USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 37
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Mr. Hoover is also recognized as a leader in democratic circles in Dayton, and while the party is in the minority here he has been honored with its nomina- tions, having been a candidate for the school board at one time and again for the legislature. He now holds membership in Gravel Hall Club, a democratic or- ganization. In his fraternal relations he is a Knight of Pythias and belongs to
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the Modern Woodmen of America. His religious faith is indicated in his mem- bership in Grace Reformed church.
In 1895 Mr. Hoover was united in marriage to Miss Maud Brosier, and they have four children, Miriam Lucille, John Ruskin, Earl Reese and Rodney Robert. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hoover have many warm friends in Dayton, where they have always resided. Mr. Hoover is a gentleman of genial manner and unfailing courtesy, whose interests are not narrowed down to those things which affect only himself and his success but reach out along. broader lines, finding manifestation in his genial interest in and laudable spirit toward municipal affairs that affect the growth, progress and improvement of his city.
GEORGE W. MEARICK.
It is a well known fact that from humble clerkships have come some of the most able, progressive and successful merchants of the country, in which connec- tion George W. Mearick is deserving of mention, being widely recognized as a dynamic force in the commercial circles of Dayton, for he is today at the head of the Mearick Cloak House, the largest establishment of this character in the middle west.
He was born in Irvine, Kentucky, in 1854 and there resided until 1863, when his parents removed with their family to a farm in Darke county, Ohio. Eight- een months later a removal was made to Hill Grove, Darke county, where they continued for five or six years and then went to Union City, Indiana. In the meantime George W. Mearick had availed himself of the educational opportuni- ties offered in the different localities. After the removal of the family to Indiana he attended the Kline Commercial College at Evansville, that state, being there graduated on the completion of the regular course in 1871.
He made his initial step in the business world in Evansville, spending two or three years as a clerk in a dry-goods store, after which he returned to Union City, Indiana, where he engaged in clerking for two or three years. In 1884 he came to Dayton and entered the dry-goods store of Rike, Hassler & Company, whom he represented as a salesman for two years. At the end of that time he went with the D. L. Rike Company, with whom he continued for ten or eleven years, at the end of which time he utilized the capital, which he had acquired through his labors in the establishment of the Mearick Cloak House. While the beginning was comparatively small he has developed the enterprise until it is today the largest of the kind in the west. The trade has been conducted in ac- cordance with the strictest commercial ethics and the business is managed along the most progressive and modern lines. Mr. Mearick, as the head of the house, is continually forming new plans for the expansion of its interests and his ideas are based upon knowledge gained from broad practical experience and from a close study of market conditions. His house is attractive in its appointments and equipments and, having surrounded himself with an able corps of assistants, business is dispatched in the most prompt and accurate manner. Moreover he has worked upon the theory that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement
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and his success today proves the worth of his policy. In addition to his mer- cantile interests Mr. Mearick is connected with the Bower Roller Bearing Com- pany of Dayton as its vice president.
In 1877 in Hartford City, Indiana, Mr. Mearick was married to Miss Mary Elizabeth Clouser, a daughter of Dr. N. D. Clouser and unto them have been born four children: Carrie E., Nelson W., Winnifred K. and Hazel M. The parents attend the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Mearick gives his po- litical support to the republican party and holds membership in the Chamber of Commerce. One of his contemporaries in the business circles of Dayton charac- terized him as, "a very substantial and prosperous merchant and a very keen ob- server of business and city affairs who, by his honesty of purpose, sterling char- acter and strict adherence to high business principles, has become one of the foremost merchants and citizens of Dayton."
RIENZI RUSH SHANK, M. D.
Dr. Rienzi Rush Shank, a prominent and successful medical practitioner of Montgomery county, located at Trotwood, was born in this city on the 14th day of December, 1869, his parents being Dr. A. M. and Delilah (Fry) Shank, while the paternal grandparents were Dr. Peter and Mary ( Miller) Shank. The grand- father was born near Hagerstown, Maryland, and when a young man drove across the country in a wagon, settling on a section of land in Jefferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio. At the time of his demise, which occurred in Dayton, Ohio, he was about ninety years of age and was laid to rest in Jefferson town- ship. The grandmother was called to her final rest in 1859 and her remains were likewise interred in Jefferson township.
