USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 39
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An earnest desire to become a member of the bar led him to take up the study of law in September, 1879, in the office of Conover & Conover, with whom he read for one year, while later his reading was directed for two years by War- ren Munger, then a distinguished member of the Dayton bar. In May, 1882, he was admitted to practice and in February, 1883, opened an office and entered upon the active work of the profession. In March of the same year he was appointed United States commissioner at Dayton for the southern district of Ohio and held the position until October, 1894, when he resigned.
Mr. Kennedy practiced law alone until May, 1888, when he formed a part- nership with his former preceptor, Mr. Munger, under the firm style of Munger & Kennedy and, when at the Ist of January, 1893, Harry L. Munger, son of the senior partner, was admitted the firm name was changed to Munger, Kennedy & Munger, so continuing until the death of Warren Munger on the Ist of June, 1894. Later Eugene G. Kennedy, a brother of Grafton C. Kennedy, was ad- mitted to the partnership and the firm remained Kennedy, Munger & Kennedy until the death of the subject of this review. From the beginning of his prac- tice he made continuous progress until the consensus of public opinion placed him in the foremost rank of Dayton's leading lawyers. He possessed a mind of singular precision and power. It was in a marked degree a judicial mind, cap- able of an impartial view of both sides of the question and of arriving at a just conclusion. In his practice he was absolutely fair, never indulged in artifice or concealment, never dealt in indirect methods but won his victories, which were many, and suffered his defeats, which were few, in the open field, face to face with his foe. He achieved the highest distinction and he deserved it. He was
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always careful to conform his practice to a high standard of professional ethics and in his work exemplified the theory of the law that the counsel are to aid the court in the administration of justice.
On the 30th of April, 1889, Mr. Kennedy was united in marriage in Day- ton to Miss Louise Achey, a daughter of John J. Achey and unto them were born two children: Katharine Louise and Grafton Sherwood. The death of the husband and father occurred January 10, 1909, when he was in the fiftieth year of his age. Throughout his life he had been an active factor for good in the com- munities in which he labored. Public-spirited, he was interested at all times in the welfare of the community and for four years did effective work for public education as a member of the Dayton school board, serving from 1897 until 1901 and acting as president of the board during the last three years of that period. In 1892 he organized the first county board of elections. He was also president of the board of sinking fund trustees of the school funds and whenever his aid was needed for the performance of any beneficial public project it was immediately and heartily given. He found recreation in golf, and his religious faith was sustained and strengthened through his membership in the Third Pres- byterian church, in the work of which he took most active and helpful part. His grandfather, Joseph Kennedy, was one of the founders of this church, and the family have remained in active connection therewith to the present time. Graf- ton C. Kennedy was one of the elders of the church and clerk of the sessions and was deeply interested in all religious work. He was an able, faithful and conscientious minister in the temple of justice and a devoted adherent of every cause which he believed would benefit humanity, while in private life he was endeared to all who knew him by the simple nobility of his character.
COLUMBUS C. MOSES.
Columbus C. Moses, handling important real estate interests and also con- . ducting a stock and bond brokerage business in Dayton, was born in German- town, this county, June 7, 1835. His father, Robert Moses, was born in Augusta county, Virginia. near New Hope, in 1800, and died in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1875. His father was a native of Virginia and a son of the progenitor of the family in America, who came from England in the eighteenth century. Robert Moses devoted his entire life to the work of the farm until he had reached the age of sixty-five years, when he removed from Germantown to Enterprise, Preble county, where he opened a general store which he afterward turned over to his son Ben. He was married in Virginia to Miss Mary Christ and re- moved to a farm near Germantown in 1822. He was living in Germantown when the war broke out but in the '6os removed to Enterprise. There he made himself felt as a forceful factor in commercial circles of the community, and the reliability of his methods as well as his enterprise, brought him a liberal and well merited patronage. In the family were twelve children, nine sons and three daughters. Only two of the sons, Columbus C. and Henry C. Moses, are now living. All the daughters, however, survive. These are: Elizabeth, the widow
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of Dr. John McKean, her home being in West Alexandria, Ohio; Eliza Virginia, the widow of Aaron B. Lane and a resident of Olatha, Kansas; and Lydia A. C., the widow of W. H. Huffman, of Dayton.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Columbus C. Moses in his boyhood and youth. He lived with his parents through the period of his minority and is indebted to the public-school system for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. On leaving home he went to Peoria, Illinois, this being prior to the period of the Civil war. He arrived there about 1857 and was employed in a dry-goods store for a year. He then returned to Germantown, where he opened a dry-goods store, which he conducted for a period and then sold out, removing to a farm.
