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Centennial Portrait and Biographical Record of the City of Dayton and of Montgomery County, Ohio
Pages 796-812 Maj. Milton McCoy to James C. Turner

MAJ. MILTON  McCOY, [pages 796-801] civilian and soldier, was born December 9, 1838, near Tarlton, Pickaway county, Ohio, and is descended from one of the earliest pioneer families of the county of Ross.  His father, James McCoy, was a son of William and Drusilla (Browning) McCoy, who emigrated from near Gettysburg, Pa., to Flemingsburg, Ky., in 1795, and in 1797 moved to the Northwest territory, settled north of Chillicothe, on the banks of Kinnikinnick creek, and there reared a family which has been identified with that part of the state for nearly if not quite a century. James McCoy married, in the county of Ross, Elizabeth Entrekin, whose father, also a prominent pioneer resident, served with distinction in the war of 1812 as lieutenant in what was known as the "Irish Gray" company. James McCoy and family emigrated about the year 1826 to Pickaway county, locating upon a farm not far from Tarlton, and in November, 1839, moved to the city of Circleville, where Mr. McCoy died January 10, 1881, his wife having departed life on the 23d of August, 1872.

Maj. McCoy attended, in youth, the public schools of Circleville, Ohio, and later completed a course at South Salem academy. From boyhood his predilection was for a military life, and as soon as age permitted, he became a member of the Ohio state militia organization, serving as second sergeant in the Pickaway guards until the breaking out of the late Civil war. When President Lincoln issued his first call for volunteers, Mr. McCoy at once responded, enlisting April 16, 1861, as a private, but upon the assembling of the company at Camp Jackson, Columbus, for the purpose of effecting an organization, he was chosen second lieutenant.   The company designated as company G, was assigned to the Second Ohio regiment, which proceeded to Harrisburg, Pa., thence to Lancaster and Philadelphia, where some lime was spent in company drill. From the latter city the regiment went to Washington city by way of Baltimore, Md., going into camp north of the capitol building and forming a part of the brigade commanded by Gen. Robert C. Schenck, the other regiments being the First Ohio and Second New York. This brigade was assigned to Gen. Tyler's division, which, on the same night that Col. Ellsworth was killed at Alexandria, crossed the Long bridge into Virginia. At daylight on the following morning the command went into camp near Alexandria, but soon afterward moved farther north along the railroad and established Camp Upton, Va., where the regiment remained doing picket duty until the advance upon the rebels at Bull Run. While in Camp Upton, Lieut. McCoy was made provost marshal of Gen. Schenck's brigade, having under his command thirty men, one from each company in the brigade. On the 21st day of July, the provost guard being near the hospital, established on the Warrenton road, while having in charge a lot of prisoners, a charge was made by a company of Confederate cavalry, which he with the guard and quite a number of stragglers on the hunt for water, succeeded in repulsing after a sharp and sanguinary engagement.

After the battle of Bull Run, the Second Ohio proceeded to Columbus, Ohio, where it was mustered out of service several days after the expiration of its period of enlistment. Immediately thereafter Lieut. McCoy recruited a company for the three years' service, which was designated as company I, and formed a part of the Second Ohio, then being organized at Camp Dennison, and commanded by the late Col. L. A. Harris. This regiment moved into Kentucky as far as Paris, thence through the eastern part of the state under Gen. Nelson, participating in a number of engagements during that memorable campaign, and advancing to a point near Pound Gap, thence to the mouth of the Sandy river, where the troops took steamers and proceeded to Louisville, Ky., arriving there the morning of the 25th of November, 1861. After remaining for a short time at the latter place, the command proceeded to a point south of Elizabethtown, going into winter quarters at Bacon Creek, Ky., and was assigned to a brigade commanded by Gen, Joshua Sill. In the early spring the troops took up their line of march for Bowling Green, Ky., and Nashville, Tenn., under the command of Gen. 0. M. Mitchell, commanding division, arriving at the latter place at the same time with the army which effected the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson; continuing the advance they succeeded in capturing Murfreesboro, Shelbyville, Fayetteville, Tenn., and Huntsville, Ala. At the last named place a large amount of rolling stock of the Memphis & Charleston railroad, consisting of seventeen locomotives and nearly 400 cars, fell into the hands of the Federals, resulting in the cutting of the lines, thus preventing the enemy from transporting troops from Chattanooga, Tenn., to Corinth, Miss.

Capt. McCoy served at the head of his company at the capture of Stephenson and the attack upon Bridgeport, Ala., and later was with Buell in the celebrated pursuit of the rebel forces under Gen. Bragg. He was detailed with his company to escort batteries over the mountains from Battle Creek to Murfreesboro, thence with his command to Louisville, where the regiment was placed in Gen. Rosecran's division, Gen. A. McD. McCook's corps. Proceeding in pursuit of the rebel Gen. Bragg, the two forces finally met October 8, 1862, on the bloody field of Perryville, Ky., where Capt, McCoy received two painful wounds in the arm and hand; he also narrowly escaped being killed by a musket-ball which flattened itself against his scabbard, battering the latter so as to unfit it for further use, Capt. McCoy still has in his possession this old scabbard, which he carefully preserves as a memento of that bloody day of '62, and which he prizes more highly than any of his many relics of the war.  On account of his injuries he asked for and was granted a furlough, which was spent in the vain effort to obtain relief from suffering. In the spring of 1863, he returned to the regiment, but, after a careful examination of his wounds by skillful surgeons, at Murfreesboro, Tenn., they were pronounced very obstinate and exceedingly difficult to heal, and Capt. McCoy resigned his command and returned to the peaceful vocations of civil life. For some years following the war, he was engaged in farming, stock raising and shipping grain, in all of which he met with encouraging success. He followed agriculture until 1888, at which time he was chosen to the position of treasurer of the Central Branch, which he now occupies in the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.

