USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. II, Pt. 2 > Part 16
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The death of Mrs. McMicken on April 4, 1890, for a long time took the savor out of life for the stricken husband. He closed up the home where an ideal existence had been passed for 27 years and spent some months in
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travel. The end of his own life was welcomed that he might rejoin the be- loved companion who had cheered him so long. Although rigidly temper- ate in his habits, he was no abstainer from the innocent pleasures of life, and enjoyed good horses and usually owned some. Much of his life was spent with his books and he was never happier than when the home resounded with the sociability of many guests. He was a Democrat in political sym- pathy. In religious observance, he was a member of the Presbyterian Church.
GUSTAVUS H. WALD.
GUSTAVUS H. WALD, deceased, was one of the most successful lawyers of Cincinnati, Ohio, in which city he was born March 30, 1853. He re- ceived his early education in the public schools of his native city and was graduated from Hughes High School in 1869. He then entered Yale Col- lege and after graduation, in 1873, took up the study of the law in the law department of Harvard University. He was graduated from the latter insti- tution in 1875 with the degree of LL. B., and in March of the same year was admitted to the bar in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. He returned to Cincinnati and began practice in association with the firm of Hoadly, John- son & Colston. He continued with that firm until January, 1876, when he took an office with Charles Bowditch Wilby, with whom he formed a part- nership in September of the same year. The firm of Wilby & Wald con- tinued with unvarying success until the death of Mr. Wald on June 28, 1902.
Gustavus H. Wald, in 1878, was appointed by the courts of Hamilton County as a member of the standing committee for the examination of ap- plicants for the office of notary public in the county, a position he held for many years. Shortly after his admission to the bar, he began the prepara- tion of an American edition of "Pollock on Contracts," which he published in 1881. The annotations and citations made it a work of great value to the profession in America, and the appreciation that was shown was such as to warrant him in bringing out a second edition in 1885. The American Law Review, in its discussion of English law books for the American bar said : "We are able to recall but one, viz., Mr. Wald's edition of Pollock, in which the work of the American editor has added anything of permanent value to the text, or has at all increased the reputation of the editor him-
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self." During his first year at the bar Mr. Wald contributed frequently to legal periodicals, and in 1877 became a member of the editorial staff of the Central Lazo Journal, which position he retained for several years. In 1885 he was asked by Sir Frederick Pollock, who had undertaken the editorship of the Law Quarterly Review, to become one of the contributors to that journal. In 1883, he was called upon to succeed Judge Hoadly as a member of the faculty of the Cincinnati Law School and continued as such for a number of years. In 1891, he received the unsolicited nomination of the Democratic party for judge of the Supreme Court of the State, but with the other candidates on the ticket was defeated. In 1893 he was elected one of the council of the Harvard Law School Association for a full term of five years, and in June, 1895, upon the occasion of the celebration by that associa- tion of the 25th anniversary of Professor Langdell's incumbency as "Dane Professor of Law," Mr. Wald, who had been one of his pupils, was called upon to deliver one of the formal .addresses. It was a memorable occasion and brought together many distinguished lawyers, among them Sir Fred- erick Pollock who made a special trip from England in order to be present. Upon the organization of the law department of the University of Cincinnati in 1896, Mr. Wald became a member of the faculty and delivered a course of lectures on "Contracts," which subject but few men were as well qualified to teach. He became dean of the law school, and continued as such until his death. He was for many years a member of the Literary Club of Cincinnati, at one time its president, and contributed a number of papers to its proceed- ings. As a writer he possessed that free and easy style which is always so entertaining, and his rhetoric and use of language was of the purest. Whether as writer or speaker, his strong personality entered into his work and carried all before it.
SAMUEL H. SPENCER, M. D.
The announcement of the sudden death of Dr. Samuel H. Spencer, on December 26, 1903, at his late residence, No. 639 West MeMicken avenue, Cincinnati, brought grief not only to his family but to the profession of which he had long been an ornament, and to a wide circle of admiring and attached friends.
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Dr. Spencer was born July 23, 1860, at Marietta, Washington County, Ohio. His father, Albaness J. D. Spencer, was born in 1822 in Virginia and was a son of Samuel P. and Catherine ( Proffett) Spencer. The mother . of our subject, Perlina Dye, who was married November 14, 1848, to Albaness J. D. Spencer, was born in 1829 in Lawrence township, Washington County, Ohio, and was a daughter of Amos and Marta (Taylor) Dye.
