ROBERT THOMAS JOHNSON, [pages 609-611] vice-president and manager of the Kuntz-Johnson Lumber company at Dayton, Ohio, is a native of county Tyrone, Ireland, and was born January 12, 1845. In 1850 his parents, George and Sarah (Taggart) Johnson, came to America, bringing their three surviving children, having lost a fourth in. its infancy.  The parents were of Scotch-Irish descent, and the father, who was born in 1810, is a resident of Springfield, Ohio, in which city the mother died June 11, 1891.  The father spent the greater part of his business life in contracting and railroading, but about twenty years ago laid aside all business cares and is now living in retirement.  The sister of Robert T., Mrs. Jane Hall, resides in Springfield, and is the widow of James A. Hall, who was a contractor and builder; the only brother, William, is at present superintendent of the P. P. Mast, Buggy company.

Robert T. Johnson, the youngest of the four children born to his parents, passed his early life in Springfield, where he was educated in the public schools; when he was in his sixteenth year he entered the joint office of the United States and American Express companies, and for several years was employed as clerk, messenger and agent, both stationary and traveling. In 1867 he accepted the agency of the Dayton & Union Railroad company at Union City, Ind., and in 1872 took the joint agency of the Dayton & Union and the Bee Line or Big Four system, at the same place. In March, 1877, he was transferred to Greenville, Ohio, and in March, 1881, returned to Union City, where he remained until March 1, 1883, when he formed a partnership with Peter Kuntz, of that place, for the purpose of establishing the present business in Dayton. The plant is valued at $100,000 and gives employment to an average of thirty men in the preparation of building material, and is in an altogether prosperous and flourishing condition.

Mr. Johnson was united in marriage, February 22, 1866, with Miss Cynthia E. Lenox, a native of Sidney, Shelby county, Ohio, and a daughter of Alfred and Frances E. (Gish) Lenox, both now deceased.   Mrs. Johnson was educated in Union City, Ind., and is a thoroughly accomplished woman, being very active in the social and religious societies attached to Grace Methodist Episcopal church. Her husband is a member of the official board of this church, and was formerly president of the Y. M. C. A. in Dayton. In his politics Mr. Johnson affiliates with the democratic party, has served several terms as a member of the city council in Union City, and in Dayton exerts a quiet but powerful influence in the selection of candidates and the management of the local elections.

Mr. Johnson is an ardent Freemason and a very prominent member of the fraternity. He received the symbolic degrees in Turpin lodge. No. 401, having been initiated March 20. 1874.  He filled various subordinate positions in the blue lodge, and received the degrees in capitulary Masonry in Union chapter, No. 94, was advanced and presented December 21. 1875, and was received, acknowledged and exalted December 22, 1875, and filled several official positions in this chapter.   He was admitted a member of Greenville lodge, on dimit, January 27, 1880, and was elected worshipful master December 14, 1880, filling the office one year.   February 16, 1880, he was admitted to Greenville chapter, and was elected captain of the host December 20, 1880. Mr. Johnson entertains a very warm feeling toward his brothers of Greenville lodge, who first made him feel the force of the benefits conferred by speculative Masonry. Some time after locating in Dayton Mr. Johnson was .again dimitted and became a member of Saint John's lodge, No. 13, of Unity chapter, No. 16, and of Reed commandery, No. 6, and on November 17, 1892, received the ineffable degrees in ancient and accepted Masonry.  His relations with the Dayton Masons have been of the most pleasant character and he has received ready and just recognition of his merits as a bright brother. In the commandery he is now filling the office of senior warden; and in business, family and social relations he has found that his "lines have fallen in pleasant places."

DAVID JONES, [pages 611-612] dealer in coal and wood, Dayton, was born in Montgomeryshire, near Newtown, Wales, November 11, 1835, and came with his parents to the United States in 1857, locating in Franklin county, Ohio, where his father, Evan Jones, engaged in agricultural pursuits. David's mother,  whose maiden name was Jane Powell, also a native of Wales, died in Franklin county, Ohio, in 1863; the father died in 1881, Evan and Jane Jones were the parents of nine children, David being third in order of birth; John died at the age of about thirteen years; Evan served in the Third Ohio infantry and died before the expiration of his period of enlistment; Jane married Reese Jones and died in Franklin county, Ohio; Richard resides at West Jefferson, Ohio, where he carries on the trade of carpenter and builder; he served through the late war in the Thirtieth Ohio infantry; Edward, also a soldier in the late war, is a farmer and stock raiser in Kansas; Thomas served during the Civil war in the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Ohio infantry and died in the Indian territory; Susan died at the age of sixteen; Elizabeth married a Mr. Richmond and died in Dayton, Ohio, leaving two children.

