Toledo Ohio

Biography of Herschel C. Porterfield

Herschel C. Porterfield. Thirty-five years in the oil fields and thirty years as a contractor and producer constitute the record of this veteran of an industry which has brought Kansas untold wealth. Like hundreds of men of this class, he has found Independence as the most satisfactory city for residence and business headquarters. In another respect he is typical of perhaps a majority of the oil men of the country–his native state is Pennsylvania. Born in Butler County, August 10, 1856, he was one of several brothers to become identified with the oil industry in one way or another. Up … Read more

Biographical Sketch of C. Brenton Cook

Cook, C. Brenton; automobile business; born, Frankfort, Ind., Nov. 30, 1882; son of Jonathan and Dorcas Cook; educated, public schools, Rose Polytechnic Institute, Terre Haute, Ind., 1901-1905; married, Toledo, O., Feb. 3, 1910, Francis Florence Smith; one daughter, Francis Catherine; 1905-1906, graduate engineering apprentice; 1906-1909, sales engineer Bullock Electric Mfg. Co., Cincinnati, O.; 1909-1912 mgr. Allis-Chalmers Co., Toledo, O.; 1912, branch mgr. Stevens-Duryea Co.; member American Institute of Electrical Engineers; Bachelor of Science (B. S.); member Athletic Club.

Biographical Sketch of Edward F. Schneider

Schneider, Edward F.; sec’y and gen’l mgr. Cleveland, Southwestern & Columbus R. R.; born, Toledo, Oct. 19, 1862; son of P. F. and Louisa Ackerman Schneider; educated, public schools, German Wallace College, Berea, O., Philadelphia College of Pharmacy; married, Berea, Oct. 4, 1888, Helen F. Whitbeck; for twelve years with Benton, Myers & Co., wholesale druggists; ten years with Cleveland, Southwestern & Columbus; director Mansfield Ry., Light & Power Co.; Mason; K. of P.

Early Exploration and Native Americans

De Soto and his band gave to the Choctaws at Moma Binah and the Chickasaws at Chikasahha their first lesson in the white man’s modus operandi to civilize and Christianize North American Indians; so has the same lesson been continued to be given to that unfortunate people by his white successors from that day to this, all over this continent, but which to them, was as the tones of an alarm-bell at midnight. And one hundred and twenty-three years have passed since our forefathers declared all men of every nationality to be free and equal on the soil of the North … Read more

Biography of Frederick Ruder

Frederick Ruder was a pioneer in Kansas Territory in the year 1857. His home was in Leavenworth, but he was closely identified with those activities which spread out from Leavenworth over the plains to the Far West. Leavenworth sixty years ago was one of the most important cities of the Middle West. It was a river town, was thriving and bustling with trade, and to the great territory to the west, now divided among a dozen or more states, Leavenworth occupied relatively a more prominent position than Kansas City does today. Frederick Ruder was for a number of years connected … Read more

Slave Narrative of Julia King

Interviewer: K. Osthimer Person Interviewed: Julia King Date of Interview: June 10, 1937 Location: Toledo, Ohio Place of Residence: 731 Oakwood Avenue, Toledo, Ohio Age: (about) 80 K. Osthimer, Author Folklore: Stories From Ex-Slaves Lucas County, Dist. 9 Toledo, Ohio The Story of MRS. JULIA KING of Toledo, Ohio. Mrs. Julia King resides at 731 Oakwood Avenue, Toledo, Ohio. Although the records of the family births were destroyed by a fire years ago, Mrs. King places her age at about eighty years. Her husband, Albert King, who died two years ago, was the first Negro policeman employed on the Toledo … Read more

Birmingham: reflections on community

Birmingham - reflections on community

This book is the second volume of a collaborative project called “Birmingham Remembers” Residents of the Birmingham neighborhood had been interviewed in the 1980s. With this project the participants comments are organized by topic. Topics include heritage, education, religion, work, recreation, neighborhood, rituals, holidays, the Great Depression, military service, the Hungarian Revolution, activism and reminiscences.”

Biography of Isaac Burrows Snow

ISAAC BURROWS SNOW – Forty years of experience in the insurance business, preceded by several years of pioneer railroading in the West, represents the experience of Isaac Burrows Snow, who is now living retired in Bernardston. Mr. Snow is a member of the Mayflower Society, being a direct descendant of Elder William Brewster, and of Stephen Hopkins, of the “Mayflower.” Nicholas Snow, the immigrant ancestor of Mr. Snow’s line, came to Plymouth in the ship “Ann” in 1623, and had a share in the division of land in Plymouth in 1624. In 1634 he settled in Eastham, Massachusetts, where he … Read more

Biographical Sketch of John S. McCarrens

McCarrens, John S.; advertising; born, July 27, 1869; son of D. A. and Anna McGinley McCarrens; educated, public schools, Bradford, Pa., and Niagara University, Suspension Bridge, N. Y.; married, Toledo, O., June 24, 1896, Mary Sweeney; issue, two daughters and two sons; advertising mgr. and business collector; member Cleveland Advertising Club. Fond of Horseback Riding.

