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MT. NOTRE DAME, Reading, Hamilton Co., Ohio, one of the most famous boarding schools and institutions of learning for young ladies, in the United States, was founded in 1860. The number of boarders could no longer be accommodated at Sixth street, on which account a tract of land, containing about eighty acres near Reading, nine miles from the city, was purchased. A fine church and spacious convent, now grace the famous "Mt. Notre Dame," which, during the thirty-three years of its existence, has become the cherished alma mater of hundreds of ladies Catholics, Protestants and Jewesses-who are distinguished leaders in their respective Churches, and in society, throughout the western and southern States.

THE COURT STREET ACADEMY, corner of Court and Mound streets, Cincinnati, was established for the day scholars, who resided at the west end of the city. Later, schools and academies were founded in other parts of the State, notably in Toledo, Dayton, Hamilton, Chillicothe and Columbus. Schools and academies were also opened in other States, mostly, however, in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Illinois and California. In 1893, the statistics of the Sisters of Notre Dame showed that they have firmly established thirty-eight houses or convents, besides one novitiate at Sixth street, Cincinnati, and another at Waltham, Mass. One of their largest boarding schools is at San Jose, Cal. The Sisters have at present 22,236 pupils enrolled in their parochial schools; besides 404 boarders, and 1,618 select scholars in their academies; furthermore, there are 12,949 girls in their Sunday-schools, and 19,614 in their sodalities. The congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame in the United States numbers 1,104 members. Fifteen of their schools sent exhibits to the World's Fair Educational Department, at Chicago, and all were judged worthy of awards, four receiving special mention. As is well known, this remarkable educational exhibit commanded the admiration of the most learned and the leading educators of the world.

The success and popularity of the Sisters of Notre Dame, as educators, are to be ascribed to their own excellent beginning; the sublime Christian motive that actuates -them in all their undertakings; their self-sacrificing devotion to duty for the glory


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of God and the good of others; their simplicity and practical method of teaching, and their firm yet gentle discipline. The Sisters of Notre Dame, and the pupils whom they have taught, are everywhere noted for their charming simplicity, combined with breadth of mind and freedom from little feminine weaknesses which so often mar the completeness of an otherwise excellent training. The aim of the Sisters of Notre Dame is to form good women, useful at home and admirable in society. The latest and grandest achievement of the Sisters in the cause of education is the erection of the convent and academy on Grandin road, East Walnut Hills, popularly called "Our Lady's Summit." This enterprise was begun in 1890. It will be known as the " Mother House" of the Sisters of Notre Dame in the United States, and will serve the triple purpose of a novitiate or training house for postulants and novices, a home for invalids and superannuated Sisters, and a select day school and academy. The new convent stands on a proud eminence, near the intersection of Grandin road and Madisonville pike, and is surrounded by a park of ten acres. It Commands a magnificent view of the surrounding country; at the foot of the hill, the beautiful Ohio river, and, beyond, the blue hills of Kentucky; to the west, the busy city; both north and east, the green fields and wooded vales, with here and there a quiet, nestling hamlet-a view indeed for painter's pencil and poet's song. The new convent is six stories high, built of red pressed brick and stone trimmings, having a frontage of 320 feet, and a depth of 85 feet. The chapel in the rear is a large and beautiful structure, 141 x 52 feet, of Gothic architecture, with a seating capacity for 500 people. While the designs are beautiful and the dimensions magnificent, there has been no extravagance, and everything has been constructed with a view to practical utility.

Sister Louise, the first Superior of the Sisters of Notre Dame in Cincinnati, after a long life of usefulness in the cause of charity and education, passed from the scenes of her arduous labors December 3, 1886. "She was a remarkable woman (writes a pupil of Notre Dame); "from her earliest youth she had been devoted to the care of the poor. She was of stately and dignified presence. Gentleness and firmness, modesty and transcendent ability, utter unworldliness, joined to wonderful discernment in reading character, were in her singularly blended. She possessed a rare charity; only the God, whom she loved and served from the cradle to the grave, will ever know her benefactions." Sister Louise was succeeded in the office of Superior of the Sisters of Notre Dame in the United States, by Sister Julia. one of the first pupils in America, and for many years the Superior of the convent in Philadelphia. At the time of the death of Sister Superior Louise, the loss seemed irreparable. but it must be confessed, now, that in the person of the present, Superior General, Sister Julia, the Sisters of Notre Dame have received from Divine Providence a most worthy Mother, a woman of rare intellectual ability, and splendid executive talent; one imbued with the true, religious spirit of self-sacrificing charity, under whose wise direction and maternal influence, the noble object, of the institute, the moral and intellectual education of the young, will be successfully accomplished. -[By Rev. Francis Xavier Lasance.

REV. JOSEPH KLOSTERMANN is pastor of Our Lady of perpetual Help Church. The Congregation of "Our Lady of Perpetual Help" was first organized by the, Franciscan Fathers in the year 1878. An old school building situated on Sedam street, 133 feet north of Lower river road, was purchased and the upper story fitted out for a place of worship, and the basement assigned to the parochial school and teachers' residence. On account of the frequent inroads of the Ohio river by floods, it was deemed necessary to look for a higher locality. The priest's residence had already been built on Delhi avenue. Several vacant lots were secured for a new church adjoining the parsonage and fronting on Orchard street, at present Steiner avenue. On June 10, 1888, the corner stone of the new church was laid by Adm. Rev. J. C. Albrinck, V. G.; on May 5, 1889, the new church was solemnly dedicated


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to the service of God by Most Rev. W. H. Elder, Archbishop of Cincinnati. The church is situated on an elevated plateau, commanding a beautiful view of the surrounding sceneries of the Ohio river and the Kentucky hills. The edifice, when completed, has a length of 145 feet, and width of 5l feet, transept 70 feet, cur. mounted by a tower 170 feet high. The basement, largo and airy, is used for school purposes. The church is heated by a hot air furnace. It has a chime of four hells, and has a large pipe organ. Fully equipped with all necessary and ornamental church furniture, it presents a pleasing appearance, inside as well as outside. In 1890-91, a spacious and commodious parsonage was built. The Sisters of St. Francis, who teach the children of the parochial school, occupy the old residence, The present pastor is Rev. Joseph Klostenrmann.---[Contributed.

UBALD WEBERSINKE is pastor of St. Clement's Church, St. Bernard, Ohio. This parish was formed well nigh fifty years ago, and from the very beginning was attended by Franciscan Fathers, who have remained in charge of it ever since. It was in the latter part of the " forties," when the two families that then constituted St. Bernard assembled in a private residence on Sundays to attend Mass and sermon which were given them by one of the Fathers then stationed at St. John's Church, Green street, Cincinnati. Ere long a frame structure was erected, which was used as a church, while its basement served as a pastor's residence. Under the direction of Rev. Edmund Etschman, Order of Franciscan Fathers, a neat brick church was built in 1850; whereupon Rev. Auselin Koch, O. S. F., was designated to be its first resident pastor, where the pioneer members of the parish still hold in grateful remembrance. In his own little house he established a school for children, and he himself was its teacher. Soon, however, a spacious two-story schoolhouse was constructed in the rear of the church, and for many years it was the only one in the village. Because of its quiet seclusion, the place was deemed especially suitable for a novitiate, where the young postulants of the Franciscan Order might be trained in spiritual life. By the munificence of a parishioner the Fathers were, in 1863. enabled to build the monastery which stands beside the. church, and still serves as a study-house of the Order. Rev. Nicholas Wachter, O. S. F., was then in charge of the parish. In the year 1870 the church, that had been built twenty years ago, was replaced by the present beautiful edifice, which was erected on the same site at a cost of fully forty thousand dollars. Rev. Juvenal Eiberger, O. S. F., was at that time the energetic pastor, but died, much regretted, soon after its completion. Only a few years later, in 1877, it was found necessary to build a new and larger schoolhouse. An adjoining lot was purchased, and the stately budding fronting on Carthage pike was constructed at an expense of $11,000, under the pastorate of Rev. Gregory Fangman, O. S. F. Numerous improvements, some of them involving heavy expenditures, have since been made upon the church property. Two hundred and sixty-five children now visit the parochial school, and the parish probably contains about, two hundred and seventy-five families, over whom Rev. Ubald Webersinke, O. S. F., presides as pastor, with Rev. Francis S. Schaefer, O. S. F., as assistant.

From these meager statements an estimate can be formed of the spirit of munificence that has ever been a characteristic of St. Clement's parish. Besides those already mentioned, the following priests have held appointments at this church: David Widmann, Louis Haverbeck, Sigismund Koch, Pirmin Eberhard, Dennis Abareth, Austin Bayer, Ambrose Sunning, Jerome Kilgentein, F. X. Gangel, Daniel Heile, Albert Steigerwald, Lucas Gottbehoede, Bernard Hurre and Angelus Haferteper.-[Contributed.

JOHN P. EPPLY, funeral director and embalmer, was born at York, Penn., January 11, 1818. His grandparents were natives of Wurtemberg, Germany, who emigrated to America about 1760, settling in York county, Penn., where his parents were born. In 1830 his father purchased a large farm and mill property about five


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miles south of Gettysburg, upon which, in 1863, Gen. Meade rested his army during the night, preceding the Opening of the celebrated battle of Gettysburg.

The family removed thither, and our subject was engaged in work upon the farm until 1836, when he became an apprentice to the house-carpentering trade. In November, 1837, he arrived in Cincinnati with a cash capital of $1.50 in his pocket. He found work at his trade at once at $1.25 per day, and commenced to attend night school. In April, 1848, he engaged with the undertaking firm of P. Rust & Son, as bookkeeper and assistant, and continued in this capacity until 1851, when he found himself in possession of one hundred dollars, savings from his slender wanes. With this sum e started in business on his own account. In 1853, he constructed the first glass hearse ever put in use in the United States, and some years after purchased in New Haven, and introduced into Cincinnati, the first Clarence coach used here. About this time, too, he secured the first oval glass hearse known in this section of the country. He was the first to bring into use the metallic burial case, and is the only undertaker in Cincinnati who has kept up a regular supply house of undertaking goods. He was a member of the original fire department Of Cincinnati, " running with the machine." and contributed largely toward raising this important municipal institution to its present excellent condition. He is a Republican in politics, has never been an aspirant for Office, but has served the city as a member Of council, and of the board Of education. For many years he was actively identified With the I. O. O. F. Mr. Epply has been twice married, his first wife being Celina A., daughter of William Burke, who was in the employ Of the government In the Cincinnati Post Office for thirty-One years. Of this marriage there is no surviving issue. His second wife is Harriet L., daughter Of William Mansur, one of the pioneer residents of Delaware county, Ohio, and who donated to its trustees a considerable portion of the tract of land upon which is built the Delaware University. Of the six children born Of this marriage, four survive.

Of these the eldest, Charles M. Epply, is successfully engaged in the same line Of business as his father, on Walnut Hills. He has been twice married, his first wife being Ella, daughter of John Medary, an old resident of Cincinnati. Three children born of this marriage survive. They are Charles Clifford, Lillian May and Lurinda, all of whom are graduates of Woodward High School. His second wife was a Mrs. Annie Edwards, widow of Thomas Edwards. They have no children. The second son, William H. Epply, is unmarried. He is a resident, of Chicago, where he is engaged in a lucrative brokerage business, and is a member of the Chicago Board of Trade. The third child is Ella G., wife of J. H. Hoover, a merchant of Lima, Ohio. The fourth child is Belle M., wife of Charles J. Foust, secretary and treasurer of the Cincinnati Incandescent Light Company. He has two children, Charles Ellis and Aline. Mr, and Mrs. John P. Epply reside at NO. 147 Dayton street, and are members of St. Paul's M. E. Church.

