1913 Flood Survivors: A Before and After

My goal in this post is to show you some cool “before” and “after” photos (or at least before OR after photos) of some survivors of Dayton’s 1913 flood—no, not people, but buildings! I thought it might be of interest to highlight some of Dayton’s older downtown buildings that “survived” the flood and (perhaps even more impressively) still survive today (i.e., they haven’t been torn down in the interest of so-called “progress”- but that’s a whole other entry).

But before I dive into the photographs, I wanted to address the radio silence of the past nearly two months. I suppose perhaps I was a little bit “blogged out” after writing a zillion (or so it seemed at the time) posts about the 1913 flood on the blogs at work: if you haven’t already done so, check them out on Wright State U. Archives’ Out of the Box blog and the Dayton Daily News Archive blog.

And on top of being “blogged out,” I had rather run out of steam on the whole topic of the 1913 flood (and still kinda am, though I’ve set it aside for you today because I don’t want to put it off any longer). I’m a little sick of talking about it, to be perfectly honest! I know, I know! That sounds horrible. But for about a month it seemed like I was eating, sleeping, and breathing the topic—ok, not really, of course—and I did that because it was an extremely important event in Dayton’s (even Ohio’s) history, and the commemoration of that event deserved my full attention and to be “done up right.” And so I did. (If you don’t believe me, see my previous entry.) And I don’t regret that. But…I’d really love to not talk about it anymore for a while.

After this entry, of course.

And so…onward, as promised, here are some of Dayton’s historic downtown buildings that survived the flood and that can still be seen today. So the next time you’re downtown and you see one of these, I want you to gaze up at it, appreciate the fact that it’s been there 100+ years, and maybe muse about how long it took to shovel all the flood mud out of it…

[All of the before/flood photos are courtesy of the Dayton Metro Library's Local History Room. You can see all their 1913 flood photos online. The present-day photos are courtesy of yours truly, unless otherwise stated. For all photos, you can click on the photo to go to the associated Flickr page with more info.]

Doubletree Hotel (southwest corner Third & Ludlow- it was the Algonquin Hotel in 1913)
Third Street Post Office (now the Federal Building, south side of Third St., between Ludlow & Wilkinson)

Algonquin Hotel & Post Office, 1913 (Image courtesy of Dayton Metro Library, 1913 Flood postcard #37)

For a current photo of the Doubletree Hotel, check out this photo taken in 2010 by Flickr user Flyer E901; if he gives me permission, I’ll img src it here instead of just linking… Don’t ask me why I don’t have a pic of the Doubletree myself; obviously I was right next to it when I took this picture of the Federal building:

Federal Building, 2012 (Photo by Lisa Rickey)

Conover Building (southeast corner Third and Main)
Memorial Hall (northwest corner First and St. Clair)

You can see them both in this flood photo below. The Conover Building is the really tall  building near the center of the photo (not the one with the clock tower- that’s the Callahan Bank Building); Memorial Hall is the rounded topped building in the upper right of the frame.

Main Street in Dayton, 1913 (Image courtesy of Dayton Metro Library, Montgomery County Picture File #806)

And here are two more recent photos of the Conover Building and Memorial Hall:

Conover Building, 2012 (Photo by Lisa Rickey)

Memorial Hall, 2012 (Photo by Lisa Rickey)

Emmanuel Catholic Church (Washington St.)
Sacred Heart Catholic Church (northwest corner Fourth & Wilkinson)
Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Fifth & Bainbridge)

I couldn’t find great flood photos of these, so you’ll have to trust me on this when I show you these pics of the steeples in the distance that that’s really what I’m showing you!

Okay, in the pic below you can see Emmanuel Catholic Church — the two very tall steeples on the right of the photo. And actually, I wasn’t even going to include Sacred Heart in this because I couldn’t find a pic, but I realized you can see it in this picture: it’s the low dome in between the tall towers of Emmanuel and the single campanile-looking tower of Union Station at the far right. (And somewhere, I know I’ve seen a great panorama of Dayton looking south from about Deeds Point, and you can see Sacred Heart plainly, but I can’t seem to find that. Maybe it wasn’t a flood pic…)

Looking north from the Montgomery County Fairgrounds, 1913 (Image courtesy of Dayton Metro Library, Montgomery County Picture File #911)

And, in another “take my word for it” silhouette-type photo, here is Holy Trinity Church- the tall steeple rising up on the far right of the frame:

Fifth and Eagle Streets, 1913 (Image courtesy of Dayton Metro Library, Montgomery County Picture File #996)

As for the “now” photos, I don’t seem to have any good ones myself of Emmanuel Church (but check out this one from Flickr user catholicsanctuaries) or Holy Trinity (but here’s a  great one from Flickr user SyntheticTone), but here’s one of mine showing Sacred Heart:

Sacred Heart Church, 2012 (Photo by Lisa Rickey)

These next three, the flood photos don’t show much of the building, so again you might have to take my word for it that it is where it says or that the building is in there somewhere (because I know it must be). The photos depict primarily the clean-up or debris.

It’s like people 100 years ago weren’t concerned that someday I might come along and wish I had flood photos of these building so I could write about it; how inconsiderate of them, trying to pick up the pieces of their lives and not taking enough photos. (Although, really, there are QUITE a lot of photos, even during the actual flood, which when you think about it, is kind of amazing.)

Dayton Arcade (Third Street entrance, between Main & Ludlow)

The Arcade is the building on the right in the photo below. You can probably recognize some of the stonework from the facade.

Dayton Arcade, 1913 (Image courtesy of Dayton Metro Library, Flood Postcard #39)

Dayton Arcade, Third Street entrance, 2012 (Photo by Lisa Rickey)

Dayton Daily News building (northwest corner Fourth & Ludlow)

See that bright white building in the background that looks kind of like a bank (there’s a great historical explanation for that, btw- another time, perhaps), just to the left of that bally lamp post? Yeah, that’s the DDN building.

Debris on South Ludlow St, 1913 (Image courtesy of Dayton Metro Library, Montgomery County Picture File #799)

Dayton Daily News building, 2012 (Photo by Lisa Rickey)

Not sure how much longer the DDN building will look like this, though, since it was recently announced that Sinclair Community College is planning to incorporate the block into some kind of dormitory project; allegedly, the original (bank-looking) portion of the DDN offices will be “preserved,” though. So if you haven’t seen it before, you should go see it ASAP before it changes too much!

Delco building(s) (E. First St., east of St. Clair, now part of Mendelson’s)

Okay, full disclosure: I’m not sure the two photos I’m showing here depict the same exact building. There were several Delco buildings around the same area, and the one in this flood photo may not be the same as the Mendelson’s one I’m showing next. But you get the idea…

Flood repairs at Delco, 1913 (Image courtesy of Dayton Metro Library, Montgomery County Picture File #1074)

Mendelson’s building, from the rooftop parking lot at the Reibold Building, 2011 (Photo by Lisa Rickey)

And finally, last but not least, here are three more buildings that I couldn’t find before/flood photos for, but trust me, they were around during the 1913 flood, and they are still around today:

Old Court House (northwest corner Third and Main, built in 1850)

Old Court House, 2012 (Photo by Lisa Rickey)

Victoria Theatre (southeast corner First & Main, built in 1866 & rebuilt a few times afterwards)

Victoria Theatre, 2012 (Photo by Lisa Rickey)

United Brethren Publishing House (northeast corner Fourth & Main, built in the late 19th century; now called the Centre City Building)

United Brethren Publishing House aka City Centre Building, 2012 (Photo by Lisa Rickey)

(You can also see the back of the UB Building in the background of my “now” photo of the Conover Building above.)

*****

Well, there you go, folks- a little photo tour of downtown Dayton with emphasis on buildings that survived the 1913 flood (as well as humanity’s need for tearing down old buildings to build newer, usually uglier, ones). There are certainly others I could have chosen, most of them smaller and a little less grand, but there nonetheless.

Actually, here’s one such building (quite old), now that I think of it (a bonus!):

120 N. St. Clair St., 2012 (Photo by Lisa Rickey)

But I was trying to think of grandiose buildings that it would be easy to locate “before” (or flood) pictures of. I still seem to have failed at finding as many of those before photos as I really wanted, but nevertheless. It’s something. And I hope you enjoyed it.

1913 Flood Centennial

What kind of Miami Valley archivist would I be if I didn’t acknowledge the centennial of the 1913 flood on my history/archives blog?

This week marks 100 years since flood waters ravaged the Miami Valley, bringing widespread devastation to cities like Dayton, Piqua, Troy, and Hamilton, as well as many other parts of Ohio (including my hometown of Portsmouth). This particular flood was so severe in the Dayton area (which was rather used to floods) that area residents finally said, “We’re not going to just sit back and take this from anymore, Great Miami River!” Within months, a fundraising campaign generated over $2 million towards the creation what is now the Miami Conservancy District, a system of dams and other mechanisms that control the rivers and have successfully prevented flooding since its completion. (Hooray!)

I’ve worked in Dayton-area archives long enough to know that the 1913 flood has been remembered on many days and in many ways ever since, as an important event in our area’s history. But we do love anniversaries—and the 100th is a very special one, after all, since it’s such a nice, round number!

There’s been a lot going on to commemorate the 1913 flood this year. And to be perfectly honest, I’ve already been involved in so much of it that I damn-near forgot to even mention it here, because I feel like my “1913 flood commemorating” mojo is virtually exhausted by now! But like I said, what kind of Miami Valley archivist would I be if I didn’t say something on my own blog as well?

