USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 68
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Charles Dickens Iddings, the father of Daniel W. Iddings, was born in Day- ton in 1851 and after carefully pursuing the study of law was admitted to the bar and continued in active practice up to the time of his death. His legal learn- ing, his correct application of the principles of law and his thoroughness in the preparation of cases combined to make him one of the strong advocates before the courts, while his ability as a counselor was also widely recognized. He married Miss Belle A. Sheets and unto them were born three sons, Daniel W., Andrew S. and Roscoe C., all residents of Dayton. Here the death of the father occurred in January, 1899.
The foregoing record indicates clearly that Daniel W. Iddings is descended from one of the most prominent as well as one of the oldest families of Dayton and he is fortunate in that his lines of life have been cast in harmony with an honorable ancestral record. He was largely educated in private schools, spending most of the time in the select school taught by Professor G. C. Deaver. His
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father died just about the time he finished his course there and was ready for Yale. This of necessity changing his plans, he left school at the age of seventeen years and became court page to Hon. O. B. Brown, judge of the common pleas court, in which position he remained for two and a half years. He was then unanimously elected to the office of librarian of the law library of Dayton which at that time contained forty-five hundred volumes housed in two rooms. Since that time frequent additions have been made to the library until four rooms are now required to contain the thirteen thousand volumes belonging therein. Mr. Iddings has thorough knowledge of the contents of the library so that his work is of great assistance to the lawyers who seek information upon given points in some of these volumes. Devoting his time whenever opportunity is offered to the study of law, he was himself admitted to the bar in June, 1905. He is, moreover, treasurer of the Montgomery County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which has always been managed by the Iddings family, and is a director and officer in several other important business corporations.
Mr. Iddings' fondness for scientific investigation and for advanced knowledge in various lines is indicated in the fact that he is a fellow of the Royal Geographi- cal Society of London and of the American Geographical Society of New York, while with the National Geographic Society at Washington he also holds mem- bership. These honors were conferred upon him in recognition of his explora- tion work and emigration study in western Canada and his writings upon the subject for prominent English and American publications. He is not unapprecia- tive of the social amenities of life, as is indicated in his membership in the Dayton City Club and the Dayton Country Club Company, acting as secretary-treasurer of the latter for ten years. He is also secretary of the District Tuberculosis Hos- pital. Furthermore he is keenly alive to the needs of religious teaching and is an active and helpful member of the Third Street Presbyterian church. Regard- ing doctrinal points as secondary to the unity of christian people, he has been very active in the brotherhood movement which is one of the most helpful signs of the religious world of the present day and has been instrumental in con- solidating a number of the men's clubs in the various churches in this city and is now president of the Federated Church Brotherhood of Dayton and also president of the Union Presbyterian Brotherhood. His fidelity to duty as he sees it and the exalted principles which govern him in his relations to the vital interests of society have gained for him the respect of all men while his never failing courtesy and frank, genial manner have won him many friends.
CHARLES SWOPE.
Charles Swope, engaged in agricultural interests in Jefferson township, Mont- gomery county, was born here July 24, 1862, and is the oldest in a family of six children born to Adam and Catherine (Stoner) Swope, the others being Alfred, Anna, Ella, Dora and Ida. He spent his boyhood days under the parental roof, acquiring his education in the common schools of the neighborhood, and at the same time assisting his father in the work of the fields. After laying aside his
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text-books, however, and thinking to find other pursuits more congenial than farming, he began learning the carpenter's trade, which he followed for some tinie. That he possessed ability in this direction and a thorough understanding of the work in all of its details, is indicated by the fact that for a number of years he was employed as a cabinetmaker by the Barney & Smith Car Company of Dayton, and during this period his labors proved of a most satisfactory character. Subsequently, however, he returned to the farm and has since been engaged in agricultural pursuits in Jefferson township, this county, superintending a farm of two hundred and seventy-five acres, which he has brought under a good state of cultivation, the fields, in return for the care and attention expended upon them, yielding substantial annual crops.