In 1859 Mr. Moses was united in marriage in Germantown to Miss Margaret Emrick, and after living for about a year in Ohio they removed to Illinois in 1860, and Mr. Moses entered the services of his former employer in Peoria. He was thus engaged until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when he returned to Germantown. In 1861 he came to Dayton and the first year thereafter was em- ployed as a clerk in a dry-goods store. In 1862 he secured a situation in a whole- sale dry-goods house in Dayton, where he remained for a time, after which he engaged in the wholesale dry-goods business on his own account, as a member of the firm of Turner, Walker & Moses. This relation was maintained for about two years, after which Mr. Moses sold his interest. About a year later he estab- lished a wholesale dry-goods store under his own name but subsequently admit- ted I. S. Boyer to a partnership under the firm style of Moses & Boyer, About six months later Jacob Bunstine was taken in and the firm became Moses, Boyer & Bunstine, and so continued until Mr. Moses sold out. Immediately afterward he opened a wholesale notion house, which he carried on for a time and then devoted several years to the grocery trade. When he disposed of his interests in that field he went into the real estate business, in which he has since continued. He has informed himself thoroughly concerning the realty that is upon the mar- ket and the valuation of property and is thus able to assist his clients in mak- ing judicious investments and a profitable sale. He also deals in stocks and bonds and has made for himself a creditable name in relation to the financial interests of the city.
Mr. Moses has served for five years as a director of the Montgomery County Fair Association and is always interested in every movement of a public nature that has for its object the betterment of prevailing conditions. He has never taken any active part in politics but has always been a republican. His study of the questions and issues of the day has led him to the belief that the principles of the party are most conducive to good government and he therefore gives to it loyal support. While living in Germantown he was a member of the old volunteer fire department and served as secretary of the company.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Moses have been born two daughters, but the elder, Ida May, died in 1876, at the age of sixteen years. The younger, Jennie, is the wife of W. F. Newcomer, and they have two children, Mabel and Leila K. Mr. and Mrs. Moses belong to the First English Lutheran church and are well known in Dayton, where they have now made their home for the past forty-eight years. Although Mr. Moses has passed the seventy-fourth milestone on life's journey
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he is yet an active factor in the business world, thoroughly conversant with finan- cial interests and with the real estate market. The business which he has done in both lines has been such as to place him with the men of affluence in his adopted city.
WILLIAM ROEHM, M. D.
Dr. William Roehm, who since 1900 has engaged in the practice of medicine in Dayton, the city of his nativity, was born September 26, 1876. His youthful days were here passed and, utilizing the educational opportunities offered by the public schools, he passed through consecutive grades as the result of various promotions and at length was graduated from the Steele high school with the class of 1896. Determining upon a professional career he then matriculated in the Starling Ohio Medical College, at Columbus, and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1900. He then located in Dayton, Ohio, and has been busily occupied with professional duties from that time to the present. His ability is constantly increasing as the result of his broadening experience and his con- tinuous reading and research which brings him into close touch with the advanced professional thought of the day. In addition to his private practice he served for one year as workhouse physician. He belongs to the American Medical Asso- ciation, the State Medical Society, the Montgomery County Medical Society and the Dayton Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Roehm was married in Dayton in 1906 to Miss Bessie Luella Emert, and they have one daughter, Ann Elizabeth. In his political views Dr. Roehm is a democrat and an active worker in the party, for he believes firmly in its principles and regards it the duty as well as the privilege of every American man to in- form himself thoroughly concerning the questions and issues of the day and then to support those measures which he deems will prove most efficacious in pro- moting good government. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and to the Fraternal Order of Eagles and affiliates with the Lutheran church. It will thus be seen that his influence is always on the side of progress and im- provement and he is interested in the tendency of the times toward introducing wholesale reforms in the social, political and moral life of the city.
