Whatever happened to the Industrialist families of Dayton? (Columbus, Cleveland: sale, college)

[IDtheftV]

Originally Posted by randomparent

So as I was perusing the Dayton real estate listings, a gorgeous home in Oakwood caught my eye....

some old pictures - including aerials back when Ridgeway and Dorothy Lane were just gravel roads.

The web site lists the address as 2605, but maybe that changed or the site is just wrong.

[randomparent]

Excellent! I wondered if there were photos of the original gardens. The estate has been restored inside, but I understand that the gardens are awaiting rehabilitation.

[randomparent]

Still not quite right with the Susanne's marriage to James McConnaughey. Her husband was not James Porter McConnaughey but rather James Parker McConnaughey, born 1908, who was the son of Clyde and Mary McConnaughey. As I said, this family is very confusing.

[Waterman71]

Originally Posted by randomparent

Still having fun with this, so how about some information on the Meads?

George Houk Mead married his first cousin, Elsie Talbott, in 1914. She was quite a bit younger than him, having been born in 1894 to his 1877. They had six children together: Elsie Louise (b. 1915), George Houk, Jr. (b. 1917), Harry Talbott, Nelson Strobridge (b. 1921), Katherine (b. 1924), and Marianna (b. 1930).

Elsie Louise married physician John Mercer Walker, maternal uncle to President George Herbert Walker Bush. They had seven children together, four boys and three girls. One daughter died of polio and two others were born with Down syndrome. Their eldest son, John, Jr. serves on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

George Houk, Jr. died at Guadalcanal in 1942. He was close friends with John F. Kennedy, who wrote poignantly about his grief following George's death.

Both Harry Talbott and Nelson Strobridge served as executives of the Mead Corporation. He was the last of the Mead heirs to have a role in Mead Corporation. Harry had a son, also named Harry Talbott, who was an accomplished race car driver.

I believe Katherine Mead remained unmarried.

Marianna married Frank "Junie" O'Brien, who taught English and coached baseball and hockey at The Groton School in Massachusetts. They had four children together.

Wow - I am very impressed with your posts - thank you.

I met Mr Mead back when I lived in Dayton many years ago and was invited out to his farm. I don't remember his first name but it must have been Nelson Strobridge and he had a daughter. I wouldn't use her name because she probably is still alive. I think the farming was a hobby of his.

So was the Elder Beerman store founded by a famous Dayton family?

[randomparent]

I would have to go back through my notes about the Meads to confirm whether or not Nelson had a daughter, because my brain has now flushed the information; however, I'll take your word for it.

As for Elder Beermans, I briefly looked up the company history, which you can find here. For genealogical purposes, the most likely candidate for descendant research would be Thomas Elder, who had the longest tenure of the three original founders of the dry goods company that launched the familiar department store. (Beerman did not come along until the middle of the twentieth century, so any research would too quickly become about living descendants.) Thank you for the suggestion. I'll add the Elders to my list of potential future research subjects.

[IDtheftV]

I met this Dayton Industrialist guy once:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loren_M._Berry

He invented The Yellow Pages. On his death his personal fortune would have been an inflation-adjusted multi-billions.

ObUselessTrivia:
I'm typing this on a keyboard that is sitting on his old desk. It's a gigantic old steel desk with deep drawers and a wood laminate top. There is a matching credenza, corner table and a bookcase.

[randomparent]

Originally Posted by IDtheftV

I met this Dayton Industrialist guy once:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loren_M._Berry

He invented The Yellow Pages. On his death his personal fortune would have been an inflation-adjusted multi-billions.

ObUselessTrivia:
I'm typing this on a keyboard that is sitting on his old desk. It's a gigantic old steel desk with deep drawers and a wood laminate top. There is a matching credenza, corner table and a bookcase.

That's pretty neat. How did you come upon his desk?

Currently working on Thomas Elder but I won't be able to post anything today. Getting my youngest ready for summer camp and lots of errands to complete today. Stay tuned...

[IDtheftV]

Originally Posted by randomparent

That's pretty neat. How did you come upon his desk?

I inherited it, indirectly. ( Not related, so no money came my way ... ) It moved to Tucson from Dayton. I've paid many thousands to move it to Albuquerque and then to Montana. It's kind-of a waste of money, but it's a kick-butt desk.

The green and brown Plexiglas replaced some real glass that started to get some sharp edges and made it difficult to shut the desktop-expanding drawers.

With all the drawers out, I can just barely slide it on carpet. The top measures 38" x 70".

[tall oaks]

"Still not quite right with the Susanne's marriage to James McConnaughey. Her husband was not James Porter McConnaughey but rather James Parker McConnaughey, born 1908, who was the son of Clyde and Mary McConnaughey. As I said, this family is very confusing."


Randomparent, Susanne was married to James Parker McConnaughey. They owned the newspaper as you stated. The home that they built together in the early 1930's is on Delco Dell in Kettering. I know, because my best friend is the current owner. They only had one son, Frederick. She did not marry Kirscher until the 1960's after her divorce from James. Kirscher worked for their paper. Fred McConnaughey lives in Kettering, minutes away from his birth home. He's a retired oceanic photographer with two daughters.


Susanne Rike McConnaughey was a prolific writer and during the 1950's had many magazine short stories (Colliers) and books published. Some of her titles are: Point Venus, Pagan in Paradise and Tropic of Doubt. They are all steamy romances set in the Polynesian islands.

[randomparent]

Originally Posted by randomparent

Back to the beginning with the Shermans...

There were two Shermans, brothers named John Q. & William C. associated with Standard Register. John was president, and William was vice president until John's death in 1939 when William assumed leadership of the company. William died in 1944 without issue.

This very large Catholic family has many descendants through John, who, with his wife, Katherine Neary, had nine children beginning in 1918 shortly after their marriage. They were as follows: John, William, Mary Catherine (Nushawg), James, Helen (Casey), Robert, Charles, Patricia (Begley), and Phillip, who died in infancy.

John Q and William both built Tudor Revival mansions near the Miami Valley Golf Club. William's home, located at 1231 Hook Estates Drive, is the smaller of the two and is listed on the National Registry. John's house is quite grand and is located (just to the north of William's house) at 2720 Philadelphia. If you use Google Maps, you can zoom in well enough to see it clearly. The James L. Sherman Family Trust currently owns John's home. William's house currently belongs to a physician, who might be a descendant...or not. Who knows? There are an awful lot of them!

The Shermans seem to have lived pretty quiet lives. I've not uncovered any newsworthy controversies or disasters. The family has been active in Catholic charities and have been involved with Good Samaritan Hospital for many years. Most are buried in Calvary Cemetery. As of 2014, James was the sole survivor of the first generation of children. Patricia, youngest daughter, had ten children, one of whom serves on Standard Register's Board of Directors. A second grandson also serves on the BoD. I think he might be James' son, but don't quote me on it.

Patriarch John Q.'s last will and testament is on-line if you'd like to take a look. Also, this 2007 Good Sam newsletter has a nice little piece about the Shermans on page 11.

William Sherman's house, Red Oak, is for sale. Beautiful home. Check out the interior here.