USA > Ohio > Ohio's progressive sons; a history of the state; sketches of those who have helped to build up the commonwealth > Part 84
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William McKinley from the church to the cemetery at Canton, Ohio. It also served as escort to President Roosevelt, army and navy officers, etc, on same occasion. The band has appeared before the following prominent men of our country: Presidents Grant, Gar- field, Arthur, Cleveland and Harrison ; Generals Miles, Howard, Lawton, Rosecrans, Sher- man, Logan, Bates; Dewey, and in fact all the statesmen and soldiers that were prominent before and since the band was organized. During the Spanish-American War the band received the name of "McKinley's Own," and now bears that title wherever it goes.
H. Clark Thayer,
Principal of the Military Band Department of the celebrated Dana College of Music at Warren, Ohio, is recognized as among the leading soloists and conductors in the United States. He was born on the 19th of September, 1860, at Limesville, Pennsylvania, being the thirteenth child of Daniel C. Thayer and Sophronia Bartlett Thayer. His father was born in Essex County, Vermont, and came with his parents to Bloomfield, Trumbull County, Ohio, in 1815. Professor Thayer's paternal ancestors, Richard and Thomas Thayer, emigrated from England about 1630 and settled in Massachusetts, giving their settlement the name of Braintree, in honor of their home town, Braintree, Essex County, England. Their descendants were identified with the history of the United States, serving in the Revolutionary army and also in the War of 1812 against England. One of Mr. Thayer's ancestors, Ebenezer Thayer, was H. CLARK THAYER appointed by the Government to go to Ger- many and study the military schools in that country. The knowledge he had gained very materially aided in the establishing of the West Point Military Academy. Professor Thayer's grandfather cut the first tree felled by a white man in Bloomfield Township, Trumbull County, Ohio. On his mother's side, Pro- fessor Thayer's ancestors also fought in the Revolutionary army, one of them serving as Captain under the immortal Washington. Professor Thayer received a careful education in the common schools at Linesville and at the Westfield Academy, New York. He dis- played a marked musical ability when still a boy, and at the advice of friends he was given in care of good teachers, beginning his musical studies at the age of ten years, under the instructions of an older sister. When nineteen years of age he was placed in Dana's Musical Institute, where for some years he studied in the Military Band Department, mastering his instrument, the trombone, and excelling in orchestral and military band composition and arranging. Upon his graduation, in 1881, he was immediately added to the Faculty, hold- ing his position for a number of years with marked success, and being at the head of the Military Band Department. Leaving Warren, Professor Thayer located in Canton. Here he organized Thayer's Military Band, a musical organization, which in the course of years, and under his able leadership, became one of the foremost bands in the country. In 1903
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he received the Fellowship Degree from Dana's College of Music, in September of which year he was again selected to take charge of the Principalship of the Military Band Department of that famous musical institution. Professor Thayer is a musician of great talent and of broad experience. He is a student, and takes advantage of every opportunity to improve himself in his chosen profession. Some time has been spent by him in Boston, under compe- tent directors, where he further broadened under their advice and schooling. Travel and musical association have added to his store of knowledge, until to-day his standing in the musical world is firmly established. Professor Thayer started upon his professional career at the age of sixteen, when he began teaching and playing in public. In 1893 he was con- ductor of the Fifth Regiment Band at the World's Fair at Chicago. He also was a member of the Music Committee for Mckinley's funeral, and a member of the Auxiliary Board for the raising of funds for the Mckinley Memorial. At present Professor Thayer is Principal of the Military Band Department of Dana's Institute and director of the Grand Army Band at Youngstown, Ohio. In June, 1903, he was elected President of the Alumni Association of Dana's Institute. In recognition of his abilities a number of gold medals have been pre- sented to him from different societies, and among them a very fine medal from his Alma Mater. As a composer he is well known, his compositions being found in catalogues of the leading publishers and repertoires of the better musical organizations. Among his coin- positions are Overture "Triumphal" for orchestra ; two Sonatinas, in F and C, for piano; Variations on Stephen Foster's "Massa's in the Cold Ground ;" Variations on the German theme, "Long, Weary Day;" "Brazileio," a Brazilian dance, and a number of military marches. He also was associated with his nephew, Mr. B. D. Gilliland, in writing the opera, "In Guam." As a director, Professor Thayer is graceful, energetic, artistic and inspiring ; as a teacher he has met with marked success, a number of his pupils holding prominent positions in the musical world. In 1881 he was united in marriage to Lucy E. Tyler; three children, one son and two daughters, are the issue of their union. Professor Thayer resides with his family at Warren, Ohio.
