Dayton City (part 30 of 50)

The principal battles in which Mr. Renner participated were Shiloh, Corinth, Murfeesboro or Stone River, and Perryviile. It must not be forgotten, however, that the skirmishes and preliminary engagements leading up to these were one unceasing series of battles, often fought with great losses. At Murfreesboro he received a severe wound in the hand, and while en route to the field hospital for treatment was captured by the enemy. Presuming that their German-Yankee prisoner was disabled, they were somewhat lax in their duties as captors, and consequently he made his escape. His term of service expired in September, 1864, and he did not again enter the army. Mr. Renner was married in Dayton, in 1861, just prior to the war, to Miss Rachel Louise Hoerz, a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, who came to America in young womanhood. To this union six children have been born, the eldest of whom, Emma, died in infancy. The eldest living is Jacob Frederick, who is now engaged in the real-estate business at Spokane, Wash. He was deputy sheriff of his county until recently, serving several years in that capacity. Frederick served five years in the regular army, being a musician in the First United States cavalry; his service was entirely on the Pacific coast; he was married by the post chaplain, and following his discharge located in Washington. Oscar L. is the assistant in his father's business; Eleanora Louise and Amelia Lillian are still under the parental roof, the latter holding a position as stenographer and typewriter in an extensive manufacturing concern in Dayton.

Mr. Renner is a past commander of Dister post, G. A. R., but now a member of Old Guard post, No. 23. He holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and

Independent Order of Red Men, being pastsachem in the latter; is also a member of the Ancient Order of Druids, and past noble arch of the same. He is a prominent member of the Harugari society and of the German Pioneer society. The latter is largely social. Membership in it requires continuous residence in Dayton of not less than twenty years, and no person will be admitted to membership who is not more than forty years old and able to pass a critical examination touching his character and standing in the community.

Mr. Renner is independent both in politics and religion. His motto is to deal justly by all men; to "visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan " are among the duties imposed by his ritual. He believes in voting for the men and measures whose success would bring the greatest good to the greatest number. He has been fairly successful in business, owning a comfortable home and business house at No. 246 Wayne avenue. Renner hall is a part of this property, where various lodges and societies hold regular meetings.

HOMASA. SELZ, president and manager of the Pearl Laundry company, and one of the well known young busimen of Dayton, was born at Camp Thomas, Franklin county, Ohio (now a part of the capital of the state), November 3, 1863. He is a son of Charles Selz, who is a native of Germany, and who came to the United States about 1850, landing at New York and going direct to Bucyrus, Ohio. Enlisting in the Fifty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, he served during the war as band sergeant. Mr. Selz was a bugler in Col. Joseph Dister's command, and when the order was issued disbanding the bands of the volunteer regiments, he joined the regular army, and became a member of the Eighteenth regiment's band. His service was in the west for three years, at Fort Laramie and other frontier posts. At the close of the war he returned to Ohio, locating at Sandusky, and was there for some time engaged in the manufacture of carriages. In 1876 he removed to Dayton, Ohio, and has ever since been a resident of this city. At present Mr. Selz is a member of the Third regiment band.

The education Thomas A. Selz received was that furnished by the public shools, but leaving school when thirteen years of age he became a cash boy in a store in Dayton. Afterward he was engaged for nearly three years in a photograph gallery, and at the end of this time he went to work in a laundry, in which he was an employee for nearly three years. In 1881 he engaged in the laundry business for himself, beginning on a very small scale with a hand laundry, his plant consisting of one wash tub and a second hand cook stove. His partner in this enterprise was Charles A. Koch, Their business gradually increased in proportion from year to year until 1887, when they established a steam laundry, fitting up their plant af No. 1 1 1 East Second street. They continued to increase their capacity until 1893, when they organized a stock company with a capital of $25,000, with Mr. Selz as president and manager, and Mr. Koch as vice-president and assistant manager. In June, x 895 , their present handsome building was completed at Nos. 106, 108 and no East Second street, it being erected especially for their laundry business. It is four stories in height, 60x60 feet in size, and is fitted up with the latest and most improved machinery for doing a general and special laundry business. To give some idea of the capacity of this establishment and of the amount of work done, it may be stated that the Pearl laundry uses 25,000 gallons of water daily, which is pumped from the company's own wells. Their steam mangle, which is one of the largest in the world, has a daily capacity of 32,000 pieces, and this company has the exclusive right to operate it in Dayton. Since 1886 Mr. Selz has been a member of the National Laundry association, and is 1895, at the convention held at Atlanta, Ga., he was elected president of the association, which position he still holds.

Politically Mr. Selz is and always has been a democrat, and at the present time is treasurer of the democratic city committee. He is a member of the B. P. O. E., of the Independent Order of Foresters, of the Sons of Veterans, of the Dayton Bicycle club and has been treasurer of the Dayton Gymnastic club for years. Mr. Selz was married, in 1891, to Miss Clara L. Clemens, daughter of Jacob Clemens, a retired contractor and builder of Dayton. He is a man of excellent business capacity, and through his own unaided efforts and careful management has built up a fine business, and ranks as one of the able and useful young business men of the city.

EWTON H. RICE, manager and bookkeeper for W. S. Hawthorn, coal and wood dealer, of Dayton, was born in Van Buren township, Montgomery county, Ohio, May 6, 1857, and is a son of James A. and Hannah (Opdyke) Rice.

James A. Rice, a native of Frederick county, Md., was born May 24, 1824, and is now residing on a farm in Jefferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, where the parental home has been since 1861; Mrs. Hannah (Opdyke) Rice was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, August 1 8, 1 826. To their marriage have been born eleven children, nine of whom are still living. Ten names of the eleven, in order of birth, are as follows: James Milton, who died is a bookkeeper in Dayton; Oliver H., an engineer, went west in 1876, and has not returned; Newton H. is the subject of this memoir; a daughter died in infancy, unnamed; Wilson, who was a school-teacher, is now engaged in the coal business in Germantown, Ohio; Willie P. is a traveling salesman for the Wellston & Jackson Fuel company, of Jackson, Ohio; Edgar E. is a bookkeeper for a coal company at Glenroy, Ohio; Emma M. and Lillie O. are unmarried and at home with their parents.

Newton H. Rice was educated primarily in the public schools, and this education was supplemented by courses in the Euphemia normal school and the normal school at Valparaiso, Ind. He was prepared for teaching, and followed this as a profession, from the age of twenty-one years, for eight years, in Preble and Montgomery counties. He was then assessor of Miami township, in the latter county, for two years, and in 1889 entered upon his vocation as bookkeeper, for the first four years with Mr. McClure, and since that time with Mr. Hawthorn. He is possessed of fine business abilities, is especially expert as an accountant, and is faithful and painstaking in the discharge of every detail of his duty.

Mr. Rice was united in marriage in West Carrollton, Ohio, in 1883, with Miss Carrie M. Pease, a native of that place - her parents having been among the early settlers. She received an excellent education in the public schools of Carrollton and Miamisburg, and to her marriage with Mr. Rice there has been born one daughter - Lulu Ethel - now eleven years of age. Mrs. Rice is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Rice is a free contributor to all religious and charitable institutions. In politics Mr. Rice, like his father, is a democrat and is very popular with his party and with the public in general, having been elected assessor of Miami township by the almost unanimous vote of all parties.

Fraternally Mr. Rice is prominent in various societies, being a member of Miamisburg lodge, No. 44, Knights of Pythias, and a charter member of uniform rank, Hope division, No. 32; a past grand of Wayne lodge, No. 10, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and member of Dayton encampment, No. 2, of which he is past chief patriarch; also a member of canton Earl, No. 16, patriarchs militant, and of court Cooper, No. 1567, Independent Order of Foresters, of which he has served as treasurer. He was also a charter member of the Fraternal Censers, Gem City council, No. 1, and is likewise a charter member of camp No. 3526, Master Workmen of America.

OHN B. RITCHIE, the popular plumber and dealer in plumbers' supplies at No. 535 East Fifth street, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Beaver county, Pa., June 28, i860, and is a son of Alexander T. and Hannah C. (Brown) Ritchie, both natives of the Keystone state.

Alexander T. Ritchie was born August 10, 1818, was a cooper by trade in his earl)' manhood, but spent the latter years of his life in the butchering business, and died in Beaver county, Pa., September 19, 1886; his widow, who was born in 1824, survived until October 14, 1888, when she died in Venango county. The children born to these parents were seven in number, of whom John B. is the only surviving son; of the other six, Kelso died at the age of seven months; Perry Amasa was drowned May 16, 1886, when twenty-one years old; Ellen Elizabeth is married to Hugh M. Adams, a farmer of Venango county, Pa. ; Clementine C. is the wife of David B. Nelson, a farmer of the same county; Mary J., married to James VanCamp, a cooper, lives in Crawford county, Pa., and Parthenia is the wife of Homer Carpenter, of Venango county, in the same state.

John B. Ritchie, in his youthful years, received a very good public-school education in his native county, and his early manhood was devoted to aiding his father on the home farm. After leaving the parental roof he went to Pittsburg, Pa., where he apprenticed himself to a plumber, and, after having thoroughly learned the trade, he worked for some years in that city as a journeyman. He first started for himself in business in Piqua, Ohio, but after one year's experience in that city, moved his implements, wares and fixtures to Dayton, and on December 21, 1888, located at his present place of business. Here he has prospered, being thoroughly skilled in plumbing, gas-fitting, steam-fitting and kindred work.

