Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, Part 65

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others
Publication date: 1905
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1149

USA > Ohio > Butler County > Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio > Part 65

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The selection of Rev. Mr. Schenk to the pastorate of the First Methodist Episcopal church in Hamilton was a deserved promo- tion in recognition of pastoral efficiency and devoted energy in the Master's cause. The field of his usefulness was broadened com- parably to his increasing ability as a pulpit orator and as a wise and judicious pastor. The handsome edifice had been completed and occupied for some time previous to Mr. Schenk's induction as pastor, but, owing to a serious financial depression in years recently preceding the dedication, a con- siderable sum in subscriptions was not found to be available. This imposed an unfore- seen debt of about thirteen thousand dol- lars upon the church, which was naturally a serious impediment to progress. Through the labors of the official board and the con- current helpful action of the pastor, this in-

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debtedness has been paid off and the church stands today free from the discomforts of debt. At the same time the current ex- penses, pastor's salary and constantly oc- curing internal improvements have been met and provided for with characteristic liber- ality and promptness. The social functions of the church are fully abreast the times in all details, and the Ladies' Aid Societies have been no small factor in providing ready money, as well as a high class of social en- joyment.

As a pastor, Rev. Schenk is ever alert and active. He is a social and companionable in all his associations with the people, and no home is too poor to receive his pastoral attention in the course of his official life or in cases where the consolations of the gospel are sought by those in distress. He is pre- eminently a man of God, and even the most skeptical have a high regard for the vital piety and Christlike spirit which he displays in his every-day life. As a pulpit orator, Mr. Schenk takes high rank among his co- laborers in Hamilton. His sermons are emanations from a thoughtful Christian mind; his language is terse and compre- hensive, mellowed at times by the pathos of earnest appeal, at other times made beautiful by a sublime rhetorical climax. He is a master of language, a vivid word painter. and a student whose careful and thoughtful productions not only please his hearers, but carry convictions by their earnestness and force. There is no more popular pastor in the city of Hamilton than Rev. C. E. Schenk, as his phenomenally long continu- ance at the head of the Methodist church abundantly attests. A five-years pastorate was, until recently, the limit of the law un-

der the rules of the general conference; but fortunately the time limit has been left by recent church legislation to the discretion of the bishops. It is the universal belief that Mr. Schenk will end his ministerial labors in Hamilton if the choice is left to his parishioners. In June, 1904, Miami Uni- versity conferred upon Rev. Schenk the well-merited degree of Doctor of Divinity.

Associated with Mr. Schenk in the du- ties of his pastorate is Rev. S. A. Stephan, as assistant pastor. Through the united efforts of these zealous Christian gentlemen, a class of sixty-five members was organized at Lindenwald in February, 1903. This is under the direct pastorate of Mr. Stephan. No church edifice has yet been erected, though the mission and Sunday school are in a flourishing condition.

The First Methodist Episcopal church in Hamilton has a membership of seven hundred and fifty communicants, with an enrollment of six hundred in the Sunday school. There are fifty-five officers and teachers connected with the school. The handsome church edifice was erected in 1893. at a cost of forty thousand dollars. It stands on the site occupied by the church since its first building was erected in 1819. The class was organized by Rev. Samuel West, a circuit preacher, in 1818, though preaching services had been conducted here by the Methodists for some few years pre- viously. A second church building was erected in 1833. This was destroyed by fire in 1839, and the third meeting house was erected on the same site in 1840. This building was rebuilt and enlarged in 1868, and served the people until the erection of the present edifice. Some very distinguished

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divines have occupied the pulpit of the Methodist Episcopal church here during its life of more than three-quarters of a cen- tury.

Rev. Mr. Schenk was married on the 28th of November, 1893, at Delaware, Ohio, to Miss Bertha Harrold, a native of South Charleston, Ohio, a daughter of Seymour and Laura Harrold. Mrs. Schenk was edu- cated at the Ohio Wesleyan University, where she was assistant teacher of oratory during a part of her college course. In 1892 she was graduated from the Kansas City School of Oratory, but an early mar- riage thereafter doubtless interfered with her future plans in this fascinating work. Two children have come to bless the happy domestic fireside, but of these, little Miss Helen was called home at the age of seven- teen months. Margaret Frances, named in honor of her two great-grandmothers, who were then living, is a sweet little girl of eight years. She is busy with her school work and music and the thoughtless joys of happy childhood.

