USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 86
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On the 10th of October, 1901, Rabbi Lefkowitz was married in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Miss Sadie Braham, who takes an active interest in his work. They now have three children, two sons and a daughter. Endowed with strong intellect and keen perceptive qualities, Rabbi Lefkowitz in the various relations to which his work and his interests have called him has displayed a thorough understanding of each situation and an appreciation of his advantages and opportunities. He has, therefore, always sought and utilized the former and improved the latter and has made steady progress in lines of activity that have resulted most beneficially for his church and for the community at large.
JOSEPH EDWIN LOWES, M. D.
Dr. Joseph Edwin Lowes held distinctive precedence as one of the most prom- inent residents of Dayton, where he was recognized as an eminent physician and where his labors along other lines were of a character that contributed in large and substantial measure to the growth and upbuilding of the city. He was connected with railroad building and was the promoter of the street railway and interurban railway systems of this city. His influence, too, was felt in municipal affairs and in political circles and thus he left the impress of his individuality upon many events in public life. He was born July 25. 1848, in Onondaga, Ontario, Canada, his birthplace being an old Indian village among the "Six Nation" Indians of Canada. He represented one of the old families of the North of England, his an- cestors being prominent in that section of England, which bordered on Scotland in the days of Scotch invasions. His parents were John Lowes and Isabella Bateman. They were married February 13, 1841, at Moat Hall, Irehy, Cumber- land, England, and after their marriage went direct to Canada, settling at Brant- ford, Ontario. John Lowes operated a grain business between Brantford and Hamilton, transporting the produce with teams, before the railroads were built. Later he removed to Onondaga.
In the public schools of Brantford, Dr. Lowes pursued his education to the age of sixteen years, when, determining upon the practice of medicine as a life work
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he matriculated in the Cleveland Homeopathic College at Cleveland, Ohio, and was graduated in 1867, at the age of nineteen years, although according to the law of the state a college could not award him his diploma until he had attained his majority. When the law allowed him to enter into active relations with the pro- fession he located in Dayton and took the practice of Dr. Jacob Bosler. From the beginning his professional career was one of continuous advancement resulting from his superior ability and his close study of important problems relative to the work. He continued in practice alone until he was forty-five years of age, at which time-he admitted George W. Miller, of Cincinnati, to a partnership, owing to the development of the People's Railroad Company, then the old White Line, and of the Dayton Lighting Company. He was among the leading promoters of both and after about six years he gave up the practice of medicine entirely that he might give his undivided attention to his business interests. He was chosen president of the Dayton Lighting Company and at one time controlled the electric light plant of this city, of Richmond, Indiana, and of three Kentucky towns- Covington, Newport and Dayton. Moreover, he was the father of street electric railroads in Dayton as well as the traction railroads, being one of the original stock- holders of the Miamisburg traction line, now the Ohio Electric Railway Company. He also built and operated the road of the Dayton & Western Traction Company of Dayton, the Dayton & Northern Traction Company, and was just completing the line of the Dayton & Muncie Traction Company at the time of his demise. In all his business affairs he displayed an initiative spirit that gave him a position of leadership. He closely studied the situation, his keen insight enabling him to understand its possibilities, and in the wise utilization of his opportunities he reached the goal of prosperity and at the same time contributed in substantial measure to the upbuilding of the city and of this portion of the state. His co- operation was sought in the management and control of various important in- dustries and all with which he became connected profited by his sound judgment and keen discrimination. He was president of the Wagner Water Supply Com- pany and of the Bradley Cordage Company, was one of the directors of the T. M. Roberts Supply Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and at one time the pro- prietor of the Dayton Evening Press. His activities therefore touched many lines and his interests were a potent element in the upbuilding and prominence of Dayton.
