JOHN A. HAHNE, [pages 548-551] clerk of the city of Dayton, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in January, 1857, and is a son of Frank A. and Theresa M. Hahne.  In 1858 his parents removed from Cincinnati to Dayton, taking up their residence on Franklin street, where they have ever since lived. Frank A. Hahne has been retired from active business for about ten years.

John A. Hahne was reared in Dayton from the age of one and a half years, and attended the parochial schools and the Saint Mary's institute, a college established in 1849, graduating from the latter in 1871. When fifteen years of age he began an apprenticeship in a drug store, that of the old firm of Kelso & Bennett, on the corner of Third and Saint Clair streets.  With this firm he remained three years, and with its successor, J. B. Walters, ten years.  He then established himself in business, opening a drug store on the corner of Fifth and Commercial streets, which he operated for eleven years, thus being engaged in the drug business for a period of twenty-four years. fn 1887 Mr. Hahne was elected to the city council from the old democratic Seventh ward, and was re-elected in 1889. In 1890 he was elected president of the city council, when that body was composed of thirty members, two from each ward, receiving the unanimous support of the council. In 1891 he was elected city clerk, was re-elected in 1893, and was again re-elected in 1895, receiving on each occasion the unanimous vote of the council, democrats and republicans alike, he being a democrat.  In 1893, owing to the increasing labor connected with his office, he retired from the drug business, in order that he might devote his entire time and attention to his public duties.  Mr. Hahne has never married, owing to the untimely death of a lady to whom he was betrothed.

Mr. Hahne comes of a prominent family. An uncle of his, Rev. John F. Hahne, was for many years pastor of Emanuel church, the first Catholic church established in Dayton, and he is related in the same degree to Rev. Charles J. Hahne, the present pastor of this church.   Rev. Charles H. Hahne, a brother of John A., is pastor of a Catholic church in Cincinnati, and another brother, Dr. H. A. Hahne, filled for two years the office of coroner of Montgomery county, retiring in January, 1895.  Mr. Hahne is a member of the Knights of Saint George, of the Catholic Knights of Ohio, of the Independent Order of Heptasophs, and of several democratic clubs.

REV. W. A. HALE, D. D., [pages 551-552] pastor of the First Reformed church of Dayton, was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, June 29, 1847.  He graduated from Harlem Springs college in 1868, and immediately thereafter entered the ministry.  For eight years he performed faithful duty at various points, meeting, through, his fervor and eloquence, a success in itself remarkable and of great benefit to his several flocks and to the church in general.  October 1, 1876, he was called to Dayton as pastor of the First Reformed church, and here, for a period of over twenty years, his sermons have been a theme of wide comment and commendation.  Personally, he is a genial gentleman, popular with all classes of citizens.  As a minister he is earnest, eloquent and logical, enjoying the confidence and esteem of his faithful congregation.

The First Reformed church of Dayton was organized in 1833 by Rev. David Winters, D. D. At the advent of Dr. Hale the congregation numbered 184 members. After that, the edifice became so crowded at each service held by Dr. Hale that it became necessary to form other congregations, the result being that four additional Reformed churches now adorn and bless the city of Dayton, viz: The Second, the Trinity, the Fourth and the Memorial. During the twenty years of Dr. Hale's pastorate he has admitted into his congregation 1,200 members, and the present membership is 725, notwithstanding the constant drains that have been upon it by the other congregations now existing in every section of the city. Seldom indeed has it been, during recent years, no matter what the weather, that the attendance at the First church has not been large, and there have been special occasions when the edifice was not spacious enough to accommodate those desirous of attending; while the four other Reformed churches, the offspring of Rev. Dr. Hale's spiritual labors, are all in a most flourishing condition.

WILLIAM HALL, [pages 552-553] deceased, who for thirty-one years was a resident of Dayton, Ohio, was born at Hollywood, near Manchester, Yorkshire, England, June 16, 1827, and died in Dayton, Ohio, April 9, 1894. When but three years of age he was brought to America by his parents, James and Ann Hall, who settled in Cincinnati, Ohio.

James Hall was a contractor and builder, and erected some of the most imposing churches, theaters and other public buildings in the principal cities of the United States, and at the time of his death had the contract to erect the Third street Presbyterian church building in Dayton.  He was a quiet, conservative gentleman, given to the exercise of broad charity, did much good in his day for the general public, and was officially connected with Saint Xavier college, of Cincinnati, Ohio. His family consisted of eight children, of whom four are still living, the subject being the third born of the family.

William Hall, whose name opens this biography, was reared in Cincinnati, graduated from St. Xavier college, and adopted as his life-calling the art of ornamental plastering, and also the business of contracting, which latter occupation he followed for two years after the decease of his father. In 1863 he came to Dayton, where he engaged in his calling as an ornamental plasterer until 1885, when he retired from active industry. He was married, in Cincinnati, to Miss Ann Case, who still survives, and to this marriage were born children, in the following order: Mary; James and Elizabeth, deceased; Harry, who married Miss Agnes Donahue, and who is a resident of Helena, Mont.; William, who is an electrician, and also in the bicycle trade in Dayton; Susie B., a stenographer, and diaries, who is associated with his brother William in the bicycle business, both of these young men being noted for their activity and business enterprise.