Maj. McCoy has proved himself a capable and painstaking official, and since his connection with the national home has discharged his duties in such a manner as to win the confidence and esteem of those under his charge and to gain the approbation of his superiors. He is a great lover of books, and his library, made up of the choicest products of the greatest minds in the field of literature, is one of the chief attractions of his delightful home.

The major has given much time as well as considerable means in adding to his collection such books as have value on account of age, and a lover of books could desire no greater pleasure than to linger awhile among the old and rare volumes upon his shelves, some of which represent the earliest stage of the art preservative. Maj. McCoy was twice elected to the Ohio legislature from Ross county, serving continuously from 1871 to 1875, the second term as speaker pro tern, of the house. He was elected as a democrat and took an active part as a member, serving on a number of important committees and carrying through important legislation, the wisdom of which has been abundantly demonstrated by the years which have since intervened.  He introduced the first "school book bill" in an Ohio legislature.

Maj. McCoy was married March 19, 1863, to Catherine Crouse, daughter of John and Lydia Crouse, and a native of the county of Ross, where the Crouse family settled as early as the year 1798. Major and Mrs. McCoy have three living children, namely: Alfred C., who married Mary Volmer and resides on the home farm in Ross county; Sarah M., wife of Dr. S. S. Wilcox, formerly first assistant surgeon in the Central Branch, and now of Columbus, Ohio; and Lincoln D., a student in the Cincinnati Academy of Music. The deceased members of the family are George W. and Catherine, both of whom died in childhood.

Maj. McCoy is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Loyal Legion, and the G. A. R.; belongs to Dayton lodge, No, 147; Unity chapter, No. 16, and R. & S. M. council, No. 9, Ohio grand commandery.  He was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian church, and, while not a member of any religious organization, is a liberal supporter of Christian and moral movements. Mrs. McCoy is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

 

HENRY THEOBALD, JR., [pages 801-802] secretary of the National Cash Register company, at Dayton, Ohio,, was born in this city September 28, 1865.  His father, Henry Theobald, Sr., is one of Dayton's oldest citizens, is an ex-soldier, has been prominent in religious matters, and has always taken a keen interest in the development of the Gem City.

Henry Theobald, Sr., was born in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, November 9, 1826, and was a son of William and Alice Theobald, natives of .Nottinghamshire. The deaths of William and Alice occurred, respectively, at Doncaster in 1869 and 1873. Their son, Henry, came to the .United States at the age of seventeen years, found employment in Morristown, N. J., in 1844, at painting and graining, and there remained for eighteen months. He went to New York city in the summer of 1846, but in the fall of the same year returned to New Jersey, following his calling of painter in Asbury, Warren county, in summer, and in winter teaching a district school at Broadway, in the same county.  May 4, 1848, he married Miss Sarah Maria Dunham, who was born in Asbury, June 28, 1827, a daughter of Cyrus and Mercy Dunham, also natives of New Jersey. After marriage Mr. Theobald returned to Morristown, where he remained until December 23, 1848, when he came to Ohio and settled in Dayton.  Here he was actively engaged in the painting business until 1862, when he enlisted, as a musician, in company A, Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry. At the battle of Stone River the band's instruments were captured by the enemy, from which time forward Mr. Theobald acted as a member of the ambulance corps, and also as bugler, and was present at all engagements in which his regiment took part. The night before the battle of Franklin, while on a forced march and acting in his capacity of bugler, his foot was crushed and his ankle dislocated by the fall of his horse through a bridge, and he suffered for the thirty-six hours following before his wounds were properly treated. He was then sent to Nashville, Tenn., thence to Louisville, Ky., and thence to New Albany, Ind., where he was placed in hospital No. 8, and remained until honorably discharged in May, 1865, reaching Dayton May 28. Mr. Theobald was too sorely injured, however, to resume his trade as a painter, and on the 5th day of June, 1865, accepted a position as bookkeeper in the brewery of J. W. Harries, and remained there until August, 1877, when Mr. Harries went out of business.  Mr. Theobald was then for a number of years employed as bookkeeper at the Phillips Cotton mill, after which he became secretary to George L. Phillips, who was at that time manager for the Bell Telephone company for, the western and southern states. Mr. Theobald held this position until the office was transferred to Chicago, Ill., since which time he has lived in comparative retirement, occasionally auditing accounts for various business firms in Dayton.

Henry Theobald, Sr., has. four living children, viz:   William D., of Canton, Ohio; John L.,. with L. D. Reynolds & Co., of Dayton; Emma L., school and music teacher of Dayton; and Henry, Jr., whose name opens this article. Mr. Theobald is prominent as a teacher of vocal music, and for forty years has been tutor of this art in the Sunday-schools of Dayton,  Fraternally he is a member of Saint John's lodge, No. 13, F. & A. M.; Unity chapter, No. 16, R. A. M.; Reese council, No. 9, R. & S. M., and Reed commandery, No. 6, K. T. In politics he is a republican.

