JACOB LINXWEILER, JR., [pages 263-264] who has long been active in a field of enterprise which contributes in a large degree to the prosperity of any community or section—that corporate use of capital whose object is to furnish indemnity against loss by fire—occupies a distinctly representative position among the business men of Dayton, Ohio, and for this reason, as well as that of his character as an enterprising and public-spirited citizen, it is eminently fitting that he be accorded due recognition in a biographical record of this community.  Mr. Linxweiler is secretary of that stanch organization, the Teutonic Fire Insurance company, and holds official position in connection with municipal affairs, being at this time the mayor of the city of Dayton.

Mr. Linxweiler is a native of the city in which he has won his way to success and honor. The date of his birth was. January 22, 1843, his parents being Jacob and Caroline (Heinz) Linxweiler, both of whom were born in Rhenish Bavaria, and were among the early settlers in Dayton. Jacob Linxweiler, Sr., emigrated to the United States in the summer of 1840, and for a few weeks after his arrival here was employed on a farm hear Niagara Falls, Canada. In August of the same year he came to Dayton, which has ever since been his home and where he is held in highest esteem as one of the honored patriarchs of the city. Animated by a strong will, industrious and resourceful, Mr. Linxweiler was not slow in proving his power to attain a due measure of success in the land of his adoption.  He was for a time engaged in the bakery and grocery trade in Dayton, and later became actively interested in horticultural enterprises in Montgomery county, gaining a wide reputation in that important field.  He was one of the leading members of the horticultural society, and a generally recognized authority in this direction.  He retired from active business in 1869. His cherished and devoted wife died in 1868. She had been an earnest member of the German Lutheran church, and her character was one of signal purity and beauty. Jacob Linxweiler, Jr., was reared in Dayton, receiving a good common-school education and profiting by the influences of a refined and pleasant home. After leaving school he secured a position as clerk in a wholesale notion house in Dayton, and in 1863 he enlisted in the 100-days' service as a member of Col. John G. Lowe's regiment, the One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, serving his term and being on garrison duty at Baltimore, Md., during the greater portion of the time. After the close of the war he returned to Dayton and entered Greer's commercial college, where he completed a course of study, after which he accepted the position of bookkeeper for T. Parrott & Sons, manufacturers of linseed oil, remaining in their employ until May, 1867.  Mr. Linxweiler was then elected secretary of the Teutonic Fire Insurance company, which office he has since continuously retained, his well-directed efforts and marked executive ability having been large factors in so shaping the policy of the company that it today stands as one of the strongest and most popular insurance organizations in the entire west.

Mr. Linxweiler has been prominent in Dayton's municipal affairs for a number of years, having ever stood ready to do all in his power to further its prosperity and substantial upbuilding.  In 1874 he was elected a member of the board of education, as representative of the Sixth ward, being the candidate on the democratic ticket and receiving a majority of 140 votes in a ward distinctively republican in its political complexion—the average republican majority therein having been 120 in the same election.  He served in this capacity for one term of two years, when he declined again to become a candidate for the office.  He was the second member of the finance committee and its acting chairman during his term. When the fire department of Dayton was reorganized in 1881, Mr. Linxweiler was appointed a member of the fire board, and took an active part in the reorganization of the department, doing much to bring it to its present high standard of efficiency.  He was a member of the board for about three years.  In 1884 he was appointed by Gov. Hoadly as a member of the board of trustees of the southern Ohio asylum for the insane, in which capacity he served for five years.  In 1891 he was elected a member of the city board of waterworks trustees, being his own successor in 1893, in which year he served as president.  In his first election to this board he ran nearly 700 votes ahead of his ticket—a fact which furnished marked evidence of the confidence reposed in him and of his great popularity.  At the time of his re-election the remainder of the ticket, with the exception of Mayor McMillen, was defeated, the republican majority ranging between fifty and 100, while Mr. Linxweiler's majority was over 400 votes. He has been a stanch supporter of the democratic party, and has done much to advance its local interests. In his fraternal relations he is identified with Steuben lodge, I. 0. 0. F., of which he is a charter member, and with the Grand Army of the Republic, being also a member of the board of trustees of the Old Guard post, G. A. R. He has also been, for many years past, an influential member and an officer of the Dayton Turngemeinde, an organization for physical culture.

In February, 1867, Mr. Linxweiler was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Zimmermann, of Cincinnati, and they became the parents of five children, namely: Elmer, who is now engaged in horticultural pursuits in southern Georgia; George, who is a clerk in the office of the Teutonic Fire Insurance company; Edmund, a clerk in the office of the Seybold Machine company; and Cora and Otto, both. now living at the parental home.

