USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 97
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Mr. Artz and his family are members of the United Brethren church of Sul- phur Grove, in which he is serving as one of the stewards and also as assistant su- perintendent of the Sunday school. He is well known in the county of his na- tivity for his honorable and upright manhood, his social qualities and his public- spirited citizenship, enjoying the respect, confidence and good will of his fellow- inen. He has gained a place of prominence among stock raisers and dealers of Montgomery and adjoining counties, by whom his opinions are largely regarded as authority. His labors have been potent elements in advancing the grade of stock in this locality and public opinion accords him a foremost place among the representatives of live-stock interests of Ohio.
ROBERT E. KLINE.
With thorough knowledge of the scientific principles and the practical phases of civil engineering Robert E. Kline, in the practice of his profession, has se- cured a gratifying and growing patronage. He was born in Miamisburg, Mont- gomery county, Ohio, February 17, 1868, and in his infancy was taken by his parents to Salem, in this county.
His father, Jonathan Kline, was long a prominent business man of Montgom- ery county and at all times enjoyed the respect and good will of his fellow citi- zens. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, and at the age of eighteen years came to Dayton, where he learned the tinner's trade. Sometime later he removed
ROBERT E. KLINE
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to Miamisburg and at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war, being then twenty-one years of age, he enlisted in the Second Ohio Infantry as a member of Company B. He remained with his regiment until it was mustered out and subsequently joined the boys in blue of Company K, One Hundred Eighty- fourth Ohio Infantry, with which he continued until the end of the conflict, proving his loyalty and valor on a number of hotly contested battle fields.
Soon after his return from the war Jonathan Kline was married on the 30th of October, 1865, to Mrs. Massey Stanfield, of Spring Valley, Ohio, and almost immediately after they removed to Salem, where Mr. Kline conducted a tin and roofing business. In 1888, however, he returned to Dayton and afterward car- ried on his store, at the corner of Fifth and Clinton streets, until about two weeks prior to his demise, when he became ill with pneumonia, passing away on the IIth of December, 1908. He was honored as a man of genuine personal worth. Honesty and reliability were two of his salient attributes and his leading char- acteristics were all of a nature that won for him the respect of his fellowmen. He had pronounced religious tendencies and was an influential member of the High Street United Brethren church. He also belonged to Old Guard Post, G. A. R., and was ever deeply interested in the social and business affairs of the order. Unto him and his estimable wife, who survives him, there were born four sons : Charles H., Robert E. and Hubert, all of Dayton; and Dr. Walter Kline, of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Robert E. Kline spent his youth in Salem and was graduated on the comple- tion of a high-school course there. He then continued his studies in Otterbein University, at Westerville, Ohio, where he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1892. He next entered Harvard, where he pursued a scientific course, being numbered among the alumni of that classic old institution of 1893, at which time the degree of Civil Engineer was conferred upon him. Having thus qualified for a professional career, Mr. Kline came to Dayton, where he opened an office and entered upon active practice. He served as county engineer and county surveyor of Montgomery county for two terms of three years each- from 1895 until 1901-and was chosen city civil engineer of Dayton for the term of 1906-07. He now enjoys a liberal private practice, having done consider- able important work in the line of his profession. He was one of the contractors who erected the Third street concrete-steel bridge over the Miami river and is now one of the contractors engaged in the construction of the Dayton View concrete- steel bridge over the Miami river. He thoroughly understands the great scien- tific principles underlying his work and is conversant as well with all of the prac- tical phases of the business.
On the 5th of June, 1895, in Dayton, Mr. Kline was married to Miss Agnes L. Lyon, and they have two sons, Robert E. and Donald C. Their home at No. 545 Superior avenue is one of the handsomest residences of Dayton View.
Mr. Kline belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and also holds mem- bership with the Foresters, the Modern Woodmen and the Junior Order of American Mechanics. He likewise belongs to the Dayton City Club, the Bicycle Club and until January, 1900, was president of the Garfield Club, serving for two years. He is a member of the First United Brethren church and in his political views is a republican, having supported the candidates of the party since age
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conferred upon him the right of franchise. While he never seeks office outside the path of his profession, he is never remiss in the duties of citizenship and has cooperated in many movements for the public good. His advancement in his profession has come as the logical sequence of his ability, which is being con- tinually augmented through his research, study and experience.