Mr. Swope was married on the 10th of February, 1884, to Miss Alice C. Hyer, a daughter of Enoch and Mary (Keen) Hyer, and unto them were born three children, namely: Addah, born June 7, 1885; Ammon, born September 2, 1886; and Charles Marshall, born October 23, 1901.
Mr. and Mrs. Swope are both members of the Brethren church, in the work of which they are actively and helpfully interested, while Mr. Swope is acting as one of the deacons of the church. He is also the president of the Jefferson town- ship school board, of which he has been a member for seven years, the cause of education finding in him a stalwart champion. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party but is not an aspirant for office, preferring to concentrate his entire time and attention upon his personal affairs. He is loyal, however, in his citizenship, exerting his influence in support of all measures which tend toward the material, intellectual and moral welfare and growth of the community. Hav- ing passed his entire life in this portion of the county, his acquaintance is exten- sive and the fact that he is most respected where best known indicates that his life has at all times been an honorable and upright one.
ORION S. NICHOLAS.
Orion S. Nicholas, who is the proprietor and sole owner of the Nicholas Stock Farm of seventy-five acres on the River road, about three miles from the court- house, is also controlling a tract of seven hundred acres which he cultivates in a variety of crops. He was born on the 30th of March, 1865, on the farm that is his home, known as the Nicholas homestead, and is the son of Joseph H. and Eliza Jane ( Mooney) Nicholas. Joseph Nicholas' grandfather came from Eng- land to this country and was of good old Puritan stock. His later years he passed in this county and when death called him he was buried in Greencastle cemetery. Seventy-three was the length of the span of years allotted to him, which was com- pleted about thirty-five years ago. Abraham Nicholas, his son, came to this region from the east and was one of the first settlers in this part of the county. His son Joseph, the father of our subject, was born and reared on the farm adjoining that upon which Orion S. Nicholas now lives. For many years he was identified with farming interests, but for a time he engaged in the lumber business in Day- ton, on Mound street. In this latter venture he was more than moderately suc-
MR. AND MRS. O. S. NICHOLAS
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cessful, having, when he retired from active life, worked up a large trade. The last years of his life he passed in his home on South Broadway, where he died.
Orion S. Nicholas has passed almost his entire life in Harrison township. He was educated in the country schools here, and during his youth worked on the farm at the same time that he pursued his studies. On completing his school- ing his father resigned the care of his land to him and the business connected with it, and about a year ago he came into possession of the entire estate. Both as a general farmer and as a raiser of fine stock he has won considerable success. The stock business. was started about fifteen years ago and is now one of the largest in this part of the state. There are five buildings which Mr. Nicholas uses for his stock and which afford him room for the boarding of horses from the city. He engages largely in the buying and selling of stock, his negotiations embracing transactions of considerable importance.
In February, 1886, Mr. Nicholas married Miss Amanda E. Heiser, the daugh- ter of George Heiser, who was a prominent farmer of this county and lived near his son-in-law. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas: Joseph, who has finished his school course and is assisting his father in the work of the farm and looks forward to following in his footsteps; Amy, living at home ; Silas and Wilson, who are still attending school ; and Orion, Jr., and Helen, both small children, gladdening the home with their play. The family belong to the United Brethren church of the township, and are very active in all its work.
Mr. Nicholas, despite his many hours of hard labor finds time to be one of the prominent members of the Dayton Lodge, No. 58, B. P. O. E., which he joined a number of years ago. He is regular in his attendance at the meetings and is always ready and eager to assume any responsibility or take any part either in the work of the lodge or in its social diversions. He has made an enviable reputation for himself as a man of honor in all his dealings with his fellowmen, and is widely respected in the community where so many of his years have been passed.
EDWARD B. DOAN, M. D.