CAPTAIN PRESTON LODWICK was born in Adams county, Ohio, October 25, 1810, son of Col. Lodwick, who served in the war of 1812. In 1824 our subject engaged in the dry-goods business with his brother James at Portsmouth, Ohio, continuing until 1828, when he removed to Cincinnati and became a member of the dry-goods firm of Bar, Lodwick & Company. In 1832, in partnership with Thomas Huff, he purchased the store Of Graham & Close, on the corner of Main and Second streets; several months later they removed their stock to a store boat. This was Capt. Lodwick's first introduction to river life, in which he afterward achieved great success. He soon purchased the steamboat "Argil" from Armstrong & Barkley, the former being the John Armstrong so well known to river men of the Olden times as the pioneer commander of the mail line service between Cincinnati and Louisville, this being the first regular established mail line along the river. Capt. Lodwick took the"Argo" south and entered her in the Natchez and Shreveport trade. After a successful season he returned to Cincinnati, and shortly afterward sold the boat to


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Texas parties. He then purchased the "Sylph," and afterward sold a one-half interest to Capt. Preston, they running her between Louisville and Owensboro. This venture was very profitable, and they were compelled in a few months to purchase the "Gallant," a larger boat, to meet the demands of their business. Cart. Lodwick bought an interest in the Northern Line, and was captain of several of the large boats of that company. Later on, he was sent by the company to Madison, Ind., to superintend the construction of the "Northern Light." Disposing of his interests, he returned to Cincinnati, and, with David Gibson and others, built the "Prince of Wales," which was subsequently sold and used in Southern trade, afterward captured by Rebels and burned in the Yazoo river to prevent her again falling into the hands of the Federal forces. Capt. Lodwick then bought the steamer "Kentucky," and ran her in the St. Louis and New Orleans trade. While commanding this boat the Confederates pressed him into service, using the steamer as a transfer between Memphis and Columbus, the latter place being headquarters Of Gen. Polk. After a time he escaped and returned north, leaving his elegant steamer in the hands of the Rebels, for which loss he never received a dollar by way of indemnity. He then purchased an interest in the "Bostona" of William McLelain. This boat burned and another was built which bore the same name, and which the Captain commanded until sold. His next purchase was an interest in the Burgess Steel and Iron Works, a venture which proved a heavy loss to him. He then commanded the "Ohio" for a while, and is 1874 built the "Eldorado." In 1880 he commanded the Kansas packet, " Virginia Lee," for a season, and from that time on until his death he devoted his time to real estate. The following is a list of boats owned or commanded by him: " Argo," "Sylph," "Gallant," "Rotary," "Santa Fe," "Swallow," "Ben Campbell," "Dr. Franklin," "Galena," "Nominee," "Lady Franklin," "Royal Arch," "Alhambra," " City Belle," "Dora," "Belvidere," "Rob Roy," "Granite State," " Northern Bells," " Northern Light," " Prince of Wales," " Kentucky," " Sultana," "Monsoon," "Henry Atkins," " Mattie," "St. Nicholas," " Bostona No. 3," "Bostona," "Ohio No. 4." "Eldorado," and "Virginia Lee." Capt. Lodwick was married in 1864 to Sarah C. Halsey, who survives him and resides at the old homestead in Sedamsville. Their only child, C. Ross Lodwick, is an undertaker and embalmer. The Captain was a man of the highest integrity. honest and upright in all his dealings, whose word was as good as his bond, and he was beloved and respected by all. He died January 17, 1888, and was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati.

C. ROSS LODWICK, undertaker and embalmer, No. 1909 West Sixth street, Sedamsville, was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, November 19, 1865, the only child of Preston and Sarah C. (Halsey) Lodwick. His grandfather was a colonel in the war of 1812, and died at the ripe old age of ninety-six. Another member of the family, Aunt Jane E. McCabe, still survives, and although she has reached the age of eighty is bale and hearty. The subject of this sketch came to Cincinnati with his parents when only six months old, and has resided here ever since. He received his primary education in the public schools, and later on attended the Collegiate School On West Fourth street, kept by William S. Ricks. After leaving college ho was engaged for a time as telegraph operator and agent, after which he was employed in the commission business with W. J. Lykins & Co., at No, 6 West Front street. Mr. Lykins died recently and Mr. Lodwick is administrator of the estate. Severing his connection with the commission house, be embarked in undertaking and embalming, which he has ever since followed. Mr. Lodwick was married September 16, 1892, to Laura F. Zins, daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Foster) Zins, She is a relative of Seth C. Foster, a cotton manufacturer, of the firm of Stearns, Foster & Company. Mr. and Mrs. Lodwick have one child, Preston L., born December 25, 1893. Mr. Lodwick has few if any superiors in his business. Embalming is made a specialty, and particular attention is given to the preservation of life-like expressions. He


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supplies everything necessary for a funeral, from the laying out. of the body to its final disposition in the ground. He has one of the best appointed establishments in Cincinnati, keeps his own horses and carriages for funeral purposes, and is a live and prosperous business man, highly esteemed for his ability, keen intelligence, and unswerving integrity.

W. A. WATKINS was born in new Richmond, Ohio, June 3, 1837, and reared and educated at the place of his birth, His father was a native of New Jersey. his mother of Ohio; they were both of English descent. Their fancily consisted of live children, four of whom still survive: Maggie, widow of the late Thomas F. Donham; W. A. ; Charles, and Thomas Edgar. The father was a pork-packer and dry-goods merchant, and the son worked with him in the store. until the breaking out the Civil war, He promptly entered the service, and was commissioned captain of Company G. Fifty-ninth O. V. I. At the close of his service, he returned home and commenced business as a tobacco manufacturer, which he followed for three years. he then engaged in the coal business, conducting same three years at the same time handling grain, coal and supplies for The Roberts & Mores Distillery, of New Richmond, Ohio. Since quitting the foregoing branches of trade Mr. Watkins has conducted an undertaking establishment in connection with the livery business in Cincinnati for the past twenty years. He has been twice married, first time, in 1858, to Cornelia D. Walker, who died in 1863, leaving two children, Fannie and William C. His second wife was Miss Louise, daughter of J. R. Corbly, of Clermont county, Ohio, arid the issue has been three children: Frank, Nellie, and Lewis.



FRANK SEIFKE is the senior member of the firm of F. & W. Seifke, undertakers, whose offices and places of business are situated on Charles street, between Central avenue and Plum street, and also at No. 452 Eighth street, corner of Linn.

Mr. Seifke was born in Cincinnati. and is the eldest of the six surviving children born to Henry and Katherine (Tapen) Siefke. He was educated in the public schools of Cincinnati, and also attended the St. Francis Xavier College, After leaving this institution he worked for a number of years for his father in the retail grocery business, after which he engaged in the livery business on his own account, carrying same on for over twenty years. Two years ago he added to this the undertaking business, and he has now one of the best appointed establishments of the kind in the city, being tastefully and appropriately fitted up, and provided with all the latest improved appliances for the successful prosecution of the business. Mr. Siefke was married in 1882 to Elizabeth Schlichte, daughter of Frederick and Lazetta Schlichte, both natives of Germany. They have had born to them two children, one of whom, Lazetta, is yet living. Our subject enlisted for ninety-days' service during the Civil war under Col. Louis Wallace in Company 6, Capt. Parshall, commandant. In his political views he is a Republican, and he and his family attend the Roman Catholic Church.

The parents of our subject were natives of Oldenberg, Germany, but for a number of years previous to her marriage his mother resided in Toledo. The father came to Cincinnati in the early °` forties," and here resided up to the time of his death. For seventeen years he was employed with F. H. Lawson, on Main street, in the tinners' supply business, and later on engaged in the retail grocery trade. He received his papers of citizenship March 28, 1844, and passed away on February 4, 1893, after an active life of seventy-seven years; his widow followed him within a month, dying, March 1, 1893, at the age of sixty-seven years. The surviving members of the family are as follows: Frank; William; Emma H.. wife of Jeremiah Buddikee, a dry-goods merchant of Cincinnati; Edward, George, and Clara, wife of James Costello, of Cincinnati.

WILLIAM E. MOTSINGER is a member of the firm of Hill & Motsinger, the most prominent, undertakers and liverymen in Clermont county. Their office and stables are located on Water street, Milford, just outside of Hamilton county nevertheless


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their interests are closely identified with this county, and owing to their establishment being fitted up with the latest and most improved appliances for the successful prosecution of their business, together with their courteous manner stud good business qualifications, a large share of the patronage of Hamilton county has been gained for them.

W. E. Motsinger was born in Miamiville (near Clermont), and is the second oldest in the family of five children who blessed the union of Felix Jackson and Lydia (Young) Motsinger, the father a native of Ohio, the mother of New Jersey. Our subject was educated in the public schools of his native town, and after leaving school worked at farming until nineteen years of age, when he engaged in blacksmithing, which he followed until embarking in the undertaking and livery business at his present location. He was united in marriage in 1879 to Rebecca, daughter of Charles and Rebecca (Rand) Hill, whose father was a native of North Carolina, and mother of Milford. Mr. Motsinger is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, also of the Knights of PytHias; ho has held the position of trustee of Stonelick township, and councilman of Omensville, Clermont county. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church; politically he is an active member f the Prohibition party. They have no children. The father of our subject is a prominent farmer, and resides with his wife on the farm near Miamiville. The remaining members of the family are Charles W., residing in Norwood; John B., of Miamiville; Laura, wife of P. K. Applegate, of Loveland, and Mollie M., with her parents at home.

PHILIP OLIVER STARK, senior member of the firm of Stark & Bundy, undertakers and liveryrnen, office and residence, corner of June street and Reading road, was born in Mercer county, Ohio, January 12, 1864, a son of Oliver and Margaret (Mare) Stark. He was educated in the public schools of Cincinnati, and after leaving school worked on the canal for about four years. He then went to work for the Cincinnati Buggy Spring Manufacturing Company, and later on moved to Portsmouth, Ohio, where he worked at same business for about a year. He then returned to Cincinnati, and went into the furniture car business which he carried on for about three years. About four years ago he went into the livery business, and about, a year ago added to that rapidly increasing business the undertaking and embalming branch. About three months ago he received Mr. Bundy into partnership, and the business is now carrie.] on under the firm name of Stark & Bundy. Their establishment is tastefully fitted up and provided with all the latest improved appliances for the successful prosecution of their business, and contains as fine an assortment of funeral furnishing goods as can be found in any similar establishment. Besides this feature of the business, well-appointed equipages for private hire, carriages for theaters, balls and parties, buggies for pleasure driving, and well-trained saddle horses are kept constantly on hand. Mr. Stark was married December 8, 1887, to Mary V., daughter of Lindsay and Jane (Mills) White, and to them has been born one son named Clifford Oliver.

The father of our subject was born near Louisville, Kentucky, and is a mechanical engineer by profession. The mother was born in Virginia, and they removed to Mercer county about, 1850, thence, nearly forty years ago, to Cincinnati, where they still reside. They had born to them twelve children, nine of whom survive, viz.: Clara; Mary (wife of Joseph Butler); Frank; Margaret (wife of Charles Greenup); Harry; Laura; Philip O. ; Levi, and Louise. The parents of our subject's wife were born in Liberty. Bedford Co., Va. Mr. Stark is a member of the Methodist Church, his wife is a member of the Baptist Church. He is a member of the F. & A. M., K. of P., Lodge No. 2416, I. O. O. F., and the U. B. F.

THOMAS BENJAMIN ESTEP, undertaker, southwest corner Eighth and John streets, Cincinnati, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 2, 1833, son of Thomas Cartwright and Sophronia E. (Littell) Estep. The father was born in Maryland in 1808,


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crossed the Alleghany Mountains in a wagon, and came down the Ohio river in a flatboat which he called " Broad Horn." He was a cabinet maker, learning his trade in Maysville, Ky., and came to Cincinnati about 1826. He died August 29, 1871, aged sixty-five years. His first wife, born in 1811, died in 1840, was the mother of the following children: William H., who is living in the Twenty-fifth Ward, is by trade a river engineer and molder, was for eight or ten years connected with the volunteer fire company, saw service in the war of the Rebellion, and is now with the City Fire Department as engineer in charge; Thomas B., Mary Jane, living in Cincinnati; Emma, now Mrs. J. G. Weaver, of Covington, Ky., and a son who died in infancy. Thomas C. Estep was married, the second time, to Mrs. Sarah Young Smith, by whom the following children were born: Endore; Laura, wife of John B. Clancy, freight agent of the Q. & C. Railroad, Cincinnati; Ella, widow of George C. Eagles, of Los Angeles, Cal., and Enoch Freeman, residing in the West.

Thomas B. Estep was educated in the common schools of Cincinnati, which he attended until his twelfth year. He then clerked in a grocery for three years; was employed by the Andress Wall-paper Company on Main street, about one year; worked in wood and willow ware, and at the bench, in his father's place, until he entered a mercantile college, from which institution he graduated in 1851. He then entered the employ of Megrue & Lyon as bookkeeper and clerk, remaining there until they sold out to Deman & Wiltsee. He remained with this firm until they dissolved partnership, and for sometime after that was with Mr. Wiltsee. About 1854 he entered the house of Sullivan & Riley, and in 1860 he went to J. P. Epply as bookkeeper and assistant. He served in the militia twelve years, in the Rover Cadets, Crocket Rangers and Continental Battalion, and in the Cylonian Battalion after the war. In 1862, under order of the War Department, Gen. Lew Wallace commanding, he formed the color Company C, Eleventh Cincinnati Regiment, and although officially excused be went with his company and served as orderly sergeant under Capt. Charles Cramsey of the Tenth O. V. I., as colonel, and did duty over the river; afterward was commissioned captain, and assigned to charge of a district until duty over the river ended, and he was dismissed after serving altogether about six mouths. In 1867 he formed his present partnership with Gustav B. Meyer. During this time the firm, in unison with other undertaking establishments, have exerted every energy possible to ease those in bereavement by bringing to their aid promptly everything needed, so far as it could, and working steadily in conjunction with the State and City Boards of Health to prevent and stay the inroads of devastating diseases at all times, feeling it to be in their line of duty. There have been many serious scourges during the past forty-three years, among which were the smallpox devastation, the typhoid epidemic of 1864, the cholera of 1857-65, and, later, the smallpox of 1872, followed by the introduction of the yellow fever, in a small way, by the steamer " Wallter," all of which was outside of the great duty performed by them in caring for the remains of those noble martyrs for the cause of Freedom and good government during the war, the importance of which was admitted by the national government, when, in calling out the troops for the defense of Cincinnati, they excused from service, among other occupations, the undertaker and his first assistant.

