History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume II, Part 3

Author: Drury, Augustus Waldo, 1851-1935; S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, pub
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1092

USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 3

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A native of Maryland, his birth occurred in Frederick county on the 19th of February, 1833. His father, John V. L. McMahon, of Baltimore, was a dis- tinguished lawyer, ranking among the leaders of the Maryland bar. In his youthful days the son became a pupil in St. Xavier's College of Cincinnati and completing the full collegiate course, was graduated with the class of 1849. Something of his scholarship and his popularity with the faculty may be in- dicated in the fact that he was retained in the school as a teacher until June, 1850.

Mr. McMahon's connection with Dayton covers much more than a half century, for he arrived in this city in 1851, in which year he entered upon the study of law with Hon. C. L. Vallandigham as his preceptor. After reading for three years Mr. McMahon was admitted to the bar in 1854 and entered into part- nership relations with his former preceptor, who was also his uncle-the hus- band of his father's sister. Mr. McMahon was not long in winning for him-

DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY

self a prominent position at the Dayton bar and in securing a large and impor- tant clientage. Although he frequently met in forensic combat the older and distinguished members of the Dayton bar, he won many verdicts favorable to his clients, showing that in knowledge of the law and in ability in the presenta- tion of his case he was the equal of those who for a longer period had been active in the work of the profession. When he won his suit in opposition to such distinguished lawyers as Judge Thurman and others prominent at the Dayton bar his reputation was established. His preparation of cases has always been thorough and comprehensive and his arguments have been characterized by a terse, decisive logic, while the attainment of justice has ever been the end in view. Following his partner's entrance into official political life Mr. McMahon practiced alone for a time and then in 1861 joined George W. Houk in a part- nership that was maintained until January, 1880. A contemporary biographer has said of him: "As a lawyer his career has been abundantly successful. The secret of his prominence in the profession does not lie alone in his strong nat- ural endowments, his breadth of mental grasp and intellectual vigor. It may be found in the fact that he has always been a close and conscientious student, not only of text-books, but of the reported decisions of both English and American courts, so that he is today familiar, in a marked degree, with case-law, as well as the underlying legal principles. Industry, method, thoroughness, intense ap- plication-these are the habits which Mr. McMahon has brought to the prac- tice of the law, and which, exerted upon the operations of a keen and alert in- tellect, have placed him in the front ranks of the lawyers of Ohio."

In his earlier professional career Mr. McMahon would never consent to be- come a candidate for office and while his opinions concerning the political situ- ation were clear cut and decisive, he preferred to take little active part in politi- cal work. In 1872, however, he was elected a delegate at large by the demo- cratic state convention of Ohio to attend the democratic national convention held in Baltimore. After several times refusing to become a candidate for congress, in 1874 the party nominated him and his friends so strongly urged his acceptance that he finally entered upon the campaign work. Such was his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen that in spite of the fact that the district was at that time largely republican he won the election by nearly eleven hundred votes. In the forty-fourth congress he was one of the managers of the Belknap impeachment proceedings and upon the organization of the management of the conduct of the trial Mr. McMahon was selected chairman of the sub-committee to conduct the case. In the same session he was made a member of a special committee to investigate the St. Louis whisky frauds and later he became a member of a committee of fifteen to investigate the presidential election in Louisiana prior to the counting of the electoral vote. His service during his first term was so commendable and bene- ficial that he was renominated without opposition for a second term and by popular suffrage was made a member of the forty-fifth congress. He was con- nected with much important constructive legislation, serving on the judiciary committee on accounts and on other leading committees. During that session he was also selected as one of the Potter investigation committee. During the congress the undetermined questions connected with a distribution of a remainder

DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY

of the Geneva award fund, amounting to nearly ten millions of dollars, were re- ferred to the house judiciary committee, but such was the difference of opinion among the members of the committee that a minority as well as a majority re- port was made. The former was drawn and reported by Mr. McMahon and signed by representatives Fry, of Maine; Butler, of Massachusetts; Conger, of Michigan ; and Lapham, of New York. The minority report was afterward adopted by the house and its principle was subsequently enacted into a law. For the third time Mr. McMahon was chosen to represent his district in con- gress in 1878 and during that term was a member of the committee on appro- priations. His ambition has never been in the line of office holding and in 1881 he retired to resume the practice of law in Dayton and has since remained an honored and prominent member of the bar of this city. Following the elec- tion of a democratic legislature in Ohio he was a candidate for the nomina- tion for United States senator and received the second highest number of votes. In 1904 he was a delegate at large to the democratic national convention in St. Louis.

Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. McMahon was married January 23, 1861, to Miss Mary R. Sprigg, of Cumberland, Maryland, and a representative of one of the old and prominent families of that state. Mr. and Mrs. McMahon have ever moved in the highest social circles and have enjoyed the warm friendship of many with whom they have come in contact. Mr. McMahon stands today, at the age of seventy-six years, as one of the distinguished and worthy residents of Dayton, where for more than fifty-eight years he has made his home. Throughout this period his life has been characterized by unfaltering loyalty to duty, by firm support of his honest convictions and by adherence to a high standard of professional ethics.

REV. MAURICE EMERY WILSON, D. D.

Rev. Maurice Emery Wilson has for nineteen years been pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Dayton. Profound thought, close reasoning, attractive oratory and above all an abiding sympathy have given him power and gained him prestige as a representative of the Christian ministry in this city.

His youthful days were passed in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, although his birth occurred in Baltimore, Maryland, April 2, 1855. In the paternal line he comes of a family founded in America in colonial days. His great-great-grand- father, Colonel Matthew Dill, of York county, Pennsylvania, was a native of Londonderry, Ireland, and the founder of the family in the new world. An- other ancestor fought for American liberty in the Revolutionary war and was a descendant of Oliver Cromwell.

The Rev. Thomas B. Wilson, the father of Dr. Wilson of this review, was born in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, November 17, 1822, and pursued his educa- tion in Jefferson College and in the Western Theological Seminary. Having qualified for the ministry he accepted the pastorate of the Sixth Presbyterian church of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and later was called to the Presbyterian

DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY

church at Xenia, Ohio, where he died after a brief pastorate, September 21, 1858. In early manhood he had wedded Miss Margaret B. Sanders, a native of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Major Jacob Sanders, who was a gallant officer of the war of 1812 and took part in the battle of Lundy's Lane. Rev. and Mrs. Thomas B. Wilson had two sons, Maurice E. and Calvin Dill, both of whom became representatives of the Presbyterian clergy. They were closely associated in boyhood and youth and were classmates from the time of their entrance upon collegiate work until their graduation. Their mother passed away August 31, 1895.

The Wilson family have ever been eminent in literary pursuits and belles lettres generally, as well as in the ministry and other spheres of usefulness. The family records include the names of such eminent men as the Rev. Dr. John R. Paxton and Professor Samuel J. Wilson, D. D., LL. D., who for twenty-five years was professor of church history in the Western Theological Seminary at Pittsburg. Dr. Wilson of this review and his brother have also added to the repu- tation of the family in this connection in editing and publishing a volume en- titled "Occasional Addresses and Sermons."

Dr. Wilson, whose name introduces this record, spent his youthful days as a public school student in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, and pursued his prepara- tory course in the Cannonsburg Academy. He then entered the sophomore class of Washington and Jefferson College at the age of eighteen years and after three years' study was graduated, subsequent to which time he entered the Western Theological Seminary at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he completed his three years' course in April, 1879. Ordained to the ministry in December of the same year, his first pastoral charge was at Gallipolis, Ohio, and extended over two and a half years. He was also for a similar period pastor of the Presbyterian church at Emsworth, one of the suburbs of Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania. Five years were devoted to the upbuilding of the Westminster church in Baltimore, Maryland, and his growing powers during that period made him widely known as a pulpit orator of marked ability and one whose knowledge and interpretation of the scriptures was profound. Since March, 1890, he has labored as pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Dayton, having now given nine- teen years of his life to the upbuilding of the congregation in its numerical and moral strength. The church is recognized as a most potent influence for good in the development of the community and the membership is largely made up of a most intelligent class of citizens to whom the logical and thoughtful utter- ances of Dr. Wilson make strong appeal.