JOHN CLEMENT DIETZ.
John Clement Dietz is a representative of the mercantile interests of Day- ton, for he is now conducting a substantial and growing business as proprietor of a drug store. He was born in this city, July 30, 1842, and was here reared, spending his boyhood days in the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Dietz. His father was born in Bavaria in 1813 and in early manhood bade adieu to friends and native country and sailed for the new world, settling in Dayton.
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Here he was married and with the passing of the years the family circle came to include nine children, of whom five sons and two daughters are yet living.
John Clement Dietz, of this family, was reared in Dayton and at the usual age entered the public schools, wherein he continued his studies until he became a pupil in St. Thomas Seminary, a Catholic institution at Bardstown, Kentucky. There he continued for two years, after which he returned to Dayton in 1856 or 1857 and started in business life, entering the drug store of Thomas Dover. For twelve years he continued with that gentleman and his thorough reliabil- ity, enterprise and diligence won him continuous success. He afterward engaged in clerking for Edward Weakley, in whose drug store he remained for two years when, in 1871, he established a drug business for himself at the corner of Wayne and Pearl streets. There he continued until 1886 when he removed to the corner of Jones street and Wayne avenue. He now has a well appointed store, in which he carries a large line of drugs and druggists' sundries and his business is constantly growing as the reliability and enterprise of his business methods are fully understood.
Mr. Dietz was married in 1868 in Dayton to Miss Desdemona Dracelin and they had three children: Clara, who died at the age of ten years; James A., who married Sylvia Ogier and died in 1902 at the age of thirty years, leaving one son, John Wilber ; and Edward C. The last named was married to Miss Sarah Norris and they have one son, James Edward Dietz.
Mr. Dietz has been a member of the school board and has done good public work in that connection. His political allegiance is given to the democracy. Those who know him respect him for his reliability in citizenship as well as in commercial circles and his record illustrates what may be accomplished by determined and well directed labor.
ODLIN SPEICE.
Odlin Speice, agent for the American Express Company in Dayton, his native city, was born February 26, 1849, and was here reared and educated. He at- tended the public schools between the ages of six and fourteen years when, on the 30th of September, 1863, he responded to the country's call for troops and joined the Mississippi squadron of the United States navy under Admiral Porter. He was assigned to the United States gunboat Nyanza, a "tin-clad," and went to New Orleans as an ordinary seaman. He was afterward transferred to the United States gunboat Curlew, and in January, 1864, to the General Price, a Confederate ram that had been captured at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A month later he was again transferred and from time to time changes were made until thus gradually he worked his way up the river, finally reaching the navy yard at Mound City, Illinois. There he became ill with typhoid pneumonia and was discharged in May, 1864, on account of physical disability.
Mr. Speice then returned to Dayton and in 1865-6 he attended the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, for he realized how important a factor in successful business life is education. Later he turned his attention to the
ODLIN SPEICE
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flour milling business at Greenville, Ohio, his father being interested in a mill there, in which Mr. Speice acted as assistant for eight years. He next entered the employ of the Dayton Short Line Railroad Company and devoted about five years to railroading. In 1879 he entered the employ of the American Express Company in Dayton, and on the Ist of December, 1888, he was made money clerk. On the 15th of April, 1893, he was given his present position as agent of the American Express Company and in this capacity has since served. It is a ness and fidelity for he has carefully systematized the work of the office and position of large responsibility, the duties of which he discharges with prompt- excellent results are being achieved under his direction.