Dr. A. M. Shank, the father of our subject, was born near Frytown, in Jeffer- son township, and subsequently took up his abode in Stringtown and later in Trotwood, which was a swamp at the time of his arrival. In his early manhood he followed the profession of school teaching but for thirty-six years was num- bered among the leading and successful physicians here, being a graduate of the Medical College of Ohio. His family numbered eight children, namely: Am- brose E., a resident of Trotwood; Ulysses S., of Lynchburg, Ohio; Rienzi Rush, of this review ; Lon O., of Dayton ; Iona, deceased ; and three who died in infancy.
Dr. R. R. Shank supplemented his preliminary education, acquired in the schools of Trotwood and Dayton, by a course in the old Central high school, from which he was graduated. Subsequently he was engaged in teaching in Madison township for a period of four years and for two years followed that profession in the Trotwood high school, imparting clearly and readily to others the knowledge that he had acquired. In 1896 he entered the Medical College of Ohio at Cincinnati and after graduating from that institution he came at once to Trotwood, Ohio, having since been numbered among the well known and prosperous representatives of his calling in this county. He keeps in touch with the onward march of the profession through his membership in the Montgomery County Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Association and the American
DR. R. R. SHANK
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Medical Association and that he is an able and skilled practitioner is indicated in the large patronage that is accorded him. He also has a creditable military record, having served as medical corps man under Colonel Hunt, of Cincinnati, in the Spanish-American war. He was honorably discharged at Huntsville and now belongs to the Spanish-American War Veterans.
On the 12th of June, 1900, Dr. Shank was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary E. Spitler, of Perry township, a daughter of Ephraim E. and Jennie (Worley) Spit- ler, and a member of a very prominent old family of the state. Unto Dr. and Mrs. Shank have been born four children: Catharine E., Paul. J., Alberta L. and John T.
Fraternally Dr. Shank is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America at Trotwood; Iola Lodge, K. P., of Dayton; and the Odd Fellows lodge No. 754, in which he has passed through all of the chairs and is now past grand master. He is also identified with the Masonic fraternity at Brookville, and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Christian church of Trot- wood. Both he and his wife are members of prominent and well known old families of the county and throughout the long period of their residence here they have gained the kindly regard and esteem of those with whom they have come in contact.
JOHN REESE.
John Reese, prominent among the hardware merchants of Dayton, is well known as a dealer in stoves. Few men of his years continue active in business but Mr. Reese, although he has now passed the seventy-third milestone on life's journey, is actively connected with commercial interests. Ohio numbers him among her native sons, for his birth occurred in the city of Springfield, October 3, 1835, his parents being Philip and Polly (Yost) Reese, in whose family of seven children John Reese was the fourth in order of birth. The father was a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, born in 1804, and after living for some time in Springfield, Ohio, he removed to Dayton in 1844, continuing a resident of this city until his death in 1859. He had been married in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to Miss Polly Yost, and of their seven children six are now living. The family is of German lineage and it is thought that the grandfather, Philip Reese, was born in Germany, his death occurring in Dayton in 1854.
John Reese of this review was in his eighth year when he accompanied his parents to Dayton, and in the schools of this city he was educated, pursuing his studies in that manner until seventeen years of age, when he took up the more difficult lessons in the school of experience. He entered the tin shop of Henry Yost on the Ist of March, 1853, and for five years was there employed. Among his fellow workmen in that establishment was Henry Callahan and in 1858 they joined forces and bought out their employer, forming a partnership which con- tinued for thirty years, or until the 10th of April, 1888. The relation between them was then dissolved but each continued in business in Dayton and John Reese is today numbered among the oldest and most respected hardware mer-
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chants of the city. Mr. Reese is conducting a large and profitable business, his long experience making him most capable in the direction of his affairs.