William Hall, whose name is mentioned above, was born in Cincinnati, June 16, 1858, but was reared in Dayton; and was educated in the public schools of the city. At fourteen years of age he began learning the locksmith's trade, which led him to the study and investigation of applied electricity, and in 1883 he began business on his own account as electrician and locksmith, which combined business he conducted until early in 1893.  In that year Mr. Hall added bicycles to his stock in trade, and from the latter has developed a substantial and remunerative source of income.

Charles S. Hall, brother of William Hall, was born in Dayton, Ohio, January 4, 1874. He was educated in the Dayton public schools, and since 1888 has been associated with William in business. These brothers, being excellent mechanics and electricians, have built up an extensive and profitable trade, secured through their strict fidelity to the interests of their customers. In the bicycle line they carry the Columbia, Hartford and other makes, with all bicycle repairs and sundries. The Hall brothers are members of the Young Men's Christian association, as well as of Christ Episcopal church, while William is also a Knight of Pythias, being a member of Miami lodge, No. 32, and of Dayton division, No. 5, uniform rank.   They are young men of natural ability and high character, and enjoy an excellent reputation in the business community.

CAPT. JASPER NEWTON HALL [pages 553-554]  descends from English people, who settled in Virginia in ante-Revolutionary times; his grandfather was a captain in the war of 1812, and his parents, Thomas and Maria (Bousman) Hall, were natives of Ohio, where, they lived and died. Two sons and one daughter comprised the family of Thomas and Maria Hall, Jasper N. being the first in order of birth; the second son, John, went to the Pacific coast in 1857 and is now a farmer and fruit/grower of Douglass county, Ore.; the sister, Anna, is a widow, who also resides in the above county and state.

Capt. Jasper N. Hall was born near the town of Saint Paris, Champaign county, Ohio, October 1, 1835, and passed his youthful years in assisting his father on the farm, attending in the meantime the country schools.  He made the most of his opportunities, studied early and late, and such was his progress, that, at the age of eighteen, he was sufficiently advanced to teach in the common schools, and was thus engaged until the breaking out of the Civil war. He was one of the first to respond to the call for volunteers, enlisting in April, 1861, for the three months' service, in company H, Twentieth Ohio infantry, spending that period principally in guarding the B. & 0. railroad, in what is now West Virginia. He re-enlisted in August, 1862, as first sergeant of company E, One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio infantry, and was assigned to duty in the army of the Cumberland under Gen. Rosecrans. In the many campaigns and battles in which his command participated, Capt. Hall bore a brave part; he was engaged in the maneuvers with Morgan's guerrilla band in Kentucky, participated in the battle of Franklin, Tenn., and on the 30th of September, 1863, was captured at the battle of Chickamauga and held a prisoner of war for nineteen months. He was first confined in Libby prison, Richmond, Va., thence was removed to the Pemberton building, in the same city, and later was incarcerated in prison No. 4, Danville, Va. From the last named place he was removed in May, 1864, to the notorious Andersonville prison, where he endured sufferings beyond description, until his removal to Jacksonville, Fla., where he was liberated in April, 1865. Though the war was over when they were released, the prisoners were kept in ignorance of the fact, and it was not until after being told to shift for themselves that suspicion was soon afterward confirmed, when they met a detachment of Union troops, by whom they were taken to camp and properly looked after.

During his imprisonment, Capt. Hall upon three occasions succeeded in eluding his guards and escaping, once from Richmond, again from Danville, and lastly from Andersonville, only to be recaptured, being tracked and overtaken the last time by bloodhounds. While in prison at Danville he suffered from typhoid fever and smallpox, and at Andersonville was so reduced by disease that his life was depaired of. When taken prisoner his weight was 160 pounds, and at the time of his release he had become so emaciated as to weigh barely ninety-four. Few men possessed vitality sufficient to withstand such long-continued suffering and privation, yet the captain came through it all and still retains a remarkable degree of physical vigor.

After his liberation he was taken to Annapolis, Md., where he received treatment, and, being sufficiently recovered, was discharged at Camp Chase, Ohio.  The captain then turned his attention to the profession of teaching, which he followed for a livelihood in his native state until 1868, when he went to Oregon, where he was similarly engaged for a period of fifteen years.  Abandoning the educational field, he engaged in cattle-raising, which he followed with most encouraging success until 1888-9, when, on account of a very severe winter, he met with severe financial reverses, he and his partner losing cattle to the amount of $30,000. Out of this reverse the captain emerged with about $1,700, which he invested in mining in Colorado, only to see the last of his earthly savings disappear, the venture proving disastrous from the beginning. After disposing of his watch in order to pay a doctor's bill, he returned to Ohio, and for some time attempted, without avail, to secure a position in the public schools.  Being a stranger and having in his possession no recommendation as an instructor, he was unsuccessful in his search for employment, and finally decided to apply for admission to the national soldiers' home; accordingly, in 1891, he became an inmate, since which time he has had lucrative employment in the institution, first as superintendent of the annex and soon afterward as captain of company Twenty-four, which latter position he has held for four years. Capt. Hall's company numbers about 120 men, and he has discharged his official functions in a manner highly creditable to himself and to the satisfaction of the management of the institution.