Dr. Lowes was not unknown in military circles, for he served as surgeon of the Third Ohio National Guard and was with that regiment in the railroad strike at Newark. He was also surgeon general of Ohio on Governor Bushnell's staff. and was active in preparing the Hospital Corps of Ohio for the Spanish-American war. He had charge of a hospital relief train, which went to all the southern posts and brought back home the Ohio boys who were ill. He received compli- mentary mention from the United States government on his record of not losing a man on his relief expedition and on the equipment of the Ohio Hospital Corps. ITe was also a member of the examining board at the National Military Home at Dayton for fifteen years and for a number of years did effective work in behalf of the cause of public education as a member of the school board. In politics he was a stanch republican and took an active part in city and national politics, doing all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of the party. In his
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earlier years he held the office of councilman and at one time was police com- missioner. He was chairman of the Montgomery county executive committee for a number of years and his efforts in behalf of republican success were far-reaching and effective. He was instrumental in organizing the Garfield Club and aside from this he belonged to the Knights of Pythias and to the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks.
In Dayton, on the 28th of December, 1868, Dr. Lowes was married to Miss Melozena Bosler, the only daughter of Dr. Jacob Bosler, whose practice he as- sumed when he first came to Dayton. The death of Mrs. Lowes occurred in March, 1870. Their only daughter, Isabella Bateman, born February 25, 1870, was mar- ried October 30, 1889, to John R. Mann, at Brantford, Canada. In February, 1878, Dr. Lowes was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Emma J. Wheeler, a daughter of Ira and Mary Robbins, of Union county, Ohio. The children of this marriage are: Alberta, who was born December 1, 1879, and was married October 16, 1900, to Ralph E. Deweese, of Dayton ; and Joseph E., who was born November 15, 1883, and was married January 25, 1905, to Mary F. Schaeffer, of Dayton. The husband and father died May 24, 1905, at Pasadena, California. His death brought a sense of personal bereavement to the entire com- munity, for he had been most active in its public life and had won many friends throughout the period of his residence here. Not the good that comes to us but the good that comes to the world through us is the measure of our success, and when judged in this light, Dr. Joseph E. Lowes was an extremely successful man. He founded and developed some of the most important enterprises of Dayton but it was not alone the extent of his business interests that entitled him to distinction. The course that he followed in all of his business relations might well serve as an example to others, while the spirit which he displayed in all of his relations to his fellowmen gave him a strong hold on their affectionate regard. He did much toward molding public thought and action during the years of his residence here and at all times he was actuated by high ideals of citizenship and of patriotism.
GEORGE MONROE LEOPOLD.
George Monroe Leopold, lawyer and lawmaker, whose ability as a practi- tioner has gained him a foremost place at the Dayton bar, was born on a farm near Trotwood, Montgomery county, Ohio, August 22, 1864. The ancestral history of the family is traced back to Germany, the birthplace of his great-grandfather who, crossing the Atlantic to America, became a resident of North Carolina in the eighteenth century. George Leopold, the grandfather, was born in North Carolina but spent the greater part of his life in Maryland and Virginia. He was educated for the ministry but in 1849 left his church work to join the great body of people who were making their way to California, attracted by the dis- covery of gold on the Pacific slope. There he remained until 1870, when he came to Ohio to visit his son Charles W., with whom he remained for about a year. He then returned to the west, where his remaining days were passed.
GEORGE M. LEOPOLD
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Charles W. Leopold, the only son of. George Leopold, was born in Mary- land in 1833 but was reared in the Shenandoah valley of Virginia, his mother dying at his birth. At the time of the Civil war he joined the Confederate army as a member of General "Stonewall" Jackson's foot cavalry. He was captured at the second battle of Bull Run and, following his release, came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1863. Here he has since been identified with general agricultural pursuits, establishing his home near Trotwood. While in Virginia he married Miss Lucretia Lutz, a native of the Old Dominion. Her father, however, was a native of the Keystone state, his family having been Pennsylvania Dutch and in early life he removed to Virginia. Mrs. Leopold still survives at the age of sixty-nine years.
