USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 38
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Mr. Snyder was married in Germany in 1872 to Miss Lina Lueckhoff, a daughter of Henry Lueckhoff, a merchant of Dillenburg, Germany, who died in that country in 1884. Mrs. Snyder's mother passed away in 1876. Unto our subject and his wife have been born four children: Amelia, the wife of William Evers ; Charles L .; Robert C .; and Otto A. Mr. Snyder gives his political sup- port to the republican party. He belongs to the Protected Home Circle and to the German Reformed church, associations which indicate much of the nature of his interests. As the years have gone by his persistency of purpose,
AUGUST SNYDER
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combined with tireless energy, has brought him a substantial measure of suc- cess and he feels that he has never had occasion to regret his determination to leave his native country and seek the opportunities offered by the western world.
JAMES LOGAN SENSENY.
Dayton is largely a center for the work of the United Brethren denomina- tion and from this point its influence, in continually broadening circles, is 1each- ing out to all parts of the world. James Logan Senseny is well known as the general superintendent of the United Brethren Publishing House of Dayton and adds to his profound interest in the work of the church marked business ability that well qualifies him for the control and management of the interests which come under his direction in his present official position.
He was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, October 15, 1858. For three hundred years the Senseny family has brought forth many distinguished repre- sentatives of the medical fraternity. The great-grandfather of James L. Sen- seny was Dr. Abraham Senseny, president of a famous medical college in Ger- many, and his son, Dr. Jeremiah Senseny, also a native of Germany, attained prominence in the profession, while Dr. A. H. Senseny, an uncle of our sub- ject, was one of the distinguished physicians of the Cumberland valley of Penn- sylvania. He was offered, but declined, the presidency of the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia. He had four sons, all of whom attained prominence in the profession.
Jeremiah Senseny, the father of James L. Senseny, was born in Pennsylvania and in early life engaged in mercandising in Chambersburg, that state. He also served for six months in the government service at the time of the Civil war by special request of Governor Curtin, who was then governor of Pennsylvania and in close touch with the government at Washington. He married a daughter of James Logan, who was a non-commissioned officer in the war of 1812 and had a special pension conferred upon him by the United States for services rendered during that conflict. He was one of the pioneer residents of Cham- bersburg, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the manufacture of tallow candles, conducting a very successful business. His death occurred in 1885 when he had reached an advanced age. Jeremiah Senseny, the father, died in 1874, while the mother passed away in 1906.
James L. Senseny spent his childhood and youth to the age of seventeen years in the city of his nativity, attending the public schools in which he was a pupil when the Confederates under General McCausland burned the city on their raid into the north. He was not quite fifteen years of age at the time of his father's demise and about a year later he put aside his text-books that he might provide for his own support, entering the office of the Franklin Repository, a weekly publication, published at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, of which Colonel A. K. McClure was then editor. After two years' experience in the office, during which time he largely acquainted himself with all of the different branches of the me- chanical side of the business, he was, in 1877, given charge of the composing
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room and remained in that position for about a year. He then severed his con- nection with the Repository in order to establish a daily paper, which was the first in the Cumberland valley. He with a partner purchased the old Allentown Herald and, removing it to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, continued the publica- tion of the paper as a daily until 1880, when he disposed of his interest in the plant.
In the fall of 1882 Mr. Senseny arrived in Dayton and entered the United Brethren Publishing House in charge of the making-up and composition of the Sunday school periodicals. For five years he acted in that capacity and in 1887 took charge of the mailing room and circulation department, to the duties of which he still devotes his energies although various other interests have been added to the round of his daily tasks. He was made superintendent of the print- ing department some years ago and in 1907 was appointed general superintend- ent of the United Brethren Publishing House. In this connection he manifests marked executive ability and capable direction and his practical knowledge of the printing and publishing business are also of immense benefit to him as the con- trolling head of an enterprise of this character.