Capt. Hall was married in the year 1862 to Miss Lillie Whiton, of Boston, Mass., who has borne him four children, viz: John Court-land, a resident of Oregon; Pearl, a teacher in the public schools of Clarke county, Ohio; Mrs. M. Dibert, who resides in Dakota, and Thomas Vinton, a resident of Oregon, where he practices medicine. The captain has a pleasant home in Dayton, where both himself and his estimable wife are highly respected. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1866, and is also an active worker in the G. A. R. and U. V, U.  Politically the captain affiliated with the democracy until 1884, since which time he has been a supporter of the republican party.

DENNICK BROS., [pages 554-559] brass founders and jobbers, located at Nos. 1415 and 1417 East Fifth street, Dayton, erected their foundry in the summer of 1896, and do a jobbing business in heavy and light brass castings.   The building is 33x96 feet, and the firm gives employment to five men, the members themselves, William and Herman Dennick, being expert artisans whose hands and brains are constantly employed in the work.

John Dennick, their father, is a Hessian by birth and came to America when a young man; his wife, who bore the maiden name of Anna Arnold, was born in Germany, and was but a little girl when brought to the United States by her parents. John Dennick served in the Union army during the war of the Rebellion and bravely defended the flag of his adopted country.  He is a stone-cutter by trade, and for some years operated a stone-yard in Dayton and was also engaged in contracting. To his marriage with Miss Arnold have been born five children, viz: Mary, widow of Albert Slusser; John; William, senior of the firm of Dennick Bros.; Sarah, wife of John Linkert, and Herman, the junior partner in the same firm.

William Dennick was born in Lebanon, Ohio, February 15, 1862, and Herman September 16, 1866, and both were educated in the public schools. At the age of eight years William began to earn his livelihood by working on a farm for four years, and then entered the employ of the Buckeye Brass foundry, of Dayton, at a compensation of $2 per week for two years, at all-round     work. He was then apprenticed for two and a half years at the trade of brass molding, and after learning the art went to Cincinnati, and secured one of the best positions in the business, with the Lunkenheimer Brass foundry, earning at the end of six months, $3.50 per day. At the termination of a period of five years he resigned his position as foreman of the brass foundry, passed two or three months in Dayton and then went to Chicago, where, after working about two weeks in a brass foundry, he was appointed foreman, which position he held for eighteen months; he next visited Greensburg and Pittsburg, Pa., being employed about six months at his trade; next passed two weeks in Chicago, and finally returned to Dayton and started in business alone, with a capital of $65, in a small building at the corner of McLain and LaBelle streets, doing his work without an assistant. A short time thereafter he associated with himself his brother Herman, forming the firm noted at the opening of this sketch, and which is now doing the largest brass jobbing business in the state of Ohio. In their small shop 20x33 feet, these brothers, in 1895, turned out over $17,000 worth of work and consumed over 250,000 pounds of brass. In their new and more extensive plant, with their energy and skill to back them, it is not at all unreasonable to foretell a more lucrative trade in the future through an increased volume of business.

William Dennick was united in marriage, September 27, 1894, with Miss Nettie Clark, of Springfield, Ohio. They are members of the Baptist church and make their home at No. 440 May street.

Herman Dennick was fourteen years of age when he entered the employ of the Buckeye Brass foundry, where he was first engaged as a utility hand for six months, in order that he might become familiar with the business, and for the two years following was employed as a coremaker.   He was next employed by the Stoddard Manufacturing company, with which he remained for six months, and then for one year and nine months ,was employed in the Barney & Smith Car works, learning the carpenter's trade. For one season he worked at outside carpenter work, then went to Cincinnati, where for nine months he attended to the smelting furnaces of the Lunkenheimer Brass foundry, and then returned to Dayton, where he was employed for nine months in the construction of the levee. After this he had charge of Wholler's Brass foundry for four years and a half, and then became associated with his brother William in the present business, as alluded to above.

Herman Dennick is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, and of the Fulton council, American Mechanics.   He and his brother are republicans in politics, and, as business men, enjoy high standing.

Herman Dennick was married November 12, 1896, in Dayton, to Stella Clark, who was born in Canton, Ohio, December 12, 1873, and is a sister of Mrs. William Dennick. The family residence is at No. 815 East May street.

