USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 75
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Reared amid the scenes and environment of rural life, Charles C. Stebbins acquired his early training in the common schools of Jefferson township, during which time he also assisted his father on the home farm. He later attended the Ohio Normal University at Ada and subsequently became a graduate of Beck's Commercial College at Dayton. Thus well equipped he entered business life as a school teacher, following that profession for fourteen years in Van Buren, Harrison and Jefferson townships, during which time he proved a most com- petent instructor, not only imparting clearly and readily to others the information he had acquired but also gaining a reputation as an excellent disciplinarian. His labors in this profession were helpful factors in advancing educational interests in the various communities in which he resided. His recent years, however, have been devoted to agricultural pursuits, in which line of activity he is meeting with gratifying success. He owns seventy-six acres of good farm land in this town- ship, to the cultivation and improvement of which he is devoting his entire time and attention and which in return yield rich annual harvests.
As a companion on life's journey Mr. Stebbins chose Miss Luella M. Shew, who was born September 4, 1876, a daughter of Charles M. and Ellinora (Zum- brun) Shew. The wedding occurred March 3, 1898, and unto this union were born three sons and one daughter: Mark Jacob, born in 1899; Roy E., born in 1900 ; Carl M., born in 1902; and Iva, born in 1907. The parents are members
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of the Church of the Brethren, of which Mr. Stebbins is acting as a trustee, and he was likewise superintendent of the Sunday school. He is also a member of the Jefferson township board of education. Although the honors and emoluments of office have had no attraction for him, he is not, however, remiss in the duties of citizenship, but is deeply interested in all that pertains to the material, intel- lectual and moral development and upbuilding of the community. Having spent his entire life in this locality he has acquired an extensive acquaintance, and that he is most highly respected and esteemed by those who have known him since childhood is indicative of the fact that his life has at all times been actuated by high and honorable principles.
AUGUSTUS WALDO DRURY.
Augustus Waldo Drury was born near Pendleton, Madison county, Indiana, March 2, 1851. His parents were Morgan S. Drury and Elizabeth (Lambert) Drury, who were married February 22, 1849.
Morgan S. Drury was born in Henry county, Indiana, August 31, 1826. In 1854, he removed to Winnesheik county, Iowa, and settled on a farm near Castalia, entering some of his land from the government. The children born in Indiana were: Marion R., from 1881 to 1897 one of the editors of the Re- ligious Telescope at Dayton, Ohio; Augustus W .; and Eva M., now living in California. Morgan S. Drury entered the ministry of the United Brethren church in 1855, in which, after 1859, he was actively employed until 1894. He died at Pasadena, California, November 1, 1902. He served as commissioner of his county in Iowa a number of years, was successful in farming and in busi- ness, gave largely to the work of education in his denomination, with which work he was officially connected for many years.
Mrs. Elizabeth Drury was born in Rockingham County, Virginia, June 19, 1826, and died in Pasadena, California, January 27, 1905. A maternal great- grandfather, Lewis Smith, was one of the first settlers of Augusta county, Vir- ginia. While without the privileges of an education in the schools, she was characterized by strong intellectual traits and decided moral convictions. The Lamberts, representing her paternal lineage, as well as the Smiths, were of sturdy German stock.
The name Drury is of Norman-French origin. It was taken to England by Sir Robert Drury at the time of the Norman conquest. William, a descendant of Robert Drury, gave the name to Drury Lane in London, his city residence standing adjacent to the same. The name was first brought to America about 1640 by Hugh Drury, whose descendants are in various parts of the United States.
William Drury, from whom the subject of our sketch is descended, came from England about the time of the American Revolution and settled in Franklin county, Pennsylvania. About 1810, with a large family, he moved to Wayne county, Indiana, then on the frontier of settlement. A son, Arnold, was married to Selah Shortridge, who was of Welsh descent. Her family came from Ken-
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tucky, where they were interrelated with the Boone family. After his marriage. Arnold Drury moved to Henry county, where the older children of the family were born, and later to Madison county, both in Indiana. In the latter county, Morgan S., son of Arnold, grew up and was married. Augustus W., is the son of Morgan S. Drury. In 1854, his father, with a small colony of his wife's people, removed with his family to the frontier of settlement in northern Iowa. John L., now living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was the only one of five children born in Iowa who grew up to maturity. As the children grew up they attended the short terms of school then provided for. The sons were early set to work on the farm, the requirements soon leading them to give up the summer term of school.