ALFRED L. KLEPINGER.
Alfred L. Klepinger is well known as a representative of the educational in- terests of Montgomery county, being principal of the school district No. 12 in Harrison township. He also has farming interests, although his professional du- ties are claiming the greater part of his time and attention. He was born on the 19th of January, 1862, on the old Benjamin Miller farm about a mile west of Dayton, this being one of the earlier settled tracts of land in the county. Like many of the pioneers of the state, the Klepingers came first from Pennsylvania, the grandfather, George Klepinger, removing from the east that he might enjoy the better business opportunities offered in this new and growing western coun- try. He therefore cast in his lot with the early settlers who were reclaiming this region for the purpose of civilization, and while he met with difficulties and hard- ships incident to pioneer life, he resolutely bore his part in the work of general improvement.
Henry Klepinger, the father of our subject, was born in this county in 1832 and was long numbered among the widely known and valued citizens of this part of the state. For many years, he successfully carried on general agricultural pursuits, but retired in 1906 in the enjoyment of well earned rest, for his activity and careful management in former years brought to him a comfortable competence. He died May 25, 1909. He wedded Elizabeth Miller and they became the par- ents of nine children : David W .; George, deceased; Alfred L .; Ellsworth ; Charles; Mary, also deceased; Llewellyn G., practicing medicine; Edwin; and Howard.
Alfred L. Klepinger was reared in the usual manner of farm lads, living the free, open life of field and meadow and learning his lessons from nature as well as from books. He has always made his home in this county and at the usual age, he entered the public schools, pursuing his studies in District No. I. He displayed special aptitude in his work and when he had mastered the branches of learning therein taught, he took a course in the Miami Commercial College, from which he was graduated. He also spent one year in the Northern Indiana Normal College at Valparaiso and a similar period in the Normal College at Ada, Ohio. He has largely supplemented his learning, however, by reading and study at home and his research and investigation have covered a wide and varied field, so that few subjects can be mentioned upon which he cannot speak intelli- gently and instructively. After completing his own education, he took up the work of teaching and has since followed the profession, winning for himself a creditable position among the representatives of this line of work. He is able to impart clearly and readily to others the knowledge that he has acquired and mani-
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fests much zeal and devotion in the daily performance of the tasks of the school- room. He is also the owner of a small farm of eleven acres in Madison township, which he devotes to the cultivation of fruit, the soil being well adapted for that purpose. His products are marketed in Dayton and he is meeting with creditable and gratifying success in that department of his business.
On the 22d of September, 1895, Mr. Klepinger was married to Miss Mary Olive Miller, a daughter of Aaron and Lovina (Helman) Miller, who removed from Darke county, Ohio to Montgomery county and became prominent farm- ing people of this locality, where they were well known. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Klepinger, were born five children but they lost their eldest child, Emerson. The others are Wilber E., Glenn L., Parker D. and Florence L.
Mr. and Mrs. Klepinger belong to the church of the Brethren and he is now the minister of the Fort McKinley church. His home is on the Salem pike, near Fort McKinley and he is now comfortably situated there. His influence is al- ways upon the side of the true, the good and the beautiful, and both in his school work and from the pulpit he impresses those who come under his teaching with the value of character.
HARRY ELDRIDGE MEAD.