On the 3Ist of March, 1859, in this city, was celebrated the marriage of John Reese and Miss Eliza Turner. They have now traveled life's journey happily together for fifty years, sharing with each other the joys and sorrows, the adversity and prosperity which checker the careers of all. Their marriage was blessed with four children: Jeremiah, Jacob J. and Walter, all residents of Dayton ; and Carrie, the wife of James Crandall, of Elyria, Ohio.
Mr. Reese has always given his political support to the republican party since its organization, believing it to be the party of reform, progress and im- provement. He attends the First Baptist church and in his life has always stood four square to every wind that blows. His commercial integrity and his personal worth none ever question, his substantial qualities gaining for him the unqualified regard, confidence and good will of his business colleagues and his associates in other relations of life.
PERRY APPLE.
Perry Apple, a farmer and stock raiser of Germantown, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born on the farm upon which he now lives, January 27, 1867, the son of Henry and Catherine ( Meckley) Apple. The name Henry was borne by a son in this family for three generations continuously, the great-grandfather, Henry Apple, being the son of John Apple, who was of German descent. This Henry came to Ohio from Pennsylvania, and in the course of his long and useful life, followed several occupations, all very necessary in those early days. He was a blacksmith by trade, farmed for his vocation and also ran a distillery that was famous for its applejack, creating fame and reputation for its owner. Henry Apple, the grandfather of our subject was born in Pennsylvania in 1802 and was but three years old when his father came to this county and entered land in Jackson townshp. Henry Apple, the third, was born in this locality on the 6th of August, 1835, and like his parents before him followed the life of a tiller of the soil, bequeathing some of his skill and fondness for the life to those who have come after him. Catherine Meckley Apple, the mother of Perry Apple, was born in Pennsylvania, in February, 1804, the daughter of Michael and Nancy (Keener) Meckley.
With so noble a heritage of birth and descent Perry Apple was endowed for the struggles of life. All his years have been passed on his present farm, so that it may well be asserted that he knows the character of the land he tills. The raising of stock of different kinds soon appealed to him with greater at- tractiveness than the mere growing of produce for market. As he was able to specialize in his breeding, he selected polled Durham cattle, Poland China hogs and Plymouth Rock chickens. He has been more than ordinarily successful in his ventures and his stock is among the finest of its kind, and yet his farm has not been neglected. He keeps it in excellent shape, being a man who realizes
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the value of care in little things that he may have a large return of the things that are greater.
Alone has Mr. Apple faced the struggles and trials of this life; his wife, who before her marriage was Miss Amelia Catherine Leis, has been his help- meet and companion for eighteen years, during which time she has proved how indispensable are her ministrations. They were married March 12, 1891, when she lacked three months of being twenty years of age.
She is a member of the Reformed church, while Mr. Apple is a Lutheran in religious belief and has served as deacon of his church for a number of years. As both a stock raiser and a farmer he has worked hard, but the returns the years have brought him have fully repaid him for this outlay of labor. His fields, always among the first to be tilled, his buildings and fences ever in the best of repair, bespeak the good workman, the man of thrift and the home where good management points the way along which success will travel.
REV. WILLIAM JOHN SHUEY.
In all those interests which are agencies for intellectual and moral progress Rev. William John Shuey is deeply interested and his cooperation therein has been an active and beneficial factor for growth and development. He is, more- over, a business man of keen discernment, strong and practical in action, and therefore accomplishes substantial results. He has now passed the eighty-second milestone on life's journey but in spirit and interest seems yet in his prime. While he retired from business life he has never ceased to feel a deep interest in the world's work and his is an old age which has grown stronger and brighter mentally and spiritually as the years have gone by, giving out of the rich stores of his wisdom and experience for the benefit of others.
