USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 15
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RALPH M. NEELD.
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1780 and who came to Ohio about 1790 and settled in Hamilton county, coming thence in 1803 up into this part of the state and locating in the Ft. Ancient settlement in the neighboring county of Warren. The pioneer John St. John was of French parentage, born in New York, and served as a soldier of the Revolution and as nearly all of his ten children grew to maturity, married and had children of their own, his descendants in the present gen- eration form a numerous connection throughout the country, one of these descendants being former Governor John P. St. John, of Kansas. Mrs. Neeld was orphaned in infancy, her mother having died at her birth and her father having been accidentally drowned not long afterward and she was reared by kinsfolk in this county. To her union with William M. Neeld four children were born, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first- born, the others being Edith, who is teaching in the Xenia public schools; Paul W., who lives at Newark, New Jersey, and is a traveling salesman for a glove house, and Charles S., of Xenia.
As noted above, Ralph M. Neeld was thirteen years of age when his parents moved from Spring Valley to Xenia. Upon leaving the high school in the latter city he took a course in a business college at Dayton and then became engaged as a bookkeeper for the firm of Barnes & Smith, some time later becoming employed as the order clerk for the Hooven & Allison Com- pany, cordage manufacturers at Xenia, and was thus employed for some- thing more than two years, at the end of which time he became engaged with his father in the undertaking business at Xenia and since the death of his father in 1916 has been carrying on the business himself. Mr. Neeld is a graduate embalmer, having taken a course in that line of instruction upon taking up the business in association with his father, and gives special atten- tion to that phase of the business. His establishment is well appointed, equipped with all modern appliances, including a full line of automobiles for funeral occasions. Mr. Neeld is independent in his political views, reserving his right to vote for the best man, irrespective of party.
On April 15, 1909, Ralph M. Neeld was united in marriage to Florence M. Wright, who was born in Xenia, daughter of P. A. Wright and wife, and to this. union three children have been born, William A., born on Feb- ruary 19, 1910; Florence Margaret, August 29, 19II, and Dorothy Jane, July 19, 1914. Mr. and Mrs. Neeld are members of the Reformed church.
JOHN N. WITHAM.
John N. Witham, a former member of the common council of the city of Xenia, who is engaged in the grocery business at 48 East Main street, is a native son of Ohio and has lived in this state all his life with the excep-
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tion of fifteen years of his boyhood, which were spent in Indiana, to which state his parents had moved when he was but a small child and where they remained until he was eighteen years of age, when they returned to Ohio, where their last days were spent. He was born on a farm in the neighbor- hood of Withamville, in Clermont county, November 21, 1851, son of Sam- uel L. and Rachel (Nordyke) Witham, both of whom also were born in Ohio.
Samuel L. Witham was born in Clermont county, son of Nathaniel and Jemima (Lane) Witham, the former of whom came to this country from England about the year 1812 and secured a tract of one thousand acres of land in Clermont county, this state, where he engaged in farming and also started a store, around which center grew up the village of Witham- ville, so named for him. Nathaniel Witham and wife were the parents of twelve children and the descendants of that pioneer pair in this generation now form a numerous connection. Samuel L. Witham grew to manhood in Clermont county and early became a school teacher, as well as a farmer. In Cincinnati he married Rachel Nordyke, who was born in that city, of Scotch-Irish stock, and who had a brother, Sylvester, and a sister, Caroline. In January, 1852, hardly two months after the birth of their first-born child, the subject of this sketch, Samuel L. Witham and his wife inoved to Indi- anapolis and there made their home for about eighteen years, Mr. Witham being there engaged in school teaching and for some time in the mercantile business, and then returned to Ohio, later becoming residents of Xenia, where their last days were spent. They were the parents of five children, those besides the subject of this sketch being the following: Jemima, widow of Levi Ludlow, who is living on a farm in Clermont county and who has three children, Fred, Ernest and George; Mary, now living in the vicinity of Columbus, Indiana, who married Albert Thomas and has a large fam- ily; Grace, a widow, who lives in New York City and who has three chil- dren, two sons and a daughter; and Jefferson C., of Xenia, who married Carrie Ridenour, who is now deceased.