In the fall of 1866, A. W. Drury, at the age of fifteen, was sent to Western College at Western, Iowa, now Leander Clark College at Toledo, Iowa, where he entered on the preparatory course. Six years later he graduated regularly in the classical course. In the time that he was pursuing his college course he taught school for three terms. On completing his course he was elected professor of the Latin and Greek languages in his alma mater. His health apparently being endangered, he resigned at the expiration of one year.
In 1873, he entered the ministry in Iowa conference of the church of the United Brethren in Christ and was assigned to a mission charge in Fayette county, Iowa. In this year several hundred persons were received by him into the church. The following year he entered Union Biblical Seminary, now Bone- brake Theological Seminary at Dayton, Ohio, from which institution he gradu- ated three years later. While pursuing his theological course he served one year, 1875-76, as pastor of Summit Street United Brethren church. In 1886, he was a student in the summer semester in Berlin University. From 1877 until 1880 he was pastor at West Union, Iowa. In 1880 he was called to a position of instructor in Bonebrake Theological Seminary and soon afterward was made full professor, his department, until 1892, being church history. In the year last named he was transferred to the department of systematic theology, which place he still holds.
On September 6, 1876, he was married to Miss Sophia Bookwalter, daughter of Rev. I. L. Bookwalter, whose ancestors came from Switzerland. Her mother, born in England, was of Scotch descent, the family name being Johnston. Five children were born to A. W. and Sophia Drury : Luther E., Mabel, Horace B., Agnes and Ruth.
A. W. Drury was given the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1885. He is the author of "The Life of Philip William Otterbein," 1884; "The Life of Bishop J. J. Glossbrenner, D. D.," 1889; a chapter on the "Visible Church," a small vol- ume on "Baptism," 1902; and a number of addresses and short treatises. Some of the latter are entitled "Faith and Knowledge," "The Roman Catholic Church -Our Proper Attitude Toward It" and "Ecclesiastical Constitution." He edited in a republished form the "Early Disciplines of the United Brethren Church" and translated from the German "Early Conference Minutes" of the United Brethren Church. For a short time he was one of the editors of the "United Brethren Review." From its organization. in 1885 till the present time he has been the corresponding secretary of the United Brethren Historical Society. He
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has been elected to various church boards, among them being the United Breth- ren Publishing Board. In 1895, he was elected a member of the board of edu- cation of the city of Dayton, being made by his fellow members president of the board for two successive years. For a number of years he has been a member of the board of directors of the Associated Charities of the city of Dayton.
While occupied directly with his work in the ministry and in teaching, Dr Drury has given attention to public conditions and interests in a more general way. Both within and outside of his professional labors, historical and philo- sophical subjects have claimed his attention. While allured somewhat by theory, his mind has a decidedly practical turn.
The religious influences that were transmitted to him came from various sources. The Smiths and the Lamberts of Virginia, at first Lutherans, early be- came followers of Rev. William Otterbein, the recognized founder of the United Brethren Church; the Shortridges carly became zealous disciples of Alexander Campbell ; and the Drurys were Friends, the Boones during a part of their his- tory also being connected with that society. With Morgan S. Drury began a special trend toward education which in his branch of the family has been well maintained.
JACOB SEYBOLD.
Jacob Seybold, a prosperous and representative farmer of Mad River town- ship, Montgomery county, was born in this county on the Ist of April, 1842, and is one of the oldest citizens of this township. He is a son of John and Jacobina (Fulmer) Seybold, the former a native of Germany, who came to the United States when about twenty-two years of age, settling in Montgomery county, Ohio. He devoted his entire life to farming and became one of the most prominent representatives of agricultural pursuits in Mad River township.