Harry Clyde Brooks,
Was born in Painesville, Ohio, on the 15th of February, 1859. In his early childhood he began the study of the pianoforte, which he continued for many years, and has always taught it with eminent success. After completing his High School course he went to Oberlin, Ohio, to avail himself of the superior advantages afforded by college and Conserv- atory of Music. In 1881, having completed a thorough course in piano, voice and theory, he graduated from the Conservatory. He became director of the Musical Department at Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, in 1882, which position he filled satisfactorily one year, when he resigned to continue his studies abroad. Mr. Brooks possesses a flexible tenor voice, pure in quality, ranging from low G to D in alt. Wishing to continue the study of the voice, he went to Milan, Italy, and from 1883 to 1885 was a private pupil of Sig. Antonio Sangiovanni, the celebrated singing master of the Royal Conservatory. With him he studied the tenor roles of twenty-five operas and numerous other songs and arias. Sig. Francesco Mottino was also his instructor in dramatic action, and Mme. Gaetana Bogoni in the Italian and French languages. After singing at an artists' recital at the Royal Con- servatory he returned to Oberlin and taught three years in the Conservatory of Music. In 1888 he went to Berlin and studied German songs and arias with Mme. L. Heritte-Viardot for several months. He then returned to America to resume instruction in voice culture and artistic singing. In 1890 he assumed direction of the Bach Society of the Woodland Avenue Presbyterian Church, Cleveland, and gave concerts and pupils' recitals in the city. In 1893 ill health caused Mr. Brooks' retirement to the country, where he taught privately for a time. In
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1898 he was invited to assume charge of the Music Department of Lake Erie College, Paines- ville, which position he has filled very successfully since that time. All courses of music study have been systematically arranged according to Conservatory methods. The Con- servatory building contains a beautiful concert hall, with a very large pipe organ, and the teachers' studios and students' practice rooms are very well equipped with new pianos and other large organs. Steinway & Sons grand pianos are used for recitals and for teaching purposes. The growth of the department has far exceeded the expectation of the college President and Trustees. Since Mr. Brooks' appointment such artists as Mr. Josef Slivinski, Mr. Leopold Godowsky, Frl. Adele Aus der Ohe, Mrs. Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler, Mr. E. A. MacDowell, Miss Maud Powell, Miss Leonora Jackson, Miss Bertha Bucklin, Miss Lillian Littlehales, Mr. Frederic Archer, Mr. Samuel P. Warren, Mr. Edwin Lemare, Mr. William Carl, Mr. Francis Fishers Powers, Mr. William Rieger, Dr. Carl Dufft, Mr. Max Heinrich and Miss Julia Heinrich, Mr. Herbert Whittierspoon and Mrs. S. C. Ford, besides many others, have appeared at the college. Mr. Brooks has appeared repeatedly as a soloist in the "Eli- jah," "Messiah," Gounod's "Messe Solennelle to Saint Cecilia," and similar works; also other concerts and recitals, and has sung with such artists as Mrs. Corinne Moore-Lawson, Miss Christine Nielson, Mr. Myron W. Whitney, and many others. Mr. Brooks has traveled extensively through England, Scotland, France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, listening to concerts and opera in nearly all of the great art centers of Europe. He also visits New York and Boston frequently, besides other American cities, in order to preserve intimate acquaintance with all that is progressive in the art of music. Having visited Bayreuth and Munich in 1902, he has instituted a course of lectures on the subject of Richard Wagner and the Bayreuth Festival, with stereopticon illustrations of rare artistic value. In the summer of 1905 Mr. Brooks went abroad and visited all the musical centers of Europe. Mr. Brooks has compiled works on harmony for theory classes, and has written and published music for use in his work. He has been a most successful director of church choirs and vocal clubs. Several of his pupils have held prominent church choir positions in the city of Cleveland, and those who have appeared in concert and oratorio have been favorably received.
J. M. James,
Supervisor of Music in the public schools of Alliance, Ohio, is a teacher of music of more than local reputation. His experience in his chosen profession has been long and varied. That he is thoroughly capable of filling the responsible position which he now holds is evidenced by the rapid progress the pupils of the Alliance schools make in their musical studies. He is a careful and conscientious teacher, and having a natural love for the art, his enthusiasm is reflected in those who come under his immediate supervision. Mr. James is a married man, and resides in the city in which his name is so well and favorably known-Alliance, Ohio.
