USA > Ohio > Ohio's progressive sons; a history of the state; sketches of those who have helped to build up the commonwealth > Part 43
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90
428
in caucuses and conventions, and has always given his support to the entire Democratic ticket. During the time he has lived in Fremont he has been Chairman of more Democratic conventions than any other man within the same period. In the year of 1901 he was nom- inated by his party for County Representative, but was defeated in the landslide of that year by the small majority of 31 votes. On the 6th of April, 1903, he was renominated by the Democratic primaries and elected in the fall of the same year by a plurality of 1,015 votes, receiving nearly 300 votes more than any other man on the ticket. While being a member of the Legislature, Mr. Lehmann was a member of the standing committees on Judiciary, Federal Relations and Institution for the Blind. He introduced and secured the passage of the following bills: House Bill No. 165, providing that all land owners must build one-half of all partition fences; thus revolutionizing the fence laws of Ohio. House Bill No. 320, limiting the time of the committee appointed by Common Pleas Judges to examine the County Commissioner's report to thirty days. In many counties these com- mittees were charging for one hundred days' time and more, when in fact the reports in most instances could be examined in ten or fifteen days. House Bill No. 202, giving County Commissioners of adjoining counties the power to act jointly under the Gehrett Road Law in building county line roads. House Bill No. 449, giving courts the power to fine for con- tempt in cases of nuisances of a recurring character. This is legislation that is directly aimed at the strawboard mills located on the Sandusky River near Tiffin, Ohio. For years the people of Seneca and Sandusky Counties, along the Sandusky River, and especially in the city of Fremont, were complaining of the strawboard company polluting the Sandusky River. This pollution of the river at different times killed nearly all the fish for a distance of fifteen or twenty miles below the strawboard plant, and tons of dead fish went floating down the river and lodged along its banks. The waters of the Sandusky River then became unfit for use and the stench at times became unbearable. Mr. Lehmann took up this cause of the people and promised them that in case of his election he would secure the passage of a bill to prevent the continuance of this nuisance. He began early in the session, intro- ducing a number of bills aimed at the strawboard mill on the Sandusky River. He finally succeeded in securing the passage of House Bill No. 449, thus relieving his people from a great nuisance. He also introduced and secured the passage of House Bill No. 468 and House Bill No. 560.
Mr. Lehmann is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and has been clerk of his home Camp for nine years. He also belongs to, and is Financial Secretary of the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association of Fremont, Ohio, and belongs to the Knights of Columbus, Maccabees, Woodmen of the World and Home Guards of America. He was married to Miss Lillian B. Fry, of Sandusky County on the 16th of October, 1894. They have four children, Lester L., Ruth E., William Elbert, and John.
Robert Boynton Lersch,
A member of the House of Representatives of the Seventy-sixth General Assembly of Ohio, and a prominent merchant of Elyria, Lorain County, that State, was born on the 10th of November, 1871, at Elyria. His father, John Lersch, was a native of Germany, and his mother, Pamela Boynton, a native of Ohio. His education was obtained in the Elyria Public Schools, graduating from the High School in 1889. Later he took a course in the law school of the Western Reserve University. After finishing his education he became identified with the firm of John Lersch & Co., the principal dry goods business in Lorain County. Mr. Lersch has always taken an active interest in Republican politics. His first step into public life was taken at the age of twenty-seven, when he was elected a member of the City Council
429
ROBERT BOYNTON LERSCH
in his home city. This position he held for four successive terms, being elected and re-elected in 1898, 1900, 1902 and 1903. In the summer of 1903 he was the choice of the Republican convention of Lorain County for member of the General Assembly, he being in opposition to six other candidates and gaining the nomination on the first ballot. His election followed in the fall of the same year. During the session of the Seventy-sixth General Assembly, Mr. Lersch was one of the most efficient members of that honorable body, and was a member of the standing committees on Cities (Secretary), Manufactures and Com- merce, Public Buildings and Lands (Chair- man), and Taxation. Socially, Mr. Lersch is connected with King Solomon's Lodge, F. & A. M .; Marshall Chapter No. 47 ; Elyria Lodge, B. P. O. E., and Elyria Tent, K. O. T. M. On the Ioth of November, 1897, he became a benedict, marrying Miss Helen Seward. They have one child, Dorothea.