As noted above, John N. Witham was eighteen years of age when his parents returned to Ohio from Indiana. He carly had learned the black- smith's trade and continued to work at the same for six years, at the end of which time he took employment with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and after his marriage in 1872 took up his residence in Cincinnati, where he remained until 1884, in which year he moved to Xenia, continuing, how- ever, his employment with the railroad, and was thus engaged there until 1893, in which year he became associated with his father in the grocery business at Xenia. In 1895 his father died and he then continued the busi- ness alone until 1907, in which year he returned to Clermont county, the
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place of his birth, and there bought a tract of twenty acres of ground and erected a house on the same, expecting to make his permanent home there, but after a residence of two years at that place sold his interests there and returned to Xenia, where, in 1908, he bought the William Harner grocery store at 48 East Main street and has ever since been engaged in business at that number. Mr. Witham is a Democrat and in 1911 was elected to rep- resent the first ward as a member of the city common council and served in that capacity for two years. He is a member of the local lodge of Free and Accepted Masons.
In 1872, in Clermont county, this state, John N. Witham was united in marriage to Belle Witham, who also was born in that county, a daughter of Lewis and Parmelia (Anderson) Witham, who were the parents of six children, four sons and two daughters. Though both Mr. and Mrs. Witham were born to the same name they are not related by ties of consanguinity. To this union two children have been born, Lois, who married Edward Kline, now of Portland, Oregon, and has three children, Loverna, Irma and Leona, and Ellen, who married Theron White, of Xenia, and has one child. a son, Donald. Mr. and Mrs. Witham are members of the Lutheran church and Mr. Witham has been an office bearer in the same.
WILLIAM E. FLETCHER.
William E. Fletcher, proprietor of a saloon in Xenia, was born at Cedarville on August 18, 1872, son of Joseph and Margaret (O'Connell) Fletcher, both of whom were born in Ireland, but who were married in Greene county. Joseph Fletcher was about twenty-four years of age when he came to this country, coming in at the port of New Orleans. Margaret O'Connell came here during the days of her young womanhood to join her brother, who had become a resident of Greene county, and it was here that she met and married Joseph Fletcher. To that union were born five chil- dren, those besides the subject of this sketch being John, now deceased, who was engaged in the railroad service ; Joseph, a grocer, who was a member of the volunteer fire department in Xenia and who was killed while in the per- formance of his duties at a fire in 1907; James, who is married and lives in Xenia, and Mary, deceased.
William E. Fletcher completed his schooling in the schools of Xenia and in 1895 was married in that city. Some time later he became engaged in business at the corner of West Main and King streets, in association with his brother-in-law, and two years later, in 1903, went to Dayton, where he remained for about three years, at the end of which time, in 1906, he re-
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turned to Xenia, resumed business in that city and has ever since been thus engaged there.
On June 6, 1895, at Xenia, William E. Fletcher was united in marriage to Ellen Comford, of that city, a daughter of Thomas and Anna (Dunn) Comford, Greene county folk, and to this union three children have been born, Virginia, who is at home; Mary, who is now a student in the Jacobson Business College at Dayton, and Louise. The Fletchers are members of St. Bridgid's Catholic church. Mr. Fletcher is a Democrat and by fraternal affiliation is connected with the local aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
REV. GEORGE J. STEINKAMP.
The Rev. George J. Steinkamp, pastor of St. Paul's Catholic church at Yellow Springs and one of the most progressive young clergymen in Greene county, is a native son of Ohio, born at Cincinnati on March 19, 1884, son of Bernard J. and Elizabeth (Ahrens) Steinkamp, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in the city of Cincinnati.
Bernard J. Steinkamp was but thirteen years of age when he came to this country with his parents, the family locating at Cincinnati, where he finished his schooling and presently learned the carpenter trade. He mar- ried in Cincinnati and after a while became engaged as a building contractor on his own account, an architect as well as a builder, and several of the finest flats and buildings in Cincinnati were erected under his direction. Bernard J. Steinkamp died in 1889. He was a Catholic, as is his widow, and their children were reared in that faith. There were twelve of these children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the last-born and all of whom are living save John, Mary and Frank, the others being Joseph, Katherine, Elizabeth, Anna, Mary, Bernard, Rosie and Cecelia.
