas H.. Jr., Ida Dorothy and William Earley. The family are prominent in the social functions of Hamilton and have high standing in the community.

J. E. Wright

J. E. Wright, vice-president and manager of the sales department of the Columbia Carriage Company, is a native of Pittsburg. Pennsylvania, bom in 1859, and educated in the schools of the Smoky City. Shortly after Horace Greeley's utterance of ^ oung man, go west." he obeyed the injunction, but failed in the matter of growing up with the country. The West did not meet Mr. Wright's expectations as a field for successful growth in the business world and he ventured to jetum home is far as Columbus, Ohio. There he entered the employ of the Columbus Buggy Company, in the stock department, and later occupied a position in the company's office. He remained there some three years, when, in 1882. he accepted a more lucrative and responsible position with the Hiram W. Davis Carriage Company, of Cincinnati. After a short probationary service, he was made superintendent of the factory and so continued until he resigned to associate himself with Thomas L. Curley, in the organization of the Hamilton Buggy Company. Later they disposed of their interests together, and each became one of the incorporators of the now well-known Columbia Carriage Company. Mr. Wright was made the vice-president and manager of the sales on the incorporation of the company and has so continued to the present, ft is largely due to his energy and business capacity that the products of this plant finds its way into every state and territory in the Union, and into the markets of several foreign countries. Mr. Wright is a thorough-going and systematic business man. He is a next 'door neighbor to his friend, Mr. Curley, and owns a handsome modern house on aristocratic Dayton street.

David W. McClung was born December 18. 1837, in Seneca county. Ohio, and was reared on a farm, the homestead bordering on the Western Reserve. He received a good common-school education and afterwards attended the Seneca County Academy, at Republic, at which institution he prepared for college. In 1850 he entered Muskingum College, at New Concord, where he remained one term, and then entered Miami University, from which institution he graduated in 1854. During his collegiate course he had maintained himself largely by teaching and after graduation he resumed this profession, though in a higher field. His first position was as principal of the Hamilton high school, in which his suc- cess was so pronounced that he was chosen as superintendent and principal of the city schools, serving in this capacity from September, 1854, until June, 1857. In December of the latter year he associated with Col. Minor Millikin in conducting and editing the Hamilton Intelligencer, but retired from this paper in July, 1858, to prosecute the study of law. In i860 he was appointed by Governor Dennison probate judge of Butler county, but at the outbreak of the Civil war he relinquished this position and enlisted as a private in Company F, Third Ohio Infantry Regiment. A few days after his muster in he was made quartermaster of Camp Dennison, with rank of captain, and in June, 1862, he was ordered to Camp Chase, Columbus, to erect the prison pen. He was honorably mustered out of service on November 8, 1865, having been breveted major of volunteers for valuable service rendered his country. During his services his money account with the government aggregated twenty-five million dollars and his property account about sixty million of dollars. In 1866 Major McClung returned to Hamilton and was elected president of the Second National Bank, filling this position for about eighteen months, at the end of which time he resigned and engaged in the manufacture of wook-working machinery. Subsequently he became superintendent and business manager of the Woodsdale Paper Company and in 1879 he removed to Cincinnati and was appointed assistant postmaster. In 1881 he became surveyor of the port in Cincinnati, serving as such until 1885 and in 1889 President Harrison appointed him collector of internal revenue for the third district of Ohio, filling this position until December 1. 1893. He has served two periods as trustee of Miami University. In politics he is a Republican and has taken prominent partv in the campaigns of his party, being wellinformed on all questions of national moment and a ready .debater on the great questions of the day. On March 19, 1861, Major McClung married Miss Anna Carter Harrison, granddaughter of President William Henry Harrison.

William H. Todhunter

The name borne by the subject of this review is an honored one in southern Ohio, with whose history it has been long, prominently and intimately identified. William H. Todhunter has well upheld the prestige of his patronymic, as a representative member of the bar of the state, as a public-spirited citizen and as a man of affairs. He has passed practically his entire life in this county, and it is a matter of gratification to the publishers of this work to incorporate a brief review of his family and personal history.

William H. Todhunter is a native of Monroe, Butler county, Ohio, where he was bom on the 20th of May, 1844, being a son of John D. and Hannah W. (Clark) Todhunter, the former of whom was bom in Loudoun county, Virginia, in 1811, while his death occurred in 1874. He was a farmer by vocation and was successful in temporal affairs ; a man, too, of unbending integrity, unusual strength of character and mental force. His father, Jacob Todhunter, was one of the early settlers of Warren county, Ohio. The mother was born in Butler county, in 1821, and her death occurred in 1893; she was a woman of gracious and noble character, wielding an influence for good upon all who came into her benign presence; and was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church in Monroe, as also was her husband. John Clark, her father, was one of the early settlers of Butler county. The paternal and maternal grandfathers of the subject were prominent in the civic and industrial life of this section of the state and were, distinctively, men of affairs. The Todhunter lineage is traced back to pure English origin, and the first of the name in the new world settled in Virginia in the early colonial epoch, and came of good Quaker stock. From the Old Dominion representatives of the family came westward into Kentucky and Ohio, following the course of empire, and today numerous scions of the parent stock in America are to be found in the two states mentioned, as well as in Iowa, other western commonwealths and along the Pacific , slope. Incidentally it may be noted that a singular family trait seems to have been inherent in each generation, - a great love for horses, their rearing and training.