Cliff E. McGinnis,
Attorney at law at Sidney, Ohio, was born on a farm near Plattsville, Ohio, on the 15th of November, 1875. He is the son of Thomas S. McGinnis and Laura B. Woodward McGinnis, both of whom were native Ohioans. Mr. McGinnis received his early education in the public schools of Covington, Ohio; at the Sidney Business College, and later took a course of study in the Ohio State University. Starting in public life, in 1897, at the age of twenty-two years, he was elected Clerk of Clinton Township, Shelby County, including Sidney, on the Democratic ticket, and was the only Democrat elected to that office in twenty- six years. His preferment to office was due not alone to his natural ability, but as well to the regard in which he was held by a large circle of friends for his affableness of manners and pleasant characteristics. Previous to his entering the Ohio State University, he was employed as bookkeeper for five years. In 1902 he was made Deputy Clerk of Shelby County, and in 1903 was elected on the Demo- cratic ticket a member of the Seventy-sixth General Assembly. While a member of that body he belonged to the following standing
CLIFF E. MCGINNIS
430
committees : Banks and Banking, Claims, Fees and Salaries, Taxation, and Institution for Feeble-Minded Youth. He is, as mentioned above, a resident of Sidney, Ohio, where he enjoys a splendid law practice, and where he is the center of a host of personal friends who aim to continue his political career for the service of his party and his people. He is a member of the K. of P., Elks, Knights of Kohrassen, and Independent Order of Foresters. On the 15th of September, 1901, Mr. McGinnis was married to Miss Mary D. Fisher, a resi- dent of his home city.
L. B. McNeal,
Attorney at law at Marion, Ohio, ranks among the best-known younger members of the bar of Central Ohio, and he undoubtedly has a brilliant future before him. Mr. McNeal was born on the 28th of April, 1868, at Marion. the son of Hon. J. F. McNeal, a lawyer of the highest standing. He obtained his early edu- cation in the public schools of his native town, and after a three years' course in the High School, entered the preparatory department of Wooster University, at Wooster, Ohio. After his graduation from this well-known institu- tion, Mr. McNeal entered Cornell University, from where he graduated in 1892. He is a member of the Phi Kappa Psi college frater- nity. After his graduation he immediately took up the study of law, spent two years with his father; was admitted to the bar in June, 1894, and became a member of the firm of J. F. McNeal & Sons. Mr. McNeal has always been a faithful Republican. In the fall of 1901 L. B. MCNEAL he was elected Representative from Marion County in the lower House of the Seventy- fifth General Assembly, where he was a member of the standing committees on Judiciary, Military Affairs, and Public Works. He resides in Marion.
Max Emile Meisel,
A young and prominent member of the bar of Cuyahoga County, with offices located in the Williamson Building, Cleveland, Ohio, was born in the Forest City on the 12th of August, 1876. He received his early education in the public schools of his home city, attending Cleveland Central High School, graduating from there in 1893. His education was completed in Adelbert College, and he is a graduate with the class of 1897. Resolving to devote his future to the practice of law, Mr. Meisel finally attended the law school of Western Reserve University, graduating in 1900. In that year he was admitted to the bar and entered immediately upon the practice of his profession. A close student of economics and political conditions, Mr. Meisel is particularly well adapted to successfully fill the duties of his profession. Although a young man in years, he has manifested an energetic ability and much natural power in public affairs. He has always been a staunch adherent
431
MAX EMILE MEISEL
of the Democratic belief, and has served his party in many capacities. In the fall of 1901 Mr. Meisel was nominated by the Democratic convention of Cuyahoga County for State Representative, and thereby he enjoys the dis- tinction of having been the youngest member of the Cuyahoga County delegation and of receiving the largest number of votes cast in the November election of 1901. In the Seventy- fifth General Assembly, Mr. Meisel was a member of the standing committees on Enroll- ment, Finance, Revision, and Universities and Colleges. He was one of the most valuable members of that body, both in the committee rooms and on the floor of the House. In the summer of 1902 he was the nominee for City Solicitor of Cleveland, but his opponent on the Republican ticket won by a small majority. Mr. Meisel enjoys the confidence of a large and lucrative clientele and the esteem of his fellow practitioners.