George J. Steinkamp was reared in Cincinnati and his early schooling was obtained in the parochial schools of that city. He evinced much apti- tude for study and was graduated from St. Mary's parochial school when thirteen years of age. Having early devoted himself to the service of the church he then entered the Jesuit College of St. Xavier at Cincinnati and was graduated from that institution in 1904, after which he pursued his philosophical and theological studies at Mt. St. Mary's Seminary and upon completing the course there was ordained to the priesthood in June, 1908, the ceremony of ordination being performed by Archbishop Miller at Cin- cinnati.
Thus elevated to the holy office of priest, Father Steinkamp was in the following August assigned as assistant pastor of St. Mary's parish at Day- ton and at once entered upon the duties of that office, remaining there until
REV. GEORGE J. STEINKAMP.
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appointed pastor of St. Paul's parish at Yellow Springs on April 19, 1917. By training and experience Father Steinkamp is admirably qualified for the performance of the duties that have fallen upon him in his new field and since taking charge there has made many friends who welcome his assistance. in the general uplift movements of the community. His parish consists of eighty families, comprising three hundred and fifty souls, and all departments of the work being carried on in the same are reported to be in flourishing condition, a general impetus having been given to all the work of the parish since the present earnest young pastor took charge. Father Steinkamp is a close student, not only of books, but of men and affairs; is a fluent and con- vincing speaker, either in the pulpit or on the forum, and his engaging qual- ities as a mingler among his fellow men have created in his behalf many warm friendships during the comparatively short time he has been sta- tioned at Yellow Springs.
GEORGE M. STILES.
George M. Stiles, formerly and for years superintendent of the cordage plant of the Hooven-Allison Company at Xenia and now engaged in the coal and general building-supplies business in that city, formerly and for years a member of the city council, is a Hoosier by birth, but has been a resi- . dent of Ohio since the days of his early childhood and of Xenia since he was but a lad. He was born in the city of Terre Haute, Indiana, August 31, 1861, son of Aaron and Sarah (Smith) Stiles, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Indiana, and the latter of whom is still living at Xenia, now past seventy-six years of age.
Aaron Stiles was but a boy when he came with his parents from New Jersey to Ohio in the early '30s, the family locating in the neighborhood of Waynesville, in Warren county, where he grew to manhood and where he married Sarah Smith, who was born in Vigo county, Indiana. He later went over into Indiana and for three years was engaged in farming for a kinsman in the vicinity of Terre Haute, in Vigo county, and was living there when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted for service, but was re- jected on account of physical disability. He, however, was accepted for the Home Guards and while serving in that capacity helped to repel Mor- gan's raiders during the time of their invasion of southern Indiana. Finding that life on the farm was not suitable he returned with his family to Ohio and located at Corwin, where he was engaged as station agent for the Little Miami (Pennsylvania) Railroad for six years, at the end of which time he was stationed at Xenia, as night baggage-master for that road at that place and there he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1877, he then
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being forty-six years of age. He left five children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the eldest, the others being as follows: William, who is now working in a cordage plant at Bradford, Canada; Mary, who married . Harvey C. Huppman and died at the age of thirty-three years: Bertha, who married Robert Daughitt and is also now deceased, and Fred, who is em- ployed in the plant of the National Cash Register Company at Dayton. Mrs. Stiles, the mother of these children, later married Andrew McCarty, who is now deceased. She continues to make her home at Xenia, residing at the corner of Second and Mechanic streets with William Stiles. Her parents, Ezra and Sarah Smith, were Quakers and were early settlers in Warren county, whence they had moved over from Clinton county, in which latter county they had lived for a while after coming to this state from Pennsyl- vania. Though reared a Quaker, Mrs. McCarty has long been a member of the Presbyterian church, with which she became affiliated after taking up ' her residence in Xenia.
