USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 61
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On the expiration of his term of service Mr. Allaback returned to Dayton and again resumed work at his trade. However, he had gained in his military expe- riences certain qualities which well equipped him for duty as a police officer and on the 16th of June, 1886, he was made a patrolman. Since that time gradual pro- motions have come to him in appointments as roundsman, on the 9th of January, 1892 ; as sergeant, May 23, 1892 ; as captain, March 8, 1893 ; while on the IIth of January, 1900, he was appointed acting superintendent on the resignation of Superintendent T. J. Farrell and thus served for fourteen months, after which he returned to his rank as captain. On the 4th of November, 1908, however, he was appointed chief of police and is therefore today at the head of the department. From his earliest connection with the service he has discharged his duties with credit to himself and the department, and with safety to the general public.
On the 16th of September, 1884, Mr. Allaback was married to Miss Alice Francis, a native of Dayton and a daughter of Amon Francis. They have become the parents of three children who are yet living: John Clifford; Wilbur Newton ; and Helen Katherine. Mr. Allaback belongs to the Independent Order of Forest- ers, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Dayton Police Benevolent Asso- ciation, of which he is treasurer. He and his family attend the Presbyterian church. His military and official records have at all times been commendable, winning him the confidence and esteem of superior officers and associates, while his ability has largely enabled him to work his way upward until he today stands in the foremost position in Dayton as conservator of the rights and liberties of the law abiding citizens.
EDWARD PHILIPPS.
The men who have filled the public positions in Dayton have on the whole been competent, efficient and reliable and the record of Edward Philipps as auditor of the city is one which reflects credit upon his constituents. As he is widely and favorably known here his history cannot help but prove of interest to many of the readers of this volume. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 30, 1854, a son of Jacob Philipps, who died in Cincinnati in 1877 at the age of fifty-nine years. He was a native of Germany and for more than twenty years was connected with the Cincinnati fire department.
While spending his youthful days in his parents' home Edward Philipps en- joyed the benefit of instruction in the public schools, spending one year as a pupil in the Woodward high school. He continued in his native city until nineteen years of age and in 1874 came to Dayton, since which time he has resided here, entering business circles as an employe at the Buckeye Brass Works. There his diligence and perseverance enabled him to work his way upward until he was made general foreman of the brass department, remaining in that establishment for twenty-six years as one of its most trusted, capable and faithful representatives. In May,
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1899, he was called to public office through appointment as deputy by Sheriff Wil- liam C. Kershner. He filled that position for three years and eight months and in 1903 he made the race for auditor and was elected by the largest majority of any one chosen on the republican ticket, a fact which is indicative of his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen. At the time of his election the term covered three years but a change in the election law ex- tended the term for eighteen months and in the fall of 1907 he was reelected for two years so that he continues as the incumbent, his record being most satisfactory. The business of the office is conducted in a systematic, methodical manner, abso- lute accuracy being maintained in all departments and over his official career, therefore, there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil.
In 1879, in Dayton Mr. Philipps was married to Miss Elizabeth C. Ostendorf, and they have three children, namely : Edward C., Louis R., and Ada A. B. The family attend the German Lutheran church, of which Mr. Philipps is a member and he also belongs to the National Union and to the Masonic lodge. In politics he has always been an ardent republican and his position on any vital question is never an equivocal one for he stands fearlessly in support of what he believes to be right.
WILLIAM BENNER.
William Benner, a well-to-do farmer of Miami township, owns fifty-five acres of land of a very fine quality on the old Mad River road, about three miles from Miamisburg, in an easterly direction. He is the son of Valentine and Carolina (Goudy) Benner, of whom considerable mention is made in the sketch of Samuel Benner.
