(page 687)

 

CHAPTER XXIX.

 

Biographical Sketches-Eliam E. Barney-Eugene J. Barney-Thomas Brown-John R. Brownell-William Dickey-Robert R. Dickey-William P. Huffman-George P. Huffman-Stephen J. Patterson-Thomas A. Phillips-George Levis Phillips-Louis H. Poock-John Rouzer-E. Fowler Stoddard-Edmond S. Young.

 

            ELIAM E. BARNEY was the son of Benjamin Barney, a native or E Guilford, Vermont, and Nancy Potter, of Massachusetts. Benjamin Barney was an active friend to education and one of the principal movers in founding Union Academy, at Belleville, Jefferson County, New York.

            Both Benjamin Barney and his wife were earnest and active members of the Baptist Church during their entire lives. Eliam E. Barney, the subject of this sketch, was the oldest of eleven children, and was born at Henderson, New York, October 17, 1807. Young Eliam's father was exceedingly solicitous that he should receive an education that should f it him for any station in life which he might be called upon to fill. He was partly educated at Lowville, Lewis County, and afterward became one of the first pupils in Union Academy, at Belleville, in the same State. He made such rapid advancement that he was able when eighteen years old to help himself by teaching school in the winter season, and in this way he continued his studies until ftted to enter the sophomore class of Union College, Schenectady, which was then under the presidency of the celebrated Dr. Eliphalet Nott. From this college he graduated in 1831, and after teaching a short time at Sand Lake, New York, he became Principal of Lowville Academy, remaining in that position two years and meeting with great success. Ill the fail of 1833 he came to Ohio, and taught six months in Granville (now Dennison) University, in the place of Professor Drury, who had been elected, but had not arrived. In the spring of 1834 lie came to Dayton and found employment as Principal of the Dayton Academy, which stood on the ground now occupied by the high School, and remained at the head of that academy until 1838. On account of failing health he then retired from the teacher's profession and engaged in the lumber business, which he carried on successfully until 1845, when he again entered his early employment, and became Principal of Cooper Academy, and continued in that position until 1851. He established, with Ebenezer Thresher, the Dayton Car Works, a history of which may be found in the chapter devoted to the manufacturing (page 688) interests of the city. Besides the car works, Mr. Barney was interested in several other business enterprises. He was a director and Vice-president of the Second National Bank of this city, a director of the Wisconsin Central Railroad, and was President of the Cooper Hydraulic Company.

            Some years previous to his death he became greatly interested in the cultivation of the catalpa tree for timber. By means of correspondence, communications to the newspapers, and pamphlets, he awakened a widespread interest in the subject, the result of which has been that large numbers of these trees are now being cultivated. He was for many years prominently connected with the First Baptist Church of Dayton, and for some twenty years a member of the board of trustees of Dennison University, at Granville, Ohio. This university, in consideration of his lifelong patronage of learning, conferred upon him the honorary degree of doctor of laws. He contributed fifty thousand dollars to endow two memorial professorships in this institution.

            Mr. Barney was married October 10, 1834, to Julia Smith, daughter of Dudley Smith, of Galway, Saratoga County, New York. They were the parents of six children. Mr. Barney's death occurred December 17, 1880, and he was buried in Woodland Cemetery.

            EUGENE J. BARNEY, President of the Barney & Smith Manufacturing Company, was born in Dayton, Ohio, February 12, 1839. His education was limited to that received at the common and high schools. At the age of fifteen he entered the class of 1858 of Rochester University, but left college during the last term of the sophomore year, having, after persistent efort, induced his father to grant him permission to enter business. At the age of seventeen he entered the ofice of Rufus Dutton, a manufacturer of agricultural implements. At the age of twenty he took the general agency of a new cotton press for the States of Tennessee and Mississippi, and for three years was successfully engaged in introducing it throughout the South. Coming North, in 1860, he entered the Ohio Valley Bank, of Cincinnati, Ohio, as a clerk. During his connection with this large banking house, he was sent on important business to different parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee. At the end of two years he entered a banking house in Chicago. In February, 1862, he was married to Miss Belle Huffman, eldest daughter of W. P. Huffman, Esq., of Dayton. He was in business in Cincinnati for several years after his marriage, and removed to Dayton in 1866. Having saved several thousand dollars from the various enterprises in which he had been engaged, he purchased the interest of S. F. Woodsum in the firm of Barney, Smith & Company, now incorporated as the Barney & Smith (page 689) Manufacturing Company. In a year or two lie was appointed superintendent of the works, and upon Mr. Smith's retiring, on account of ill-health, he was made vice-president and superintendent. In 1880, after the death of his father, he was made president of the company, and has held the position ever since. Mr. Barney was a member of the First Regular Baptist Church of Dayton for some twenty years, and since then of the Linden Avenue Baptist Church. He is now president of the Barney & Smith Manufacturing Company, of the Dayton Manufacturing Company, and of the Cooper Hydraulic Company, and is a director of the Fourth National Batik, of the Union Safe Deposit Company, and of the Columbia Insurance Company, the Dayton Street Railroad Company, the Wisconsin Contral Railroad Company, and the Piqua and Troy Railroad Company. It will thus be seen that Mr. Barney is one of the most active, as he is one of the most successful, of Dayton's younger class of business men.

            THOMAS BROWN was born in the village of Mannahawkin, Monmouth County (now Ocean County), New Jersey, April 10, 1800. His father, Clayton Brown, was the son of Captain Samuel Brown, son of John, son of Abraham, son of Zebulon. The latter never left England, Abraham being the frst of the family who emigrated. Tradition says he went first to New England, but of this there is no certain knowledge. In 1709, he was settled in Burlington County, New Jersey, with his family of four children and three Indian servants. Of the descendants of this Abraham, some remained about the home of their ancestor in Burlington County, and some are there to this day. The grandson, Samuel, from whom descended Thomas, removed to the eastern shore of New Jersey; first to Forked River, and later, in 1792, to Mannahawkin, where he built a home, which at this date (1889) is still standing in good condition, and is owned and occupied by one branch of the Brown family. It was at this home that Thomas spent some of his childhood days. His parents had moved to Burlington County, New Jersey, in 1802, but at Mannahawkin lived, not only his paternal, but his maternal grandparents. His father, Clayton Brown, had married Thirza Haywood, daughter of William and Sarah (Randolph) Haywood. At the tender age of four years, Thomas was left with his kindred at Mannahawkin to attend the village school, but anxious as the child was to learn, he could not very long endure separation from his mother, and became so homesick that he was obliged to be taken home, He entered at once the school at Lumberton, a village near his parents' home, and must have had a very good teacher, or have been a remarkable boy; for, at the age of twelve, he had mastered arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and mensuration. A blank book, long in possession of his children, but recently lost by accident, contained (page 690) the demonstration of problems neatly written out, with figures accurately drawn, and on its pages the name, "Thomas Brown, 1811," probably the time he began the study of geometry. He was not only ahead of all the boys of his age in mathematics, but was always at the head of his class in spelling, and was usually placed upon a stool because lie was so much smaller than all the others in his class, After his twelfth year, all the education he received was at night schools and through his own efforts at self-improvement. At the age of twelve he was sent to a cousin in Philadelphia, and there apprenticed to a builder. Fie at once arranged to attend a night school, and took with him the first night his algebra and geometry, telling the teacher lie would like to review his mathematics. The teacher looked at him, evidently thinking the boy (lid not know what he was talking about, and said, "Mathematics! What do you know about mathematics?" Thomas told him what lie had studied, but the teacher was still incredulous, and gave him a "sum" in the "rule of three," telling him to give him the answer. The boy quickly gave him the correct answer, and was then given an example in "square root." This was also soon solved, as was also one in "cube root." Then the teacher thought he would certainly puzzle the youngster by giving him a problem in geometry, and gave him the two sides of a right angled triangle to find the hypotenuse. To the astonishment of the dominie, Thomas speedily gave the correct demonstration of the problem, and was told that he knew already as much of mathematics as he could learn at that school. He, therefore, took up other branches. As he was quick at his books, so lie was quick to learn all the details of the trade he set out to learn, and before the term of his apprenticeship expired he purchased his time, and was free to go into business for himself. He relates with interest many incidents of his life in Philadelphia. Among other things, lie tells of the part he took in throwing up defenses west of the Schuylkill, at the time the British had taken Washington, were marching to Baltimore, and threatening Philadelphia. In 1820, Thomas Brown, with a friend near his own age, started west to join his two brothers, who were in Lebanon, Ohio. They expected to find some conveyance, but failed to do so, and walked on to Pittsburg, thinking there to obtain transportation on some boat going down the Ohio; but the river was low, and no boats were going down, so on the young men tramped, and reached Lebanon, Ohio, after two weeks, having walked all the way from Philadelphia. In Lebanon he -pursued his business of builder.