On the 3d of January, 1872, at Greenville, Ohio, Mr. Speice was united in marriage to Miss Stella La Motte, and they have two children: Frederick A., who is assistant treasurer of the Dayton Savings & Trust Company ; and Carrie M., a teacher in the public schools.
In his political views Mr. Speice is an earnest republican and is deeply inter- ested in the success and growth of the party. He is responsible for the passage of the bill making Dayton a port of entry. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed all the chairs. He is also a Scottish Rite Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine, and he belongs to Old Guard Post, No. 23, G. A. R. He is connected with the National Asso- ciation of Naval Veterans, belonging to Dahlgren Post of Dayton, and was also aid on the staff of the national commander. He likewise holds membership in the Park Presbyterian church, in which he is a trustee, a fact which indicates that he is not neglectful of the higher, holier duties of life notwithstanding the fact that his business interests make heavy demands on his time for his position is one of large and growing responsibility.
MARCELLUS ELLSWORTH COY, M. D.
Dr. Marcellus Ellsworth Coy, who since 1901 has engaged in the general prac- tice of medicine in Dayton, was born in Zimmerman, Greene county, Ohio, No- vember 24, 1874. In the paternal line he comes of Teutonic ancestry. His grandfather, Adam Coy, was born in Germany and on crossing the Atlantic to America established his home in Greene county, Ohio, where he entered five thousand acres of land and engaged extensively in farming, his efforts con- tributing in substantial measure to the agricultural development of that section. His son, Abram Coy, father of Dr. Coy, was born in Greene county and died in 1905. He devoted his entire life to general agricultural pursuits. In early manhood he wedded Catharine Zimmerman who passed to her final rest in 1895 -ten years prior to the death of her husband. They were the parents of eleven children of whom four died from diphtheria in one month, ranging in age from ten to fourteen years. Seven of the family still survive.
Dr. Coy, who is the youngest. was reared to manhood in the place of his na- tivity, attended the common schools of Zimmerman and was afterward graduated from the high school of Alpha, Greene county, Ohio, with the class of 1895.
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Later he pursued a commercial course at Beck's school in Dayton and subse- quently engaged in teaching for three years in Greene county, Ohio. He af- terward spent two years as a medical student in the University of Chicago and two years at Detroit College of Medicine, from which he was graduated in 1901. He then located in Dayton for general practice and is gradually building up a gratifying business, for the people recognize that his ability is sufficient to enable him to cope with the intricate problems which continually confront the physician in his efforts to restore health and prolong life.
In 1901 in Detroit Dr. Coy was united in marriage to Miss Norma M. Rom- meck and the hospitality of their pleasant home is greatly enjoyed by the many friends whom they have made during the period of their residence in Dayton. Dr. Coy belongs to no fraternal orders or clubs but has various professional connections, holding membership in the Montgomery County Medical Society, the Dayton Academy of Medicine, the Ohio State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He has built up a splendid practice in his eight years' residence in Dayton and has the unqualified respect of the profession as well as the general public.
WILLIAM POEPPELMEIER.
William Poeppelmeier, conducting a growing and profitable business in Day- ton, as a dealer in paints, wall paper, etc., opened his present establishment in 1900. He has, however, been engaged in business for himself in Dayton since 1889 and in mercantile lines since 1893. He was born in Cincinnati, October 20, 1866, and the following year his parents removed to Dayton, where the boy- hood and youth of our subject was passed under the parental roof. His father, Henry H. Poeppelmeier, was born in Bremen, Germany, in 1841, and when a young man of twenty-one years he bade adieu to his native country and sailed for America, landing in 1862. He did not tarry on the eastern coast but, making his way into the interior of the country, took up his abode in Cincinnati, Ohio. There he was married in the same year to Miss Elizabeth Thieman and unto them were born seven children, of whom six are yet living, namely: Frank, of Dayton: Christ, residing in Cincinnati; William, of this review; George, who makes his home in Dayton; Marie, the wife of Albert Carl, also of Dayton; and Anthony. living in this city. One daughter, Anna, is now deceased. The mother died in 1888 while the father, surviving for about nine years, passed away in 1897.