Mr. Estep was married February 26, 1857, to Margaret Esther Robinson, daughter of Capt. William E, and Gertrude E. (Arnold) Robinson, natives of Ohio. They are the parents of three children: William Cartwright, educated in Chickering Institute, and graduated from Bartlett's Commercial College, is an undertaker in Council Bluffs, Iowa; Bertha Letitia, educated in the common schools, and studied in Cincinnati College of Music, becoming quite an expert on the piano and in music generally, is now giving private lessons, and Gertrude, who died at the age of four years. Mr. and Mrs. Estep are members of the Universalist Church. while William C. and Bertha L. are Episcopalian communicants. Mr. Estep is a Repub-


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lican in politics, though he would never accept a political office when tendered a nomination. He is a member of " Wildey Encampment" No. 1, I. O. O. F.; Magnolia Lodge No. 83, I. O. O. F.; McMillan Lodge No. 141, F. & A. M.; Damon Lodge No. 8, K. of P.; Ruth Lodge No. 575, K. & L. of H.; Imperial Order of Muscovites, and Damon Lodge No. 42, A. O. U. W. He was also a member of the grand trustees of Ancient Order of United Workmen one term, and grand protector of Knights and Ladies of Honor two years, during which time a number of good Lodges were instituted.

W. C. NOLAN, florist, Woodburn and Forest avenues, Walnut Hills, was born in Cincinnati, and is the eldest of seven living children born to James and Margaret (Navin) Nolan. His parents were born in Ireland. came to Cincinnati via New Orleans in 1850, and now reside on Madison street, Covington, Ky. The names of the brother and sisters of our subject and their residences are as follows: Julia, wife of Benjamin Berning, Covington, Ky.; Margaret, wife of Andrew Anderson, Elm street, Cincinnati; Fannie, wife of Vincent Duffner, Covington, Ky.; Nellie, wife of Joseph Lynch, Newport, Ky.; Mollie, residing with our subject, and James, residing in Covington, Kentucky.



Our subject was educated in the public schools of Cincinnati. He was married in 1878, in Rochester, N. Y., to Fannie, daughter of Eben Watson and Annie (Frost) Carr. of that city, who was separated from him by death June 24, 1890. Mr. Nolan is one of the most popular florists in Cincinnati. He has been in the business ever since he was thirteen years of age, and has made a careful study of it from a scientific standpoint; has built his greenhouses on the most improved plat), and stocked them with every plant known to horticulture. The premises he occupies are spacious and tastefully arranged, covering an area of some seven thousand square feet of glass. Mr. Nolan has achieved a reputation as a designer of floral designs for funeral or wedding purposes, that extends to a more than local territory. He is esteemed in mercantile circles, a gentleman of unmistakable ability and keen intelligence, and is widely known as a leading financier and thorough business man.

C. J. JONES, JR., florist, office and residence State street, Walnut Hills. One of the leading houses in Cincinnati devoted to the culture of plants and flowers is that owned by the subject of Our sketch. The greenhouses, which contain over sixteen thousand square feet of glass, have been built with great care and expense, and are filled with the choicest plants and flowers.

Mr. Jones was born in Campbell county, Ky., near Newport. and is a son of Charles J. and Mary (Holland) Jones. He was educated in the public schools of Newport, and has been engaged in the florist business ever since the time of his leaving school; in fact, we might say he is a natural born florist, his father having been engaged in the same occupation. He was married, November 24, 1886, to Dora Nolte, daughter of J. B. and Carrie (Auperly) Nolte, and to them has been born one son, Charles B. The parents Of our subject were of English and German origin. The father died in 1893, and the mother still resides in Newport, Ky. They had born to them seven children, five of whom survive, viz.: M. J., superintendent of Evergreen cemetery, Newport; C. J., Jr., our subject; William, residing in Newport; Margaret, wife of Lieut. Bishop, of the Newport police force, and Susan, wife of Newton May, of Newport, Ky. Mr. Jones is one of the most popular florists in Cincinnati, and has studied the business thoroughly from a scientific standpoint. He is an old resident of this vicinity, and is esteemed in its mercantile circles as a gentleman of unmistakable ability, keen intelligence and unswerving integrity. He is recognized in financial circles as one of the solid business men, is universally respected, and his rapidly increasing business is proof that the people of this city and vicinity thoroughly appreciate his excellent qualities.

WILLIAM LAWRENCE ORTLIEB, senior member of the firm of Ortlieb & Motz, florists, whose place of business is situated on May street near Oak, resides on


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Symmes street, Walnut Hills. He was born March 20, 1865, in Dayton, Ky., and is the eldest of eight surviving children who were born to Constance and Catherine (Smith) Ortlieb.

Our subject was educated in the Roman Catholic school of Dayton. Leaving school at the age of thirteen he worked on his father's farm for about five years, and when eighteen years of age went to Madison, Ind., where he learned the florist business. The greenhouse of this firm has all the latest improved heating appliances and other facilities in service. They have a large and splendid assortment, including select cut flowers, fresh and fragrant roses, wreaths, nosegays, bouquets, etc., also potted plants, grasses, mosses, fern roots, bulbs, rustic baskets and emblematic floral designs, harps, anchors, etc. Appropriate designs are also furnished to order for funerals, weddings and all occasions of floral display. Mr. Ortlieb is a thoroughly practical florist and gardener, and possesses a minute knowledge of the business in all its branches. He is gentlemanly and courteous to his patrons, and is rapidly building up a business which bids fair to assume large proportions. Mr. Ortlieb was married, November 26, 1890, to Elizabeth, daughter of John and Mary (Record) Semon. natives of Germany, but residents of Indiana, and to them has been born one child, named Edward. The father of our subject, who is a native of Germany, came to America with his parents when only about four years old, and is a prosperous farmer, residing on his farm near Dayton, Ky. His mother died July 25, 1889. They were the parents of nine children, eight of whom survive, viz.: William L., Frank, John, Mary, Edward, Catherine, Harry and Charles. 'The family are members of the Catholic Church, and our subject is a Republican.

JOHN B. PEASLEE was born September 3, 1842, at Plaistow, Rockingham Co., N. H. His father, Reuben Peaslee, was educated at Dartmouth College in the class of 1835; was a leader of his party, as a member of the State Legislature, was a member of the State Constitutional Convention of 1850, and, as chairman of the most important committees, drew many articles of the Constitution. Mr. Peaslee's ancestors, both maternal and paternal, were Quakers, dating as far back in this country as 1640. Mr. Peaslee's mother was Harriet Atwood Willetts, a native of New York City.

John B. Peaslee was educated in the schools of his native township, in the Atkinon and Gilmanton Academies, and at Dartmouth College, where. he was graduated in the class of 1863. Shortly after graduation, on the recommendation of Dr. Lord, president of Dartmouth College, Mr. Peaslee came to Columbus. Ohio, to assume the principalship of the North grammar school. One year later he removed to Cincinnati to accept the first assistantship in the Third District school. During the three years ho held this position Mr. Peaslee studied law, graduated at the Cincinnati Law School and was admitted to the Bar. In 1867 he was promoted to the principalship of the Fifth District school., and in 1869 to that, of the Second Intermediate, where he remained until 1874, when he was chosen superintendent of the Cincinnati schools, a position to which he was elected twelve times. While Mr. Peaslee was superintendent he originated a any reforms, some of which have spread over the entire country, from Maine to California. His method of teaching addition and subtraction to primary grades, known as the "Peaslee method," but which he called the "tons method," has attracted wide attention among educators and has been adopted in many other places. He was one of the first, if not the first, to write on the subject of "orthoepy," and to call the attention of the public to the importance of introducing the diacritic marks into the school readers, and the first to introduce into the examination of teachers for certification the subject of orthoepy as a distinct branch of study. Mr. Peaslee was the first to introduce into the Cincinnati schools a systematic and graded course of gem-selections from English literature, which he made the basis of moral and literary training. The book containing gem-thoughts of great authors, adapted for use at home or in school, entitled, " Graded


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Selections for Memorizing," compiled and edited by Mr. Peaslee, has received the most flattering notices from the public press and from distinguished authors. Lt honor and memory of American authors. statesmen, soldiers, etc., Mr. Peaslee originated the celebration of authors' birthdays; planned and inaugurated the celebration of "Arbor Day," by the planting and dedicating, by public schools and others, of memorial trees, with literary and other appropriate exercises. Authors' Grove, planted by school children of Cincinnati, in beautiful Eden Park, at the organization of the American Forestry Congress in 1882, is the first grove ever planted to American authors. This beautiful custom has been adopted by thirty States of the Union, in Canada, has crossed the ocean into England, and last year even in Austria memorial trees were planted after what is called the Cincinnati plan." In this connection it should be mentioned that Mr. Peaslee prepared a pamphlet of sixty-four pages, entitled "Trees and Tree-planting, with exercises for the Celebration of Arbor Day," which was first published under the auspices of the Ohio Forestry Association and afterwards by the United States Government.



In 1879 the Ohio University conferred upon. Mr. Peaslee the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in recognition of his services. He was four years president of the Ohio State hoard of examiners for teachers; for nine years a trustee of the Miami University tit Oxford, Ohio; for over fourteen years director of the University of Cincinnati; is a life member of the National Educational Association, and ex-president of one of its departments; is also a member of the National Council of Education; is ex-president of the Ohio State Teachers Association; was a director for nearly twenty years of the Ohio Humane Society. Mr. Peaslee is president of the Ohio State Forestry Bureau; was one of the projectors of the American Forestry Congress; the Citizens Memorial Association of Cincinnati; the Ohio State Forestry Association; one of the incorporators of the Ohio State Archaeological Society; one of the incorporators of the National Fraternal Union, a beneficial organization, of which he is pro. sident; an incorporator and president of the Custom House Building & Loan Association of this city. Mr. Peaslee is a 32° Mason, and prelate of Hanselman Commandery. of which he is also past eminent commander. Besides his book entitled " Graded Selections for Memorizing," and his pamphlet on "Trees and Treeplanting, with Exercises for the Celebration of Arbor Day," heretofore referred to, Mr. Peaslee has published twelve reports of the Cincinnati Public Schools; a pamphlet on " Moral and Literary Training in Public Schools;" a pamphlet on "School Celebration of Arbor Day;" a poem entitled "Now and Then," and a hymn entitled " Converted to Jesus" Three of the above have been republished by the United States Government. He has also written many articles for educational journals.

Mr. Peaslee married, April 25, 1878, Miss Lou Wright, daughter of Hon. Joseph F. Wright, of Cincinnati, and on the occasion of his marriage was presented by his fraters of Hanselman Commandery with one of the most beautiful and elaborate Masonic jewels ever manufactured in this country. Mrs. Peaslee is one of the most popular ladies of Cincinnati. She was one of the associate commissioners of the Centennial Exposition in Cincinnati in 1888; is one of the directors of the Free Kindergarten Association, and is deeply interested in all humane and charitable work. Mr. Peaslee is at present time clerk of the courts of Hamilton county.

HON. STEPHEN H. BURTON. who was one of Cincinnati's most successful business men, was born June 25, 1816, in Albany, N. Y. He received his education in the private schools of his native city, but at the age of twelve years he was placed in business and never again returned to school. When fourteen years old he left home to seek his fortune, and at the age of nineteen went to Texas, where he engaged with the band of Col. Fannin in the deliverance of that State from Mexican dominion. This was a career of great excitement and danger. Young Burton and several others were taken prisoners by the enemy at Goliad, but escaped in the following


782 - HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

manner, as given in his own language in 1861: "Miller's command was not included in the massacre. He was saved by the interference of the wife of Alvarez, the Mexican officer by whom we were taken; she was a most noble woman, who persuaded her husband to spare us. Santa Anna subsequently dispatched orders for our execution, but we had so happily won the esteem of the Mexican officers that they united in a petition in our behalf to Santa Anna. In the meantime occurred the victory of San Jacinto, and Santa Anna was himself a prisoner. Our men were soon released, but the Major and myself were conducted to Matamoras, and after all imprisonment of three months escaped from them on horseback, in the disguise of Mexican officers, and in this way passed through the ranks of several of their corps on their march thither.