CHARLES J. HALL, [pages 559-561] official court reporter and a member of the board of education of Dayton, was born in Butler township, Montgomery county, Ohio, February 3, 1860.  His parents, Austin H. and N. A. (Patty) Hall, were natives of Montgomery county, and during the progress of the late Civil war, in 1862, Austin H. Hall enlisted in the One Hundred and Twelfth regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, which was, after gent and effective assistance rendered by him in the establishment of a revised course of study and the adoption of modern text books.

CAPT. EDWARD HAMILTON [pages 561-562] is a native of Dublin, Ireland, where his birth occurred on the l7th of March, 1838.  He is of English and Scotch ancestry and combines in a very marked degree the rugged and sterling qualities characteristic of those two peoples.  Capt. Hamilton was educated in his native isle and there served an apprenticeship at silversmithing, in which, in due time, be acquired considerable proficiency, working at the trade until his immigration to the United States in 1852. For some time after landing upon American soil, he carried on his chosen calling in New York city, but in 1855, yielding to a desire of long standing, he entered the military service, enlisting in the First United States dragoons, with which he bore a gallant part in the war against the Indians in Oregon and other regions of the far west.  The roster of the above command contains the names of a number of men who have since figured prominently in the military history of the United States, and achieved national reputations.  Among these were Gen. Grant, who at that time ranked as second lieutenant; Gen. Philip Sheridan, a first lieutenant of artillery, and Gen. A. J. Smith, who held a captain's commission, and with all three of whom Capt. Hamilton sustained relations of cordial friendship.

Capt. Hamilton served with the First dragoons five years, the regular term of enlistment, participated in many bloody battles with the Indians, met with a number of thrilling adventures and had many narrow escapes from the savages.  He was discharged at Fort Vancouver, W. T., March 28, 1860, after which he returned to New York city, where he later re-entered the service as an unattached recruit. Subsequently he went to Carlisle barracks, Pa., where he was enlisted as sergeant, and his first duty was to drill a body of soldiers known as the Anderson body guards, a regiment organized in Philadelphia by order of the secretary of war, with the stipulation that they be drilled by officers of the United States army.

Early in 1861, the captain was stationed at Harper's Ferry at the time that military station was blown up, after which he returned to Carlisle, where he served as drill-master of recruits until 1864, in the spring of which year he joined the Fifth United States cavalry, company E, serving with the same under Gen. Sheridan in the Shenandoah valley campaign. He was with this command through all the memorable Virginia campaigns, took part in the leading battles of the war, and after the surrender of Appomattox received his dis-charge only to enlist again, this time in the Twelfth United States infantry, with which he served two enlistments of three years each. He was first sergeant of company E, stationed at Camp Gaston, Cal., and had the privilege of going to the scene of his military operations, on the western coast, on the first through train over the Pacific railroad. At the expiration of his second term of enlistment, in 1871, Capt. Hamilton went to Massachusetts, where he worked at his trade for four years, but so strong was his attachment to a military life, that in 1875 he again entered the army, enlisting in company E, Twenty-second United States infantry, with which he served for five years, the greater part of which time was spent at Fort Wayne, Mich., and two years in Texas. He was honorably discharged in 1880, with the rank of sergeant, bearing with him, at the time, recommendations from all of his various enlistments, as a brave and gallant soldier and a most trustworthy and efficient officer. Immediately following this latter dis charge Capt. Hamilton re-entered the United States service at Columbus, Ohio, for five years, but by reason of disability was not permitted to remain with the army the full term, having been discharged in 1883; this service was in company G, Fourteenth United States infantry.

Shortly after his discharge Capt. Hamilton went to Detroit, Mich., where his daughter at that time resided, and was appointed a guard of the house of correction in that city, holding the position for a period of four years.  Resigning this place, he next took the road as a commercial traveler, selling goods and collecting for a New Orleans wholesale house, in which capacity he continued until 1890, when he became an inmate of the Central branch, national military home for disabled volunteers, at Dayton.  For some time after coming to the home Capt. Hamilton was sergeant of the "Firing squad" ; later was promoted captain and placed in command of barrack No. 7, designated as company Seven, which has an enrollment of ninety men.

From the foregoing synopsis it will be seen that Capt. Hamilton's life has been one replete with duty, faithfully and patriotically done in the service of his adopted country, a record of which any man might justly feel proud.  For a period of twenty-three years he gave his best energies to the nation, in whose behalf all the positions of preferment opened by other vocations were offered a willing sacrifice, and it is doubtful whether there is another man now in the home who has seen as much service or earned a more honorable record.  For disabilities received while in the discharge of his duty at the front the captain is the recipient of a liberal pension, but his greatest compensation is the reflection that he bore his part bravely and uncomplainingly through the trying period when the destiny of the nation was trembling in the balance.

Capt. Hamilton married Miss Ellen Morrison, of Carlisle, Pa., who has borne him three children, two living: Sarah, who married Joseph Yeager, sergeant of police, Detroit, Mich., and Edward J., a musician at the home. In political and in religious matters Capt. Hamilton is independent in all that the term implies.