Frank Miller,
Representative from Crawford County in the House of Representatives of the Seventy- sixth General Assembly, was born in Crestline, Crawford County, Ohio, on the IIth of March, 1863, and he has lived there ever since. He obtained his early education in the public schools of his home, and graduated in 1881, after which he entered the Ohio State University in the fall of the same year, and which institution he attended until 1883. He then read law at Crestline, and was admitted to the bar in the fall of 1887. He was engaged in the practice of his profession until 1893, at which time he started what is known as the Crestline Live Stock Feeding Station, which business he now owns and manages at Crest- line. Mr. Miller is also in a number of manu- facturing enterprises, and is one of the Board of Directors of the Bench Plow Works Com- pany. Politically, Mr. Miller has always been connected with the Democratic party and has served the party of his choice often and faith- fully. He was elected Mayor of Crestline in 1896, served for two years, and was re-elected in 1898, which office he filled until 1900. In the fall of 1903 Mr. Miller was elected to the Legislature by a large majority. He was a
FRANK MILLER
432
member of the standing committees on Cities, Universities and Colleges, and Soldiers' and Sailors' Home. On the 16th of October, 1889, Mr. Miller was married to Miss Hattie N. Short, of Belle Center, Ohio.
Clyde R. Painter,
Attorney-at-law at Bowling Green, Ohio, and member of the Seventy-fourth and Sev- enty-fifth General Assemblies, is among the best-known citizens of the northwestern part of the State. He was born in Bloom Town- ship, Wood County, near Bloomdale, on the Ioth of February, 1866, and where he has always resided. His mother was of Scotch- Irish extraction, while his father was of Ger- man parentage. He was admitted to the bar after a most thorough education at the Ohio Normal University at Ada, and the Ohio State University at Columbus, and has since been continuously engaged in the practice of his profession in Wood and surrounding counties. Mr. Painter has always been a staunch Repub- lican, and in every campaign since he has reached his majority has been a potent force in advocating the doctrines of his party. He has served two terms in the General Assembly, and was conspicuous for his work along the CLYDE R. PAINTER lines of general legislation. It is not too much to say that he was among the leaders of the Republican majority, and his advice and good judgment were often sought. As Chair- man of the House Committee on Judiciary he had much important work to do, and the record shows that he did it well. He was also a member of the House Committee of Twenty-three having in charge the municipal code at the special session of 1902, and Chair- man of the Republican Standing Caucus. Mr. Painter is an able debater, a forceful and convincing speaker and a conscientious lawyer who has the confidence of his clients and the esteem of his fellow practitioners.