Mr. Linxweiler was elected mayor of the city of Dayton in the spring of 1896, for a term of two years, by a plurality of nine votes over his republican opponent.  He and Ben. B. Childs, democratic candidate for trustee of the water works, were the only democrats elected, the republican candidates for the other offices being elected by majorities of from four hundred to five hundred votes. Mr. Linxweiler resigned the office of water works trustee at the request of many citizens, who desired that his superior executive ability, strength of will and sound judgment should be utilized in the discharge of the more important duties of the mayoralty.  In that responsible office he has already given evidence of peculiar qualities of fitness for the exercise of the appointive power which the existing form of city government vests in the mayor, and has gained friends among all classes and in all parties by his faithful and conscientious administration of an honorable and responsible civic trust.

GEORGE GOODHUE, M. D., [pages 264-265] one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Dayton, Ohio, was born in West Westminster, Vt., May 24, 1853. Reared upon the farm he attended the district school until he was sixteen years old, when he entered the preparatory department of Carleton college, at Northfield, Minn., and there took a three-years' course, with the view of entering Dartmouth college, in which he took a four-years' course, graduating in the class of 1876.  After this he taught school for two years as professor of Greek and physics in Miami college, Oxford, Ohio. Having determined to follow the profession of medicine he entered the office of Dr. John Davis, of Dayton, now deceased.  His first course of lectures was taken at the college of Physicians and Surgeons of New York city, and his second at the medical department of Dartmouth college, graduating from the latter institution in 1879. He then entered the university of New York, from which institution he graduated in March, 1880.  Having previously secured a position in the Brooklyn city hospital, he held this position for one year, and thereafter spent three months in the Manhattan Eye and Ear hospital.  Being thus thoroughly equipped for successful work in medicine and surgery, he returned to Dayton and entered into partnership with his former preceptor, Dr. John Davis, with whom he was associated until the death of Dr. Davis, which occurred June 10, 1883. Since that time he has carried on his practice alone, with the exception of some two and a half years, when he was associated with a nephew of Dr. Davis. While his practice is general, yet Dr. Goodhue gives considerable attention to diseases of the eye and ear, and also to surgery, the latter being his preference.

Dr. Goodhue is a member of the Montgomery county Medical society, and also of the Ohio state Medical association.   He is acknowledged as one of the progressive physicians of the city, ranking among the foremost in both skill and success, and his practice is, as a consequence, unusually extensive.

Dr. Goodhue has, however, in the past, given some attention to the business interests of Dayton, has aided many enterprises, and is a stockholder in several of the prosperous concerns of the city.  He is a member of Dayton lodge No. 147, F. & A. M., a thirty-second degree Mason, and a member of the Mystic Shrine.  He was married at Terre Haute, Ind., to Miss Rose E. Kendall, and both he and his wife attend the Protestant Episcopal church.

Dr. Goodhue is of English ancestry, being the seventh in direct descent from William Goodhue. He is a son of Horace and Clarissa (Braley) Goodhue, both of whom died in Vermont. They were the parents of nine children, the doctor being the youngest of the family, and the only one living in Ohio. He has two brothers and one sister living, viz: Horace, professor of Greek in Carleton college, Minn., Harlan, a farmer of Vermont, and Electa, also living in Vermont.

Dr. Goodhue is, at the present time, surgeon of the Panhandle railroad company at Dayton, and at different times has held the same position with all the railroads entering Dayton. He has also been surgeon of the Deaconess hospital ever since its foundation, and in 1890 was president of the Montgomery county Medical society.

WILLIAM WEBSTER, M. D., [pages 265-268] deceased, who for many years was one of the leading citizens and physicians of Dayton, was born in Butler county, Ohio, January 12, 1827, and was of Welsh descent. He was reared to agricultural pursuits in Butler county, in the rich Miami valley. In his fourteenth year he entered the Monroe academy for the purpose of preparing for admission to the Ohio Wesleyan university at Delaware, Ohio, where he studied during the years 1845 and 1846. He then entered Farmers college, near Cincinnati, graduating in 1848 with honor.   Inheriting from his father a taste for medical studies, he devoted his senior year's leisure moments to reading medical works, with a view to entering a medical college, and did enter the Eclectic Medical institute at Cincinnati, from which institution he was graduated in 1851.

Prior to his graduation, on account of the spread of cholera in this country, he opened an office in Middletown, Ohio, and at once entered upon a busy practice, but upon the disappearance of the epidemic he closed his office, returned to college and graduated as above narrated. At first he practiced according to the principles of the regular school of medicine, or what is generally called allopathic treatment; but during his last term of attendance at the Eclectic college the faculty employed Dr. Storm Ross, of Painesville, Ohio, to deliver a course of lectures on homeopathy, a new theory of medicine at that time in Ohio, the result being the conversion of nearly all the faculty and class to the new system. Dr. Webster made a trial of this new system of medicine, and after a year or two of practice of allopathy, and of investigation and experimenting with homeopathy, he finally dropped the former system and from that time on followed the principles of homeopathy during his entire professional life. After seven years of practice in Middletown, he removed with his family to Dayton, Ohio, and remained a citizen of Dayton until his death, which event occurred May 19, 1894.