The early life of David Jones was spent on his father's farm, and he followed the pursuit of agriculture until attaining his majority, when an accident, which resulted in the breaking of his collarbone, caused him to change his plans of life.  Leaving the farm, he accepted a position as an attendant in the insane asylum at Columbus, Ohio, the duties of which he discharged for a period of three years, and then accepted a similar place in the hospital for the insane at Hopkinsville, Ky. Here he remained for less than one year, on account of the destruction of the institution by fire.  Returning home, he soon afterward came to Dayton and secured a situation in the insane asylum, where he continued as attendant and night watchman for three years. In the meantime the national guard of Ohio was organized, and David was enrolled as a member.  He was called into active service May 3, 1863, proceeding with his command to Baltimore, Md., and was for some time stationed at Forts Federal Hill and Marshall.  He served 100 days, the duty of a guard during that time being to relieve the disciplined soldiers and permit them to meet Gen. Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania and Maryland. Returning to Dayton at the expiration of his term of service, Mr. Jones entered the employ of the Dayton & Michigan railroad as freight brake-man. Later he became baggage-master, and finally was put in charge of a freight train as conductor. He served ably in these subordinate positions, winning the confidence of the management of the road, and was subsequently promoted to be passenger conductor, a position which he filled for fourteen years, during the last six of which he ran a train between Cincinnati and Toledo.

In 1882 Mr. Jones retired from the road and engaged in his present business, which has proved, financially, very successful.  He is a public-spirited man, well known in the business circles of Dayton for his integrity and honesty of purpose, and enjoys in an eminent degree the good will and confidence of those with whom he has relations of a business or a social nature. He is a member of the Old Guard post, G. A. R., of Dayton, belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, and since his twenty-first year has been an unswerving supporter of the principles of the republican party.

He was married, in 1863, to Ellen Haley, of Dayton, daughter of Edward Haley, and there have been born to this union five children, viz: Mattie, Alfred, Carrie, Daisy and Alice. Alfred is married and is engaged in business in Dayton; Carrie died at the age of three years, and Daisy when six months old; Alice is the wife of E. R. McLean, and Mattie is bookkeeper for the firm of Evans & Davis, of Dayton.  Mrs. Jones is one of a family of four, two brothers and two sisters. Luke Haley died in early manhood; Margaret, now Mrs. Ware, resides in Springfield, Ohio, and Edward Haley is sergeant on the police force in Dayton.

MAJ. DAVID CLARK HUFFMAN, M. D., [page 612] surgeon of the Central branch, N. H. D. V. S., near Dayton, Ohio, is a native of Westmoreland county, Pa., is a son of Jacob and Louisa (Metzger) Huffman, of German descent, and was born November 4, 1843. He attended the public schools of his district until the time of his enlistment, in March, 1862, in company C, Eleventh regiment, Pennsylvania volunteer infantry, and served with his regiment until after the battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, when he was placed in the hospital on account of sickness, and was mustered out in November of the same year. In March, 1865, having in the meantime read medicine, he was appointed assistant surgeon to the Thirteenth Pennsylvania cavalry; but, as the Rebellion was brought to an end soon afterward, he saw no active service in this capacity.

Dr. Huffman received his literary education in Sewickley academy and Allegheny college, at Meadville, Pa., and graduated in medicine from the Jefferson Medical college, of Philadelphia, in 1866.  He located for practice at McKeesport, Pa., and met with gratifying success until 1889, when he was appointed on the medical staff of the national soldiers' home, at Dayton, Ohio, served one year in this capacity, and in May, 1893, was appointed to his present position as surgeon of the institution. While at McKeesport he was surgeon for the National Tube works, and for twelve years surgeon for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad company, and his varied and extended practice in these positions fully qualified him for the very responsible office he now fills. As surgeon of the home, he is third in rank among its officers, and has six assistants.

Dr. Huffman is a member of the Montgomery county Medical society, of the Allegheny county (Pa.) Medical society, of which he was vice-president in 1892; also a member of the Pennsylvania state Medical society and of the American Medical association; of Aliquippa lodge, No. 375, F. & A. M., of McKeesport, of which he was master; Tancred commandery, No. 48, of Pittsburg; Ohio consistory, thirty-second degree, S. P. R. 0., of Cincinnati, and of Veteran post, No. 5, G. A. R., and in 1894 was appointed aid-de-camp on the staff of national commander, Gen. Adams.

Dr. Huffman was united in marriage July 3, 1872, with Miss Georgia Wolfe, who is a native of Pennsylvania, born June 4, 1855. Dr. and Mrs. Huffman are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

CHARLES FREDERICK KAMRATH, SR., [pages 612-615] member of the Dayton city council from the Tenth ward, and a successful business man of that city, was born in Prussia, December 21, 1843. Reared and educated in his native country, he there learned the trade of butcher, and at the age of nineteen years he entered the German army and served three years.  In the war between Prussia and Austria, sometimes called The Seven Days' War, which was fought by those countries, after the death of Ferdinand VII, king of Denmark, over the control of the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg, Mr. Kamrath was of course in the army of Prussia, and participated in the decisive and historic battle of Koniggratz, or Sadowa, which occurred July 3, 1866.  He was wounded in the right leg by a splinter from a bomb, which exploded in front of him, and on account of this wound he was in the hospital five months. After recovering from his injury he secured a furlough for a year and came to the United States, landing in New York April 4, 1867. After a fortnight spent in that city and in Pittsburg, he came direct to Dayton, where he has ever since resided. About five years after settling in Dayton he opened a butcher shop at the corner of Fifth and Henry streets, and afterward opened a shop on the corner of Third and Terry streets, about the same time purchasing his present place of business and residence, on the corner of May and June streets. Here he has successfully carried on business ever since.