Franklin P. Riegle,
Attorney at law at Bowling Green, and Representative from Wood County in the Sev- enty-fourth and Seventy-sixth General Assemblies, is a native of the State of Michigan, where he was born on the 14th of May, 1870, in Van Buren County. When Mr. Riegle was but a few months old his parents removed to Delaware Township, Hancock County, Ohio, and resided there until their son had reached the age of fourteen years, when the family moved to Jackson Township, Wood County. Since that time Mr. Riegle has lived in that part of the State. Mr. Riegle is of German extraction, his grandparents having emigrated from the Fatherland. He obtained his early education in the district schools of his home county, and subsequently attended Findlay College and the well-known Ohio Normal University at Ada, Ohio. After leaving that institution at the age of seventeen, - Mr. Riegle commenced to teach school, and continued in that profession until he was
433
admitted to the bar, finishing the law studies at the Ohio State University. In this pro- . fession he has been a very successful man, and has enjoyed a splendid reputation for probity, legal knowledge and honesty of purpose. He has always been an active working Repub- lican, and in the fall of 1899 he was elected to the lower House of the Seventy-fourth General Assembly, and re-elected to the Seventy-sixth General Assembly in 1903. During his mem- bership in that body Mr. Riegle attracted the attention of the leaders of his party by his oratorical powers, sound judgment and aggres- siveness. He was an important factor in the legislation which afterwards became known as the School Code of Ohio, and he led the fight in the House for the bill abolishing spring elections, which made him very popular throughout the State. In 1895 he was married FRANKLIN P. RIEGLE to Miss Maggie J. Dunn, an educated, refined and accomplished young lady. Mr. Riegle Photo by Baker, Columbus, O. lives with his family in Bowling Green, where also he has his law office. He is a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
William Z. Roll,
A well-known lawyer of Lebanon, Ohio, and member of the House of Representatives of the Seventy-fifth and Seventy-sixth General Assemblies, was born on the 14th of October, 1865, at Butlerville, Warren County, Ohio, the son of David and Laura Long Roll, both of whom were natives of the Buckeye State. The family is of German descent, the grandfather coming to this country in the year of 1830, while the grandmother was but twelve years old when she left her native country, Alsace, and emigrated to America. His parents being poor, he worked on the farm in summer and attended school during the winter, until 1886, when he received a teacher's certificate and taught school for a period of six years. Desir- ing to obtain an academic education, he care- fully saved the money earned by him, and upon acquiring sufficient funds he came to Lebanon and entered the National Normal University, graduating from that seat of learn- ing in 1893 with the degree of Bachelor of
WILLIAM Z. ROLL
434
English. After leaving college he became Principal of the Utica school, which position he held for seven years. Becoming interested in the Valley Telephone Company, he was made general manager of that corporation. While holding this position Mr. Roll entered upon the study of law in the office of Mildon Bird and M. C. Drake, prominent lawyers of Warren County. He was admitted to the bar in 1903. and at once took up the practice of his chosen profession, in which he has so ably succeeded. Mr. Roll is also the man- ager of the Miami Valley Fruit Company, of Fort Valley, Georgia. As a Republican, Mr. Roll was in 1901 elected to the House of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly, and after the expiration of his first term, having served with distinction, he was re-elected to a second term in the fall of 1903. While a member of that honorable body, Mr. Roll was a Chairman and member of many important standing committees. He introduced and secured the passage of a bill requiring County Commissioners to act upon those bills only which have been filed at least five days previous to any action taken upon them by the Commissioners. He is an Elk, I. O. O. F., Red Man, and Knight of the Golden Eagle. Mr. Roll has been identified with the military affairs of the State. At present he is a member of Company H, First Regiment, and belongs to the State Rifle Team. He was one of the twelve who went to Seagirt, New Jersey, for competing with the rifle teams of other States for prizes. At the target competition in 1904, at Newark, Ohio, he came within three points of winning the championship of the State in the 1,000-yard range. He was married on te 22d of Decem- ber, 1889, to Frances G. Bird, by which union he is the father of five boys and one girl. His residence and office are located in the city of Lebanon, Ohio.
Charles F. Seese,
One of the notable acts of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly was the law establishing State Normal Schools at Athens and Oxford, under the fostering care and maintenance of the commonwealth. The act was an innovation in the educational record of the State and placed Ohio in line with the progressive col- leagues in the Union. The author of the bill was Hon. Charles F. Seese, a member of the House from Summit County, and Chairman of the Committee on Common Schools. Mr. Charles F. Seese, who has spent his life in the care of education and is to-day known as one of the most advanced in his chosen profession, is of German ancestry, both on his father's and his mother's side. He was born in Tuscarawas County on the 21st of December, 1858, and received his education in the common schools of his section. select private schools and the National Normal University. After graduat- ing he began the noble profession of teaching, and is now so engaged at Central High School of Cleveland. His father was one of the lead- ing men in his part of the State, and during the War of the Rebellion tried to enlist in the service of his country, but got no further south than Camp Chase, Columbus, where he
CHARLES F. SEESE
Photo by Baker, Columbus, O.