Immediately after locating in Dayton he made himself felt in the medical world, being one of the organizers of the Miami valley Homeopathic society, and was officially connected therewith for many years. He served as secretary and president of the Ohio state Homeopathic Medical society for many years, and was also connected with the American Institute of Homeopathy, beside being well known as a contributor to the lending homeopathic journals. He carefully avoided all official positions, excepting such as mentioned above, devoting himself closely to his professional labors and studies, with the result that he attained a position of prominence in the medical world which he could not otherwise have reached.  For fifty-five years he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and for many years was a member of the Masonic fraternity.

Dr. Webster was married three times; first to Mrs. Catherine Martin, who was born in Warren county, Ohio, July 1, 1827, and died July 29, 1851, after about one year of married life. His second wife, whom he married May 28, 1853, was Miss Sarah Harkrader, who bore him one son, Frank, and was soon afterward taken from him by death.  She died August 9, 1854, at the age of nineteen, of cholera. She was the daughter of David and Nancy (Gallagher) Harkrader, who were among the early pioneers of Warren county, Ohio, and whose families were of great longevity some of the Gallaghers living to be upward of ninety years of age.

Dr. Webster was married, the third time, to Miss Rosalinda Brashear, who still survives. She bore him two sons, Edward and William H. Edward is a traveling salesman from Dayton, Ohio, representing the Pittsburg Consolidated Wire & Nail company in the state of Ohio. He married Miss Mollie Miller, of Grand Forks, N. Dak. The second son, William Herr Webster, was educated in the public schools of Dayton, and attended the Ohio Wesleyan university, at Delaware, for four years, reading medicine while there with Dr. M. P. Hunt, and subsequently with his father, and in 1891 entering Pulte Medical college at Cincinnati, Ohio. From this institution he graduated in 1894, subsequently locating in Dayton, and forming a medical partnership with his half-brother, Dr. Frank Webster, whose biography will appear below in connection with this sketch. William H. Webster also took a post-graduate course at the Chicago Homeopathic college. While he is giving special attention to surgery, he is also engaged in general practice.   He is a member of the medical staff of the Deaconess hospital, of Dayton, and is also a member of the Ohio state Homeopathic Medical society, of the Miami valley Homeopathic Medical society, and is highly regarded as a citizen and as a physician. He was married January 12, 1895, to Miss Mary Isabel Ferneau, a native of Ross county, Ohio, who was born near Chillicothe. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Having recited the family history of Dr. William Webster, deceased, it is now proper to present some of his personal characteristics, and to deal briefly with the ancestry of the family.  The deceased practitioner was a physician always welcome in the sick room, because of his known professional skill and of his genial disposition and cheerful, hopeful presence. He made a large circle of warm friends, was affable and courteous, and his personality was almost as valuable as any medical treatment, especially to those who were susceptible to such personal influences.  In his practice he amassed a handsome fortune, which he used in great part for the benefit of humanity. He was devoted to the success of the Young Men's Christian association, acting as an official of the association and contributing of his means to its prosperity.  He was a liberal supporter of all worthy public enterprises, and to his friends was liberal to a fault, but more especially to the poor.

The ancestry of Dr. William Webster is said to be of Welsh origin.  John Webster, of whom the doctor was a direct descendant, emigrated to New Jersey in 1691. The grandfather of Dr. Webster was also named William Webster.  He was a native of Essex county, N. J., born in 1771, removed to Pennsylvania about 1803, became a pioneer in the Miami valley in 1806, settling in Butler county, Ohio, and died in 1844. His son, Dr. Elias Webster,, the father of Dr. William Webster, was one of a family of nine children.  He was born October 31, 1805, and became a physician of the allopathic school when quite young, but after about fifteen years' practice embraced the doctrines and principles of homeopathy, a system then comparatively new, especially in this country, as it was established and announced by the celebrated Hahnemann during the closing years of the eighteenth century.  In 1866 he removed to Connersville, Ind., where he remained in practice until he retired, dying there in 1891, when he was eighty-six years old.

He married Mary Kain, of Lebanon, Ohio, who died in 1867. By her he had nine children: William, the subject of this sketch; Samuel, Hugh, James K., M. D., deceased; Joseph R., a farmer, of Connersville, Ind.; Taylor, Daniel, Sarah Ann, wife of Rev. Mr. Tevis, of Kansas, and Mary J., all but two of whom are now dead.

Dr. Elias Webster took a deep interest in religious matters. In politics he was a pronounced democrat.  He was a man of great force of character and much esteemed for his honesty and integrity.  A wide reader and a deep thinker, he was also a close and diligent student of the bible, and was always welcome among the young, who revered him for his many excellent traits of character, all of which he strove, with much success, to impart to his children.

His brother, Hon. Taylor Webster, was, for nearly half a century, identified with the democratic press of Butler county, Ohio; served in 1829 as clerk of the general assembly of Ohio, and in 1830 was a representative from Butler county in the lower house of the general assembly and was chosen its speaker. From 1832 to 1838 he was a representative from the counties of Butler, Preble and Darke in the congress of the United States and was subsequently clerk of the court of common pleas of Butler county, and afterward of the supreme court of Ohio.  His services in Ohio politics were exceedingly efficient during the administrations of Presidents Jackson and Van Buren. He was modest in manner and industrious by habit. He died, generally lamented, in New Orleans, La., April 27, 1876, at the age of seventy-one years.