JOHN FREDERICK DITZEL, [pages 562-565] carpenter and contractor, of No. 313 Johnson street, Dayton, Ohio, was born near Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, June 15, 1848.  He is a son of Frederick and Eva (Natt) Ditzel, both of whom were born in Germany. They were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters, five of whom are still living, as follows: John F.; Eva, wife of Elias Breidenbach; James; Elizabeth, wife of Rolla Gallaher, and Alice, wife of Jackson Carroll.

Frederick Ditzel was a butcher in early life, in Germany, and came to the United States about 1856, locating in New York city. After a year or two he located near Palmyra, Wayne county, N. Y., living there until the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, in 1861.  He enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixtieth New York volunteer infantry, in which regiment he continued for three years, within two months, his services to his adopted country ending with his death in Baton Rouge, La., from the effects of a wound received at Fredericksburg, Va. He was then in his thirty-ninth year.  His wife survived until April, 1891, when she died in her sixty-fourth year. She was a member of the German Evangelical church, and Mr. Ditzel, while in Germany, was a member of the Lutheran church, but, upon coming to this country, both joined the Methodist Episcopal church.

John F. Ditzel was about eight years of age when brought to this country by his parents.  His early education he received in the state of New York, and in 1864 came to Ohio, soon after his father's death, and located at Alpha, Greene county, where he lived three or four years, working in a mill and in Harbine's still-house, or distillery. About three years were then spent on a farm, after which he removed to Dayton, where the first work he found was on the streets, after which he was employed by the contractor who was constructing the hydraulic race of the Dayton View Hydraulic company. For several years after-ward he was engaged in a tobacco factory, and then, on the advice of Dr. Crook, sought outdoor occupation on account of ill health. After working thus for a painter for one year, he learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked two years for John Hoehn, and then entered the employ of the late John Rouzer. After remaining with this well-known contractor for eight years, Mr. Ditzel returned to Mr. Hoehn and remained with him a short time, or till his death. The entire business was then taken up by Mr. Ditzel, who has since been engaged in doing contract work on his own account, and has met with most gratifying success. Among the buildings which he has erected are eight school-houses and several churches in Dayton, beside numerous residences, all of which show honest, careful work. He also built a large school-house in Lebanon, Warren county.

On December 25, 1872, Mr. Ditzel was married to Miss Catherine Klinkert, daughter of Mathias and Margaret (Oneth) Klinkert, the former of whom came from Alsace-Lorraine, and the latter from Frankfort, on the Main. To this marriage there have been born six children, as follows: Henry Adam, Charles Edward, Bertha May, Bessie Savilla, John Milton, and Nellie Naoma. Bessie died when eleven years of age; Henry A. married Miss Lillie Frank, daughter of Judge Frank.

Mr. and Mrs. Ditzel are members of the English Evangelical association. Fraternally Mr. Ditzel is an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias, and politically he is a republican.  He has served as a director of the workhouse for five years, and as president of the workhouse board for three years.

He erected his present home, at 313 Johnson street, in 1875, though he has been a resident of Dayton for thirty-two years. After his father's death, John, the eldest son, supported the family as they grew up, or until each was able to care for himself. He is now rearing to good citizenship a family of his own, fine children, healthy, strong and intelligent. Mr. Ditzel and a few others organized the English Evangelical association, which began with a membership of twenty-six, and now has a Sunday-school attendance of 200. The association started with no financial strength, Mr. Ditzel raising $1,500 by mortgaging his own home, and with this money purchasing the lot on which the church improvements now stand.  Mr. Ditzel also organized the Builders' exchange, starting its first subscription and writing its first rules of order.  He is thus a public-spirited man. full of hope for the best in all things, and willing to labor in order that that hope may be realized.  He is most genial and generous, with a character above reproach or suspicion, and has hosts of warm and admiring friends.  Such men are the safety and the salvation of the city, state and country.

JOSEPH M. HAND, [pages 565-566] of No. 214 East Fifth street, Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city October 2, 1860, a son of John and Barbara (Keiffer) Hand, both natives of the town of Sarlonie, on the banks of the river Rhine, Germany. John Hand, the father, came to the United States in 1849, and for a short time resided in Cincinnati, whence he came to Dayton and worked at his trade of shoemaking until his sight began to fail.  In 1869 he purchased a tract of eighteen acres of land six miles south of Dayton, and engaged in gardening, in which he has been very successful.  Mrs. Barbara Hand was born in March, 1822, and died July 23, 1884.  Of the ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hand there survive but three, viz: Angelica, wife of Julius Burgmeier; Mary, the wife of Henry Gross, and Joseph M.

Joseph M. Hand was about nine years of age when his parents located upon the garden tract above mentioned, where for nine years he assisted his father in its cultivation, thus aiding the latter to pay for the property.  At the age of eighteen years he was released from further home obligations and became a fireman on the Toledo, Cincinnati & Saint Louis railroad, but a number of years later resigned his position in order to learn the barber's trade under Henry Gross.   After some years he purchased the shop from his instructor, and has since been in business for himself, becoming one of the best known barbers in Dayton.