            In 1825, the subject of this sketch moved to Xenia, having a number of contracts there for the building of dwellings, business houses, and a (page 691) church. In 1828, Mr. Brown made another move, this time to Dayton, which has since been his home, with the exception of a couple of years spent in Indiana.

            Mr. Brown was a member of the first school board organized tinder the free-school law; he was a member of the general assembly for two terms; was a director of the State prison from 184 to 1851; and was one of the lessees of the public works, under the law of 1861. Prior to 1851 he was a contractor and builder, and erected many buildings, both public and private, in Montgomery County and elsewhere in the State. From 1851 to 1866 lie was engaged in various enterprises, and in the latter year purchased all interest in the firm of S. N. Brown & Company, of which his son, S. N. Brown, is the leading member. Shortly afterward the firm became a corporation, and Thomas Brown was chosen president, a position which he retains to the present time. In politics, Mr. Brown was first a Federalist, then it National Republican, then a Whig, and last a Republican. lie cast his sixteenth vote for President of the United States for James G. Blaine, and his seventeenth for Benjamin Harrison. He has always been known for his unselfish life, for the sterling worth of his character, and for his Christian integrity. He has also always been a man of public spirit, fully up with the times, and at the front in all public enterprises. In manner, he appears a gentleman of the old school, and in conversation, always entertaining, accurate, and dignified. In 1824, Mr. Brown married Sarah Groome Brown, widow of his brother James. Sarah Groome was the daughter of John Groome and Susanna Brant, the former of London, England, afterward of Chatham, New Jersey. She was born in 1790 in Chatham, New Jersey, and came West with her parents in 1794, to Columbia, Hamilton County, Ohio. In 1816, she married James Brown, in Lebanon, Ohio, who died in 1820, leaving her with two children. After the death of his brother James, Thomas Brown devoted himself to the care and comfort of his sister-in-law and her children, and formed an attachment for her that resulted in it married life full of happiness. In 1874, Mr. and Mrs. Brown celebrated in a delightful manner their golden wedding. Mrs. Brown lived to the advanced age of ninety-four years and one month, dying August 24, 1884. She retained her physical strength and mental faculties to a most remarkable degree. Of artistic tastes and untiring industry her own home and those of her friends were beautified by the works of her hands, dainty and deft after four score years of activity. Of bright and gentle ways, she was a social favorite with young and old. She was an unswerving Christian, a devoted Methodist from childhood, and until near her death a regular attendant upon the church services.

            (pages 692) The children of Thomas and Sarah Groome Brown are Ellen, Samuel Nixon, Charles Randolph, and Caroline. Samuel Nixon Brown married, in 1856, Eleanor Dana Holden, and had the following children: Charles Haywood, Miles Randolph, Harvey Blanchard, Persis Louise, Marlay, Whitney, Sarah Belle, Paul, and Eleanor Nixon. Of these, Miles Randolph, Harvey Blanchard, Persis Louise, and Marlay died in childhood. Charles Haywood married, in December, 1875, Ada Lillie Bennett, and had children as follows: Maria, Haywood, Charlotte, Thirza Cutler, Persis Estabrook, and Lucretia Embly. Of these, Persis E. died in infancy. Sarah Belle, daughter of Samuel, married, in October, 1888, Frank Fowler. Charles Randolph, son of Thomas and Sarah Brown, married, in 1868, Garaphilia Thorndyke Lenion, and had children as follows: Samuel Herbert and Roy. All the descendants of Thomas Brown live in Dayton, excepting Charles R. and family.

            JOHN R. BROWNELL was born in Fulton County, New York, July 7, 1839. His father was Frederick Brownell, and his mother Mrs. Ann (Dolly) Brownell, both natives of Fulton County, New York. Frederick Brownell was a tanner and currier by trade, and served as a soldier in the war of 1812, and was stationed at Sackett's Harbor with General Brown; and six uncles of Mrs. Brownell also served their country in that war. Mr. Brownell moved with his family to Lower Sandusky, near Fremont, Ohio, in 1842, and there worked at his trade until his death, August 7, 1851. Mrs. Brownell died in 1882. They were the parents of eleven children, the eldest of whom died in infancy, and seven of whom are living. The sons living are Charles P., Elijah H., Frederick, and John R. Brownell, and the daughters living are Mrs. Phebe Ann Vannatter, Mrs. Jane Phelps, and Mrs. Samantha M. Smith, all of Fulton County, New York. Mrs. Elizabeth Zimmerman died in 1886, and Mrs. Berintha C. Tracy died in 1865. James H. Brownell died in 1876. The subject of this sketch was the youngest of the family. After his father removed to Fremont he attended schools in the winter time for several years, and the first year after his father's death worked at Green Springs one winter for his board, at the same time attending school. Further educational advantages were denied him, and from that time on he was thrown upon his own resources for his own livelihood and success in life. During the year 1853 he served as a clerk in the store of W. T. and A. H. West, at Sandusky City. The next two years he spent on the steamer -Northern Indiana on Lake Erie, and in the fall of 1856 he came to Dayton and went to work for his brother, Elijah II. Brownell, at boiler making, remaining at this work until the fall of 1857. He then went to California, and worked at his trade in San Francisco for some time, and then went (page 693) to work in the mines. He returned to Dayton in January, 1861, and worked at his trade until August of that year, when he enlisted in the Twenty-second Ohio Volunteer Regiment as a private soldier, serving as such until 1863, when he was commissioned second lieutenant of Company K, commanding the company most of the time, and was mustered out as second lieutenant at the close of the war. He then returned to Dayton and went to work at the boiler making, machine and foundry business as a member of the firm of Brownell & Company, a history of which firm and its various changes may be found in the chapter devoted to the manufacturing interests of the city. Mr. Brownell has continued in the manufacture of boilers ever since, and has met with more than ordinary success. In 1874, he was elected a county commissioner of Montgomery and served three years. During the years 1881 and 1882 he was a member of the city council of Dayton, and in 1882 he was elected State senator and served one session. He has always been a Republican in politics, and is a member of Old Guard Post, Grand Army of the Republic.