435
was rejected for physical disability. On the 29th of August, 1881, Mr. Seese was married to Miss Luella May Cummins. Mr. Seese has always been a Republican, and at different times has been Township Clerk, County School Examiner for four consecutive terms of three years each; Superintendent of the public schools at Hudson, Ohio, for eleven years, and member of the Seventy-fourth and Seventy-fifth General Assemblies. In 1903 Mr. Seese was prominently mentioned as one of the candidates for School Commissioner, but he withdrew his name before the Republican State Convention. During his term of service as legislator, Mr. Seese was known as one of the effective men of the House, both on the floor and in the committee rooms, and he left his impression on much of the legislation enacted by these Assemblies. He was particularly active along the lines of educational work, and was one of the staunchest friends of the Ohio public school system, doing all in his power for the enlargement of its scope of usefulness. Mr. Seese resides in Hudson, Ohio.
Young Stephenson, M. D.,
Member of the House of Representatives of the Seventy-sixth General Assembly from Brown County, Ohio, is a native of the Buck- eye State. He was born on the 19th of April, 1834, on a farm in Brown County. His father, Robert P. Stephenson, was a native of Ohio, while his mother, Mary Wallace Stephenson, was born in Mason County, Kentucky. Colonel Mills Stephenson, the grandfather of Dr. Stephenson, was born in the State of Delaware. He emigrated to Mason County, Kentucky, in 1792, and came to Ohio two years later, in 1794. Colonel Stephenson served in the Indian War and through the War of 1812. He built Fort Stephenson, at Fremont, Ohio, by order of the Governor, and it was given his name. His wife, formerly Jane Kilpatrick, was a daughter of Frank Kilpatrick, who was a native of Ireland, and emigrated to America in 1791. In 1791 he came down the Ohio in a YOUNG STEPHENSON, M. D. flat-boat with his two daughters, Elizabeth and Jane. When just above Maysville, Ken- tucky, then known as Limestone, the Indians endeavored to decoy them ashore, but failed. They fired upon him and killed him. His daughters came on to Limestone, where they saw their father buried. They were taken by Richard Applegate, of Mason County, and reared to womanhood. Afterwards Jane married Colonel Mills Stephenson, who died on the 30th of June, 1815. Dr. Stephenson received his education in the public schools of Ripley, Ohio, and afterwards attended Wes- leyan University for four years. At the commencement of the Civil War he returned to Brown County. He started into public life at the age of twenty-three years, teaching school for ten years. In 1864 he attended the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati, Ohio, and the year following he graduated from the Starling Medical College at Columbus, Ohio. In 1866 Dr. Stephenson located in Georgetown, where he practiced until the present day.
436
The Doctor has been a lifelong Democrat. He served as a member of the Board of Educa- tion of Georgetown for nine years, of the Town Council for four years, and was President of the Brown County Teachers' Institute for four years. He also was elected Clerk of the Courts at Georgetown, and served six and a half years. On the 3d of November, 1903, Dr. Stephenson was elected to the Legislature from Brown County. While a member of the House of Representatives he served in the standing committees on Insane Asylums, Public Printing, and Ditches, Drains and Water Courses. Socially, Dr. Stephenson is a member of the I. O. O. F., Daughters of Rebeccah, K. of P., U. R. of the K. of P., Brown County Academy of Medicine; State Medical Association, American Medical Association, and for twelve years Surgeon of the Third Regiment. On the 3d of December, 1857, Dr. Stephenson was married to Miss Susan Van Anda. He is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church at Georgetown, Ohio.