Rev. Shuey was born in Miamisburg, Montgomery county, Ohio, February 9. 1827. His parents were Adam and Hannah (Aley) Shuey. The father was born in Pennsylvania in 1799 and was six years of age when brought to Mont- gomery county by his father, Martin Shuey. The mother, a native of Maryland, also born in 1799, was a little maiden of six summers when her father, Isaac Aley, located near Dayton. After mastering the branches taught in the common schools, Rev. Shuey attended the academy at Springfield, Ohio, and afterward engaged in teaching in the public schools in that locality. In 1843 he joined the United Brethren church and, taking up religious work, received a license to preach from the Miami conference in 1848 and was ordained by Bishop Erb in 1851. From 1849 he served for two years as pastor of the church at Lewisburg, Ohio, and from 1851 until 1859 occupied a pastorate at Cincinnati. He was en- gaged in pastoral duties in Dayton from 1860 until 1862 and in the latter year became presiding elder, so serving until 1864. In 1854 he was appointed the first missionary of the church to Africa and the following year in company with the Rev. D. K. Flickinger and Dr. D. C. Kummer, he made a voyage to that land for the purpose of selecting a site for a mission.
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In 1864 Rev. Shuey turned his attention to other lines in connection with the extension of the church work and its influences, being in that year appointed assistant agent of the publishing house at Dayton, Ohio, while in 1865 he was elected senior agent and by the successive resignation of two assistant agents became sole agent in 1866, retaining the position up to 1897, when he was elected financial manager of Union Biblical Seminary, where he served to the time of his retirement. All through the years he has remained an active factor in various departments of the church work ; has been a delegate to nine different general con- ferences, serving as secretary of one ; was a member of the board of missions for about three decades ; and was one of the first directors of the Church Erection So- ciety. On the organization of the General Sabbath School Association he became superintendent, thus serving for twelve years. He was connected with Otterbein University as a trustee for fourteen years and was a member of the executive committee of the Union Biblical Seminary. He was also a member of the church commission and in 1889 became one of the newly incorporated board of trustees of the church, so continuing until 1901. For thirty-five years he has been a trustee of the First United Brethren church at Dayton, is a member of the Montgomery County Bible Society and president of the Dayton United Brethren Ministers Society. All through the years he has kept in close touch with the constantly expanding interests of the church and the newly organized branches of this work, and his efforts have been far-reaching and beneficial. He has written many valuable articles relating to the church and in 1859 was associated with Rev. D. K. Flickinger in the preparation of a volume called Discourses on Doctrinal & Practical Subjects. He was the editor of various year books of the church, beginning in 1867, and in 1865 became the editor of the general confer- ence minutes. In 1880 the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by Hartville University but was declined.
In 1848 Rev. Shuey was married to Miss Sarah Berger, of Springfield, and their living children are: Edwin L. and William A. Shuey. In community affairs Rev. Shuey has been interested and active. He has been a member of the Dayton board of education and of the Board of Trade; a member of the direc- torate of the Fourth National Bank; and vice president of the Union Safe De- posit & Trust Company of Dayton. In his relations to the public he has main- tained an unassailable record for loyalty, reliability and public spirit. His sup- port has been withheld from no philanthropic, benevolent or educational move- ments relative to the city's best interests, and wherever known he is held in high regard for his upright life entitles him to the unqualified respect of his fellow- men.
FRANK J. KINZIG.
Frank J. Kinzig, a wholesale and retail butcher at No. 8, Central Market, Dayton, Ohio, and the owner of six acres of land on the old Troy pike, about two and a half miles north of Dayton, was born March 11, 1871, in this city and in the south end of town. His father, Charles Kinzig, was born and educated in Ger- many, but when a very young man he left his native home and came direct to Day-
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ton. Here he worked at first for various concerns, until by industry and thrift he was able to save enough money to enable him to go into the butcher business with his brother. This venture, however, did not prove to be successful, so after a time he disposed of his interests and started in business for himself on Valley street, North Dayton, where he was located until his death. In his youth he had married Miss Margaret Boeckman, who bore him ten children: Charles; Frank J .; John; Harry, deceased; Joseph; Louis; William; Mamie; Tena; and Gertrude, deceased.
