USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 18
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On the 22d of June, 1899, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Blust and Miss Amye Stiner, a daughter of John and Clara ( Heiser) Stiner, both of whom arc still living. Her father is a butcher in the cmploy of our subject. She has two sisters : Laura, the wife of J. I. Geiger, and Ella, the wife of Jesse Wood- man, both of Dayton. Mr. and Mrs. Blust have a daughter, Catharine, now three years of age.
The family are devoted and consistent members of the Emanuel church, doing all in their power to promote its growth and extend its influence. Mr. Blust also belongs to the Young Butchers Association and to the Moose and in all the varied relations of life has displayed those sterling traits of character which have won him the friendship and esteem of those with whom he has been associated. He has lived a life of activity and has depended upon his own labors to win success in face of the competition which is always to be met with in the business world and which constitutes the stimulus of every activity.
JACOB ZINK.
Jacob Zink, a wholesale and retail butcher of Van Buren township, where he owns about three acres of land and one of the finest homes in that part of the county, was born January 2, 1845, at the old Four Mile House in this county. His parents were Joseph and Teresa (Nann) Zink. The father came from Baden, Germany, when he was a boy and attended school both in the old country and in the new world, being afforded good opportunities for acquiring an education. He afterward learned the brick making trade and later turned his attention to the butchering business, with which he became connected in Dayton. He always lived near the city and in the conduct of his business affairs met with substantial and gratifying success. When death claimed him his remains were interred in a cemetery on Main street but later were removed to Calvary. He was the father of ten children : Frances ; Jacob, of this review ; Joseph, a resident of Ohio; John, living in Indiana : Frank, of Dayton ; Charles, of Tippecanoe; Edward, deceased ; William, of Indiana; August, living in Springboro, Ohio; and Emma, whose home is in St. Louis. The family comes of good old German stock, the grand- parents being Jacob and Regina Zink, who came from Germany and located in Pennsylvania. Subsequently they removed to Ohio and resided with the subject of this review.
Jacob Zink was reared in the usual manner of farm lads and in his youthful days attended the Kiser school. When twenty-four years of age he embarked in business on his own account, having up to this time worked for his father save for two years which he spent in the employ of a brother-in-law. He first started in the butchering business for himself on West Third street and later removed to North Dayton, where he remained for some time. Subsequently he made his way to the section of the county in which he now lives, having here made his home for the past twenty years. He conducts a successful business as a wholesale and re- tail butcher, having a large patronage which makes his business one of importance and also a gratifying source of revenue.
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On the 12th of January, 1879, Mr. Zink was married to Miss Helena Jergens. Unto this union twelve children have been born: Frances, the wife of Clifford Espy; John, who married Rhoda Hurless and has five children, John, Edna, Harry, Ralph and Charlotte; Helen, who is living at home; Dan, a resident of Dayton ; Benjamin, who married Mrs. Laura (Wollenhopt) Muth and has a son Norbert; Samuel, who married Myrtle Bellmar and has a son Frederick; Tressa, the wife of R. J. Lehman, by whom she has three children, Geneva, Cecelia and Clarence ; Lawrence, at home; Elizabeth, the wife of Joseph Hirish; Anthony, Philip and Viola, all at home.
Mr. Zink and the members of his household are all communicants of the Cath- olic church and are prominent in church affairs. He has led a busy, active and useful life and has won success by his unfaltering diligence and perseverance. In 1904 he erected a fine residence, which is one of the best in his part of the county and in the rear stand large and commodious outbuildings, while upon his place are all modern equipments. The house is at the corner of East drive and Lebanon pike and is celebrated for its warm-hearted hospitality.
CLEMENTS JACOB HOCHWALT.