"The morning of the massacre was slightly foggy. Without understanding wherefore, we of Miller's command were ordered to tie a white band around out left arms; some of us tore pieces from our shirts for that purpose. This was to distinguish us from Fannin's men, who alone were doomed. We were conducted out to a peach and fig grove, in front of the church, and in sight of two of the three parties into which Fannin's men were divided; the third being out of view behind the church, near the river bank. When the firing began, boy as I was, I was impressed by the varied expressions in the faces of our men, thus made unexpected witnesses of the awful tragedy. Surprise, horror, grief, and revenge were depicted in the most vivid lines. At first all were startled; some became at once horror stricken, others wept in silent agony, still others laughed in their passions, swore, clenched their teeth, and looked like demons. Now, at the lapse of more than a quarter of a century, I can never think or talk of that dreadful scene with any degree of composure. Some of the poor follows attempted to escape, and of course outran the Mexicans; but then the cavalry! Just as one of those men of Fannin's had got fairly clear of his pursuers, a mounted Mexican from close by me at once started on the chase, and catching up with him, cut him down. Never did I so want to hamstring a horse. Those not killed outright were deliberately butchered by the Mexicans, men and women, and stripped. This over, some of them, even the women, as they passed by us on their return laden with plunder, insulted us by the grossest vulgarities, shook their fists in our faces, swearing in taunting tones and the vilest words-'Your turn, to-morrow.'

"The stripped bodies of the slain were collected and placed in piles. Those of the wounded who had been massacred at the fort, Fannin's among the rest, were chucked stark naked into carts, like so many dead hogs, carried out and dumped on top of the others. Brush was then piled over the whole and set on fire. It took several days' successive burnings to consume them. Nightly the prairie wolves gathered to feast on the half-roasted bodies, and kept up their howlings through all the long hours, and as the day dawned their execrable screams increased, in rage at being thus driven by the morning light from their horrid banquet!" Thirty-eight years later the appreciation of his services in this struggle was shown by the special act of the Legislature of Texas, which gave him a pension of $1,000. He then returned home and went to Troy, N. Y., where be took a clerkship in a hardware store, and remained seven years. In 1844 Mr. Burton came to Cincinnati and engaged for a short time in business with a Mr. Lockwood, but soon entered into partnership with Mr. Miles Greenwood, with whom he was connected for nearly thirty years, but he retired from active life in 1869. Mr. Burton was an enthusiastic student and a great reader, which accounts for the extensive store of substantial knowledge which he acquired through his own efforts. Mr. Burton was a director of the Ohio Valley and National Lafayette Banks, of the latter upward of twenty years. and also served as a member of the board of directors of the Cincinnati Gaslight & Coke Co., and many other important institutions of Cincinnati. He was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in the progress of which he


HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY. - 783

took a lively interest. He was one of the founders Of the Union Chapel, perhaps the first pewed Methodist church in the West. During the closing years of his life Mr. Burton travelled to a considerable extent, and did much with his means and influence for the advancement of the many noble public and charitable institutions of which Cincinnati is so justly proud. Early in April, 188-, Mr. Burton received a telegram that his brother, Francis C. Burton, of Albany, N. Y., was seriously ill and not expected to recover. He immediately started for that city, but was stricken with paralysis shortly before reaching his destination, and had to be carried from the train. His brother died soon after his arrival, and Mr. Burton died a few days later, On the 10th Of April.



Mr. Burton was married in Troy, N. Y., in 1839, to Miss Martha Whipple, by Rev. Noah Levings, who ten years later, while on an official duty for the Methodist Episcopal Church in the West, died at the home of Mr. Burton, in Avondale. Of Mr. Burton's children two survive, Stephen R. and Casper H., of Cincinnati. In 1849 Mr. Burton became a member of the Cincinnati Lodge, F. & A. M., and in May, 1863, was made a Royal Arch Mason in McMillan Chapter, No. 19. In his political views Mr. Burton affiliated with the Republican party, to which he rendered much valuable service. He was elected to the State Senate in 1873, and also served as mayor Of Avondale and a member of the village council.

WILLIAM AUGUSTUS GOODMAN, president of the National Lafayette Bank (Bank of Commerce), Cincinnati, was born November 22, 1822. His parents, Timothy S. and Amelia (Faxon) Goodman, removed to Cincinnati from West Hartford, Conn., in 1817. Mr. Goodman's paternal ancestors date back to a very early period in American history, One John Goodman having been One Of the passengers On the "Mayflower." His father was engaged in the wholesale dry-goods trade in Cincinnati until 1840, when, in company with a brother, H. H. Goodman, who had been a banker for some years, he engaged in the same business, under the firm name of H. H. Goodman & Company. The remainder of his active career was devoted to this vocation, from which he retired but a few years before his death, which Occurred in 1873.

Our subject was a student at Woodward High School and at Marietta College, where he finished his education. On leaving college he at once joined his father and brother in banking, and remained with them until 1858, when he was made cashier of the Bank of Ohio Valley, with which be was connected until 1871, having been for several years prior to that date its vice-president. In that year the bank was merged into the Third National, and Mr. Goodman was made its vice-president, which position he held until 1876. He then Organized a new bank, known as the Bank of Commerce, with a capital of $300,000, of which he became president. In 1879 the consolidation of his bank and the old Lafayette National was effected, which new corporation has since been known as the National Lafayette, with a capital of four hundred thousand dollars, afterward increased to six hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Goodman became its president, which responsible position he now honors. Schooled and trained from boyhood in all the departments connected with banking, and having spent his entire active career in this vocation with great success, he is recognized as One of the leading representatives Of the banking interests of Cincinnati. By virtue of his long experience and his natural mental capacity, he is enabled to grasp and solve the complex questions and problems which necessarily arise in the financial world. There is no business name in the commercial directory that demands of those who administer its affairs higher business qualifications than does that of banking, To this fact alone can the great majority of failures in this department of commerce be attributed. The great; success that has attended the various banks in which Mr. Goodman has held leading Official position certainly evinces excellent judgment and a thorough knowledge of his business. He is recognized as One Of the keenest financiers in Cincinnati, than whom there is none who


784 - HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

is more honest or stands higher in the esteem of his fellow citizens. Mr. Goodman is a man of unassuming manner. retiring in habits, and conservative it) opinions. In his address he is dignified, yet exceedingly agreeable to all, a perfect gentleman both by nature and education. He has been a member of the Episcopal Church for many years, and for several years junior warden of save. In politics he was originally a Whig, but is now independent. leaning rather to Republicanism. He has never allowed himself to mingle in public affairs or to accept any public office.



HENRY G. SKIFF, who has become popular with Cincinnatians as assistant city auditor is a native of Martha's Vineyard, Mass., and was born July 2, 1846. His father, Stephen D. Skiff, and his grandfather were both also born in that quaint, little old Massachusetts locality. The former, who was a man of much enterprise and considerable attainments. married Eleanor Davis. In 1849 he went with others from the old Bay State" to California, making the tedious journey by water and doubling Cape Horn. The scenes and adventures in which he then participated have become historical, and he has since often referred to them with mach interest. His worthy wife has been dead about twenty years, but her memory is treasured by many who knew her and admired her for her Warty admirable qualities of mind and heart.

Henry G. Skiff received a common-school education in his native town, and coming West at the age of eighteen located in Cincinnati, He was alone and among strangers, but he was a resolute lad with a purpose to get on in the world, and a self reliance which vouchsafed to him a reasonable measure of success. He was as genial then as now, and though he for a time sought vainly for remunerative employment, he found no difficulty, after he had become a little acquainted, in gaining influence which secured him employment with the Consolidated Street Railway Co. After a short period of service with this company, he found employment as assistant bookkeeper with one of Cincinnati's pioneer furniture houses, and subsequently became head bookkeeper. He was thus engaged until he became a member of the firm of Herrick & Skiff. retail grocers, and after the dissolution of the firm he returned to bookkeeping. In 1880 began his connection with the city auditor's office. His position at first was a comparatively unimportant one, but he discharged its duties so diligently and faithfully that he was soon advanced until he gained the place in which he has become so deservedly popular, and where he has served uninterruptedly for fourteen years. Mr. Skiff was married, in 1871, to Miss Florence Stewart, whose parents died when she was quite young. Children have been born to them as follows: Stephen Clifford, Frederick B., Charles J., Henry G., Jr., Abner D., and William Albert, two of whom, William Albert and Stephen Clifford, are deceased. Mr. Skiff takes a most earnest interest in everything pertaining to the welfare and development of Cincinnati and the advancement of all her important interests. He is popular as an official, partly because of his innate and wholehearted friendliness, but more because of his absolute fidelity to every trust., and because his position as an advocate of good, honest and economical government is unassailable. Without seeking rapid advancement, he has richly earned such as has been conferred upon him, and his record in office and out of office is such an one as any man might be proud of.

GENERAL BENJAMIN RUSH COWEN was born at Moorefield, Harrison Co.. Ohio, August 15, 1831, a son of the late Benjamin Sprague Cowen arid Anne Wood, both natives of Washington county, N. Y. Benjamin Sprague Cowen was born September 17, 1792, and died at St.. Clairsville, Ohio, September 27, 1869. He was a physician, but came to the Bar in 1831; was a Whig member of Congress in 1842-43; member of the Legislature in 1845-46; and judge of the court of common pleas, 1846-52. He fought in the war of 1812, and was United States commissioner of military prisons during the war of the Rebellion. He was the youngest brother of


HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY. - 785

Esek Cowen, of the New York court of appeals. His wife, whom he survived four years, was a daughter of Judge David Wood. of New York. The grandfather of our subject. Joseph Cowen, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war.

Benjamin Rush Cowen was educated at a private school at St. Clairsville, and at the St. Clairsville Classical Institute; took a regular course in medicine; learned the printing trade, and became the editor and publisher of the Belmont Chronicle from 1848 to 1857. In 1857 he removed to Bellaire, Ohio, where he engaged in merchandising until the breaking out of the Civil war. He was chief clerk of the Ohio House of Representatives in 1860-61. He was also at this time engineer-in-chief of Gov. Dennison's staff, with the rank of colonel, which position he resigned to enlist in the Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in April, 1861. The following month he was appointed first lieutenant and A. C. S., and on June 1, same year, paymaster U. S. A. In January, 1864, he was appointed Adjutant-General of Ohio by Gov. Brough, and was re-appointed to the same position by Gov. Cox in 1866. Three brevets were conferred on Gen. Cowen by the President for organizing the " hundred-days' men" in 1864. He was elected secretary of the State of Ohio in 1861, which office he resigned in May, 1862, and returned to the field, After the close of the war he was engaged in nail manufacturing and coal mining at Bellaire until 1869, when he carne to Cincinnati and engaged in the grain business. In 1869 he was appointed supervisor of Internal Revenue for California, Utah, Nevada and Arizona, and in 1870 was transferred to the Southern District of Ohio in the same office. In April, 1871, he was appointed assistant secretary of the Interior, which office he held until the close of Grant's administration. In 1883 he became editor-in-chief of the Ohio State Journal at Columbus, which position he left in December, 1884. November 28, 1884, Gen. Cowen was appointed clerk of the United States circuit and district courts of the Southern District of Ohio, which position he now holds.

He was married, September 19, 1854, to Ellen, daughter of the late Matthew Thobrun, of Belmont county, Ohio, and sister of Bishop Thobrun, of Calcutta, India. The family are members of the Methodist Church, and he was a delegate to the Ecumenical Conference in 1881 in London, England. Gen. Cowen is a Royal Arch Mason and a Knight Templar, and a member of the Loyal Legion and the G. A. R.

WILLIAM J. MUNSTER, public accountant, was born in St. Louis, Mo., November 19, 1850. He is a son of the late Herman J. and Christine (Garrell) Munster, both of whom were natives of Hanover, Germany, and came to this country with their respective families, both families locating in St. Louis. The elder Munster was a contractor and builder. He died in 1861, having survived his wife several years.

W. J. Munster completed his education at the St. Louis University, from which ,institution he was graduated in 1867. He then learned short-hand, and was employed for some years as stenographer for the Life Association of America. From 1871 to 1875 he was chief clerk of the Board of Revision of Army Tactics under Gen. Schofield. In the latter year he came to Cincinnati, and assumed the bookkeepership of the Cincinnati Coffin Company, finally becoming its secretary and sales manager, and remained with this company until 1884, when he embarked in business as a public accountant, Since then his work has embraced the investigation of the books of the City Infirmary Board, and of the Board of Public Works, resulting in the upheaval of both of these bodies. His work has also included other valuable services to this community in the investigation of the books of the State, city and county offices generally, and of a great many of our leading manufactories and wholesale houses. He originated the system of accounts and vouchers now in use by this and other municipalities. On June 1, 1893, he formed a partnership with Allen W. Dunning, late auditor and treasurer of the Cleveland, Akron & Columbus Railway Company.


786 - HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

Mr. Munster was married, March 16, 1872, to Catharine Layman, by whom he has five children: Clara, Edwin, Oliver, Bessie and Howard. The family reside in Bellevue, Ky., and are members of the Methodist Church.