Dr. Edward B. Doan, a physician of West Carrollton, Ohio, was born in Mon- roe county, this state, and is the son of Rev. J. H. and Mary (Reid) Doan. His paternal grandfather, William Doan, whose wife was Miss Aseneta Hampton before her marriage, came with his father Daniel Doan, to this state from Penn- sylvania. Rev. J. H. Doan was reared in Athens county and attended the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, after which he entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church. He has always been a member of the Pittsburg and East Ohio conferences though for the past twenty years he has been super- anuated. In the years of his activity this state was the scene of his ministerial labors, but he has now given up the most of his ministerial labors and lives in retirement. He is now living in West Carrollton at the age of eighty-one years, while his wife is seventy-six, and both are enjoying good health.
Edward B. Doan began the education that stretched over many years and was obtained from many schools, at the public institution of instruction at New Athens,
.
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Ohio. From there he went to Caldwell, to Newport, New Matamoras and to Bealsville, all in Ohio. He began his college work at the Ohio Wesleyan Uni- versity, Delaware, Ohio, where he remained two years. At the end of that period he took a trip west and entered the Nebraska State University at Lincoln. After a year's study there, he enrolled in the medical school at Cotner, Nebraska, and completed the work of the freshman year. From there he went to Utica, where he made his home for about two years, after which he went to Cleveland, where he entered the Cleveland Homeopathic School, from which he was graduated in April, 1899. The following July he came to West Carrollton, where he has fol- lowed his profession ever since, and into whose communal life he has fully entered.
On the 27th of October, 1903, Dr. Doan was united in marriage to Miss Amy Newell, the daughter of Henry L. and Belle (McCauley) Newell, now living in West Carrollton. Henry L. Newell is the manager and secretary of the Ameri- can Envelope Factory and is one of West Carrollton's prominent citizens. Three sons have been born to Dr. and Mrs. Doan: Edward N., Roscius C. and John Henry. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal church of West Carrollton, of which Dr. Doan is a prominent member, for he is one of the official board, and is also secretary and recording steward.
Dr. Doan has affiliations with several fraternal organizations, and is a mem- ber of several societies that look to furthering the cause of his profession. He belongs to the Miamisburg lodge of the Knights of Pythias, and to the West Carrollton lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. During his college days he joined the Alpha Gamma Delta Fraternity, and in the reunions of his fraternal brothers revives the memories of those former days. He is a mem- ber of the Dayton Homeopathic Medical Society, Homeopathic Medical Society of Ohio and American Institute of Homeopathy. In the practice of his profession Dr. Doan has been very successful ; and his opinion is regarded highly among those in whose midst he works. He is a man who has the power to make and retain strong friends, who are loyal in their support of him and wish him all good fortune.
DAVID D. BOSLER.
David D. Bosler, one of the firm of Bosler & Hertz, is a young business man of Dayton, where for the past fifteen years he has been in business with different concerns. He was born in this city, at the corner of Dintaert and May streets, July 6, 1874, the son of Marcus and Sarah (Bliler) Bosler. His grandfather, also named Marcus, came to Ohio from Pennsylvania, his native state, and set- tled near Wooster, on a farm which he himself cleared. He became a prominent agriculturist and lived to an advanced age. Marcus Bosler, Jr., came from Union county, Pennsylvania, when a young man. He received the greater part of his education in that state, and after his advent to Ohio learned the mason's trade and became a stone and brick contractor, being one of the early stone workers of Dayton. He died July 11, 1881, and was buried at Woodland.
David D. Bosler was the youngest of four children, Emma L., Matilda J. and Marcus W., being his older sisters and brother. He attended the grammar
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and high schools of Dayton, and two years after fininshing his education entered upon his business career. At first he had the ordinary experiences of a young man in the employ of another, but soon he entered into partnership with E. Hertz and established the present firm, where he has a field for the exercise of his enter- prising spirit. Of this same energy and spirit he gives liberally to the Reformed church, whose members know him for a man ever ready to lend a hand in church affairs. Mr. Bosler's has been a quiet life; the place of his birth has remained his home to the present, but he has the elements of success in his make-up, and the business he has established deserves to prosper.