Henry Theobald, Jr., attended the public schools of Dayton and was graduated from the Central high school in 1882 with the highest honors, being valedictorian of his class. With the energy and determination which have always, marked him, Mr. Theobald at once entered earnestly into business.   His first position was that of assistant bookkeeper in a papermaking establishment. He soon removed, however, to Canton, Ohio, where he was employed again as bookkeeper. He did not find here, however, the opportunity of advancement which he desired and returned to Dayton, where he took a thorough course in stenography and typewriting.

When this course was completed, in October, 1884, Mr. Theobald entered the employ of the National Cash Register company. His career since that time has shown what can be accomplished by hard work, steady application and a conscientious endeavor to do one's best under all circumstances.  For two years Mr. Theobald served as a stenographer. At the end of that time his ability was recognized to such an extent that he was practically made corresponding secretary of the company, all of the correspondence being under his charge. In June, 1891, Mr. Theobald was elected general secretary of the company, which position he has since held, yet in addition to the duties of that place Mr. Theobald has devoted much time and work to the advancement of the company's interests in other directions. About two years ago he temporarily left his work as secretary, and with the president of the company devoted himself to reorganizing the factory, and, as a result of their work, the factory of the National Cash Register company stands today as the model institution of its kind in the world. Mr. Theobald also spent some time in New York city organizing a sales agency for the company, but his most creditable work is the one which he has lately completed.

In the early summer of 1895, President John H. Patterson and Mr. Theobald went to Europe, where for sometime the company had done an irregular and somewhat unsatisfactory business. President Patterson remained but a short time and returned to America, leaving Mr. Theobald to execute the great work of organizing the European trade. The results of this work were shown at the recent international convention of the sales agents of the company which was held in October last. At this convention sales agents were present from France, Germany, England, Belgium, Holland and Denmark. The favorable impressions which they produced is emphasized by the fact that the orders from European territories have been quadrupled since Mr. Theobald crossed the water.

Mr. Theobald is again at the factory and actively employed as chairman of the executive committee, which, under the supervision of the president and vice-president, controls all this great business. Mr. Theobald was married on June 25,1890, to Miss Mary J. McCullough, of Dayton, daughter of Rev. P. M. McCullough, one of the old citizens. To this union one son, Robert R., was born December 7, 1891.

 

EVAN OWEN THOMAS, [pages 802-803] superintendent of markets of the city of Dayton, was born in Newport, Ky., February 7, 1836. His father, a native of Wales, was also named Evan Owen Thomas, and came from his native country to the United States in 1825. He was born in the year 1799 and learned the trade of weaver, becoming a practical factory hand in the old country. Upon arriving in the United States he located in Indianapolis, where he married Jane Mayes, widow of John Hamarman, who was born and reared near Delaware, Ohio. From Indianapolis they removed to Zanesville, Ohio, and thence to Newport, Ky., finally coining to Dayton, Ohio, in 1838, to take charge of what is now the Kratochwill mill. Mr. Thomas was not only a practical factory man, but was also a man of genius and an inventor of note. He died in Dayton in 1892, his wife having died some time before. They were the parents of eight children, five of whom are still living, and beside these eight the mother had three children by a former marriage.

Evan Owen Thomas, the subject of this sketch, was reared in Dayton, and was educated in the excellent public schools of that city. In September, 1861, he enlisted in company E, Fifty-ninth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, and served until mustered out November 1, 1864.  He was captured at Cynthiana, Ky., July 22, 1862, but after being a prisoner two days was paroled. In October, 1863, after the battle of Chickamauga, while guarding an ammunition train, he was again taken prisoner, but after three days was paroled at McMinnville, Tenn.

Having returned from the war Mr. Thomas began working on December 26, 1864, for the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad company as brakeman, was promoted to the position of conductor on a passenger train, and for twenty-eight years was in the employ of that company. On August 1, 1894, he was appointed superintendent of markets for Dayton and was re-appointed in 1895. Mr. Thomas is a member of the Old Guard post, No. 23, Grand Army of the Republic.

Mr. Thomas was married December 20, 1854, to Isabella Marshall, of Newport, Ky. To this marriage there have been born four children, as follows: Albert, superintendent of the Dayton Electric Light company; Mary, who died in her twenty-first year; John E., of Toledo, Ohio, and Evan Owen, who died when seven years of age. Mr. Thomas is a man of intelligence and integrity, and is discharging the responsible duties of his office with personal credit and to the approval of the people of the city.

 

HENRY E. THOMAS, [pages 803-804] chief guide at the national military home, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Medford, Burlington county, N. J., July 16, 1846, and is a son of Jacob and Eliza (Yost) Thomas, of whom the former was born in Lancaster county, Pa., in 1800, and the latter in New Jersey in 1802. They were the parents of five children, born in the following order: Esther, now Mrs. Hollingsworth and residing in Camden, N. J.; Jacob, who served in the Tenth New Jersey volunteer infantry three years, and died in a southern prison pen after his term of enlistment had expired; Stephen, who served one year in the navy in the late war, and then for nine months in the Thirty-third New Jersey infantry; George, who served three years in the New Jersey cavalry, is living in Clayton, N. J., and Henry E., twin of George.