HON. MELVILLE E INGALLS, president of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Company, and of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company, was born at Harrison, Maine, September 6, 1842. He was reared on a farm, alternating from home duties with attendance at the district school, throughout the period of his boyhood. He early evinced great fondness for study, and formed the ambition of securing a liberal education. At the early age of sixteen he presented himself before the school committee of an adjoining town, and orr examination received a teacher's certificate. He was equally successful in his application for a school, and for six consecutive winters taught with great satisfaction to his patrons, and a considerable addition to his own store of experience and knowledge of human nature. His early plans and ambitions had not been relinquished, however; he fitted himself for college at Bridgton Academy, and when seventeen years old entered Bowdoin College, in his native State. In the meantime he had formed the desire of entering the legal profession, and, with but limited means at his disposal, be deemed it best to begin the study of law without completing his college course. Accordingly he entered the law office of A. A. Stront, of Harrison, Maine, and afterward, in 1862, Harvard Law School, and graduated in the following year, receiving one of the prizes offered for best dissertation. In 1864 he returned to his native State, and opened an office in the town of Gray. A provincial town offered but limited opportunities for the development of his talent, however, and the same year he entered the office of Judge Woodbury, of Boston, one of the most distinguished members of the Massachusetts Bar. His advancement in his profession, and in public confidence, was rapid. In 1867 he was elected to the Massachusetts Legislature from the Sixth Senatorial District, and served one term, but declined a renomination, preferring to devote his entire time and attention to his profession. His practice constantly increased, and in success and profits surpassed his expectations. He was made counsel for several large and influential corporations, and continued in that capacity until 1871, when he was requested by the stockholders of the Indianapolis, Cincinnati & Lafayette Railway Company to move to Cincinnati, and assume entire charge of its affairs as receiver. He did so, and in three years the property was in such condition that a reorganization was successfully consummated. He was then elected president, continuing in that office until 1876, when the Company was once more thrown into bankruptcy. Mr. Ingalls was again appointed receiver, and in this trying position his transcendent abilities as a financier were more clearly manifested than ever before. Nothing daunted or discouraged, he undertook with renewed energy the task of saving the almost ruined Company. He obtained voluntary subscriptions from the stockholders, and with money thus raised paid the debts of the company, and secured the release of the railroad from litigation. In February, 1880, his arduous work was completed, and he organized the company under the name of the Cincinnati, Indianapolis. St. Louis & Chicago Railroad Company, of which he was immediately elected president; a position for which he was most thoroughly qualified by guiding its affairs through the intricate difficulties of financial embarrassment. Mr. Ingalls retained the presidency until 1889, when this company was consolidated with the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company, popularly known as the "Big Pour," Of which he has since been president. Under his management. the "Big Pour" road has been entirely reorganized, and its offices placed in first-class working order. A glance at the phenomenal growth Of this system affords the most ample proof of Mr. Ingalls' wonderful executive ability. It began with one hundred and seventy-five miles of railway; to-day it comprises 2,300 miles, with ten thousand operatives on its pay rolls, an annual expenditure of $10,000,000. Even in this ago of phenomenal development,


HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY. -- 787

a similar record of such marvelous development can scarcely be produced. Mr. Ingalls was also president of the Kentucky Central Railroad Company from 1881 to 1883, and has been president of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company since 1888. The wide range of his responsibilities, the uniform success of his career, justly entitle him to characterization as a man of remarkable talents and responsibilities. His distinguishing qualities are quick perception, acute penetration, accurate judgment, a magnetic and enthusiastic temperament, and a disposition thoroughly kind and affable. He is always accessible to the humblest employe of the road, and is prompt and thorough in the investigation of every grievance presented to him. As a public speaker, his language is fluent and forcible, and on frequent occasions, when he has been called upon to deliver addresses, his words have given evidence of the painstaking studiousness that characterized the New England boy, and the careful diligence of the student.

In the public affairs of his adopted city Mr. Ingalls has always manifested a commendable interest. He was one of the founders of the Art Museum, having taken an important part in the proceedings relative to its establishment, and has been president for several years of that institution, of which the people of Cincinnati are so justly proud. He also served as president of the Cincinnati Exposition in 1880, and delivered the address at the dedication of the City Hall, in 1893. On January 19, 1867, he married Miss Abbie M. Stimson, of Gray, Maine, and to this union four sons and two daughters have been born. They have a beautiful home at East Walnut Hills, surrounded by a noble park of sixteen acres, a delightful retreat from the cares and perplexities of railroad financiering. Mr. Ingalls is a Democrat in politics, but the multitudinous cares of his business life have not permitted active participation in political affairs during his residence in Cincinnati.

FRANK D. COMSTOCK, treasurer of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Company, was born June 23, 1856, at Fox Lake, Wis., son of L. M. and Julia B. (Dunham) Comstock, natives of Cuyahoga county, Ohio, in which a member of the Comstock family was the first white child born. His parents wore of English origin, and his father was a merchant. They had, two sons, Frank D. and Clarence C., the latter a merchant at Cleveland, Ohio.

Frank D. Comstock was educated at the public schools at Cleveland. Ohio, and at Humiston University, of that city. At the age of eighteen he engaged in the oil business, and then traveled for the Morehouse Oil Company, Cleveland. In 1881 he entered the freight department of the Bee Line, at Cleveland, and was employed there a Year and a half. For five years he was assistant general bookkeeper, and on February 1, 1887, became chief clerk in the office of the car accountant. he was paymaster from July 1, 1887, to July, 1892, when he became treasurer, which position, one of the most important in the railroad service at Cincinnati, he has since filled. On July 31, 1878, he married Margaret G. Cogley, and they are the parents of one child, Marguerette J. Mr. and Mrs. Comstock attend the Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church, and in politics he is a Republican. They lived at Cleveland until 1892, when they removed to Cincinnati, and now reside on McGregor avenue, Mt. Auburn.

WILLIAM GIBSON, superintendent of the Cincinnati division of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis rail road, was born August 23, 1856, in Edinburgh. Scotland, and is the son of William and Agnes (Wilson) Gibson. His father died in 1871. His mother still lives in London, England.

Our subject was educated in the Royal High School and Watt Institute of his native city. He began railroad life in August, 1872. in the local freight office of the Caledonian railway, where he remained until 1874, when he accepted a position in the freight claim office at Liverpool Street, Station, London, of the Great Eastern railway, and in 1881 became chief clerk in the traffic superintendent's office. In the same year he came to the United States and entered the employ of the Cincin-


788 -HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY,



nati. New Orleans & Texas Pacific railroad at Cincinnati. He was soon made chief clerk to general superintendent, and subsequently secretary to the president. In 1888 he was appointed trainmaster of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad, and a year later car service agent of the C. H. V. & T., where he remained until March, 1890. He then accepted position as chief clerk to general manager of the " Big Four " railroad, and on February 1, 1892, was appointed to his present position. Mr. Gibson was married. August 17, 1886, to Miss Eliza Henderson, by whom he has one child, William Lawrence Gordon. This gentleman and family worship at the Episcopal Church, and reside at Hartwell. He is a Royal Arch Mason, a member of the Caledonian Society, and president of the Robert Burns Club, of Cincinnati. In politics he is a Democrat.

PAUL AUSON HEWITT, auditor of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Company, was born in St. John, New Brunswick, December 15, 1848, and is a son of William and Frances (Wright) Hewitt, natives of New Brunswick, and of Irish and Holland ancestry. On account of poor health his education was obtained chiefly by private instruction, but he also attended public schools at Troy, Penn., and Painesville, Ohio. Mr. Hewitt first entered railway service in May, 1872, as clerk in the auditor's office of the Lake Shore & Tuscarawas Valley Railway Company. In 1873 he was made paymaster of that company, to which office were afterward added the duties of general bookkeeper. In February, 1875, he was made auditor, secretary and treasurer of the Cleveland, Tuscarawas Valley & Wheeling railroad, combining these duties with that of general passenger and ticket agent. In January, 1881, he became freight agent of the C. C. C. & I. railway at Cleveland, and in October of the same year auditor of the Ohio Railway Company. Mr. Hewitt was promoted to the auditorship of the C. C. C. & I. Railway Company in May, 1882, and in the following October the jurisdiction of his office was extended over the Indianapolis & St. Louis railway. Upon the consolidation of these lines he was appointed to his present position, which he has since filled in a manner which shows him to be a thorough railroad man.

Mr. Hewitt was married, July 9, 1871, to Miss Jeanette R. Bacon, of. Canville, Kans., and the issue of this marriage was six children, four of whom are living: Harold Rexford, Paula, Donald Wright and Douglass Dale. Mrs. Hewitt died in 1891. Mr. Hewitt was married, April 28, 1892, to Miss Nellie May Thompson, of Hudson, N. H. He and his family worship at the Christian Church of Walnut, Hills, where they reside, and in politics he affiliates with the Republican party.

ALBERT S. WHITE, general freight agent of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Company, was born October 4, 1844, in Washington, D. C., while his father, whose name he bears in full, was a member of the United States Senate. His father was also a successful railroad man, and was the first president of the Lafayette & Indianapolis and the Wabash railways. The elder Mr. White was a native of Orange county, N. Y., and of early English ancestry, and his wife, Harriett (Randolph) White, was of the Randolph family so prominent in the early history of Virginia. The family consisted of four children, of whom our subject is the eldest.

He received his education in the public schools of Orange county, N. Y., and Lafayette, Ind., and at the age of seventeen enlisted as volunteer in the Fortieth Regiment Indiana Infantry, in September, 1861, becoming sergeant-major, and serving until disabled. In 1866 he engaged in mercantile business in Mankato, Minn., and was located there until 1869, when he entered the freight. office of the Winona & St. Peter Railway, at Winona, Minn. In the same year he was made cashier of the local freight office of the Milwaukee & St. Paul railway in St. Paul, Minn., and next, took service with the West Wisconsin railway at Hudson, Wis., in 1872, serving in various capacities until 1875, at which time he was appointed agent of the Merchants' Despatch Transportation Company at St. Paul and Minneapolis..


HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY. - 789

After live years' experience as a "line freight" man he was, in 1880, appointed local freight agent of the " Bee Line " at Indianapolis, and in less than a year was promoted to the office of general agent of the same company at the same place. Mr. White's ability as a freight man was recognized by his appointment in 1885 to the office of assistant general freight agent of the " Bee Line." and he performed the duties of this office in the cities of Cleveland, St. Louis and Cincinnati, respectively, until January 1, 1892, when he was appointed general freight agent.

Mr. White was married, April 20, 1881, to Miss Julia Cox, of Indianapolis, whose father, Jacob Cox, was all artist in that city for a period of sixty years. Mr. and Mrs. White have two children, Albert S. (3d) and Arthur Cox. The family worship at the Protestant Episcopal Church of Wyoming, Ohio, where they reside. Mr. White is a member of Ranson Post, G. A. R., of St. Louis, and in his political views he is a Republican.

WILLIAM GARSTANG, superintendent of motive power of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Company, was born at Wigan, Lancashire, England, February 28, 1851, son of Robert and Ellen Garstang. His father occupied a position corresponding to that of road master in this country, to which he immigrated in 1857, followed by his family in 1859. He located at Toronto, Canada, and laid the track of the Grand Trunk railroad, east of that city. He died in 1871, at the age of forty-eight. His family numbered seven children, live of whom are living in America.

Our subject was educated in the public schools, and at a drawing school in Cleveland. He began work as water-carrier for his father on the railroad, and in 1863 entered the Cleveland shops of the Lake Shore road, remaining there six years, after which he was machinist and gang foreman in the shops of the Atlantic & Great Western for eleven years, at Galion and Kent, Ohio. He was thus general foreman in the locomotive and car department of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh railroad three Years, at Cleveland and Wellsville; division master mechanic on the old "Bee Line,'" between Cleveland and Cincinnati, eighteen months, and between Galion and St. Louis three years: and superintendent of motive power on the Chesapeake & Ohio live years, with headquarters at Richmond, Va., after which he assumed his present position, with residence at Indianapolis. Mr. Garstang married, in October, 1873, Mary L., daughter of John Zerbee, of Kent. Ohio, and they are the parents of four children: Reginald W., Wilfred R., Mabel L. and Virginia M. In politics Mr. Garstang is a Republican.

M. DEWITT WOODFORD, president of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad Company, was born October 27, 1838, in Fredonia, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., and is a son of Melancthon Smith and Harriet D. (Wheat) Woodford. The Woodfords were early English residents of Massachusetts and Connecticut, whence the grandfather of M. DeWitt removed to Vermont. and from that place his father came to Chautauqua county, N. Y. The Wheat family were early Welsh settlers of New England. Melancthon Smith Woodford was a merchant, and died in 1890 at the age of eighty-one years. His family consisted of five children: Julia, deceased wife of Philo H. Stevens, a merchant at Fredonia, N. Y. ; Walter R., general manager of the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling railroad; Caroline, wife of W. S. DeWing, lumberman and general manager of the Chicago, Kalamazoo & Saginaw railway; Julia, wife of Frederick S. Powers, of Cleveland, Ohio, and M. DeWitt.