ยท Jacob Seybold, whose name introduces this review, has passed his entire life in Montgomery county with the exception of one year, which was spent in travel- ing in Indiana. Passing his youthful days under his father's roof, he acquired his education in the common schools of the neighborhood and assisted in the work of the farm. Reared to agricultural life, he wisely chose that occupation as his life work. He now owns one hundred and eighty-five acres of fine farm land on the Brandt pike about four miles from the Dayton courthouse, the pike pass- ing through and dividing the property. This farm, which has been highly cul- tivated and greatly improved, is recognized as one of the finest in Montgomery county. He is greatly interested in horse racing and has raised some very fine horses, at the present time having three in training, while he is a well known figure in racing circles in this county.
On the 23d of February, 1882, Mr. Seybold was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Null, who died April 26, 1894. He was again married, April 22, 1902, his second union being with Miss Martha Bertha Rosalie Roehr, who was born March 22, 1884, in Gerbstedt, province of Saxony (or Sachsen), Germany. She
MR. AND MRS. JACOB SEYBOLD
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traces her ancestry back to Carl Roehr, who was born in 1815 in the beautiful summer resort owned by his father at Gerbstedt. At the age of fourteen years he began learning the stone-mason's and carpenter's trades and was graduated as an architect when in his twenty-fourth year. He continued in business along that line from 1839 until 1864, when his eldest son, Carl Roehr, Jr., succeeded him, and he spent the remainder of his life in retirement from active labor. He married Chrystal Michaels, who was born in the village of Halle-in-Sachsen, Germany, where her father owned and operated a mill until the war between France and Prussia in 1816, when he lost his property, and in 1814 moved to Gerbstedt. Ludwig Albert Roehr, the father of Mrs. Seybold, was born on the 7th of August, 1859, in Gerbstedt, Saxony, Germany, and received a good educa- tion, graduating from the normal school. At the age of fourteen he commenced learning the mechanic's trade, at which he worked until eighteen years of age, and then after attaining his majority served two years in the Magdeburger Yaeger Battalion, No. 4. In 1883 he established a machine shop in Gerbstedt, which he successfully conducted until 1891, but it has been his wish from boyhood to come to America, where he believed that better opportunities were afforded to those who have to make their own way in the world, but as this was against the wish of his cousins, he did not leave Germany until after the death of his mother. On the 14th of January, 1892, however, he started with his wife and four children on the long voyage to the United States. He reached Cincinnati, Ohio, on the Ist of February of that year and six days later began work in the Seybold Machine Factory of that city, where in a few months he rose to the position of foreman. When the company transferred their factory to Dayton in 1893 he removed his family to this city and continues in the position of foreman up to the present time though since 1895 he has made his home on a farm just south of Dayton, which has since been laid out in city lots. His wife, Mrs. Anna Bertha Rosalie Roehr, was born February 12, 1863, in Gerbstedt, Province of Saxony, Germany, and also received a normal school education. After gradu- ating from that department she entered a school of cooking at Leipsic. It was on the Ist of July, 1883, that she gave her hand in marriage to Ludwig Albert Roehr. August Roehr, the grandfather of Mrs. Seybold, was born in 1834 and in his fourteenth year commenced learning the miller's trade, but afterward turned his attention to the buying and selling of grain. In 1869 he puchased a hotel, which he conducted until his death. In 1874 he was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Wagner in Gorenzen, near Mansfield. Her brother was an officer in the army and had charge of the post as director at Keil, Germany. August Roehr and his wife not only reared the eight children born to them but also two that were left orphans by the death of his sister, these being William and Ferdinand Duedloff. The former studied to be a forester and later became minister of for- est culture in Austria by appointment of the government. Subsequently he re- ceived a similar appointment from the king of Bulgaria, which position he still holds. At the age of fourteen years his brother, Ferdinand Duedloff, went upon the sea and rose to the position of captain. In the meantime he took one trip around the world, being gone seven years. He received a pension and died in Berlin, Germany, in 1906. Mrs. Seybold was graduated from the normal school at Oakwood and at present is studying both vocal and instrumental music. At
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the age of fifteen years she was confirmed in St. John's Evangelical Lutheran church and is still a member of that denomination.