The marriage of Mr. Hand took place February 13, 1884, with Miss Rose L. Sweetman, daughter of John and Rose Sweetman, both now deceased.  This union has been blessed with three children, viz; Roselee, Lawrence J. and Walter J. The family are conscientious and devout members of the Sacred Heart Catholic church and in politics Mr. Hand is a democrat.  He has for sixteen years been a member of the order of Knights of Saint John, and since joining has been an officer almost continuously, being now captain of commandery No. 132, and having passed through the minor offices of secretary, treasurer, president and lieutenant.  He has won the captaincy through meritorious services, having been largely instrumental in placing the commandery on its present substantial footing, both in its military and financial standing.  He is also district organizer of the Knights, having as the field of his labors the counties of Montgomery, Greene, Preble, Miami and Clarke.  Mr. Hand is likewise a charter member of Dayton court, Independent Order of Foresters, and for a number of years has been its treasurer.

Mr. Hand's success in business is due to his own unaided efforts, to his industry and energy.

EDWARD F. HAMM, [pages 566-567] plumber and gas-fitter, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Cleveland, April 30, 1861.  Daniel Hamm, his father, was a native of Germany, born in 1833. While still a young man he came to America and settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where he married Miss Margaret Schermer, also a native of Germany, but who, when a child, was brought to America by her parents, who located in Cleveland. Daniel Hamm was reared to milling, but since coming to America has been engaged in railroading, being now employed by the "Big 4" company as foreman of car inspection. He first came to Dayton twenty-six years ago, and has ever since been a resident of the city, with his home at No. 129 Montgomery street.

Edward F. Hamm is the eldest in a family of three children—his sister, Ella, being the wife of August Gummer, one of the proprietors of the Gem City Stove works, and his brother, Charles, being a plumber, in his employ. Edward F. attended the Cleveland schools until the removal of the family to Dayton, and after this removal attended the schools of Dayton for a few years, after which he was employed, for a short time, in the table-slide factory. He then took up railroad work and for the first year was a car inspector, and for four years thereafter a fireman. When a little over twenty years of age he became an apprentice at the plumber's trade in Dayton, and after having secured a full knowledge of the business, he worked as a journeyman in Cincinnati, Ohio, in Kansas City, Mo., and in Cleveland, Ohio. One year was spent in contract work in Urbana, Ohio, when Mr. Hamm returned to Dayton and in March, 1893, opened his present plumbing and gas-fitting shop, in which he has established a prosperous and steadily increasing trade.

Mr. Hamm was reared in the faith of the Lutheran church.  In politics he is a republican, to which party his father and brother also belong.  He is not connected with any secret society, neither has he ever married. As an industrious, faithful and public-spirited citizen he enjoys the respect of all with whom he is brought into contact, either in social or business circles.

ELLSWORTH C. HALTEMAN, [pages 567-568] patternmaker, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in this city April 23, 1862.  He is proprietor of the Central Pattern works, located at No. 26 South Saint Clair street. The business was established in 1892, under the above name, at the crossing of Wayne avenue and the railroad, and in 1895 removed to Nos. 10 and 12 North Canal street, and in April, 1896, removed to their present location. These works turn out all kinds of patterns and of the finest workmanship, the trade of the concern extending all through Ohio and Indiana. High grade work is made a specialty. The best patternmakers, both in wood and metal, are here employed, and drafts and models are also made and disposed of.

Mr. Halteman is a son of Christopher and Margaret ("Wagoner) Halteman. The mother has died, but the father lives at No. 386 North Main street, Dayton, Ohio. He is one of the best and most skillful patternmakers of Dayton, and has resided in this city since 1841. He was born in Columbus, Ohio, October 31, 1839, and is a son of Tobias and Rebecca (Grady) Halteman, natives of Montgomery county, Pa., and of Pennsylvania-Dutch descent. The Halteman family have for several generations been mechanics, so that the subject of this sketch comes naturally by his peculiar talent. Tobias Halteman, together with his wife and four children, removed to Dayton in 1841. He was a weaver by trade, but after locating in Dayton followed various occupations until his death, which occurred in 1849, his wife dying in 1855. They were members of the German Reformed church.   They reared a family of nine children, as follows: Sarah, now deceased; Joseph, a shoemaker of Urbana, Ohio; Elizabeth, deceased; Abraham, deceased ; Nancy, deceased ; Christopher; Henry, a farmer living near Eaton, Ohio; Aaron, deceased, and Hattie, wife of Henry Groeweg, of Dayton, Ohio.

Christopher Halteman was early taught to labor, the father having died while the son was yet young. He had to assist in supporting not only himself, but the rest of the family.  For some time he worked in a cotton factory, but later learned the cabinetmaker's trade, which he followed for some twelve years. He then became a millwright and patternmaker, and is still pursuing the latter vocation, in which, though self-taught, he is exceedingly proficient. He has been at work in the millwright department of the Brownell company's works for twenty-two years, and has been foreman of the department for fifteen years. As a republican, he has taken an active part in political affairs.  He served in the city council of Dayton, from the Second ward, for one term, and was the candidate on the republican ticket for water works trustee.  Fraternally, he is a member of Wayne Lodge, No. 10, I. 0. 0. F.