George M. Stiles was three years of age when his parents returned from Indiana to Ohio and he was about nine years of age when they moved from Corwin to Xenia, his schooling therefore having hecn completed in the schools of the latter city. When twelve years of age he became a wage earner, starting to work at the Bradley bagging-mill, which then was being operated at the corner of Third and Detroit streets, and was thus engaged for two years, at the end of which time he became employed at the glass . works. A year later he took employment at the Rader brick yards and while thus employed helped to make the brick that entered into the addi- tion that was built to the old court house in Xenia. He worked there one summer and then, in the fall of 1875, entered the employ of the company that then was operating the cordage-mill, now under the control of the Hooven-Allison Company, his first work there being as the wheel boy for a hand wheel for spinning. For thirty-seven years Mr. Stiles remained connected with the cordage-mill, working his way up until in 1897 he was made superintendent of the plant, a position he occupied for fifteen years, or until 1912, when he transferred his services to the John T. Bailey Cordage Company at Philadelphia and for two years was superintendent of the plant in that city. He then was engaged by the state of North Dakota to take charge of the cordage plant in the state penitentiary at Bismarck, but conditions there were naturally enough not to his liking and at the end of ten months of such service he returned to Xenia and in July, 1915, bought the coal yard of W. O. Maddox, the oldest coal yard in the city, and has since then been engaged in the general coal business, handling at the same time a general line of building supplies. Mr. Stiles is a Republican and when the city commission form of government was adopted by the people
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of Xenia in the summer of 1917 he announced himself as a candidate for the office of city commissioner, but failed of election. He had previously given similar service to the city, having for eight years served as a member of the city council from his ward. For some time 'he served as a member of the executive committee of the Republican central committee. He is a Mason and an Odd Fellow. In addition to his other interests Mr. Stiles is a member of the board of directors of the Home Building and Savings Com- pany of Xenia.
In September, 1884, George M. Stiles was united in marriage to Rosa Scheeibold, who was born in the city of London, county seat of the neigh- boring county of Madison, but who at the time of her marriage was a resi- dent of Xenia, her parents Charles and Barbara Scheeibold having moved from London to Xenia, in which latter city Mr. Scheeibold, who was en- gaged there in the retail meat business, died in 1910. Mrs. Scheeibold is still living in Xenia. To Mr. and Mrs. Stiles six children have been born, namely : Harry, who is engaged in the tailoring business at Dayton : Lester, who is engaged in the shoe business at Xenia: Edward, who was killed in a railway accident on May 24, 1915; Paul, who is living at Middletown, this state, where he is engaged as circulation manager for the Middletown Journal; Katrina, who is at home with her parents, and Raymond, also at home, who is employed as a clerk in Sayre & Hemphill's drug store. The Stiles reside at 221 Cincinnati avenue. They are members of the First Reformed church and Mr. Stiles was for three years chairman of the congre- gation and also has served as a member of the official board and as a mem- ber of the board of trustees of the church.
WALTER ELMER PRATT.
Walter Elmer Pratt, proprietor of a grocery store and a barber shop in Cincinnati avenue, Xenia, was born on a farm in the neighboring county of Warren in 1869, a son of John and Melissa Pratt, who were the parents of three children, those besides the subject of this sketch being Belle, who married James Kasperson and is now deceased, and Mrs. Ada Dakin, wife of a farmer in the neighborhood of Waynesville.
Reared on the home farm in Warren county, Walter E. Pratt received his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood and remained in that county until about 1892, when his parents moved to Greene county. He later went to Dayton, where he was engaged for a time in the factory of the National Cash Register Company. He then returned to this county and became employed at one of the cordage mills in Xenia and continued thus engaged for twelve or thirteen years, at the end of which time he opened
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a barber shop on Cincinnati avenue, and thus continued in business there for eleven years, or until 1912, when he added to his establishment a stock of groceries and has since been engaged in both the grocery business and in the barber business at that location.
On March 6, 1895, Walter E. Pratt was united in marriage to Hannah Milburn, who was born in this county, daughter of Jordan and Mary (Shir- ley) Milburn, both of whom also were born in Greene county and the former of whom is still living, a resident of Xenia. Jordan Milburn and wife were the parents of seven children, those besides Mrs. Pratt being John and Canter, both of whom are married; Trone, unmarried; Clay, a widower; Cliff, who is now living at Portland, Oregon, and Belle, who died in the days of her girlhood. Mr. and Mrs. Pratt have four children, namely : Helen, who married Fred Wilson, of Xenia, and has a son, Charles Fred- erick; Elmer, who is in high school, and Carl and Pauline, who are also in school. Mr. and Mrs. Pratt are members of the Friends church. Politically, Mr. Pratt is "independent."
JACOB KANY.