So…well…to avoid re-inventing the wheel here, I think I’ll just point you to some of the things that I and others have been working on…

Most of the 1913 flood commemoration activities that I was personally aware of are mentioned in an article I wrote for the Spring 2013 issue of the Ohio Archivist (the newsletter of the Society of Ohio Archivists- see page 28). But I certainly want to point your attention to the official commemoration web site 1913flood.com.

We’ve done some cool things where I work at Wright State, too—so much so that we’ve even dedicated an entire section of the WSU Special Collections & Archives web page to the 1913 flood. There are a couple of exhibits listed, one of which is a web exhibit done a few years back called The Flood Menace. There is also info about the 1913 flood traveling exhibit a couple of my colleagues created–what it is, pictures, how to borrow it, etc. There’s also a lengthy Resource List detailing what research materials about the flood can be found at WSU and other area archives. (Don’t forget to check out the neat flood stuff we’ve got on our Campus Repository—interviews with flood survivors, for instance!) Oh, and there’s also an in-real-life flood exhibit (that I just happened to make) on the first floor of the Dunbar Library from now until about June.

I think one of my favorite projects I’ve personally done to remember the flood is the transcriptions of flood diaries and letters that will be on the WSU Special Collections & Archives blog Out of the Box this week. (I just love letters and diaries; I can get lost in them so easily.) We’ll be following flood survivors Margaret Smell, J.G.C. Schenck Sr., Edward and Nellie Neukom, and Milton Wright (yes, that Milton Wright- father of the famous Wright brothers!), through their flood experiences, reading about those experiences in their own words. Where applicable, I’ve added some small explanations, and I also hunted up some great photos from our collection to help illustrate their stories. I recommend checking out this intro to the diary/letter series, and there will be daily updates from the writers from today through early April.

As you may recall, I have written about the flood here before. I wrote a blog post about it a couple of years ago: “Remembering the 1913 Flood” (March 24, 2011). Then there are those super-cool geo-tagged maps I made using Flickr and Geo-Slideshow [May 9, 2011], for the flood photos and postcards at the Dayton Metro Library (where I used to work). And don’t forget the 1913 flood before-and-after exhibit at the Dayton Art Institute, which, although mentioned in my SOA article and on the 1913flood.com web site, bears repeating because I was privileged to see it in February, and it is super-awesome.

Obviously, there’s plenty more out there besides what I’ve mentioned here. (And let’s face it, I’m going to be a little biased towards the projects that I’ve personally worked so hard on—certainly not to undercut how hard everyone else has worked on their projects, but this is my blog, so why wouldn’t I toot my own horn a bit?) There have been tons of really great articles about the flood and the commemoration activities in the Dayton Daily News (and I’m sure many other area papers) lately.

DDN writer Meredith Moss did a great spread about the flood in last Sunday’s newspaper (over one whole page in the print edition); you can read the online version here, and you might just see a few quotes from yours truly in it. (Normally, my supervisor and head of the archives Dawne Dewey answers the press inquiries, but a combination of circumstances—one being that Dawne was out that day and another being that someone told the reporter to ask me because I’d been doing a lot of flood activities lately—led to my name being the one in the paper this time.)

Well, I think that’s about all I have to say about the flood for now. I hope anyone with an interest in this particular part of Dayton’s history takes notice of all these projects and events going on this spring, because there’s lots of great stuff to experience and absorb….and it might be another nice-round-number-of-years (25? 50? 100?) before there’s so much terrific culture being dedicated to the 1913 flood once again.

Historical Sketch: St. John’s Reformed Church in Germantown, Ohio

The village of Germantown, Ohio, was founded in 1804, when several German families from Pennsylvania settled there. These families were members of the Reformed and Lutheran churches. In 1809, the settlers built a single church to be shared by both congregations. This church, built of logs, was located near the present site of Emmanuel’s Evangelical Lutheran Church on Warren Street.

Initially these services were conducted by traveling ministers, but after a few years, both congregations had pastors in residence: Rev. Thomas Winters[1] for the Reformeds and Rev. John Caspar Dill for the Lutherans. The congregations shared the log church for 20 years, alternating Sunday services every other week—a Lutheran service one week, a Reformed service the next—although families of both denominations attended services every week.

In 1818, Philip Gunckel, the town proprietor, began building a large new brick church at the corner of Market and Walnut streets, on the property where St. John’s Reformed Church currently stands. He sold half of the church building to Reformed congregation and the other half to the Lutherans, for $600 each. The new church building was finally completed in 1828, and the two congregations worshiped together happily for two years in the new building. However, in 1830, a dispute arose between the Lutherans and Mr. Gunckel (a member of the Reformed church), and the Lutheran congregation returned to the log church. Thenceforth, the two congregations worshiped separately, although they shared a common burial ground until 1879.

Rev. Thomas Winters served the Reformed Church at Germantown for about 25 years before retiring in 1840, due to old age. He was succeeded by Rev. George Long, whose pastorate was rather tumultuous. Rev. Long wished to introduce new measures into the Reformed church, such as prayer meetings, and when this met with resistance, he was ousted. The Reformed congregation was then split between those who followed the Old Measures (and remained at the old church) and those who followed the New Measures (and worshiped in a new congregation led by Rev. Long).

The New Measures church was short-lived, however. About 1845, their church building burnt down a few years later and then Rev. Long departed. Rev. Thomas H. Winters led the New Measures from 1846 to 1848, and a new church was built. However, when the congregation could not pay for the new church, it was sold at auction. The New Measures congregation disbanded, with most of its members joining the Methodist or United Brethren churches.

The Old Measures congregation—which, after the dissolution of the New Measures congregation around 1848, could be simply known as the Reformed congregation again—had continued to worship at the brick church on the corner of Market and Walnut streets. They continued to use this building, which had been finished in 1828, until the year 1866. At that time, the old building was dismantled, primarily by the work of the men of the congregation, so that a new church could be built, partially on the same site and partially on new ground.

The new church took 13 years to complete, partially due to financial problems. After the first floor was completed, the project ran out of money. The congregation worshiped in this basement room in the meantime, still waiting the completion of the second floor audience room. After Rev. P. C. Prugh became the congregation’s pastor in 1876, he and church trustee Henry Hildabolt set out to solicit subscriptions for the remaining funds ($3,000) required to finish the church. In a short time, they received the necessary pledges, and construction continued. The new church was completed in 1879.

St. John’s Reformed Church completed in 1879 (From a postcard in the collection of the Germantown Historical Society. Used with permission.)

In 1891, the church trustees purchased a property on the southwest corner of Main and Gunckel streets to be used as the first parsonage. This was used until 1899, when a new parsonage property on the northwest corner of Gunckel and Walnut streets (the lot behind the church) was purchased.

Records showing donations by church members, including Henry Hildabolt, to St. John’s Reformed Church in 1897 (St. John’s Reformed Church Records, MS-042, Dayton Metro Library)

On Sunday, April 7, 1907, a tornado struck, and the Reformed Church sustained serious damage, including being partially unroofed. The damage was so severe that the congregation decided it would be best to demolish the building and construct a new one on the same site.

St. John’s Reformed Church, which was unroofed in the 1907 tornado (From a postcard in the collection of the Germantown Historical Society. Used with permission.)

The cornerstone for the new church was laid on November 3, 1907. Within the cornerstone were placed several items, including a list of church members (including 261 names), as well as several other lists and documents.[2] The grand opening of the new church was held in the Fall of 1908. The formal dedication was held on June 1, 1913, after all the construction costs were either paid or pledged. The mortgage burning was held on April 17, 1921, after the total construction costs ($37,000) were paid off.

The St. Johns Reformed Church built in 1908 (From a postcard in the collection of the Germantown Historical Society. Used with permission.)

The 1908 church building is still used by St. John’s congregation today, although the denomination itself has gone through some changes. In 1934, the Reformed and Evangelical churches merged nationally and became known as the Evangelical and Reformed Church. In 1957, the Evangelical & Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Church merged nationally and became known as the United Church of Christ.

St John’s United Church of Christ in Germantown (Photo by the author, 4 Aug. 2012)

Therefore, the former St. John’s Reformed Church is now the St. John’s United Church of Christ. This congregation, over 200 years old, has worshiped at the southwest corner of Market and Walnut streets since 1828.

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[1] Rev. Thomas Winters was the father of Valentine Winters, a prominent Dayton banker. Two of Rev. Thomas’s other sons, Thomas H. and David, also became ministers.

[2] For a more complete list of the contents of the 1907 cornerstone, see Annie Hildabolt’s Centennial History.

Bibliography

Becker, Carl M. The Village: A History of Germantown, Ohio, 1804-1976. Germantown, OH: Germantown Historical Society, 1981. Dayton Local History 977.172 B395V.

Hentz, John P. History of the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Germantown, Ohio, and Biographies of its Pastors and Founders. Dayton, OH: Christian Publishing House, 1882. Dayton Local History 284.1 H52.

Hildabolt, Annie. “Centennial History of St. John’s Reformed Church at Germantown, Ohio” (1914). St. John’s Reform Church, Germantown, Ohio, Records, 1843-1914 (MSS 25), Ohio Historical Society (Columbus, Ohio).

History of Montgomery County, Ohio. Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co., 1882. Dayton Local History 977.172 H673A.

Kerne, Charme. History of Germantown [1804-1954]. [Germantown, OH?]: [Germantown Sesquicentennial Historical Committee?], 1954. Dayton Local History 977.172 K39H.

Montgomery County, Ohio, 1990: A History Written by the People of Montgomery County, Ohio. Dallas, TX: Taylor Publishing Co., 1990. Dayton Local History 977.172 M78813.