Harry Eldridge Mead, of Dayton, comes of ancestry that has been distinctively American in both the lineal and collateral lines through many generations, the family having been established in New England during the earliest epoch in the colonization of the new world. The Meads were of the gentry of England and William Mead, a direct ancestor of Harry E. Mead, was born in Kent county, England. about 1600. He became the founder of the family in the new world. The next in the line of direct descent was John Mead, born in 1635, followed by Jonathan Mead, whose birth occurred in Connecticut in 1665. His son, Timothy Mead, who was born at Greenwich, Connecticut, April 22, 1701, served as a sol- dier in the Colonial wars and died in Dutchess county, New York, in the latter part of the eighteenth century. He was the father of Timothy Mead II, whose birth occurred in Dutchess county, New York, January 7, 1724, while his last days were passed in Manchester, Vermont. Truman Mead, his son and the great-grandfather of Harry E. Mead, was born in Manchester, Vermont, July 29, 1760, and died June 21, 1822, in Cooperstown, New York. Azel Mead, the grandfather, was born in Cooperstown, August 12, 1781, and spent his last days in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he passed away September 21, 1866.
Daniel Eldridge Mead, the father, started upon life's journey near Coopers- town, New York, in 1817, and in 1841 became a resident of Dayton, where he re- mained for a half century or until his death in 1891. During the period of his residence here he was closely associated with the business development and prog- ress of the city. In 1846 he was connected with others in organizing the firm of Ells, Clifflin & Company for the manufacture of paper, the business being con- ducted under the original style until 1856 when the name was changed to Weston & Mead. Three years later, in 1859, it became Mead & Weston and later changes
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in the partnership led to the adoption of the firm style of Mead & Nixon, in 1866, while a further reorganization of the business in 1881 led to the use of the name of the Mead Paper Company, under which style the business was continued until 1906 when it became the Mead Pulp & Paper Company. Thus for more than a half century the enterprise of which Azel Mead was one of the founders has re- mained an important factor in the industrial life of the city. It was also in 1846 that Mr. Mead was married in Dayton to Miss Maria H. Demarest, a daughter of Isaac Demarest, the pioneer wholesale grocer of this city. They became parents of three children : Florence, who died in 1892; Charles Durkee ; and Harry E. The wife and mother passed away in September, 1853, and in 1870 Mr. Mead was again married in Dayton, his second union being witli Ella I. Demarest, a sister of his first wife. They became parents of two sons: D. Eldridge, who died in 1907 ; and Joseph Weston, who passed away in 1900.
It will thus be seen that with the progress of the sun the Mead family have made their way westward, passing from New England to New York, Pennsyl- vania and to Ohio and in Dayton Harry E. Mead was born March 26, 1853. The public schools afforded him his educational privileges until he was given the op- portunity of attending Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, where he remained for a year and a half. He then returned to Dayton and spent six months in the Miami University at Oxford, Ohio. Subsequently he entered Hobart Col- lege at Geneva, New York, where he continued his studies for two years and on again coming to Dayton he entered the office of the Cooper Insurance Company, thus becoming his father's assistant in business. He spent three years and a half there and during the succeeding fifteen years was the head of the firm of H. E. Mead & Company, wholesale dealers in paper. In 1891 he returned to the Mead Paper Company, manufacturers, as vice-president and so continued until 1906 when the business was reorganized under the name of the Mead Paper Com- pany, of which George H. Mead, a son of H. E. Mead, is now vice-president and general manager. In 1881 Mr. Mead of this review organized the Chicago Paper Company of Chicago, jobbers in paper and was president for ten years. He has long figured as one of the foremost representatives of the paper trade in this part of the country and his excellent powers of organization, his executive ability and administrative direction have been important features in the successful control of a number of the leading industrial and commercial concerns of the city.
Dayton moreover has profited by his labors in other directions for he served as vice-president of the Dayton Board of Trade and is now a member of the Oak- wood board of education. Neither has he been unknown in military circles for in 1872 he joined the Dayton Zouaves, later known as the Irish Guard and rose to the rank of second lieutenant and later served as first lieutenant and captain, con- tinuing in command of the company until 1883, when he resigned. In 1886, he was made colonel on the staff of Governor Joseph B. Foraker and held that rank for two years. On the reorganization of the Ohio National Guard in 1899 he was elected colonel of the Third Infantry and commanded the regiment for five years, at the end of which time he declined a reelection.