Frank Webster, M. D., was, as will have been noted, the eldest son of Dr. William Webster, and the son of his second wife.  He was born in Middletown, Ohio, April 6, 1854, and was educated in the public schools of Dayton, Ohio, graduating from the high school in 1874. Afterward he graduated from the Miami Commercial college in Dayton, and was for some three years engaged in the music business in that city. He then engaged in the study of medicine with his father, and graduated with the class of 1882 from Pulte Medical college. Becoming associated with his father in the practice of medicine, he so, remained until his father's death, and has since formed a partnership with his younger half-brother, William H., referred to above. He has confined his attention to the general practice of medicine and has made himself prominent in his profession and school, standing today as one of the leading and best informed physicians of Dayton. He served as secretary of the Miami valley Homeopathic Medical association for thirteen years, and is now its president, and has been president of the Dayton city Homeopathic Medical society.  He has also been a member of the board of censors of Pulte Medical college.  Dr. Webster is a member of Dayton lodge No. 147, F. & A. M.  He was married January 30, 1879, to Miss Anna A. Turner, a daughter of Hamilton M. Turner, of Montgomery county, Ohio, Mrs. Webster being a native of that county.  Dr. and Mrs. Webster have three children, Howard H., Rome M., and Margaret K. Both parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

FIELDING LOURY, [pages 268-272] deceased, was born in the city of Dayton, Ohio, October 9, 1824, and became one of the most prominent business men as well as one of its most representative citizens. His genealogy will be fully traced throughout the details of this memoir, as opportunity suitably presents itself. For the present it may be said simply, that he was the only son of Gen. Fielding Loury, who was a native of Spotsylvania county, Va., and a civil engineer and surveyor, the mother of our subject, being the second wife of the general, and, at the time of her marriage with him, the widow of Daniel C. Cooper. She died in Dayton, in 1826. The first wife of Gen. Loury was a daughter of John Smith, the first United States senator from Ohio.

Fielding Loury was educated in Woodward high school, Cincinnati, and Kenyon college, Gambler, Ohio, and, having inherited a fortune from his mother, his earlier manhood was spent in comparative leisure. He wedded in Dayton, in 1847, Miss Elizabeth Richards Morrison, a native of Dayton and a daughter of Joseph and Harriet (Backus) Morrison, who were born in Kaskaskia, Ill., and there married.

Col. William Morrison, grandfather of Mrs. Loury, was a soldier of the old French-Indian wars, and was extensively connected with the North American Fur company, so famous in its day, was very prominent as a pioneer, and died at the old French military post, known as Kaskaskia.

Joseph Morrison, the father of Mrs. Loury, was a graduate of an eastern university and of the Philadelphia law school, and was a member of the state senate of Illinois; but his brilliant career was brought to an untimely end, as he died when Mrs. Loury was still a child. Harriet Backus, his wife, also a native of Kaskaskia, died at the home of Mrs. Loury, in Dayton, in June, 1890.  Mrs. Loury is the only survivor of a family of three daughters— her sisters having been Mrs. Lucretia DuBois (who died in early life, leaving one son, now deceased), and Mrs. Eloise Bowen, who died in middle age, leaving a son and daughter, who are still living.  The result of the marriage of Mr. Loury with Miss Morrison, which was solemnized by Rev. Mr. Arnott of Christ's Episcopal church, was three daughters and one son, viz: Harriet Sophia; Eloise Peirce; Anne Howard, wife of Edward Dana, who resides in Cincinnati and is extensively interested in coal mining in Virginia; and Charles Greene, employed in the office of the National Cash Register company, in Dayton.

Fielding Loury entered the army in 1861, as an aid on the staff of Gen. Schenck, with the rank of captain, and took part in the first battle of Bull Run.  He served, also, on the staffs of Gens. Hooker, Milroy and Rescans, and was wounded at the battle of Chancellorsville. After his recovery he was sent to Pittsburg, Pa., where he was at the head of the bureau for the purchase of cavalry supplies— receiving and disbursing an average of $1,000,000 monthly.  After a service of about five years and a half in the army, he resigned his commission, having reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and returned to Dayton. Here he was commissioned postmaster, and served eight years.  His many years of arduous labor, civil and military, at last made deep inroads on his health, and death came to him, as a welcome relief, November 13, 1882.

No more fitting words can be used, as to his demise, than those of his pastor. "A brave soldier, a public-spirited citizen, a loving husband, a devoted father—early consecrated to the Lord in holy baptism—we leave him in the hands of that God, who will find in his life all that was virtuous, and will mete out the tenderest judgment." Mrs. Loury has been a member from early life of Christ Episcopal church, in which faith her husband died, and her grandchildren are of the fourth generation reared in that church.