Biographical Sketch of Thomas William Hill

Hill, Thomas William; banker; born, England, May 30, 1847; son of Thomas R. and Mary Alice Hunt Hill; public school education; married, Detroit, Mich., July 15, 1870, Harriette C. De La. Hooke; one son, Harold H.; came to America with parents in 1850; located at Flint, Mich.; enlisted, September 1863, with the Michigan Cavalry (Custer Brigade), (Sheridan’s Cavalry Corps); served until the close of the war; with the W. U. Telephone Co. at Toledo until 1869; with the same company at Detroit, as bookkeeper and cashier, 1869-1885; transferred to Cleveland, as mgr. of their Cleveland office, 1885-1892; elected cashier Cleveland … Read more

Roots in Birmingham

Roots in Birmingham

Roots in Birmingham is a compilation of interviews with Birmingham residents, evoking the neighborhood’s history and culture. A “Birmingham Cultural Center Book” Stories collected from Judy (Farkas) Balogh, Elizabeth “Kardy”(Kordas) Boray, Anna (Potoczki) Fabos, John Gocsik, Father Martin Hernady, Margaret “Peg”(v) Horvath, Nancy (Packo) Horvath, Lillian (Kertz) Keil, William Kertesz, Mary (Christian) King, Mariska Kinsey-LaCava, Eleanor (Weizer) Mesteller, Don and Barb Nyitray, John Oravec, Paul John Slovak, William Szabo, Steven Tarczali, Barbara (Priscsak) Torok, Alberta (Taylor) Traylor, Magdalene Ujvagi, Peter Ujvagi, Pete Vas, Jr. and Martha (Boden) Young.

Slave Narrative of Mrs. Hannah Davidson

Interviewer: K. Osthimer Person Interviewed: Hannah Davidson Location: Toledo, Ohio Place of Birth: Ballard County, Kentucky Date of Birth: 1852 Place of Residence: 533 Woodland Avenue, Toledo, Ohio Mrs. Hannah Davidson occupies two rooms in a home at 533 Woodland Avenue, Toledo, Ohio. Born on a plantation in Ballard County, Kentucky, in 1852, she is today a little, white haired old lady. Dark, flashing eyes peer through her spectacles. Always quick to learn, she has taught herself to read. She says, “I could always spell almost everything.” She has eagerly sought education. Much of her ability to read has been … Read more

Biographical Sketch of William Gordon

Gordon, William; attorney-at-law; born, Oak Harbor, O., Dec. 15, 1862; son of Washington and Margaret Rymers Gordon; educated, public schools, Oak Harbor, O., Toledo Business College, Toledo, O., graduate and Univ. Michigan, LL. B.; married Port Clinton Sept. 12, 1893; Elizabeth N. Garnhard; issue, one son and one daughter; taught school in Ottawa County; served four years as deputy county treasurer, six years a member of Board of County school Examiners, six years as Prosecuting atty., all in Ottawa County; served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention at Chicago in 1896 from 9th Congressional District of Ohio; member Democratic … Read more

Biography of Samuel Theodore Howe

Samuel Theodore Howe. Beginning in 1871, when he was appointed to a township office in Marion County, Samuel T. Howe had been engaged in the discharge of duties connected with some public and official positions practically without interruption to the present time. He first attained state wide prominence in the early ’80s when he was elected state treasurer. He had also been state railroad commissioner, and for the past ten years had been the senior commissioner of the tax commission of Kansas. He was born July 23, 1848, at Savannah, Wayne County, New York, but was reared and educated at … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Joseph L. Stern

Stern, Joseph L.; attorney; born, Toledo, O., Sept. 24, 1882; son of Adolph and Rosa Friedlander Stern; educated, Cleveland grammar and High School (West); studied law in the office of L. F. McGarth, Cleveland, and admitted to practice law in December, 1903; married, Cleveland, Feb. 28, 1907, Fannie Brown; one son, Robert William Stern; one daughter, Ruth Dorothy Stern; served two terms as solicitor for the Village of Nottingham, O., Dec. 1903, entered law practice with L. F. McGarth, under firm name of McGarth & Stern; in Oct. 1909, partnership dissolved, and began to practice alone; is now located in … Read more

Biography of James C. Holland

James C. Holland. The public architecture of Kansas, especially in the capital city, is largely a record of the skill and experience of one man, James C. Holland. Mr. Holland by all the standards that can be applied is a great architect. He has gained a well deserved prominence in this profession. His experience in Kansas covers more than thirty years. At one time he held the office of state architect, but throughout his business has largely been in connection with the designing and the superintending of construction of buildings which serve a public or quasi-public purpose. A few years … Read more

King, John – Obituary

Elgin, Union County, Oregon A Direct Descendant of the Pilgrim Fathers, and an Honered Pioneer of Eastern Oregon At the home of his daughter, Mrs. E.L. Harris, in Elgin. December 12, 1904. John King, aged 84 years, 9 months, 10 days. The deceased was among the well known citizens of Union and Wallowa counties, in which territory he had made his home since 1882. A son of Jacob King, one of Ohio’s pioneer settlers, he was able to trace his lineage directly to the Pilgrim Fathers, whose landing at Plymouth Rock in 1820 (Says 1820) marked one of the events … Read more