Mr. Kamrath was married first, in 1868, to Bertha Felitz, who was born in Prussia. She died in 1882, leaving four children, viz: Charles F., Jr., who was manager, secretary and treasurer of the Troup Manufacturing company, of Dayton, and is now engaged in merchant tailoring; Elizabeth, wife of Samuel Dornbusch, of Dayton; Bertha and Rosa. In 1883 Mr. Kamrath married Rosa Gerttz, of Dayton. Mr. Kamrath is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Butchers' association. He and his family are members of the Lutheran church.

For many years Mr. Kamrath has been quite active in politics in Dayton. In 1891 he was appointed city meat inspector, holding that office for one year. In the spring of 1894 he was elected to the city council from the Fifth ward, now the Tenth ward.

WlLLIAM J. JONES, [pages 615-616] treasurer of the Stoddard Manufacturing company,  of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, November 22, 1843, and is a son of David C. and Eliza (Shumard) Jones, both of whom were born in Ohio. The father was a farmer by calling. He removed to Butler county, Ohio, in about 1850, and in 1890 came to Dayton, where his death occurred in May, 1893, His widow died in December, 1894. Both parents were life-long members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

W. J. Jones was reared on the farm in Hamilton and Butler counties, and received a common-school education. When about nineteen years of age he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for about three years. In February, 1866, he came to Dayton and entered Greer's Commercial college and took the full course, leaving, however, before receiving his diploma, to take temporary charge of a set of books for the firm of Haas & Mitchell. Two months later he returned to college, intending to remain until he obtained a diploma, but being considered by the principal as proficient, he was given his diploma without further study. He then took charge of the books of the lumber firm of William Seeley & Co., with which firm he remained about three and a half years, leaving there to take charge of the books of D. W. Stewart & Co., where he remained for seven years. He was next bookkeeper for C. Wight & Son, with whom he remained until December 1, 1879, when he took a similar position with J. W. Stoddard & Co. In 1884, when this firm was incorporated into the Stoddard Manufacturing company, Mr. Jones became a stockholder, and in 1886 was elected treasurer of the company.

The Buckeye Building & Loan association was organized April 1, 1893, Mr. Jones being one of the incorporators, and he has ever since been one of the directors, and most of the time has been treasurer and member of the finance committee.

Mr. Jones was married, in 1869, to Miss Luvina McClellan, of Springdale, Hamilton county, Ohio, a daughter of James McClellan, and to this union one son has been born, Frank McClellan Jones, who is a draughtsman at the Barney & Smith Car works. Mr. Jones is a member of the Park Presbyterian church and of Montgomery lodge, No. 5, I. 0. 0. F.

WALTER D. JONES, [page 616] a prominent and successful attorney-at-law of Dayton, Ohio, was born at West Milton, Miami county, Ohio, February 18, 1850. He is a son of Samuel and Annie (Jay) Jones, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The Jones family came to Ohio from Georgia and the Jay family from Maryland. Both families were among the early settlers in this state.

Walter D. Jones spent his younger days on a farm in Miami county, and received his elementary education in the public schools. Later he attended Earlham college at Richmond, Ind., from the time he was fifteen years of age until he was eighteen, and then went to Spiceland, Ind., college, where he graduated in 1871. He then engaged for three years in teaching school in Ohio and Iowa, and afterward began reading law in Richmond, Ind., with his cousin, Louis D. Stubbs, going from that city to Ann Arbor, Mich., entering the law department of the university of Michigan, and graduating there in 1876.   His graduation from that institution admitted him to practice in Michigan, and upon removing to Dayton, Ohio, he was admitted to practice in this state.  He spent about six months in the law office of John Howard, who was, from 1839 to 1878, the year of his death, one of the most brilliant and successful lawyers of Dayton, a city famous for its able bar.  In the spring of 1877 Mr. Jones opened an office for himself and for some years practiced alone. For eight years he was in partnership with Charles J. McKee, but owing to the failing health of Mr. Jones, the partnership was dissolved. The two lawyers occupied the same office, however, for thirteen years. Mr. Jones' office at the present time is at No. 22 East Third street.  He is well read in the law, has clear, safe judgment, and unites with strong good sense a quality of humor which has won for him a host of friends in both professional and social life.

Mr. Jones is a member of the order of Odd Fellows. He was married in 1874 to Sina A. Harvey, of Wilmington, Clinton county, Ohio. To this marriage there have been born eleven children, four sons and seven daughters, all of whom are living.  Mr. Jones and his wife are worthy members of the United Brethren church.