Mr. Halteman was married, first, in 1859, to Miss Margaret Wagoner, who died in 1885,. She was the mother of six children, as follows: William, a speculator at Port Townsend, Wash.; Ellsworth C., the subject of this sketch; Elizabeth, wife of Frank Certner, of Dayton; Priscilla, wife of L. Landis, of Dayton; Franklin, deceased; and Lee, a pattern-maker of Dayton.  Mr. Halteman was married to his second wife, Miss Minnie Stone, in October, 1892. They now reside at No. 386 North Main street.

Ellsworth C. Halteman was educated in the public schools of Dayton, and afterward attended Dennison university at Granville, Ohio, for one year.  Prior to going to college he had learned the trade of patternmaker.  Upon leaving Granville he went to Hamilton, Ohio, and there became an employee of Black & Clawson, manufacturers of paper-mill machinery. After being there employed for one year, he went to Middletown, and remained three years with the Lotterratt Machine company.  Returning to Dayton he established the business of his own, whose nature and extent have been above noted.  Mr. Halteman is one of the progressive young business men of Dayton, and is rapidly pushing to the front as a manufacturer of the most reliable and most skillfully made patterns to be found anywhere in the state.  His entire attention is given to his business.

Mr. Halteman was married in June, 1890, to Miss Estella Moser, daughter of Alfred Moser, the jeweler.  She was born in Dayton, Ohio, and is now the mother of two children, Alfred and Ruth.  Mr. and Mrs. Halteman are members of the Baptist church, and reside at No. 326 West Fourth street. They are among the best of the citizens of Dayton, and are everywhere held in high esteem.  Mr. Halteman has for years been an active member of the Young Men's Christian association, and, since 1895, has been teaching pattern-making in the manual training department of that institution.  He was engaged for one year in teaching drafting in Middletown, and has always been earnest in all good works.

JOHN G. FEIGHT, [pages 568-571] contractor and builder, of 1040 West Fourth street, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Germany, August 31, 1831, and in 1832 was brought to America by his parents, Frederick and Magdalena Feight, who first located in Pennsylvania, but in 1838 came to Dayton. Here Frederick Feight, though he had been a butcher in his native land, engaged in market gardening, being among the first here to enter upon that line of industry.  His family consisted of six children, viz: John Frederick, a carpenter, but for the past five years an invalid; Rebecca, wife of John H. Fickensher, a carpenter; Louisa, married to Jacob Kuntz, a barber; John G.; Jacob Henry, a furniture dealer; and David, the keeper of a feed store— all residing in Dayton.   The father of this family died in 1869, at the age of seventy-six years, and the mother a year later, aged seventy-eight.

At the age of eighteen years John G. Feight became an apprentice under Daniel Coffin, a well-known carpenter of Dayton.  He served two and one-half years as an apprentice, receiving a compensation of $3, $4 and $5 per month, in accordance with his advancement in the knowledge of the trade and his increased usefulness to his employer. After completing his apprenticeship he went to Platteville, Grant county, Wis., where for nearly nine years he worked as a contractor and builder. While in that state he enlisted in company K, , Forty-fourth Wisconsin volunteer infantry, and served in the Civil war from February, 1865, until the close of that great conflict, when he was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant.  December 28, 1865, he returned to Dayton, and has since been engaged at his present business, and if all the houses he has erected in this city and vicinity were concentrated in one locality they would constitute a good-sized town. Mr. Feight was married in Wisconsin, September 10, 1862, to Miss Eunice Harries, a native of Wales, who died January 1, 1892, in Dayton, leaving three sons, viz: Alfred G., of whom further mention is made in a biographical notice following this; John E., a paving contractor, who married Miss Bertha Bruner, and is now the secretary of the Evening Press association of Dayton; and George Augustus, a carpenter, who is working with his father.  Mrs. Feight, the mother of the above-named children, was an exemplary Christian woman, a member of Christ Episcopal church, and was greatly beloved by all who had the privilege of her personal friendship.

Mr. Feight has been quite active and influential in political affairs in the city and county, was one of the organizers of the republican party of the county of Montgomery, and served as a member of the city council from 1876 to 1882.   He is an honored member of the Masonic order, and also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Alfred Grant Feight, county auditor of Montgomery county, Ohio, and son of John G. Feight, mentioned above, was born in Platteville, Wis., August 14, 1863, and was a child of three years when brought to Dayton, Ohio. His youthful days were spent in the city schools, where he attained the seventh grade, passed through the high school and also the Miami Business college, of Dayton, having in the meantime learned the carpenter's trade. At the age of nineteen years he became a bookkeeper in the wholesale hardware store of Tischer & Reisinger, in Dayton, remained there three years, and then engaged in contracting and building, a business which he has followed for ten years. In 1890 he was elected by the republicans a member of the Dayton city council, and in 1895 was elected as county auditor.  Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order.