St. John’s United Church of Christ. “About Us.” 21 Oct. 2008. Accessed 28 Aug. 2012. http://www.stjohnsuccgermantownohio.org/page2.html.

*****

This biographical sketch was originally written by Lisa P. Rickey in August 2012 for the St. John’s Reformed Church (Germantown, Ohio) Records (MS-042) finding aid at the Dayton Metro Library, 215 E. Third St., Dayton, Ohio, 45402; phone (937) 496-8654.

Additional information about the sketch’s subject can be found in that collection. For more information about the manuscript collection’s contents, please see the original finding aid (which includes a name index), available in the Local History Room of the Dayton Metro Library or the OhioLINK EAD Repository entry.

Please contact the Dayton Metro Library or this blog’s author for more information about how to access the original finding aid or the manuscript collection.

Bio Sketch: Henry C. Schuberth (1848-1922), tobacco dealer in Miamisburg, Ohio

Henry Christian Schuberth was born June 7, 1848, in Wandsbek (near Hamburg), Germany, second of the nine children of William and Christina (Kahler) Schuberth.

Signature of Henry C. Schuberth from a September 1887 note (Schuberth Records, MS-033, Box 2, Folder 1)

Henry came to America when he was 3 years old. William and Christina Schuberth, with their four children, departed Hamburg, Germany, on November 17, 1851, aboard the ship Howard, and arrived in the port of New York in February 1852, after a voyage of 13 weeks.

The Schuberth family settled in Pennsylvania for two years before moving to Cincinnati in 1854, where William, a carpenter by trade, set up his business on the corner of Fifth and Elm Streets. William Schuberth later returned to Pennsylvania, settling at Unionville, near Pittsburgh, about 1870.

Henry C. Schuberth received a common education and worked as a clerk for a few years in both Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, as well as Cincinnati, Ohio, before moving to Miamisburg, Ohio, where he would spend the rest of his life.

Henry came to Miamisburg in 1865, when he was about 17 years old, to work as a clerk (for wages of $5 per month) in the tobacco business of his cousin Charles H. Spitzer. Spitzer was connected with the New York City tobacco dealing firm Bunzl & Dormitzer (Julius Bunzl and Henry Dormitzer).

When Spitzer removed to New York in 1873, Henry was given charge of Spitzer’s tobacco business at Miamisburg, including purchasing tobacco on joint account with Bunzl & Dormitzer. The firm traded several million pounds of tobacco per year at Miamisburg.

Letter from Bunzl and Dormitzer, New York tobacco dealers, to Henry C. Schuberth, January 12, 1876. (Schuberth Records, MS-033, Box 2, Folder 3)

Henry continued to conduct business with the firm Bunzl & Dormitzer until the end of 1883, when the firm dissolved after 35 years due to the retirement of Mr. Dormitzer. On January 1, 1884, the firm reconvened as J. Bunzl & Sons, and consisting of Julius Bunzl and his three sons Victor, Gustave, and Ernest Bunzl. Henry continued to do business with J. Bunzl & Sons through at least 1889.

These letter books contain copies of Henry C. Schuberth’s outgoing business correspondence for his tobacco business, from 1873-1896. And even after 100+ years, the books still smell sweetly of tobacco leaves. (Schuberth Records, MS-033, Letter books 1-4)

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Henry Schuberth’s copy of a letter he wrote to Bunzl and Dormitzer, tobacco dealers, in New York, ca. 1872. Schuberth’s copies of his correspondence are in 4 letter books with very thin paper. (Schuberth Records, MS-033, Letter book #1, page 74)

Henry conducted business with Joseph Bimberg, a tobacco dealer in Detroit, Michigan, from at least 1892 through 1897. Henry also conducted trade in the tobacco business with a number of other tobacco dealers in the Miami Valley, particularly Levi Baker of Brookville.

Henry’s tobacco warehouse was located between First Street (previously called Canal Street) and the Miami-Erie Canal, at the east end of Ferry Street (which used to dead-end before the canal).

Map indicating the location of the H. C. Schuberth tobacco warehouse in Miamisburg in 1892 (from Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, 1892)

The spot where his tobacco warehouse once stood is now occupied by the continuation of Ferry Street between First and Second Streets.

Ferry St bet First and Second (Miamisburg), former site of H. C. Schuberth tobacco warehouse (Photo by the author, 4 Aug. 2012)

Henry’s home, at 110 N. Main Street, was approximately 1 block away, where part of the Zee Motors lot is now.

NEC Main and Ferry (Miamisburg), former site of H. C. Schuberth house (110 N. Main) (Photo by the author, 4 Aug. 2012)

Henry C. Schuberth was widely recognized as being the oldest tobacco dealer in the Miami Valley at the time, when taking into account his years of continuous and actual service in the area’s tobacco industry.

Henry was a member of the Knights Templar, the Scottish Rite Freemasons, the Knights of Pythias, the International Order of Odd Fellows, and the Lutheran Church. In politics, he was a Republican.

On September 29, 1870, Henry C. Schuberth married a neighbor Sarah Oletta Shultz (1853-1937), daughter of Emanuel Shultz (1819-1912), a produce trader, tobacco dealer, banker, and later Congressman from Ohio’s 4^th District.

Henry and Sarah had three children, all of whom were born in Miamisburg, Ohio:

1. Clifford Manning Schuberth (born Apr. 15, 1876; died Mar. 13, 1960), who married Laura May Silberman (1875-1955), and had a daughter, Margaret Louise (Schuberth) Olinger (1903-1990);
2. Mary A. Schuberth (born May 20, 1879; died 1923), who married Charles Henry Hall (1877-1951), and had a son, Henry Schuberth Hall (1902-1984); and
3. Harry C. Schuberth (born Dec. 4, 1880; died 1954), who married Louise Victoria Kessel (1880-?), and had two daughters, Mary Oletha Schuberth and Virginia K. Schuberth.

Henry Christian Schuberth died on February 26, 1922, at his home in Miamisburg, Ohio, as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was buried on March 1, 1922, at Hill Grove Cemetery in Miamisburg. His wife Sarah died May 27, 1937, in Miamisburg, and was buried next to him.

Henry C. Schuberth tombstone in Hill Grove Cemetery (Photo by Mary Downing-Mahan, from Find-A-Grave. Used with permission.)

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Henry C. Schuberth tombstone in Hill Grove Cemetery (Photo by Mary Downing-Mahan, from Find-A-Grave. Used with permission.)

Bibliography

Conover, Frank. Centennial Portrait and Biographical Record of the City of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio. [Chicago]: A. W. Bowen, 1897. Pages 1048-1049. Dayton Local History 977.172 C753C 1897.

History of Montgomery County, Ohio. Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co., 1882. Pages 422, 458. Dayton Local History 977.172 H673A.

LaMarco, Frances. “Howard. Hamburg, Germany, to New York, November 17, 1851.” Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild. Transcribed 25 July 2000. Accessed 24 July 2012, http://immigrantships.net/v3/1800v3/howard18511117.html.

“Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953.” FamilySearch web site. Accessed 24 July 2012, http://www.familysearch.org.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Miamisburg, Ohio, 1886 & 1892. Accessed 24 July 2012, http://dmc.ohiolink.edu/oplinmap.htm.

“Schuberth, Henry C. (1848-1922).” Find A Grave. Accessed 24 July 2012, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=75055728.

U.S. Federal Census, 1860-1930, via Ancestry Library Edition.

When Tobacco was King and the Farmers Reigned. [Miamisburg, OH]: Miamisburg Historical Society, 2002. Pages 121-122. Dayton Local History 338.17371 W567 2002.

*****

This biographical sketch was originally written by Lisa P. Rickey in August 2012 for the Henry C. Schuberth Tobacco Business Records (MS-033) finding aid at the Dayton Metro Library, 215 E. Third St., Dayton, Ohio, 45402; phone (937) 496-8654.

Additional information about the sketch’s subject can be found in that collection. For more information about the manuscript collection’s contents, please see the original finding aid (which includes a name index), available in the Local History Room of the Dayton Metro Library or the OhioLINK EAD Repository entry.

Please contact the Dayton Metro Library or this blog’s author for more information about how to access the original finding aid or the manuscript collection.

Bio Sketch: lawyer Frank Breene (1860-1925) & teacher Carrie Breene (1864-1944)

Frank S. Breene and Carrie A. Breene were the youngest children of William Gale Breene (~1820-1896), a Dayton tailor who was a native of Ireland, and his wife Margaret (Jernee) Breene (~1822-1895).

William and Margaret (Jernee) Breene had 10 children:

1. Francis M. Breene (~1844-1847);
2. Martha Jane Breene (~1846-1918), sometimes called Jennie, who married Joseph T. Patton (~1841-1900) and moved to Detroit, Michigan;
3. William H. Breene (~1848-1901), an inspector in Dayton;
4. John J. Breene (~1851-1906), who moved to Kansas;
5. Mary Gale Breene (1853-1939), who never married, was a teacher and principal in Dayton public schools for many years;
6. Margaret Breene (~1855-1892), who married James D. Loughridge (~1855-1910) and moved to Louisville, Kentucky;
7. Emma Breene (~1855-1856);
8. Charles L. G. Breene (1859-1943), who was a tailor in Dayton for many years;
9. Frank Shuey Breene (1860-1925), a Dayton lawyer; and
10. Carrie A. Breene (1864-1944), a Dayton teacher.

*****

Frank Shuey Breene was born November 20, 1860, in Dayton, Ohio. He graduated in 1879 or 1880 from Dayton’s Central High School and began training for the bar soon afterwards. He apprenticed in the law office of Marshall & Gottschall. In May 1883, Frank was admitted to the bar.