Henry E. Thomas enlisted February 5, 1862, in company I, Second Pennsylvania heavy artillery, served three years, five months and twenty days, and took part in many of the severest engagements of the Civil war.  He was attached to the Sixth army corps, and fought through the Wilderness, at Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg (battles and sieges, was at the mine explosion in front of Petersburg, and on September 29, 1864, was shot through the right shoulder and left leg at the battle of Chapin's farm, being so severely wounded as to incapacitate him for further military duty. June 29, 1865, he was honorably discharged by reason of his wounds and has ever since been a pensioner.  His father died in 1861, and, upon his discharge, Henry returned to the home of his mother, who survived until July 3, 1873.  Mr. Thomas worked in rolling-mills at various points until 1886, when he came to the national military home near Dayton, where he has ever since been employed at light work, and for the past two years has filled the position of chief guide. This office is intended to gratify the curiosity of visitors and. sight-seers, and Mr. Thomas is called upon to acquaint many hundreds with the beauties and interesting features of this unrivaled institution.

In January, 1894, Mr. Thomas married Mrs. Ella Craft, a native of Saint Louis, Mo.; he has a pleasant home, purchased almost wholly with savings from his pension. He is an honored member of encampment No. 145, Union Veteran Legion, of Dayton, votes the republican ticket, adheres to the Methodist religion, in which he was reared, and enjoys the sincere regard of all who know him.

 

ALBERT THOMAS, [pages 804-805] superintendent of the Dayton Electric Light company, was born in Clermont county, Ohio, June 26, 1856, and is a son of Evan Owen Thomas, one of the old and well known residents of Dayton, and who is at the present time city market master. Evan Owen Thomas brought his wife and family to Dayton in 1861, having previously for many years been a conductor on the Dayton & Michigan railroad, his family residing either at Lima or at Toledo, according to the convenience and interest of Mr. Thomas. It was in the public schools of Toledo, Lima and Dayton that Albert received his education. While the family was living at Lima he began his career in railroading, taking a position as brakeman on the passenger train of which his father was conductor. At this time he was but thirteen years of age. After a short experience in this line he entered the grammar school at Toledo, then under the management of S. C. Crumbaugh, who had been a teacher in Dayton. Still later he attended the public schools in Toledo, afterward returning to the railroad as brakeman. In course of time he was promoted to a position as fireman on a locomotive under Master Mechanic John Black at Lima. This position he held for five years and eleven months, and at the end of this period was promoted to the position of locomotive engineer on the Dayton & Michigan railroad. After two years' service in this capacity on that railroad, he accepted a similar position on the Nickel Plate railroad, then fn course of construction, remaining on this road as an engineer for fifteen months.

Retiring from railroad life, he came to Dayton and established himself in the retail grocery business, which he conducted for three years, and then took a place as stationary engineer with the Troy Laundry company, remaining with this concern for about two years and a half.  Upon the erection of the Dayton Electric Light company's plant in 1887, he became chief engineer for that company, and at the end of two years was promoted to the position of superintendent, which office he still retains. Thus it will be seen that steady promotion has been the history of the life of Mr. Thomas, which can have been the result only of faithfulness and efficiency in the several positions he has filled.

Mr. Thomas is a member of lola lodge, No. 83, Knights of Pythias; of lola division, uniform rank; of Earnshaw camp, Sons of Veterans; of the Knights of the Ancient Essenic Order, and of Mystic lodge, No. 403, F. & A. M.  He was married October 23, 1877, to Miss Maggie Kirby, youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Kirby, old citizens of Dayton. To this marriage there have been born four children, as follows: Mary, Isabella, Arthur and Albert 0. Both sons died while young. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are members of the First Baptist church of Dayton, which was organized May 29, 1824.

 

REV. HENRY ADAMS THOMPSON, D. D., LL. D., [pages 805-806] of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Center County, Pa., March 23, 1837, and traces his paternal descent to an old family of Tyrone, Ireland, the American branch of which was founded by his great-grandfather.

John Thompson, the father of Henry A., was also a native of Center county, Pa., and was born May 13, 1798. He was early left an orphan and was reared by a Quaker, family, whose religious tenets he adopter as his own. He became a leading man in his. county and served two terms as its sheriff, .being a democrat in his politics and strongly anti-slavery. He married Miss Lydia Blake, who was born March 19, 1799, and died in the Methodist faith May 7, 1871, the mother of twelve children, while his own death occurred January 22, 1876, near the place where he was born. Of their children, three died in infancy; of the nine that grew to maturity, six are still living.