Frank J. Kinzig, received his early education in the schools of Dayton and acquired his trade working for his father. Like all self-made men who have achieved success in their occupation, he soon learned the value of industry and good management. He was a diligent and assiduous worker and seventeen years ago had saved enough money to establish himself in the butcher business. This was started on a small capital, but he soon worked it up to its present importance and high standard. His substantial eleven room house, furnished with all the modern conveniences, stands as an additional evidence of his energy and thrift. He has not limited his connections with the business world, however, to butcher- ing, but as a stockholder is interested in the development of the Northern Port- land Cement Company, and as vice-president of the Bartrel Brothers Company keeps abreast of the times in printing and binding.
On the 20th of October, 1892, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Kinzig and Miss Louise Stumpp, the daughter of Jacob and Barbara (Mack) Stumpp. Jacob Stumpp now lives in Dayton. In his family were eleven children, of whom Mrs. Kinzig was the second. Mr. and Mrs. Kinzig are the parents of two daughters: Margaret, who is in her first year in the Steele high school, has a number of friends in Dayton and is frequently one of the little social gatherings in the city. Florence, who attends the Kiser school, still lives quietly at home. The family attend the Holy Rosary church.
As a member of The Young Butchers Society Mr. Kinzig keeps informed of the progress in his business and of the interests of his fellow workers in the same occupation. He is also a member of the Harugari Society and is active in his participation in all the functions connected with the lodge. In short Mr. Kinzig is a young business man with many interests and a commendable breadth of outlook. By many sterling qualities he has proved his right to succeed in the battles of the business world. He is found to be honorable in all his dealings and ever evinces a sincere desire to satisfy completely those who give him their trade.
JACOB F. SCHNEIDER.
Success in business has come to Jacob F. Schneider by reason of his well di- rected energy, close application and ready adaptability. He is now a member of the J. K. McIntire Company, in which connection he has become well known in the commercial circles of Dayton. One of Ohio's native sons, he was born in Lewisburg, Preble county, in 1858, and was there reared, while the public schools afforded him his educational privileges. He passed through successive grades
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until he had reached the age of fifteen years, when he put aside his text-books and soon afterward came to Dayton. Here he pursued a course of study in preparation for a business career, being graduated in 1880 from the Miami Commercial College. He then entered the employ of J. K. McIntire & Company in the capacity of assistant bookkeeper and his capability, thoroughness and trustworthiness were such that from time to time he was promoted and in 1888 was admitted to a partnership, becoming a member of the J. K. McIntire Company.
Mr. Schneider was married in 1881, in Lewisburg, Ohio, to Miss Ida J. Busby, and they have one daughter, Stella B., now the wife of Dr. Rome Web- ster. Mr. Schneider belongs to the Masonic fraternity and to the Comas Club. He is also a loyal member of the St. John's Lutheran church, taking an active and helpful interest in its work, while for a quarter of a century he has acted as its secretary. His political views are in accord with the principles of the democratic party and though he does not desire office he is interested in the success of the party and in the advancement of all those interests which are a source of the city's growth and upbuilding.
AUGUST SNYDER.
August Snyder, proprietor of the Globe Steam Laundry, in which connec- tion his capable management is bringing a fair measure of success, was born in Prussia, Germany, in 1847, in which country his parents spent their entire lives, the father dying in 1873 and the mother in 1886. The early life of our subject was spent in the acquirement of an education and in various business duties, but feeling that financial returns came more quickly on this side of the Atlantic than in the older, more thickly settled and more conservative countries of Eu- rope, he determined to try his fortune in the United States and in 1880 arrived in America. He has been a resident of Dayton since 1893, in which year he es- tablished a grocery store, conducting it with success until 1899, when he opened a laundry. He has now for ten years continued in that line of business, conduct- ing a profitable and growing enterprise under the name of the Globe Steam Laundry. He has a well equipped plant supplied with the latest machinery for carrying on the business and the excellence of the work which he turns out in- sures him a continuance of a liberal and growing patronage. He is also known as one of the directors and the vice president of the Permanent Building Asso- ciation and his business interests are thus increasing in volume and importance.
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