Both the Loury and Morrison families trace their genealogy to Scotch-Irish origin. Both have long been established in America, and many have attained positions of great prominence, one being remembered as chief-justice of California. The present interstate commerce commissioner, Hon. William Morrison, of Illinois, is a second cousin of Mrs. Loury; a sister of Joseph. Morrison married Chief-Justice Breese, of Illinois, who was also United States senator from that state; Mrs. Loury's mother was a daughter of a Revolutionary officer, and her only sister wedded Judge Nathaniel Pope, a United States senator and father of Maj.-Gen. John Pope, of Civil war fame.

Gen. Fielding Loury came to Cincinnati in 1803, and reached Dayton in 1806, where he found a solitary log cabin at the intersection of what are now known as Fifth and Main streets, and inquired of the occupant the distance to Dayton.  He continued his duties as a surveyor, in the discharge of which he encountered all the dangers of existence on the frontier of the entire northwest country, but, possessed to a distinguished degree of all the manly qualities which marked the typical pioneer of the west, he surmounted every obstacle in his way. In his intercourse with the Indians, thousands of whom still remained in the country and viewed with jealous alarm the encroachments of the whites, he manifested a character for firmness, tempered with sympathy, which he maintained to the closing hour of his life. About 1808 he occupied a seat in the Ohio legislature; in 1811 he married Mrs. Cooper, as previously recorded; in 1812 he was actively employed in various duties connected with the army; in 1816, he was again elected to the state legislature, and in 1835 was elected for the third time.

To a personal character of unblemished integrity, Gen. Loury united, in an eminent degree, the dignity and refined manners of a gentleman of the old school, and possessed that nice sense of honor and generous hospitality for which the natives of the state of his birth are so distinguished. A more affectionate and indulgent husband and father never blessed a home circle.  In his politics he was a pronounced democrat, and was an able and fearless exponent of the principles of his party. His death occurred in Dayton, October 7, 1848, and his remains lie interred in beautiful Woodland cemetery, the burial spot having been selected by himself.

EMERSON L. HORNER, [pages 272-273] member of the Dayton board of education, and principal of the Eighth district school in Harrison township, Montgomery county, was born at West Baltimore, March 29, 1861.  His parents were James and Rebecca (Harp) Horner, the former of whom was of English descent and was born at Thorntown, Boone county, Ind., while the latter was born in Germantown, Montgomery county, Ohio. They were married in Indiana, and came to Ohio in 1860, locating on a farm near West Baltimore, Montgomery county, where they continued to reside until the death of Mr. Horner, which occurred in 1882. They were the parents of four children, all of whom are living, viz:  Mrs. Mary Gaskell, of West Baltimore; Mrs. Emma Ewing, of Farmersville ; Edward and Emerson L., of Dayton.

Emerson L. Horner was reared on the farm and received his education in the public schools. When twenty years of age he received a certificate to teach school, and taught for one year. For six years following he attended the Northwestern Ohio normal school at Ada, Ohio; the National normal university at Lebanon, Ohio, and at Ann Arbor, Mich., in the summer season and taught school in the winter season.  He became principal of the Eighth district school of Harrison township in 1886, and has ever since retained that position, enjoying a record for faithful, efficient and continuous service unexcelled by that of any teacher in the county.

Mr. Horner has had unusual success as a teacher, being a thoroughly progressive educator, and standing among the leaders of his profession in this county. He has been president and vice-president of the Montgomery county teachers' association, and is at present a member of its executive committee. In April, 1896, he was elected by the people of the Fifth ward to the board of education of Dayton.  In this body he soon took rank among its most active and efficient members, and has rendered valuable and intelligent service to the cause of education.

He is a republican in politics, but his performance of the duties of public trust has been so free from mere partisan bias as to win for him the esteem and confidence of his constituents of all parties.

Mr. Horner is prominent in Odd Fellow circles, being a past grand of Fraternal lodge ; a past chief patriarch of Fraternal encampment, and a member of Galilee Rebekah lodge. He is a member of Summit street U. B. church, which, since its organization in 1871, has been a great power for good.  In all of the relations of life Mr. Horner has been prompt and faithful in the discharge of his duties, individual, social and professional, and has earned an assured place in the regard of the entire community in which he resides.