Henry Adams Thompson, having been fully prepared by a common-school and academic training in his own county, entered Jefferson college, at Cannonsburg, Pa. (now Washington & Jefferson college), in 1856, and in 1858 graduated with the degree of bachelor of arts. He then entered the Western Theological seminary, of Allegheny City, Pa., where he studied for two years. In 1861 he was made professor of mathematics in Western college, Iowa, and in 1872 became president of Otterbein university, at Westerville, Ohio —which dignified position he held for fourteen years.   In 1873 his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of D. D., and that of LL. D. was conferred, in 1886, by the Westfield (Ill.) college. He has rendered much valuable service to his church, and was its delegate to the Methodist Ecumenical Conference held in London, England, at which he read a paper on the "Training of Children in Sunday-school and Church." Dr. Thompson has also devoted much of his time and talents to matters educational, outside of his profession. He delivered the dedicatory address of the Union Biblical seminary, organized the board of education within the church, designed to aid in preparing young men for the ministry; he has occupied the position of associate editor of the Sunday-school literature of the church since May, 1893, and in this line contributes to Our Bible Teacher, Our Bible Lesson Quarterly, Our Intermediate Quarterly, The Children's Friend, Lessons for the Little Ones, etc.  In addition to this labor, he has found time to prepare a work, which will soon be published under the title of Women of the Bible, which will, no doubt, add to his former reputation as editor and publisher of A Demand for an Educated Ministry, The Schools of the Prophets, Power of the Invisible, and Our Bishops.  Dr. Thompson has likewise written extensively for the religious and reform press, and his contributions to the latter upon temperance topics have led him somewhat into politics. He was nominated by the prohibition party for lieutenant-governor of Ohio in 1874, was chairman of the national prohibition convention in 1876, was his party's candidate for governor in 1887, was on the ticket for vice-president in connection with Neal Dow in 1880, and has been chairman of the Ohio prohibition executive committee for many years.

In 1862 Rev. H. A. Thompson was united in the bonds of matrimony with Miss Harriet E. Copeland, a native of Galena, Ohio, and of New England descent.   Mrs. Thompson was educated at the Granville Female college, and was a trained artist and a teacher of drawing and painting in a female seminary near Cincinnati.  To the felicitous union of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have been born three children, viz:  Jessie Fremont, who graduated from Otterbein university and from the Woman's Medical college of Philadelphia, and is married to Charles L. Bogle, an attorney, formerly of Springfield, Ohio, but now located in New York city; Clara Barton, who was also educated at Otterbein university, and is now the wife of Walter B. Huffman, bookkeeper for the Singer Sewing Machine company in Dayton; and Louis Agassiz, also a graduate from Otterbein and now a student in his second year at the Bellevue Hospital Medical college, New York city.

Dr. Thompson is a profound scholar and is the possessor of a magnificent library, in which he passes much of his time with his books. He was one of the first members of the Ohio State Archaeological & Historical society, and has been a director thereof since its organization, in 1885; was the assistant secretary and aided largely in the preparation of the Ohio state exhibit at the late Columbian exposition, or world's fair, at Chicago, and has done much other public service in which erudition and sound judgment were essential factors.

 

WlLLIAM HENRY TOMLINSON, [pages 806-807] one of the recent additions to the distinguished bar of the city of Dayton, was born in that city January 28, 1861. He is a son of W. R. and Margaret (Needham) Tomlinson, both natives of Guilford county, N. C., who were taken early to Indiana by their parents, and there married, and removed to Dayton, Ohio, in 1860. Mrs. Margaret Tomlinson died August 20, 1895, in her seventy-fourth year, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Tomlinson was for a number of years a merchant in Indiana, following that branch of business with success; and he was also an influential member of the Indiana state bar. He is still living in Dayton and is in his seventy-second year.

William Henry Tomlinson was reared in Dayton, and received an excellent education in the schools of that city, attending first the elementary and grammar schools and graduating later from the Central high school in 1881. He was an honor pupil of his class, having assigned to him the salutatory oration. The year of his graduation was the first year of the honor pupil system. In the first part of the year 1882 he entered the law office of Hon. John A. McMahon, well known as having been for many years one of the leading and most able lawyers of the state, and remained there a student for two and a half years. Owing to ill health and other unfavorable circumstances, however, he did not continue his studies to the point of being admitted to the bar in 1884, as he otherwise would have done; but, instead, spent several years in other pursuits, having to earn his own living and assist others who were dependent upon him. Therefore he was not admitted to the bar until 1892. In 1890, however, he had been appointed mayor's clerk under the Hon. J. E. D. Ward, a position which he held for two years, or until April, 1892, when the office of mayor's clerk was abolished in Dayton, through the establishment by the general assembly of the police court. Of this court he was elected the first clerk in the city of Dayton by the largest majority of any candidate on the democratic ticket. This position he held for three years, and in April, 1895, he was nominated by the democratic party for the office of police judge, but was defeated by fifty-one votes, the candidates upon the ticket being defeated by majorities ranging from 1,000 to 1,600. The day following his defeat he rented an office, and, as soon as his term of office as clerk of the police court expired, entered upon the practice of the law.

Mr. Tomlinson is a Mason, a member of the Knights of Pythias, of the order of Foresters, of the Knights of the Golden Eagle, of the Improved Order of Red Men, of the Bicycle club and of the Comus club. He was married October 12, 1892, to Laura L. Thorniley, she being the daughter of Capt. T. Wallace Thorniley, of Gallipolis, Ohio. At present Mr. Tomlinson is a member of the board of elections. His career as above briefly narrated shows that he is one of Montgomery county's trusted citizens, and that he is popular outside of party lines.