Jacob Kany, president of the school board of the city of Xenia and for many years engaged in the merchant-tailoring business in that city, is of European birth, a native Bavarian, but has been a resident of this country since he was twenty years of age and of Xenia since the year 1883, he having come up here from Cincinnati in that year, the year of his marriage. He was born in the town of Kleinkarlbach, in Rheinish Bavaria, March II, 1863, son and only child of Jacob and Barbara Kany, also native Bavarians.
Reared at Kleinkarlbach, the younger Jacob Kany received his school- ing in the schools of that town. Not desiring to follow the milling business, in which his father was engaged, he became apprenticed, at the age of four- teen years, to a tailor and after an apprenticeship of three years became a qualified tailor. After working at his trade as a journeyman in his home country for awhile he decided to come to the United States and when twenty years of age arrived in this country and proceeded to Cincinnati, where he had friends. That was in 1883. He secured employment at his trade in Cincinnati and in September of that same year married there a girl whom he had known in his home town and who had not long before come to this country with an uncle, the family locating in Cincinnati. Mr. Kany worked for a month at Cincinnati and then came up to Xenia, where he established his home and where he ever since has made his residence. For five years after his arrival in Xenia Mr. Kany was engaged as a tailor in the shop of Charles H. Oonk. In 1888 he opened an establishment of his own at No. 10
JACOB KANY
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North Detroit street and has ever since been doing business at that place. He started in a modest way, but the recommendations of pleased customers soon brought him additional business and it was not long until he became recognized as one. of the leading tailors in this part of the state. Mr. Kany now employs five tailors and his establishment is well equipped.
Mr. Kany has for the past eighteen years or more served as a member of the Xenia school board, for the past five years president of that body ; and has thus helped to oversee the construction of all the new school buildings in the city. Mr. Kany is a Republican and, fraternally, is affiliated with the Masons, the Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the local council, Royal and Select Masters. He is affiliated with the Presbyterian church at Xenia.
It was on September 30, 1883, at Cincinnati, that Jacob Kany was united in marriage to Magdalena Schneider, who also, as noted above, was born in Bavaria, and who had come to this country with an uncle and aunt. Mr. and Mrs. Kany have one child, a son, Arthur S. Kany, who is now liv- ing in Dayton, where he owns a store devoted to the sale of automobile parts and accessories. Arthur S. Kany married Mabel Ledbetter, of Xenia, and has two children, Howard and John. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Kany live at 665 South Detroit street.
HENRY GROTTENDICK.
Henry Grottendick, who for more than forty years was engaged in the bakery business in Xenia and who is now living retired in that city, where he has made his home continuously since 1869, is a Hanoverian by birth, but has been a resident of this country since he was fourteen years of age. He was born in the village of Altendorf, nine miles east of Neuhaus, in what then was the kingdom of Hanover, but now a Prussian province, January 29, 1851, a son of William and Catherine (Von Felder) Grottendick, also Hanoverians, the former a butcher by trade, who spent all their lives in their native country. William Grottendick and wife were the parents of six children, the subject of this sketch having had five sisters, three of whom also came to America, namely: Catherine, who located in Cincinnati, where her last days were spent, and Mellis and Lena, who are living at Ludlow, Kentucky.
It was in 1865 that Henry Grottendick came to the United States, he then being fourteen years of age. He located at Cincinnati and there learned the baker's trade, four years later, in 1869, moving up to Xenia, where he became engaged as foreman in George Grauer's "Eagle" bakery,
(9)
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and was thus engaged when Mr. Grauer died in 1877. He continued oper- ating the bakery for Mr. Grauer's widow and when the latter died in 1886 he bought the bakery, meanwhile having married a niece of Mr. Grauer, and continued to conduct the same until his retirement from business in 1913, when he sold the bakery plant and settled down to "take things easy," after a continuous service as baker to the people of Xenia for more than forty years. During that time Mr. Grottendick built up a splendid business and his famous "King" butter-cracker attained a reputation that created for it a demand from coast to coast. For fifteen years during the latter period of Mr. Grottendick's connection with the business his son, George Grottendick, acted as manager of the establishment. Mr. Grottendick and his wife still own the building in which the bakery is situated in East Main street, besides several other bits of realty in the city. In 1914 they erected a new residence at 215 West Second street and are now living there.
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