The marriage of Mr. Ritchie occurred in Dayton July 21, 1889, the bride being Miss Ida E. Hall, a native of Ohio. To this union have been born three children - Perry L., Blanche Marie and Irene Hall. In his fraternal relations Mr. Ritchie is an Odd Fellow, also a member of the uniform rank, Knights of Pythias. In religion, although reared in the United Presbyterian faith, he is not a member of any organization. In politics he is, as in religion, quite independent, his proclivities, however, tending toward republicanism. Mr. Ritchie is of Scottish origin, his paternal grandfather, Robert Ritchie, a native of Pennsylvania, having been of Scotch-Irish parentage, his remote ancestors, like hundreds of other Scots, having migrated from their native country to the north of Ireland on account of religious persecution.

a APT. HENRY RILEY, an official of the national soldiers' home, near Dayton, Ohio, was born in Mattituck, Suffolk county, N. Y. , March 23, 1844, and is a son of Philip and Mary (Mc- Donald) Riley, both of county Cavin, Ireland.

The parents came to the United States in 1831, settling on Long Island, N. Y. , where the mother died a number of years later. Philip Riley was by occupation a manufacturer of boots and shoes; after a long residence in the United States he returned to his native country, where he died. Philip and Mary Riley reared a family of three children, the eldest of whom was Thomas, a soldier in the British army, who fell in the Crimean war; Mary married a Mr. Dillon, of New York, and is now a widow living in Ireland, and the third child, Henry, is the subject of this sketch.

Capt. Henry Riley passed his youthful years in his native town until 1857, at which time his parents removed to New York city, where he completed his educational training, attending the schools of that city for about two years only. In 1859 he entered upon an apprenticeship to learn the tailor's trade with an uncle, at Lafayette, Ind, and was thus employed until 1861, in September of which year he enlisted in company C, Fortieth Indiana infantry, which formed a part of the army of the Ohio, commanded by Gen. D. C. Buell. Later Capt. Riley's regiment was transferred to Gen. Wood's division, army of the Cumberland, under Gen. Rosecrans, and during the year that followed its record is replete with laurels gallantly won on many of the bloodiest battle fields of the south. Capt. Riley shared with his comrades these honors, taking part in numerous hotly contested battles and minor engagements, among the most noted of which were Shiloh, Corinth, Perryville, Stone River or Murfreesboro, in the last of which he received a severe wound by the explosion of a shell, which cost him his right hand. This wound necessitated the captain's retirement from active service for some time, but after his recovery, he was transferred to the Ninety-fourth company, Second battalion, Veteran reserve corps, and did duty at the provost marshal's office, Terre

After retiring from the army, Capt. Riley engaged in the sewing-machine business at Lafayette, Ind., where he met with reasonably fair success, but removed two years later to New York city, at which place he was identified with the mercantile trade until 1872, when failing health compelled him to retire, temporarily, from active life. In the year last named the captain became an inmate of the national soldier's home, Dayton, Ohio, where he remained for a short time, returning to New York and accepting the position of orderly in the Charity hospital, the duties of which he discharged in a highly creditable manner for about two years. Severing his connection with the above institution, the captain became an inmate of the home at Tagus, Me, where he continued until 1879, conducting in the meantime a co-operative store for the Patrons of Husbandry, which business was carried on in the immediate vicinity of the home. In 1879 he was transferred to the national home at Hampton, Va. , thence, in 1881, to the Northwestern home, Milwaukee, Wis. , where he remained until transferred, in 1882, to the Central branch, Dayton, Ohio, from which he took his discharge in September, 1886. In April, 1888, he returned to the home, where he has since remained. For six years and three months he served as chief clerk and commissary sergeant, and on the 24th day of April, 1895, was appointed to his present position - that of captain of company Sixteen, although he has, at different times since his connection with the institution, commanded eight companies.

Company Sixteen is composed of 240 men, present and absent, from which the engineers of the home are selected. Capt. Riley possesses fine military talent and executive ability of a high order, and his official functions have been discharged in a manner creditable to himself and satisfactory to the management of the home. He is every inch a soldier, strict in discipline, active in behalf of the interests of the noble institution with which he has been so long identified, and is, withal, a most intelligent gentleman, popular with all with whom he comes in contact in official or social relations. The captain was married December ii, 1886, to Miss Louisa Kimmerle, of Dayton, a union blessed with the birth of one child, Henry J., who was born in the year 1890. The captain is a member of the Union Veteran Legion, and of the G. A. R., being past junior vice-commander of the latter, and he holds the position of quartermaster of encampment 82, U. V. L. He cast his first presidential vote, in 1864, for Abraham Lincoln, and has been a faithful and uncompromising adherent of the republican party ever since.

9 ILLIAM SCHULTZ ROCK, of the firm of Rock Bros., sign-writers, 39 South Jefferson street, Dayton, was born in Zanesville, Ohio, November 22, 1861, and is a son of John and Kate (Farrell) Rock. John Rock was born in Alsace, Germany, came to the United States at the age of sixteen, locating in Zanesville, where he was a wholesale butcher and stock dealer until his death in 1866. Mrs. Catherine Rock subsequently married D. D. Vandegrift and is still living. Of the immediate family of John and Kate Rock there were six children, whose names are as follows: Mary, wife of J. C. Harris, of Zanesville, Ohio; John, a business man of Dayton; Thomas L. , the business associate of William S.; Flora E., wife of Walter J. Manley; William S. and Harry J., the latter a member of the firm of Bates & Rock, dry-goods dealers, of Dayton.

passed in his native city of Zanesville, where he attended the public schools, and when quite young manifested a decided taste for painting and decorating. He yielded to the desire to become a painter, and worked at the trade for some time in Zanesville. He later came to Dayton, and entered the employ of the Barney & Smith car works, where he remained for eight years. During this time he became proficient in painting and finishing, but after leaving the shop discontinued his trade for a time and worked with his brother John, in the grocery business, for about two years. He then abandoned merchandizing, and in January, 1893, in partnership with his brother, Thomas L. Rock, again engaged in painting, the firm giving its entire attention to sign work in all its branches. Rock Bros, do all kinds of work in this line, making wire, wood or canvas signs, and being recognized as the leading sign manufacturers of the city. Their trade is very lucrative and the name of the firm is a guarantee for honest and artistic work. William S. Rock was married December 26, 1882, to Miss Carrie Hicks, of Springfield, Ohio, who died June 6th, 1886, leaving one child, Violet. November 20, 1888, Mr. Rock married his present wife, Katie Peters, of Dayton, Ohio, daughter of William Peters, a representative of one of the oldest and best known families of the city. Politically Mr. Rock is a democrat and in religion is liberal, not being bound by any church or creed.

^tt'OHN ROCK, a member of the Dayton 4 city council, and one of the well known /- 1 and highly respected business men of the city, was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, January 28, 1857. He is now a member of the firm of Herbig & Rock, manufacturers of harness and dealers in carriages, wagons and bicycles, with their place of busi- ness at No. 31 East Fourth street. He was reared in Muskingum county and there received the elementary education usually supplied by the public schools. He early assumed the responsibility of caring for himself, beginning when fifteen years of age to learn telegraphy, and being thus engaged for three or four years. In 1878 he came to Dayton and engaged in the grocery business on East Fifth street, continuing in this occupation until 1891. In this year he engaged in his present line of business in partnership with George Herbig, under the firm name of Herbig & Rock.

In 1889 Mr. Rock was first elected to the Dayton city council from the Fifth ward, as a democrat. Serving one term, he retired from that body in 1891. In the spring of 1895 he was again elected, this time from the First ward, and his term will expire in 1897. Mr. Rock is a member of Iola lodge, No. 83, Knights of Pythias, and of Iola division uniform rank, Knights of Pythias.

In November, 1885, he was married to Miss Jeanette Robinson, of Elmwood Place, Hamilton county, Ohio. The parents of Mr. Rock were John and Catherine (Farrell) Rock, the former born in Germany and the latter in Johnstown, Pa. The father died in Muskingum county in 1868, his widow still surviving and living in Dayton.

John Rock, the subject of this sketch, is one of the substantial and influential citizens of Dayton, is vice-president of the city council, and is highly regarded for uprightness and integrity of character wherever known.

AINT MARY'S INSTITUTE, of Dayton, Ohio, was founded by Rev. Father Leo Meyer, of Alsace, France, who landed at New York city July 4, 1850, and thence went to Cincinnati on the

16th of the same month, where he joined four distinguished and reverend brothers, named J. B. Sitzi, M. Zehler, A. Edel, and D. Litz, who had reached the last named place in December, 1849, and had taken charge of Trinity school. In January, 1851, Father Meyer was called to Dayton to aid Brothers Zehler and Edel in the care of unfortunates who were stricken with cholera, and while engaged in the performance of this charitable and selfsacrificing duty conceived the idea of establishing Saint Mary's Institute. Father Meyer secured the land upon which formerly stood the old Stuart mansion, and here was established the nucleus of what is now the prosperous institution of education under consideration. These five enterprising brothers lived to see their efforts crowned with success, three however being now deceased, Brother Edel dying in July, 1891; Brother Zehler on March 24, 1893, both passing away in Dayton, and Brother Meyer dying in Europe at a date not accessible.