            Mr. Brownell has been twice married, first in June, 1866, to Melvira J. Humphreys, daughter of Thomas Humphreys, of Urbana, Ohio. By his first wife he had one daughter, Anna, who at the age of six years, died in 1872, and Mrs. Brownell died during the same year. Mr. Brownell was married in the fall of 1875 to Miss Harriet Alice Smith, daughter of Abraham Smith, of Maryland. By this marriage be has four children, three daughters and one son. The daughters names are Carrie J., Alice J., and Mary L., and the son is named John R. Brownell, Jr.

            WILLIAM DICKEY was born August 10, 1805, near Middletown, Butler County, Ohio. He was the seventh in a family of eleven children, of whom only one, R. R. Dickey, whose sketch appears elsewhere, survives. Like the rest of the family, his facilities for the acquisition of a literary or scientific education were extremely meager; but also like them, he was early brought into contact with the world and inured to a life of labor, which taught him self-reliance, and gave him that practical knowledge, without which few men can make a success of life. Upon arriving at his majority, he took a contract for work on the Miami Canal, and he was subsequently engaged for several years in a similar capacity on the Ohio Canal. On April 19, 1832, he married Miss Sarah Van Cleve, daughter of Benjamin Van Cleve, of Butler County, and for some years was employed in farming, having a short time previous, in connection with his brother, purchased the homestead of his father. In April, 1839, he removed to Dayton, and became engaged successively in the (page 694) manufacture of brick, in contracts on the Miami Canal, and in quarrying limestone in the vicinity of the city. For a number of years he conducted a line of packet canal boats on the canal, between Cincinnati and Toledo, and between Toledo and Terre Haute, Indiana. During these years of business industry and activity, he amassed considerable capital, and in 1850, in company with Joseph Clegg and Daniel Beckel, he became a private banker. Subsequently he was one of the organizers of the Miami Valley Bank. He was one of the incorporators of the Dayton Gaslight and Coke Company, and was for about twenty years its president. He was also one of the organizers of the Ohio Insurance Company, in 1865, and was its president until his death. Mr. Dickey was a man of sound judgment, and was characterized by great kindness of heart, modest manners, and a quiet benevolence that never obtrudes itself upon the notice of the world. He was also distinguished by a sterling integrity, great caution and prudence, which combined with untiring industry, rendered his business career a gratifying success, and which also during his whole life made the transaction of business With him a pleasure to all. His death occurred July 15, 1880, leaving a wife, a son and two daughters. The daughters are Mrs. Henry C. Graves, of Dayton, and Mrs. Charles B. Oglesby, of Middletown, Ohio. The son, Samuel A. Dickey, was born in Dayton, March 16, 1840. He was one of Dayton's successful young business men, being for about seventeen years engaged in the wholesale and retail coal business. He was married October 12, 1865, to Miss Sarah E. Rayner, daughter of Lewis Hayner, of Troy, and died August 9, 1880.

            ROBERT R. DICKEY was born near Middletown, Ohio, October 26, 1816. He is the son of Adam and Mary ( McKee) Dickey. Adam Dickey was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1708, and came to the United States about 1784 and lived in or near McConnellstown, Peuusylvania, until 1799. Miss Mary McKee, who became Mrs. Adam Dickey, was born in Pennsylvania, and was a second cousin to General George Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Dickey removed from McConnellstown, Pennsylvania, to Cincinnati, then Fort Washington, Ohio, in 1799, with an uncle whose name was Doyle, in two flat boats built by Mr. Dickey, on which he brought down the Ohio River two four-Horse teams and two wagons. He lived in Cincinnati four years, and while there was engaged in making brick, making the brick for the first brick house erected in that place. In 1803, he removed to Butler County, Ohio, and settled near Middletown, where lie was engaged in farming, milling, and distilling, building his own flat boats and shipping his produce to New Orleans. Ile continued iii this business until his death, which occurred in 1828. Mrs. Dickey died in (page 695) 1844. Adam and Mary Dickey were the parents of eleven children-Sarah, Samuel, James, Elizabeth, John, Mary, William, Joseph, Adam, Alexander, and Robert R.

            Robert R. Dickey was the youngest of these eleven children. At the age of eleven years, through the death of his father, lie was thrown on his own resources. At this age he became employed in a brick yard, working fourteen hours a day, at four dollars and eighty-seven cents per month. Afterward lie worked upon a farm at five dollars per month. Under these circumstances his educational advantages were somewhat limited, but from contact with the world he acquired an accurate knowledge of men and the world in general which is invaluable in business, and which no amount of contact with books, literature, and science,- can give. He began work upon the public works of Ohio and Indiana in 1830 with his brothers, and at the age of seventeen was made superintendent of a large gang of men. In 1842, he became a resident of Dayton, and in connection with his brothers, John and William, was engaged in quarrying stone until 1853. In 1847, he was connected with the firm of        Dickey, Doyle & Dickey, in placing a line of packet boats on the Wabash & Erie Canal, and under the firm name of Doyle & Dickey built the reservoir lock at St. Mary's and the locks at Delphos. In 1845, he was one of the organizers of the Dayton. Bank, and was for several years one of its directors. In 1852, he became a partner in the Exchange Bank with Messrs. Jonathan Harshman, Valentine Winters, and J. R. Young. In 1853, he became one of the largest stockholders in the Dayton Gas Light and Coke Company, and has been a director in the company ever since. Ile served as president of the company from 1855 to 1858, retiring on account of ill-health, but at the election of 1880 was again elected president and holds the position at the present time. He was president of the Dayton & Western Railroad Company from 1854 to 1856, both years inclusive. lie was one of the organizers of the Dayton National Bank in 1865, and since 1868 has been one of its directors. Mr. Dickey was married June 27, 1850, to Miss Martha J. Winters, daughter of Valentine Winter, of Dayton. Mr. and Mrs. Dickey are the parents of three children, all sons. The two older ones were for several years engaged in the cattle business in Colorado. William W. Dickey, the elder son, died July 15, 1886, and since that time the second son, Valentine B. Dickey, has been largely engaged in the cattle business near Fort Worth, Texas, where he owns a large ranch, himself residing, however, in Chicago. Robert R. Dickey, Jr., the youngest son, is at the present time residing at home with his parents, having but recently graduated from Yale College, as a member of the class of 1888.

            (page 696) WILLIAM P. HUFFMAN was a native of Dayton, having been born here October 18, 1813. His grandfather, William, was of German descent, and his grandmother of English descent. They came to the United States from Holland, somewhere between 1730 and 1740, and settled in Monmouth County, New Jersey, where William Huffman, their son, was born, May 24, 1769. William Huffman was married June 14, 1801, to Miss Lydia Knott, who was also a native of Monmouth County, New Jersey, having been born there January 19, 1779. Mr. and Mrs. Huffman had five children, one son and four daughters, the son being William P. Huffman, the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Huffman died March 21, 1865, and Mr. Huffman. January 23, 1866. They had settled in Dayton several years before the birth of their son, William P. Huff= man, to whom they gave a good English education. After completing this English course of study, Mr. Huffman read law with Warren Munger, Sr., not, however, with the view of adopting the law as a profession, but as a means of being more thoroughly equipped for a successful business career. Early in 1837 he left the city and spent ten years in farming. At the close of this period, in the spring of 1848, he left the farm and was for the remainder of his life engaged in the banking, real estate business, and in extensive building operations. Among the local enterprises with which he was prominently connected were the Third Street Railway, Dayton and Springfield Turnpike, Cooper Hydraulic, and the Second National Bank. Of this bank he was one of the organizers and was afterward its president, as appears in the chapter on banking. Politically, Mr. Huffman was a War Democrat, but was not a strict partisan, principles being of more concern to him than any party. He was connected with the First Baptist Church until 1878, when he became a constituent member of the Linden Avenue Baptist Church. He was a trustee of Dennison University from 1867 until his death, which occurred July 2, 1888.