Frank Breene, ca. 1907 (Dayton Daily News, 18 Sept. 1907, pg. 4)

Frank practiced law in Dayton for more than 40 years. Early in his career, Frank was a justice of the peace in Dayton. He also served two terms as city solicitor from 1910 to 1914. In November 1924, he made an unsuccessful bid for common pleas court judge. In politics, Frank was a Democrat.

Near the end of his life, Frank was a partner in the firm Breene, Dwyer, and Finn (with Albert J. Dwyer and Samuel L. Finn), which had an office in the Mutual Home Building. Dwyer had been Frank’s assistant during his time as city solicitor, and Finn had studied law under both Breene and Dwyer.

Frank was a member of fraternal organizations including the Elks Lodge No. 58 and the Knights of Pythias, Iola Lodge. He was a member of the Dayton Bar Association, and, when the elite Dayton Lawyers’ Club was founded in 1909, Frank Breene was among its original directors.

Frank S. Breene was never married. For many years, he and his two unmarried sisters, teachers Mary and Carrie Breene, lived together at 740 Superior Avenue (a large lot on the southeast corner of Superior and Easton) in the Old Dayton View neighborhood. The home site is now a grassy lot next to an apartment complex (736 Superior).

Frank S. Breene died of liver cancer on May 1, 1925, at his home on Superior Street in Dayton, Ohio, after an illness of several months. He was buried on May 4, 1925, in Woodland Cemetery in Dayton.

Tombstone of Frank Breene, Woodland Cemetery, Dayton (Photo by the author, 29 Aug. 2012)

*****

Carrie A. Breene was born October 22, 1864, in Dayton, Ohio. She graduated in 1883 or 1884 from Dayton’s Central High School. Her post-secondary education included the Dayton Normal School and the Columbia Teachers Colleges, as well as courses at Harvard University.

Carrie Breene, 1917 (Steele High School Annual, 1917, available in the Dayton Metro Library’s Local History Collection)

Carrie was a teacher in the Dayton public schools for 40 years. In 1884, she began teaching in one of the primary schools and continued in that position until 1898, when she became a teacher at Steele High School. Over the years, Carrie taught English, public speaking, history, and Latin. She retired in 1924 as one of the city’s best known public school teachers.

Carrie never married. She was was a member of the Young Woman’s Christian Association (YWCA), the Marlay Circle, the Woman’s Literary Club, and Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Carrie died of pneumonia on May 24, 1944, at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. She was buried on May 27, 1944, in Woodland Cemetery in Dayton.

Tombstone of Carrie Breene, Woodland Cemetery, Dayton (Photo by the author, 29 Aug. 2012)

Bibliography

Central High School. Brief History of the Alumni of Central High School, Dayton, Ohio. Dayton, OH: Alumni Association of the Central High School, 1887. Volume 3: pp. 2, 57.

Conover, Frank. Centennial Portrait and Biographical Record of the City of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio. [Chicago]: A. W. Bowen, 1897. Dayton Local History 977.172 C753C 1897.

Dalton, Curt. Portraits of Dayton. Dayton, OH: Asylum Graphics, 1993. Volume 1 & 2.

Dayton (OH) City Directories, 1886-1920. Dayton Metro Library.

“Dayton Deaths : Miss Carrie Breene.” Dayton Journal, 26 May 1944, p. 10.

Delta Kappa Gamma Society, Pi Chapter. Stories About Pioneer Women Teachers in Montgomery County, Ohio. Ohio: Delta Kappa Gamma Society, 1950. Dayton Local History B377172 D366S.

“Breene, Dwyer and Finn.” Official Annual Labor Review 2, no. 19 (1918). Accessed 26 July 2012, http://www.daytonhistorybooks.com/page/page/4478367.htm.

“Frank S. Breene Dies; Funeral is Set for Monday.” Dayton Journal, 2 May 1925, pp. 1-2.

Greer, David C. Sluff of History’s Boot Soles: An Anecdotal History of Dayton’s Bench and Bar. Wilmington, Ohio: Orange Frazer Press, 1996.

The Ohio Blue Book; or, Who’s Who in the Buckeye State: A Cyclopedia of Biography of Men and Women of Ohio. Toledo, OH: [s.n.], 1917.

“Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953.” FamilySearch web site. Accessed 16 July 2012, http://www.familysearch.org.

Steele High School Annual, 1909-1925. Dayton Metro Library.

U.S. Federal Census, 1850-1940, via Ancestry Library Edition.

Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum Interment Database, accessed 7 June 2012, http://www.woodlandcemetery.org.

*****

This biographical sketch was originally written by Lisa P. Rickey in July 2012 for the Breene Family Papers (MS-030) finding aid at the Dayton Metro Library, 215 E. Third St., Dayton, Ohio, 45402; phone (937) 496-8654.

Additional information about the sketch’s subject can be found in that collection. For more information about the manuscript collection’s contents, please see the original finding aid (which includes a name index), available in the Local History Room of the Dayton Metro Library or the OhioLINK EAD Repository entry.

Please contact the Dayton Metro Library or this blog’s author for more information about how to access the original finding aid or the manuscript collection.

Bio Sketch: Dr. Thomas A. McCann (1858-1943), homeopathic doctor in Dayton, Ohio

Thomas Addison McCann was born September 25, 1858, in Dresden, Muskingum County, Ohio, the eldest son of Thomas A. McCann (~1818-1883), a farmer and schoolteacher active in community government, and his wife Jane (McKee) McCann (~1826-1877).

Dr. Thomas A. McCann, ca. 1909 (from the Dayton Daily News, 9 Apr. 1909, pg. 9 – view complete article)

As a boy, Thomas attended the schools near his father’s farm. As a young man, he attended Denison University.[1] He began his medical training at the University of Michigan, which he attended during the 1882-1883 school year.

After only one year at University of Michigan, Thomas apparently halted his formal education temporarily, probably due to family obligations. His mother had died in 1877, and in March 1883, his father died, leaving at least two children under the age of 16. Thomas may have been needed at home to care for his younger siblings.

In October 1889, Thomas returned to his formal studies, matriculating to the school of homeopathic medicine at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia. He graduated from Hahnemann with his M.D. on April 7, 1891.

Upon graduating from medical school in 1891, Dr. Thomas McCann moved to Dayton, Ohio, where his younger brother Benjamin F. McCann was an attorney.

According to Dayton city directory listings, Dr. Thomas McCann’s first residence and office was located at 133 N. Perry Street, during the years 1891-1892. From 1892 until 1899, Thomas lived and practiced medicine at 108 N. Ludlow Street. From 1899 until the early 1940s, Thomas had his office and residence in a duplex at 115/117 N. Perry Street. (With regard to this collection: volumes 1 and 2 were from Dr. McCann’s practice on Ludlow Street; volumes 3 and 4 were from the practice at 115 N. Perry.)

Thomas McCann’s decision to move from the location at 108 N. Ludlow to the larger accommodations 115/117 N. Perry Street probably resulted from changes in his domestic situation. For several years, Thomas’s brother Benjamin and sister Celestia lived with him at 108 N. Ludlow.[2] In 1899, he added a wife and mother-in-law to his household, not to mention the children he would soon have.

On February 21, 1899, Thomas A. McCann married Jeannette Kratochwill (1868-1954), daughter of Joseph and Harriet (Conard) Kratochwill. It is possible that Thomas may have met Jeanette through his medical practice; the records indicate that he attended to her in 1895-1896 (see volume 1, page 406).

Jeannette Kratochwill billing record, 1895-1896 (Dr. T. A. McCann Financial Records, MS-047, Dayton Metro Library, Vol. 1, page 406)

Thomas and Jeannette McCann had five children, all of whom were born in Dayton:

1. Harriet K. McCann (born Feb. 26, 1900; died Mar. 10, 2000), who married George M. Roudebush and lived in Shaker Heights, Ohio;
2. Maj. Thomas Addison McCann, III (born July 2, 1901; died May 10, 1980), who served in the U. S. Army;
3. Jane McCann (born June 20, 1903; died Dec. 22 1952), who married Carl J. Linxweiler and lived in Oakwood;
4. Richard Lee McCann (born Feb. 22, 1905; died Apr. 19, 1941), a Dayton attorney who died unmarried at age 36 as a result of heart trouble; and
5. Joseph K. McCann (born Aug. 20, 1907; died Nov. 15, 1971), who was a clerk at Buckeye Iron and Brass Works in Dayton for several years.

Dr. Thomas A. McCann practiced homeopathic medicine in Dayton for approximately 50 years and was the personal physician of many prominent Daytonians, including James M. Cox and Charles F. Kettering. He was also a surgeon at Miami Valley Hospital for many years beginning in the early 1890s, shortly after it was founded.

J. M. Cox billing record, 1900 (Dr. T. A. McCann Financial Records, MS-047, Dayton Metro Library, Vol. 3, Page 82)

In addition to the practice of medicine and surgery, Dr. McCann was active in several professional organizations and boards. He was a member of the Ohio state board of medical examiners for over 16 years. He was a member of the American Institute of Homeopathy, of which he was elected president in 1920. He was also a member of the Dayton Homeopathic Society, the Montgomery County Medical Society, and the Ohio State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the New York Homeopathic College.

In 1926, Thomas McCann agreed to run as the Democratic candidate for Congress for Ohio’s Third District. He was defeated by the incumbent, Roy G. Fitzgerald.