From these feeble beginnings in 1850 has sprung the now prosperous and vigorous sodality or order known as the Brothers of Mary, which is represented in nine or ten states of the Union, in Winnipeg and in the Sandwich islands, the efforts of the members being devoted to the education of young men exclusively. In 1895 the local institute of Dayton had under instruction 263 students, an increase of treble its enrollment when the institute was regularly incorporated in 1878, and at least double that when it was authorized by the state legislature, in 1882, to confer upon its graduates the usual collegiate degrees. The curriculum is very comprehensive, as it begins, when necessary, at the foundation of primary instructions and carries the pupil to the culminating point of "commencement day," when he receives the diploma which authorizes him to adopt that one of the learned professions

The higher department of this most excellent institute is divided into three sections, designed to meet the demands of those students who desire advancement in literature, science or commercial training, and each section is most excellently well officered. Proficiency on the part of the students is recognized by a system of rewards given at competitive examinations, and a full record is kept of the standing of each competitor, a copy of which is sent monthly to his parents or guardians. He has, also, free access to a chemical laboratory, to physical apparatus and to a cabinet of natural history, as well as to libraries for reference and libraries for circulation. Vacation is had only at the Christmas holidays. The discipline of the institute is vigorous but is based chiefly on moral suasion, and is calculated to train the students to habits of self-control and gentlemanly behavior, based on true Christian principles. The full-course students, as a rule, remain under the roof of the institute until graduated, forming one happy family and enjoying all the comforts and conveniences of their respective homes, while of course there are some few day-scholars who enjoy all the advantages, in an educational sense, of the permanent attendants. Music and elocution are not neglected, and as to the former the student may make choice between vocal and instrumental, or, indeed, avail himself of the benefits of both. He may, if he prefer instrumental tuition, also select the instrument to which his taste may most incline him. In this connection it may here be mentioned that the institute choir now comprises seventy-five voices, and, under the direction of its proficient instructors, " discourses most excellent music." Many hundreds of young men have gone forth from Saint Mary's, are now ornaments to society and successful business men or eminent in the various learned professions. But it is meet that some mention be made of the grounds and buildings occupied by this institution. The main college building is a large four-story brick structure and the chapel is a beautiful modern edifice, occupying a position midway between the principal and the secondary college buildings. The grounds are remote from all contaminating influences, yet of easy access by street-car lines, and are located on an eminence overlooking the city and the surrounding country; they are handsomely laid out in drives and walks, ornamented with trees and shrubbery, and constitute a most homelike and inviting retreat.

RUNO RITTY, general contractor and builder, and bridge builder, of Dayton, Ohio, was born near Belfort, France, formerly a city in the department of the Upper Rhine, which was first regularly fortified in 1668 by Vauban. The date of his birth was October 6, 1849. He is a son of Joseph and Theresa (Casper) Ritty, both of whom were natives of France. To them there were born four sons, three of whom are still living, as follows: Bruno, Louis and Henry.

Joseph Ritty is still living in France. He is a stonecutter and mason by trade, and is, as was his wife, who died in 1888, at about sixtytwo years of age, a member of the Catholic church. The paternal grandfather of Bruno, Frank Ritty, was also a native of France, was a farmer by occupation, and served his country as a soldier in the war with Russia. He married twice, reared a large family, of whom Joseph, a son of his first wife, is the only survivor, and died at an advanced age. The maternal grandfather died in France before Bruno was born.

Bruno Ritty was reared in France, and there in part learned his trade and married. However, previous to his marriage, he went to Switzerland, and in Basel, the second largest city in that country, finished learning his trade. At the age of sixteen he went to Africa, remained there four years, and then returned to France, having served in the army during his sojourn in Africa.

The marriage of Bruno Ritty and Miss Rosalie Shapperly, daughter of Doris and Anna (Brobst) Shapperly, took place in the month of January, 1871. To this marriage there have been born five children, three sons and two daughters, as follows: Mary Rosalie,

Charles C., Leo, Theresa, who died in infancy, and Edward. In 1872, after the birth of the first child, Marv Rosalie, Mr. Ritty and family emigrated to the United States, coming direct to Ohio and settling in Dayton. For the first year and a half after arriving in Dayton he worked by the day, then began taking contracts, and since then has erected many of the large business blocks and residences in the city. During his twenty-five years' residence in the city of Dayton, Mr. Ritty has materially aided in its growth and improvement. Through his industry and sound judgment he has been unusually prosperous in his business affairs, and is as highly respected as successful. Since he was twelve years of age he has seen his father's home but twice. Politically, he is independent, and in religion both he and his wife are members of the Catholic church. Both are excellent people, and have a wide circle of true and trusted friends.

Ev. William A. Robinson

EV. WILLIAM A. ROBINSON, D. D., pastor of Grace Methodist Episcopal church of Dayton, is a native of the Buckeye state and was born in Warren county, January 9, 1843.

His parents, James A. and Lucinda (Guthrie) Robinson, also natives of Warren county, were respectively born in August, 1817, and August, 1815. The father was a tanner by vocation, but is now retired and resides with Dr. Robinson, whose mother died in Warren county in 1880. The grandfather of James A. Robinson was a Kentuekian and traced his genealogy to John Robinson, an Englishman, who came to America in the Mayflower. This grandfather was a Baptist minister, an early settler in Clarke county, Ohio, and ended his days on his farm near New Carlisle. Dr. Robinson's paternal grandmother was of Irish descent, while his maternal grandfather and grandmother were respectively of Welsh and English extraction.

The children that were born to James A. and Lucinda Robinson were six in number, viz: Mrs. Mary E. Gibson, now of Columbus, Ohio; Rev. William A.; Rothwell P. , who died in Kokomo, Ind., in childhood; Loretta

B. , at Higginsport, Ohio; Wellington Porter, a teacher, who died in 1875, at twenty-one years of age, and Edgar Bunyan, who married a daughter of Capt. Kauts, brother of Gen. Kauts, and lives on his farm at Higginsport, Brown county.

Dr. William A. Robinson received his elementary education in Defiance and Rochester, Ohio, and in 1862, while taking an academic course at Martinsville, enlisted in the Fifth regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, for three months, but filled out a term of four months; returning to Ohio, he entered school at Troy, but shortly afterward engaged in teaching in Miami and Clinton counties; he then took an additional academic course at Mount Washington, and in the fall of 1864 entered the Ohio Wesleyan university at Delaware, from the classical department of which he graduated in 1868. When a lad of but ten years of age he had united with the Methodist Episcopal church at Defiance under the ministry of Rev. Thomas Parker, and he preached his first sermon at the age of nineteen years, when a student, and also preached while teaching a three-months' term in Miami county. The year following his graduation from the Wesleyan university he was appointed by the presiding elder assistant preacher on the Mainville (Warren county) circuit, and in the fall of 1868 was ordained by Bishop Kingsley, at London, Ohio; in 1872 he was made an elder in the church at Eaton, Ohio, by Bishop Scott, and in the fall of 1879 entered the Cincinnati conference at Hillsboro, Bishop E. R. Ames presiding. His first appointment in this conference was to the Venice circuit, which consisted of eight charges with two preachers, Mr. Robinson being in charge. Two years later he was appointed to Christie chapel, Cincinnati, where he remained for three years, and from 1874 to 1877 officiated at Raper church in Dayton; from 1877 to 1880 his charge was the Central church of Springfield, when he was transferred to the north Ohio conference and stationed at the Franklin avenue church in Cleveland from 1880 to 1883. At the close of this pastorate he was transferred to the Pittsburg conference and assigned to the North avenue church, Allegheny City, from 1883 to 1886, during the last year of which incumbency he visited England, Ireland, Scotland, France and other European countries. In 1886 he was invited to return to the Franklin avenue church of Cleveland, where he again passed three years, and was then invited to the pastorate of the Union church in Covington, Ky. , where he remained four years, having been transferred to the Kentucky conference. In 1893 he was invited to the charge of Grace church, Dayton, Ohio, returning to the Cincinnati conference after a a separation of eleven years. During a part of the winter of 1895 and of the following spring Mr. Robinson again passed three months abroad, going up the Mediterranean sea and visiting Palestine and other points of interest in the old world. He is now serving the fourth year of his present pastorate, and it may be here mentioned that during his twentyeight years in the ministry he has had pastoral charge of over 6, 500 persons, and has received into his various congregations 1,300 converts.

Rev. Dr. Robinson was united in marriage in Delaware, Ohio, in 1869, with Miss Elizabeth J. Page, daughter of W. H. B. and Mary Page. She is highly accomplished and welleducated, having graduated from the Ohio Wesleyan Female college in 1868. Six children have been born of this union, viz: Harrison Page, who was born in Venice, Ohio, in 1870, and is connected with the wholesale glassware house of Barge & Gross at Cleveland; James Francis C., who graduated from the university of Cincinnati in 1892, and is now a teacher of English literature and history in the Dayton high school; Grace Hardin, who is a graduate of Woodward high school of Cincinnati, was also an attendant at Bartholomew's school and the university of Cincinnati, and is now at home with her parents; Daisy, who died in Dayton at the age of three years, at the time her father was pastor of Raper church; Blossom, who is taking a graduate course in the Dayton high school; and Helen Hunt, who is now in the sixth grade of the public schools. Dr. Robinson is a republican in his political affiliations, and fraternally is a member of the Greek Letter fraternity of his alma mater, and of the G. A. R.

a APT. PAUL SANDRIDGE, commanding company Ten, of the national military home, near Dayton, Ohio, was born in slavery, near Lynchburg, Va., February 1, 1841, and was the property of Eaton Carpenter, as were also his parents. Mr. Carpenter, by his will, liberated his human chattels in 1853, and somewhat later the parents of Paul Sandridge came to Ohio and located near Portsmouth, where both died.