On the 30th of November, 1876, Mr. Mead was married in Dayton to Miss Mary Anna Houk, a daughter of the Hon. George W. Houk, now deceased. Unto this marriage there were born four children, of whom three died in childhood, the
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surviving son being George H. Mead, who was born November 5, 1877, and is now vice-president of the Mead Paper Company. Mr. Mead belongs to the Bene- volent and Protective Order of Elks and also to the Dayton City Club, the Buzfuz Club, the Country Club and the Episcopal church. He is a man of soldierly bear- ing, strong and purposeful, accomplishing what he undertakes by reason of the fact that he has always recognized that when one avenue seemed closed there is always opportunity for the accomplishment of the same purpose in other ways. Moreover he has never regarded any position as final but rather as a starting point to larger accomplishment. He stands among the most honored and respected resi- dents of Dayton not alone because of the success he has achieved but also owing to the straightforward business policy he has ever followed.
CHARLES EDGAR ULLERY.
It seems hardly possible that a century ago Montgomery county had but few white settlers and that Indians were frequent visitors to the district, while at var- ious points among the forests of the state were found wigwams of the redmen who had ample opportunity to indulge in hunting and fishing, relieving them of the necessity for more difficult labor in order to secure a livelihood. The forests to- day have all disappeared and the land has been converted into productive fields, rich with the autumn harvests that are indicative of the fertility of the soil. Charles Edward Ullery is numbered among those who are successfully carrying on general farming in Madison township. He owns a tract of fifty-five acres on the String- town & Air Hill road about two miles north of the village of Trotwood. His birth occurred on the old Yount farm in this county on the 28th of November, 1855. He is the eighth in order of birth in a family of nine children whose parents were Moses and Mary (Christina) Ullery. The father was born near Little York in this county and as the years passed by became one of the men of affluence in this part of the state. His diligence and enterprise brought to him gratifying success so that in the course of years he became the possessor of a capital sufficient to enable him to live retired as he is doing at the present time. He makes his home in Trotwood and has reached the advanced age of eighty-three years. His father came to this county from Pennsylvania and was a very prominent and influential farmer in the carly days. In the family of Moses and Mary Ullery there were the following children: Amanda ; Jane ; Marion ; Warren ; Ellen ; Laura ; William ; Charles Edgar ; and Emma, deceased.
Charles Edgar Ullery has always lived in Madison township and his educa- tional advantages were those offered by the district schools, wherein he mastered the usual branches of English learning that prepared one for the transaction of business and the meeting of the daily duties of life. In the summer months when not occupied with his text-books he worked in the fields and learned to know the best time to plant the crops just as surely as he learned the multiplication table. He learned also to judge of the richness of the soil and to know the requirements of different crops and thus in all of his work practical experience has been the basis of his success. He has never sought to gain a livelihood in any other line of labor
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than that to which he was reared, for farming has been to him a congenial occupa- tion and his place of fifty-five acres is now under a high state of cultivation.
On the 2d of February, 1890, Mr. Ullery was united in marriage to Miss Anna Eversole, a daughter of Daniel Eversole, who was a farmer by occupation and was a native resident of this part of the state. The Eversoles resided mostly in Greene county and are prominent farming people. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Ullery has been blessed with two children, Edna Irene and Vera Isabel, both of whom are now attending school. The parents have a wide acquaintance in this part of the county and enjoy the warm regard of all with whom business or so- cial relations have brought them in contact.
JOHN EMORY GIMPERLING, JR.
John Emory Gimperling, Jr., conducting a profitable and growing business in Dayton as a manufacturer's agent, was born in Xenia, Ohio, while his mother was there on a visit from Louisville, Kentucky. He is a son of John E. Gimper- ling, Sr., who was born and reared in Hudson, Ohio, and when a young man went to Xenia. After residing in the latter place for sometime, he removed with his family to Louisville, Kentucky, and subsequently became a resident of Indian- apolis, Indiana. In fact his work took him to various places. When about nine- teen years of age, he entered the railroad service, first as a brakeman and later working his way upward until he became a railroad president. He held various offices in connection with different roads, his ability and close application winning him successive promotions. In January, 1879, he came to Dayton where he still resides. In 1901, he began business here as a manufacturer's agent, handling railroad supplies and continues in this line to the present time. He was married in Xenia, Ohio, in 1869, to Miss Eleanor A. Martin and unto them were born four children of whom one son died in infancy, while three are yet living: John E., of this review; Thomas N., who is a second lieutenant in the Twenty-first Regiment of the United States Army ; and Eleanor A., the wife of Robert Mac- Greggor, of Dayton.