Clements Jacob Hochwalt is the owner of five acres of arable land excellently adapted for gardening, on College street, about two miles from the courthouse in Dayton. He is the son of Fred and Catherine (Schmidt) Hochwalt, the account of whose coming to this country is given in the sketch of Charles Hochwalt. Clem- ents Jacob Hochwalt grew up with the other members of his family on the home place and has made Harrison township his abode during all his life. He attended the schools of this section until he had completed the required course of study and during this period of training worked for his father on the farm. In the days of his boyhood he suffered from a severe illness that left its mark in a slight lameness, which, however, is not sufficient to impede his walking or to attract attention to himself. Aside from this the years of his life have passed quietly enough, the varying tasks from day to day occupying most of his wak- ing hours, and each bringing with it its own measure of reward for good work per formed.
On the 20th of April, 1890. was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Hochwalt and Miss Elizabeth Theis, the daughter of Theodore and Elizabeth (Brandenburg) Theis, who are farmers of Montgomery county. This union has been blessed with nine children. Leona, the eldest, is at present living at home. She is a young girl who has evinced more than the usual fondness for study and has enjoyed many advantages in schooling, for in addition to the county schools she attended the school of the Sacred Heart, and then finished her education in the convent at Notre Dame. Richard, the second of the family, assists his father on the farm. Alfred has passed away. Irvin, Edith and Lillian are still in school, while Ethel, Jeanette and Clemens keep the home joyous with their childish play. The family belong to the Sacred Heart church, are regular in attendance at its services, and their daily life gives evidence of their adherence to its teachings.
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Mr. Hochwalt is one of those stalwart men upon whom the strength of the nation is builded ; he fulfils his obligations as a citizen of this republic quietly but effectively. He is earnest and diligent in his work, has won his measure of suc- cess, and has the respect of all who know him.
HENRY CHAMPLIN GRAVES.
Henry Champlin Graves is a retired capitalist of Dayton, who for many years was connected with industrial interests but when his business enterprise had brought to him a handsome competence he retired to enjoy in well earned rest the fruits of his former toil. He is yet financially interested in some of the important business enterprises of the city but leaves active management to others. His record indicates that success and an honored name may be won simultane- ously for his business principles and actions have always been based upon the rules which govern strict and unswerving integrity and industry.
Mr. Graves is a native of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in Horseheads, New York, in 1836. His father, Dr. Henry M. Graves, was born in that state in 1794 and died in Horseheads, near Elmira, in 1846 when about fifty years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Wilcox, was a native of England and, following her husband's demise, she came with her little family to Dayton, where her remaining days were passed, her death occur- ring in this city in 1886. The daughter of the family is Mrs. Isabella Gilbert, the widow of Jacob B. Gilbert and a resident of Florida.
Henry C. Graves spent the first twelve years of his life in the place of his nativity and then accompanied his mother on her removal to Dayton, where in the public schools he continued his education which had been begun in Horse- heads. He attended school to the age of twenty years and entered business life as a clerk in the employ of J. B. Gilbert & Company, a wholesale grocer with whom he continued for twelve years, during which period he gained a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the trade and the methods in vogue in the business world at that date. On the expiration of that period he and his brother bought out Mr. Gilbert and carried on the business for twelve years, after which Henry C. Graves retired in order to concentrate his energies upon other bus- iness ventures. He began the manufacture of agricultural implements under the firm style of Marshall, Graves & Company, the business being thus con- tinued until 1883, when it was merged into the Ohio Rake Company, at which time Mr. Graves became a stockholder. In 1883 he turned his attention to the manufacture of boilers as senior partner of the firm of Graves & Marshall and was associated with the industrial interests of the city for ten years, or until 1898, when the business was turned over to the sons of the founders and is yet conducted by them. Mr. Graves has made judicious investments in excellent dividend paying enterprises. He is still a director of the Dayton Gas, Light & Coke Company, of which he was the vice president for twenty-six years, and is also a director in the City National Bank.
HENRY C. GRAVES
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In Dayton in 1863 Mr. Graves was joined in wedlock to Miss Sarah J. Dickey and they have two sons: William Dickey, the secretary of the Ohio Rake Company ; and Henry C., of the firm of Graves & Marshall, manufacturers. Mr. Graves belongs to no secret order. He votes with the democracy and for four years was police commissioner. He has learned to correctly value life's contacts and experiences, has sought connection with those things which constitute factors in the world's progress in material, social, intellectual and moral lines and wher- ever known is honored and respected because of his close conformity to such principles as command respect and confidence in every land and clime.