Alfred Grant Feight, in 1886, married Miss Lucy Webber, a native of Dayton and a daughter of Henry Webber, a respected contractor and builder.  Mrs. Feight is a highly accomplished woman, was educated in the schools of her native city, and is today an ornament to the social circle in which she moves.

VORUS E. HALL, [pages 571-572] member of the John F. Hall Coal company, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Jackson county, Ohio, September 2, 1861. His parents were John F. and Amanda (Stevenson) Hall, the former a native of England, and the latter of Pennsylvania. They were the parents of six children, as follows: Isaac, Vorus E., William, Charles, Frank and Nettie.

John F. Hall came from England to the United States in 1836, landing in New York and remaining there for two years. In 1838 he came to Ohio, locating in Jackson county, and was there engaged for many years as a miner and shipper of coal. He was a man of enterprise, with correct business methods, upright and honorable in his dealings with his fellow-men. His death occurred in January, 1895, when he was sixty-eight years of age. His wife still lives in Jackson, the county seat of Jackson county, where she and he had lived for so long, and where she now has many friends, who well remember Mr. Hall as a consistent Christian and as a firm supporter of the Christian church of that place, of which he was a deacon for many years, and of which Mrs. Hall is still a member.

The paternal grandfather of Vorus E. was a native of England and was born, lived and died in Derbyshire. The maternal grandfather, Isaac Stevenson, was a native of Pennsylvania, and the son of a German. An early settler in Jackson county, he endured all the hardships and trials of pioneer farm life; but being of a remarkably strong constitution, he lived to be 101 years of age.

Vorus E. Hall was reared in Jackson county, and educated there in the district schools. Early in his youth he began to work with and for his father, and when he became of age was given by his father an interest in the business in which he was engaged. Ever since then he has been engaged in the coal business, traveling for his father for the eight years preceding 1892, in which year he came to Dayton and took charge of the office here. He and his brothers constitute the company of which he is president. This company gives employment on the average to about 500 men. The Dayton office was opened September 2, 1892, and other agencies are located at Toledo, Detroit and Ironton. On September 12, 1895, the Dayton office was made general headquarters, and since then the business has been transacted mainly from this city.

On December 25, 1882, Mr. Hall was married to Miss Hannah Griffith, daughter of Daniel and Mary Griffith. To this marriage have been born four children, as follows: Annie, Frederick, Gracie and McKinley. Mr. Hall is a member of Salt Lake lodge, No. 416, I. 0. 0. F., Jackson, Ohio, and also of the United Commercial travelers, and of the Elks. Politically he is a republican, and while living at Jackson he served as member of the city council for two terms.

Besides his coal business Mr. Hall is interested in the real-estate business and in the general merchandise business at Coalton and at Mount Vernon Furnace, Ohio.  He is a man well and widely known for his integrity and honorable business career, and also as a descendant of one of the oldest and best families in Jackson county.

HENRY K. HARKER, M. D., [page 572] of Dayton, was born in Dayton, September 25, 1853, and is a son of William J. and Susanna (Howell) Harker. The father is a native of Kentucky, having been born near Paris, in .that state, and came to Dayton with his parents when he was about six years of age. In 1847 he removed to Cincinnati, but returned to Dayton in 1895. The mother was born in Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio, and both parents are now residing in Dayton.

Dr. Harker was reared in Cincinnati, where he was educated in the public schools.  He read medicine in Cincinnati and in Denver, Colo., and graduated from Pulte Medical college, Cincinnati, in 1876.   He began the practice of medicine in Cincinnati in the same year, and continued in the practice in that city until April, 1894, when he located in Dayton, where he has since continued his practice, his success being marked from the beginning.

BENJAMIN F. HARGRAVE, [pages 572-573] of Dayton, Ohio, special agent of the Mutual Life Insurance company, of New York, was born at Ironville, Ashland county, Ohio, and is a son of Richard and Susanna Hargrave. The parents were both natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio in 1824, settling in Ashland county.  Benjamin F. was educated in the common country village schools. He came to Dayton in 1861 as clerk in the offices of the Cincinnati, Sandusky & Cleveland Railroad company. In 1864 he went to Sandusky, where for almost a year he was agent for the same company. He returned to Dayton in the latter part of 1865 and took charge of the company's business under the administration of the Cincinnati, Sandusky & Cleveland and Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railway companies, continuing as agent until 1884. Mr. Hargrave is interested in several enterprises in Dayton, being the vice-president of the Woodsum Machine company, president of the Boda House Furnishing company, and secretary and treasurer of the Clingman Gas Machine company.

Mr. Hargrave served for a short time as a member of the Dayton city council, from the First ward, resigning from that body on account of the demands of his business affairs. He also served for six years as a member of the board of election of the city.