Dr. McCann was an active member of the First Baptist Church in Dayton. He was also a member of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. In his leisure time, Dr. McCann enjoyed going to Canada on hunting trips.[3]

Dr. Thomas A. McCann died on the evening of November 7, 1943, at the home of his daughter Jane in Oakwood, Ohio, after a two-year battle with prostate cancer. His wife Jeannette died on February 21, 1954. They are both buried in Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio.

McCann Family Plot, Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio (Photo by the author, 3 June 2012)

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[1] Thomas’s attendance at Denison is mentioned in multiple sources, including his obituaries; however, librarians in the Denison University Archives were unable to find any records of his attendance (Mary Prophet to Lisa Rickey, email, 9 July 2012).

[2] After Thomas McCann moved to Perry Street, his brother Benjamin began boarding at the YMCA; within a year of Thomas’s marriage, Benjamin married Laura Thresher and setup household in her home at 315 N. Robert Bouelvard.

[3] On one such hunting trip in February 1906, a member of McCann’s hunting party, Dayton mayor Charles A. Snyder, drowned.

Bibliography

Bradford, Thomas L. “McCann, T. Addison.” In Biographical Index of the Graduates of Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania and the Hahnemann College and Hospital of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: [published by subscription], 1918. Accessed 30 June 2012, http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001587030.

Brown, Harry W., ed. “T. A. McCann, M.D., Dayton” (pp. 304, 326). In Southern Ohio and Its Builders. [sine loco]: Southern Ohio Biographical Association, 1927.

Dayton (OH) City Directories, 1889-1943. Dayton Metro Library.

“Dr. Thomas A. McCann Dies; Rites Will be on Wednesday,” Dayton Daily News, 8 Nov. 1943, pp. 1-2.

“Dr. Thomas A. McCann, 85, Dies; Physician 50 Years,” Dayton Journal, 8 Nov. 1943, p. 1.

Hawker, Emma, graduate assistant at Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, email correspondence to Lisa Rickey, 3 July 2012.

Herbison, Matthew, archivist at Drexel University College of Medicine, email correspondence to Lisa Rickey, 30 June 2012.

Herzog, Lucy S. “Dr. Lester E. Siemon, of Cleveland, 1867-1943; Dr. Thomas A. McCann, of Dayton, 1858-1943; Dr. Hamilton Fiske Biggar [of Cleveland], 1839-1926.” In Ohio State Medical Journal 46 (1950): 464.

“Homeopathy’s Greatest Needs.” The Clinique 42, no. 6 (1921): 243-247. Accessed 12 July 2012, http://books.google.com/books?id=y7lXAAAAMAAJ.

“Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X89J-Y62 : accessed 12 July 2012), Thomas A. McCann, 1943.

Prophet, Mary Webb, librarian at Denison University, email correspondence to Lisa Rickey, 9 July 2012.

Rogers, L. D., ed. [Editorial and special contributions]. In The North American Journal of Homeopathy 68, no. 8 (Aug. 1920): 702-703. Accessed 12 July 2012, http://books.google.com/books?id=L_FXAAAAMAAJ.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Dayton, Ohio, 1897 & 1918. Accessed 12 July 2012, http://dmc.ohiolink.edu/oplinmap.htm.

Ullman, Dana. “Charles F. Kettering” (pp. 240-243). In The Homeopathic Revolution: Why Famous People and Cultural Heroes Choose Homeopathy. Berekeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2007. Accessed 12 July 2012, http://books.google.com/books?id=BXZlprZRTJoC.

U.S. Federal Census, 1860-1930, via Ancestry Library Edition.

Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum Interment Database. Accessed 7 June 2012, http://www.woodlandcemetery.org.

*****

This biographical sketch was originally written by Lisa P. Rickey in July 2012 for the Dr. Thomas A. McCann Financial Records (MS-047) finding aid at the Dayton Metro Library, 215 E. Third St., Dayton, Ohio, 45402; phone (937) 496-8654.

Additional information about the sketch’s subject can be found in that collection. For more information about the manuscript collection’s contents, please see the original finding aid (which includes a name index), available in the Local History Room of the Dayton Metro Library or the OhioLINK EAD Repository entry.

Please contact the Dayton Metro Library or this blog’s author for more information about how to access the original finding aid or the manuscript collection.

Bio Sketch: Henry Hildabolt (1826-1902), cabinetmaker and undertaker in Germantown, Ohio

Henry Hildabolt was born August 29, 1826, in Heimershausen (near Naumburg and Kassel in Hesse), Germany.[1] Henry was the seventh child (and second son) out of the 8 children of John Hellabold (1789-1834) and his wife Catharine Elizabeth Nelke.[2] The other children of John and Catharine Hellabold were: Catherine Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Magdalena, Ann Catherine, Adam, Maria, and Andrew. John Hellabold made a comfortable living and was active in the Reformed Church.

Henry Hildabolt (1826-1902) (Photo from A Sketch of the Life and Death of Henry Hildabolt, with Letters and Papers received by the Family (Dayton, OH: United Brethren Publishing House, 1902))

In May 1834, John Hellabold and his family, including 7-year-old Henry, departed Bremen, Germany, aboard the steamship Isabella, and after 52 days at sea, arrived at the port of New York on July 4, 1834. They traveled west to Cincinnati, where they sold two shotguns to pay the canal fare to Miamisburg. They sold some linen in order to pay a man to take them by wagon from Miamisburg to Sunbury, near Germantown.

Less than two months after the family arrived in Sunbury, Henry’s father John Hellabold became ill and died. This presented the family with great hardship and the need to seek outside employment or apprenticeships. Due to the circumstances, the children received little formal education after arriving in America, although they had attended school in Germany. Consequently, Henry had but a few years of regular schooling, although he continued to attend Sunday school.

At the age of 8, Henry’s mother placed him with another family, so that he could learn a trade, although she visited him often. He first went to live in the home of a blacksmith, but as he was not treated well there, he ran away, back to his mother. Then his mother placed him in the home of John D. Gunckel (of Germantown), where he was treated as a son. Henry was meant to stay with Mr. Gunckel until he reached adulthood, but when he was 14 years old, he convinced Mr. Gunckel to let him learn a trade.

Therefore, Henry went to live and apprentice with a local cabinetmaker named Berryman G. Hawkins. After 5 years of learning the cabinetmaking trade with Mr. Hawkins, Henry set out on his own at the age of 19. He traveled to find work and lived for a year in Goshen, Indiana. Henry soon returned to Germantown, where he was hired by Mr. Hawkins, making cabinets, coffins, and furniture.

Henry became a citizen of the United States at the age of 21, being naturalized on September 28, 1847, at Eaton, Ohio. After acquiring his citizenship, he took great interest in all elections and political issues. He was a Republican and supported the Union during the Civil War. (Although he was disqualified from Civil War service based on his age, he was active in helping to fulfill the draft quotas.)

Henry Hildabolt’s Day Book, May 1852 (Dayton Metro Library, MS-044, Box 1, Folder 1)

During the summer of 1858, Mr. Hawkins wished to retire and invited Henry to buy out his furniture-making and undertaking business. Henry agreed, purchasing and taking over the business at the end of August. Henry performed his first duties as an undertaker on August 29, for a child named Pence; the funeral cost $6. His next undertaking call was on August 31 for Mrs. Peter Shaeffer; the total fees for the funeral and coffin were $12.

Henry Hildabolt’s Ledger (#1), 1858 (Dayton Metro Library, MS-044, Box 1, Folder 4, Page 2)

On November 18, 1849, in Montgomery County, Ohio, Henry married Sarah Barnhart (born July 20, 1828), daughter of John and Christine Barnhart. By 1855, the young couple had saved enough money to purchase a house and lot on the southeast corner of Gunckle and Plum streets in Germantown, where they lived until their deaths.[3]

Henry Hildabolt’s house in Germantown (photo by the author, 4 Aug. 2012)

Henry and Sarah had 8 children:

1. John A. Hildabolt (born Dec. 28, 1850; died Dec. 9, 1918);
2. Ida Clementine Hildabolt (born Nov. 13, 1855; died May 28, 1931), who married Charles F. Huber (1846-1923);
3. Charles W. Hildabolt (born Sept. 23, 1857; died Mar. 25, 1933), who married Emma C. Morningstar (1860-1934);
4. Collin Lincoln Hildabolt (born Dec. 3, 1859; died Nov. 12, 1936), who married Harriet Bell Becker (1864-1941);
5. Laura O. Hildabolt (born June 10, 1863; died Nov. 3, 1938), who married Frederick Kohnle (1860-1944);
6. Orion F. Hildabolt (born about July 1865; died Feb. 28, 1866);
7. Annie M. Hildabolt (born June 10, 1867; died Feb. 7, 1947); and
8. Chloe Hildabolt (born Aug. 6, 1869; died June 17, 1940).

Although his beginnings were humble, Henry became quite successful and amassed a small fortune. From 1858 through the end of 1883, Henry Hildabolt had buried 1,358 people in Germantown and the surrounding area. He continued to deal in furniture as well.

Stamp for H. Hildabolt Undertaker and Dealer in Furniture, Germantown, Ohio, ca. 1862-1883 (Dayton Metro Library, MS-044, Ledger #2, inside cover)

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Stationery for Henry Hildabolt, Undertaker and Furniture Dealer, 1875 (Dayton Metro Library, MS-044, Box 1, Folder 3)

On January 1, 1884, Henry made his son John a formal partner in the business, thenceforth called H. Hildabolt & Son, with Henry receiving 2/3 of the business’s profits and John receiving 1/3. From 1884 to 1902, H. Hildabolt & Son buried another 1,017 more people, for a total of 2,375 burials during Henry’s 44 years in the undertaking business. Henry did not retire until just a few weeks before his death, at which time the business became J. A. Hildabolt & Brother, operated by brothers John and Collin.