In 1879 Mr. Senseny was married in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, to Miss Emma C. Eckel, and they have one daughter, Helen E. The parents are mem- bers of the First United Brethren church and Mr. Senseny is also connected with the Chamber of Commerce of Dayton and is keenly alive to the interests and progress of the city. He was one of the organizers and is the secretary of the Riverdale Welfare Club and has served on its executive committee. While not an active worker in the ranks of the republican party in the usually accepted sense of the term politician, he is nevertheless alive to the interests and political problems of the day and has written many articles and editorials relative to the situation, the governmental policy and the possibilities for achievement through restrictive and regulative legislation. He is now a member of the board of five of the Publicity League. He regards it as the duty as well as the privilege of citizenship to uphold measures which the individual deems of benefit in promoting the welfare of the country, and his influence is continually found on the side of government for and by and of the people.
JOHN HERBY.
John Herby is a successful truck gardener and farmer of Harrison township, Montgomery county, his tract of fourteen acres lying on the outskirts of Day- ton, his native city. Here he was born June 20, 1861, on Ludlow street, and is a son of John and Jessie (Smith) Herby. The father was a native of England and on coming to the United States he first settled in Dayton. Later he re- moved from the city and established himself in the potash business in Harrison township, conducting a factory on the bank of Stillwater river. He also engaged to some extent in truck gardening. Ere leaving England Mr. Herby was mar- ried and his wife died in that country, leaving one son, William, now residing in Dayton. After reaching the new world he was again married, his second
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union being with Jessie Smith, a native of Scotland, and unto this marriage were born eight children: two who died in infancy; John, of this review; Jeanette ; Elizabeth B .; Annie M .; James ; and Margaret, also deceased.
John Herby, the oldest surviving son of this family acquired his early edu- cation in the Perry street school in Dayton and during this period remained at home, assisting his father with his truck gardening. As the years passed he be- came thoroughly conversant with all the details of this line of activity and sub- sequently took full charge of the place. which is now in his possession and which he is operating with a creditable degree of success. The place, which was orig- inally his father's, consists of fourteen acres of land adjoining the city of Day- ton, and here Mr. Herby is conducting his enterprise along strictly commercial lines, while his business ability and capable management are proving the salient characteristics in his success.
On the 28th of March, 1887, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Herby and Miss Clare Schmidt, a daughter of Frederick and Lenora Schmidt, both natives of Germany. Unto this union were born four children: John E., who mar- ried Vesta Bush and has one child, Ralph; Minnie and Jamie, both deceased ; and Mary, who is about to take up her high school course. The family home, situated on Highland avenue, is one of the many pretty homes in the township, and standing as it does on the very edge of Dayton, Mr. Herby and his family are able to enjoy the pleasures of rural life combined with the conveniences of the city.
He is a member of the United Brethren church, and in politics gives his al- legiance to the republican party. Having passed his entire life in this immedi- ate vicinity he has gained a wide acquaintance and the consensus of public opinion regarding him is favorable, for his life has been characterized by activity and reliability in business, by loyalty in citizenship and by those traits in social life which win warm friendships.
REV. HENRY FRANCIS COLBY.
No history of Dayton's contribution to the religious progress of the world would be complete without extended reference to the labors of the Rev. Henry Francis Colby, who is now living retired but who for thirty-five years was pas- tor of the First Baptist church of this city. He came here as a young man at the beginning of his ministerial work and gained such a hold upon the affections of his people and the community at large and did such excellent service for the cause that he continued as the pastor until his health forced him to resign. He was born in Roxbury, now a part of Boston, Massachusetts, November 25, 1842. His grandfather, Josiah Colby, was a native of New Hampshire, and died in Fryeburg, Maine. He was a shipbuilder at Bowdoinham, Maine, on the Ken- nebec river, until his business was ruined by the war of 1812. He was a lineal descendant of Anthony Colby, who was one of the colony that under Governor Winthrop settled Boston. He came to this country from the east coast of England and in all probability was a member of the Colby family of Suffolk, England.