            Mr. Huffman was of clear and sound judgment, careful and reliable in business transactions. He was of sterling integrity and of moral worth. His influence was widely recognized in molding the Christian sentiment of the community and in forming a correct public opinion as to the value of morality and honesty in all dealings with our fellow man. Mr. and Mrs. Huffman were the parents of ten children, as follows: William Huffman, extensive stone dealer, of Dayton; Martha Belle, wife of E. J. Barney, of Dayton; Lydia H., wife of James R. Hedges,- of New York City; Charles T., who died at the age of thirty-four; Lizzie H., wife of Charles E. Drury, cashier of the Third National Bank; Samuel, who died in infancy; Torrence, vice-president of the Fourth National Bank (page 697) and president of the Union Safe Deposit and Trust Company; Frank T., county treasurer; George P., a sketch of whom is added hereto; and Anna M., unmarried and living at home.

            GEORGE P. IIUFFMAN, son of William P. Huffman, was born September 6, 1862, at Dayton. His English and classical education was obtained at the Cooper Academy, in which he spent eleven years. He then studied law in the office of Gunckel & Rowe from the same motive with which his father had pursued the same course, a more certainly successful business career, and with the same object in view engaged in banking for six months. For some five years subsequently he was engaged in the real estate business, and in 1887 he purchased the Kratochwill Flouring Mills, and almost immediately afterward procured the incorporation of the Kratochwill Milling Company, and became its president. This position he still retains, and is also president of the National Improvement Company, recently organized; of the Monitor Publishing Company, and of the Miami Valley Elevator Company; vice-president of the Crume & Sefton Manufacturing Company, treasurer of the Cooper hydraulic Company, director in the Third National Bank, in the Homestead Aid Association, in the Consolidated Coal and Coke Company of Cincinnati, of the Young Men's Christian Association, and is a deacon in the Linden Avenue Baptist Church. Mr. Huffman was married October 30, 1884, to Miss Maude C. McKee. They have two children, Horace and George P., Jr.

            STEPHEN J. PATTERSON was born at the old Rubicon farm, just south of Dayton, December 20, 1842. The first ancestor on his father's side, of whom there is any record, came from Ireland, but his Christian name has not been preserved. From his family name, however, it is evident that he was originally of Scotch ancestry. The son of this Irish emigrant was Colonel Robert Patterson, a celebrated pioneer and Indian fighter, who was born near Cove Mountain, Pennsylvania, March 15, 1753. In 1774, he served six months with the Rangers against the Indians on the frontiers of Pennsylvania. In October, 1775, in company with John McLelland and family and six other young men, lie left Pennsylvania for Kentucky, the party taking their moveable property in canoes and driving their cattle on land. At the mouth of Salt Lick Creek, he, with three of the young men, left the Ohio River, intending to meet the rest of the party at Leestown. This they finally did, and afterward went to Royal Spring, now Georgetown, and made that their home until April, 1776. The young men of the party then built two cabins, where Lexington now stands, and thus became the original proprietors of the town site. Colonel Patterson also owned one third of Cincinnati when it was first laid out. In 1778, he was with General George Rogers Clarke in his (page 698) Illinois expedition, and in 1779 lie was with Bowman's expedition against Chillicothe. In 1780, he was captain under General Clarke against the Shawnees on the Little Miami and Mad rivers. He was second in command at the battle of Lower Blue Licks, under Colonel Boone, August 19, 1782. On the second expedition. of General Clarke into the Miami country, lie held the office of colonel, and had the same office in 1786 under Colonel Logan in his expedition against the Shawnees. He served in the Kentucky senate, and was appointed by the governor of that State a judge of the court of quarter sessions in 1800.

            During this latter year he purchased a farm of D. C. Cooper at Dayton, which farm received the name of the Rubicon' Farm from the creek of that name which was so named by Colonel Patterson. He died August 5, 1827.

            He was married March 29, 1781, to Elizabeth Lindsay, who was born at Fallen Springs, Pennsylvania, in September, 1760, and who died October 22, 1833. They were the parents of nine children, the youngest of whom was Jefferson. Patterson, born May 27,1801, at Lexington, Kentucky. He lived an unostentatious, useful and honored life, dying March 23, 1863, while serving as a member of the Ohio legislature. He was married February 26, 1833, to Miss Julia Johnston, daughter of Colonel John Johnston. Miss Johnston was born August 16, 1811. Colonel Johnston was born in Ireland March 25, 1775; came to the United States in 1786; to Cincinnati in February, 1793, and died February 18, 1861. He was married to Rachel Robinson in 1801. Miss. Robinson was a daughter of Abraham Robinson, of Philadelphia; was born in 17$6 and died August 14, 1840. Colonel and Mrs. Johnston were the parents of fifteen children, of whom Julia (Juliana Hamilton, as she was christened) was the fifth. Early in the century Colonel Johnston went to Fort Wayne, Indiana, as assistant surgeon and factor, remaining there until 1811, when. lie removed. to Piqua, Ohio, and served there as Indian agent until 1833. The Indian. tribes, of which lie acted as agent, were the Shawnees, Wyandots, Senecas, Miamis, and Delawares, and during his residence among them at Piqua they were removed tribe by tribe to the westward of the Mississippi. From 1833 to the end of his life lie devoted his attention to his own business affairs, and in 1861 went to Washington to secure a claim against the government, but the War of the Rebellion broke out almost immediately, and his claim was never secured.

            Stephen J. Patterson remained on the farm until he was nineteen years old, attending school during the winters and working the rest of the year. He then went to the Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, remaining one year. In 1862, he joined the Eighty-sixth Ohio (page 699) Regiment, remaining in that until the regiment was mustered out in October, 1862. He then returned to the farm, remaining there until 1868, when he came to the city and engaged in the coal business with his brother, John H. Patterson, under the firm name of S. J. Patterson & Company.

            This company lasted until 1878, when it was dissolved, since which time Mr. Patterson has been engaged in the coal business on his own account. When S. J. Patterson went into the business their trade was very small, the firm owning neither horse nor cart. At first they handled soft coal mostly, but in 1871 they commenced handling the Pennsylvania Railroad Company's coal, and since then the trade of the firm, and of Mr. Patterson since he has been alone, has grown to very large proportions. He is now the sole agent for that company's coal in Ohio, a large part of Michigan, Southern Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. His trade, as may be inferred from this fact, has become very extensive. Mr. Patterson has the controlling interest in two large mines in Jackson County, Ohio, one of which, the Tom Corwin Coal Company's mine, is one of the best equipped mines in the State. The business is carried at the old established office, Number 235 South Ludlow Street. Mr. Patterson has been for many years prominently identified with the coal trade of this section of the country, has always stood high in commercial circles, and has done much to build tip the material interests of the city of Dayton. He was married June 12, 1879, to Miss Lucy A. Dun, a daughter of R. G. Dun, and a niece of Hon. Allen G. Thurman. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson have three children, Robert Dun, born January 21, 1881; Julia J., born June 21, 1883; and Annie L., born July 21, 1886.