Paul Sandridge received a fair education, on reaching the free soil of Scioto county, Ohio, where he worked at farming, near Portsmouth, until his enlistment, being one of the first of his race to offer his services for the liberation of his people. But his company, which was a "colored" company, after being thoroughly drilled, was rejected by the governor of Ohio, who, at that time, thought he had no authority to accept colored troops. After president Lincoln's emancipation proclamation, however, Mr. Sandridge found his opportunity to show his devotion to his race and the cause of freedom, and enlisted, January 1, 1864, in company C, Twenty-seventh regiment, United States colored troops, and was mustered in as first sergeant of that company. This regiment, under Gen. Burnside, served at Petersburg, Va., after the famous mine explosion. The commissioned officers of the regiment, however, were white men, while the subordinate offices were held by colored men. At the South Side fight Mr. Sandridge was so seriously wounded that he was disabled for further duty and was sent to the hospital at Alexandria, Va., where he was honorably discharged July 27, 1865, having been mustered out as orderlysergeant of company C. Returning to Portsmouth, he made an attempt at farming for a living, but soon found that he was unable to follow the plow successfully, and therefore went to Chillicothe, Ohio, where he learned the shoemaker's trade. This business he followed until October, 1869, when he came to Dayton and entered the military home for the purpose of continuing his education in its school, at which he was a constant attendant for at least three years, when he withdrew and for five years was a tutor at South Charleston, Ohio, in a free school for colored children. He spent a year thereafter in Portsmouth and then re-entered the soldiers' home at Dayton, where he has since been employed the greater portion of his time, being early placed in command of his present company.

Capt. Sandridge has command of the only barracks of colored' men in the military home, and has accommodations for about 119 men. Not less than seventy per cent of these men were born in slavery, about seventy per cent can read, and about fifty per cent can read and write. In politics the captain is a republican, and is the recipient of a pension, granted for wounds received while in the service. One noticeable feature of company Ten is that everything is scrupulously clean. The floors of the barracks are as white as careful scrubbing can make them; the beds are clean and handsomely made up; no boistrous talk is ever indulged in, and all is order and system. Another fact worthy of mention is this: A red

"pass" is a badge of good conduct. Every soldier who passes the gates on a " red pass " is considered perfect in behavior, as the badge of honor is not given to any who violate the well-established rules of the institution. Nearly every colored man who passes the gates proudly shows the guards a red card, and returns in as good order as he retires. The colored soldiers are not particularly religious, only about twenty-five per cent being members of some church, but they are prompt and regular in attendance upon religious services in the home. Concerning the early lives of these liberated slaves and the universal ignorance prevailing among them prior to the Civil war, the advancement made in their education in everything pertaining to good citizenship is worthy of all praise. It not only evinces a desire upon their part to make the best of their opportuni- ties, but also reflects great credit upon those having in charge the civilizing and disciplinary features of their education. As a factor in the development of their latent powers, no white man has accomplished more than the intelligent colored man who has so long had charge of the colored company.

The marriage of Capt. Sandridge took place in South Charleston, Ohio, in April, 1 874, to Miss Anna Morgan, a native of that town, the result of the union being a daughter, who is deceased; William, who is employed in the hotel of the soldiers' home, at Dayton; Clifford, who, at the age of nineteen years, is the manager of his father's farm, and Paul, aged eight years, who is attending school.

Capt. Sandridge is a member of the colored branch of the Masonic order, is also a member of the I. O. O. F., and has been a member of the Baptist church since 1865. He has always made the best of his opportunities, and is to-day an intelligent and useful citizen.

aHARLES WILLIAM SALISBURY, M. D., one of Dayton's successful physicians and surgeons, has been a resident of this city since 1891. He was born in Russellville, Ohio, in May, 1854, and is a son of Dr. J. N. and Maria (Payne) Salisbury, who are now living in Russellville, the former a retired physician, after an active practice of some forty years. J. N. Salisbury received his literary education at Marietta college, Marietta, Ohio, after graduating from which institution he attended the Ohio Medical college, at Cincinnati, Ohio, and was thereafter engaged in the general practice of his profession, to which he was strongly devoted. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church, and a man of great sympathy for human suffering. He reared a family of six children, viz: Emma, wife of Dr. A. M. Williamson, of Dayton, Ohio; Charles W., the subject of this sketch; Thomas N., a farmer of Brown county, Ohio, near Russellville; Ella, wife of Prof. L. O. Thoroman who is now the head of a normal school at Salina, Kans. ; James A., physician of Dayton, and Lucy B., wife of Dr. C. W. Evans, of Russellville, Ohio.

Charles W. Salisbury was reared in his native place and was educated in the public schools, and later at the National normal university at Lebanon, Ohio. He first read medicine with his father, and then attended the Ohio Medical college, at Cincinnati, Ohio, but graduated from the Starling Medical college, at Columbus, Ohio, in the class of 1882. After graduating he located in Winchester, Ohio, where he was engaged, until 1891, in general practice, when, as before stated, he removed to Dayton, where he has ever since been engaged in the active exercise of his professional duties. He is a member of the Adams and Brown county medical societies, and fraternally is a Knight of Pythias.

Dr. Salisbury was married, in 1882, to Miss Estella McCoy, of Ripley, Ohio, by whom he has had two children - Rena and Ralph. He and his wife are members of the Wayne avenue Presbyterian church, he holding the office of elder, and both taking great interest in the work of their church.

J. A. Salisbury, M. D., physician and surgeon, of Dayton, Ohio, has been a resident of that city since 1893. He was born in Brown county, in December, 1865, and is a son of Dr. J. N. and Maria (Payne) Salisbury, mentioned above in the sketch of Dr. Charles W. Salisbury. The Salisbury family is one of the oldest of New England, and its members have for the most part turned their attention to medicine. J. A. Salisbury read medicine with his father, and secured his medical education, first, in the Starling Medical college at Colum- 1 bus, Ohio, and second, in the Ohio Medical college at Cincinnati, from which he graduated in the class of 1890. He located in his old home, and there practiced his profession until 1891, when he removed to Winchester, Adams county, where he remained until he came to Dayton, in 1893. He has always been engaged in general practice, and has met with much success. He is a member of Russellville lodge, No. 166, F. & A. M., of Riverdale lodge, Knights of Pythias, of the Junior Order of American Mechanics and of the K. A. E. O.

Dr. Salisbury was married at Winchester, Ohio, in 1893, to Miss Lola Noble, a daughter of Dr. Arthur and Lee Noble. Both he and his wife are members of the Riverdale Presbyterian church, in which he is one of the elders. He is one of the most successful of the recent additions to the medical fraternity of the city, and has won for himself a secure place in the esteem of the community.

a APT. FREDERICK SCHAEFER, of No. 1160 West Germantown street, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Alpinsbach, Wurtemberg, Germany, September 30, 1837. He received a good education in the schools of his native country, studying French, German, botany, natural history, geometry, etc., and at the age of sixteen years came alone to America, landing in New York October 20, 1853. He soon afterward went to Philadelphia, and worked in that city and surrounding country at the copper and tinsmith trade until i860. He then worked as bartender in Philadelphia until April, 1861, when he enlisted in company B, Twenty-first Pennsylvania three-month volunteers, served in the battle of Falling Waters and in two or three skirmishes, and was mustered out in August, having promised to re-enlist.

The second enlistment of Mr. Schaefer was in company I, Seventy-third Pennsylvania volunteer infantry, for three years. Assigned to the army of Virginia, he took part in the battle of Cross Keys, June 8, 1862, and was promoted second lieutenant of his company; he was at Slaughter Mountain, Bull Run, and in the skirmishes around Culpeper, etc., and January 1, 1863, was promoted first lieutenant of company C, for gallant conduct at Bull Run. He was next engaged in the skirmishes which preceded the battle of Chancellorsville, and was in that disastrous battle, under Gen. Hooker. Many years later Capt. Schaefer received a letter from a prominent comrade in Philadelphia, in which it is stated that Lieut. Schaefer's company, as he led it into battle at the old log hut in Chancellorsville, appeared as if on "dress parade." Lieut. Schaefer next participated in the campaign in Maryland and Pennsylvania, which culminated in the great battle of Gettysburg, in which he commanded his company on Cemetery Hill and in the city. Under his leadership his company made a charge on a house filled with rebel soldiers, and drove them out at the point of the bayonet, holding the place during the next twenty-four hours, when he was relieved by Ohio troops.

Following Lee's army back into Virginia, Capt. Schaefer, with his regiment, was transferred in the following September to Bridgeport, Ala., arriving October 2, 1863, and became part of the Twentieth army corps. He here served principally under Gen. Adolph von Steinwehr, who became greatly attached to Capt. Schaefer, asserting that he was an officer upon whom he could always depend. At a skirmish in Lookout valley, company A was on the right wing, deployed as skirmishers, and company I was called upon to relieve them. Capt. Schaefer took the lead and was the first to leap over an obstruction that impeded the way, followed by his men with a cheer. He had but sixty-three in his command, and sud- denly he came upon the rebels on an elevation of land in his front; his own little force, however, was sheltered by heavy timber. Gen. Von Stein wehr now sent an aid to inquire what reinforcements Capt. Schaefer needed ; the reply was "Send me three more buglers. " The aid thought the captain crazy, but the general assured him the captain knew exactly what he was doing, and the buglers were accordingly sent. Capt. Schaefer stationed them as he desired, and ordered them to sound the "charge." This was done, and the little force of sixty-three men made its charge, outflanked the superior force of rebels, drove' them from the field, captured fourteen prisoners, and had but four of their own men wounded. Capt. Schaefer held his ground from two o'clock until five, with a reinforcement of seven men only.