HARRY S. THOBE.

The subject of this sketch is one of the progressive and honored business men of Oxford, and is known as one of the lead- ing contractors in connection with archi- tectural cement work, tile work and general building in this section, having attained marked success in his chosen field of en- deavor and that through his own efforts. Mr. Thobe is a native of the state of Ken- tucky, having been born in Covington, just across the Ohio river from Cincinnati, Ohio,

on the 12th of February, 1870, and being a son of Hon. George and Elizabeth Thobe. He received his educational training in the public schools of his native state, and in 1882 began an apprenticeship at the trade of brickmason, serving four years and be- coming thoroughly familiar with all de- tails of the same. At the age of nineteen years he began contracting on his own re- sponsibility, and in this connection he has been identified with building operations in thirty-six states and four territories of our national domain. In 1896 he took up his residence in Oxford, this county, where he has since maintained his home, and he has been here identified with much important work as a contractor, having been concerned in the erection of the passenger station of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Rail- road, three of the finest school buildings and a number of the finest private residences in the place, while he has also done an ex- tensive business in the putting in of cement sidewalks, having laid several miles of the same in Oxford. He was also one of the first to introduce the use of cement for building purposes in this section, and is pre- pared to do all kinds of work in the erection of buildings from this material and to fur- nish all styles of ornamental products from the same as touching architectural de- signing. He also makes a specialty of ornamental tile fronts for stores and other buildings and of the equip- ment of bathrooms with the modern tile ac- cessories, while he has gained a high repu- tation as a careful business man, one ever true to the letter of his contracts and ex- peditious in the execution of the same, though never at the sacrifice of substantial work. He is alert and enterprising and

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stands as a type of the clean-cut, ambitious and honorable business man, placing a true estimate upon his fellow men and knowing the value of hard work and appreciating its dignity, since it is through this medium that he has won success. He has made judicious investments in local real estate, and has been successful in the handling of the same. Mr. Thobe is a stanch Republican but has never desired office. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and fraternally, he is identified with the Independent Order of Foresters and the Tribe of Ben Hur.

On the 15th of June, 1898, was solem- nized the marriage of Mr. Thobe to Miss Hyla Keller, daughter of Solomon and Eliza (Gear) Keller, a prominent retired farmer of Oxford township, where she was born and reared. Of this union have been born two children, Ralph K. and Myla.

DR. CHARLES KRONE.

One of the oldest firms in the drug business in Hamilton is that operated by the brothers, Charles and Henry Krone. The business was established by the pres- ent firm in 1886 and has continued suc- cessfully under the same management to the present time. The junior partner, Dr. Charles Krone, has been a student of phar- macy from his fifteenth year and is recog- nized as one of the most capable pharmacists and analytical chemists in the city of Hamil- ton.

1859 and established a home at Lewistown. Pennsylvania. There Charles Krone was born, on the 16th of May, 1863, and in the year following his parents came to Hamil- ton, Ohio. Here the father continued in active practice until his death, on the 29th of August, 1873. In connection with his medical practice he also owned and oper- ated a drug store on High street. But the active business life in which he was engaged no doubt shortened his days, as he was but fifty-three years of age when he died. He served the statutory period as a soldier in the German army previous to his leaving the fatherland. In religious belief he was a Roman Catholic, while his wife endorsed the Protestant faith. She is now living in Hamilton at the age of seventy years. Charles and Henry Krone are the only sur- vivors of their parental family. The sub- ject of this sketch has been a resident of Hamilton since the first years of his exist- ence. He received his elementary educa- tion in the public schools, supplemented by a business course in the Ohio Commercial College. Practically he grew from child- hood to youth in the drug business. But, not satisfied with the every-day training of the drug store, he took a course in the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy, continuing his practical work in a drug store in Hamil- ton during vacation periods. Being thus fully equipped for his life work, he formed a partnership with his brother and engaged . in business as previously stated.