 

CHARLES R. THOMAS, [pages 807-808] a successful grocer, located at No. 428 East Fifth street, was born on Fifth street, between Main and Jefferson streets, in what was then known as the Arnold row, Dayton, August 28, 1858. Arnold row stood on the present site of the Park theater. The father of Mr. Thomas was William H. Thomas, who was a native of Ohio. For a number of years he was a shoe dealer on Jefferson street, and his death occurred in Dayton in June, 1886, in his fifty-third year. His wife was Sarah Jane Ewing, a native of Indiana. She died in 1871 in her thirty-fifth year. She and her husband were the parents of four children. The eldest was Rev. William N; Thomas, a Baptist minister of Lewiston, Me., who was educated in the public school's of Dayton, and afterward at Dennison university, Granville, Ohio.  He completed his education at Hamilton college, a non-sectarian institution, established in 1822, and situated at Clinton, Oneida county, N. Y. After taking up his ministerial work he remained in the east. The other children were Hattie N., wife of George Bailey, of the Rike dry-goods house of Dayton; Charles R., and one who died in infancy.

Charles R. Thomas was reared in Dayton and received his education in the public schools of this city. At the age of fourteen years he found employment in a grocery store, and afterward at various occupations until his seventeenth year, when he began working in a printing office. At the age of eighteen he began an apprenticeship at the printer's trade, serving three years; but after completing .his apprenticeship he decided not to follow that calling. For three years he was occupied as a confectioner, then became engaged with G. Durst in the grocery business, which he purchased from his employer after eight years' service.  Under Mr. Thomas' careful management his business has been marked with much success.

In the spring of 1894 Mr. Thomas was elected from the Second ward as a republican to the board of education for a term of two years. He is a member of Dayton lodge, No. 273, I. 0. 0. F., and of the Earnshaw camp of the Sons of Veterans, his father having served in the late Civil war as a member of company G, Second regiment, Ohio national guard, under Capt. W. H. Wells. He served three years and was mustered out of the service May 1, 1866.

On February 20, 1884, Mr. Thomas was married in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Miss Josie Rome, who was born in Germantown, Montgomery county, Ohio, August 28, 1861, and is a daughter of A. F. and Sarah (Coombs) Rome. Her father was a native of Germany, and at twelve years of age came to the United States with an aunt. Mr. Rome's father was one of the king's officers, and in 1876 came to visit his sons in this country, where he died. The father of Mrs. Thomas located in Montgomery county, when he came to the United States, but later removed to Cincinnati, where for years he has followed the cigar and tobacco business.

To Mr. and Mrs. Thomas there have been born two children, as follows: Ada Jane, born April 15, 1885, and Charles Russell, born March 12, 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are members of the First Baptist church, which was organized May 29, 1824. They reside in a comfortable home at No. 800 West Fifth street, and enjoy the respect and confidence of all their friends and neighbors.

 

JOSEPH ROBB THOMSON, [page 808] justice of the peace of Dayton, Ohio, was born in Logan county, Ohio, August 3, 1833, of Scotch ancestry.  He was reared on a farm and attended the common district school, but not more than two months in a year, that being the length of the school-year when he was a boy.   Remaining on the farm until he was twenty-one years of age, he then attended a select school in Union county, Ohio, for one term, and afterward graduated from Bryant, Stratton & Felton's Commercial college in Cleveland, Ohio.

Almost immediately after arriving at his majority, he began to learn the carpenter's trade, and having completed his apprenticeship he began business for himself, and continued to follow his trade until the breaking out of the war, when he enlisted in Union county, Ohio, in company H, Eighty-second regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, on November 22, 1861. He remained in the service about one year, being then discharged on account of an injury received in the line of his duty.  Returning to his home, and having sufficiently recovered from his injury, he taught two terms of school; but finding that profession unsuited to his taste, he engaged in other business, subsequently going on the road as traveling agent for a boot and shoe house located in Dayton, which position he held for four and a half years, and for a year and a half thereafter he was similarly employed by a Cincinnati boot and shoe house. Then, on account of the ill health of his family, he retired from the road and engaged in contracting and building, for which his early experience had well fitted him. This occupation he followed for ten years, and in that time over 200 buildings in Dayton were constructed by him, among them some of the best in the city. Retiring from the building business, he engaged in buying and selling real estate, continuing thus engaged until 1894, when he was elected justice of the peace for Dayton. This position he now holds.

For thirty years Mr. Thomson has been a .member of the Masonic fraternity, for forty years a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and of the Grand Army of the Republic for many years.  He was married February 12, 1860, to Almira A. Davis, a daughter of Dr. A. S. Davis, of Summerville, Ohio.   In politics he is a republican, and assisted in the organization of the party in his township.  He was judge at the first election held in his township in which the republican party took any interest, and he deposited the first republican ballot cast in that township.

He has served as a member of the Dayton board of education, and in his present responsible position is most industrious and painstaking.  He holds and deserves the good opinion of the members of the bar as well as of litigants who come into his court.

 

SAMUEL D. TRONE, [pages 808-810] plasterer and contractor, of 447 May street, Dayton, Ohio, was born. in York county, Pa., December 5, 1840. His parents, John and Caroline (Melhorn) Trone, were natives of Pennsylvania. They were the parents of five children, three of whom are still living, as follows: Cyrus, Mary and Samuel D.

John Trone, the father, was a cooper by trade, and followed this calling all his life until he retired from active labor in 1884. He died in his native town, Hanover, Pa., in February, 1896, at eighty-five years of age. His wife died December 25, 1889, when she was seventy-nine. Mrs. Trone was a member of the Lutheran church, though both she and her husband attended the Methodist Episcopal church.