Soon after these events, which occurred at the foot of Lookout mountain, Capt. Schaefer reported to Gen. Howard, through Gen. Von Steinwehr, that the enemy would cross Lookout creek that night, if it were not heavily guarded. This timely warning proved of great value, for the same night Hood did cross the stream, as predicted by Capt. Schaefer, and an all-night battle was the result.

On two occasions Capt. Schaefer was sent to make sketches of the enemy's works on Lookout mountain, and in each case reported valuable facts to Gen. Von. Steinwehr, for which service he was promised the majorship of his regiment, and in this capacity he served at the battle of Missionary Ridge, while his regiment was attached to the extreme left of the Union lines, under Gen. Sherman. November 25, 1863, in the afternoon of the third day of the battle, while leading his men, Capt. Schaefer received a wound which cost him the loss of his left leg. Being now unfitted for field duty, he tendered his resignation, July 5, 1864, and was finally discharged from the service. He was strongly recommended for a position as captain in the invalid corps, but declined, and from the time of his discharge until June, 1865, was employed in the United States sanitary commission at Philadelphia.

In June, 1865, Capt. Schaefer made a trip to Europe to visit his friends and to recuperate his health, having been a constant sufferer from rheumatism since 1862. In July, 1865, he was given a reception by the king of Wur-- temberg, but, having failed to withdraw his allegiance when he first left Germany, he found that he was still liable to military duty in that country. His father "drew" for him, and his name was placed upon the military roll, and, owing to his failure to report for duty, his father was forced to pay 600 florins for his exemption. This sum, however, was returned to the captain by the king's order, on occount of the injuries he had sustained in America, and the king also complimented him for the prominence he had attained in the volunteer service of the United States. Capt. Schaefer returned to Philadelphia, January 4, 18 66, and in 1867 he started on a westward tour and visited Chicago, Saint Louis, Omaha, Quincy, 111., Milwaukee and other places of interest. On the recommendation of Gen. Von Steinwehr he was sent to the soldiers' home, Dayton, the general being temporarily in Saint Louis at the time. The captain entered the home July 27, 1874, and remained until November 1, 1878, being employed at various kinds of light work, latterly as sergeant of barrack No. 9. He receives a liberal pension from the government on account of his injury.

The marriage of Capt. Schaefer took place June 7, 1878, to Miss Marianna Fix, a native of Baden, Germany. Of the four children born to this union, one only is now living - Maria Louisa, a young lady, at home; the other three - Annie, Charlie and Joseph, died in childhood. Capt. and Mrs. Schaefer have an adopted son, however, Frederick R. , who is also at home. After his marriage the captain located in Dayton, and for the past eight years has been engaged as pension agent or attorney, and has rendered very efficient aid to many deserving comrades in preparing and formulating claims against the government. The captain is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Union Veteran Union, served as colonel of the latter organization one term, and was once elected commander of the Grand Army post- - an honor which, on account of feeble health, he was compelled to decline. Capt. Schaefer was the founder of the Swabian Benevolent society, which was organized in October, 1879, and served as its president for seven successive years, when he declined to serve further.

DMUND J. SCHWIND, vice-president of the Schwind Brewing Co., was born July 31, 1859, He is a son of Celestine Schwind, formerly proprietor of the Schwind brewery, which has acquired among industries of this nature such an enviable reputation for the excellence of its products. It was founded many years ago, and by careful management was built up from small proportions to be one of the largest establishments of its kind in the city of Dayton, which is noted for its many successful manufacturing enterprises.

The proprietor of this establishment is justly proud of the reputation of Schwind beer, and in order to sustain that reputation will not allow a gallon to pass into the hands of the tapster that is not fully up to the standard. One of the rules of the brewery is: "A place for everything and everything in its place. " Cleanliness prevails throughout. Material is first cleaned and purified, and a -year's supply of everything needful kept constantly on hand. I

In 1880-81, 10,000 barrels of beer were made, and in 1882 this was increased to 15,000 barrels. At this time Edmund -J. Schwind was foreman and Louis Schwind manager. The plant was enlarged to its present size and the business increased to its present volume, in 1883. This plant, as it stands to-day, covers a frontage of 275 feet, and the buildings extend back to the river from the street, a distance of about 230 feet. The main building is really four stories high. The ice machine has a capacity of fifty tons per day. The plant has the latest improved machinery, and taken all in all it is one of the model breweries of the country. The capacity is 60,000 barrels per year, and all the actual output is consumed in the city of Dayton, this firm manufacturing as much as any other concern in the city. In 1895 the output reached 25,000 barrels.

In 1893 the company became an incorporated one, with C. Schwind, president; Edmund J. Schwind, vice-president and general manager; Edward Hochwalt, secretary and treasurer. When Celestine Schwind died his wife succeeded to the presidency of the company. Having now outlined the business with some particularity it is proper to turn our attention for a short time to the individuals who have built it up from small beginnings.

Celestine Schwind, deceased, was born in Stadtfrazelten, Bavaria, Germany, May 19, 1825, and was a son of Ignatz and Elizabeth Schwind. He came to the United States in 1850, and settled in Dayton, Ohio, where in 1854 he started a brewery on Logan street, which he conducted for fourteen years. In 1865 he founded the plant that has been described and which is to-day one of the most conspicuous landmarks and one of the greatest industries of Dayton. It is located in Dayton View, on the banks of the Miami river. When Mr. Schwind came to Dayton he was a poor man, but by dint of hard labor and strict econ-

Mr. Schwind was married in Dayton, August 28, 1856, to Miss Christine Latin, also a native of Germany, and who survives her husband. To them there were born eleven children. Mr. Schwind was a member of the Order of Odd Fellows and also of the Society of Druids. He attended strictly to business all through his life, with the exception of the last few years, which he spent in travel and enjoyment. His death occurred April 24, 1893. He left a widow and nine children, as follows; Edmund J., vice-president of the Schwind Brewing company; Emma T. , wife of Edward Hochwalt, of Dayton; Edith, wife of Frank Cable, of Sandusky, Ohio, a shoe dealer; Matilda, living at home; Mary, wife of William Makley, of Dayton; Josephine, living at home; Michael J., bookkeeper and director in the Schwind Brewing company; Clara, at home, and Anna L. , also at home. Two sons are deceased.

Edmund J. Schwind, vice-president of the Schwind Brewing company, was educated in the public schools, after which he spent some three years in traveling for the brewery. In 1882 he entered the employ of his father, as foreman, which position he occupied until 1893, when he was made vice-president of the company. He has proven himself an efficient manager and under his direction the business has grown and prospered exceedingly. He has excellent business capacity and is now well known as one of the progressive and successful men of Dayton.

EORGE E. SHEPHERD, treasurer of the National Cash Register company, one of the extensive and representative manufacturing concerns of Dayton, is a native of Alexandersville,

Montgomery county, Ohio, and was born October 22, 1851, a son of George and Sarah (Elliott) Shepherd, natives, respectively, of Indiana and Maryland.

George Shepherd, the father, came to Ohio in early manhood, and located in Butler county, in which county he married Miss Sarah Elliott, and for many years kept hotel. In his later years he removed from Butler county to Alexandersville, Montgomery county, where he spent the remainder of his days, and died, not yet an aged man, in 1852, his widow surviving until 1891.

George E. Shepherd spent all his boyhood days in his native town, receiving his early education in the district school. He afterward attended the Lebanon normal school, and was there prepared for the active duties of business life. In 1870 he entered upon his career as bookkeeper for Mead & Nixon, paper manufacturers of Dayton, and that he had been well qualified for this, his first venture, is proved be the fact that he held his position for the period of twenty-two years. January 1, 1892, he entered upon the duties of his present position, that of treasurer of the National Cash Register company, and this he has most satisfactorily filled, responsible as it is, and requiring a wise exercise of judgment in all the details of a complex financial system. In poliltics, Mr. Shepherd is a republican, and in religion a Lutheran. Fraternally, he is a member of the Royal Arcanum.

Mr. Shepherd was first married, in 1874, to Miss Eva Harvey, daughter of Jackson Harvey, of Dayton, to which union were born two sons and two daughters, viz: George H., who is now an able assistant to his father in the office of the National Cash Register company, and Harry, Daisy, and Susie, the last of whom died in infancy. Mrs. Eva Shepherd was called from life February 28, 1895, and in August, 1896, Mr. Shepherd married Miss

Mr. Shepherd is quiet and domestic in his habits, but energetic in his business, and stands .among the foremost of the accountants of Dayton, while in the community he is held in the highest esteem by all who know him, either in business or social circles.

EORGE W. SHROYER, of the firm of G. W. Shroyer & Co,., of Dayton, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, September 26, 1865, a son of Andrew j. and Mary Ann (Oakes) Shroyer, the former of whom was a son of an original pioneer of the county.