The, last named received his education at the public schools and academy of his native town. Having learned telegraphy, he entered the service of the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad Company, with which he continued three years and a half, in charge of stations at Rutherford Park, N. J., Jersey City, and elsewhere. During the last, year of his connection with the company he was chief operator of the eastern division. His reputation as a railroad operator was now established, .and in response to advances from the officials of the Michigan Central he located at




790 - HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

Detroit, and introduced the telegraph system on the road, of which he was chief train dispatcher and superintendent of telegraphs sixteen years, with headquarters at Kalamazoo. He was the first train dispatcher in the western States. For three years he resided in London, Ontario, as assistant superintendent of the Great Western railway, of Canada, and was then assistant treasurer of the Chicago & West Michigan railroad, with headquarters at Muskegon, Michigan. He now retired from railroad service for a time, having become interested in the Michigan Telegraph Company, of which he superintended the construction, but which was absorbed by the Western Union Telegraph Company soon after its completion. After this Mr. Woodford was, successively, superintendent of the Canada Southern, with headquarters at Toledo, Ohio, three years; general superintendent of the Ft. Wayne & Jackson, with headquarters at Jackson, Mich., three years; general manager of the Toledo, Ann Arbor & North Michigan railroad; general superintendent of the Wheeling & Lake Erie railroad, with headquarters at Toledo, a few months, and then for two years vice-president and general manager and receiver; after the reoganization of the property, he was general manager, vice-president, and president three years. His connection with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton began in June, .1889, when he became vice-president and general manager, and a year later he was elected president; his administration has been eminently satisfactory to those whom he directly represents, as well as to the important and diversified interests with which the lines of these roads are so closely associated. In March, 1893, he was elected president of the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling Railway Company, which position he still holds. In 1894 he and his associates in the ownership of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton purchased of Baron Erlanger the controlling interest in the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway Company, and the Alabama Great Southern Railway Company.

Mr. Woodford married Helen M., daughter of William Sprague, of Kalamazoo, Mich., on January 3, 1861, and they are the parents of one child: Edith, wife of George R. Balch, purchasing agent of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad Company. The family worship at the Protestant Episcopal Church of. Clifton, where they reside. In politics Mr. Woodford affiliates with the Republican party, but he has never accepted or been a seeker of political distinction.

EUGENE ZIMMERMAN, vice-president of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad Company, was born in Vicksburg, Miss., in December, 1845, a son of Solomon and Hannah J. (Biggs) Zimmerman, natives of Ohio and Mississippi, respectively, the former being of Dutch extraction. His grandfather, who had been a colonel in the regular array of Holland, emigrated to New York in the early part of this century, and soon after removed to Philadelphia. His father was a man in good circumstances in Vicksburg and retained his business relations there after removing to Clifton in 1856. Two years after taking up his residence in that beautiful suburb of Cincinnati he died, leaving a wife, who survived him but three years, and three children. There was some property, consisting of slaves and a foundry that the father had operated, and a guardian was of course appointed for the orphans. but he could not do much. The war came on, the property was burned by the soldiery, and the slaves joined in fighting for their freedom. The outcome of the matter was that at the age of sixteen the subject of this sketch was informed that everything had been destroyed or otherwise plundered, and that he would have to look out for himself.

As may be imagined, the information that came to the student at Gambier was not of a comforting nature. He had been sent to Cincinnati at the age of thirteen to attend Farmers' College at College Hill, and later he went to Gambier to prepare for Kenyon College, but his college career was never entered upon. When the news of the misfortunes that had befallen the little patrimony reached Gambier, several of the boys were making preparations to join the army. The fever was catching, and


HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY. - 791.

in less time than it takes to tell it, Eugene made up his mind to " go along." He had no money, but this did not deter him from going to the front. He had been told that he would not get another penny, at least for a time, so with all his belongings and his capital in his pocket he set out for Cincinnati, walking part of the way from Gambier. He had but fifty cents when he left Gambier, but by careful husbandry he managed to traverse the long and weary way to the Queen City. He met his guardian, made application to join the navy, and was refused on account of his youth, but later, accompanied by his guardian, be made a second application, this time with success. Joining the navy, however, was not all a mere mechanical business. The youthful soldier saw advancement ahead, and it did not take him long to discover that he could get promotion if he could pass an examination. Fresh from school, he resolved to try, and in a week startled the old tars by donning the shoulder straps and sailing out as a master mate. This appointment he secured through the result of his examination. Admiral Porter was about this time in front of Vicksburg, and thither the young volunteer was sent, and in a few short weeks was industriously engaged in shelling his old home.

It might be well to explain why Mr. Zimmerman took the Northern side in the great contest, when his father was a former resident of Vicksburg, and he was Southern born. It is sufficient to state that his father came from Ohio, and though a slave owner was a Northern man in sentiment. Had Mr. Zimmerman's father lived he would have undoubtedly joined the Northern cause; he was a free man for all that word was worth in those days. The first engagement was with a guerilla party. It was followed by an expedition up the Yazoo river. The stream had been blockaded with torpedoes, and Master-mate Zimmerman was dispatched with a boat and crew to clear up the path for the steamer. Here the youthful soldier came near losing his life, as the boat struck a torpedo, that exploded, tearing the frail craft to atoms and killing several of the men. Mr. Zimmerman was thrown into the river but was rescued. This was in 1862, when he was in his seventeenth year. The expedition ended by the attack on Haynes Bluff. The next engagement was the capture of Arkansas Post. The charge on the fort was successfully made, and for gallant conduct Mr. Zimmerman was promoted to ensign. Next followed the St. Charles and Duvall's Bluffs engagement on White river; then the siege at Vicksburg. The fleet was divided, and Mr. Zimmerman was placed in command of a mortar boat that went up the Yazoo river; the orders were to get to the head of Yazoo river if possible, but the expedition did not come out as successfully as could be wished, and the mortar boat, fell back and took part in the Fort Pemberton engagement. Then he returned to Vicksburg, running the blockade in April. He participated in the Grand Gulf engagement in May, 1863, and also assisted in the attack on Vicksburg, which was captured July 4, following. For gallant behavior at various times Mr. Zimmerman was again promoted. this time being made acting master and executive officer of the U. S. S. "Ouachita." This position placed him next the commanding officer, and was a great distinction for a lad of eighteen, The Red river expedition, so famous in history, next, engrossed attention, during which Mr. Zimmerman engaged in the attack on Fort DeRussy. He was also in the Black and Ouachita river expeditions, and assisted in the capture of Trinity and Harrodsburg. The rebel rain " Webb " was one of the prizes captured about this time, and later the rebel rain " Missouri " suffered the same fate. About this time the war drew to a close, but not before Mr. Zimmerman had been promoted to the position of volunteer lieutenant, in command of the " Ouachita." He was still in command of the vessel when he resigned from the navy.

The war ended, Mr. Zimmerman resigned his place and was honorably discharged. He was not yet twenty, but he had risen from the ranks to the command of it ship, and he enjoyed then, and to-day enjoys, the distinction of being the youngest officer of his rank in the United States Navy. This is an enviable distinction. Some time


792 - HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY,

after the war he was au officer and one of the organizers of the Zouave Battalion, 'which later became the Ohio National Guard. With nearly all his navy pay in his pocket. Mr, Zimmerman returned to Cincinnati, and looked about for something to do. A gentleman at Hamilton, Ohio, made an offer of a partnership in a planing will and lumberyard, which was accepted, and for some time this industry was followed. In 1870 came the beginning of the oil business. Mr. Zimmerman was a partner, and subsequently traveled considerably for his firm. Here he made money, and finally sold out to the Standard Oil Company, retaining, however, a considerable interest, which is very valuable. Railroad construction next engaged the attention of the energetic young business man, then about thirty years of age. He built a railroad to a coal field in Kentucky, and sold the road to C. P. Huntingdon. The transaction was a fortunate one, and it was followed by an engagement with Mr. Huntingdon to look after considerable interests of the capitalist in this region, railroad interests being the chief matters for concern, and the C. & O. bridge another. Various other interests crowded to the front. and Mr. Zimmerman became known as one of the leading lights in the financial and railroad world. He interested himself in coal fields, and became an operator, which he still is.

A very interesting period in Mr. Zimmerman's life must, always be his connection with the C. H. & D. R. B. After becoming a director, he, with others, worked out a reorganization of the road, the aggressive policy then begun has been ever since pursued, and the C. H. & D. railroad stands as a solid pillar in the stock world. It is said that Mr. Zimmerman's interest in the C. H. & D. alone reaches nearly a million dollars. He is also largely interested in the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling railroad, and the Chesapeake &Nashville railroad; the last named of which he built, besides several other railroads. In the recent acquisition by several of the chief owners of the C. H. & D., of the C. N. O. & T P. R. R. and Alabama & Great Southern he took a prominent part, and is one of the largest stockholders. Mr. Zimmerman is largely interested in railroads in the South, and is president of the Chesapeake & Nashville. He is a large stockholder in the Standard Oil Company. This was just after the close of the war, and then it was that he laid the foundation of his great wealth. As a partner in the Standard Oil Company he started with a limited amount of money, but his connection with the institution has much to do with its marvelous success. When he retired from active management in the Company, his financial genius and persistent toil had already born luscious fruit. It does not fall to the lot of every man to make a fortune, and even young men with a competency to start with seldon achieve a position they can be proud of; yet here is a man whose unsupported efforts have made him a millionaire. With no one to aid him, and with discouragements in early life that would wreck all but the invincible, he toiled forward and upward till his name is synonymous with wealth and honor. His railroad interests alone undoubtedly aggregate more than a million, while ho is besides the largest owner of coal fields in the State of Ohio. His recent acquisition of the Cincinnati Southern railroad was as startling and unexpected as any of the deeds of Napoleon Bonaparte, and capitalists here and in other cities are still nonplussed at the remarkable tact displayed in the transaction.

Mr. Zimmerman was married, in 1876, to Miss Marietta A. Evans, daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth M. (McKensie) Evans, of Urbana, Ohio. Mrs. Zimmerman died in 1881, leaving one child, Helena. Laying aside business and looking at Mr. Zimmerman as a man of the world, it can be stated that, while he enjoys life, he is not after the many petty honors that engross most of the time of the average citizen. He never held an office, and was never in politics. Some years ago he was nominated for the Legislature, but declined to accept. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, an Odd Fellow, and, as a matter of course, is a member of the Loyal Legion by reason of his naval service. Personally Mr. Zimmerman is easy to approach. He wears his honors lightly, and disregards no man, however humble. He is a traveler of


HISTORY OF CINCINNATI OF HAMILTON COUNTY. 793

considerable note, having made excursions through Europe and Africa, and he has also invaded many of the remote parts of the world. He works systematically, and retains the reputation he acquired in the navy, that of a rigid disciplinarian, and a believer in hard work. Mr. Zimmerman is a vestryman in St. Paul's Episcopal Church. He has a fine residence in Mount Auburn, and has surrounded himself with elegance and beauty.

WILLIAM MILBURY GREENE. general manager of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad, was born in Athens, Ohio, October 15, 1858, and is a son of Milbury Miller and Martha K. (Gould) Greene. His grandfather, David Greene, was one of the first to engage in the manufacture, of boots and shoes upon an extensive scale, founding a factory at Auburn, Me., in 1839. The original location of the Greene family, however, was in New Hampshire, where they were among the earliest settlers. Milbury Miller Greene was born May 11, 1831, in Lewiston Falls, Me., where, after completing his education, he entered the employ of Joseph D. Davis & Co. While thus engaged he formed the acquaintance of Walter H. French, a railroad contractor from New Hampshire, whose employ he afterward entered. In 1852 the firm of French, Dodge & Co., of which Mr. Greene was a member, was awarded a contract in the construction of the Marietta &, Cincinnati railroad, amounting to nearly four million dollars. After the completion of the contract Mr. Greene purchased a salt-works property in southern Ohio; and it was while following this business that he conceived the idea of building the Hocking Valley railroad, which he began in 1865. As president of this road, he afterward built the Columbus & Toledo, and Ohio & West Virginia lines, which were consolidated in 1881, becoming the Columbus, Hocking Valley & Toledo Railway Company, Mr. Greene continuing as president until June 30. 1880, when he resigned on account of ill health, after a railroad service of thirty-eight years. Mr. Greene was married in 1853, united with the Presbyterian Church in 1857, and died June 26, 1887, surviving his mother, Lyntha (Miller) Greene (born in Kennebunk, Me., October 2, 1796, and died in Athens, Ohio, November 5, 1884), but three years. The family consisted of five children: Minnie S., who married John G. Deshler, a banker of Columbus, Ohio. Martha K. (deceased), who married Frederick W. Prentiss. who is also engaged in banking in Columbus: William M., who is the subject of this sketch; Jennie B., who married David T. McNaghten, attorney at, law, Columbus, and David, secretary and treasurer of the Case Manufacturing Company, of Columbus.