Dr. Charles Krone has been prominently connected with his professional work out- side of his own immediate business, and in 1891 he was appointed by Governor James E. Campbell as a member of the state board

Charles and Henry Krone are sons of Dr. Henry and Mary Krone, natives of Germany, who emigrated to America in of pharmacy, serving five years under this

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appointment. In 1896 he was reappointed to the same position by Governor Bushnell, serving ten years in all. This is a dis- tinguished honor and a public recognition of Mr. Krone's thorough qualifications for his professional work. In 1892 he was ap- pointed coroner of Butler county, to fill a vacancy resulting from the death of the then incumbent. At the succeeding elec- tion Mr. Krone was chosen his own suc- cessor and served the county faithfully and to the entire satisfaction of all concerned, serving over four years. Though an active working Democrat, Dr. Krone has been very modest in his demands upon party suf- frages. He has never been an office seeker in any sense, though political honors have come to him without solicitation. He is the president of the board of public service and is otherwise prominent in the municipal af- fairs of Hamilton. His business life has been a success, as evidenced by the accumu- lation of valuable property interests in the city of his adoption, the result of well- directed energy, coupled with intelligence, industry and economy.

No man in the city sustains higher business and social relations with the peo- ple than Dr. Charles Krone. His honest, painstaking methods in the administration of his business affairs have brought a tan- gible recognition from the public which is a sure guarantee of business success. Mr. Krone is a public-spirited and enterprising citizen. well-informed upon the current events of the day, and devoted to the in- terests of his adopted city and county.

Charles Krone was married on the 6th of July, 1888, the lady of his choice being Miss Katie Haas, of Hamilton, and the daughter of Frederick and Christine

(Rinckel) Haas. The Doctor and his wife are members of St. John's German Evan- gelical Protestant church, of which the la- mented Dr. Hermann was pastor during all the years of their connection with it. This is the oldest German church in Butler county, and has a membership of over two thousand families. For thirty-seven years Rev. Dr. Hermann sustained the relations of pastor, friend and spiritual adviser and was called to his reward on the 10th of Sep- tember, 1903. No pastor ever died in Ham- ilton who was more sincerely and univer- sally mourned than he. Dr. Krone is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks and the Bankers' Fraternal Union.

SAMUEL McFALL.

The man of native worth and ability grows and develops with his surroundings and in time becomes a strong influence for good among his fellows. He is in the fore- front of every laudable enterprise, the her- ald of everything worthy of improvement, the intimate friend of local development. and keeps in close touch with all measures for the advancement of his community, county and state. A man of this stamp, re- gardless of age, never becomes a back num- ber, nor can be accused of laying anything in the way of the progressive spirit of the age. Such a man is the well-known citizen whose name introduces this article, and it is needless to state that a biographical his- tory of Butler county would be incomplete without a review of his life and achieve- ments.

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Samuel McFall, to whom belongs the credit of being the oldest native resident in Madison township, is descended from Ger- man and Irish ancestry and his family in this country is traceable to an early period in the history of Pennsylvania, in which state his great-grandfather, a German im- migrant, settled many years ago. The sub- ject's paternal grandfather was of Pennsyl- vania birth, but his grandmother came from Ireland, her people having been among the early settlers of the county in which the Mc- Falls originally located. Francis McFall, father of the subject, was also a native of the above commonwealth, but when a young man he came to Butler county, Ohio, where he married Miss Mary Armstrong, whose birth occurred in this part of the state. By occupation Francis McFall was a black- smith. He operated a shop in Summerville for a number of years, but about 1852 moved to Heno, where he and his good wife spent the remainder of their days.

Samuel McFall was born in Summer- ville, October 16. 1838, and spent his early life in the village and adjacent country, re- maining with his parents until nineteen years of age. While his educational ad- vantages were not the best, he made the most of his opportunities and by supple- menting his school work by study at home and a wide range of reading, he became in due time not only a good scholar in the com- mon branches, but well informed on a great Mr. McFall is a Democrat in politics and one of the leaders of his party in Madison township. He has been honored at intervals with local offices, having served for a con- siderable length of time as supervisor, and variety of subjects. During his youth he worked on a farm near Summerville and when nineteen years old turned his attention to blacksmithing, in which trade he soon ac- quired much more than ordinary proficiency . for a period of twenty-one years was a mem- and skill, having from an early age mani- ber of the township board of education. While not identified with any church or re- fested a decided taste for mechanical pur-

suits. After working for eighteen months under the direction of the proprietor of the shop, Mr. McFall purchased the establish- ment and for twenty-one years thereafter operated the same, during which time he not only achieved an enviable reputation as a master of his calling, but also earned con- siderable money as a contractor in various kinds of mechanical work. By industry and thrift he accumulated a handsome property, both real and personal, and at this time he is one of the well-to-do men of his town- ship, being in independent circumstances, with a sufficiency of this world's goods laid by to insure a competency for his declining years.