Dr. Spencer attended the public schools of Marietta and became a student at Marietta College. He taught school for a period in Washington County before beginning his professional education. In 1887 our subject was graduated with great credit from the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cin- cinnati, subsequently taking a special course at Pulte Medical College, where he was graduated in 1888, a skilled physician in both schools of medicine.
From that date until his comparatively early death, Dr. Spencer en- enjoyed a large and satisfactory practice and became well and favorably known to the public. In 1896 he was graduated from the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, his devotion to his profession leading him to em- brace every opportunity to add to his knowledge of his beloved science. Had long life been vouchsafed him, he would have become one of the most eminent men of his day, his natural abilities and his enthusiasm for and devotion to his profession being the necessary factors that would have led to success. He was a member of the Ohio State Eclectic Medical Society and the Cin- cinnati Eclectic Medical Society, for several years was assistant health officer and was a valued member of the local board of United States pension ex- aminers. He was examining surgeon for a number of insurance societies, and was physician to the Miami and Comus mutual aid associations. Dr. Spencer was a member of the Young Men's Blaine Club, a Knight of Pythias and a Mason. A number of years ago he served on the Board of Education from the 12th Ward.
On August 4, 1885, Dr. Spencer was married to Carrie B. Smith, who was a daughter of Frederick Smith of Cincinnati. One daughter was born to this union: Ifthel E. Our subject was again married June 17, 1903, to Jeanette Klicke, daughter of Peter Klicke, formerly of Cincinnati. His young widow, since her husband's death, has made her home at No. 127 West Ninth street. With his family, Dr. Spencer attended the Congrega- tional Church. He will long be recalled, not only on account of his profes-
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sional skill, but for all those attributes which won for him admiration and per- sonal esteem. Cincinnati lost many of her honored and beloved citizens dur- ing 1903, but no larger vacancy was made in the ranks of the medical pro- fession than that caused by the passing of Dr. Samuel H. Spencer.
HENRY TOBIAS.
HENRY TOBIAS, whose death took place January 13. 1874, was long a very important factor in the great and widely distributed commercial pros- perity of Cincinnati. He was also one of the leading exponents of Judaism, and a philanthropist whose name is tenderly cherished in many institutions which were special objects of his beneficence.
Henry Tobias was born in the Grand Duchy of Posen, near the city of Posen, in 1821, coming of honest German and Polish ancestry. He was reared in Berlin to the age of 13 years by an aunt, who looked after his morals and schooling, but young manhood found him seeking a wider field of business opportunity than surrounded him in the German city. In 1847 he went to England, but two years later came to America. He was equipped with a trade, having learned cap making in Prussia, and soon found em- ployment in New York. In 1854 he came to Cincinnati and opened a retail cap business on Main street, which later developed into the great whole- sale manufacturing business with which he was so long connected, the factory being removed finally to its present location, No. 422 West Fourth street. He early became interested in the political affairs of his adopted country and identified himself with the Republican party. During the prog- ress of the Civil war, he was a stanch supporter of the government, and did picket duty for his city during the time of the reign of martial law.
Mr. Tobias was born and reared in the Jewish faith and so continued through life, not an extremist, but a consistent follower of the traditions of his religion. He was twice made president of the Polish congregation at Seventh and Walnut streets, but later became a devout member of K. K. Bene Israel at Eighth and Mound streets, which greatly benefited by his generous gifts in support of its charities. He was president of Jerusalem Lodge, No. 6, Independent Order of B'nai B'rith and was one of the chief supporters of the Jewish Foster Home, the Jewish Relief and Humane So-
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ciety and of other charitable and benevolent organizations, while he was also public spirited and liberal to city enterprises.
Mr. Tobias was married to Maria Meyers, a daughter of Morris and . Sarah P. (Fuller) Meyers, who was born in London during her father's term of office as a contractor on "Her Majesty's Board of Ordnance." The eight children born to this marriage are: Sarah, who is the wife of Simon Drucker, a commercial traveler of Cincinnati; Charles; Pauline, who is the wife of Michael Drucker, also a commercial traveler; Morris; Josephine, who is the wife of Leo Lederer, of Cleveland, Ohio; Ida, who married William Levy, and two who died in infancy. The two surviving sons of Mr. Tobias are well known business men of this city, ably conducting the business which their father founded, under the firm style of Charles Tobias & Brother. Mrs. Tobias still survives and resides in 'the beautiful family home at No. 870 Lex- ington avenue, Avondale, in which suburb the family is socially prominent.