WILLIAM CRAIGHEAD, [pages 273-274] one of the prominent attorneys of Dayton, Ohio, was born in that city on September 1, 1835. His father was the late Dr. John B. Craighead, who for many years was a leading physician of Dayton, Dr. Craighead was born near Carlisle, Cumberland county, Pa., on April 22, 1800, and was the second son of Thomas and Rebecca (Weakley) Craighead. He received a thorough classical education at Dickinson college, and, choosing medicine as his profession, he became a student at the university of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, from which institution he graduated in 1826. In the winter of 1827 he made a visit to the west for the purpose of selecting a place for the practice of his profession, and located at Mansfield, Ohio. He returned to Philadelphia and spent the winters of 1827-8 in attending medical lectures in that city.  Having returned to Mansfield he married Mary Wallace Purdy, of that place, and in 1830 removed from Mansfield to Dayton, where he soon took a prominent position in the medical profession. He was one of the original members of the Montgomery county Medical society. He was twice married. His first wife died on December 29, 1839, leaving two young sons—John P. Craighead, now a resident of New York city, and William.  His second wife was Rebecca Dodds, whom he married in May, 1841. Joseph B. Craighead, of Richmond, Ind., and Mary E. Soper, of Chicago, Ill., are the surviving children of the second marriage. Dr. Craighead was a fine classical scholar, and the preparation, of his sons for college, which was accomplished principally under his supervision, afforded him an excellent opportunity to review his favorite authors. He was a devoted member of the First Presbyterian church. His death occurred on September 8, 1868.

William Craighead attended the public school on Perry street in this city until he began his preparation for college, when he entered the Dayton Literary institute, which was under the management of W. N. Edwards and Robert Stevenson. In September, 1852, he matriculated at Miami university, where he entered the sophomore class and graduated June 30, 1855, In the following fall, in connection with Robert Stevenson, his former teacher, he opened a private school in Miami City, where he taught for two years. While teaching, his leisure reading was in the direction of law, and after giving up teaching he entered the law office of Conover & Craighead as a student. He was admitted to the bar in 1859, and opened an office with Luther Bruen. After several years he formed a partnership with Warren Munger, thus organizing the firm of Craighead & Munger. At about this time Mr. Craighead was elected city solicitor of Dayton, and served the city in that capacity for four years. It was during his administration of that office that the riots of the Civil war occurred in the city, during which much valuable property on the west side of Main street was burned, and a number of suits for heavy damages were brought by the sufferers against the city. Mr. Craighead represented the city in this litigation, and was successful in preventing recovery by the complainants.

Mr. Craighead continued practicing law in the firm of Craighead & Munger until 1876, when that firm was dissolved, and the firm of Conover & Craighead being dissolved at about the same time by the retirement of Mr. Conover on account of failing health, Samuel Craighead and William Craighead became partners in the practice of .law, and so continued until the death of Samuel Craighead. In 1891 Mr. Craighead was chosen, by the board of city affairs, city solicitor, which position he filled with marked ability until the spring of 1894. Since the death of Samuel Craighead, William and Charles A. Craighead, sons of Samuel, have constituted the law firm of Craighead & Craighead.

On December 27, 1865, Mr. Craighead was married to Margaret S. Wright, daughter of Francis M. and Sophia Corwin Wright, of Urbana, Ohio. They have but one child, a daughter, Sophia.

Mr. Craighead is one of the most successful practitioners at the Dayton bar.   He is essentially and by personal preference an office lawyer, although he is also an able and aggressive trial advocate. Thorough and exhaustive research and examination regarding legal principles and judicial decisions characterize his treatment of every important question arising in his practice. The habit of painstaking investigation, aided by a tenacious memory, has made  Mr. Craighead one of the best "case lawyers" ever at the local bar. His knowledge of the law of pleading is exact, his patience and persistence are a byword in the profession, and his opinions as a lawyer have the weight and respect to which these qualities justly entitle them.

ABRAM DARST WILT, [pages 274-277] one of the prominent and representative citizens of Dayton, Ohio, and principal and proprietor of the Miami Commercial college, the leading college of the kind in the city, was born in Dayton, on September 21, 1842. His parents were Jacob and Mary (Darst) Wilt, early citizens of Dayton. The father was a native of Chambersburg, Pa., and was a son of Jeremiah Wilt. The mother was born in Dayton, and was the daughter of Abram Darst, a pioneer citizen of Dayton.

Jacob Wilt came to Dayton in 1832, and for many years was engaged in the manufacture of rifle barrels.  He died in 1882, his wife's death having occurred in 1875.

Abram Wilt was educated in Dayton, and taught school for a time. Following this he engaged in merchandizing for, several years. In 1861 he took charge of the Miami Commercial college, just established, of which he became the principal and proprietor in the following year.  In 1863 he was connected with E. D. Babbitt, of Dayton, in the publication of "Babbittonian System of Penmanship," and so continued for several years, during which time that system, was introduced both in this country and in England. In I882 Mr. Wilt was appointed postmaster at Dayton which position he held from February 21 of that year until September I, 1886. For five years he served as a member of the Dayton board of education, during which time he aided in the establishment of night drawing schools, and was also an active member of the library committee.  He served as a member of the city board of school examiners for five years, at a time when Robert Steele and John Hancock were also members of that body. In 1883 he was president of the National Business Educators' association, which met that year in Washington city, and for several years was a member of the executive committee of that association.  He has also served as a member of the city republican committee.

On March 19, 1872, Mr. Wilt was married to Miss Ella; daughter of William and Eliza Bickham, of Riverside, Cincinnati, and sister to the late Maj. William D. Bickham, proprietor of the Dayton Daily Journal. To Mr. and Mrs. Wilt the following children have been born: Mary Dennison, now the wife of Dr. Jerome B. Thomas, Jr., a prominent young physician of Brooklyn, N. Y.; Emily B. and Abram D., Jr.