Mr. Seybold gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and served as supervisor for fifteen years. He is public-spirited in all matters of citizen- ship, giving loyal support to all measures that tend to further the material, politi- cal and intellectual progress of the community. Through the successful conduct of his various business interests he has attained a most gratifying degree of success and is now numbered among the substantial and representative citizens of Montgomery county.
JOHN McMAHON SPRIGG.
John McMahon Sprigg, who ranked among the ablest lawyers of Dayton and was prominently connected with the political and social interests of the city as well, was born on a farm in Allegany county, Maryland, on the Ist of January, 1841, his parents being Joseph and Jane Duncan (McMahon) Sprigg, who were likewise natives of Maryland. They retained their residence upon a farm until about 1851, when they took up their abode in Cumberland, the county seat of Allegany county, and there John McMahon Sprigg was afforded the privilege of attending a private school, known as the Charles Street Academy, wherein he pursued his studies until his seventeenth year. He then went to Bal- timore to make his home with his uncle, John V. L. McMahon.
Following his removal to Baltimore, Mr. Sprigg remained a resident of that city until after the outbreak of the Civil war in 1861, when he went south and joined the Confederate army, enlisting in August of that year. He served with the southern forces until the close of hostilities in 1865 and participated in many of the great battles of the war, during which time he was twice wounded.
Mr. Sprigg established his home in Dayton in September, 1865. Like many others, he was left almost penniless by the fortunes of war and on coming to Ohio had to begin life empty-handed. He read law in the office of Houk & McMahon of Dayton and after thorough preliminary study was admitted to the bar in the district court at Hamilton, Ohio, in August, 1868. He at once en- tered upon the private practice of his profession and although advancement at the bar is proverbially slow he gradually worked his way upward, the nature of his legal interests becoming constantly of a more and more important character, while his clientage also showed a marked annual increase in its extent. In 1875 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Montgomery county and served with distinction in that office for four terms, covering a period of ten years in all. In other ways he was closely associated with the public interests of the city, acting as a member of the police board of Dayton for four years, while at all times he gave active cooperations, which he deemed essential to the public wel- fare.
In December, 1875, Mr. Sprigg was united in marriage to Miss Mary Flora Helfrich, of Dayton, and unto them were born two children: Helen Mary, who was born June 10, 1877, and died on the 28th of December, 1891; and Carroll,
-
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who was born June 16, 1879, and was graduated from Yale University in 1901, while later he completed a course in Columbia University, and is now a member of the law firm of Fitzgerald & Sprigg. The wife and mother passed away in May, 1885, and Mr. Sprigg never remarried.
Carroll Sprigg was married June 14, 1906, in Dayton to Miss Charlotte Louise Brown, a daughter of Charles H. and Ada B. Brown. Unto them has been born a son, John McMahon Sprigg.
In addition to the practice of law Mr. Sprigg figured prominently in busi- ness circles as the secretary and treasurer of the Dayton Ice Manufacturing & Cold Storage Company, filling that position for many years. However, he re- garded the practice of law as his real life work and ranked among the ablest criminal lawyers of the Montgomery county bar. As prosecuting attorney he gained the confidence of the law-abiding community and awakened the fear of evil-doers. His standard of professional ethics and practice was high and his knowledge of the law and of human nature was profound. In nearly forty years' continuous service at the bar he earned the confidence of the people, the regard of his fellow practitioners and the reward of diligence and conscientious devotion to his profession.