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Gardner Colby, the father of Rev. H. F. Colby, was born in Bowdoinham, Maine, and at an early age entered business life in Boston. He was married in Gloucester, Massachusetts, to Miss Mary Lowe Roberts, and unto them were born six children : Gardner Roberts, who died in New York city in 1888; Charles Lewis, who died in 1896, and who at one time was president of the Wis- consin Central Railroad, of which his father had also been the president; Rev. Henry F. Colby, of this review ; Joseph Lincoln Colby, living at the old home in Newton Center, Massachusetts; Mary Frances, the wife of Arthur C. Wal- worth, of Newton Center, Massachusetts; and Georgetta Emeline, the widow of Daniel R. Wolfe, of St. Louis. The father died in 1869 and the mother de- parted this life August 28, 1895. He not only attained considerable prominence in business circles but was also greatly interested in educational progress and acted as a trustee of Brown University of Providence, Rhode Island, and of Waterville College, of Waterville, Maine, afterward known as Colby University, in his honor, because of his benefactions. He was likewise president of the board of trustees of the Newton Theological Institution of Newton Center, Massa- chusetts, and he eagerly embraced every opportunity that offered to promote the cause of education.
In 1845 Gardner Colby erected a residence at Newton Center, Massachu- setts, seven miles from Boston and there the Rev. Henry F. Colby was reared and attended school. In 1858 he went to Brown University, entering that insti- tution before he was sixteen years of age, while before he reached the age of twenty he was graduated with the second honors of his class, delivering the Latin salutatory. He was also class poet at the class day exercises. The Bache- lor of Arts degree was conferred upon him at his graduation in 1862 and three years later his alma mater extended to him the Master of Arts degree.
After leaving college Rev. Colby spent a few months in New York and, re- turning to Boston, entered upon the study of law with Henry W. Paine. There he remained for nine months, after which he went broad, traveling for about a year in Europe, Egypt and the Holy Land. Soon after his return to America be entered the Newton Theological Institution at Newton Center, Massachusetts, where he took the regular three years' course and was graduated in June, 1867. About a month prior to his graduation he went to Chicago to attend the National Baptist Anniversaries. There his father, who had accompanied him, met an old friend, Ebenezer Thresher, who was a prominent retired Baptist minister and at that time a leading business man of Dayton, who was in Chicago as a delegate from Dayton to the National Baptist Anniversaries. Henry F. Colby was in- troduced to Mr. Thresher, who invited him to come to Dayton and preach a sermon in the First Baptist church, then without a pastor. After returning home from Chicago and Dayton he finished his course in the Theological Institution and in September, 1867, came to this city and filled the pulpit on the ensuing Sunday, making such a favorable impression that he was soon called to the pas- torate. On the 12th of January, 1868, he was regularly ordained and for thirty- five years remained as pastor of the First Baptist church of Dayton, at the end of which time he was forced to retire on account of ill health, on the 12th of January, 1903. In the years which came and went he did splendid work for the church, organizing various societies to promote its work, while his labors in the
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pulpit and as pastor led many to unite with the organization. He did not regard his studies as finished when he left college but has ever remained a broad reader, deep thinker and logical reasoner. Regarding the church not only as a means of perparation for the life to come but for the present life as well, his sermons were of a most practical, helpful character, and at the same time were evidence of his scholarly attainments.
On the 5th of May, 1870, Rev. Colby was married in Boston, Massachusetts, to Miss Mary Lizzie Chamberlin, a daughter of Edward Chamberlin, a Boston business man. Unto this marriage were born seven children, of whom one son died in infancy, while six are yet living. The eldest, Mary Low, is the wife of Brainerd B. Thresher and they have three children, Alden Bliss, Mariel and Sylvia. Edward Chamberlin is an assistant in the Dayton public library. Frank Gardner also resides in this city. Henry Roberts, of Dayton, married Miss Kathryn Ehrenhart, of Springfield, Ohio. Alfred Mansfield is now in St. Paul, Minnesota. Eleanor Thresher completes the family.