Frederic Wm. Striebinger,
Was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where he obtained his early education and began his pro- fessional training, continuing the same in Columbia College. In 1893 he went abroad and entered the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris, where he remained for four years. During his stay abroad Mr. Striebinger also traveled extensively, visiting the principal cities on the Continent and the British Isles, carefully studying their innumerable architectural treas- ures. Returning to Cleveland in 1897, Mr. Striebinger opened his present offices in the New England Building, where he has since been engaged in professional practice. Mr. Striebinger
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FREDERIC WM. STRIEBINGER
is a member of the American Institute of Architects, The Cleveland Architectural Club, The Cleveland Art Club, The Water Color Society and many local social organizations.
J. D. Luse,
Formerly Supervisor of Music in the public schools at Sandusky, Ohio, and now engaged in the publishing business at Columbus, Ohio, is a man whose name is well known in musical circles all over the country. He is conceded to be thoroughly familiar with all the details of his former profession, not only as a teacher, but also as an instructor of teachers. He has had a wide and varied experience, and is a com- poser of note. He has written different works on musical education, and his text-books rela- tive to that art are well known all over the country. He also has composed many songs, J. D. LUSE piano pieces, etc. Mr. Luse has devoted the greater part of his life to the development of music in the public schools of the State, and it may be said that he has been highly suc- cessful in his profession. The position occupied by the schools of Sandusky, Ohio, in musical matters is largely attributed to the splendid teaching of the able gentleman who formerly had charge of the music department of those schools. He came to Columbus in 1904, and since that time has taken a lively interest in all musical matters of the Capital City. Mr. Luse is a man of family and is the father of a number of children, all of whoni have inherited a natural musical talent.
John F. Stockdale,
Attorney at law at Cambridge, Ohio, is conceded to be one of the representative lawyers of Guernsey County. He is a native of Ohio. After leaving school he decided to take up the study of the law, and after being admitted to the bar, he immediately opened an office in Cambridge and began the practice of his chosen profession, in which he has attained a high standing. Mr. Stockdale is a lawyer of extraordinary ability. His experiences have been varied and extensive, and he enjoys the full confidence of a large and lucrative clientele, as well as of his fellow practitioners. In political belief, Mr. Stockdale is an ardent Repub lican, affiliated with that party since he became of age. He has served his party in many capacities, as well in the councils as on the stump during numerous campaigns. He is a forceful speaker, his arguments are convincing, and he is able in debate. His residence and offices are located in the pretty city of Cambridge, Ohio.
C. E. McAfee,
Teacher of music in the cities of Canton and Wooster, Ohio, is recognized as one of the most able instructors in his part of the State. He is a native Ohioan, born, bred and edu- cated within the limits of the Buckeye State. When quite young, he showed a remarkable talent for music and consequently was given in care of the very best teachers of music obtainable. Subsequently he attended the music department of the Wooster University, from which institution he graduated with honors, after which he took up the profession of
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GEORGE C. STEINEMANN
teaching music, and it may truthfully be said that he has been very successful from the beginning. He has large classes of pupils, both in Wooster and in Canton. He is a thorough and conscientious teacher. He has often ap- peared in public as soloist with marked suc- cess. Though Mr. McAfee is still a young man, he has demonstrated his ability as a teacher as well as a practical musician, and there is no doubt that he has a brilliant future before him.
George C. Steinemann,
An attorney at law, formerly of Sandusky, Ohio, now located at Bend, Crook County, Oregon, is a young lawyer who undoubtedly has a brilliant future before him. He is of German descent, a native Ohioan, born at Minster, Auglaize County. His father, Theo- dore B., is a well known and prominent mer- chant of Auglaize County, where he was born and reared. Mr. George C. Steinemann re- ceived a thorough education in the schools of his home county, after which he entered Ohio State University, where he graduated in 1902. After his admission to the bar, he became associated with the firm of King & Guerin, of Sandusky, one of the most prominent law firms of the State of Ohio. In the spring of 1904 Mr. Steinemann left his home State to accept an important position with a large corporation in Oregon. Mr. Steinemann is a young man of exemplary habits, affable manners, and thoroughly grounded in the principles of his profession. It is said Mr. Steinemann has very recently received a most flattering offer to become associated with one of the most prominent law firms in Northeast- ern Ohio, and there is a possibility that we may soon again find him in the ranks of legal practitioners in this State.