Jacob Trone, paternal grandfather of Samuel D., was of Scotch descent, but a native of Pennsylvania.  By trade and occupation he was a cabinetmaker and undertaker. He reared a large family of children, eleven in number, and died in 1859, when sixty-eight years of age. The maternal grandfather, Andrew Melhorn, lived and died in Adams county, Pa. He was also of German descent and a cabinetmaker by trade.

Samuel D. Trone was reared in Hanover, York county, Pa. In the early part of the Civil war he enlisted in company G, One Hundred and Sixty-fifth Pennsylvania volunteer infantry, and served eleven months as corporal of his company. He was slightly wounded at the battle of Fair Oaks and Black Water. Beside the above-named, he was in the battles of White House Landing, Sussex, Franklin, Suffolk, Va., and many other minor engagements and. skirmishes.

After the war he returned to his home and for a time worked at his trade, that of plasterer, and in 1867 came to Dayton, where he has ever since been engaged as a plastering contractor. August 16, 1860, he married Miss Susan Heiss, daughter of Samuel and Lydia (Stabley) Heiss, of York county, Pa. To this marriage there have been born eight children, four sons and four daughters, as follows: Sarah, John, Anna, Carrie, William, George, Charles and Susie. The last named died in infancy; Sarah married J. W. Mclntyre, of Cincinnati, and has one daughter, Irma; John, who has charge of the Smith & Vaile Manufacturing company's works, married Miss Carrie Dady, and has three children, viz : Edward, John and Eugene ; Carrie married Frank Young, of Piqua, Ohio ; William married Sarah Reigel, and has one child, Lowell.

Mr. and Mrs. Trone are members of the Lutheran church. He is a member of the American Insurance Union and of the American Mechanics. He belongs to the Old Guard post, No. 23, G. A. R., and is, in politics, a republican. For two years Mr. Trone represented the Seventh ward in the city council. When he first located in Dayton he was for some thirteen years foreman for Daniel Slentz, and thereafter, for seven years, the two men were in partnership. For the past eight years he has been in business for himself. In 1875 he erected his present substantial and comfortable residence. While Mr. Trone does all kinds of plastering, he makes a specialty of ornamental plastering and terra cotta work. He is a stockholder and director in the Dayton Lumber & Manufacturing company. Beside his immediate interests in Dayton he is largely interested in the fruit business in Georgia and Kentucky, being a member of five different companies, as follows : The Albaugh company ; the Ohio Fruit Land company; the Diamond Fruit company, of which he is president ; the Kentucky River Fruit company, and the Woodstock Fruit company, of which he is treasurer. The first three companies have, in the aggregate, 3,200 acres of land, and the last two, 500 acres. These 3,700 acres of land have on them more than a quarter million trees. One pear orchard alone contains 10,000 trees. The fruit is shipped principally to New York, and in 1895 there were shipped as many as nineteen car loads in a day. When the season is favorable the business done by these five companies is very large, and correspondingly profitable. Mr. Trone has always been fortunate and successful, and is a man whose integrity of character has earned for him the confidence of all who know his true worth.

 

THOMAS EDWARD TUCKER, [page 810] president of the Gem City Boiler company, was born in Buffalo, N. Y., in 1864, the son of Thomas Tucker. While he was yet a child his parents removed to Erie, Pa., and there he was reared, receiving his education in the public schools and later entering the Northeast college, in that state, where he completed a course of study and graduated with honors.   Immediately after leaving college, with a view to acquiring that practical knowledge which he believed would best fit him for a successful career, he secured employment in a boiler manufactory in Erie, and devoted himself earnestly and intelligently to learning the trade. He made rapid progress in his chosen field of endeavor, and soon secured promotion to a responsible position as foreman of the Pennsylvania Boiler works at Erie, which place he retained from 1888 until 1892. In this year he came to Dayton, and upon his arrival in this city associated himself with the Brownell company in the work of contracting for and superintending the erection of stand-pipes for water works systems, being thus concerned until the fall of 1895, when he organized the enterprise with which he is now identified as president and which has been pushed forward to notable success within a short time. In this business he is associated with F. D, Morrison, who is secretary and treasurer of the corporation.  Both interested principals are practical and scientific experts in their line, and are able to pass judgment on every production of the establishment. All departments of the business are under their direct supervision, their principal output comprising boilers and standpipes.

The plant of the Gem City Boiler company is located at the corner of Third and Montgomery streets, and in its mechanical accessories and equipments it has a capacity for turning out the very best class of work with dispatch. It affords employment to a corps of about sixty skilled workmen, and is in operation night and day in order to meet ever increasing demands. It is equipped with the latest and most approved mechanical devices for expediting the work of production, and is located on the line of the Pennsylvania railroad, so that its shipping facilities are unexcelled. The enterprise is young in years, but is forging rapidly to the front and its projectors and operators are recognized as young men of business sagacity and integrity, whose success is the just reward of steady application and well-directed efforts.

Mr. Tucker's parents still reside in Erie, Pa., as do also their other children, there having been six in the family.   Mr. Tucker traces his lineage to pure Irish sources, though the family history is one of long and close identification with American interests.

In his fraternal relations Mr. Tucker is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Dayton lodge, No. 58; and of the A. S. of C.