ROBERT R. DICKEY, SR.
The life work of Robert R. Dickey, Sr., was so varied, so extensive and so honorable in its purposes that his history is inseparably interwoven with the annals of Dayton through a period of more than a half century. Fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation, he was honored wherever known and most of all where he was best known. He stood as a representative of the best type of citizenship and when he passed from the scene of earthly activity it was the uniform expression throughout Dayton that the world was better for his having lived.
His life record began during the pioneer epoch in the history of Ohio, his birth occurring near Middletown in Butler county, October 26, 1816, his parents being Adam and Mary (McKee) Dickey. The father was a native of County Antrim, Ireland, where he was born in 1768. As a young man of eighteen years he made the long and tedious voyage across the Atlantic in a sailing vessel and located near McConnellstown, Pennsylvania, in 1784. He had been a resident of that place for about six years when, in 1790, he wedded Mary McKee, a native of Pennsylvania and a second cousin of George Washington. Three children were added to the family while they maintained their residence in McConnells- town, whence, in company with an uncle, they started westward to Ohio, locat- ing at Cincinnati, then known as Fort Washington. The trip was made on the Ohio river on flatboats which Mr. Dickey had built and on which he brought two four-horse teams and two wagons. While at Fort Washington he was joined by two brothers who came from the Emerald isle to the new world. He devoted his attention to the manufacture of brick and from the brick of his kilns was built the first brick house in Cincinnati. After four years there passed he took up his abode near Middletown, Butler county, in 1803, and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, milling and distilling, making shipment of his produce to the New Orleans markets on flatboats of his own construction. His activity and enterprise constituted features in the early development of that part of the state, where he continued his residence until his death in 1828, while his wife survived until 1844.
From the age of eleven years, when his father died, Robert R. Dickey was dependent upon his own resources. Prosperity had attended the father through his business activities for many years, but shortly prior to his death, he met
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with reverses occasioned by fires and other misfortunes, and there was little left to the family when he passed away. At a time when most boys were attending school Robert R. Dickey therefore was providing for his own support, but in the school of experience he learned many valuable lessons and was constantly broadening his knowledge through investigation and contact with the world. He made his initial step in business life as an employe in a brickyard, where he was paid less than five dollars per month in compensation for labor that aver- aged fourteen hours per day. Subsequently he was employed at farm work at five dollars per month and in 1830 he was employed upon the public work of Ohio and Indiana by his brothers, who were made contractors. His adaptabil- ity and ready resource enabled him to advance until at the age of seventeen he was made superintendent of a large gang of men, his sound judgment well equip- ping him for this position of responsibility.
It was in the year 1842 that Mr. Dickey became a resident of Dayton, where he engaged with his two elder brothers, John and William, in quarrying stone until 1853. Ever watchful of opportunities, he sought out new lines of business that would yield profitable returns, and in 1847, in connection with his brothers, placed a line of packet boats on the Wabash and Erie canal and later, as a mem- ber of the firm of Doyle & Dickey, built the locks at St. Mary's and at Delphos. Extending his activities in still another direction, he became one of the organ- izers of the Dayton Bank in 1845 and served for several years as one of its directors. Thus through his energy and keen business discernment he became recognized as one of the foremost representatives of industrial, commercial and financial activity in his adopted city. In 1852 he became one of the stockholders in the Exchange Bank with Jonathan Harshman, Valentine Winters and J. R. Young. The following year chronicled his connection with the Dayton Gas, Light & Coke Company, of which he became a large stockholder, while in 1855 he was elected its president. He served as its chief executive officer for three years, when ill health compelled him to resign, although he continued as a di- rector. In 1880, however, he was once more chosen chief executive officer and continued in the position until January, 1907, when the infirmities of age neces- sitated his retirement and he was succeeded by his only son, Robert R. Dickey, Jr. He was also extensively identified with other important business concerns. From 1868 he was one of the directors and largest stockholders of the Dayton National Bank and from 1894 to 1897 was the head of the Globe Iron Works. He was also president of the Dayton & Western Railroad Company, now a part of the Pennsylvania system, and was one of the directors of the Cooper Hy- draulic Company. Whatever he undertook he carried forward to successful completion. He was watchful of every opportunity and had the ability to co- ordinate forces, bringing them into harmonious unity, resulting in the attainment of the desired end. His labors were always of a character that contributed to the city's development and progress as well as to individual prosperity, and at no time was he too busy with his private concerns to take an active and helpful interest in matters of general moment.