Guy Porter Benton,
President of the Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, is a native Ohioan, born on the 26th of May, 1865, at Kenton. He is the son of Daniel Webster Benton and Harriet (Wharton) Benton. Dr. Benton obtained his education in the Ohio Normal University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Baker University and University of Wooster, receiving from the latter institution of learning the degrees of A.M. and D.D. On the 4th of September,
GUY PORTER BENTON
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JOHN C ROGERS
Attorney at law at Cincinnati, Ohio, with offices in the Johnston Building, that city, was born on the 7th of June, 1871, in Campbell County, Kentucky. His father, James Rogers, was a wagon maker and a native of Ohio; his mother, Mary Flanagan, was born in Campbell County, Kentucky. Mr. Rogers traces . his ancestry directly on his father's side to John Rogers of Mayflower fame. Mr. Rogers was educated in the schools of Cincinnati. He is a graduate from the Cincinnati Law School, from which institution some of the greatest men of the country have graduated. After his graduation in 1895 Mr. Rogers was admitted to practice and immediately opened an office with Powel Crosley, with whom he is at pres- ent associated. In politics he is a sound Republican and a prominent member of the Blaine Club, one of the strongest Republican organizations in the United States. Mr. Rogers is recognized as an able attorney, and enjoys the confidence of a large and flourishing clientele.
Moulton Houk,
Of Toledo, General Passenger Agent of the Ohio Central Lines, is a native son of Ohio, having been born in Sandusky. Early moving to Chicago, he there grew into manhood returning to Toledo as a young man, just ready for the business world. After filling various clerkships in headquarters' offices of what is now the Clover Leaf Route, in 1886 he
1889 he was married to Dolla Konatz, at Arcadia, Kansas. Dr. Benton was elected President of Miami University in 1902, since which time he has been at the head of that old and famous institution. From 1890 to 1895 he was Superintendent of the city schools at Ft. Scott, Kansas ; from 1895 to 1896, Assistant State Superintendent of Public Instruction of Kansas; Professor of History and Sociology at Baker University, from 1896 to 1899. In 1899 he was a member of the State Board of Education, and from 1899 to 1902 President of the Upper Iowa University. Dr. Benton is a famous Lyceum lecturer. Politically, he is affiliated with the Republican party, and in religious belief he is a member and clergyman of the M. E. Church.
John C. Rogers,
MOULTON HOUK
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was appointed Auditor and Cashier of The Toledo, Columbus and Southern Railway. When, in 1889, this railway became a part of the "Ohio Central Lines," he was made General Pas- senger Agent of the three railways constituting the system. Distinctively an organizer, the result of such systems of service, advertising and solicitation as were inaugurated have made the Ohio Central Lines a factor in the railroad world not easily to be ignored. These lines of railway seem to be the sum total of Milton Houk's excuse for living, judging from the tenacious manner in which he fights for them. His fighting qualities are, however, an heirloom, inasmuch as he records lineal ancestors in not less than six Revolutionary War patriots. In fact, Mr. Houk is an ex-President of the Ohio Society, Sons of the American Revolution. Always interested in matters military, he is now Chief Quartermaster of the Ohio National Guard, attached to the staff of Major General (now United States Senator) Dick, who is in direct command of Ohio troops. Mr. Moulton Houk is an advertiser, and it seems to be the opinion of the Ohio press, an original in that line. His work in that direc- tion has contributed much toward making the Ohio Central Lines well and popularly known. It was this fact coming to the attention of the Board of Management of the National Society, S. A. R., that resulted in Mr. Houk's holding the Chairmanship of that National Society's Press Committee during three successive administrations - those of General Breckenridge, of the Regular Army; Mr. Walter S. Logan, of New York, and the present Governor of Maryland, Mr. Warfield. A close study and observation of humanity and attention to the minute details seems to be the cause of the success of the Ohio Central Lines under his administration.