Our subject was graduated from the Wooster University in 1879, but he had been variously employed as clerk in the general freight and passenger office of the Columbus & Hocking Valley railroad since 1873. In July, 1879, he was grade president's clerk of the same road, which position he held until May 20, 1880, when he accepted the secretaryship of the Ohio & West Virginia Railway Company. On September 10, 1881, he became secretary of the Columbus, Hocking Valley & Toledo Railway Company; on December 1, 1882, he became purchasing agent, and in January, 1885, vice-president and treasurer, holding the last position until July, 1887. From October 1, 1887, to October 1, 1888, he was assistant to the president of the C. I. St. L. & C. R. R. Co., and from the latter date to July 1, 1889, general manager of the same road. He was assistant to the president of the C. C. C. & St. L. It. It. Co. from July 1, 1889, to January 1, 1890, from which date to July 1, 1891, he was general manager of this road. In 1893 he accepted his present position with the C. H. & P. road, entering upon the duties of his office on the first of August. Mr, Greene was married December 16, 1880, to Miss Jennie D. Donnelly, of Wooster, Ohio, and they have three children: Milbury Miller, Helen and Orland S. Mr. Greene is a member of the Presbyterian Church; politically he is a Republican, but he has given no more attention to political matters than is in keeping with good citizenship. The family reside in Clifton.




794 - HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

RALPH BRUNT TURNER, superintendent of the Cincinnati division of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad, was born at Cassopolis, Mich., January 14, 1850, son of George Brunt and Harriet (Monroe) Turner, natives of Virginia and Michigan, respectively, and of Irish descent. George Brunt was adopted, in Virginia, by Sterling A. Turner, whose name he thereafter assumed. He was a lawyer by profession, but was engaged in the real-estate business at Cassopolis. His family consisted of four children, two of whom are living: Ralph B., and Sterling B., a jeweler at Cassopolis.

Ralph B. Turner was educated in the public schools of his native town, and at Raisin Valley Seminary, Adrian, Mich, Ho began his business life as a clerk in a dry-goods store, and in 1868-72 was employed in a real-estate office at Chicago. From 1872 to 1875 he was employed by the Michigan Central Railroad Company as telegraph operator, and, from the latter date to 1880. be was chief clerk in the trainmaster's office at Jackson, Mich. He was then car distributor in the assistant general superintendent's office until January 1883. and general ear distributor during the following year. From January, 1884, to July, 1887, he was agent for the Michigan Central at Suspension Bridge, N. Y., and from July, 1887, to May, 1891, at Buffalo, N. Y. On the latter date he assumed his present position with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad. Mr. Turner was married April 9, 1874, to Flora L. Wright, of Jackson, Mich. Socially he is a Knight Templar, politically he is a Democrat.

CHARLES NEILSON, general superintendent. of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad, was born in Harford county, Md., July 19, 1849, son of James C. and Rosa (Williams) Neilson, and grandson of James W. Williams, United States senator from Maryland, and minister to Paris in 1830. The Neilson family migrated from Sweden in 1500, and located near Dublin, Ireland, where several of its members achieved prominence in the legal profession. James C. Neilson was an architect and engineer by profession.

His son Charles, the subject of this sketch, was educated under the tuition of a private tutor. In 1869 he entered the railroad service in the humble capacity of brakeman on a gravel train, on the Northern Pacific railroad. For one year be was conductor, then he took the position of civil engineer on their road, and in this capacity was employed on the completion of the Minnesota division. In August, 1873, he became superintendent of the motive power department of the Erie railway, with which he was connected in various capacities-fuel agent, clerk in the office of the general superintendent, etc. until 1882. In 1882-83, he was superintendent of the Delaware division of the Erie railway; in 1883-85, superintendent of the Buffalo and Rochester division of the road, and also of the Buffalo railroad, and joint superintendent of the Niagara Falls branch of the Erie, for the Erie, Lehigh Valley, and West Shore roads. In 1885-86, he was assistant president of the Laflin & Rand Powder Company, and during the past seven years he has been general superintendent of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad. On October 22, 1878, Mr. Neilson married Elizabeth Holmes (Harrison), daughter of Thomas Harrison, of Philadelphia, member of the firm of Harrison Brothers, manufacturing chemists of that city. Three children have been born to them: George Harrison; Rosa, who died at the age of two and one-half years, and Sarah Crosby. Mr. Neilson resides at Glendale, and is connected with the Episcopal Church of that place. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers; in politics he is a Democrat.

WILLIAM P. WALKER, JR., freight traffic manager of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company, was born in Newport, Ky., September 3, 1850, son of Capt. William P. and Eliza Lee (Stewart) Walker, natives of Kentucky, and descendants of early Virginia families. Capt. Walker ran the first regular packet between Cincinnati and Memphis, Tenn. He has two children: William P., and Clifford S., general south-




HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY. - 795

ern agent of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad. He now resides at Maysville, Ky., at the advanced age of seventy-four; his wife died in 1886 at the age of fifty-nine.

Our subject received a Cincinnati public school education. During the Civil war he was in the transport service with his father. After a year's clerkship in the wholesale department of Robert Clarke & Company's bookstore, he became clerk of the steamer " Sam J. Hale," a boat which his father built in 1866. He followed the river for twelve years as clerk and captain, and was in command of the "Celeste," "Dardanelle," and "Thomas H. Allen," all of which were engaged in the cotton trade on the White, Arkansas and Mississippi rivers, and during four years, 1874-78, chief clerk of the Chesapeake & Ohio railway steamers between Cincinnati and Huntington. In August, 1878, he left the river to enter the employ of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company, as ticket agent at Cincinnati. In 1880 and 1882, he was general freight and passenger agent of the Cincinnati, Portsmouth & Big Sandy Packet Company at Cincinnati. In 1883 he was agent at Cincinnati, in charge of the general interests of the Chesapeake & Ohio, and then, until 1886, he had charge of the Cincinnati office and Covington terminals of the Chesapeake & Ohio, and Kentucky Central. In 1886, he was made general manager of the Kanawha Dispatch fast freight line, which position be held until appointed to his present responsible office, March 10, 1800, Capt. Walker resides in Cincinnati. On November 26, 1877, he married Maggie H., daughter of Capt. Samuel B. Hempstead, of Hanging Rock. Ohio, and they have one child: Stuart H. Mrs. Walker and her son are members of the Presbyterian Church. The Captain is a 32° Mason and a Knight Templar, and is a member of the Mystic Shrine; in politics he is a Republican.

SYDNOR HALL, manager of the Kanawha Dispatch, Fast Freight Line, operating over the Chesapeake & Ohio and Big Four railroads and connections, was born in Farnham, Va., October 30, 1858, a son of C. J. and Eudora (Sydnor) Hall. His ancestors, who were of pure English extraction, were among the pioneer settlers on the tract of land granted to Lord Fairfax. His father, who is a school teacher by profession, is now located in Campbell county, Ky. The family consisted of eight children, seven of whom are living, and of them Sydnor is the eldest. He received his education in his father's private school, and at the age of seventeen years entered the telegraph office at Marshall Station on the Kentucky Central railroad, in Mason county, Ky., where he remained two years. He was then made telegraph operator and clerk at Maysville, Ky., which position he held three years. He then accepted a clerkship in the office of the Old Dominion Steamship Company, in New York City, where he remained until 1882, when he was made clerk, and afterward local freight agent of the Kentucky Central railroad at Covington, Ky. On January 1, 1887, he became chief clerk of the Kanawha Dispatch, and on April 1, 1890, was promoted to his present position.

Mr. Hall was married November 11, 1884, to Miss Ida Dobyns, of North Middletown, Ky., by whom he has one child: Carey D. Our subject is a member of the Cincinnati Literary Club; he resides in Covington, Kentucky.

SAMUEL MORSE FELTON, president of the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railroad, was born in Philadelphia, Penn., February 3, 1853, son of the late Samuel M. Felton, who was for many years president of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore railroad. He is a descendant in the eighth generation of Lieut. Nathaniel Felton, who, in 1633, came to Salem, Mass., from Great Yarmouth, England, His family has had many distinguished representatives in the eastern counties of England. Nathaniel's great-grandfather was, during the latter part of the sixteenth century, the leading man of the borough of Great Yarmouth, and was three times chosen chief magistrate of the town. He was twice elected to Parliament in Queen Elizabeth's time, once in 1592, and again in 1596. His second son, Nicholas Felton,




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a distinguished scholar and churchman, was master of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge, and a translator of the Bible during the reign of James I. He enjoyed many high preferments in the Church, and died, in 1626, Bishop of Ely.

Mr. Felton's uncle, C. C. Felton, was president of Harvard College in 1869. His father was, for a period of more than fourteen years. perfecting one of the great railroad lines which contribute to the prosperity of Philadelphia, and for more than twenty years his energies were devoted to the advancement of manufacturing as president of the Pennsylvania Steel Company, the earliest establishment in the United States for the manufacture of steel rails, as a business. Mr. Felton, who died in 1889, was born in West Newbury. Essex Co., Mass., July 17, 1809, and was son of Cornelius Conway and Anna (Morse) Felton, When only fourteen years of age he became clerk in a Boston grocery store, sustaining himself by his work, get. tins the rudiments of a practical business education, and devoting his scanty leisure to study, with an idea of entering college later. In 1827 he became his brother's pupil at Geneseo, N. Y.. and there completed his preparations for advanced standing in Harvard College, the Freshman class of which he entered in 1830, graduating in 1834. Although having to labor hard to support himself while in college, such were his natural talents and his habits of application, that he distinguished himself as a scholar in a class containing a number of men who became eminent in science and literature. After graduating, he took charge of a select school for boys at Charleston, and at the same time studied law, but, impaired health warning him against this double work of a sedentary nature, he took up the more active profession of civil engineering, for which he was peculiarly fitted. In 1835 he entered the office of Loammi Baldwin, and succeeded to his business upon his death three tears later. In 1841 he built a railway from Boston to Fresh Pond, in Cambridge, and in 1843 commenced the construction of the Fitchburg railroad, followed by the Vermont Central and other connecting lines. He became superintendent of the Fitchburg railroad on its completion, and held that position until 1851, when he was chosen president of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore railroad, just then in very poor condition, unprofitable, in need of extensive repairs and of complete reorganization in all its departments. Mr. Felton thoroughly studied the situation, and laid careful plans for restoration of prosperity, and, although he encountered serious opposition in the execution of his plans, and had to overcome obstacles seemingly insurmountable, he maintained his purpose, and the exercise of his wisdom and energy resulted in making the line a great thoroughfare for travel, second to none in construction and equipment, and a safe and profitable investment for capital. Few men in the country endured a heavier strain than did Mr, Felton during the fourteen years ending about the close of the war, in which he was the responsible head of this corporation. In 1861 the road, being the only direct means of communication between the northeastern portion of the country and the National Capital, naturally became an object of attraction to the secessionists, and the president's unslumbering vigilance was demanded at every point. A plot had been formed for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on his way through Baltimore just prior to his inauguration in 1861, and it is a matter of history that this skillfully planned conspiracy was thwarted by Mr. Felton's watchfulness, foresight, skill and promptness of action. One biographer of our subject, while apologizing for the omission of the detailed narrative of this achievement, as we must for lack of space, says: "It deserves and can hardly fail to secure a permanent place in history of the country. Suffice it now to say that no greater service was rendered to the loyal cause during the war, and that Mr. Felton's part in it evinced a keenness of penetration, a command of resources, and an intensity of will power, which in a more conspicuous field would have won for him extended and enduring fame." On his mother's side Samuel M. Felton is a descendant of John Lippitt, one of the early settlers of Rhode Island, and also of Roger Williams, the founder of Providence plantations.


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Mr. Felton was educated in the English branches at the private schools of his native city, and at the age of sixteen was appointed rodman on the Chester Creek railroad. In 1870 he was appointed leveler and assistant engineer on the Lancaster railroad, and the following year entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Boston, graduating in 1873. In that year he was made chief engineer of the Chester & Delaware River railroad, and in August, 1874, was appointed general superintendent of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis railway, by Col. Thomas A. Scott. During the railroad riots at Pittsburgh in July, 1877, Mr. Felton was in personal charge of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis railroad, and by his coolness, daring and promptitude saved a large amount of property. After removing the office records and all other movable property, he organized a guard to protect the remainder, and by his display of personal bravery and cool judgment inspired the majority of his men with loyalty, succeeding in restoring order at Pittsburgh, the influence of which was immediately felt in other directions, He held the position of general superintendent of this road until 1882, and during this period the Cincinnati, Muskingum Valley and the Little Miami railroads were added to his charge. The great improvements in the physical condition, and in the results of the operation of these roads, were largely due to his intelligent and efficient work. In 1882 he became general manager of the New York & New England railroad, and soon after was made assistant to the president of the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad Company, with special charge of the Now York, Pennsylvania & Ohio railroad, and in 1884 was chosen general manager of the latter. On January 15, 1885, he was elected vice-president of the New York, Lake Erie & Western railroad, was placed in charge of the traffic of the Erie lines, and on October 15, following, was made vice-president of the entire system. During his administration the traffic has largely increased, and it is now one of the best equipped and best managed roads in the country. In November, 1890, he severed his connection with the Erie railroad to accept the presidency of the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia, and the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific railroads. He is a man of great personal popularity, beloved equally by his associates and subordinates from the highest to the lowest. Mr. Felton was married October 21, 1880, to Miss Dora Hamilton, daughter of George P. Hamilton, who previous to his decease was a prominent member of the Pittsburgh bar.