On the 17th of June, 1850, Mr. Dickey was married to Martha J. Winters, a daughter of Valentine Winters and a representative of one of the well known pioneer families of Dayton, her native city. Her father was for some years a
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leading financier of the community and her grandfather, the Rev. Thomas Winters, was an honored pioneer minister of the Miami valley. Mr. and Mrs. Dickey became parents of three sons but two passed away ere the father's death. William W. Dickey, who was born in 1852, died July 15, 1896, and Valentine, born in 1855, died March 30, 1890. Extended mention is made of the surviving son, Robert R. Dickey, Jr., on another page of this work.
The death of the husband and father occurred September 14, 1908, when he was in the ninety-second year of his age. He was one of Dayton's oldest citizens, not only in years but also in length of his residence here, having for sixty-six years made his home in the Gem city, which was a place of only about six thou- sand population at the time of his arrival. His labors were an important factor in making it one of the most prosperous and beautiful cities of Ohio. It was characteristic of him that he was neglectful of no duty, either of a public or private nature. Every movement of progressive citizenship received his en- dorsement and his cooperation, and in his business life he was notable as one who never made engagements that he did not keep nor incur obligations that he did not meet. Denied the advantages of any but the most meager educational discipline, he nevertheless won a place among the far-sighted, intelligent men- men who learned to correctly value life's opportunities and its purposes. His own success never affected in the least his interest nor his friendship for others less fortunate. He judged men by their character worth and not by their pos- sessions, and yet his own life stands as a splendid example of the success to which an individual may attain by persistent, honorable effort. His friends were numbered among the young and old, the rich and poor, and there is none who does not entertain for Robert R. Dickey the most sincere respect and confidence. His reputation for business integrity was unassailable and he ever maintained the strictest justice in his dealings. He ever held to the highest standards of manhood in every relation, and at last passed to his reward full of years and. honors, but his memory is yet cherished in the hearts of all who knew him.
ROBERT R. DICKEY, JR.
It has been said that the most difficult position in which any man can be placed is that in which he must stand comparison with a successful and honored ancestry, for the world is apt to judge of his work not by its individual merit but rather to claim that its accomplishment has its rise in inherited tendency or in favorable influence. In the control of important business interests, however, Robert R. Dickey, Jr., has proven his own strength and given indication of his enterprise, his initiative spirit and a strong and stalwart purpose. Born in Day- ton in 1867, his youthful days were spent in the home of his father, Robert R. Dickey, Sr., and his preliminary education was acquired in the public schools. The father determined that the son should not be handicapped by a lack of edu- cation as he was in his youthful days and sent him to a preparatory school in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Desirous of enjoying still higher educational
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facilities, Robert R. Dickey then entered Yale University, from which he was graduated in 1888.
Following his return to Dayton, he started in business life as assistant secre- tary in the Dayton Globe Iron Works, continuing in that position until 1893, when his previous experience and developed powers led to his selection for the position of secretary. Four years later, in 1897, he was chosen president and treasurer of the company and now occupies this dual position, in which connec- tion he is devoting his energies to executive control and administrative direction. In other fields of labor he has also given proof of his keen business discernment and powers of systemization. He was one of the organizers of the Acme Sign Printing Company in 1894, became its first president and so continued for eleven years, while at the present time he is secretary and treasurer of the American Board & Box Company, their successors. He is also the vice president of the Cooper Hydraulic Company and from 1899 until 1908 was secretary of the Dayton View Hydraulic Company. For four years he has been director and for two years vice president of the Winters National Bank, is a director in the Oak- wood Realty Company, in the City Railway Company and in the Dayton Coun- try Club Company, while since 1907 he has been president of the Dayton Gas Light & Coke Company. In all these positions he has proven that he is liberally equipped with the force of character and ambitious spirit that are necessary in the accomplishment of results in the business world, and in all of his undertak- ings he keeps in close touch with the spirit of modern business enterprise and progress.