REV. JOHN KAUFMANN, [pages 616-617] pastor of Emanuel Evangelical church, Commercial street, Dayton, Ohio. was born in Fluorn, ober amt Oberndorf, Wurtemberg, Germany, August 13, 1834, a son of John George and Anna (Ruoff) Kaufmann, the former of whom died in Germany at the age of fifty-nine years, and the latter at the age of seventy. The father was for many years mayor of Fluorn in his native province, but resigned his office some time before his death, being succeeded by his brother, through election.

John Kaufmann received his elementary education in his native land and in his native tongue, and when twenty years of age came to America in 1854, two years after his brother Andrew, who died some thirty years ago in Terre Haute, Ind., leaving a family. John first located in Marshall, Clark county, Ill., worked at farming till 1863, at the same time acquiring an English education. In 1863 he became an exhorter in the Evangelical association, and was licensed to preach in September of the same year, after which he served the Clay county (Ind.) mission one year; next served the mission two years at Bunker Hill, Miami county, Ind., and then two years at the church in South Bend, Ind., next, two years in the First church at Indianapolis, Ind. He then officiated at Olney, Ill., for three years, whence he came to Dayton, Ohio, and had a charge from 1873 to 1876, during which period his present church edifice and parsonage were erected. In the last-mentioned year the conference divided, and Rev. Mr. Kaufmann united with the South Indiana conference, and was placed in charge of the Marshall circuit, over four congregations, and officiated for three years; he was then again stationed at Brazil and remained a year and four months, when, on the death of the presiding elder, Rev. H. L. Fisher, of the Olney (Ill.) district, Mr. Kaufmann was elected his successor. Here he served until the convening of the conference, when he was re-elected to the Olney district, and served for two years—his home during all this time being at Marshall, Ill.; he was then re-elected to Olney for four years, then to the Louisville district, where he served for three and a half years.  In April, 1893, at Dayton, the conferences were reunited and the consolidated body is now known as the Indiana conference. By this body Rev. Kaufmann was appointed to his present charge.

The Emanuel Evangelical church was organized in 1840, Rev. A. B. Schaefer being the first minister. It has always been prosperous, although recently an English mission has drawn away thirty-five of its members. Its present membership is 226, and its Sunday-school enrollment is 200; its property, including church building and parsonage, is valued at $23,500. Rev. Mr. Kaufmann, during his incumbency, has done his full share toward maintaining the prosperity of the congregation, and has always been active and earnest in his ministerial labors. He has served as a member of the general conference for five terms, and has been a delegate to the board of missions and a trustee of the Northwestern college for many years. He is eloquent and fervid, devoted and faithful, has everywhere been received with great favor, and has left the impress of his piety on every charge which has had the good fortune to sit under his ministrations.

Rev. Mr. Kaufmann was married at Marshall, Clark county, Ill., December 31, 1858, to Miss Mary Susanna Snyder, a native of Allentown, Pa., born September 24, 1836. The fruit of this union has been thirteen children, of whom the only one deceased was named Gideon, who was killed in a railroad accident at the age of twenty years. Two sons and two daughters are married, viz: Aaron, twin brother of Gideon, a commercial traveler of Olney, Ill.; Otto, on the old farm in Marshall, Ill; Elizabeth, the wife of William Voigt, a salesman of Terre Haute, Ind., and Mary, married to Henry Bamesberger, of Marshall, Ill. The other children are named Edward William, John Franklin, Samuel, Harmon, Oscar, Orestes, Lillian and Flora. Of these, Harmon is a member of the firm of Kaufmann & Horner, at Olney, Ill; John and Samuel are bridge carpenters; Oscar is clerking in his brother's store in Olney, Ill., and Orestes is at home with his parents and his sisters, Lillian and Flora.

In his politics, Rev. Mr. Kaufmann has been a warm supporter of the republican party during all his forty-two years' residence in America.

DAVID KEMP, [page 618] a retired farmer and prominent citizen of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Mad River township, Montgomery county, Ohio, November 8, 1816. He is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Herring) Kemp, the former a native of Frederick county, Md., and the latter of Switzerland. They were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters, five of whom are still living, as follows: George W.; Margaret; Barbara, wife of William Steele; David, and Catherine, wife of Mathias Burrows.

Joseph Kemp was a farmer by occupation, came to Ohio in 1806, with his parents, who located in Mad River township, and there Joseph followed farming until his death, which occurred in 1824, when he was but thirty-six years old. He served in the war of 1812 as a teamster, and supplied provisions to the troops. His wife died in 1861, aged seventy-six years. She was a member of the United Brethren church.