Mr. Wilt's name is prominently associated with the educational and moral interests of the city. He has been active in every movement aiming at the enlargement of the intellectual life of Dayton. , A ready and versatile writer, his pen has contributed many articles, both through the press and otherwise, to the store of public knowledge.

ROBERT CUMMING SCHENCK [page 277] is president of the Dayton Malleable Iron company and one of the leading citizens of .Dayton. He was born at Franklin, Warren county, Ohio, October 2, 1845, received his early education in the public schools of Franklin, and was graduated from Miami university in 1864. He served on a gunboat during the Kirby Smith raid and in the militia during the John Morgan raid, and in May, 1864, enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-sixth regiment, 0. N. G., and served with that regiment through the campaign in the mountains of West Virginia.

In 1866-67, Mr. Schenck read law in the office of Davies & Lowe, Dayton, Ohio. In 1868 he formed a partnership with S. W. Davies in the lumber business, from which he retired in 1870. After spending a considerable time in Europe, Mr. Schenck, with a number of other gentlemen, established the American District Telegraph company, which company also put up the first telephones in Dayton. From 1880 until 1882, Mr. Schenck was in the U. S. government service, being chief deputy and cashier of the third internal revenue district of Ohio. In 1880, he formed a partnership with Charles Wuichet in the National Cornice-works, of which firm he is still a member. In August, 1882, he became, and has ever since been, the president of the Dayton Malleable Iron company, one of Dayton's largest and most important manufacturing concerns. He is also a director in the Dayton National' bank, the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton. Railway company, the Columbia Insurance company, the Dayton Asphalt Paving and Roofing company, a trustee of the Woodland Cemetery association, and is identified with a number of other important enterprises in Dayton and elsewhere.

In 1868 Mr. Schenck was married to Julia Crane Davies, second daughter of Edward W. Davies of Dayton. To this marriage four children have been born, as follows: Mary D., who married J. Sprigg McMahon, of the legal firm of McMahon & McMahon; Graham C., who died in 1874; Pierce D. and Rennelche W., all of Dayton.

Mr. Schenck is recognized as one of Dayton's most successful and representative citizens.  His enterprise and progressive spirit are well known and fully appreciated by the public, while his many fine traits of character and social nature have won him a large circle of warm friends. 

ARTHUR MELVILLE KITTREDGE, [pages 277-278] general superintendent of the Barney & Smith Car company and one of the representative citizens of Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city January 9, 1854. He is a son of Oliver and Julia (Estabrook) Kittredge, who came to Dayton from Massachusetts in 1838, and both of whom are still living, the father being in his eighty-first year and the mother in her seventy-sixth year. Oliver Kittredge was the first agent of the first express company in Dayton.  He was also a clerk in the post-office at a very early date. In politics he was a whig.

Arthur M. Kittredge received his education in the Dayton city schools, leaving them at the age of sixteen years, after having passed successfully the high school entrance examination.  He began life for himself by serving an apprenticeship at the galvanized iron and cornice-working trade, which trade he followed, having in time been made by promotion foreman of the shop, then superintendent, until 1877, and being out of the city from 1871 to 1877. Following this he was bookkeeper for a wholesale house, and subsequently was traveling salesman for four years for the H. W. Merriam Shoe company, of New Jersey. In January, 1884, he became connected with the Barney & Smith Car company, and was soon made general superintendent of the entire plant, which is the largest car-works in the west, and one of the largest manufacturing plants in the state of Ohio. Mr. Kittredge is a director in the Miami Building association of the East End, and is also director in the Y. M. C. A. and an active member of Memorial Presbyterian church. He was married in this city in 1875 to Mary J. Broadwell, of the old and well-known family of that name in Dayton. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kittredge, as follows: Harry G., Arthur L., Mary J. and Helen L.

Mr. Kittredge, while closely devoted to the duties entailed upon him by a responsible position, is interested in public questions and movements, and especially in the educational and religious fields.

S. H. CARR, [page 278] a prominent citizen and attorney of Dayton, Ohio, was born in central Ohio.   He traces his paternal ancestry back to Welsh and Scotch-Irish descent, and his maternal ancestry back to the old families of Virginia.  Mr. Carr was educated in the public schools of Ohio and Michigan, and graduated in the scientific course in the National university in 1874. He was for two years principal of the Germantown, Ohio, high school, and in 1876 came to Dayton and entered the law office of Boltin & Shauck as a student. He was admitted to the bar in 1878. While reading law Mr. Carr was for one year principal of the Vandalia, Ohio, schools, teaching as a means of livelihood. He began practicing soon after his admission to the bar, and soon took rank with the leading and successful attorneys of Dayton. In his practice he has aimed at that character of business which is most remunerative, paying little or no attention to criminal cases. He is now the senior member of the legal firm of Carr, Allaman & Kennedy, one of the strongest in the city. Mr. Carr is also identified with several industrial and other enterprises in the city, being a director in the Third National bank, the Davis Sewing Machine company, the Stillwell-Bierce & Smith-Vaile company, the National Improvement company, the Cast Steel Plow company, Dayton Church & Opera Chair company, the National Plant company, and the Boda House company.