William Benner was six years of age when he started to school in district No. 7, Miami township. At the age of seventeen he had completed his educa- tion here and began work in good earnest, assuming many of the duties on his father's farm. During all his life, however, he had taken some part, small at first as suited his years and larger as he became older, in the work of the farm, so that when he left the parental roof he had had more experience than his twenty years would seem to indicate. On leaving his father he went to work for his brother and some time after that for his cousin. Circumstances soon shaped them- selves, however, that he was able to take a trip to the west in which he combined pleasure and education. Upon returning from this diversion he entered the employ of A. D. Tibbals and remained in this locality six or seven years. Subsequent to this he went to Iowa, where he worked upon a ranch. In 1898 he returned to this county and engaged in farming, to which he has devoted himself ever since, with creditable results.
On the 16th of August, 1898, Mr. Benner was united in marriage to Miss Luella Tibbals, a daughter of Amos and Ruth (Allen) Tibbals. Mr. Tibbals was a well known farmer of this county but of recent years has retired from active life and resides in Centerville, Ohio. No children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Benner.
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Mr. Benner is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge, No. 683, of Cen- terville, and served at one time as master of work. It is needless to say that he is most loyal to his fraternal brothers and an eager worker for the ad- vancement of the interests of the lodge and order. In religious matters he gives his allegiance to the Baptist church, and together with his wife takes an active part in all its affairs, both secular and religious. He is a hard worker too, de- voting himself with good results to the cultivation of his farm, and is highly esteemed as a citizen and a friend.
ALFRED LOUIS McDANIEL.
Alfred Louis McDaniel is a native of Dayton and since his retirement from active business life has returned to the city where his youthful days were passed, having always maintained a deep attachment for the place of his nativity. He was born in February, 1844. His paternal grandfather was a soldier of the war of 1812. His father, James McDaniel, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1813, and was there reared, coming to Dayton in 1836 when this city was still a small and inconsequential town. He engaged in merchant tailoring and was well known as a representative of that line of activity in this city. He was married in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Miss Ann B. Hopper, a daughter of William Hopper, and they became parents of seven children, of whom one son died in in- fancy, while six reached years of maturity. These were : Sarah J .; Anne E., now deceased ; Charles A., who served in the Civil war and afterward became a pay- master in the United States navy but has now passed away ; Alfred L. ; and Mary H. and Jeannette, both of whom are deceased. The father died in Dayton June 30, 1902, having for three decades survived his wife who passed away in this city on the 7th of January, 1872.
Alfred Louis McDaniel was reared in his native city, pursuing his educa- tion in the public schools until he had completed three years' work in the high school. He then put aside his text-books that he might join the army in the Civil war, but when he offered his services he was rejected on account of physical inability. He then entered the employ of the Dayton & Union Railroad Company in the capacity of agent, applying himself with thoroughness to the mastery of the duties entrusted to him. Three or four years later he was made its general freight agent and so continued until 1873, when he entered the employ of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company at Columbus as chief clerk in the office of the general freight agent. For two years he thus served after which he went to Balti- more as chief clerk in the office of the general traffic department and there he continued until his retirement. His devotion to his duties, his ready adaptabil- ity, his system and his accuracy won him recognition in promotions from the outset of his career until he rose to a place of considerable prominence in railway circles. The careful husbanding of his resources brought to him substantial suc- cess, and being in poor health he was enabled in 1896 to put aside further business cares, at which time he determined to make his boyhood home the place of his future residence and returned to Dayton, where he now resides.
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Mr. McDaniel belongs to the Dayton City Club and since his return has made many new friends and has again entered into friendly relations with many of the associates of his early years who throughout the intervening period have enter- tained for him kindly and enduring regard.
JESSE LENTZ.
Jesse Lentz, successfully carrying on general farming and also one of the largest dairies in the county, makes his home in Madison township, where he owns and cultivates one hundred and forty-five acres of good land. He was born on the 22d of November, 1870, on the farm which is yet his place of abode and which was the old Lentz homestead. The family is of German lineage and was founded in America by Jacob Lentz, who was born in the fatherland and as a young man came to this country. Eventually he became a resident of Mont- gomery county, securing a tract of land near Dayton. He married Fredricka Moselman and their son George was the father of our subject. He was born in Pennsylvania and after coming to Montgomery county gave his attention to general agricultural pursuits, his first home being on a farm near Dayton. He afterward purchased the old Sanger farm and later bought one hunded and sixty acres of land now known as the old Lentz homestead. He married Catharine Blessing and they became the parents of twelve children: Amos, Martha, Lydia, Isaac, Aaron, Emma, Amanda, Ida, Jesse, Ira, Anna and Warren, all of whom are living in this county with the exception of Emma, who resides in California.