Mr. McFall, in the year 1862, contracted a matrimonial alliance with Miss Mary Margerum, of Middletown, the union being blessed with four children, three of whom are living. William, the oldest of the fam- ily, was. born in 1863, married Miss Rose Birch, of Camden, Ohio, and at this time is engaged in the huckstering business; Ce- breni, the second son, was born in 1865 and is also a married man, his wife having for- merly been Miss Nellie White, of Butler county ; Mary, the youngest of the number, was born in the year 1867 and is now the wife of Christian King, a prosperous and well-to-do farmer of Lemon township, this county, and one of the representative men of his community.

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ligious organization, he is a believer in Christianity and a liberal contributor to the support of the Baptist church, of which his wife is a faithful and consistent member. Mr. McFall is a self-made man in the best sense of the term and as such has been in- fluential in advancing the varied interests of his township and county, being progressive in his ideas and purposes and enterprising in all of his undertakings. His career has been eminently creditable both to himself and the community and during a long, active useful life his character has always been above reproach and his integrity of the sterling kind that bespeaks for its pos- sessor noble aims and high ideals. A strong, manly, symmetrically developed man and a true type of the intelligent, representative American citizen of today, he is one of those whom it is a pleasure to meet, whom it is a boon to have as an intimate friend and associate.

STEPHEN DECATUR CONE.

The printer, journalist and author is a public benefactor and a man whose useful- ness in the city and county is only bounded by the sphere of his opportunities. Mr. Cone is a genial gentleman and a vigorous thinker, of broad culture and deep learning, whose purposes in life are pure and elevat- ing. The ancestors of the present genera- tion bearing the family name were among the very early settlers of this part of the country, one hundred and three years hav- ing passed since they first set foot on Butler county soil. They at once commenced clearing their lands, which were covered

with heavy timber. Typical pioneer cabins were soon erected, without the aid of board or nail, and only mother earth for a floor. The forest furnished the principal articles of food, and prowling wild beasts and treacherous Indians furnished the "spice of civilization."

Stephen D. Cone has given to us two volumes of comprehensive Hamilton his- tory, dating from 1791 to 1902, inclusive, containing about four hundred and sixty pages each. This, in addition to the vast amount of historical material written, com- piled and embraced in the "Centennial His- tory of Butler County, Ohio," is a superb literary monument to his genius and enter- prise. The prospectus of the last-named work says of him: "Not the least among the contributions to this work are the labors of Mr. Stephen D. Cone, who will write much of the history, using, in that capacity, the rich storehouse of accumulations for the purpose collected during the past forty or fifty years. Probably no man in Butler county is as capable of performing this ar- duous task as Stephen D. Cone, and certainly· none have greater interest in the preserva- tion. in tangible and enduring form. of the vast amount of valuable material he has been accumulating for more than an aver- age lifetime."

Stephen D. Cone first saw the light of day two miles south of Venice, Butler county, Ohio, near the ancient site of Cros- by village, Hamilton county, February 12. 1840. He is the youngest of a family of nine children of John and Mary Francis (Fodry) Cone. His father was born in East Haddam. Connecticut. January 20, 1775. who was the son of Joseph and Martha (Spencer) Cone. Joseph Cone died at sea

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STEPHEN D. CONE.