Partnership of Henry Hildabolt and John Hildabolt, 1884 (Dayton Metro Library, MS-044, Ledger #3, page 1)

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H. Hildabolt & Son bed at the Germantown Historical Society (photo by the author, 4 Aug. 2012)

In addition to his dedication to his business, Henry was active member and generous supporter of the St. John’s Reformed Church at Germantown, where he also served as a trustee and Sunday school superintendent for many years. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Friendship Lodge No. 21, from 1848 until his death.

Henry Hildabolt died on January 25, 1902, in Germantown, Ohio, and was buried in the Germantown Cemetery. His wife Sarah died July 24, 1910, and was buried beside him.

Tombstone of Henry Hildabolt and his wife Sarah, Germantown Cemetery (photo by the author, 4 Aug. 2012)

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[1] The Historical Society of Germantown consistently refers to him as “John Henry Hildabolt.” However, all other records, including the record of his birth (A Sketch of the Life and Death of Henry Hildabolt, p. 7) simply call him “Henry.” Heimershausen is located near the towns of Naumburg and Kassel, in the state of Hesse, Germany.

[2] The German spelling of the family name was “Hellabold” or “Hoellebold.” All references to Henry’s father use one of these German spellings, while all references to Henry and his family in the United States use the spelling “Hildabolt.”

[3] Henry Hildabolt’s house, now addressed 104 S. Plum Street, still exists and is a private residence.

*****

Bibliography

Ettel, Dorothy. “Hildabolt” [research notes]. Historical Society of Germantown (Germantown, Ohio). Accessed 4 Aug. 2012.

Hildabolt, Annie. “Centennial History of St. John’s Reformed Church at Germantown, Ohio” (1914). St. John’s Reform Church, Germantown, Ohio, Records, 1843-1914 (MSS 25). Ohio Historical Society (Columbus, Ohio).

“Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994.” FamilySearch web site. Accessed 26 Aug. 2012, http://www.familysearch.org.

“Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953.” FamilySearch web site. Accessed 16 July 2012, http://www.familysearch.org.

“Pioneer Citizen Passed to His Reward.” Germantown Press, 30 Jan. 1902. In Dorothy Ettel, “Hildabolt” [research notes].

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Germantown, Ohio, 1921. Accessed 6 Aug. 2012, http://dmc.ohiolink.edu/oplinmap.htm.

“Self-Guided Tour of Historic Germantown, Ohio” (brochure). [Germantown, OH]: Historical Society of Germantown, [2012?].

A Sketch of the Life and Death of Henry Hildabolt, with Letters and Papers received by the Family. Dayton, OH: United Brethren Publishing House, 1902.

U.S. Federal Census, 1860-1940, via Ancestry Library Edition.

*****

This biographical sketch was originally written by Lisa P. Rickey in August 2012 for the Henry Hildabolt Cabinetmaker & Undertaker Business Records (MS-044) finding aid at the Dayton Metro Library, 215 E. Third St., Dayton, Ohio, 45402; phone (937) 496-8654.

Additional information about the sketch’s subject can be found in that collection. For more information about the manuscript collection’s contents, please see the original finding aid available in the Local History Room of the Dayton Metro Library or the OhioLINK EAD Repository entry.

Please contact the Dayton Metro Library or this blog’s author for more information about how to access the original finding aid or the manuscript collection.

Bio Sketch: Jonathan Harshman Winters (1834-1915), banker in Dayton, Ohio

Jonathan Harshman Winters, I, was born October 21, 1834, in Dayton, Ohio, the fourth child (and eldest son) out of the 11 children of Valentine Winters (1807-1890) and his wife Catherine Harshman (1810-1882). He was named after his grandfather, Jonathan Harshman, Sr. Valentine Winters and his son Jonathan were prominent Dayton bankers.

Jonathan H. Winters (1834-1915), from the Dayton Daily News, 4 June 1915, pg. J5.

Jonathan attended local Dayton schools. Then, in 1851, he attended the Flushing Institute, a preparatory school in Long Island, New York. In 1852-1853, he studied at “the College Hill university” (Farmer’s College) in Cincinnati.

In 1853 or 1854, Jonathan became an assistant teller and messenger at the Dayton Exchange Bank, which was controlled by his father Valentine Winters, his uncle Jonathan Harshman, Jr., his brother-in-law Robert R. Dickey, and James R. Young. Within a few years, Harshman, Dickey, and Young had all withdrawn from the Exchange Bank. In 1857, Valentine Winters made his son Jonathan a partner (one-third interest) in the bank, which was then known as V. Winters & Son.

The same year that he became a partner in his father’s bank, Jonathan H. Winters married Susan Louella Bates on June 9, 1857, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Susan was born September 16, 1837, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the eldest daughter of Richard Bates (1808-1855) and his wife Nancy Trotter (1814-1870).

Susan L. (Bates) Winters (1837-1910), portrait taken in 1891 by Appleton (Winters Papers, 4:3, Photo # 02, Dayton Metro Library)

The Jonathan H. Winters family resided from at least the 1860s until about 1899 at 115 W. Third Street (north side of Third between Wilkinson and Ludlow), across the street from Jonathan’s father Valentine Winters’ large mansion at 130 W. Third Street. The Valentine Winters home became the site of the Women’s Christian Association in 1891 [dedicated 31 Jan. 1892, see MS-038, 4:1, p. 107].

Jonathan H. Winters’ home (on the right), 115 W. Third St. in 1927 (Lutzenberger Photo # 0174, Dayton Metro Library)

A new YMCA was built at the northwest corner of Third and Ludlow in 1908, and the YMCA eventually purchased the J. H. Winters house next-door to be used as the Boys’ Building. The site is currently [2012] part of a Dayton municipal parking garage. About 1899, the Jonathan and Susan Winters moved to 137 W. First Street (northeast corner First and Wilkinson), where they lived until their deaths. The site is now a parking lot.

Jonathan Harshman Winters, I, and Susan Louella (Bates) Winters) had three children, all of whom were born in Dayton, Ohio:

1. Louella Winters (born Sept. 22, 1858; died Aug. 13, 1940), who married Allen E. Thomas (1855-1910) in 1884 and had several children;
2. Clara Winters (born Mar. 26, 1861; died Apr. 13, 1939), who never married; and
3. Valentine Winters, II (born June 9, 1866; died Oct. 8, 1943), who married Helen Wood Clegg (1867-1938) in 1889 and had one son, Jonathan Harshman Winters, II (1898-1975).

On January 1, 1882, the V. Winters & Son Bank became the Winters National Bank, with Jonathan H. Winters as its president. With the exception of one year, Jonathan was the active head of the Winters National Bank for 31 years, from its inception on January 1, 1882, until he stepped down as president on January 1, 1913. However, he remained vice president until his death. Winters National Bank was located on the northeast corner of Third and Main Streets.

Callahan Building, northeast corner Third and Main streets, where the Winters National Bank was located for a number of years. Photo circa 1917. (Lutzenberger Photograph # 0265A, Dayton Metro Library)

The one year in which Jonathan H. Winters did not serve as active head of the Winters National Bank was from August 1882 to August 1883. During that time, Jonathan, his wife, and his three children traveled extensively throughout Asia, the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Europe. While Jonathan and his family were “globe trotting,” as he called it, his father Valentine acted as head of the Winters National Bank.

One of many postcards collected by J. H. Winters during his world tour from 1882-1883. (Winters Papers, 2:5, Dayton Metro Library)

In addition to his interest in the banking industry, Jonathan H. Winters also held stock in the Dayton and Western Traction Company, the Dayton and Troy Traction Company, and other corporations.

Although Jonathan H. Winters was interested in civic and community affairs, he preferred the company of his family and the books in his large library over companionship from social clubs or organizations.

Susan L. Winters was actively involved in the Women’s Christian Association (WCA). She and her mother Nancy (Trotter) Bates were among its organizers in 1870, and Susan Winters was its first president. Susan was also among the founders (and a generous donor to the construction fund) of the Dayton Widows’ Home, which was built on Findlay Street in 1883 and maintained by the WCA.

When Miami Valley Hospital decided to remove from its location on Fourth Street to its present location near Apple Street, Susan Winters has been credited with having donated the land for the hospital.[1]

Jonathan and Susan Winters were members of the Third Street Presbyterian Church in Dayton. Susan taught a large Sunday school class for adults there for a number of years.

Susan L. (Bates) Winters died of heart disease on September 9, 1910, at her home, 137 W. First Street, Dayton, Ohio. She was 72 years old.

On June 4, 1915, Jonathan Harshman Winters, I, died in Dayton, as a result of pneumonia contracted during a lengthy road trip in inclement weather the previous week. He was 80 years old.

Jonathan H. Winters and his wife Susan L. Winters are buried in Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio.

Jonathan and Susan Winters grave, Woodland Cemetery (Photo by the author, 29 Aug. 2012)

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[1] This was stated in Susan’s obituary. However, Mark Bernstein’s book Miami Valley Hospital: A Centennial History (1990) names “Clara Winters” (the name of Jonathan and Susan’s daughter) as the land donor (pp. 18-19).

Bibliography

Bernstein, Mark. Miami Valley Hospital: A Centennial History. [Dayton, OH]: Miami Valley Hospital, 1990.

Dayton (OH) City Directories, 1856-1916. Dayton Metro Library.

Dayton Widows’ Home. “About Widows Home – Our History.” Accessed 11 July 2012, http://www.widowshome.org/about-us.

“Death Beckons Mrs. Winters.” Dayton Journal, 10 Sept. 1910, p. 9.