COL. WILLIAM EDGAR BUNDY, A. M., LL. D.
COL. WILLIAM EDGAR BUNDY, A. M., LL. D., United States district attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and colonel of the First Regi- ment Infantry, Ohio National Guard, passed out of life, in his apartments at the Dennison Hotel, Cincinnati, on August 16, 1903. In the death of Colonel Bundy, Ohio has lost the services of a man of conspicuous ability, boundless energy and undoubted patriotism.
William Edgar Bundy was born at Wellston, Ohio, October 4, 1866, and was a son of William Sanford and Kate (Thompson) Bundy. Early in life he was made an orphan, his father dying a few months after . his birth from wounds received at Bean's Station, Tennessee, while performing his duty as a soldier in the Union Army in the Civil War. His widowed mother was taken away two years later, a fall from a horse producing fatal results. The child then became the especial care of his paternal grandfather, Hezekiah Bundy, to whom he was always tenderly attached. When properly prepared, the youth was sent to to the Ohio University at Athens, where his aptness as well as his manly qualities and amiable disposition made bim a favorite pupil. He was graduated from that institution in 1884 and through his subsequent career was continually held by it in high esteem, a regard he reciprocated,
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serving at the time of his death as one of the trustees. His alma mater con- ferred upon him the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Laws.
Alert, eager, enthusiastic, the young man first turned his attention to journalism and from 1886 to 1888 he edited and published the local paper of his town, the Wellston Argus, demonstrating his newspaper ability, at the same time editing the Ohio Mining Journal in association with Hon. Andrew Roy. He was thus brought into contact with public affairs and soon sought a broader field and a wider horizon. In preparation for this, in 1887 he came to Cincinnati and entered the Cincinnati Law School, where he was graduated with high honors in 1890. A short time after, he formed a law partnership with Clifford Woods, the present mayor of Evanston, and Joseph G. Obermeyre, under the firm name of Bundy, Obermeyre & Woods. When the late President Mckinley appointed Colonel Bundy, United States district attorney, in 1898, a readjustment of the business of the firm gave Colonel Bundy an opportunity to enter upon the multitudinous duties of his new posi- tion. As is well known in official circles, the office of United States district attorney is one of the greatest importance. All cases in what is known as the Southern District of Ohio are brought to the attention of the United States district attorney here, and Colonel Bundy was constantly called upon to prosecute all sorts of cases, from petty crimes, such as passing a piece of counterfeit money of insignificant value, to one in which the full force of the laws of the United States was invoked. In 1902 Colonel Bundy's term of four years expired, and he was immediately reappointed by President Roosevelt. Many important cases were tried and won by Colonel Bundy, and among these may be mentioned: the Chesapeake & Ohio fuel case, in which some 20 coal operators in West Virginia, in connection with the rail- road, were declared a trust; the Adah S. Horman blackmail case, in which the woman sent blackmailing letters through the mails to Attorney Howard Douglass; the Thomas E. Steele blackmail case; and one which has but lately attracted much, attention and comment in Cincinnati, the W. W. O'Hara case. In all the various and trying experiences, Colonel Bundy dis- played that thorough comprehension of legal principles and complete mastery of the law, that even balance of judgment and that level, equitable self-control which so conspicuously mark the great lawyer.
Naturally, Colonel Bundy took a deep interest in politics and he was one of the hard fighters of the Republican party in Ohio. In 1898 he was -
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unanimously elected president of the Ohio Republican League, having previously held many political positions. On four different occasions he was elected city solicitor of Norwood; served four times as a member of the Republican Executive Committee of Hamilton County; was sent as a delegate to eight Republican conventions; and attended every State conven- tion of the Ohio Republican League and represented that body on four occa- sions at conventions of the National Republican League. By those who differed with him in political opinions, he was always credited with honest convictions and those who mourn the early death of Colonel Bundy are those who admired his manliness, his personal honor and the integrity of his public life. He was a member of the Young Men's Blaine Club, the Stamina Republican League and the Norwood and West End Republican clubs.