George M. Leopold was the third in a family of seven children, four sons and three daughters. His youthful days were spent on his father's farm and he was early trained to the work of the fields, lessons of industry and economy being strongly impressed upon his mind during his boyhood days. Through the winter months he pursued his education in the district schools to the age of thirteen years, when he was able to provide himself with books and other necessaries and attended school more regularly, applying himself closely to the mastery of the branches taught. His aptitude enabled him to qualify for teaching when he was in his seventeenth year and for seven years thereafter he followed that profes- sion in Montgomery county. During this time he devoted his leisure hours for one year to the study of medicine, thinking to become a physician, but two years before he abandoned the teacher's profession he took up the study of law and read for one year under the direction of S. H. Carr, of Dayton, prior to his ad- mission to the bar in 1892. Immediately afterward he entered the law office of Judge C. W. Dustin, where he put his knowledge to the practical test as as- sistant in the preparation of cases and the active work of the courts. On the expiration of that period he entered into partnership with W. G. Powell under the firm style of Leopold & Powell, a connection which was maintained for three and a half years, during which time the firm enjoyed a constantly growing clien- tage and was connected with considerable important litigation.
Mr. Leopold also became a recognized factor in republican circles and upon the party ticket was elected to the state legislature in 1895. There were seven candidates, three of them seeking renomination. Mr. Leopold, however, was one of the successful candidates for the nomination and at the ensuing election led the legislative ticket, a fact which indicated the confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen and his personal popularity. He became a working member of the assembly, serving on the committees on railroad and telegraph, elections, claims, fish culture and game. During the session of 1896, in the contested elec- tion case by which Charles Q. Davis of Franklin county was unseated, Mr. Leo- pold made the principal argument for the committee on elections in an address which gained him quite a reputation and from that time on he was prominent throughout the session, taking part in most of the debates on the floor. Since attaining his majority Mr. Leopold has been known as an active campaign worker, delivering many public addresses upon the vital questions and issues of the day. On his return from the general assembly he resumed the private practice of law,
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in which he has made continuous progress, his ability being indicated by the ex- tent and importance of his clientage.
On the 12th of July, 1888, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Leopold and Miss Hattie Baker, a daughter of Joseph and Mary Baker, of Lewisburg, Preble county, Ohio. She died on the 27th of November, 1907, leaving three children : Joseph F., aged twenty years, at present studying law under his father ; Robert B., aged eighteen, who is also studying law under his father; and Dorothy, who enters Steele high school in the fall of 1909.
Mr. Leopold is a member of the First English Lutheran church and has been identified with a number of fraternal organizations, his social nature thus find- ing expression. He is a self-educated and self-made man in the highest sense of those terms. Capable of taking an impartial view of life he recognizes and meets all of the duties and obligations of citizenship and in his professional career mani- fests a fidelity to his clients' interests that has become proverbial.
JOHN H. SMITH.
John H. Smith, well and favorably known among those whose farms cluster about Miamisburg, Ohio, owns two tracts of land, amounting to one hundred and eighty-five acres upon the Centerville pike. He was born in Boston, Massachu- setts, July 20, 1833, and is the son of Fred and Elizabeth (Slough) Smith. The father came to this country from Germany, and was the first of his family to locate in the United States. He followed the trade of stone-mason and lime-burner as his life work, and died in 1905 at the advanced age of ninety-two years. The mother of our subject had passed away in 1880. In their family were seven chil- dren, namely : John H., of this review ; Joseph, a resident of Montello, Pennsyl- vania ; Levi, of Miamisburg, Ohio; Mary, the deceased wife of Frank Eckenroad, of Garglersville, Pennsylvania ; Sarah, the deceased wife of Adam Eckenroad, of Wernersville, Pennsylvania ; Eliza, the wife of Hiram Hultry, of Garglersville; and Thomas, a resident of Montello, Pennsylvania.
John H. Smith was a young man when he came to Ohio and settled in this county. He took up farming almost immediately and has since pursued that line of work, though he has recently laid aside the heavier duties of the farm and lives retired. In his young manhood he had learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for a time, but later farming demanded all of his attention. In the latter work he was more than ordinarily successful and ever evinced a commendable in- terest in the affairs of the community in which he lived and which he served as township trustee for the period of ten years.