            One of the most remarkable and thrilling incidents of Colonel Patterson's early life is related at length in Howe's "Ohio Historical Collections." A synopsis of his own account, which was first published in the Ohio National Journal, is inserted here. In the fall of 1776, he was on his way to Pittsburg from McClellan's Station, now Georgetown; Kentucky, in company with Joseph McNutt, David Perry, James Wernock, James Templeton, Edward Mitchell, and Isaac Greer. At that time the presence of Indians throughout the country made traveling extremely dangerous, and the party agreed that if any disaster befell them they would all stand by each other as long as assistance could be of any avail. On the night of October 12th, having eaten their supper and made their last four into a loaf of bread and put it into a brass kettle to bake, in order to be ready to start on their journey at daybreak next morning, they lay down to sleep. Colonel Patterson and James Templeton lay on the west side of the fire and the rest of the party on the east side. While thus lying asleep they were fired upon by a party (page 700) of Indians. Colonel Patterson felt a ball pass through him, but the wound made was not at first painful, nor could he locate it. He sprang to take up his gun, but his right shoulder cane to the ground. While making a second effort, and while bent in getting up, an Indian sprang past the fire and struck him with a tomahawk, which passed between two of his ribs, just below the kidney, into the cavity of the body. The Indian then turned upon Templeton, and seized his gun, but although he made a desperate struggle was unable to wrest it from him. In the meantime, Colonel Patterson made an effort to retire from the light cast by the fire into the darkness, and at length succeeded. He then made an attempt to float down the Ohio in a canoe, but found the canoe in possession of an Indian. He therefore sought the fire to learn what was the fate of the rest of his party, and found Templeton alive, but wounded very nearly as he was himself; Wernock dangerously wounded, two balls having passed through his body; Joseph McNutt dead, and scalped; David Perry, slightly wounded, and Isaac Greer missing. Wernock finally died, and after several days of exposure and suffering in the woods, David Perry; who had gone for assistance, returned with Captain John Walls, his officers, and most of his men. After burying the remains of McNutt and Wernock, they conducted the survivors to Captain Walls' station at Grave creek.

            THOMAS ALEXANDER PHILLIPS was born September 29, 1810, in Cecil County, Maryland. His father, James Phillips, was a carpenter by trade, and moved to Delaware, settling on the Brandywine, near Wilmington, in 1814 or 1815. Here, while working on a building, he fell and broke his arm, from which accident he died in 1817, doctors of medicine not being so skillful then as now. Thomas A. Phillips was the eldest of a family of six children-two sons and four daughters. He spent his youth and early manhood on the Brandywine, entering a cotton factory when eight years old. He continued thus occupied until 1835, when he came to Pittsburgh and down the Ohio to Covington, Kentucky. At this place lie was made superintendent of the old cotton mill at the Covington end of the suspension bridge. In 1840, during the Harrison campaign for the presidency, Mr. Phillips carne to Dayton, in connection with a political demonstration in Harrison's favor, and, he was so well pleased with the place that lie then determined to settle here as soon as practicable. Accordingly, on May 1, 1844, lie came to this city, and made it his home for the rest of his life. The immediately took charge of the cotton mill, located where the Merchants' Tobacco Company's factory now stands, then owned by Buchanan & Phillips. He was soon made a director of the Dayton branch of the State Bank, at present the Dayton (page 701) National Bank, and was one of the organizers of the Cooper hydraulic Company, and was a member of the board of directors of that company until his death. He was president of the Montgomery Mutual Insurance Company for many years, and was a stockholder and director in the Dayton Gas Light and Coke Company for about twenty-five years. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church for twenty-five years, and when the present magnificent church edifice was erected, at a cost of about one hundred thousand dollars, he contributed one tenth of its cost. Mr. Phillips was a Knight Templar, and in politics was a Republican from the time of the organization of the party.

            Mr. Phillips married Miss Margaret Jane George, daughter of Augustus George, of Dayton, Ohio, in November, 1844. The children were George L., John Edgar, a son who died in infancy, Charles A., and William Thomas, five sons.

            Mr. Phillips died of heart disease November 27, 1877. He had been a prominent, successful, and highly respected citizen of Dayton for thirty-three years. His life was filled with the active cares of business, but lie was, nevertheless, always ready to exercise the feelings of benevolence, and always took an active interest in the general welfare of the community. He was preeminently a self-made man, and was unselfish, frank, generous, and just in all the walks of life. In business lie was always acute and sagacious, and in charitable works lie was always liberal. Though surrounded by all that could make life desirable, lie was not affected by any fear of death or of reluctance to die. He looked upon that inevitable change with a philosophical composure For three years prior to his death lie was affected with the disease which finally terminated his life.

            GEORGE LEVIS PHILLIPS was born in Dayton, Ohio, August 22, 1845. He was a son of Thomas A. Phillips, a former leading business man of Dayton, whose biography is published elsewhere in this work. He was educated in the University of Michigan, being a member of the class of 1867, and himself and his brother, Charles A. Phillips, who was a member of a subsequent class, were members of the local chapter of the Sigma Phi fraternity. George L. Phillips left the university before the completion of his course of study to enter the volunteer army of the Union, joining the One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio Regiment, commanded by Colonel John G. Lowe, of Dayton. After leaving the army, he returned to Dayton, assuming a position in his father's mill, and remaining in the city for several years. During this time lie organized the American District Telegraph Company of Dayton, and in 1876, he organized the American District Telegraph Company of Cincinnati. He (page 702) was principal owner of this latter company, and its president up to the time of his death.

            Mr. Phillips organized the first telephone exchange in Dayton, became president of the company, and managed its business until it was merged into the Central Union Company. While his residence was in Dayton, he was a director of the Dayton National Bank, the Cooper Insurance. Company, the Cooper Hydraulic Company, and the Dayton Gas Light and Coke Company. He served several terms in the school board with such success, that at one election there was no opposing candidate, and he was chosen by a unanimous vote. He took the liveliest interest in the Dayton public schools, and devoted a great deal of time to his official duties. Mr. Phillips' management of the Dayton Telephone Exchange had been so vigorous that he received an offer of a position from the American Bell Telephone Company. He went to Boston, and took charge of the Boston Exchange, and of the interests of that company in the vicinity of Boston. In 1881, he resigned his position, returned to Dayton, and made this city his home for several years. in the same year, however, he was appointed assistant general manager of the American Bell Telephone Company, with headquarters in Chicago; but he resigned this position, and, with his family, went abroad, and for a year and a half resided in Geneva, Switzerland. Leaving his family abroad, he returned to the United States in 1886, and went to Chicago to take charge of the Central Union Telephone Company, which had been organized in 1883. Of this company he was elected president April 12, 1886, and about the 1st of February, 1888, he was elected president of the Chicago Telephone Company.

            It was during his presidency of this company that he had an opportunity of displaying his great executive ability and capability for business management. The Chicago council was disposed to interfere with the operation of the company's business in that city, and it was determined to reduce telephone rentals. There was no ordinance authorizing the company to transact business in Chicago, and the council refused to grant a franchise without provisions materially reducing subscribers' rentals. This was a critical period of the company's existence, and upon Mr. Phillips, as president, devolved the responsibility of directing the policy of' the company to a successful termination of the issue. His work, however, was well accomplished, the result being a substantial victory for the company.