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while in a naval engagement, in 1779, dur- ing the Revolutionary war. His wife died at East Haddam, "distracted," May 3, 1796. John Cone, father of the subject, died in Hamilton, March 5, 1846, at the Wolf Tav- ern, this city, then located near the southwest ·corner of High and Front streets. Mary Francis Cone was born near Clarksburg, Virginia, May 16, 1790, and died in Hamil- ton, September 17, 1858. Stephen D. Cone attended the Nathan Furman school for two years. Subsequently he entered the Hamil- ton public schools, where he remained until June, 1859, attending high school one year under Prof. Sidney A. Norton, now in the faculty of the Ohio State University, at Co- lumbus. Shortly after the death of his mother the subject of this sketch was com- pelled to abandon his studies, and entered upon the active duties of life. On August 13. 1859, he became an apprentice in the Intelligencer printing office. Here he re- ceived a thorough, practical knowledge in the art of printing. which has been very use- ful to him. On May 10, 1862, he enlisted at Columbus, Ohio, in Company A, Eighty- fourth Regiment Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, under command of Captain Richard Waite. of Toledo, Ohio, a brother of the late Chief Justice Mor- rison R. Waite, of the United States supreme court. Covering a period of twen- ty-five years, he was employed as foreman of first-class job printing establishments in Cincinnati, Columbus, Ft. Wayne (Indiana) and Hamilton. On May 14, 1864, he en- listed in Company F, One Hundred and Sixty-seventh Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under command of Captain John C. Lewis. He was a United States store- keeper in 1868-69. His appointment was

made by E. A. Rollins, commissioner of in- ternal revenue, through the influence of Gen. Robert C. Schenck, over the heads of the collector and assessor of the third dis- trict and thirty-five applicants for the place. From 1866 until 1874 he issued, yearly, a daily paper during the Butler county fair, from which publications he realized a hand- some sum. During the years 1876-77 he was business manager and superintendent of the mechanical department of the Butler County Democrat. In 1879 he established the first exclusively job printing office in Hamilton, which, in 1884, he sold to E. A. Pangle. On January 19, 1885, he became editor and proprietor of the Oxford Citizen. For six years he labored earnestly and faith- fully for the improvement of Oxford. Long before his advent in the village a majority of its citizens had been agitating the ques- tion of a new school house. The old struc- ture was twenty-five years behind the times and was actually unsafe. In 1886 Mr. Cone was elected to take the lead in the new school house movement. Accordingly, through his personal efforts, the board of education was increased from three to six members. At the April election of this year Stephen D. Cone, Tom Law, Dr. J. B. Por- ter and W. A. Logue were elected members of this body for a term of three years. The question of issuing bonds to the amount of twenty thousand dollars for a new school house was submitted, at a special election, to the qualified electors of Oxford, and car- ried by a majority of seventeen. Stephen D. Cone, Tom Law and W. A. Logue con- stituted the building committee, who erected one of the finest school edifices in south- western Ohio, it being dedicated April 4, 1887. From the inception of the new

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school house Mr. Cone was made the target for all kinds of abuse by a coterie of oppo- nents. In the fall of 1887 the "mixed school" question struck Oxford in the shape of a terrible tornado. The colored people · demanded admission to the new building and the abolishment of separate schools. The board of education were opposed, with the exception of Stephen D. Cone. Two in- dignation meetings were held in the town hall, and the members of the board were asked to come forward and define their po- sitions. Mr. Cone refused to attend the On December 30, 1864, Stephen D. Cone was united in marriage with Barbara Cath- erine Burkett, who was born in Lewisburg, Preble county, Ohio, October 3, 1843. Eight children resulted from this union, five of whom survive, namely: Josephine P., Stephen D., Jr., Azrepha B., Blanche B. and John C. Cone. Mr. Cone has lived to see the fruition of a life of labor and to en- joy the blessings which a kind providence has bestowed upon him. first meeting, but notified the leaders that he would be present at the second one. As he entered the densely packed hall he was greeted by the excited populace with hisses, groans and cries of "throw him out of the windows." He coolly advanced to the stage and defined his attitude, in compliance to the law as it appeared upon the statute books. The colored people took the case to court. The circuit court decided that the board of education had no right to maintain separate schools, Judges Smith and Cox af- firming, Judge Swing contra. The case was appealed to the supreme court, where it was CHARLES S. BARNITZ, M. D. decided against the board. Mr. Cone was president of the board of education in 1888- 89. In April, 1889, he was elected a mem- ber of the town council. He instituted much needed reforms in the transaction of its busi- ness. In April, 1891, he sold the Oxford .man besides himself on Main street who

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Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, Part 65

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1149

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others
Publication date: 1905
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1149