John Shroyer, grandfather of George W. , was the first of the family to come from Maryland to this county when Dayton was but a mere village, the wants of the inhabitants being fully supplied by two small stores. Later, other members of the family also found a home in Montgomery county. John owned a large farm, two miles from Dayton, and here his son, Andrew J., was born December 29, 1830, and grew to manhood. He was married, in 1852, to Miss Mary Ann Oakes, and this union resulted in the birth of five sons, viz: Edwin, who died in childhood; Oliver H. P. ; Clarke M., who died at the age of twenty years; George \Y. , and Charles O., the latter now a resident of Texas. In politics Andrew J. Shroyer is a democrat and held the office of township treasurer and other local officers in Harrison township, where he continued farming until 1882, when he removed to Dayton, having lost his wife in 1880. For the past five years he has been engaged in the manufacture and sale of certain medical remedies. He is a member of the First Reformed church, in which he has been an elder for many years.

homestead in Harrison township, Montgomery county, September 10, 1857, was educated in the district school, and at the age of twentytwo years came to Dayton, where he engaged in carpentering and house building for four years and then entered the employ of Barney & Smith, went to Buffalo, N. Y., under T. A. Bissell, and passed seven years in the finishing department of the Wagner Palace Car works. He is a very ingenious mechanic and has patented several valuable inventions. This faculty being well known to the Queen City Cycle company of Buffalo, he was employed, in 1891, by that company to go on the road and study the wheel, and he has done much toward improving and perfecting it. He is now associated with his brother, George W. , in the bicycle business in Dayton. November 5, 1879, Mr. Shroyer was united in marriage with Miss Margaret M. Bartholomew, and to them have been born nine children, viz: Bessie (deceased), Ellen, Ollie (deceased), Clarke, Robert, Grace, an infant son deceased, Margueritte and an infant daughter. The parents are members of the Reformed church and reside at No. 944 Steele avenue.

George W. Shroyer, whose name opens this sketch, received a good common-school education in his native township, and at the age of fifteen years came to Dayton to assist his father in the agricultural implement business; when seventeen years old he took the road for the Minneapolis self-binders and harvesters, his territory covering Missouri, Kansas and Texas, and for about five years did a very successful business; he then took the road for Joyce, Cridland & Co., with whom he remained six years, traveling over the United States and Canada, selling railroad supplies. In November, 1894, he opened up his present bicycle exchange at No. 23 West Fifth street, Dayton, under the firm name of G. W. Shroyer & Co. This firm handles the Gendron, Cleveland,

Victor and Winton wheels, and also carries an assorted stock of attachments, supplies and repairs, and in the winter season canvasses the states of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, making a specialty of pushing the sale of Gendron wheels. Mr. Shroyer has made a success of his venture and is recognized as one of the foremost of the young and progressive business men of the city. Fraternally he is a member of Iola lodge, No. 83, uniform rank of the Knights of Pythias. His marriage took place, in 1887, with Miss Fannie R. Joyce, and this union has been blessed with two children - Hazel and Clifford. The parents are members of the Reformed church and reside No. 6 Quitman street.

USTAVE STOMPS, deceased. - Of those worthy of prominent mention in any biographical work on Dayton, both for their successful business careers and for their sterling worth as men and citizens, was the late Gustave Stomps, president of the Stomps-Burkhardt company. Mr. Stomps was a native of Bocholt, Westphalia, Prussia, and was born on the 29th day of September, 1827. His parents were also natives of that province, where for years his father was civil engineer and land appraiser for Prince Salm, the then reigning ruler of that principality. After receiving the customary education in the excellent schools of his native land, Mr. Stomps learned the trade of leather tanning, and in 1848, during the political disturbances then agitating his country, and having lost his father by death, he came to the United States, landing in New York city in the spring of that year. Upon the day he landed he searched out some friends whose addresses he had, and the following day found him in quest of employment. Not being able to find work at the tanning trade he took the next best thing he could get, and went to work crimping boots. He spent about six months in New York city, and then came west to Cincinnati, where his eldest brother, Joseph, who had preceded him to America, was living. There he found employment in McCabe's tannery, in which establishment he subsequently became a foreman, and so continued until he was taken ill with smallpox. During this time Mr. Stomps made his home with his brother, who had married some time before. After recovering from his illness, which occurred during the year 1850, Mr. Stomps gave up the tanning trade, and began to learn that of chairmaking, and in the latter part of 1851 he and his brother Joseph engaged in the manufacture of chairs at Lawrenceburg, Ind., but the high water of the Ohio river in the following year drowned out almost the entire town, and the brothers, becoming discouraged, sold out their factory and came to Dayton.

Mr. Stomps worked at the chairmaking trade for different employers in Dayton until 1859, in which year he became one of seven chairmakers who organized the Chairmakers' Union for the manufacture of chairs. In i860, however, Mr. Stomps disposed of his interest in the union, and established the firm of G. Stomps Bro. & Company, the other members of the firm being Joseph Stomps and Martin Brabec. Their chair factory stood on the site of what is now the west factory of the Stomps- Burkhardt Co.'s plant, and was the building formerly occupied by the firm of Estabrook & Phelps, Dayton's old-time wholesale grocers. On November 2, 1869 R. P. Burkhardt purchased Mr. Brabec's interest in the company, and on December 2, of the same year Mr. Stomps bought out his brother Joseph's interest, and the firm became that of G. Stomps & Co. Then, for the first time, the firm put in a plant of machinery and power and began the manufacture of chairs by machinery in- stead of by hand. In 1890 the Stomps-Burkhardt company was formed with Mr. Stomps as president and R. P. Burkhardt, Sr., as vicepresident and general manager, J. M. Kramer, secretary, Gustave Stomps, Jr., treasurer, and Charles Vogel, superintendent. Mr. Stomps continued president of this company until his death.

In 1852 Mr. Stomps was married in Cincinnati to Miss Catherine Mahrt. Mrs. Stomps was born in Wetter, near Marburg, Hessia, Germany, on April 7, 1828. She came to the United States in 1850 in the company of friends, with whom she remained in Philadelphia for some time. Her sister had preceded her to this country and had become the wife of Joseph Stomps. It being the desire of the sisters to be together, Mr. Stomps was delegated to go to Philadelphia and escort the newly arrived sister to Cincinnati. Thus they met Jor the first time, and their marriage soon followed. To Mr. and Mrs. Stomps the following children were born: Mary Adelaide, born in Dayton, on August 27, 1853, who became the wife of R. P. Burkhardt, Sr., and died on May 12, 1893; Catherine, who became the wife of Charles Vogel; Elizabeth, who became the wife of John Stengel; Theresa, who became the wife of John M. Kramer; Anna, who became the wife of H. C. Mahrt; Francis, Gustave and Rose.

The death of Mr. Stomps occurred on the 26th day of June, 1890, away from home, and under unusually distressing circumstances, rendering doubly sad the bereavement of his family and friends. His youngest daughter, a student at the Immaculate Conception, Oldenburg, Ind., was to graduate with first honors as valedictorian of her class, and it was to witness the exercises at the convent that Mr. Stomps, accompanied by his wife and Mrs. Burkhardt, left home never to return. The

Mr. Stomps was in every sense of the word a self-made man. When he landed in New York city it was a but a few cents in his pockets. But his training had been of the right sort, to which was added a naturally industrious and frugal disposition. His was a life of unceasing application to business affairs, and so uniformly successful were his efforts that at his death he left a fortune. Mr. Stomps was of a quiet, calm, even temperament, not easily excited or confused, and he always kept his head under the most trying circumstances. He was a man of strong dislikes, warm hearted and genial, and when he won friends he kept them ever afterward. He possessed fine business talents, and was careful, painstaking and conservative in his methods. He was unswerving in his honesty and integrity, just to friend and foe alike, and during all his life enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his business associates, and of all who knew him. He was a Roman Catholic in religion and for years was an influential member of Emanuel Catholic church of this city.

HLFRED H. SHRY, a member of the engineer department, of the national military home near Dayton, was born in McArthur, Vinton county, Ohio, February 9, 1847, and was reared to manhood in his native town.

Amos Shry and his wife, Mary (Bobo) Shry, of German descent, were natives of Virginia and were born, respectively, in 1808 and 1810, were married in that state, and shortly afterward removed to Ohio and settled in or near McArthur. To their marriage were born four sons and five daughters, and of this family of children five are still living, viz: William, who follows the calling of his deceased father - that of farming - at McArthur; Catherine, Margaret, Harriet and Alfred H. The eldest born of this family of nine was Jonathan, who died at the age of eight years; Jacob, the third in order of birth, served in company D, second West Virginia cavalry, and died after the close of the Civil war; Mary the fourth in order of birth, died when sixteen years old.

Alfred H. Shry was educated in the public schools of McArthur, but quit his school to become a soldier and he enjoys the distinction of having been one of the youngest soldiers who carried a musket in defense of his native land in the late Civil war. His enlistment took place April 25, 1862, at the early age, it will be perceived, of fifteen years, in company C, Eighty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, for three months, but served one month longer, when he was honorably discharged. His next enlistment took place June 15, 1863, in company H, First Ohio volunteer heavy artillery, in whicn he served until the Rebellion was quelled. He served under Burnside in Kentucky and Tennessee and under Gen. George H. Thomas in the army of the Cumberland. A great part of the time during his second enlistment was spent in garrison duty in North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama, and he was finally mustered out at Greenville, Tenn., August 4, 1865. He then returned to the place of his birth, and was engaged in merchandizing for about fifteen years.

In 1872 Mr. Shry married Miss Lydia A. Eakin, of Vinton countjq Ohio - a union that has been blessed by the birth of four children, viz: Joseph A., who died at the age of eighteen months; Lottie M., Archie L. and Lucy F. - the latter three living in McArthur with their mother. By reason of failing health, Mr. Shry was compelled, November 26, 1886, to seek at the military home that rest and treatment which he had well earned by his service in the army, and here he has ever since been employed in some light but lucrative employment, although he has been permitted to enjoy a great deal of his time with his family. Mr. Shry in his political proclivities is a democrat. In religion he does not confine himself to the doctrines of any church, neither does he affiliate with any secret brotherhood, except the Union Veteran Legion.