 

FRED L. TURNER, [pages 810-811] instructor upon the banjo, mandolin and guitar, Dayton, Ohio, was born in Syracuse, N. Y., December 17, 1864, a son of Chauncey B, and Marial (Horton) Turner. The father was a minister of the gospel and died at the age of forty-two years, and the mother soon followed, expiring from the shock occasioned by her husband's death, which occurred about 1868. Their three sons, thus early bereft of parental care, were soon separated and were reared by relatives. The eldest, Charles W., was an artist by natural endowment, and is now married and living in Chicago, Ill., while Frank, the second born, is located in Seattle, Wash.

Fred L. Turner was only four years of age when he lost his parents, but he had the good fortune to fall under the care of Philonzo H. Palmer and wife, whom he remembers with feelings of gratitude for their unselfish kindness. Under their roof in Syracuse he was reared to manhood, and through them received his education. He had early manifested a taste for music, and in 1886 became a student under competent instructors, until he developed into an expert performer on the instruments of his choice. In the meantime he had found employment in the aligning room of the Smith Premier Typewriter factory, and continued in that occupation and in his musical studies until he came to Dayton, in 1895. Here he has since devoted his entire attention to the teaching of the use of the instruments named at the opening of this notice, being the only professional instructor in their use in this city. He has a large number of pupils and has established himself in a substantial and rapidly growing business,

Mr. Turner was united in marriage April 4, 1893, with Miss Clara Van Duyne, a native of Syracuse, N. Y., where she had always lived until coming to Dayton.   Her parents are Henry Eugene and Augusta C. (Fisher) Van Duyne, and still reside in Syracuse, the father having passed the greater part of his life in the ministry. Beside Mrs. Turner they have two other children—both residents of Syracuse— viz: Ada F., married to Robert Rowe, and Arthur H., an electrician. Mrs. Clara Turner is also an accomplished musician, and as an assistant to her husband in his professional work has proven to be invaluable.

Mr. and Mrs. Turner worship in the faith of the Baptist church, and in politics Mr. Turner is a republican. They have gained many friends during their residence in Dayton, and their reputation as teachers of music is thoroughly deserved.

 

JAMES C. TURNER, [pages 811-812] a well-known accountant and bookkeeper, of Dayton, Ohio, is a native of this city and was born April 15, 1841, a son of William and Mary (Stockel) Turner, both natives of Kidderminster, England.

William Turner, the father, was born in 1801, came to America in 1834, locating in Dayton in 1836, and was the first superintendent of the first ingrain carpet factory erected west of the Alleghany mountains. About 1846 he went into the business on his own account and conducted it until his death, which occurred in 1861, in Dayton, in which city his wife also died. These parents had born to them a family of eight children, five of whom are still living, viz: Hannah, now Mrs. Montgomery, of Rochester, N. Y.; Jane, wife of Andrew Chamberlain, of Dayton, Ohio; James C.; Richard, employed in the carriage manufacturing business in Dayton, and Frances, wife of Isaac Moore, of the same city; the deceased children were named John H. (the eldest), William and Samuel, all of whom died in Dayton.

James C. Turner passed his youthful days in attending school and working in his father's factory. When President Lincoln, issued his first call for volunteers for the Civil war, April 15, 1861, Mr. Turner enlisted, but the quota for three-months men had already been filled; in 1862, however, he succeeded in enlisting in company I, Eighty-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, was mustered in at Camp Chase, and soon afterward promoted to be orderly sergeant of his company. The regiment was assigned to Gen. Wool's division, was first stationed at Cumberland, Md., on guard duty, and five months later was ordered to New Creek, Va., and thence to Camp Delaware, Ohio, where, four months later, it was mustered out. Sergeant Turner received a commission as first lieutenant, with authority to reorganize the company, but, through political chicanery, was superceded, and, as a consequence, he resigned and quit the service. On his return to Dayton he was employed by the United States Express company, which he served in various capacities until 1891, with the exception of two years—1882-84—which were spent as teller of the City National bank, of Dayton.

Lieut. Turner was united in marriage, August 18, 1864, with Miss Aldah H. Snevely, daughter of Capt. Christ and Sarah A. Snevely, early settlers of Dayton—the Snevely family, having been represented in the war of 1812. To this happy marriage have been born four children: Catherine, who is unmarried and. is stenographer for the American Strawboard company, at Chicago, Ill.; Idelette, a young lady of recognized musical and literary ability, and a teacher in the Dayton public schools; Joseph Brown, employed as clerk in Dayton, and Robert H., attending school in the city.

In his fraternal relations Mr. Turner stands very high in the Masonic order, having attained the thirty-second degree, which is next to the highest under the Scottish rite; he is also active in the Knight Templar degree—the uniform rank of the same brotherhood. Lieut. Turner is likewise a member of Old Guard post, Grand Army of the Republic.  Religiously, the relations of Mr. Turner and his family are with the Episcopalians, while in politics Mr. Turner is quite independent, although his proclivities are strongly democratic. The health of Mr. Turner is indifferent, and when employed his labors must necessarily be of a light character. For the past six months he has acted as accountant for the plumbing establishment of W. T. Stewart, and, being an expert, is never unemployed in his calling when his health permits him to labor.  His father's family and that of Mrs. Turner's having been among the earlier residents of Dayton, he is prominent in social circles, and has, beside, won many warm personal friends through his own intrinsic merits.

 

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