It would not be possible to speak of Colonel Bundy in his native State, without soon referring to his connection with State military affairs. The son of a soldier, he early became associated with military organizations and for years was identified with such in the State, and served as captain, colonel and commander-in-chief of the organization of Sons of Veterans. On De- cember 20, 1901, he was commissioned colonel of the First Regiment Infantry, Ohio National Guard, an office he proudly held until the time of his death. He was beloved by both officers and men and the news of his decease was received first with incredulity and then with manly tears for a beloved com- mander,
Colonel Bundy took an active interest in every movement for the per- fection of discipline and the betterment of his men, physically, morally and socially, being the life of entertainments, assisting and promoting clubs and encouraging suitable social functions with which to relieve the tedium of a soldier's life. After he took charge of the First Regiment, its numbers were. increased from 200 to 600, and a better disciplined, better drilled or a more happy and contented set of manly men it would be hard to find. To them the news of the death of Colonel Bundy came as a personal loss.
On May 8, 1890, Colonel Bundy was united in marriage with Eva E. Leedom, who was born at Bentonville, Ohio, and is a daughter of Hon. Jolin P. Leedom, formerly a member of the United States House of Repre- sentatives from Ohio. She, with one son, Sanford, survives. Other sur- viving members of his family are three sisters of his father: Mrs. D. B.
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Walls, Mrs. Sarah Stearns and Mrs. Joseph Benson Foraker, Sr., the last named being the wife of the distinguished United States Senator and ex- Governor of Ohio. His aged grandmother, Mrs. Hezekiah Bundy, also sur- vives and in her grief recalls the many sterling traits of character displayed by onr subject in his childhood. Colonel and Mrs. Bundy resided in one of the handsomest homes in Norwood. The burial of their beloved commander was claimed by the First Regiment, National Guard, and the elaborate mili- tary services were conducted at the Armory on August 19th, and burial was made at Spring Grove cemetery. Upon this occasion civic and mili- tary organizations, delegations from other points and a vast concourse of personal friends and admirers vied with each other in showing respect for one whose life had been all too short for the carrying out of his ambitious and honorable plans. He will long be recalled for his brilliant gifts and his soid services to his native State.
The honorary pall-bearers were Sherman T. McPherson, Edward P. Moulinier, Joseph G. Obermeyre, Clifford Woods, H. V. Speelman, Dr. J. A. Averdieck, Carlisle Johnson and Frank O. Wilkinson, all prominent in Cincinnati. The vast concourse was swelled by the numerous secret, business and political organizations to which Colonel Bundy belonged and in which he was always so valued. Among the distinguished special attendants were : Chaplain Nave, of the Third United States Infantry, who represented the officers at Fort Thomas, Kentucky ; D. Q. Morrow, prominent in Republican politics in Highland County, Ohio; Attorney Reeves, of Highland County ; Senator John J. Sullivan of Cleveland, Ohio. United States district attor- ney for the Northern District of Ohio; Senator F. B. Archer, of Bellaire, Ohio; Lawson Emerson, of Columbus, Ohio; Senator David C. Moore, of Athens County, Ohio; Representative Ross Holliday, of Clinton County, Ohio; and L. M. Jewett, I. M. Foster and L. J. Fenton, representing the Ohio University, of which Mr. Bundy had been so distinguished an alumnus.
LEE H. BROOKS.
LEE H. BROOKS, vice-president of The Inter-Urban Railway & Terminal Company, president of the Pittsburg & New Orlenas Wharfboat Company. president of The Coney Island Company, president of The Pettibone Brothers
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Manufacturing Company and of The Smith-Kasson Company. and associated with a number of other business enterprises, is one of Cincinnati's self made, prominent men. His birth took place at Bristol, Addison County, Vermont, and he traces a New England ancestry back 150 years to English and Scotch forebears. He is a son of Cyrus S. and Sophia ( Hasseltine) Brooks, the former of whom, deceased in 1860, removed his shoe business from Bristol, Vermont, to Orleans County, New York, where he conducted it successfully many years.