            With reference to this contest with the city council of Chicago, the Western Electrician of February 9, 1889, published at Chicago, had the following remarks:

            (page 703) "By the death of George L. Phillipps, the Chicago Telephone Company loses a president of marked ability as all executive officer. He was recognized as one of the most judicious and efficient telephone managers in the country. He was at the head of the corporation but little over a year, but during that period arose the vexatious controversy between the company and the city officials. There was an extremely bitter feeling in the city council toward the company. It was hampered in its business by threats of litigation, and prevented from extending its circuits by the refusal of the aldermen to grant a franchise. Repeated efforts were made to force on the company ordinances which would have reduced very seriously its income. The responsibility of adjusting these difficulties fell upon Mr. Phillips. The task was one which required in its execution all his skillful management. He solved the vexatious problem, and secured a franchise without conceding any of the points for which the company had been contesting. This victory gained for Mr. Phillips the hearty congratulations of telephone managers throughout the country, and added materially to his reputation as a vigorous executive officer."

            Mr. Phillips married Miss Mary Adele Bronson, daughter of Charles Bronson, of Chicago, in Dubuque, Iowa, May 15, 1867. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips were the parents of five children, four of whom are living. Their names are Margaret J., Isabel B., Jeannette T., and Mary Adele. The second daughter, Mary Golden Phillips, died in New York in January, 1889. Early in that month, Mr. Phillips accompanied her to New York, where she was attending school, and on his way home to Chicago he was taken. ill with malignant typhoid fever. In the meantime news came that his daughter was seriously ill in New York of the same disease, and Mrs. Phillips left Edgewater immediately for the metropolis. Within a week the daughter died and was taken to Dayton for burial, where Mr. Phillips' brother had just lost two of his children by sudden death. Mrs. Phillips and Mr. Phillips' brother hurried to Edgewater, reaching there January 25th, and found Mr. Phillips in such a precarious condition that they thought it best not to inform hi1U of his daughter's death. He grew rapidly weaker and on the 29th of the month passed away. Mr. Phillips had inherited a strong constitution, and was it man of magnificent physique. His great love of hone and family, perfect unselfishness, and benevolence were his marked characteristics. On setting out for his eastern trip, he was, to all appearances, in perfect health, and his death was a great surprise and shock to his family and friends. He was a member of the Union League, of the Chicago Club, of the Dayton Lodge, F. A. M., and of the Cincinnati Consistory Scottish (page 704) Rite. He was also a member of the First Presbyterian Church, of Dayton, whose pastor, Rev. Prentiss de Veuve, preached the funeral sermon, paying an eloquent and deserved tribute to the character and virtues of the deceased. The body was buried in Woodland Cemetery, and at the entrance thereto the funeral procession was met by a hearse bearing the body of Mr. Phillips' daughter, whose death had occurred but shortly before in New York.

            LOUIS H. POOCK was born March 19, 1839, at Wahsendahl, Arnt Hamelu, Hanover, Germany. His father, Frederick Ludwig Poock, was a carpenter and inspector of buildings of his county (Arnts-Zimmermeister, as this office is called in Germany). His mother's maiden name was Fredericka Katz.

            The subject of this sketch was the youngest of a family of eight children, fve of whom are still living, one in Germany, and the others in this country.

            The father died in 1842, when Louis fl. was but three years old. In 1854, the widow and three sons came to the United States, two sons and one daughter having come previously. She came directly to Dayton and remained here until the time of her death, which occurred in March, 1873. Louis H. received his education at the schools in Germany, and after reaching Dayton, in 1854, worked for some time at anything he could find to do. He entered the factory of Blanchard & Brown as an apprentice, when, in the winter of 1857, he met with a serious accident, sawing his left hand in such a manner that he was unfitted for any manual labor. This changed his course of life. While suffering from his wound he again resumed his studies, attending the public schools and then the high schools of Dayton, in order to acquire a better knowledge of the English language.

            On leaving school he took a course in Grier's Commercial College; then served for a. short time as a substitute deputy in the office of the county auditor, and subsequently became book-keeper in the office of the Dayton Empire.

            In September, 1862, he was appointed teacher of German in the Twelfth District school, which position he held seven years. He then accepted the position of German instructor in the Sixth District school, where he remained until he resigned in December, 1874. While engaged in teaching, he also organized a night school, teaching a number of young men who assembled at his house in winter evenings, and afterward taught in the public night school in the Pacific Engine House, which served at that time as a school room belonging to the Fifth District. In April, 1875, he was elected a member of the board of education, (page 705) reelected in April, 1878, and chosen vice-president of that body in 1879. He had meanwhile gone into business with one of his brothers, who then owned the Stone mills, as they were called, now the Banner mills. In this relation he remained one year; then became deputy county treasurer, serving in that position five years under Treasurer H. H. Laubach, and four years under Stephen J. Allen. In the fall of 1883, lie was himself elected county treasurer, and was reelected in 1885, thus serving two terms his last term expiring in September, 1888.

            In January, 1868, he was elected secretary of the Dayton Building Association, Number 1, the first association of the kind established in this city. He held this secretaryship until August, 1873, when the society wound up and settled its affairs. In January, 1869, Mr. Poock was elected secretary of the Concordia Building and Loan Association, which position he held until said corporation liquidated and wound up its affairs in April, 1875.

            In April, 1873, he, with others, started the Germania Building Association on the permanent Philadelphia plan. Mr. Poock has been its secretary ever since it was established, and also its treasurer since January, 1888.

            In February, 1883, he became connected with the Dayton Savings Bank as stockholder and director, and on January 7, 1885, he was elected president of the bank, retaining the office until its affairs were wound up in the spring of 1889, when he, with others, established the Teutonia National Bank, and was elected its cashier March 29, 1889. Mr. Poock is a member of several beneficiary associations, as well as of social, military, and musical societies. He is also a member of the German Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul's Society, of which he was secretary, and then treasurer, for a number of years.

            Louis H. Poock was married March 26, 1863, to Miss Minnie Lucking, daughter of Frederick Lucking, of Dayton. Mr. and Mrs. Poock are the parents of thirteen children, six of whom are still living. The oldest son, Albert H. Poock, was well known in connection with the Dayton Savings Bank, of which he was assistant cashier; with the New Franklin Building Association, of which he was secretary; and also with the Germania Building Association. He was a member of the Uniformed Rank of Knights of Pythias, of the Dayton Gymnastic Club, of the German Lutheran St. Paul's Beneficiary Society, and of several musical clubs. He died January 13, 1889. The children still living are: Ida D., Bertha C., Oscar M., Minnie M., Ella A., and Anna F. Poock. JOHN ROUZER, one of Dayton's foremost contractors and builders, was born in Clark County, Ohio, June 29, 1822. His father was of German (page 706) descent, but was born in Frederick County, Maryland, and lived to the great age of eighty-four years. His mother was of Scotch ancestry, but was a native of Virginia, and died at the age of eighty-five. Both were of strong constitution and of simple and industrious habits. They raised a family of twelve children, seven sons and five daughters, all of whom they lived to see well settled in life.