Ludwig Kemp, the father of Joseph Kemp, was of German descent and a native of Maryland. The name in Germany was spelled Kempf, but to simplify it the last letter was dropped early in the history of the family in this country. He removed to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1806, purchased land in Mad River township, and lived thereon until his death. He and his devoted wife lie side by side in the Kemp burying ground.   They reared a family of five sons and two daughters. Mr. Kemp, though of slender build, was of strong constitution, and of much refinement in his habits and tastes. He was successful in the accumulation of property, and at one time was quite wealthy, but divided his estate among his children, and eventually nearly all of it passed into the hands of his grandchildren.

David Kemp lived on the old farm until he was seventeen years of age, and then moved into Dayton, for the purpose of learning the tailor's trade, which he successfully followed for about eighteen years. Then, owing to ill health he was obliged to abandon that occupation, and, in accordance with the advice of his physician, went to California in 1849. He remained in that state nine years, engaged in mining a part of the time, and in this occupation accumulated considerable wealth, returning to Ohio, sound in health and strong as in youth.  Mr. Kemp has since been engaged in superintending his farming operations, though not personally engaged in physical labor. His farm lies in Mad River township, contains sixty-three acres of land, and was purchased by him in 1854, while at home on a visit from California.

Mr. Kemp was married November 14, 1867, to Miss Catherine Callahan, a native of South Carolina, and daughter of William and Sarah (Forest) Callahan, of Greenville district, that state, but afterward residents of Louisville, Ky. No children have been born to this marriage. Mrs. Kemp is a member of the Baptist church, to which denomination her parents belonged. Mr. Kemp became an Odd Fellow in 1838, and has been a member of the order ever since. After his return from California he lived on the old homestead farm until his marriage in 1867, when he moved to Dayton, living on Tecumseh street one year. Then, after living on Maple street for a year, he purchased his present home at No. 201 Bainbridge street, where he and his wife have resided for the past twenty-six years. Politically Mr. Kemp is a stalwart democrat, but has never sought nor desired office of any kind. He is now one of the oldest residents of Montgomery county, being over eighty years of age.  He and his wife are living in a quiet and happy manner, surrounded by numerous friends, and enjoying the results of the labors of earlier years, and the fullest confidence and esteem of all that know them.

WlLLIAM HUGHEY KEMPER, [page 619] a director and the assistant superintendent of the Crawford, McGregor & Canby company, of Dayton, and superintendent of the company's plant at Gaylord, Otsego county, Mich., was born in Indianapolis, Ind., April 14, 1841. His parents were John M. and Elizabeth (Hughey) Kemper, the former of whom was a native of Kentucky and the latter of Dayton, Ohio, and the only daughter of William Hughey, one of the pioneers of that city. John M. Kemper was for many years a contractor and builder of Indianapolis, and died in that city in 1878, His widow then removed to Dayton to make her home with her son, whose name opens this biography.

William Hughey Kemper was reared in Indianapolis, and was educated there in the public schools.  In 1857 he began working at the lastmaker's trade in Indianapolis, and continued thus engaged until 1861, when he responded to the first call for troops to suppress the Rebellion.  He became a private soldier in the Eleventh Indiana volunteer infantry— Gen. Lew Wallace's zouaves.   In 1862 he enlisted in Gen. Harrison's regiment, the Seventieth Indiana, with which he served until the close of the war. He was in the Georgia campaign, marched with Sherman to the sea, was at Raleigh, N. C., when Lee surrendered, and participated in the grand review at Washington, D. C., at the close of the war.

The war having come to an end, Mr. Kemper returned to Indianapolis and entered the employ of the successors to the firm with which he had been engaged before his enlistment. In 1869 he removed to Dayton, taking a position with the last-manufacturing firm of Crawford & Coffman, the place given him being that of foreman of the boot-tree department. Remaining with this firm through all its changes, when the name became Crawford, McGregor & Canby he became assistant superintendent, and in July, 1895, was made superintendent of the Gaylord branch in Michigan. In March, 1896, when the company was incorporated, he became a member of the new corporation.

Mr. Kemper was married in Indianapolis in 1861, to Lizzie M. Connolly, of that city, and to this marriage there have been born five children, four of whom are still living. These are as follows: Albert H., vice-president of the Brownell Manufacturing company, of Dayton; William R., with Callender & Patterson, of Dayton; Ida E., and John Sanford, machinist, with the Brownell Manufacturing company.  Frank E. died in 1875, in the ninth year of his age.

Mr. Kemper has always been a successful business man, having been steadily promoted from one position to another as the result of faithful performance of his duty, and of the appreciation and esteem of his employers.