Aj. William W. Shoemaker

AJ. WILLIAM W. SHOEMAKER, ex-soldier, and court bailiff of the police court, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Berks county, Pa., January 31, 1839, and is descended, on both sides, from ante-Revolutionary stock. He accompanied his parents to Dayton at the age of thirteen years, and has lived in the same house, No. 141 South Williams street, for over fortytwo years. His parents were Isaac and Hannah (Maxton) Shoemaker, the former of whom was born in Berks county, Pa., in 1810, where his parents, who came from Canada, had settled prior to the war of the Revolution. Isaac Shoemaker died in Dayton, Ohio, at the age of seventy-two years. The Maxton family was of Scotch ancestry, was also established in Pennsylvania previous to the Revolutionary war, and the maternal grandmother of the major had several times seen both Washington and Cornwallis, remembered many of the stirring events of their time, and died in Dayton at the age of ninety years. Mrs. Hannah (Maxton) Shoemaker, mother of the major, was born in Chester county, Pa., in 1817, and died in Dayton, at the age of seventy-two, the mother of eight children, of whom two died in infancy; those who have lived to maturity are named Jacob, who was the first born of the family, is a printer by trade, served in the One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and now resides in Dayton;

William W. , was the second born; Sarah is the wife of William Miller, and resides on a stock farm near Bardstown, Ky. ; Isaac K. was a soldier for three years in company K, Ninety-third Ohio infantry, was wounded at Chickamauga, and died in Dayton in 1893; Emma is the widow of George Martin, and has her home in the Gem City; Charles D. , is a native of this city and is a merchant.

William W. Shoemaker was early taught the carpenter's trade and was engaged in this calling at the outbreak of the Civil war. He had joined the Dayton Zouaves in i860, and was thoroughly drilled when enlistment in the volunteer service became the order of the day, when he left the zouaves and on April 15, 1861, joined the Dayton Light Guards (of whom further mention may be found in the sketch of Capt. Winder), and was thus one of the first to respond to the call for 75,000 threemonths men. The guards were mustered in as company C, First Ohio volunteer infantry, went on to Washington, took part in the somewhat extended skirmish at Vienna, Va. , and then in the great opening battle of the war at Bull Run, on the 21st of July. The term of enlistment had expired July 16, and the boys were invited to join in the fray, and it was almost unanimously voted to do so.

August 5, 1861, Mr. Shoemaker re-enlisted, was elected second lieutenant of company H, Fourth Ohio cavaly, and on the 15th was honorably discharged from his old company, and with his new company took part in its first battle, at Bowling Green, Ky., under Gen. Mitchell; then went to Nashville, Tenn. ; and thence, with Mitchell's division, to Huntsville, Ala., where the regiment captured seven locomotives, a large amount of stores, and prisoners from the recent battle field of Corinth. They then crossed the Tennessee river on a burning bridge at Decatur, Ala. ; went as far as Stevenson, and then returned to Huntsville and joined Gen. Buell on his retreat into Kentucky; took part in the fight at Perryville, Ky. ; went to Lexington, near which point, on the previous day, at Clay's farm, the greater portion of the Ohio cavalry had been captured by the raider, John Morgan. Lieut. Shoemaker was provost guard at Lexington, in command of 128 men, whom he had quartered in the courthouse. When called upon to sursender, he flatly refused, unless convinced that all the other cavalry had been captured. "What evidence do you require?" was asked. "Bring the colonels of the regiments you say you have captured," was the answer. On this request being complied with, Lieut. Shoemaker surrendered his men. This action had been strongly urged by the mayor of Lexington, who wished to save the city from being shelled and probably burned. An incident of this surrender, tending to show Lieut. Shoemaker's tenacity, may here be related. He had been presented with a very handsome sword-belt, with which he refused to part, though threatened with death if he refused; while the controversy was going on, Gen. Breckinridge, the Confederate, rode up to ascertain the cause of the trouble, and, on learning the circumstances, ordered the hot-headed Texan captor to restore the belt. The lieutenant was paroled on the spot and returned to Frankfort, and thence to Indianapolis.

Having been exchanged, Lieut. Shoemaker returned to the front in time to take part in the battle of Stone River (December 31, 1862, and January 1 and 2, 1863). Later, while on staff duty under Gen. Turchin, and while on the Tullahoma campaign, in searching for a ford across Stone river, the lieutenant was shot through the shoulder, the ball coming out near the -elbow; but he remaiued on Gen. Crook's staff until after the Chickamauga campaign; then returned to Tullahoma and thence went to Murfreesboro; at the battle of

Farmington, while making a saber charge, he was shot through the right lung, the ball being removed from under the shoulder blade. He was conveyed to a private dwelling together with seven wounded men, who where left there to die, and the next morning five of the seven were actually dead. He had but little hope of recovery, under the indifferent treatment of his rebel host; at the end of thirty days, however, he secured a horse and was able to ride to Wartrace station, on the Nashville & Chattanooga railroad, and take a train for Deckard, where he found the Federal cavalry headquarters, to learn that he had been reported as dead, and to encounter much difficulty in convincing his fellow-officers that he, the dirty, emaciated soldier, was the former robust officer they had mourned as lost. He here received a furlough for thirty days, which was extended to sixty, but the wound was not entirely healed until two years later.

Reporting to Gen. Crook at Pulaski, Tenn. , Lieut. Shoemaker was appointed recruiting officer of the Second cavalry division and located at Nashville. This duty ended, he was mustered in as captain of company F, Fourth Ohio cavalry, and went home on a thirty-day veteran furlough, at the expiration of which he rejoined the army at Nashville, and the main army at Rome, Ga., to enter upon the Atlanta campaign. At Decatur, Ala., he had a fight with the rebel, Roddy, and captured some prisoners; was detailed as assistant inspector on the staff of Gen. Girard, at Decatur, and went on the Atlanta campaign; was on the Jonesboro raid, and with Kilpatrick in the rear of Atlanta. After the fall of that city, the cavalry division was placed under the command of Gen. Thomas, at Nashville; Lieut. Shoemaker served on staff duty until Gen. Girard was relieved; returned to his regiment and remained with it until after the fight at Nashville: went to Eastport, Tenn., under

Gen. Wilson; was detailed as aid-de-camp to Gen. Long, and remained with him until the battle of Selma, where Long was wounded; then returned to his regiment and took command, he being the ranking officer; crossed the Alabama river at Selma, captured i, 800 prisoners, and then moved on to Montgomery; thence went to Columbus, Ga. , and after a hard struggle captured that city; thence he went to Macon, where he captured Gen. Howell Cobb and his army. The Fourth Ohio cavalry was then constituted provost guard of Macon, and was upon this duty when the Confederacy collapsed. Maj. Shoemaker then took part in the pursuit of Jefferson Davis, and was near at hand when he was captured by' the Fourth Michigan cavalry. Maj. Shoemaker then marched from Macon to Atlanta, visiting all battle fields en route, and at the latter city met Col. Thompson, who had been released from a rebel prison and who now took command of the regiment. Maj. Shoemaker was mustered out of the service at Nashville, Tenn., July 15, 1865, as captain, butwas subsequently enrolled by the war department at Washington as major of his regiment.

Returning to Dayton, Ohio, Maj. Shoemaker was married, August 10, 1865, to Miss Vesta J. Congdon, a native of Grafton, Mass., where she was reared and educated. This marriage has been blessed with two children, viz: William H., who is chief deputy of the common pleas court, and Edwin Stanton, who is a plumber, is married, and is the father of two children. In 1867, Maj. Shoemaker was appointed to the police force of Dayton, on which he has since filled every position, but for several years has been on light duty. When he was first appointed, there were but twenty-one men on this force; there are now over eighty. In politics, the major was formerly a whig, but has been a member of the republican party ever since its organi- zation; he has never been a seeker after office, however, nor ever held official positions, except as stated above. He is a member of Old Guard post, G. A. R., and also a Knight of Pythias, and he and his family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

ERT D. SHROYER, loan agent of No. 120 East Fifth street, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Mad River township, Montgomery county, Ohio, October 6, 1873. His parents, Ephraim and

Mary Jane (Cotterill) Shroyer, were natives of Montgomery county. They were the parents of nine children, eight sons and one daughter, as follows: William Albert, Perry H., Rolla

Ephraim Shroyer was reared in Montgomery county, and for nine years was a member of the Dayton city fire department. He and his wife are still living in Dayton. Mr. Shroyer served his country as a soldier in the late Civil war, as a member of the Ninetythird Ohio volunteer infantry, and was for some months confined in Libby and Belle Isle prisons. Mrs. Shroyer is a member of Christ church, the oldest Protestant Episcopal church in the city.

William Shroyer, the father of Ephraim Shroyer, was a native of Frederick county, Md., by trade a blacksmith, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. He came to Ohio soon after the close of the war, located in Mad River township, and served there for many years as a justice of the peace, dying in 1846. The maternal grandfather, Lorenzo Dow Cotterill, was also a native of Maryland. He was among the first settlers in Dayton, and died about 1874, in his seventieth year.

received in the city schools, and he made the most of the excellent opportunities they afforded him. He was married on January 13, 1893, to Miss Nora Loy, daughter of Jacob and Louise (Campbell) Loy, and to this marriage has been born one child, Earl McKinley, September 19, 1896. Politically, Mr. Shroyer is a republican. He is a descendant and a worthy representative of two of the oldest and best known families of the county.

John and Victor. Rolla L. married Jane Butt, and has one child, Clyde. Charles E. married Martha Kendig, and has three children, Ralph, Frank and Anna. Ellsworth married Emma Traud, and has one child, Leona, and Perry Harrison married Miss Ann May Terry, and has two children, Perry and Charles.