            The subject of this sketch came to Dayton with his father's family in 1832. His educational advantages were quite meager, being such as a            primitive village of those times could afford. The public school system, now the pride and shield of the commonwealth, had not then been devised; but though the public school system did nothing for Mr. Rouzer, he has done much for the public schools of Dayton, the city being indebted to him for some of the most convenient and handsome school houses of which' the citizens feel justly proud. Previous to locating in business for himself, Mr. Rouzer was of a somewhat roving disposition, believing that to know what was going on in different parts of the business world would better prepare him for success when he should thus settle down. In 1844, he worked as a journeyman in Cincinnati, and afterward in other places. In 1846, he and his brother Daniel erected the first buildings ever put up at White Sulphur Springs, on the Scioto River. From that time on for several years he was engaged in fitting up distilleries in the Miami Valley, his home being in Dayton. He was thus engaged until 1861, when he established himself in business as a. practical contractor and builder in this city. Here he soon acquired for himself a reputation which has been of immense value to him during his entire career. His main object from the first has been to give satisfaction to his patrons by the excellence of his work. His business soon grew to such large proportions that it became necessary for him to supply himself with all modern improvements adapted to his peculiar line of work, and he has thus long been able to execute the largest contracts that can be given either by private or public parties. In Dayton he has erected a large number of the finest private residences, as well as some of the best school-houses. Outside of Dayton he erected the fine courthouses at Tifn, Sidney, Springfield, and Columbus, Ohio, and he also erected the new board of trade building at the latter place. He has also recently been largely engaged in building various kind of structures in Indianapolis, and is and has been for years Constantly engaged in shipping building material to diferent parts of Ohio, as well as to- many of the other States of the Union.

            In the early days Mr. Rouzer was a Whig, and since the reorganization of parties has been a consistent Republican, although not so rigidly (page 707) a party man as not to support Democratic candidates for office occasionally when in his judgment public policy would be better conserved by their success than by that of the candidates of his own party. He is a member of but one society, Dayton Lodge, Number 147, F. and A. M., and he has taken all the degrees in Masonry. He was married January 1, 1850, to Miss Martha J. Diehl, daughter of Henry Diehl, one of Dayton's early pioneer citizens. Mr. and Mrs. Rouzer have been the parents of seven children, five of whom died in infancy. The two now living are Mrs. Kate Humphrey, of the Arlington Hotel, Richmond, Indiana, and Mrs. Mattie Justice, of Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Rouzer, in point of mechanical ability, business enterprise, and personal integrity of character, may well be regarded as one of the most reliable and worthy of the representative contractors and citizens of Dayton.

            E. FOWLER STODDARD, whose untimely death resulted from a most remarkable accident on the 1st of June, 1887, was one of the most prominent and meritorious of the younger class of representative business men of Dayton. He was a native of this city, born on the 16th of July, 1845, the youngest son of Hon. Henry Stoddard, for many J ears an able and eminent member of the original Dayton bar, who emigrated from Connecticut as early as 1817, and permanently located in Dayton. Henry Stoddard's second wife, Miss Susan C. Williams, daughter of John H. Williams and sister of Harbert S. Williams, was a woman of charming character and rare personal gifts. She bore him four children-Henry, now resident of Santa Barbara, California; John W., the president of the Stoddard Manufacturing Company; Eliza, wife of Samuel B. Smith, and Ebenezer Fowler, the subject of this sketch.

            After a youth passed under the tutelage of a pious and gifted mother,. and under the most refining family influences, he entered Yale College, from which he was graduated in the year 1867 at the age of twenty-two, and upon his return home, having come into possession of quite an ample patrimony, he chose to enter at once upon an active business life. Ile was married, in 1868, to Miss Bessie W., daughter of Colonel John G. Lowe, who, with three children, survive hint.

            A. somewhat varied business experience of several years finally located him in the manufacturing establishment of his brother, John W. Stoddard, among the most extensive and prosperous industries of the city, where his superior capabilities, mechanical aptitude and excellent principles soon became of inestimable value and promoted him to the position of vice-president and general manager of the concern.

            He was an active participant in everything that tended to promote the general business interests of the community, and was a highly (page 708) esteemed and valuable member of the Dayton Board of Trade. He was in attendance at one of its regular meetings on the evening of Tuesday, May 31, 1887, and after the adjournment, at about nine o'clock, when passing down the east stairway from the City Building to Jefferson Street, paused for a few minutes, under the shelter, in conversation with a fellow-member of the board, before passing out upon the sidewalk, to await the cessation of a heavy shower. He had been standing but a few moments when a flash was suddenly reflected from the water on the pavement, accompanied by the report of a pistol. A young man at the same instant was seen running by in the rain, who in a few minutes afterwards hurried back to pick up the pistol, which had accidentally fallen from his pocket in his haste, and upon striking the stone pavement had exploded. The ball, thus driven from its chamber, unaimed by any human hand or eye, by one of those inscrutable mysteries, which sometimes connect the most tragic consequences in human life with the most trivial causes, and for which no rational solution seems possible, struck Mr. Stoddard, some twenty feet distant, immediately below and in the rear of the left ear, and ranging upwards lodged in the base of the brain. He was sufficiently conscious to realize the probably fatal character of the injury. His first thought was. that his wife should be spared the shock; his next, that his brother should be called to his side. His last coherent words were, that he had "tried to live square with the world." He was quickly removed to his home, where the blow fell heaviest of all places on earth. The most skillful surgical aid was at once in attendance, but could give scarcely the shadow of hope of his survival. He gradually became unconscious, and before morning breathed his last upon the same spot where forty-two years before he was ushered into existence. It would be impossible to exaggerate the deep and heartfelt sorrow that pervaded the community upon this most tragic occurrence. The chance of the loss of a human life by an accident so extraordinary, by a concatenation of circumstances so remarkable, would seem to be almost infinitesimal; yet here its actual occurrence had cut short a life and business career, replete with every promise of earthly happiness, usefulness, and success. So bright in mind, so pure in spirit, so manly in form and presence, so genial in disposition, so exalted in principle, so earnest and efficient in every good work, so kind, and just, and generous to all with whom he was associated, he seemed to lack no quality to fill the rounded life of a useful, beloved, and respected citizen. But he was most blessed of all, in the domestic relations of husband, father, and brother in a loving family. He was always an active Christian, as enthusiastic in church work as he was in business, and in manly out-door field sports, (page 709) in which he had a national reputation for a judgment as impartial as it was excellent.

            The most remarkable feature in the character of Fowler Stoddard was his versatility. One seldom meets with such superior capabilities, bringing a person in contact with so many different phases of human life. In church, in society, in business, and the world of field sports, his excellencies of character were alike displayed and their superior influence recognized. His mental faculties were well trained. He possessed a great power of concentration with a large degree of enthusiasm in whatever he undertook. He was remarkably quick in his perceptions, and rapid, though not unsafe, in arriving at his conclusions. His recreation from business took the form of an interest in field sports. In this, as in other lines, he especially excelled. He carried into it the same love of system and excellence which he displayed in his other occupations. He sought only the best methods. He became interested in improving the breed of hunting dogs, and soon acquired a reputation throughout the sporting world, unsurpassed by any, for correct and critical judgment. His personal efforts were highly appreciated by the very large number of amateur sportsmen in the United States, among whom he was regarded as an authority. In business and in church work his efficiency and success were due to the same characteristics of thoroughness, concentration, clear and rapid perceptions. He was quick to execute. His genial disposition, thorough politeness and generosity in his intercourse with those he regarded as his friends attached them to him "with hooks of steel." In his intercourse with children, in which he had a long and pleasant experience, his influence was wonderful, and who can tell how far-reaching and beneficial?

            Mr. Stoddard was but forty-two years old at the time of his decease. He had been exceptionally successful in his business relations-a success which was the achievement of merit, rather than the result of mere good fortune.

            No large manufacturing establishment in the country was ever more fortunate in a general manager. His intelligence, promptness, and straightforward dealing with the men under management commanded their instant respect. With the innate instinct of a gentleman, his intercourse with the employees was uniformly such as to inspire each of them with a sentiment of personal esteem-in many instances, of affection. He was at once affable, kind, and firm, and scores of these men, who were assembled at the manufactory in the morning, when they first learned the sad intelligence of his death, gave free vent to their sorrow in tears.