Mr. Smith was married in 1860 to Miss Eliza A. Gottschall, who is the daugh- ter of Joseph and Charlotte Gottschall, the former being one of the county's well- to-do farmers. He died on the 22nd of May, 1887, and his wife departed this life October 25, 1900. Their family consisted of four children: John, deceased, who made his home in Miamisburg; Jacob, of Salina, Kansas; Eliza A., the wife of our subject ; and Mollie, the deceased wife of Cyrus Urmey. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Joseph, the eldest son, married Miss Mollie
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Howard, who bore him three children, Raymond, Esther and Glenna. John mar- ried Miss Hortense Menner and is the father of a son, Mark. Irvin married Miss Flora Brown, by whom he has had two children, Mary and Leonard. Lottie is the wife of James Greth and the mother of two daughters, Ellen and Maud, and a son, Lee. Maud, the fifth of this family, married Earl Leis and is the mother of four children, Mabel, Florence, Ambert and Arthur. Maggie became the wife of Frank Lucas and has three children, Josie, Lester and Paul. Jacob married Miss Ella Stine, who bore him two sons, John and Elmer. Howard married Lavina Weidner and has a son, Loran. Flora is the wife of Frank Urschel. Della, the youngest, is married to Herbert Loy.
Mr. Smith gives his religious allegiance to the Reformed church, and the many years of his life have been marked by regular attendance at its services and by adherence to its doctrines. During the decade that he was trustee of the town- ship his constituents had no occasion to complain of the way he performed the duties that devolved upon him. In short he is a man who by hard and persistent work has won a competence and also a position of confidence among fellow citizens.
JOHN G. SMITH.
Since the April election in 1902 John G. Smith has filled the office of clerk of Harrison township. He also farms on a tract of fifty-eight acres of fine land about three miles north of Dayton, on the Needmore road, and is a man prominent in local affairs, as were members of his family for several generations back. On his father's side he is descended from the Penningtons, an old English family, one of whom, Mr. Smith's great-grandfather, was a warrant officer in King George's navy during the Revolutionary war. At Philadelphia this gentleman left his ship, married, came west, and settled in Ohio. His daughter, Hannah Pen- nington, became the wife of Abner Smith, our subject's grandfather, who came from Virginia and was one of the early settlers in Clinton county, Ohio. From there his son James, John G. Smith's father, came to this county, where he is still living. During the years of his activity he was a man of means and very prominent among his fellow citizens, but now he has put aside the weightier cares of life and lives in retirement.
John G. Smith was born on the old Kennedy farm, on which he worked from early boyhood, even during the years he sought for the rudiments of learning in the old Ebenezer school. On the 20th of October, 1890, he was married to Miss Rockie Hixson, daughter of Aquilla and Naoma (Lodge) Hixson. Mr. Hixson is now enjoying the life of a retired farmer, and the honors that are bestowed upon a man who was of that gallant army that fought for the preservation of the Union. He enlisted shortly after the beginning of the war in the One Hun- dred and Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania Infantry, in Fulton county, Pennsylvania, and served in the Army of the Potomac, remaining in the service until the hos- tilities ceased.
Mr. Smith's religious allegiance is given to the Methodist Episcopal church of Ebenezer. With the Vandalia Lodge, I. O. O. F., he enjoys many a social
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gathering, for he is a popular man, highly esteemed among those who know him best. His reputation as a man of commendable public spirit has been strengthened during the seven years he has been the incumbent of the clerk's office, and it is sincerely hoped that he will not soon be released from his duties.
ELDON H. KERR.
If "Biography is the home aspect of history," as Wilmott has expressed it, it is certainly within the province of history to perpetuate and commemorate the lives of those men whose careers have been of signal usefulness and honor to the community in which they reside, and in this connection it is not only compatible but absolutely imperative that mention be made of Eldon H. Kerr. one of the most able and learned members of the Dayton bar and a citizen whose activity in other directions has been of intense usefulness to his fellowmen through his cooperation in many movements relative to the public welfare.