In June, 1879, Dr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Fanny L. Mc- Combs who was afforded liberal educational privileges and is a graduate of Washington Seminary of Washington, Pennsylvania. The only child of this marriage is Anna Quail Wilson, the wife of John Palmer Brandon, of Cleve- land. The family home has ever been the center of a cultured society circle, radiating an influence for intellectual and moral progress.

Dr. Wilson holds membership relations with the Sons of the American Revolution, and has ever been a stalwart advocate of the cause of temperance and a worker in other fields indicating the broadening of the angle of his use- fulness. While widely recognized as a man of scholarly attainments, thoroughly

DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY

versed in the doctrines of the church and with comprehensive understanding of the questions of vital interest to the people and the country at large, he pos- sesses an abiding individual sympathy that enables him to speak the right word of counsel or encouragement, and thus he has gained a firm hold upon the affection and esteem of his own congregation and of the community at large.

ARTHUR MELVILLE KITTREDGE.

Many theories have been advanced as to the causation of success but every logical thinker arrives at the same conclusion-that intelligently directed industry is the basis of all advancement in the business world. There is no exciting or thrilling chapter in the life history of A. M. Kittredge but it is the record of a man whose persistent purpose and unfaltering commercial integrity have brought him to a place of prominence in industrial circles, for he is now president of the Barney & Smith Car Company, controlling one of the most important productive industries of the state.

He is one of Dayton's native sons and the city rejoices in his advancement, knowing that it has been well won. He was born January 9, 1854, of the mar- riage of Oliver and Julia (Estabrook) Kittredge, who came to Dayton from Massachusetts in 1838 and for many years were honored and representative res- idents here. The father died January 9, 1904, at the ripe old age of eighty- nine years, and the mother passed away in 1901. Oliver Kittredge was the first agent of the first express company in Dayton and also a clerk in the postoffice at a very early day. In fact his name is closely interwoven with many events which shaped the policy and molded the destiny of the city in its formative period. His political allegiance was given to the whig party until its dissolution, when he joined the ranks of the republican party. A son of the family, Anson O. Kit- tredge, died March 23, 1903, in New York city.

Unmarked by any event of special importance, the boyhood days of Arthur M. Kittredge were passed as a public-school student until he reached the age of sixteen years. Ambitious to provide for his own support and enter business life, he became an apprentice at the galvanized iron and cornice-working trade, and his ability in that line won advancement from time to time as his excellent workmanship and substantial qualities were recognized. Eventually he became foreman of the shop and afterward superintendent of the business, so continuing until 1877, but the latter position kept him away from the city for six years and at the end of that time he returned and became bookkeeper in a wholesale house. He afterward went upon the road as traveling salesman for the H. W. Merriam Shoe Company, of Newton, New Jersey, which he represented for four years, and then entered into active relations with the Barney & Smith Car Company in January, 1884. For a quarter of a century he has been active in the manage- ment and control of this extensive business. He had been connected with the company but a brief period when he was made general superintendent of the entire plant, his early training in mechanical lines proving of material benefit to him in this connection. The company today has the largest car works in the

A. M. KITTREDGE

DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY

west and its plant is one of the most extensive manufactories in Ohio. In Jan- uary, 1900, Mr. Kittredge was elected to the vice presidency and remained as its second executive officer until November, 1908, when elected president, being thus closely associated with an enterprise of almost immeasurable benefit to the city and one from which he himself has received substantial returns. Since his first connection with the company it has doubled its volume of business more than ten times, now employing three thousand five hundred men. Mr. Kittredge is also a director of the Dayton National Bank, a director and vice president of the Miami Building Association, and in all important business matters his judgment is sound and his discrimination keen.