WALTER S. KIDDER, [pages 619-621] the assistant manager and treasurer of the Dr. Harter Medicine company, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Urbana, Champaign county, Ohio, August 17, 1866, was educated in the public schools of that city, and in 1879 entered the employ of a grocery firm. Three months later he entered a furniture house to learn upholstering, and at the expiration of a year entered the office of the Indiana, Bloomington & Western Railroad company, to learn telegraphy. After three months, he was appointed night operator, and was, in due course of time, promoted to day operator and clerk. In 1882 he accepted the chief clerkship of the Nickel Plate and Big Four Railway companies at Green Springs Junction, and in 1883 was assigned as bill clerk to Springfield, Ohio, which position he held until 1887, when the Ohio, Indiana & Western company relinquished its business on the Cincinnati, Sandusky & Cleveland line. He was then made chief clerk of the Cincinnati, Sandusky & Cleveland company, at Springfield, which position he held from October 10, 1887, until May 3, 1888, when he was made chief clerk in the auditor's office of the Cincinnati, Sandusky & Cleveland railroad, which place he held until March, 1890.  He then resigned to accept a position as manager of the Hayner Distilling company, which he held until May 3, 1894, when he entered upon his present responsible office.

The marriage of Mr. Kidder took place August 27, 1889, to Miss Georgianna Hayner, Mr. Kidder is affable and courteous, and is recognized as a young man of the highest type of business capabilities, and this estimation of his character is abundantly substantiated by his career up to the present time. But it now becomes necessary to make a digression and to give a sketch of the lives of the gentlemen who stand at the head of the well-known company of which Mr. Kidder is the assistant manager and treasurer.

Dr. M. G. Harter was born in Harrison county, Ky., in 1817, of Virginian parents, who moved from Rockingham county to Kentucky in 1795. Jacob D. Harter, the father of the doctor, was a volunteer in the war of 1812, and in 1820 came to Ohio and settled in the wilderness of Miami county, in Elizabeth township. He was reared among the pioneers and educated in the frontier schools, but, as he had always manifested a disposition in his youthful days to become a physician, he was permitted to prepare himself under the preceptorship of a practicing member of the profession for entrance to the university of the city of New York, from the medical department of which he was graduated, and then returned to Ohio and engaged in active practice. For several years he alternated his practice with further attendance at the best medical colleges in the country, and, finally, after settling down to practice, became dissatisfied with the formulas of his predecessors and originated new compounds for the cure of the most prevalent disorders, and these have since made his name well known. These preparations, being in constant demand throughout the country on account of their efficacy, were at first packed in plain brown paper and shipped by his own hands; but the demand became so great that he was forced to give up his practice and to devote his entire attention to the compounding of his remedies. This he continued to do at Troy, Ohio, until May, 1866, when, in order to avail himself of greater shipping advantages by which he could reach the remoter parts of the country, he removed to Saint Louis, Mo., where he died in 1875. In 1895 the business was removed to Dayton, where the immense laboratory is now located and where ample railroad facilities for the shipment of preparations to all points are at hand. While in Saint Louis, Mo., the doctor formed a joint stock company, July 4, 1873, with a capital stock of $300,000, and to the incorporators this capital netted a handsome dividend until the dissolution of the company in 1894.

Samuel K. Harter, brother of Dr. M. G. Harter, was born in Miami county, Ohio, in 1823, and was there reared to manhood on the home farm, receiving in the meantime a good academical education. In 1846, after leaving school, he engaged with J. M. Hart, of Troy, in the iron and hardware business under the firm name of Hart & Harter, which firm was steadily successful for thirty years, and was terminated only by the death of the senior partner, when Mr. Harter continued the business alone and still conducts it, making a record of half a century in this trade. In 1863, Mr. Harter also took an interest in the manufacturing concern of his brother, Dr. M. G. Harter, which he still holds. Before the death of Mr. Hart, the firm of Hart & Harter largely invested in farm lands, which are still held by Mr. Harter. He is also a director in the Miami county branch of the State bank of Ohio, was one of the organizers of the First National bank of Troy, and has been a director thereof ever since the beginning, being its largest stockholder; he was also one of the original stockholders in the Dayton & Michigan Railroad company; he was one of the prime movers in establishing the Troy Carriage company, and has been one of its directors ever since. For years Mr. Harter was president of the Troy board of education, was mayor of the city several years, and was also for a long time president of the Knoop's Children's home of Miami county.  He is probably the largest landholder in Miami county, and as a business man and citizen his name stands today without a blemish.

CHRISTIAN GOTTLIEB KELLNER, [pages 621-622] proprietor of Kellner's dye works, at 128 Saint Clair street, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Saxony, Germany, November 13, 1850. He is a son of Christian Gottlieb and Johanna Christina (Fuchs) Kellner, to whom there were born eight children, seven sons and one daughter, six of whom are now living, as follows: Frederick, of Philadelphia, Pa.; Wilhelm, of Greitz, Germany; August, of the same place; Heinrich, of New York city; C. Gottlieb; and Hermann, of San Francisco, Cal. The eldest and youngest of the family, Christian and Paulina, are dead.

Christian Kellner, the father, was a farmer in his native country, served as a soldier in the German army, and died in Germany about 1855.  His wife survived him until 1895, and died at the age of seventy-four years in the old country.

The paternal grandfather, Johan Kellner, was a farmer in Germany, and lived to be about seventy-five years of age. The maternal grandfather, Johan Gottlieb Fuchs, was likewise a farmer in Germany, and died in 1879 aged seventy-eight years.