He was born and reared in Miami county, Ohio, a representative of the James Kerr family of that locality, and came to Dayton in April, 1873, after having pursued a course in the National Normal School, at Lebanon, and also attended the law school of the Michigan University at Ann Arbor. He likewise studied law in the office of Hon. David A. Houk and was admitted to practice in 1874. After a trip west he opened an office in the fall of that year in Dayton and has been in the practice of law in this city continuously since. He at once took a prominent place at the bar and soon afterward suggested and promoted the organization of the Bar Association, which has continued up to the present time. In the practice of his chosen profession he has won many important suits. Against an especially strong and vigorous defense he won the case of Mahler versus Hecker, reported on the LXIV Ohio State Report, a case of much promi- nence on account of the principles involved. He also had considerable criminal practice and has gained a high reputation therein. The first case which he tried was a criminal case which he won with much credit to himself, and in the trial of criminal cases he has cleared more parties than any other member of the Day- ton bar. His knowledge of the law in its various branches is comprehensive and exact and he is seldom, if ever, at error in the application of a legal principle or in citing a precedent bearing upon the case. He was largely instrumental in securing the passage of the married woman's law as it is in Ohio today.
Mr. Kerr has always taken an active part in politics as a supporter of the democracy and was twice a candidate for prosecuting attorney, but failed in the nomination. In 1891 he was elected a member of the school board and served for one term. Later he was defeated for a renomination by an opposition formed by the treasurer of the board, because the law committee, of which he was chair- man, refused to recommend the payment of a bill of the treasurer, for fees for handling the school funds on the ground that there was no law for the payment of such fees. A former board of opposite politics had refused to pay this bill on the same ground. The courts afterward sustained this action. He was selected the same year, however, as attorney of the board. He has often been
E. H. KERR
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a delegate to the county and state conventions and has presided as chairman at different times. He has often been secretary or president of democratic organi- zations and has also been organizer of campaign clubs.
In municipal affairs Mr. Kerr has taken an active interest and has done much to build up that section in which he lives. He organized the South Park Improvement Association in the year in which he was married and which became very popular. He was elected its secretary and was afterward chosen as its president. Subsequently he draughted the bill which became a law, establishing the first park board for Dayton, and did much toward securing its passage.
It was on the 30th of June, 1887, that Mr. Kerr was married to Miss L. Cordelia Kranert, who was a prominent primary teacher in the public schools of Dayton. She has since taken an active part in philanthropic work, has been a director in the Boys' Club in South Park and in the local Outdoor Art Associa- tions, and is a proficient portrait painter in crayon and oil. His home is one of the most beautiful in the city and is an ocular demonstration of his good taste in beautification of home surroundings and in landscape gardening.
Mr. Kerr is very fond of literature and in 1885 he suggested and promoted the organization of the Literary Union, with Hon. George W. Houk as presi- dent. Many of Dayton's best citizens were members of this union and it flour- ished for many years. He has written much for the press concerning political, municipal and social affairs, advocating various measures, reforms and im- provements. His judgment has been ripened by experience and his opinions are at all times of a practical nature. He is a man of action rather than theory, setting to work to accomplish ends while others discuss plans. A gracious presence, a charming personality, superior legal wisdom, purity of public and private life and the quiet dignity of an ideal follower of his calling combine to make Mr. Kerr one of the distinguished and honored residents of Dayton.
J. L. TRAVIS, M. D.
Dr. J. L. Travis, a well known physician of Germantown and one of the younger generation who is making for the advancement of the profession here, was born in Butler county, Ohio, April 15, 1866, a son of Rev. G. L. and Catherine (Mars- ton) Travis. On both sides Dr. Travis is descended from families that have played a large part in the early history not only of the state of Ohio, but also of the whole nation from colonial days. His paternal ancestors came originally from England at an early date and his paternal great-grandparents, Amos and Ann (Decker) Travis, were the founders of the family in this state. Amos Travis was born at Peekskill-on-Hudson, New York, in 1756 and lived to the advanced age of one hundred and two years, dying in 1858. . His remains were interred in the Colonel Johnson cemetery, at Piqua, Ohio. He was a farmer by occupation and cleared and improved a tract of land in Butler county, this state, where he was numbered among the earliest settlers. His son, Isaac Travis, the grandfather of our subject, was born in New York state in 1814 and became a wheelwright by trade, following that occupation after the removal of the family to Butler
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