In his political views Mr. Sprigg was a stalwart democrat of the Andrew Jackson school and he was a deep student of civic problems and of questions of importance before the public, relative to the political, economic and sociological conditions of the country. He was a member of the Dayton Club and of the Antlers Club, and became a charter member of the Smizers, joining that society on its organization in 1884. Six years later he was elected its secretary and treasurer and in 1891 was honored with the presidency. In point of years he was the oldest member of the society. He became a charter member of the Mont- gomery County Bar Association, which at the time of his death met to take action relative thereto and passed a series of resolutions expressing the high- est regard for Mr. Sprigg in both his personal and professional relations. He was also a trustee of the Dayton Law Library Association from 1881 until the time of his demise on the 26th of January, 1907, and when he lay seriously ill the board of trustees unanimously passed the following resolutions : "Resolved, That we note with very great regret the absence from our annual meeting of our long-time friend and associate on the board, Hon. John M. Sprigg, who is confined to his home by illness. We both miss his welcome and familiar pres- ence and feel the loss of his valuable counsel and assistance, by which the library has profited for so many years. At this time when we are exchanging congratu- lations upon our well equipped library, our enlarged quarters and good financial condition, results which he has helped so efficiently to bring about, we especially regret that he is not with us to share the pleasure as he did the labor. We desire, through our secretary, to inform him of the passage of this resolution, and to assure him of our affectionate regard and esteem, our personal sympathy in his illness and our sincere wish that he may soon be restored to health."
Mr. Sprigg was a man whom to know was to respect and honor because of his fidelity to high ideals and the wise use which he made of his time and talents. That he was a singularly modest and unostentatious man is indicated by the fact that during his last illness he requested that no elaborate mention be
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made of him in the newspapers. However, the consensus of public opinion ac- corded him prominence as a representative man of Dayton and one well worthy the fullest respect of his associates.
WEBSTER L. KLINE.
Webster L. Kline is engaged in the management of a fine farm of one hun- dred acres in Butler township, Montgomery county, which is owned by his father, Edward Kline, and while he devotes his attention to general agricultural pursuits he has made much more than a local reputation as a breeder and raiser of fine Duroc-Jersey hogs. He has always lived in this county, where he was born February 7, 1883. His grandfather, Henry Kline, was a native of Ham- burg, Germany, born March 6, 1813. He came to the United States in 1820 and was married here to Mary Hosier, of Butler township. They reared a family of three children and continued residents of this part of the state until called to their final rest. The death of Henry Kline occurred February 20, 1896, while his wife passed away February 22, 1891, their remains being interred in the Poplar Hill cemetery. Their children were Jane, Belle and Edward, and Jane died February 3, 1909.
Edward Kline, the father of Webster L. Kline, was born August 15, 1853. at Chambersburg, in sight of the farm on which he now lives and to which he removed when fifteen years of age. His parents gave him the opportunity of at- tending the public schools through the period of his youth so that he acquired thereby a good practical English education. He afterward turned his attention to farming, taking up the vocation as a life work and continued actively in that department of labor until his retirement about six years ago. He has been very active in county and township work and is an influential citizen of the community, for it is generally recognized that when he endorses any movement it is such as will work for the best interests of the district at large. In 1879 he was united in marriage to Miss Sella Johnson, a daughter of Jesse and Belle Johnson. Her father was born in Butler township, Montgomery county, Ohio, while her mother was a native of Greenville, Ohio. She came to Dayton at an early age and here gave her hand in marriage to Jesse Johnson. For some years they lived upon a farm adjoining the Kline place but at length sold out and removed to Fidelity, Ohio, where they still reside. Mr. Johnson served for a time as postmaster of the town but is now living retired.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kline was blessed with two children, Jesse and Webster, the former born August 3, 1881. The latter was born Feb- ruary 7, 1883, and enjoyed the advantage of instruction in the schools of Chambersburg. He afterward pursued a commercial course in A. D. Wilt's Commercial College, at Dayton, in 1905-6, after which he returned to the farm and took charge of the property. He has since been busily employed in carrying on general agricultural interests and is today managing one hundred acres of fine farming land which responds readily to the care and labor which he bestows upon it. He has made for himself an enviable reputation as a successful breeder
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of Duroc-Jersey hogs and has hogs that are of the progeny of Rhine Chief and Queen II. Rhine Chief is one of the most famous male hogs in the entire coun- try. Mr. Kline now raises and sells hogs for breeding purposes and expects to increase his business in the near future, making plans to give to it more of his time.
In local political circles Webster L. Kline is well known as an active democrat, doing all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of the party. He attends the Christian church but his parents are members of the United Brethren church at Vandalia, Ohio.
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