“Jonathan H. Winters, Pioneer Banker, Dies.” Dayton Daily News, 4 June 1915, p. J-5.

“Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953,” index and images. Accessed 11 July 2012, at FamilySearch, http://www.familysearch.org.

“Prominent Dayton Banker Succumbs to Pneumonia.” Dayton Journal, 5 Jun 1915, p. 8.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Dayton, Ohio, 1897 & 1918. Accessed 19 July 2012, http://dmc.ohiolink.edu/oplinmap.htm.

Winters, Jonathan H. A Sketch of the Winters Family. Dayton, OH: United Brethren Publishing House, 1889.

Winters, Susan L. [Winters family genealogy notes]. Winters Collection (MS-038), 4:2, Dayton Metro Library (Dayton, Ohio).

Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum Interment Database. Accessed 11 July 2012, http://www.woodlandcemetery.org.

*****

This biographical sketch was originally written by Lisa P. Rickey in July 2012 for the Jonathan H. & Susan L. (Bates) Winters Papers (MS-038) finding aid at the Dayton Metro Library, 215 E. Third St., Dayton, Ohio, 45402; phone (937) 496-8654.

Additional information about the sketch’s subject can be found in that collection. For more information about the manuscript collection’s contents, please see the original finding aid available in the Local History Room of the Dayton Metro Library or the OhioLINK EAD Repository entry.

Please contact the Dayton Metro Library or this blog’s author for more information about how to access the original finding aid or the manuscript collection.

Bio Sketch: A. H. Mittendorf (1863-1949), wood carver in Dayton, Ohio

August Herman Mittendorf, sometimes called “Herman” or simply “A. H.,” was born in March 1863 in Ohio, the fourth surviving child of Rev. William Mittendorf (1830-1895) and his first wife Louisa Remmert (~1830-1879).[1] The other children of William and Louisa were: Eliza, Charles, Louis, John, Lydia, and Anna. William and his second wife Rosina Meyers (~1846-1893) had two more children: Nellie and William.

August’s parents were born in Germany and came to America in 1853, settling first in southern Ohio (near Portsmouth and Ironton). Rev. William Mittendorf was a preacher with the United Brethren Church and traveled many Midwest circuits in the 1860s. In 1869, the family came to Dayton, Ohio, where Rev. Mittendorf served for many years as an editor at the United Brethren Publishing House.

While several members of the Mittendorf family followed Rev. William’s footsteps and joined the printing business, August pursued a much different occupation: wood carving and design.

In the 1879-1880 Dayton City Directory, “Herman A. Mittendorf,” then age 16, was listed as a “carver.” He appeared the following year (1880-1881) with the same entry. On the 1880 census, he was listed as a “cabinetmaker.”

A. H. Mittendorf was conspicuously absent from the Dayton City Directories for the four years from 1881 to 1885. The specific reason for August’s apparent absence from the directories (and probably from Dayton) during that time is unclear.

August appeared in the Dayton City Directories again in 1885. The 1885-1886 Dayton City Directory listed A. H. Mittendorf with occupation “wood carver and designer; architectural carving a specialty.”

Some of Mittendorf’s sketches and records, 1902 (Mittendorf Records, Vol. 2, pg. 41, Dayton Metro Library)

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Some of Mittendorf’s sketches, undated (Mittendorf Records, Vol. 3, pp. 50-51, Dayton Metro Library)

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Some of Mittendorf’s sketches, 1899 (Mittendorf Records, Vol. 3, pp. 6-7, Dayton Metro Library)

Thenceforth, from 1885 until 1938 (more than 50 years), A. H. Mittendorf was listed in the Dayton directories under some variation of the following occupations: wood carver, designer, cabinetmaker, and even maker of “interior woodwork and special furniture.” (The most common entry was “wood carver.”) For much of his career, August’s business office was located on the south side of Third Street, just east of Main (address 10 E. Third, 28 E. Third, 32 E. Third).

Based on his business records, August sometimes did business as a subcontractor, and sometimes he was hired directly by his customers. He frequently did Dayton businesses such as M. Ohmer’s Sons furniture manufacturers, contractor O. L. Bouck, and F. A. Requarth manufacturers, as well as Middletown lumber business Caldwell & Iseminger.

Through both subcontracted and direct-hired work, A. H. Mittendorf created detailed wood carvings for the architecture and furnishings of many prominent Dayton area families, including F. P. Beaver, E. J. Barney, Edward Canby, R. C. Schenck, the Threshers, the Thrustons, and the Chews (of Xenia). He also did many carvings for National Cash Register Company and a few for Barney and Smith Car Company.

Records of some of Mittendorf’s work for NCR, 1889 (Mittendorf Records, Vol. 1, pp. 52-53, Dayton Metro Library)

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Mittendorf did quite a bit of work at the home of F. P. Beaver in 1903-1904. (Beaver had married Mary Thresher in Feb. 1903.) (Mittendorf Records, Vol. 2, pg. 56, Dayton Metro Library)

In addition to these local customers, Mittendorf designed wood carvings for the architecture of at least 15 county courthouses in 9 states. He also designed carvings for the Ohio State House; Ohio Senator John Sherman’s Washington, D.C., residence; and the residence of former Ohio governor William Dennison.

[Although the job apparently predates or is simply not listed in the Mittendorf Business Records, A. H. Mittendorf carved the two large decorative panels that hung over the arched window in the Old Library and which can now be seen hanging in the Local History Room of the Main Dayton Library:

Panels carved for Dayton’s Old Library by A. H. Mittendorf, ca. 1887-1888, under contract with architects Beaver & Butts (photo by the author, 19 Sept. 2012). See additional photos of them on Flickr.

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In 1895, August H. Mittendorf married Harriet A. Roser (1865-1945), who was a dressmaker in Dayton for many years. In 1898, they moved to the Dayton View neighborhood and made their residence at 621 Grand Avenue until their deaths. They do not appear to have had any children.

August Herman Mittendorf died on April 4, 1949, in Dayton, Ohio. He and his wife are buried in Woodland Cemetery in Dayton.

Headstones of A. H. Mittendorf and his wife Harriet in Woodland Cemetery (Photo by the author, 29 Aug. 2012)

Bibliography

Dayton (OH) City Directories, 1877-1949. Dayton Metro Library.

Death notice of August H. Mittendorf, Dayton Journal, 6 Apr. 1949, p. 15.

Hamilton, William J. Press Release [re: Old Library Panels]. 18 Feb. 1938. Dayton Metro Library Collection (MS-007), 8:3, Dayton Metro Library (Dayton, Ohio).

Haverstock, Mary Sayre, Jeannette Mahoney Vance, & Brian L. Meggitt, eds. Artists in Ohio, 1787-1900: A Biographical Dictionary. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2000), 606.

History of Montgomery County, Ohio. Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co., 1882. “W. Mittendorf,” Book 3, pages 226-227. Dayton Local History 977.172 H673.

“Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X87T-FLF : accessed 21 June 2012), August H. Mittendorf, 1895.

“Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X6R7-GP1 : accessed 21 June 2012), August Herman Mittendorf, 1949.

U.S. Federal Census, 1870-1910, via Ancestry Library Edition.

Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum Interment Database, accessed 7 June 2012, http://www.woodlandcemetery.org.

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[1] It is difficult to determine specifically where August was born, since his father was a preacher and moved often in the 1860s.

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This biographical sketch was originally written by Lisa P. Rickey in June 2012 for the Mittendorf Business Records (MS-048) finding aid at the Dayton Metro Library, 215 E. Third St., Dayton, Ohio, 45402; phone (937) 496-8654.

Additional information about the sketch’s subject can be found in that collection. For more information about the manuscript collection’s contents, please see the original finding aid available in the Local History Room of the Dayton Metro Library or the OhioLINK EAD Repository entry.

Please contact the Dayton Metro Library or this blog’s author for more information about how to access the original finding aid or the manuscript collection.

Van Cleve at St. Clair’s defeat

A few weeks ago, my blog stats told me that someone had been searching for “van cleave st. clair’s defeat.”

Now, “St. Clair’s Defeat” refers to a battle in November 1791 in which the forces of Genl. Arthur St. Clair (also Governor of the Northwest Territory) were defeated handily by a force of Native Americans led by Little Turtle. It is considered the greatest defeat of the U.S. Army by Native Americans. (Read more about it at Ohio History Central and Wikipedia.)

In the course of arranging and describing the Van Cleve-Dover Papers (MS-006, Dayton Metro Library), I learned that Benjamin Van Cleve’s Memoranda (Memoirs) apparently includes the most accurate and detailed description of General Arthur St. Clair’s defeat.

I assume that Benjamin Van Cleve’s first-hand account of St. Clair’s defeat is what that person was searching for when they typed “van cleave st. clair’s defeat” into their search engine.

So, whoever you are, here is a transcription of that account. Although the original in is the Van Cleve-Dover Collection, due to its age and fragility, I opted not to retrieve it for a photo-op, so all you get is the text. But do know that the original is safe and sound in the Dayton Library’s Local History collections.