In 1875 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Kittredge and Miss Mary J. Broadwell, a representative of one of the old and prominent families of Dayton. Two sons and two daughters have been born unto them: Harvey G., Arthur L., Mary J. and Helen L. The elder son is now secretary and treasurer of the Kess Paint Company, of which his father is president. Arthur L. Kittredge, who died October 14, 1908, wedded Georgiana Lindley, of Westfield, Indiana, and they had two children, Thomas Arthur and Mary Harriet.

Mr. Kittredge is especially interested in educational and religious questions, upon which hinge the intellectual and moral progress of the city. He holds membership in the First Presbyterian church and is interested in all the move- ments for the uplifting of mankind. His business associates have ever found him reliable and he is widely known as a man of tireless energy, strong purpose and a genius for devising the right thing at the right time. Those whom he mects socially find him genial and kindly in spirit and at all times he is a court- eous, genial gentleman-worthy of success and the high regard in which he is uniformly held in the city of his nativity.

WILLIAM HENRY PAYNE.

William Henry Payne is at the head of one of Dayton's important commercial enterprises in the conduct of a wholesale business in upholstery and furniture manufacturing supplies. He has also operated largely in real estate and his efforts in both lines have been factors in the growth and substantial development of the city, especially in furthering the business activity upon which the ad- vancement and prosperity of every community depends. The ancestry of the Payne family in the paternal line is traced back to Sir Hugh de Payne, a noble Norman who went to the crusades under Robert, son of William the Conqueror. The American branch of the family was founded at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1622. Rebecca Freeman, one of the great-grandmothers of William Henry Payne, was descended from General Constant Southworth, head of the military forces of Massachusetts, and Robert Treat, governor of Connec- ticut from 1686 to 1701. Through the Southworths the ancestry is traced back to the fourth century. Elisha Payne, great-grandfather of William Henry Payne, was a native of Cornwall, Connecticut, and at an carly day left that place and with his brother and some neighbors traveled by ox-team to Albany and thence

DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY

to the Chenango valley, in New York, where he founded the village of Paynes- ville, now called Hamilton. In connection with his brother he also founded the Madison University, which is now known as Colgate University, of Hamil- ton, New York, the two brothers donating the land and at their own expense erecting most of the older buildings still in use by the school. * He married Esther Douglas, whose father was a pioneer Baptist minister of Vermont. Ed- win Douglas Payne, the youngest of their sixteen sons, was born at Hamilton. Madison county, New York, May 24, 1818. He was reared in the usual manner of farm boys-an uneventful life and yet one which had the foundation for honorable manhood and for success in business in later years. He was a pupil in the little wayside schoolhouse which was a feature in his native county in the early part of the century. When twenty-two years of age he removed westward to Warren county, Ohio, for the purpose of accompanying a sur- veyor of the name of Woodruff to Iowa to make a survey of that state, but ow- ing to the death of President Harrison Mr. Woodruff lost his position and Mr. Payne then came to Dayton. Soon after his arrival he secured a position as teacher in a country school located near the city and after about two years he accepted a clerkship in a book-store owned by Ells, Claffin & Company, and later by Charles Ells. He was next connected with a wholesale grocery house owned by John Sayers, and when his industry and judicious expenditures had made such a course possible he established a book and stationery business. in 1844, in an old-fashioned brick building on the present site of the Smith Queens- ware Store, on North Main street. When the Phillips block was completed, soon afterward, Mr. Payne removed his stock to what is now known as No. 40 North Main street and subsequently became senior member of the firm of Payne & Wheaton, while still later the business was conducted under the name of Payne's Book Store, his nephew, Augustus F. Payne, being his partner. In 1864 he sold his interest to George W. Holden. When he started in business he pos- sessed less capital and experience than any of the six men who were then con- nected with the book trade in Dayton, and when he disposed of his interests his stock and trade were the largest and best in the city-a notable example of industry, perseverance and economy. In 1865 he turned his attention to the flax business, in which he remained to the time of his death save for a period of two and a half years in which he was connected with the Woodsum Ma- chine Company. He died March 5, 1884.