In 1894 in Dayton Mr. Dickey was married to Miss Myrtle Thacker, a daughter of Newton Thacker, and they have one son, Robert R. Dickey, III. The parents hold membership in the Episcopal church, in which Mr. Dickey is serving as a vestryman, and their attractive personal qualities have won them notable social prominence.
OSWALD CAMMANN.
The insurance business is a comparatively recent enterprise but its benefits are so obvious that it has grown with remarkable rapidity and there is no town that does not have its representative of one or more of the old line insurance companies. The volume of business which Oswald Cammann has secured in this direction makes him one of the substantial citizens of Dayton, where he has lived for three decades or more.
He was born in New York city in 1869, a son of Oswald and Susan (Harsh- man) Cammann. His father's birth also occurred in the eastern metropolis in the year 1842 and he died there in 1868, when but twenty-six years of age. In the meantime he had done active duty with the famous Seventh New York Regi- ment in the Civil war and was with that command in all of its engagements and military experiences, including the suppression of the draft riots in New York in 1863. He married Miss Susan Harshman, of an old and prominent family of that name in Dayton.
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After his removal to the middle west Oswald Cammann continued his educa- tion in private schools of Dayton. Pursuing his studies to the age of twenty years, he then entered the Winters National Bank, where he continued for three years. Since that time he has been in insurance lines and has thoroughly informed himself concerning every branch of insurance and its manifold advantages.
In the year 1895 Mr. Cammann was married in Dayton to Miss Nellie Hanna and they have one son, Oswald. Mr. Cammann belongs to Christ Episcopal Church, in which he has been vestryman for a number of years and in the work of which he is deeply and helpfully interested. In politics he is a democrat but not active. He served on the Dayton Park Commission for some years and is inter- ested in all those movements and measures which are relative to the city's up- building, progress and improvement but he cares nothing for the emoluments and honors of office as such. He is the secretary of the Miami Valley Hospital and is the treasurer of the Dayton City Club. His interests are those of a broad- minded man, who recognizes the trend of the times as manifest in the keen, alert interest seen at the present day in many lines of thought and action. What he has accomplished represents the fit utilization of his innate powers and talents and the directing of his efforts along lines where mature and sound judgment has led the way.
BARRY S. MURPHY.
It is a notable fact that a large majority of able attorneys are of Irish birth or trace their parentage to the Emerald Isle. This perhaps may be accounted for in part by the versatility which is a national characteristic and which enables the individual to readily appreciate and understand each situation of a legal pro- cedure and place a correct value thereon. As the name indicates Barry S. Mur- phy is of Irish lineage although one of the native sons of Montgomery county, in which he is now successfully practicing law as senior member of the firm of Murphy, Elliff & Emanuel. His birth occurred on a farm, August 26, 1863, and he is a son of Dennis Murphy, who was born in County Cork, Ireland, in 1828, and came to America in 1849. For twenty-five years he was a member of the Dayton police force and his death occurred in this city in June, 1900.
When a little lad of five years Barry S. Murphy was brought by his parents to this city, acquiring his early education in St. Mary's Institute, while subsequently he was graduated from the high school. He entered business life as a reporter on the Journal and also engaged in teaching in the country schools for a time but, thinking to find the practice of law more congenial and profitable. he began read- ing in the office of Iddings & Iddings and in due time was admitted to the bar. He remained, however, in the office of Iddings & Iddings for seven years, having varied experiences in legal work, both in the preparation and trial of cases.
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