Jesse Lentz, the fourth son of the family, has always been a resident of Madi- son township and at the usual age entered the district schools, pursuing his edu- cation there. He early became familiar with the work of the farm and has always carried on general farming, in which his well directed labors have met with suc- cess. He is now the owner of one hundred and forty-five acres of fine farm land situated on the Lexington road about a mile and a quarter south of Trotwood. For sixteen years he has been engaged in the dairy business and has built up a large trade in this line. Throughout the entire period he has been running a milk-wagon in Dayton, never missing but a few days in all the sixteen years. By his good management and diligence he has become the owner of his present farm, which is a valuable property and brings to him a substantial annual in- come. He is a self-made man, gaining his large patronage by reason of his hon- orable effort. his close application and unfaltering diligence. He has depended upon his own resources from the age of twelve years for his father was an in- valid and it was necessary that the son should provide for his own support. That he is a citizen of genuine worth is a fact widely acknowledged by all who know him.
On the 3d of March. 1893, Mr. Lentz was united in marriage to Miss Barbara Adelberger, a daughter of George and Catharine (Oet) Adelberger. Her father was a well known butcher of this county and conducted a large and profitable business. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lentz have been born four children: Oscar H., Harvard W., Emert C. and Ida C. The eldest two are students in school.
JESSE LENTZ AND FAMILY
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The parents are members of the conservative branch of the Dunkard church and he and his family are very active in the work of the church, doing all in their power to promote its growth and extend its influence. Their lives are ever upright and honorable, guided by high principles, and in all of his business rela- tions Mr. Lentz is thoroughly trustworthy, never taking advantage of the neces- sities of another in any business transaction. Indeed his commercial honesty stands as an unquestioned fact in his career and has constituted one of the force .. ful elements in the life record that commands for him the respect and good will of all who know him.
WILLIAM HENRY BENNER.
The history of the pioneer settlement of Montgomery county would be in- complete without mention of the Benner family, who from the earliest founding of this section of the Buckeye state have been prominent factors in its substantial growth and improvement. When Montgomery county was still in an embryo state, one Jacob Benner, made his way, across the plains from Maryland to Ohio, and braving all the trials and hardships of pioneer life, made for himself a home and became an active factor in reclaiming this wild region for the purposes of civilization. To this family the citizens of the present generation owe much for bringing this section to its present high state of development and modern progress.
The Jacob Penner above mentioned was the great-grandfather of our subject. He was a native of Maryland, where he worked at his trade of a blacksmith. His family numbered five sons and four daughters. The sons were Jacob, Frederick, Samuel, Daniel and David and all became pioneer settlers of Miami township. The daughters are as follows: Elizabeth, who became Mrs. Jonathan Gebhart; Sarah, who became the wife of James Ryan; Mary, the wife of Samson Stra- der and Catherine, the wife of William Aiken. Of the sons, Jacob followed in his father's footsteps, learning the blacksmith's trade but he also engaged in the occupation of farming. He wedded Magdalena, a daughter of Philip Gebhart, and their family numbered four children. Philip, Valentine, Jacob and Alfred. Of these, Philip, the eldest, was born in Miami township in 1827, and like the other members of the family, carried on farming throughout his active business life. He wedded Miss Amelia Heineke, a daughter of the Rev. Henry and Cath erine (Hetzel) Heineke, also residents of Miami township, and their union was blessed with three sons: William Henry, of this review: Jacob; and Edmund. The father died of typhoid fever, his death occurring on the 13th of August, 1866, at the comparatively early age of thirty-nine years.