Rev. Colby belongs to the Alpha Delta Phi and to the Phi Beta Kappa. Twenty years after his graduation his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He was long recognized as one of the ablest divines of the Baptist ministry and was well known in connection with other lines of intel- lectual and moral progress aside from his church. During his pastorate here the growth of the church made it possible to establish three branches in different parts of Dayton. Rev. Colby has been a member of the board of trustees of Denison University at Granville, Ohio, for a long period and has now been presi- dent of the board for some time. He was also president of the American Bap- tist Missionary Union for three successive years, was for three consecutive years president of the Ohio Baptist Convention and is now president of the Miami Valley Hospital Society, in which connection he has served for sixteen years. He has written memoirs of various prominent men and has been a frequent contributor to the church periodicals and reviews, together with other publica- tions. His writings have included various poems. He has ever kept in touch with the living issues of the day, that he might understand men, their lives and their motives, and assist them toward the higher development. His own life and his teachings have been an inspiration to many, for with all of his intellectual strength he manifests the broadest sympathy, being ever ready to extend a help- ing hand or speak the needed word of encouragement and counsel.
HARVEY JAMES KING.
Harvey James King, an interior architect and decorator with a large patron- age indicative of the skill and ability which he displays in his chosen field of activity, was born in Dayton, November 20, 1860, and is a son of Rufus J. King, president of the Third National Bank, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. He was here reared and the common schools afforded him his carly educational privileges while later he attended the private school conducted by Professor J. A. Robert. He afterward entered the firm of Greer & King
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in the stove foundry business and was with that house for nine years, being first employed in a clerical capacity in the office while later he went upon the road as a traveling representative. In 1886 he entered the car shops of Barney & Smith in the designing department and there continued for about two years, while in 1888 he joined his brother Walter A. King in organizing the firm of King Brothers & Company, interior architects and decorators. They design interiors and their artistic work in this connection has gained them a foremost place in the ranks of those who are so engaged in Dayton or this part of the state.
Mr. King was married April 26, 1883, in Dayton to Miss Elizabeth H. Lytle, a daughter of the late John S. Lytle and they have one son, Rufus J. King. Mr. King belongs to the Buzfuz Club, this being an expression of his appreciation of the social amenities of life. He is also an interested member of Christ Epis- copal church while his political allegiance is given to the republican party which he supports at the polls but does not seek or desire public office. Mr. King has devoted his life to art and has painted many beautiful panels of game, dogs, etc. Had he commercialized his talent in this direction he could have made it very profitable but he has followed art for its own sake. His appreciation of beauty. coloring and design is manifest in the work which he does in a business capacity as a member of the firm of King Brothers & Company, interior architects and decorators. In this connection he has been active in developing a good business and the work of the firm is always satisfactory.
JOHN A. KLEY.
John A. Kley, who is the owner of ten acres of fine land in Mad River town- ship, Montgomery county, Ohio, is one of the younger generation of gardeners who are doing all they can to uphold the reputation of the county as the locality where some of the finest vegetables are grown. He was born on the farm on which he now lives, it having been the old home place, on the IIth of March, 1860, and is the son of Henry and Mary (Swartz) Kley, of whom some mention is made in another part of this volume. From the schools of Mad River township he received all they had to give him in the way of preparation for life, and at the same time that he pursued his studies he worked hard on the piece of land which was to be the scene of all his future labors, so that by the time he had reached man's estate he had much practical knowledge and was ready to assume the control and management of a farm. The years of his life passed quickly and quietly enough with little of importance to mar the serenity of the days and weeks as they went by.
For his first wife Mr. Kley married Miss Tena Schutz, and to them were born three children, namely: Carl, George and Walter. When Mr. Kley mar- ried the second time he chose as his bride Miss Daisy Templeton, the daughter of James and Laura (Croak) Templeton. James Templeton was a carpenter by trade, and had come to this county from Clark, and Mrs. Kley was the eldest of his family of five children, the others being Charles, Frank, Walter and Ethel.