E. A. PARROTT.
In the fall of 1828 Thomas Parrott emigrated from Hamburg, South Carolina, to Dayton, bringing with him two families of negroes-his farm slaves-for whom he sought a free state. He established his home in this city and his son Edwin A. Parrott was born November 30, 1830, at the southeast corner of Second and Perry streets. At that date the little house, which was afterward torn down to make way for the home of Preserved Smith, was the last on West Second except the cabin of Aaron, Judge Holt's negro man, which stood about where Houston Lowe's home is now to be seen.
Edwin A. Parrott began his education when four years of age under the direc- tion of Miss Crane, who conducted a primary school in the "Session House," where the manse of the First Presbyterian church now stands. A little later he was a pupil in the school of Edward Varian, conducted in the basement of the Episcopal church on Jefferson street, replaced by Clegg's block. From the Varian school he was transferred to that of Colonel Collins Wright in the old academy at corner Fourth and Williamson, while later he continued his studies in the school of E. E. Barney, held in the basement of the Baptist church, on the present site of the Home Telephone building. He began the study of the ancient languages there under Frederick Snyder, afterward a distinguished Baptist minister. In 1845 he entered the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio, and was graduated four years later. In the fall of that year he began to read law in the office of Hart & Craighead, and after a year thus passed entered the Dane Law school of the Harvard University. Before completing his course, however, he gave up his studies to embark in business with his father and as T. Parrott & Son was for many years engaged in the manufacture of linseed oil.
In 1870 E. A. Parrott became connected with the Malleable Iron Company, which had recently been organized, and as its president for twelve years brought to it a large and profitable business. He sold his interest in 1882 and has since then lived quietly in his country place near the city.
In 1854 Mr. Parrott visited Kansas and became much interested in the effort to make it a free state. On his return home he was very active in the organization of the Anti-Nebraska party and as a delegate from this county attended the first state convention. In 1859 he was nominated by the republicans for state repre- sentative. For a term of years Montgomery county had been democratic, but
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in 1859 the republican candidate was elected by a small majority. Representative Parrott in his legislative career was identified with thirteen members of the house and senate that constituted the conservative element as distinguished from the radicals in the legislature, headed by Governor Chase. Mr. Parrott was put up as a candidate for speaker against the choice of the governor. He was defeated but was soon elected speaker pro tem and in the organization of the committees was made chairman of that on federal relations. This was a very important com- mittee at that time. During the session Representative Parrott introduced and carried through the house a joint resolution inviting the Kentucky legislature and its guest the legislature of Tennessee to visit Columbus as guests of the state of Ohio, and as chairman of the house contingent with Senator James A. Garfield as chairman of the senate committee bore the invitation to Louisville. It was delivered and accepted at a banquet given by the citizens of Louisville, at which both the Ohio legislators spoke. The progress of these legislatures to Columbus and the receptions along the way were marked with patriotic speeches from the southerners, most of whom, alas, within a twelvemonth were in arms against the flag to which they were then declaring their devotion.
On behalf of the conservative element in the legislature Mr. Parrott opened up correspondence with Mr. Lincoln, who had spoken at Dayton during his cam- paign of 1859, for permission to use his name as a candidate for the presidency against Senator Chase. None of these conservatives were elected delegates to the Chicago convention, but nevertheless, were there and active in behalf of Mr. Lincoln and, undoubtedly, influenced the final vote of Ohio, which nominated him. At the adjourned session of 1861 Mr. Parrott introduced the resolution inviting President-Elect Lincoln to visit Columbus on his way to Washington and was chairman of the house committee that met Mr. Lincoln at Indianapolis and acted as his escort to Columbus. During this session Mr. Parrott and his con- servative confreres opposed both the uncompromising resolutions of the radicals and those of the democrats, impeaching the good faith of the north and succeeded in passing the resolution under which Ohio was represented at the peace congress and in giving control of the delegation to the conservative element.
But the gun that was fired on Fort Sumter blew away the conservatism of Mr. Parrott and on Monday morning, the 15th of April, 1861, before the meeting of the house he went to the governor's office and, announcing his purpose to resign his seat, offered his services in any capacity under the president's call for troops.