On the Ist of November, 1849, Edwin Douglas Payne had married Miss Phoebe M. Crawford, a daughter of Jonathan Crawford, a pioneer resident of Dayton, and a sister of Charles Crawford. Her death occurred August 25, 1886. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin D. Payne there were four chil- dren, all of whom are living: Emma C., who is the widow of Rev. Frederick Clatworthy, D. D., formerly of the Linden Avenue Baptist church of Dayton and afterward pastor at Norwalk, Ohio, Adrian, Michigan, and Evanston, Il1- inois ; Edward D., a business man of Dayton ; William H., of this review ; and Bessie, the wife of W. D. Bassett, of Loveland, Colorado.

The father, Edwin B. Payne, was long a member of the First Baptist church of Dayton, and assisted in building the present house of worship. He afterward contributed liberally to the erection of the Linden Avenue Baptist church. of

DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY

which he served as deacon for seven years. He was once a member and for a time was president of the Union Insurance Company, of Dayton, Ohio. He was also one of the organizers and first directors of the Merchants National Bank. He was likewise one of the original Washingtonians of early temperance celebrity and was an honored citizen of Dayton and a true Christian gentleman.

William Henry Payne pursued his education in the public schools of Day- ton, but was obliged to put aside his text-books on becoming of age to take up the business of his father, who was then in ill health and who was conducting a wholesale trade in upholstering and furniture manufacturing supplies. Through hard work, persistent effort and close attention, W. H. Payne was enabled to greatly enlarge and extend the business until it developed into one of the most important and most successful of its kind in this part of the country. Mr. Payne has also found time to engage with others to some extent in the real estate business, becoming instrumental in the development of some of the largest and most modern plats and subdivisions of the city of Dayton. He is a man of keen business discernment whose judgment is sound and re- liable, manifesting at all times a ready understanding of the value and oppor- tunities of any business situation.

On the 7th of May, 1891, in Dayton, Mr. Payne was united in marriage to Miss Bessie Lee Sample, of Dayton, who died in March, 1893. On the 24th of July, 1901, in this city he wedded Miss Alice May Gebhart, a daughter of the late William F. Gebhart, one of the successful pioneer business men of Dayton. There are two children of this marriage: William Gebhart, born in September, 1903 ; and Alice Munger, in May, 1905. In his political views Mr. Payne has always been a stanch republican, giving the weight of his influence for the furtherance of the best interests of the party, yet is entirely free from political aspirations for himself. From early youth he has been connected with the Baptist denomination and is now one of the officers of the First Baptist church of Dayton. His entire life has been passed in this city and, honored and respected by all, no man occupies a more enviable position in commercial and financial circles here, not only by reason of the success which he has achieved but also owing to the straightforward business policy he has ever followed. It is true that he entered upon an enterprise already established, but in enlarging and controlling this many a man of less resolution and with more limited capacity would have failed. His life record, therefore, proves that success is not a matter of genius, as held by some, but is the outcome of clear judgment, experience and un faltering industry.

ORION E. BAKER.

Orion E. Baker, the popular and efficient cashier of the Citizens Bank of Brookville, in which capacity he has served since 1900, was born on a farm near Brookville, Montgomery county, in 1870. His parents were John and Sarah (Limbert) Baker, the former an agriculturist by occupation. In pursuit of an education Orion E. Baker attended the Brookville high school and subse-

DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY

quently further prepared for a business career by a course of study in the Miami Commercial College. He then accepted a position as bookkeeper in a railroad auditor's office and was afterward employed in the treasury department of the National Cash Register Company for two years. In 1900 he came to Brook- ville as the cashier of the Citizens Bank, which position he has held continuously since, proving a most capable, trustworthy and reliable official.

In 1892 Mr. Baker wedded Miss Flora Overholser, of Brookville, a daughter of Jacob B. and Eliza Overholser, her father being a blacksmith and wagon manufacturer by trade. By this union there are three children: Lucile, Reba and John.

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History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume II, Part 3

Author: Drury, Augustus Waldo, 1851-1935; S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, pub Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1092

Author: Drury, Augustus Waldo, 1851-1935; S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, pub
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1092