On the 23rd of September my uncle received his letters of instructions & we immediately left Fort Washington-” with three or four brigades of pack horses loaded with armourers & artificers tools — The Artificers with Capt Tharp their Superintendant marched with us armed & composed but a weak escort We encamped the first night on the bank opposite to Fort Hamilton which had been recently erected At daybreak I went some distance from the encampment to look for my horse & discovered a person armed I ran in & gave the alarm a party turned out with me & we met the person who had discovered me & ran in by a more circuitous route very much frightened, it immediately occurred to me that we had alarmed each other & on asking a few questions I ascertained it. — On the fifth day in the morning we overtook the army at the first wet prairie between thirty & forty miles in advance of Fort Hamilton. This day the army lay still & the next we marched about seven or eight miles The day following we moved about half a mile & remained about a week, during this time Fort Jefferson was commenced & about half finished on ground on the right of our encampment We then returned with six brigades of pack- horses to Fort Hamilton one of which to Fort Washington where I also returned Our escort consisted of about half of
Faulkners company of Levies commanded by Capt. Faulkner with his Lieutenant Mr Huston who afterwards in the regular service at Greenville fought with Capt. Bradshaw the fatal duel where both were mortally wounded. Col Duer the Con- tractor had failed It had almost defeated all the arrangements of the army he failed to transport provisions sufficient for the troops & they were reduced before this time to short allowance in consequence of it — The orders from the board of war to the Commander in Chief were said to be imperiously to proceed We were sent to bring provisions to assist the other line in the transportation. On the last day of October we over took the army twenty two miles in advance of Fort Jefferson & found the Commander in Chief so ill with the gout as to be carried in a litter We met on the same day a few miles before we came up with the army about sixty of the Kentucky militia deserting in one body This evening the first regiment was detached to endeavor to bring them back & to escort in provisions then on the way

On the first of November the army lay I think at Still water On the second & third we marched to a Creek supposed to be the St. Mary’s but which was a branch of the Wabash We had orders to return next morning with some pack horses to assist the other line in bringing more provision.

I had been entered as a pack horseman at fifteen dollars per month: At times I had considerable writing to do Every brigade drew their rations seperately; & when we were not on the march I had this service to perform, orders to communicate & often the care of my uncles horses as well as my own, when we were on the march we could sometimes make arrangements so that I could ride, at other times I had to carry a share of our stores or baggage lashed on my beast & was obliged to foot it through the mud in the roughest manner We had a Marquee or large horsemens tent & having room took several officers into our mess Having sometimes to be in company & employment with officers & at other times in the mud I was induced to take all my clothes with me; so that even when I was able to ride I always had luggage sufficient to make it necessary to use a lash rope On the fourth at day break^° I began to prepare for returning & had got about half my luggage on my horse when the firing commenced We were encamped just within the lines on the right The attack was made on the Kentucky militia, almost instantaneously the small remnant of them that escaped broke through the line near us & this line gave way followed with a tremendous fire from the enemy & passed me. I threw my bridle over a stump from which a tent pole had been cut & retreated a short distance & finding the troops halt, re- turned & brought my horse a little further; I was now
between the fires & the troops giving way again was obliged to leave him a second time — as I quit him he was shot down & I felt extremely glad as I concluded now that I should be at liberty to share in the engagement My inexperience prompted me to calculate on the strength of our forces being far superior to any the savages could assemble & that we should soon have the pleasure of pursuing them & I determined on being if possible among the foremost in the pursuit, not more than five minutes had yet elapsed when a soldier near me had his arm swinging with a wound I requested his arms & accoutrements as he was unable to use them promising to return them to him & commenced firing — the smoke was settled about three feet from the ground but I generally put one knee to the ground & with a rest from behind a tree waited the appearance of an Indians head from behind a tree or when one ran to change his position. Before I was convinced of my mistaken calculations I had become familiarized to the scene & the battle was half over. Hearing the fire at one time unusually brisk near the rear of our left wing I crossed the encampment — two Levy officers were just ordering a charge: I had fired away my ammunition & some of the bands of my musket fiew off, I picked up another & a cartouch box nearly filled & ran ahead to a large tree where I charged my piece, & fixed my bayonet, almost against the party reached me — I think there was about thirty of us — I was soon in front — the Indians run to the right where was a small valley filled with logs. I bent my course after them & found I was with only seven or eight men the others had kept straight forward & had halted about 30 yards off We halted also & being so near to where the savages lay concealed the second fire from them left me standing alone; my cover was a small sugar tree or Beech scarcely large enough to hide me, & most of the Indians in the hollow from 50 to 70 yards distant directed their fire at me: The balls some struck the tree & many ploughed along the ground at its root one moved my hat but did not cut it. I fired away all my ammunition I am uncertain whether with any effect or not — a little before I left this place I discovered an Indian throwing his blanket up & down at the side of a tree & sometimes his body appeared I took good & steady aim past the side of the tree & when his body appeared fired & did not see him or his blanket more. When my ammunition was expended I looked for the party near me, I saw them retreating and half way back to the lines. I then retreated running my best & was soon in; by this time cur artillery had been taken I know not whether the first or second time our troops had just retaken it and were charging the Indians over the Creek in front, & some person pointed me to an Indian running with one of my kegs of powder but I did not see him ; there were about 30 of our men & officers laying scalped around the pieces of Artillery; it appeared the Indians had not been in a hurry for their hair was all skinned off. Daniel Bonham a young man raised by my uncle & brought up with me & whom I regarded as a brother had by this time received a shot through his hips & was unable to walk I got a horse & got him on. My uncle had received a ball near his wrist that lodged near his elbow. The ground was literally covered with dead & dying men & the Commander gave orders to take them away, perhaps it had been given more explicitly — happening to see my uncle he told me that a retreat was ordered & that I must do the best I could & take care of myself. Bonham insisted that he had a better chance of escaping than me & urged me to look to my own safety alone I found the troops pressing like a drove of bullocks to the right & gained the front when I saw an officer (who I took to be Lieut Morgan an aid to Genl Butler) with six or eight men start on a run a little to the left of where I was. I immediately ran & fell in with them — in a short distance we were so suddenly among the Indians who were not apprised of our object that they opened to us & ran to the right & left without firing I think about 200 of our men passed through them before they fired except a chance shot When we had proceeded about two miles most of those mounted had passed me, a boy had been thrown or fell off a horse & begged my assistance & I ran pulling him along about two miles further until I had nearly become exhausted The last two horses in the rear had; one, two; & the other carried three men I made an exertion & threw him on behind the two men The Indians followed but about half a mile further The boy was thrown off sometime afterwards but escaped & got in safe My friend Bonham I did not see on the retreat but understood he was thrown off about this place & lay on the left of the trace where he was found in the winter & was buried I took the cramp violently in my thighs & could scarcely walk until I got within a hundred yards of the rear where the Indians were tomahawking the old & wounded men I further detained here to tie my pocket handkerchief around a mans wounded knee & saw the Indians close in pursuit at this time — for a moment my spirits sunk & I felt in despair for my safety I hesitated whether to leave the road or whether I was capable of further exertions If I left the road the Indians were in plain sight & could easily overtake me I threw the shoes off my feet & the coolness of the ground seemed to revive me. I again began a trot & recollect when a bend in the road offered & I got before half a dozen persons to have thought that it would occupy some time of the enemy to massacre these before my turn would come By the time I had got to Stillwater (about eleven miles) I had gained the centre of the flying troops & like them came to a walk I fell in with Lieutenant Shaumburgh (who if my recollection serves me was the only officer of artillery that got away unhurt) with Corporal Mott & a woman who was called red headed Nance — the latter two were both crying Mott was lamenting the loss of his wife & Nance of an infant child Shaumburgh was nearly exhausted & hung on Motts arm I carried his fusee & accoutrements & led Nance In this sociable way we came together & arrived at Jefferson a little after sunset. The commander in chief had ordered Col Dark to press forward to the convoys of provisions & hurry them on to the army Maj Truman Capt Sedam & my uncle were setting forward with him a number of soldiers packhorse masters & men & myself among them joined them on foot We came on a few miles when all overcome with fatigue agreed to halt Darius Curtus Orcutt a packhorse master had stolen at Jefferson one pocketfull of flour & the other of beef, one of the men had a kettle & Jacob Fowler & myself groped round in the dark until we found water where a tree had been torn out of root & we made a kettle of soup of which I got a small portion amongst the many It was then concluded as there was a bend in the road a few miles further on that the Indians might undertake to intercept us there & we decamped & travelled about four or five miles further I had got at Jefferson a rifle & ammunition from a wounded Militia man an old acquaintance to bring in A centinel was set & we lay down to rest & lay until the Governor came up a few hours after; I think I never slept so profoundly & I could hardly get awake when on my feet. On the third the ground was covered with snow, the flats were now filled with water frozen over as thick as a knife blade I was worn out with fatigue my feet knock’d to pieces against the roots in the night & in splashing barefooted among the ice In the morning we got to a camp of packhorsemen & amongst them I got a doughboy or water dumpling & proceeded We got this day within seven miles of Hamilton & lay around a burning tree so stiffened as to be unable to get out of the way if the tree had been falling on us On the sixth I arrived at Hamilton soon in the morning over the ground very rough & much frozen & remained there until next morning

Nov 7th Notwithstanding the Indians had killed several on the road recently between Hamilton & Cincinnati I came with Joseph Stephenson & with no arms but the rifle I had brought in, to Cincinnati.

On the 25th November we were discharged I received my pay, entered into the service of Elliot & Williams the new Contractors & set off the same day for the falls of Ohio to bring up a boat load of salt.

The above text is from Beverly Bond’s 1922 transcription of Benjamin Van Cleve’s Memoranda. The memoirs, in their entirety, can be found online at : http://archive.org/details/memoirsofbenjami00vancrich.

Additional information about Benjamin Van Cleve (1773-1821) can be found in one of my earlier blog posts [Bio Sketch: Benjamin Van Cleve, 29 May 2012], on Wikipedia ["Benjamin Van Cleve"], and of course at the Dayton Metro Library (not least of which being in the manuscripts of the Van Cleve-Dover Papers!).