MR. AND MRS. JOHN A. KLEY
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Mr. Kley's second marriage has also been blessed with three children: Harry, James and Laura. The family professes the Lutheran creed and attends the church on St. Clair street.
Mr. Kley lives a quiet but earnest life. The garden which he has chosen as the field for his activities demands the most of his time, and he feels repaid in the quality of produce that he is able to win from the soil. He is a man who is not deaf to the calls of humanity, is a good friend, and by faithfulness to his work he sets a good example as a citizen and does his share toward making the world a better place to live in.
GRAFTON C. KENNEDY.
Among the men whose records have reflected credit and honor upon the his- tory of the Ohio bar Grafton Clagett Kennedy was numbered. In his law prac- tice and his business interests his work was characterized by an intelligent an- ticipation of possibilities and a recognition of opportunities that others passed by heedlessly. He displayed, too, that commendable confidence and courage that come of conscious personal ability, right conception of things and a habitual regard for what is best in the exercise of human activities. He was prominently known in the business and religious world and for years his memory will be cherished by those who were his associates and friends while he was still an active factor in the world's work.
ยท Born on a farm in Harrison township, Montgomery county, Ohio, March II, 1859, Grafton C. Kennedy is a representative of a southern ancestry on his mother's side. His great-grandfather, Gilbert Kennedy, came from Scotland in the eighteenth century, locating first in South Carolina, whence he afterward moved to Pennsylvania, while later in the same century he became a resident of Warren county, Ohio, where he died in the opening years of the nincteenth century. It is thought that he was a soldier of the Revolutionary war.
Joseph Kennedy, the grandfather of our subject, came from Shippensburg, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, to Ohio in 1805 and settled on a farm of three hundred acres, four miles north of Dayton, which he had purchased from a cousin, the original owner of the land. His birth had occurred in Chambers- burg, Pennsylvania, but the greater part of his life was passed on his Ohio farm, where his death occurred about 1854, when he was eighty years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Nancy Kerr, was also of Scottish lineage and died in 1861. They were parents of three sons and a daughter but the latter died about 1855. The elder son, Gilbert Kennedy, became a distinguished law- yer of Dayton and Cincinnati and died some time during the '8os. The other sons, John and Joseph, became farmers.
Joseph Kennedy, father of Grafton C. Kennedy, was born and reared on the old homestead farm in Harrison township in 1826, carly becoming familiar with the hardships and privations of pioneer life and with the arduous work incident to the development of new fields. At the time of the Civil war he was instru- mental in raising a company for the One Hundred and Thirty-second Regiment
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of Ohio Infantry and drilled his company for some time on the Fair grounds. It was the understanding that the one reporting to camp the largest number of enlisted men should be made colonel. Mr. Kennedy reported the largest number of men present but the commission was given to another who reported a larger number of men enrolled though all were not present in person. His men, as well as Mr. Kennedy himself, were disappointed over this decision, yet Mr. Kennedy manifested his willingness to go to the front in any capacity but, when the gov- ernor learned the true state of the case, he thought it best that Mr. Kennedy be given an honorable discharge and be permitted to return home. In early man- hood he had wedded Catharine Clagett, a native of Maryland and a daughter of Grafton A. Clagett, also born in that state. Mr. Kennedy followed farming as his life work, retaining his residence on the old family homestead. His wife died in 1866. There were two sons and a daughter in the family: Grafton C. and Gilbert, both now deceased ; and Caroline, the wife of Edward Martin, of Chicago.
On the farm which came into possession of his grandfather in the opening years of the nineteenth century, Grafton C. Kennedy spent the days of his boy- hood and youth, working at different times in the fields, while the winter months were devoted to study in the district schools. He also spent two years as a pupil in the public schools of Dayton and in further pursuit of knowledge, qualifying him for life's practical and responsible duties, he entered Wittenberg College, in which he spent five years in the preparatory and college courses, being graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in June, 1879.
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