HENRY HAMMOND TATEM, secretary and treasurer of the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway Company, and secretary and auditor of the board of trustees of the Cincinnati Southern railway, was born in Cincinnati February 6, 1841, and is a son of Henry Lea and Sarah Ann (Hall) Tatem.

His father, who was a descendant of an old Virginia family, was born in Trenton, N. J., August 12, 1802, and came to Cincinnati in 1812. From the beginning of his business life he was for many years associated with his father, Charles Tatem, in the iron foundry business, but for several years previous to his death, which occurred August 10, 1853, he was in the plumbing business at No. 157 West Fifth street. When Miles Greenwood came to Cincinnati he brought, a letter of introduction to Charles Tatem from a mutual friend in Pittsburgh, and through this medium became established in the foundry business, which for so many years was among the most prominent of the manufacturing industries of the city. The mother of our subject was of Maryland ancestry, and was born in Cincinnati March 19, 1809; she died in the city of her birth, March 31, 1893. Thus it will be seen that the Tatem and the Hall families were both prominent among the first settlers of Cincinnati, and were of that class of citizens who by their social standing and business ability gave an impetus to the growth and development of the Queen City during its infancy and days of trial. Charles Tatem and his son, Henry L., commanded the highest respect of their fellow-citizens, and were both at various times elected to positions in the municipal government. Prominent among the founders of the Methodist Protestant


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Church of Cincinnati was Ezekiel Hall, the maternal grandfather of our subject; nor was his good wife Elizabeth lacking in doing her share of a work which was to benefit all the coming generations of her city. She was one of the founders of the Cincinnati Orphan Asylum, and a member of its board of managers from its organization until the date of her death. James C. Hall, son of the venerable couple mentioned immediately above, was for four years postmaster of Cincinnati; he was also a member of the State Senate, and the first president of the Ohio & Mississippi Rail way Company. The immediate family of which H. H. Tatem is a member consisted of four sons and two daughters, two of whom are living. Three died in infancy, and Ezekiel H., who was for years prominently connected with the editorial staff of the daily morning journals of Cincinnati, yielded his life for his country's cause in the war of the Rebellion as captain of Company D, Sixth O. V. I. The other surviving child is Miss Janet Ridgeway Tatem, of Cincinnati.

Our subject was educated in the public schools of Cincinnati, and was graduated from Hughes High School in the class of 1857. All of his business life has been passed in Cincinnati. His first position was in the fish, oyster and game store of D. Greene, after which he became chief clerk to Mahlon H. Madeira, blank agent of the Cincinnati Post Office Department during the postmastership of Dr. John L. Vattier. He then became shipping clerk and afterward bookkeeper for the grain and flour commission house of Foulds & Campbell, and their successors, Thomas H. Foulds & Company, and Foulds & Wright. His next position was entry clerk, and later bookkeeper for the wholesale hardware house of McAlpin, Hinman & Company; was then, for a time, clerk at the works of the Cincinnati Gas Light and Coke Company. He was then elected auditor of Cincinnati for two successive terms of two years each, after which he was elected secretary of the Board of Trade, and on July 6, 1869, be was elected secretary of the board of trustees of the Cincinnati Southern railway, a position he still holds. In the meantime he had been secretary and treasurer of the Cincinnati, Rockport & Southwestern railway. At the time of the lease of the Cincinnati Southern railway to the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway Company, October 11, 1881, he was elected treasurer of the company, and May 29, 1882, was in addition elected secretary, which position he still holds. He is also treasurer of all the roads which constitute the " Queen and Crescent Route," except the Alabama & Vicksburg, of which he is secretary and treasurer. Mr. Tatem was first lieutenant of Company D, Benton Cadets " (infantry body-guard of Gen. John C. Fremont), from September 15, 1861, to January 8. 1802, and captain of Company H, One Hundred and Thirty-seventh O. V. I., from May 10 to August 20, 1864. Mr. Tatem was married September 17, 1867, to Miss Anna Dionecia Cohan, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Sullivan) Cohan, of Dayton, Ohio, natives respectively of Mifflin county, Penn., and Dayton, both being of American parentage. The issue of this marriage was one daughter, deceased, and three sons, living: Harry Hall, trace clerk in the local freight office of the C. N. O. & T. P.; Clifford Ross, who graduated from Hughes High School in 1892, and now in the second year of the electrical course in the University of Michigan; and Lea Brandon, now attending the intermediate school of Hartwell, Ohio. Mr. Tatem and family worship at the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which he is a generous supporter. He is a past grand commander of the Knights Templar of Ohio, and honorary member of the Supreme Council Thirty-third Degree A. A. Scottish Rite Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U. S. A.; is also a member of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles Mystic Shrine, and is a member of the G. A. R. and Loyal Legion. Mr. Tatem is a Republican, and, in addition to the public offices already mentioned, was front 1867 to 1891 a member of the union board of high schools of Cincinnati, and twice president. of the board. He has been, since 1866 a trustee of the estate of 'Thomas Hughes, by whom Hughes High School was endowed; was appointed a director of Longview Asylum, October 5, 1889, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Hon. Theodore Marsh, and in April,


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1891, was reappointed for a regular term of five years; he was the president of the board in 1890, and has since been its secretary. On June 22, 1885, he was elected a member of the first board of education of Hartwell, where he resides, by whom the present school edifice was erected, and retired from the board April 16, 1888, having served it as clerk and president.

MAJOR FRANK JOHNSTON JONES, president of the Little Miami Railroad Company, was born at Cincinnati April 22, 1838, in a house that occupied the location of his present office No. 59 West Fourth street. His father, John Davies Jones, was a native of Berks county, Penn., whose immigrant ancestor, John Jones, came to Pennsylvania in 1703. John Davies Jones came to Cincinnati as clerk in 1819, and subsequently engaged in the dry-goods business, from which he retired in 1867. He died in August, 1878, at the age of eighty-one years, and three months later his widow, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Johnston, died at the age of seventy-one. Her father, John Johnston, who was of Huguenot descent and a native of the North of Ireland, was born March 17, 1775, and came to America in 1793. While a young man, he was a clerk in the War Department under Gen. Dearborn, and latter he was for forty years in the government employ as Indian agent, and factor, traveling extensively among the Indian tribes, with whose languages he had a wide familiarity. When the peace commission met at Washington, in 1861, he went thither, and was found dead in his bed at the " Clay Hotel, " Sunday, February 18, 1861, at the age of eighty-six. John D. Jones married Elizabeth Johnston, who was born at Ft. Wayne, Ind., in 1807, and they were the parents of thirteen children, of whom two survive, Frank Johnston, the subject of this sketch, and Walter St, John, president of the Miami Valley Insurance Company of Cincinnati.

Frank Johnston was educated at the classical school of E. S. Brooks, and at Yale College, from which he was graduated in 1859. He then entered the law office of Rufus King of Cincinnati, and in September, 1860, became student at Harvard Law School. At the outbreak of the Rebellion, he returned to Cincinnati, and enlisted in Company A, Sixth O. V. I., as a private. In June, 1861, he was appointed second lieutenant in the Thirteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was in active service in West Virginia that year. His regiment was a part of Gen. Hill's command at Cheat Mountain, in West Virginia, crossed the mountains and was in the battle o of Gallia Bridge under Gen. Rosecrans in September, 1861. In November, Lieutenant Jones was promoted to a first lieutenancy, and made adjutant of his regiment, which was in the campaign against General Floyd in December, 1861, after which it, became a part of General Mitchell's division of Buell's army called the army of the Ohio. After the capture of Nashville the re intent was transferred to Crittenden's division, with which it participated in the battle of Shiloh. During this engagement, however, Lieutenant Jones was detailed as acting assistant. adjutant on the staff of General William Sooy Smith. He was in active service in the campaign that resulted in the fall of Corinth, after which he was detailed as assistant adjutant, on the staff of General Lovell H. Rosseau, commanding the Third Division, army of the Ohio, with whom he served until October 9, 1862. when he was taken, prisoner at the battle of Perryville. Three months later he was exchanged, and joined the army after the battle of Stone River. In February, 1863, he was promoted to captain and aid-de-camp by President Lincoln, and assigned to duty on the staff of General A. McDowell McCook, commanding the Twentieth Army Corps. army of the Cumberland. In this capacity he served through the summer of 1863, participating in the battle of Chickamauga. In August, 1864, he resigned his command and returned to Cincinnati. May 10, 1866, he was appointed, by President Johnson, lire vet. major of United States Volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865, for gallant. and meritorious service during the war. He also had two brothers in active service, Colonel William G. Jones, a graduate of West Point, who teas killed at Chickamauga, and Charles D. Jones, a graduate of the Annapolis Naval Academy, who served under Admiral Farragat, and was found dead


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in his bed at the "Tremont House," Boston, Massachusetts, in December, 1865, after returning from a long cruise.

After the close of the war, Major Jones resumed his legal studies under Mr. Ding, and attended the Cincinnati Law School, from which he was graduated in 1865, and was at once admitted to practice. In 1869-73, he was associated with Samuel Fosdick in the manufacture of cotton, and subsequently, in 1874, resumed the practice of his profession. In 1878, he entered the directory of the Little Miami Railroad Company, of which he became vice-president in 1885, and president in 1889, and is at this time the president of said company. He is also a director of the Dayton & Michigan Railroad Company, and of the Spring Grove Cemetery Association; a trustee of the Ohio Medical College, the Cincinnati Orphan Asylum, and the University of Cincinnati, and a director of the National Lafayette Bank, the Niles Tool Works, of Hamilton, Ohio, the Cincinnati Street Rail Road Co., and the Jones Brothers Electric Supply Company. May 30, 1800, Major Jones married Frances Dearing Fosdick, daughter of Samuel and Sarah A. (Wood) Fosdick, natives of New London, Connecticut, and of Maryland, respectively. Five children have been born to them: Anna F., wife of E. H. Ernst, secretary and treasurer of the Fred J. Myer Manufacturing Company of Covington; Charles Davies, a recent graduate of Yale College; Samuel Fosdick, Frances L'Hommedieu and Edmund Lawrence. The family is connected with Christ Protestant Episcopal Church, of which church Mr. Jones is junior warden; also is member of the Ohio Commandery of the Loyal Legion, and in politics is a Republican.

HENRY C. URNER, secretary and treasurer of the Little Miami railway, was born in Cincinnati January 30, 1830, and is a son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Keyser) Urner. His parents were natives o? Pennsylvania, where the families were early settlers, and were of Holland and Swiss origin. He is a descendant of Leonard Keyser, who was burnt at the stake for heresy. Benjamin Urner, who was a merchant, removed from Pennsylvania to Maryland, where he remained a short time, and thence in 1825 came to Cincinnati. He continued merchandising and gave some of his time to the insurance business until his death, which occurred, in 1857, when he was at the age of sixty-two. His widow lived until 1878, reaching the age of eighty years. The family consisted of seven children, three of whom are living: Henry C., Benjamin, a publisher in Now York City, and Lathaniel D., a literary and poetical writer, also residing in New York City.

Our subject was educated in the old Cincinnati College, and in the boarding school of M. Hazen White. In the spring of 1849 he went to California, where he remained four years, and engaged in digging gold, merchandising, etc. Upon his return to Cincinnati he was elected president of the National Insurance Company, which position he filled for thirty-seven years, and in March, 1892, accepted his present position. He was a member of the committee who built the Chamber of Commerce, and was twice president of that institution. After the burning of the courthouse in the riot of 1884 he was appointed by (gov. Homily to rebuild it, which he did with entire satisfaction. He served four years as United States Marshal under Cleveland's administration, and was once a member of the tax committee, During the floods of 1883-84 he was first president, and later treasurer of the relief committee which succeeded in raising in all nearly four hundred thousand dollars for the relief of the destitute. Mr. Urner was married, February 13, 1872, to Miss Maria, daughter of John P. and Emily (Kimball) Harley, natives of Pennsylvania and New York, respectively. The issue of this marriage was three children: Eloise Stettinius, Henry and Marlin H. This gentleman is a thirty-third degree Mason, a Democrat in his political views, and was for many years president of the Queen City Club.

IRA G. RAWN, general superintendent of the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern railroad, was born August 20, 1855, at Delaware, Ohio, son of Peter and Sarah