William Henry Benner, the eldest in the father's family, was reared on the home farm in Miami township and was educated in the common schools near his father's home. He was early trained to the work of the fields and during the periods of vacation was busily engaged in plowing, planting and harvesting After his father's death he remained with his mother and gave to her valuable assistance in managing the interests of the place, and when starting out upon an independent venture chose as his occupation the work which he had always
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followed. He now owns a valuable tract of land of one hundred and fifty-four acres in Miami township, which he devotes to general farming and he also engages in raising and breeding Poland China hogs. He formerly conducted a dairy in this locality. Like the other members of the family he has become a prosperous citizen by means of tilling the soil and fully sustained the reputation which has always been borne by the members of the Benner family from pioneer times down to the present.
Mr. Benner has been twice married. He was first wedded in 1871 to Miss Amanda Groby, a daughter of David and Eliza (Warner) Groby, of Miamisburg, and that union was blessed with five children: Anna, the wife of Jacob Meng, by whom she has four children, Paul, Ruth, Marlow and Carl; David, who wedded Ada Bloss, their family numbering five children, Glen, Russell, Robert, Helen and Alice ; Walter, who wedded Daisy Wacter and has one son, Kenneth; Sarah, the wife of Henry Lambert, by whom she has one child, Vere; and Edith, who makes her home with an aunt in Miamisburg. Mr. Benner was married a second time, this union being with Elizabeth Sommers, a daughter of Jacob and Cath- erine (Smith) Sommers, who came from Maryland to Miami township. There is one daughter of this marriage, Lucile Benner.
Politically Mr. Benner gives his support to the republican party and takes an active part in public affairs. He is identified with the Lutheran church and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The work instituted by the great-grand- father has been carried on by the grandfather and father and is still continued by W. H. Benner, and the name has become a prominent one throughout Mont- gomery county, so that it is but fitting that the sketch of this distinguished citizen should find a place in this volume. He stands today as a high type of Ameri- can manhood, who has won success and at the same time has gained the respect and honor of his fellowmen in public service and private life.
WILLIAM H. CASSEL.
A glance over the business field of Dayton at once indicates the leading posi- tion occupied by the Dayton Malleable Iron Company, one of the most important industries of the city, by reason of the number of its employes and the extent of its output. At the head of this mammoth concern are men of recognized busi- ness ability, of keen foresight and initiative spirit who understand the possi- bilities of the trade and the opportunities for the expansion of this specific enter- prise. Prominent in its management is William H. Cassel who is the secretary of the company.
Montgomery county numbers Mr. Cassel among her native sons, his birth hav- ing here occurred in 1867. He was reared upon the home farm to the age of twenty years and during much of that period attended the country schools, thus laying the foundation for a good practical business education. The vacation periods were devoted to work in the fields and thus time passed in forming habits of industry and energy which have stood him in good stead in later years. At the age of eighteen he began teaching, which profession he followed for four
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years in the country schools of Miami county but, ambitious for the opportuni- ties and conquests of business life, he came to Dayton in 1889 and qualified for entrance into commercial circles by pursuing a course in the Miami Commercial College, from which he was graduated in due time. He then entered the employ of the Dayton, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad as stenographer to the auditor, with whom he remained for six months, after which he secured a situation in the Dayton Car Service Bureau, where he also spent a half year. He then entered the employ of the Dayton Malleable Iron Company in 1892 in the capacity of stenog- rapher and with the passing years he won promotion from time to time until in 1902 he became secretary, which position he has since acceptably filled, having now an influencing voice in the management and control of this large and impor- tant industry.