Colonel Parrott comes from fighting stock. One of his ancestors on the pa- ternal side was wounded in the Swamp Fight in King Philip's war. Another was in the company that defended the bridge at Salem against the detachment of British sent to seize the powder and another, Captain Joseph Flint, was killed at Saratoga, while Captain Abner Parrott, grandfather of the Colonel, was commis- sioned by the Boston committee in April, 1781, as commander of the brigantine Dolphin, a privateer out of the port of Salem. On the maternal side the ancestry of Colonel Parrott was represented by a captain and quartermaster in the colonial army, a lieutenant in the Fifth Maryland Volunteers and a brigadier general for the eastern shore of Maryland. Colonel Parrott began his military career as fourth corporal in the First Ohio Militia Regiment, Colonel Edward King com- manding. He was later commissioned lieutenant and adjutant and at the breaking
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out of the Civil war was major of the regiment. Under orders from Governor Dennison he went to Dayton, April 15, 1861, to assist in recruiting from the militia regiment and on Tuesday afternoon returned to Columbus with three full companies. On the night of the 17th he left for Washington in charge of two thousand men, organized in companies only. These troops were subse- quently formed into the First and Second Ohio Volunteer Infantry and Major Parrott was elected lieutenant colonel of the First. The term of enlistment ex- pired July 17, but the men waived their right to be discharged on that date and served for a week longer, taking part in the battle of Bull Run on the 21st of that month.
On the reenlistment of the First Ohio on the 17th of August for three years Governor Dennison appointed a young lieutenant from the regular army as colonel, whereupon Lieutenant Colonel Parrott tendered his resignation, but at the protest of all the company officers and at the urgent solicitation of the governor withdrew it and went to the field with the regiment. In the following February he was promoted colonel and for some months was in command of a brigade in Johnson's division. In April, 1863, at the special request of Brigadier General Fry, United States pro marshal, Colonel Parrott was detailed as his assistant for the state of Ohio with headquarters at Columbus. He served in that capacity until February, 1864, when the death of his father made it necessary that one of the four sons should leave the service to take charge of the estate and, as the colonel had been a partner in his father's business, it was thought best that he should make the sacrifice and, accordingly, he resigned February 14, 1864.
In 1865 Colonel Parrott was again elected to the legislature and was chosen speaker of the house. He did not approve the radical reconstruction measures and thought President Johnson was aiming to carry out Mr. Lincoln's plans and so, being out of sympathy with his party, Colonel Parrott did not seek a re- nomination. He took part in the convention, however, which nominated Horace Greeley in 1872 and entered actively in the campaign work in support of that ticket. Four years later the nomination of his old friend, Governor Hayes, drew him back to the regular republican party and he took an active part in the cam- paign.
Colonel Parrott was married in February, 1866, to the eldest daughter of the Rev. Dr. Thomas and of their children four survive. Their only son is pro- fessor of English literature in Princeton University.
PETER A. KEMPER, M. D.
Peter A. Kemper, one of the younger physicians of Germantown, Ohio, was born May 31, 1876, in Churchville, Lewis county, West Virginia, and is the son of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Rebecca (Musser) Kemper. So far as known the family emigrated from Germany to Virginia in the latter part of the sixteenth century. The Doctor's grandfather, Reuben Allen Kemper, married Miss Rosie Hitt, who bore him twelve children. He was a farmer, a Baptist min- ister and a mechanic, and was the first of his family to come to Virginia from West
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Virginia. He was a man who, though he had to make his own way in the world, attained a good-sized fortune; large enough in fact to enable him to leave each of his large family one hundred acres of fine farm land. Alexander Hamilton Kemper was born and reared in Lewis county, West Virginia, and became a general farmer and landowner and takes an active part in all public affairs. Of the fourteen children born to himself and wife all but one daughter, Mayme, are living. The others are: Peter A., R. K., Emma B., Sarah, Odessa, Delphi, John R., Lillian M., Esta, Willa, James, Claude and Virgie H. Ralph K. is a gradu- ate of the Ohio School of Dental Surgery of Cincinnati and now lives and prac- tices in Germantown.
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