OHN A. SMITH, house mover and raiser, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Lancaster, Pa., August 22, 1828. He is a son of Richard and Catherine (Allbright) Smith, the former of whom was a native of London, England, coming to the United States when he was seven years old, and the latter was a native of Pennsylvania. They were the parents of six children, four sons and two daughters, four of the six still surviving, as follows: John A., Isaac M., Jacob A., and

David. Richard Smith was a teamster by occupation, driving a six-horse team between Philadelphia and Pittsburg before there was any railroad in that part of the country. His death occurred in Lancaster when he was thirty-eight years of age. His wife survived him until 1880, and died at eighty-one years of age. Both were members of the Dunkard church, and both were people of excellent character and disposition. Richard Smith's

The maternal grandfather of John A. Smith was named Jacob Allbright. He was a native of Pennsylvania and married Miss Rebecca Moon. Both died near Efferty, Lancaster county, Pa. He was a brushmaker by trade and died when about eighty-seven, she dying when about sixty.

John A. Smith was reared on a farm in Lancaster county, Pa., and when seven years of age his parents hired him to a Mr. Jacob Bolinger, a Dunkard preacher, for seventy-five cents per month. He remained with Mr. Bolinger for seven years, in the meantime attending school to some extent. When he was fourteen years of age he removed to northern Ohio, and went to work for an uncle in Seneca county, remaining with him for about five years. At the end of this period he entered the employment of Mr. Wallace, superintendent of the Mad River railroad, the first road built from Sandusky to Springfield, Ohio, his work being to measure the wood and timber for the road. He then served a three years' apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, after which he dealt for some time in horses. In 1851 he went to Marshall, 111., and assisted in building there the Presbyterian college, and while thus engaged was married, June 27, 1852, to Miss Amelia C. Boyer, daughter of Rev. Joshua and Susannah Boyer of that place. To this marriage there have been born five children, as follows: Frances Loretta, Amanda Alfaretta, Dora Ellen, Dayton Wilbert and Hattie May. Frances Loretta married Jacob Haynes and with her husband lives in Dayton. Amanda Alfaretta died at the age of thirteen years. Dora Ellen married Martin Messier, and they have five children, viz: Grace, Edward, Harry, Martha and John. Dayton Wilbert married Miss Emma Bartel; they live in Dayton, and have four children, as follows:

Mabel, Harry, Richard and Bessie. Hattie May married Otto Jones. They had two children. Mrs. Jones was killed by the cars in 1894 while driving across the railroad.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the United Brethren church, he being a trustee and treasurer of the congregation. He was a member of the Sixty-third Ohio volunteer infantry, company F, and served in the late Civil war for over three years. At the battle of Vicksburg he was wounded in the left arm. He was also in the battles of Nashville, Corinth and Parker's Cross Roads. Having acquired some knowledge of medicine, he was engaged in the dispensary at Nashville twenty-one months, and it was while in that city that he received his discharge.

The war having come to an end, Mr. Smith returned to Dayton and began building houses, continuing thus engaged for a few years, but for the last twenty years he has given his attention exclusively to moving and raising houses, having filled contracts on a large scale in various cities - in Cincinnati, Springfield, Troy, Piqua, Hamilton, and elsewhere, as well as in Dayton.

After his marriage Mr. Smith in 1852 came to Dayton and has lived in this city ever since - thirty-five years in his present home. Politically he is a republican, but is in no sense a politician or office seeker.

ANIEL L. SMITH is one of the long established carpenters and builders of Dayton. He was born in the Middletown valley, Frederick county, Md., April 20, 1831, and there he lived until the spring of 1851, when he came to Dayton, which has ever since been his home. His parents were Joseph and Esther (Sheffer) Smith. They were natives of the same county in which their son was born, the husband and father having been born in 1787, and the mother in 1801. Joseph Smith was a farmer, and, though living in a slave state, was opposed to slavery from profound conviction, and none of the family ever owned a slave. Both parents were descended from German stock. They left nine children, all but one of whom are now living. There were five sons and four daughters, and the eldest daughter was also the first child of the family, and the only one as yet deceased. This daughter, Mary, married Philip Baker, of Middletown, Md., and died in Springfield, Ohio; Joshua is a resident of Springfield, and has retired from. active business; Martin is a farmer in Miami county, and Jonas is a photographer at Springfield; in that city Susan, who is unmarried, has her home; Sarah is the wife of Thomas Elliott, and resides at Wapakoneta; Hamilton is at Richmond, Ind., where he has a responsible situation as superintendent of the Louck Sash & Door company; Elizabeth married Edward Young, and resides in Springfield.

Daniel L. Smith received a common-school education in the typical log school-house of the pioneer days. He has vivid remembrance of the puncheon floors, the greased paper windows, the wide fire-places, the big back-logs, and the extreme readiness of the teacher to wield the birch for the most trivial offense. Mr. Smith was the first of the children to leave the parental roof; but soon after the death of their father the family began to scatter, most of them coming to Springfield, Ohio. He learned the carpenter's trade in his native state, serving three years as apprentice, and receiving the modest compensation of $25 a year. In those early days every process in the art of building was accomplished by hand. The almost entire absence of machinery made the skilled carpenter of great importance in every new community. When Mr. Smith reached Dayton, he found his labor in great demand, and though it had not been his intention to remain here, he soon decided that this prosperous town was a good place in which to cast his lot. After seven years of industry, with a corresponding measure of success, Mr. Smith was enabled to marry. On May 6, 1858, he wedded Miss Sarah Bollinger, a native of New Carlisle, in this state, where she was born January 8, 1838. They have reared a family of three children. William, the eldest, a resident of Dayton View, is foreman pattern-maker in the Computing Scale works in this city, and is a finished worker in wood. He married Miss Isadora Gunckle, of this city, and is regarded as a rising young man. Annie is the wife of Eugene Carter, superintendent of the paint department of the National Cash Register Co. They have a young daughter, named Elsie. Claude Rutherford, who is unmarried, is a capable mechanical draughtsman, and is now an engineer in the United States service, located at Fort Wingate, N. Mex.

Mr. Smith has been prominently identified with the building interests of Dayton for more than forty-five years. He has erected many handsome buildings, and finished many others. The finishing of the Beckel House is a good sample of his interior work. One of the most responsible and important duties ever entrusted to Mr. Smith, was the reconstruction of the old Newcom tavern, which figured so prominently in Dayton's centennial celebration of April, 1896. This was a labor requiring vast patience as well as great skill, the object being to reproduce the old log building as perfectly as possible. Parts of the building had to be replaced, the steps being hewn from solid logs. The work was a great success, and much praise was given Mr. Smith for so perfectly accomplishing such a bold scheme of reconstruction.

been a member of the order of Odd Fellows for thirty-five years, and has filled all the official stations in his home lodge, and also has served for a number of years as trustee of the Odd Fellows temple. All the family are liberal in their religious views, and have never been identified with any church. Mr. Smith's youngest brother, Hamilton, served over three years as a soldier in a Maryland regiment, and was severely wounded in the battle of the Wilderness.

aHARLES A. STARR, of Dayton, Ohio, is a native of Thompsonville, N. Y. , and was born on the 17th of March, 1834, being the son of George B. and Rebecca P. (Schriver) Starr. In the paternal line his ancestry is of English origin, the first American representative having been one Dr. Starr, who emigrated from Great Britain to the American colonies early in the seventeenth century. The family contributed its quota of loyal defenders in both the war of the Revolution and that of the late Rebellion. The religious faith to which adherence has been very largely given is that of the Methodist Episcopal church, while politically the support of the Starrs has been given in turn to the whig party and its natural successor, the republican.

George B. Starr, father of Charles A., left his eastern home in 1836 and came to Ohio. He settled at Middletown, Butler county, where he opened a tannery and gave his attention to its operation for some little time, later transferring his business to a point near Greenville, Darke county, where he continued tanning until another field of activity opened to him as a contractor for the building of gravel or turnpike roads. In this work he was engaged until 1846, when he came to Dayton, where he resumed tanning. Subsequently he became identified with the coal industry, and it is certain that he shipped the first carload of coal that was brought into Dayton. He continued in business in Dayton until failing health rendered imperative his retirement from active pursuits, whereupon he placed his interests in the hands of his son Charles.

George B. Starr was a man of quiet and unassuming character, but of unimpeachable integrity and honor. He was a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and took a lively interest in Sunday-school and mission work. His death occurred December 26, 1869, while his wife passed away in June, 1890. They became the parents of seven children, of whom Catherine S. is the widow of D. W. Schaeffer, of Dayton; Mary A. became the wife of Joseph Hammond, and was one of the leading members of the W. C. T. U. of this section of the state, but is now deceased; Charles A. is the subject of this review; Rev. David J. is a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has a pastoral charge at Cincinnati; Cordelia R. is the wife of B. B. Christie, of Dayton; George R. is a prominent commission merchant of San Francisco, Cal., and Hattie E. is the wife of D. M. Stewart, of Chattanooga, Tenn.

Charles A. Starr received very limited educational advantages in his youth, but he has profited by privileges granted him in later years and stands to-day a well informed and intelligent man. He was not far advanced in years when he assumed the practical duties of life by entering the employ of his father, purchased his coal and wood business very soon after attaining his majority, and carried the same successfully forward. In the year 1864 he went to the defense of the Union, enlisting as a member of company B, One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio national guard, and serving for three months in the command of Col. Lowe. Upon his return home he again turned his at- tention to the handling of coal, wood and building material. He is a carpenter by trade and is thoroughly familiar with all details pertaining to the allied departments of his business. The office headquarters of this enterprise are located at 131 Wayne avenue.