When a little lad of six summers William Poeppelmeier began his education in the public schools and continued through successive grades until he reached the age of twelve years, when he started out in life on his own account, being first employed in the chair factory of Stomps & Burkhardt. That he was faithful and diligent is indicated in the fact that he remained there for three years, re- ceiving four cents a dozen for painting chairs. He next entered the employ of the Farmers Friend, manufacturers of agricultural implements, where he was employed at painting for eight years. In the meantime he had resolved to enter
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business life on his own account at the first opportunity, and in 1889 he began house painting and to this work devoted his energies for four years, or until 1893. In that year he embarked in his present business as a dealer in paints and wall paper, opening a store at the corner of Brown and Hickory streets. From that location he removed to No. 640 Wayne avenue, where he continued for five years, and in 1900 he came to his present location. He carries a large line of paints and wall paper and has built up a good trade, his patrons recognizing in him a reliable and a thorough-going merchant who at all times conforms his business activities to a high standard of commercial ethics.
In 1897 Mr. Poeppelmeier was married in Dayton to Miss Viola Heitzman and unto them have been born five children, Marie, Viola, Mildred, Raymond and Leo. Mr. Poeppelmeier is a member of the fraternal order of Eagles, the Knights of St. John, the St. Joseph's Orphan Society and St. Mary's Catholic church-associations which indicate much of the nature of his interests and the principles which govern his conduct. He votes with the democracy but is not active in party circles. He is an excellent type of the self-made man who from early boyhood is dependent upon his own resources and works his way upward by industry and careful utilization of each opportunity as it is presented. He has never placed his dependence upon favoring circumstances or sought outside aid, but realizing that the path of industry will lead to the goal of prosperity he has persevered therein and has now advanced far toward substantial suc- cess.
WILLIAM M. ADELBERGER.
William M. Adelberger is now enjoying a gratifying trade as a dealer in cement and lime, his business having reached a substantial annual figure. He has always resided in Dayton where his birth occurred September 2, 1876, and he is the eldest of the three children of Philip and Eleonora (Boedeker) Adel- berger. The father, a native of Germany, came to America in early life and, es- tablishing his home in Dayton, was married in this city. Unto him and his wife were born two sons and a daughter: William M., Elizabeth, the wife of Charles E. Klugel, of Dayton; and George, who is engaged in the meat business with his father in this city. The mother passed away in 1904, leaving behind her many friends.
After continuing his education in the public schools until he had completed the work of the eighth grade, William M. Adelberger further pursued his studies in the Miami Commercial College, from which he was graduated in 1894, thus qualifying for the responsibilities which come with entrance into business life. He afterward worked for C. A. Starr, a dealer in building materials, by whom he was first employed as office boy, while in various promotions he made sub- stantial advance to the position of bookkeeper and general manager. He was acting in the dual capacity at the time of Mr. Starr's death on the 24th of De- cember, 1902. Following the demise of his employer he bought ont the business in connection with Edmund C. Linxweiler, and the firm has since been known as the Star Coal & Cement Company. They handle coal, cement, lime and other
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building materials and have succeeded in building up a large and satisfactory trade. Mr. Adelberger is also a director of the Market Savings Bank, for his success in other lines has enabled him to make judicious investment in bank stock.
In 1905 in Lancaster, Ohio, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Adelberger and Miss Clara Alice Wyman. Their home is now blessed by the presence of a little son, William, Jr. In politics Mr. Adelberger is a democrat but not active as a worker in the party ranks. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias lodge, to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and to the Dayton Turnge- meinde and to St. John's German Lutheran church. These organizations, all of which inculcate a spirit of sociability, fraternity and morality, find a stalwart champion in Mr. Adelberger, whose many good qualities are recognized by his extensive circle of friends in his native city.
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