Christian Gottlieb Kellner, the subject of this sketch, was reared in Germany and there received a good education, growing to manhood on his father's farm. When yet a small boy he began to learn to print wall paper, and to weave and print cloth, and these occupations he followed in Germany for many years, or until 1873, when he emigrated to the United States, landing in New York on the 12th of July.  Soon afterward he went to Philadelphia, and remained there engaged in the same occupations for seven years.   Since then he traveled extensively in the United States, with the view of informing himself as to the condition of the people of the different sections, and as to the climate, etc., of the several states, and on his wedding trip, in 1894-5, he visited the Mid-winter fair in California.

Mr. Kellner arrived in Dayton, June 271 1881, and almost immediately purchased the dye-house of C. H. Frank. Since then he has been continuously in the business, which is steadily growing, and is increasing in popularity as well as in proportions.  Mr. Kellner is one of the successful and enterprising business men of Dayton, and a most excellent citizen.

Mr. Kellner was married June 9, 1894, to Miss Elizabeth Uhrich, daughter of John and Rosa (Steiner) Uhrich. To this marriage there has been born one child—Henry William. Mr. Kellner's business place is in the first hotel building ever erected in Dayton.  Mr. Kellner intends, in 1897, to replace this old building with a new and modern structure, which will be better adapted to the necessities of his business, and will be more in keeping with the appearance of the city at large.

WILLIAM M. KINNARD. [pages 622-625] Among the younger manufacturers of Dayton, Ohio, few, if any, have had a more successful career or attained a place of more prominence than William M. Kinnard, head of the Kinnard Manufacturing company.  Mr. Kinnard is a native of the Keystone state, having been born in Harrisburg, Pa., on August 27, 1857, and is the son of John D. and Martha (Brown) Kinnard. The boyhood days of Mr. Kinnard were spent in a manner common to the average boy of his time and surroundings. He attended the public schools until during his fourteenth year, and then left school to begin an apprenticeship at the printing and bookbinding trade, at which he served five years. In November, 1878, three months after completing his apprenticeship, Mr. Kinnard left Harrisburg and came to Ohio, stopping at Dayton on his way to Cincinnati, in which latter place he expected to find employment at his trade. Being, however, in urgent need of employment, as his finances were ebbing, he decided to remain here, at least temporarily, if he found anything to do. He secured a place in the Odell printing and binding establishment almost immediately, and a few weeks later, when a change in the proprietorship of the business was made, the firm becoming that of Odell & Mayer, he was made superintendent of the concern. During the following four years Mr. Kinnard's services as superintendent were so valuable, and so apparent to his employers were his abilities, that, at the end of that period, he was offered and accepted a partnership in the firm.  However, while an invoice of the plant and stock was being made, preparatory to the admission of Mr. Kinnard to the firm, the senior partner, Mr. Odell, died, and the business was consequently terminated. Mr. Kinnard then formed the Troup-Kinnard company, for the manufacture of blank books and stationery, which firm continued with success until the fall of 1887, when it was succeeded by the Troup Manufacturing company, from which, however, Mr. Kinnard retired, selling his interest to the incorporated concern. Following this, Mr. Kinnard spent several months in the west, recuperating his health, which had become somewhat impaired by too close application to his duties.

He returned to active business in the spring of 1888, when he, with three other well-known gentleman, purchased the interest of J. B. Sefton in the Crume & Sefton Manufacturing company, of which concern he was made secretary and treasurer. This position he filled until his resignation in the winter of 1893. In this year he was one of five organizers and incorporators of the Dayton Autographic & Register company, of which he became secretary, and so continued during the first year of its existence. The gentlemen connected with Mr. Kinnard in this enterprise were Messrs. E. J. Barney, John W. Stoddard, George P. Huffman, 0. M. Gottschall, W. E. Crume and John Kirby, Jr. In 1893 Mr. Kinnard also organized and established the Merchants' Supply company, which company was absorbed in August of the same year by the Carter-Crume company. The latter corporation was an amalgamation of the Crume & Sefton Co., the Merchants Supply Co., the. Dayton Autographic & Register Co., of Dayton, Carter & Co., of Toronto, Canada, and Carter & Co., Rodswell & Co., and the H. Houseman Art Metal Co., all of Niagara Falls, N. Y. This company is one of the largest concerns in the country, with a capital stock of $1,800,000, with head offices at Niagara Falls, N. Y., and branch offices at Dayton, Ohio; and with plants at Niagara Falls, N. Y., Dayton, Ohio, Toronto, Canada, and Saginaw, Mich. Upon the formation of the new concern, Mr. Kinnard was made treasurer of the western department and held that office until 1895, when he resigned, but continues as a director of the company. In February, 1896, he organized the Kinnard Manufacturing company, for the manufacture of flour sacks and waterproof fiber signs, this being now one of the successful enterprises of the city, and to which he devotes the greater portion of his time and attention.