            (page 710) No more touching tribute was ever paid to the memory of any man than was witnessed at his funeral, when several hundred of these plain unpretentious laboring men, whom lie had daily greeted with friendly words, and who had long been performing their, daily tasks under his supervision, following on foot his remains to the portals of their last resting place, stood with uncovered heads and tearful eyes "in the silent manliness of grief," to testify their appreciation of his worth and their affection for his memory.

            It was in allusion to this that the Rev. Herbert J. Cook, the rector of the church of which Mr. Stoddard was so invaluable a member, most beautifully said in his memorial sermon: "The place of business and the presence of these men, who knew and loved him, tell what he was there. Where the law of love gets into a shop or factory, there can be no room for serious labor troubles. Mutual respect and regard on the part of employer and employee as in the present case, clearly show that the New Testament rule of gold is still the golden rule, and is able to heal all breaches. No, dear people, you cannot hide, or inclose, or monopolize a great and magnanimous life. It belongs to him mainly by the best of titles, for to it all true men are next of kin!

            When the dying Sir Philip Sidney passed the untasted cup of water from his own famished lips to the wounded soldier near him, saying, "Drink, comrade; thou least greater need than. I," he but displayed that chivalrous spirit of the kinship of humanity, which is ever characteristic of the true and brave Christian gentleman. It can be shown as well in the ordinary walks of life as upon the stricken field of battle. Sir Philip Sidney himself was no truer Christian gentleman than was E. Fowler Stoddard. The name and memory of such a man deserves to be treasured in the community in which his whole life was passed, with affectionate regard. In the undue exaltation of political, professional, and military honors, we are apt to withhold deserved recognition of the sterling virtues and worth of private American citizenship. Upon the faithful practice of these virtues, the achievement of high individual, private character, thorough fidelity to all the duties of domestic and business life, is reared, after all, the superstructure of our prosperity, greatness, and felicity as a people.

            Private American citizenship, characterized, as it is, by patriotism, intelligence, enterprise, diligence in business, fidelity to engagements, and adorned by those virtues which constitute the foundation of domestic happiness-it is this which rather deserves to be exalted and commended than the tinsel of ofcial distinction too often attained by unworthy methods, or to gratify a vain and merely personal ambition.

            (page 711) EDMOND S. YOUNG was among the ablest of the Dayton lawyers who came to the bar after 1840 and prior to 1860.

            His sudden death occurred on the evening of February 14, 1888. Scarcely an hour before his decease, he was in attendance at a meeting of the Bar Association, in his usually apparent good health, and making one of his characteristic little talks, replete with humor and good sense. Ile walked home, in company with his two sons, and soon after entering the house, while seated and in usual conversation concerning the incidents of the evening, was stricken with insensibility, and in a few moments ceased to breathe.

            Mr. Young was of New England birth and parentage. He was a native of Lyme, New Hampshire, born on the 28th of February, 1827. His father, George Murray Young, a native of Litchfeld, Connecticut, moved to Ohio with his family, prior to 1840, and settled in Newark, Licking County, where for many years he was a prominent and successful merchant. His mother, Sibel Green, was of a New Hampshire family. E. S. Young attended college at Granville, and afterwards at Cincinnati, graduating at Farmers' College, now called Belmont, in 1845.

            About this time his father removed with his family to Dayton, where he lived a highly respected and honored citizen until his death, which occurred in the year 1878. After a brief term of service in the office of the clerk of the court of Montgomery County, Mr. Young commenced the study of law, and, after graduating at the Cincinnati law school, was admitted to the bar in 1853. In 1856, he married Miss Sarah B. Dechert, daughter of Elijah Dechert, a prominent lawyer of Reading, Pennsylvania, and granddaughter of Judge Robert Porter, of that State. She still survives him, together with two sons, George P and William H. Young, and a daughter Mary. His sons, both lawyers, and of high promise at the bar, have succeeded to his law practice. Among the obituary notices of the deceased members of the American Bar Association, of which Mr. Young was a member, for the year 1888, and published in its proceedings for that year, is one of Mr. Young, from which we feel at liberty to make the following extract, as it is so excellently and truthfully descriptive of him:

            "Mr. Young was a mail of striking physical appearance and of marked mental characteristics. He was born to be a lawyer. His breadth of intellect, his strong determined will, his sound impartial judgment, his remarkable reasoning process, his gift of nice and correct- discrimination, made up a mental organization distinctively legal. While at the same time his large and well proportioned head, with its high expansive forehead, set firmly on his broad square shoulders, gave him a personal appearance in keeping with his mental characteristics."

            (page 712) Mr. Young came to the bar well equipped for the discharge of its duties and responsibilities. He was well grounded in elementary principles, had excellent business sense, good speaking talent, strong reasoning powers and unswerving integrity. He was besides painstaking, industrious, and faithful to his clients, and spared no labor in vigilant regard for their interests. He prepared his cases with great care, and tried them fairly and thoroughly. He was very systematic in his business methods. Incapable himself of any sort of trickery, lie despised it in others, and whenever he thought the occasion justified, denounced it with unsparing vehemence. There was nothing cynical or bitter in his disposition. He was incapable of harboring resentment. No appeal was ever made in vain to his generosity or forgiveness. With such qualities as a lawyer and a man, it is not surprising that Mr. Young should have attained the large practice he enjoyed and the high consideration conceded to him as a citizen at the time of his decease. His brethren of the Dayton bar cheerfully and unanimously testified their high appreciation of his character and abilities by joining in a recommendation to the governor of the State for his appointment to the supreme bench of Ohio, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Judge Johnson.

            Mr. Young was a firm supporter of Lincoln's administration during the war, was a member of the local military committee, and commissioner of the draft. Although affiliating generally with the Republican party, such was his repugnance to political methods that he uniformly refrained from allowing himself to be presented as a candidate for office. He was too faithful to his personal convictions, too independent and honest in their expression, to be adapted to a successful political career. lie was nevertheless thoroughly patriotic and public-spirited, but his ambition was solely that of a lawyer. For his many companionable qualities, his fondness for social conversation, anecdote, and personal reminiscences, he was highly esteemed by his professional brethren and a large circle of general society. He heartily cooperated in whatever tended to advance the tone and usefulness of his profession. "He was preeminently a fancily man, and found in his own home circle his greatest source of pleasure and enjoyment. In his unselfish devotion to his wife and children, and his constant solicitude for their welfare, no one ever surpassed him." Such in brief was Edmond Stafford Young. The obituary notice, to which allusion has been made, closes with the following paragraph, as beautiful as it is truthful:

            He was a strong and pure type of that class of American lawyers who, eschewing outside schemes for the promotion of wealth of personal aggrandizement, devote to their profession the full measure of their powers and seek happiness in the conscientious discharge of their professional, domestic, and civic duties."

 

ERRATA.

 

            On page 133, line 5, for December 16, 1744, read December 21, 1783, and ninth line for 1805, read 1806.

            On page 134, line 12, for Sarah, read Martha.

            On page 646, line 23, for Stunch, read Strauch.

            In the chapter on Education, the name of A. D. Wilt, one of the most useful and influential members of the Board of Education and of the Library Committee, was accidentally omitted from the list of names.

            General Robert C. Schenck served four consecutive terms in Congress instead of three, as stated on page 494.

            On page 101 and elsewhere for Centinal, read Centinel.

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