HARRY E. FEICHT, [pages 278-279] manager of the Grand opera house and Park theater, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city during the late war, and is the son of J. Fred and Eliza (Thomas) Feicht. The father is one of Dayton's oldest citizens, having resided here for over sixty-five years. He is a native of Germany, was a contractor and builder by vocation, and now lives a retired life in the city.  His wife was born in this country, and is still living.

Harry E. Feicht was reared in Dayton and was educated in the public high school and the Miami Commercial college, graduating from the latter.  His first business position was that of secretary of the Dayton Transportation company, which he held for about two years.  He next took a position with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad company, he having charge of the through business. Later he was promoted to be agent of the Dayton, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad, and next was made contracting agent of the C., H. & D. Railroad company, with headquarters at Dayton. This position he resigned in 1891 to take the management of the Grand opera house and Park theater. As a theatrical manager and promoter of amateur amusements Mr. Feicht has made a brilliant reputation. He put on the first “Wild West" show produced in America, eight years prior to Buffalo Bill's show. He was the originator of the "charity circus," which was produced for the first time in Dayton, and was one of the largest and most successful amateur amusement schemes ever attempted. The performances — two in number, afternoon And night — were given under a large tent, and were preceded by the usual parade of performers, animals, etc., etc. The receipts of the two performances amounted to $7,336.25. The circus was extensively written up by the leading papers and periodicals of the country, Harper's Weekly and Frank Leslie's devoting half a page each to the illustrations. During Dayton's centennial celebration in 1896, Mr. Feicht was the originator of the "Noise" committee, which inaugurated the centennial.  He also had full charge of the preparation and production of the amateur play, "Daytonia," which was one of the largest amateur performances, if not the largest, ever held in an opera house. The play ran a full week to crowded houses, and the receipts reached the amount of $6,300. On the two charity circuses and "Daytonia" Mr. Feicht cleared a total of nearly $9,000, all of which was equally divided between the Deaconess' and St. Elizabeth's hospitals, Dayton institutions. Mr. Feicht was also the originator of the carnival of mimics parade held during the centennial.

Mr. Feicht is a member of the K. of P. and B. P. 0. E. fraternities. On January 8, 1894, he was married to Miss Noree Leah Cory, of Fairfield, Ind.

Mr. Feicht's characteristics of originality, inventive and imaginative genius and abundant energy have given him a unique place in Dayton. No large amateur undertaking in any field of amusement is had without invoking his assistance, which is never refused.  His most devoted labor is given to enterprises whose aim is to assist charitable and benevolent agencies. Mr. Feicht has the faculty of enlisting the hearty co-operation of others in his original plans, which he carries to success by his enthusiasm and the force of his executive ability.

SAMUEL B. SMITH, [pages 279-280] president of the city council of Dayton, was born in Troy, Ohio, September 4, 1836, and is a son of Thomas. J. S, and Jane (Bacon) Smith, the former native of Maryland and the latter of Ohio. His maternal grandfather, Henry Bacon, was one of the early settlers of Ohio, was a leading lawyer, and a man of great prominence in public affairs. Thomas J. S. Smith was for many years an eminent lawyer of Dayton, and died in 1868. He removed to Dayton from Troy when his son, Samuel B., was quite young.

The greater part of the life of Samuel B. Smith has been spent in Dayton. He read law in the office of his father, and in 1860 was admitted to the bar. At the beginning of the late war he entered the Federal service as first lieutenant of the Eleventh regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, and later was promoted captain, and finally major, of the Ninety-third Ohio, in which capacity he served until the close of the war. After being mustered out of service Mr. Smith returned to Dayton, and in 1866 entered regularly upon the practice of the law, in which he continued until he was appointed assistant adjutant-general of Ohio on January 12, 1880, a position he held until March 2, 1881, when he was promoted adjutant-general, and as such served until January, 1884. After retiring from the adjutant-general’s office, Gen. Smith removed to Miami county, and there spent a number of years engaged in the stone-quarry business, returning to Dayton in 1892.  For many years Gen. Smith was interested in the construction and extension of railroads.  He was at different periods president and vice-president of the Dayton, Covington & Toledo Railroad company. A number of years ago he represented his ward in the Dayton city council, and in the spring of 1895 he was again elected to that body, and in the following year he was chosen president of the same. Mr. Smith is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the G. A. R. and of the Loyal Legion, being a charter member of the Ohio commandery of the latter. On June 13, 1871, he was married to Eliza J. Stoddard, only daughter of the late Henry Stoddard, of Dayton. To this union two sons have been born—J. McLain Smith and Fowler Stoddard Smith.

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