Mr. Kinnard is the inventor and patentee of upward of forty patents, all of which he has disposed of except his first issue. The career of Mr. Kinnard has been a most active one, and success has crowned his efforts to a marked degree. Still a young man, in the very prime of life, he has established a splendid business reputation, and is rated among the leading and substantial men of a city noted for its conservative and practical business men; and all this has been accomplished by his own efforts and in a comparatively short time. When he came to Dayton, in 1878, Mr. Kinnard was possessed of no friends in the city, and of small means. Not only has he thrived and met with success in business, but he has aided very materially at the same time in advancing the prosperity of his adopted city, and has contributed his share toward the development of her enterprises and institutions.  His name has been connected, as organizer and promoter, with several of the leading and prosperous industries of the city, to the development of all of which his energy, talents and means were given. To come into a strange city, without friends or means, and, within less than twenty years' time, to rise by one's own efforts and ability to a position of prominence in the manufacturing life of a conservative city like Dayton, to be connected at one time or another with so many of her leading industries, and to have had a guiding hand and interest in them, is an achievement of which a man and his friends may well be proud.

Mr. Kinnard was married in Dayton, in 1883, to Grace, the daughter of Joseph R. Gebhart, one of the well-known and useful business men of Dayton. To this union one son has been born—Joseph Rittner Gebhart Kinnard.  Mr. Kinnard is a member of the Dayton club, of the Y. M, C. A., and of the Masonic fraternity. He is an enthusiastic lover of all outdoor sports and recreations, especially with the gun, and is a member of several outdoor clubs. Personally Mr. Kinnard is genial, liberal-minded and progressive, and his characteristics and manners are such that he has gained a wide circle of friends and admiring acquaintances.

HENRY S. KIMMEL, M. D., [pages 625-626] of No. 103 Valley street, Dayton, is a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, and was born December 3, 1833, a son of Michael and Catherine (Armentrout) Kimmel, both now deceased.

His great-grandfather came from Switzerland to America in 1760, settled in York county, Pa., served gallantly through the Revolutionary war, and reared a family of eight children, who were named Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Philip, David, Solomon, Michael and Lizzie. Of these children, David was the progenitor of the Ohio branch of the family, the others having scattered to different parts of the United States, and all reaching worthy positions in life—the only one, however, so far as known, who attained any political prominence being Judge Kimmel, of Baltimore, Md., who, beside filling his judicial functions with ability, also served two terms in congress.

David Kimmel, grandfather of Henry S., came, from Somerset county, Pa., to Ohio in the spring of 1817, and settled on a farm six miles west of Dayton, where he died, September 25, 1827, aged eighty-four years, the farm falling to the lot of his son Lewis, and later to his grandson Lewis, son of Lewis.   David Kimmel had been twice married, and to his first union were born two children, of whom but little, if anything, is now known; to his second marriage the following-named children were born: Susan, who was married to Michael Beeghly, and died March 5, 1858; John, who was born November 30, 1795, and died September 10, 1877; Jonas; David, who was born August 14, 1800, and died August 17, 1863; Lewis, who died April 22, 1876, in his seventy-second year; Hannah, deceased wife of David Murray; Michael, father of our subject, was born January 10, 1810, and died October 29, 1878; and Magdalene, the youngest, was married to Christian Forney, and died January 25, 1858. The family were all members of the Dunkard church.

Michael Kimmel and his wife, Catherine (Armentrout) Kimmel, had born to their marriage eight children, viz: Henry S., whose name opens this sketch; Aaron, a farmer of Montgomery county, Ohio; Mary, wife of B. C. Jackson, of Darke county; George, of Montgomery county; Sarah, wife of B. F. Keller, of Darke county; Michael C., deceased; David, deceased; and Susan, wife of John Shank, of Montgomery county.

Dr. Henry S. Kimmel, after passing through the usual preliminary course of literary instruction, began reading medicine, in 1858, with Dr. J. L. Gephart, of Liberty, Montgomery county, Ohio, and, after due preparation, entered the Cincinnati college of Medicine and Surgery, from which he graduated with the degree of M. D., and at once entered upon the practice of his profession in Brookville, Montgomery county.   He then removed to Liberty, in the same county, and in the latter town conducted a store, and was also a justice of the peace and township treasurer for a number of years. In 1882 became to Dayton, and here, in addition to attending to his duties as a practitioner of medicine, he also conducts a successful drug business.

Politically Dr. Kimmel is a stalwart republican, and in his fraternal professional association is a member of the Ohio Medical and Montgomery county Medical societies, while in his secret societary connection he is an Odd Fellow. He is the husband of Miss Mary King, a native of Germantown, Montgomery county, whom he married June 11, 1861, the union resulting in the birth of three children: Delia, now the widow of I. T. Holt; Annie, wife of Rev. J. W. Winder, a Presbyterian minister of Galesville, Wis.; and Vesta, wife of J. Orville Clemens.  Dr. Kimmel has been very successful in his profession, having been thoroughly educated therein, and is sincerely esteemed as a citizen.

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