William Walker Smith, Jr.,
A member of the Ohio State Legislature, and one of the prominent young attorneys of Cincinnati, was born in Covington, Kentucky, on the 21st of November, 1870, and is a son of William Walker Smith, who is at present engaged in the real estate business in Cincin- nati, but was formerly member of the wholesale grocery firm of Hill & Smith, that for many years was engaged in business at No. 45 Vine Street, Cincinnati. Mr. Smith was three years old when his parents moved from Covington to Walnut Hills, where he has lived ever since. His early education was secured in the public schools of Cincinnati, and he afterwards com- pleted a course of study, in 1887, at the Frank- lin School. At Cornwall-on-the-Hudson, New York, he subsequently pursued the higher branches and was there graduated in 1891. Immediately afterward he took an extended tour in Europe, during which time he paid particular attention to the study of municipal WILLIAM WALKER SMITH, JR. affairs in London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Paris and Berlin. Upon his return, he studied law. in the old Cincinnati Law School, under Jacob D. Cox. His offices are in the First National Bank Building, Cincinnati. Mr. Smith was married to Blanche .Pogue, who is the eldest daughter of the late Henry Pogue, whose sketch and portrait appear elsewhere in this work. For a long period Mr. Smith has been prominent in Masonry, and no less so in the Ohio Society of the Revolution and the Elks. He is the President of the Walnut Hills Business Club. He is also a factor in politics, and has an enthusiastic following, who see in him, as a man of education, travel, enlarged views and proper public spirit, a leader of influence and ability. He is now serving his second term in the Ohio State Legislature, having been first elected in 1901, and re-elected in 1903.
437
David D. Spangler,
Of New Bavaria, Ohio, Principal of South Ridge Special School, was born on the 19th of May, 1868, in Henry County, near New Bavaria, Ohio. He is the son of Godfrey Spangler, a shoemaker by trade, and Anna M. Mess Spangler, both natives of the old country, the father emigrating from Bavaria in 1848, and the mother from Luxemburg in 1847. The parents met and were married at Defiance, Ohio, in 1855, where they resided a few years, after which they moved to New Bavaria into the wilds of the Black Swamp. Hardship, trials and privations confronted them continuously, until, the life becoming unendurable, they decided to move from that neighborhood, and with a family friend, Jacob Yetter, they made their way to St. Paul through the unbroken forest. They remained in St. Paul for a period of four years, but again deciding to brave the hardships of New Bavaria, they returned and have lived there ever since. They saw the magnificent primeval forest fall under the ax of the frontiersman, and beautiful gar- dens, productive fields and happy homes appear in its stead. Mr. David D. Spangler received his early education at St. Paul, in the St. Francis Institution, the Catholic Normal School and the Pio Nono College, at Milwau- kee, Wisconsin, from which institution he graduated on the 23d of June, 1893, as valedic- torian. Finding it necessary in early life to make his own way in the world, he studied telegraphy and was employed as operator on the Wisconsin Central Railroad at Plover, Wisconsin. Later, taking up the profession of teaching, he accepted the position of Principal of the schools, at Decatur, Indiana, and also that of organist at St. Mary's Church in that city. Subsequently he came to his present location, where he occupies the positions of Principal of South Ridge Special School and organist of the Sacred Heart Church of New DAVID D. SPANGLER Bavaria. In religious belief, Mr. Spangler is a Catholic, and is a member of the Catholic Knights of Ohio, and since 1896 Secretary of Branch 37 of that organization. In politics he has always been a staunch Democrat, and he was nominated and elected Representative from Henry County in the lower House of the Seventy-sixth General Assembly in the fall of 1903. While a member of the General Assembly he belonged to the following committees: Common Schools, Boys' Industrial School, and Elections. He introduced "A bill to allow Liberty Centre, Ohio, to transfer certain funds," which passed the House, but was lost in the Senate; "A two-cent fare bill on railroads," "Ditch notices and copies thereof," "Huckster bill," "Tile drain protection," and "A bill creating a Township Ditch Supervisor." On the 16th of August, 1893, he mar- ried Mary F. Cook, and by this union he is the father of six children-Paul B., Esther C., Mary E., Henry A., Ursula C. and Clara A. Spangler.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.