In 1892 at Pleasant Hill, Ohio, Mr. Cassel was married to Miss Callie Deeter and they have two children: Homer Deeter and Mabel. The parents hold mem- bership in the Summit Street United Brethren church, of which Mr. Cassel is a trustee and in the work of the church he is deeply and helpfully interested while to its support he contributes generously. While he votes with the republican party in support of its state and national candidates he is allied with that independent movement which is one of the hopeful signs of the times-a movement that has elicited the sympathy and cooperation of many practical and progressive business men who seek to have a clean, straightforward administration rather than the dom- ination of machine rule. In matters of citizenship Mr. Cassel is interested as a public-spirited citizen but has never sought the rewards or emoluments of office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs, in which he is meet- ing with signal success.
WILLIAM I. ANDERSON.
William I. Anderson, county commissioner from Harrison township, has dur- ing all his life been connected with farming interests and is the owner of a fine tract of land of one hundred acres three miles from Dayton on the New Troy pike. His paternal grandfather, William Anderson, came to Ohio from Pennsylvania and was one of the early settlers in his part of the county. His son, John Ander- son, the father of our subject, was born in Warren county, Ohio, and was two years old when his parents removed to this county. He married Miss Sydney Wurst, who bore him five children : W. S .; William I. ; F. M. and E. E., both de- ceased ; and Florence D.
William I. Anderson started upon his earthly sojourn July 12, 1858, in Wabash county, Indiana, and in the county schools derived his education. His life has been intimately associated with farming, and when he embarked for a short time on a business career he was interested in farm implements. For many years he ran a threshing machine, and subsequently for a considerable period he was the agent in this county for a large farm implement concern.
Mr. Anderson is a man well known in Harrison township, where he has held several offices at the disposal of the voters. His first was that of township as-
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sessor, which he filled for the space of four years ; next he assumed the duties of township clerk for an equal period ; and subsequently was elected county commis- sioner on the republican ticket. At the present time, in the exercise of his office, he is contracting for the making of roads. He holds membership in two impor- tant fraternal organizations-lodge No. 657, I. O. O. F. : and Riverdale Lodge, No. 639 K. P., of Dayton. His religious allegiance is given to the Methodist Episcopal church of Dayton.
In January, 1892, Mr. Anderson was united in marriage to Miss Wealthy Smith, a daughter of John and Maria (Worrell) Smith.
ISAAC ECK.
Isaac Eck is an enterprising and progressive farmer of Miami township, own- ing and operating one hundred and fifty acres of fine land. He was born on the 30th of June, 1854, in New Lebanon, Montgomery county, a son of Jacob and Mary (Shober) Eck. The father is a native of Maryland, coming to this state at an early day with his father, Peter Eck, who was a mechanic by occupation and was the founder of the family in Ohio. The entire trip was made by wagon, the family settling in Montgomery county. Jacob Eck was twice married, his first union being with Miss Mary Shober, and in their family were five children : William, Franklin, Isaac, Susan and Miranda, of whom William and Susan are now deceased. He chose for his second wife Miss Elizabeth Fencler, by whom he had nine children : Florence, Perry, Ed, Emanuel, Clara, Katie, Charles, Har- ley and one who died in infancy. Of this number Florence, Perry and Emanuel still survive.
Isaac Eck attended the common schools in the acquirement of an education, and when not busy with his text-books he was engaged in the work of the farm. Losing his mother at the age of eight years, it was necessary for him to leave home and engage in farm work to pay for his board while attending school. He was thus engaged until thirteen years of age, when he completed his education and returned home to assist in the work of the farm. He learned the trade of wagonmaker under his father, who followed that occupation for a livelihood, and the two were associated in that line of work for some time. In 1868 he accom- panied his father to Franklin township, Darke county, where he remained for about four years, at the expiration of which period he returned to Montgomery county. He was here employed by the month for about three years and then, in the fall of 1875, he took a trip to the west. Upon his return to Ohio he became identified with agricultural interests, purchasing a farm of one hundred and fifty acres of excellent land on the Germantown road about a mile west of Miamisburg. He has since directed his efforts to the cultivation and development of this property, has brought the fields under a high state of cultivation, and the place is now one of the well improved farms of Miami township. He is progressive in his methods, practices the rotation of crops, and in his undertaking is meeting with very desirable success.
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