John E. Gimperling was a young lad when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Indianapolis, Indiana. He was educated in the schools of Xenia and of Dayton. On leaving school in 1887, he entered the Dayton Car Service Bureau as clerk, there remaining for eighteen months when he accepted the posi- tion of secretary and treasurer of the Riverton Coal Company of Dayton. He remained with that company for two years and also with its successors, the Wain- wright Coal Company, which he represented as traveling agent upon the road for two years or until 1895. On that date, he became connected with the Milton Coal Company of Chillicothe, Ohio, as traveling salesman and so continued until 1900, when he went to Colorado, where he engaged in mining and prospecting for four years. On the expiration of that period, he returned to Dayton and joined his father in the business in which he is now engaged, the father handling railroad supplies while the son handles steam engine and steam supplies and in
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some lines they are associated. The firm now controls an excellent trade as man- ufacturers' agents, their patronage still increasing.
Mr. Gimperling belongs to the Masonic fraternity and also to No. 3, United Commercial Travelers, of which he is a past counselor. He likewise belongs to the Third Street Presbyterian church and is well known in local military circles as captain and quartermaster of the Third Infantry of Ohio National Guard. His political allegiance has always been given to the democratic party and he is a member of the board of education at the present time. He is much interested in the cause of the schools and in all matters relative to public progress, withhold- ing his cooperation from no movement which he deems of benefit to the com- munity at large.
JAMES EDWARD CONLEY.
Throughout all the ages there have been men who have been equal to the de- mands of the times; who meet the needs arising from varied and constantly changing conditions ; and who through the exertion of their powers and talents are aiding in promoting the world's work. It has been stated by scientists and men who have made a study of the question that within a comparatively brief time the forests of the country will be exhausted. But though this might at first suggest a calamity, it has even been proven that when one seeming necessity no longer exists, something has come to take its place. Already the use of lumber has been greatly lessened through the manufacture and adoption of cement pro- ducts, and it is in this connection that James Edward Conley is well known, being the president of the J. E. Conley Company, contractors for cement paving and roofing, also for general construction work. Concrete is not only rapidly taking the place of timber, but also of stone and other building materials, and Mr. Con- ley has built up a profitable and constantly growing enterprise in this connec- tion, becoming recognized as one of the leading and representative business men of Dayton.
He is a native of Yellow Springs, Greene county, Ohio, born August 18, 1867, the son of Patrick Conley, who was born in County Armagh, Ireland, in 1824 and came to America in 1850. After living for some time in Greene county, Ohio, he moved with his family to Dayton in 1869. He was married in Springfield, Ohio, to Miss Ellen Bellew and unto them were born five children: Mary Ann ; James E .; Margaret E., the wife of Frank Wirtz, of Glendale, Ohio; Catharine, the wife of William McCarthy, of Dayton ; and Patrick J., of Dayton. The husband and father died in 1906, while the mother is still living in this city.
James Edward Conley was in his second year when his parents removed to Dayton and here his youthful days were passed, his time being largely spent in the pursuit of an education in the public schools until he reached the age of seventeen years. He then started to work for the Gem City Paving & Roofing Company, with which he was connected for eight years during which time he gained broad, practical experience and comprehensive knowledge of business of that character. In 1892, he started upon an independent venture, taking contracts
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for cement paving and roofing. He still continues in this line of business and has also extended the scope of his activities to include general construction work. The contracts awarded him have called him into various sections of the country and he has also done much work in Dayton, especially in street paving. As the years have passed-seventeen in number-since Mr. Conley started in business for him- self, he has made steady progress, utilizing his opportunities to good advantage and giving entire satisfaction by reason of the thoroughness of his business methods and the excellent manner in which contracts are executed.
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