It was in the schools of Shelby Center, Orleans County, New York, that our subject attended school in boyhood, although after the age of 16 years his studying was done at night, his days being occupied in clerking. About the age of 17, he entered Albion Academy at Albion, New York, and two years later became a school teacher at Portsmouth, Ohio. After four years in the profession of teaching, he accepted a clerkship on an Ohio River steamer and thus began an association with river life which continued many years and which Mr. Brooks has made very profitable. During the five years which he passed on the river he served in various capacities, including that of captain and pilot. In 1868 he became secretary and treasurer of the Plant- ers' Tobacco Warehouse Company and a year later was admitted to partner- ship. In 1873 he sold his interest in that organization and in association with William Waterfield started a new enterprise under the name of the Globe Tobacco Warehouse Company, of which Mr. Brooks was president; the company's warehouse, with enlarged capacities, was known as the Brooks- Waterfield Warehouse and was the largest warehouse in the world at that time. In addition to filling the presidential chair of many of the leading business firms of the city, he is one of the directors of the Ohio National Bank and of the Cincinnati Trust & Safe Deposit Company. He is one of the leading members of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce and served ably as its president from 1889 to 1890, and was one of the commissioners repre- senting that body in 1888 at the Centennial Exposition, of which he was vice-president.
In 1866 Mr. Brooks was married to Laura A. Tone, daughter of Hiram D. and Laura ( Wagner) Tone, of Clermont County, Ohio, and two sons and two daughters have been born to them, viz: Charles G. and George A .; and Mrs. Ada E. Kasson and Mrs. Rosa H. Hillenbrand. The beautiful family home is in historic old Covington, Kentucky, where the family are
JOHN H. BALLANCE.
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socially prominent. Since 1864 Mr. Brooks has been a Mason and he has arisen to the highest degrees in the order.
Mr. Brooks is a man of such prominence in Cincinnati. that he may almost be denominated a landmark character, his dominating influence per- meating so many fields of activity, During his many years of business ex- perience he has made an enviable reputation for sound judgment and unques- tioned integrity and reliability. He has always proved himself a friend of progress and has been identified with all the important movements which have served to place his city in her present proud position.
JOHN H. BALLANCE.
JOHN H. BALLANCE, one of the early settlers of Cincinnati, whose por- trait accompanies this sketch, was in the woolen business for many years, and was a prominent figure in the Ninth Ward where he resided. He lived to reach the advanced age of 93 years, lacking 17 days, although during the last six years of his life he was unable to leave the house without assistance. He was firmly entrenched in the good will of his fellow citizens, who sadly mourn his death.
John H. Ballance was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and was a son of John and Elizabeth (Kinsey) Ballance, the former of whom died at his son's home in Cincinnati at the age of 81 years. Our subject came to Cincinnati in 1834, at the age of 25 years, and engaged in the woolen business, his establishment being located at . No. 108 Canal street. There he remained for 51 years, his business being one of the most prosperous in the city. He laid by a comfortable fortune, which enabled him to retire in 1885 and spend his declining years in comfort and ease.
In 1856 Mr. Ballance erected the old stone house, in which he and his unmarried sister lived for more than a half century. It is a 14-room dwell- ing, located at No. 911 Race street in the heart of the city. His wife died in 1872, and of his children but one is now living, Mrs. Mary E. Brooks of Memphis, Tennessee. His sister, Eliza C. Ballance, who is known famil- iarly as "Aunt Eliza" to the many she has befriended throughout her life of 85 years, had lived with him for many years, and upon her his death fell most heavily. Beside his' bedside at his death, December 3, 1902, were his
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sister and only child. He was a devout member of the Society of Friends, and was a very active and charitable worker. Fraternally, he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having joined that body in Dela- ware.
FRANK W. LANGDON, M. D.
FRANK W. LANGDON, M. D., a leading physician of Cincinnati, was born December 16, 1852, in Cincinnati. His parents were Oliver C. and Jane D. (Aydelott) Langdon.
Dr. Langdon comes of distinguished New England ancestry, the founder of the family, Philip Langdon, having emigrated from Yorkshire, England, to Massachusetts as early as 1640 and there established a family line that contributed soldiers of three generations to the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. This family has been identified with Cincinnati since 1806, when Elam P. Langdon, the grandfather of Dr. Langdon, located on what was then farm land at the mouth of the Little Miami River. Elam P. Langdon is recalled as one of the prominent men of affairs of his time, many of the public and educational movements in his section being directly the result of his enterprise. His wife was descended from the great family of Cromwell. Dr. Langdon's maternal grandfather was no less than the dis- tinguished Rev. Dr. Aydelott, who was so long president of Woodward Col- lege.
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