John F. Herrick,
Attorney at law at Cleveland, Ohio, was one of the four members of Cuyahoga County in the Senate of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly of Ohio, and it can be truthfully be said that the Colonel was one of the leaders of the Democratic minority in that distin- guished body. Colonel Herrick is a native of Wellington, Lorain County, Ohio, where he was born on the 23d of February, 1836. His youth was spent at work upon the farm and in attending the district schools. In the Welling- ton Academy he was prepared for college. I11 1856 Colonel Herrick went to Oberlin College, and from this well-known institution he grad- uated in the spring of 1862. Immediately upon leaving college, he raised a company for the Eighty-seventh Ohio Infantry in Wellington and Oberlin, was elected Captain and served in the Civil War until he, with his whole command, was captured by the Rebels at Harper's Ferry. He was soon after paroled, came to Cleveland and read law in the office of his brother, G. E. Herrick, and also attended the Union and Ohio State Law College, and, having previously studied law to some extent, he was enabled to graduate as early as 1863. In the same year he received a recruiting commission from Governor Tod, and he raised
JOHN F. HERRICK
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a company in Cleveland for the Twelfth Ohio Cavalry, and was made first Major of the Regiment while in camp in Cleveland, having been in the meantime notified of an exchange of prisoners, which left him free again to take up arms. With the above regiment as a part of the Sixth Division of the Twenty-third Army Corps, Mr. Herrick served during the remainder of the war, and was discharged on the 24th of November, 1865, as a Lieutenant Colonel. He was in all the battles and skirmishes in which his regiment took part for over two years, and received high commendation for his brilliant and gallant cavalry charge which he made as commander and leader of his regiment at Marion, Virginia, on the 17th of December, 1864. Upon the close of the war, Colonel Herrick returned to Cleveland and became a partner with his brother, G. E. Herrick, in law practice. They remained together until May, 1893, when Colonel Herrick became senior member of the law firm of Herrick, Athey & Bliss. During its existence it was one of the leading legal firms of the Forest City. Colonel Herrick has been a very successful lawyer, and has been retained in many cases involving not only important points in law, but also vital questions of rights and privileges, as well as enormous sums of money. Colonel Herrick is a member of the G. A. R., and he is also an active worker in the Loyal Legion. In the fall of 1901 Colonel Herrick was elected State Senator by a large majority. He served the people in a very creditable manner, and is the author of a number of important bills. He is still engaged in the practice of his profession, in which he has gained a high standing. He commands the confidence of his clients and the respect and esteem of his fellow practitioners. His office is located in the Cuyahoga Building, Cleveland, Ohio. He lives on Euclid Avenue in East Cleveland, where he has been an active member of the Board of Education and has served in other municipal boards. Since 1896 the Colonel has been affiliated with the Dem- ocratic party ; before that time he was a Republican. Colonel Herrick is married, and his family consists of his wife and six children.
WILLIAM W. CHAPMAN
William W. Chapman,
Deceased, who during his life-time was one of the most prominent Republicans of Mont- gomery County and an able and representative member of the bar of Dayton, was born on the 28th of September, 1874, near Dayton, the son of John K. and Mary E. Chapman. He received a very careful education, and after graduating from High School, prepared himself for the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1897, since which time until his death he was engaged in the practice of his chosen profession under the firm name of Chapman & Snyder. Mr. Chapman was a man of great intellectual force, affable in manners and of pleasing per- sonality. He served as a member of the State Decennial Board of Equalization from 1900 to 1901. In the fall of the latter year he was elected to the lower House of the General Assemblv, in which organization he served with great distinction. His services were of such high order that he was elected to the
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Senate of the Seventy-sixth General Assembly in the fall of 1903. While being a member of the Legislature, he served on numerous important standing committees. On the 3d of July, 1900, he was married to Miss Ellinor Clara Musselman, daughter of the late United States Consul to Breslau, Germany. Shortly after the adjournment of the Seventy-sixth General Assembly, Mr. Chapman was stricken with typhoid fever, which disease caused his prema- ture death.
Felix Rosenberg,
Proprietor and editor of the "Spectator," published at Cleveland, Ohio, is well known in this State. He was born in Vienna, the metropolis of Austria, and received his first schooling at the Austrian Military Academy, an institution for the training of officers' sons. Upon leaving that celebrated military school. he came to the United States just in time to participate in the Civil War. He retired from active service, which included a number of Indian campaigns, in 1879, and went to Cleve- land, Ohio, where he became engaged in the newspaper profession. Upon the outbreak of the Spanish-American War he was commis sioned by President Mckinley as Major in the Eighth U. S. V. Infantry, the immune regiment organized at Fort Thomas, near Cincinnati, and in the following year was promoted to a Lieutenant Colonelcy on the staff. After the war he returned to Cleveland and resumed the practice of his profession. Colonel Rosenberg is an enthusiastic member of various military societies pertaining to the Civil War, the regu- lar service and the Spanish-American War.
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