THE BOOK OF . 1113 he was fourteen years ot age when he emigrated with his parents and sister to the New World. After a long and stormy trip across the Atlantic the family finally landed at New York, from where, after a sojourn of a few months, they came to and entered the employ of Colonel Gano, as laborers on his farm in the vicinity of Carthage. Young Erkenbrecher was not bedded on roses. Hard work was in store for him, but willingly and unhesitatingly he took up the struggle for a livelyhood, fully determined to make his mark in life. He labored hard and faithfully for a number of years, working in succession on the farm, in a confectionery shop, hotel and grocery, at the same time saving his small earnings and completing his education with a thrift, which is a characteristic of his race. At the age of twenty-two years he owned enough money to establish himself in business on a small scale and to build a little grain mill, thanks to his business ability, energy and untiring efforts; after a few years he was able to combine a starch factory with his grain mill. Success seemed assured, when, in 1860, misfortune set in and his starch factory, located at Morrow, was destroyed by fire. There was no insurance, and nearly all the fruits of sixteen years of labor and economy were wiped out. But one thing, the fire had not been able to destroy the indominable will-power of Mr. Erkenbrecher. His inherited energy came to his aid. He started anew, put his hand to the task of recovering what he had lost, and this time he forced his way to the front. Six years later he erected another starch factory on of the canal near St. Bernard; equipped it with many improvements of his own invention, inventions which revolutionized the manufacture of starch, and soon the quality of the product of his factories became known all over the civilized world. They also took the highest premiums at the Vienna, Bremen and Philadelphia expositions. In 1877 Mr. Erkenbrecher returned to Europe in quest of health. His hard and laborious life begun to tell on a constitution never the most vigorous. Somewhat improved, Mr. Erkenbrecher returned to his Cincinnati home, entered into business with more zeal than ever, but he never fully regained the strength and health that were lost, and on the 4th of January, 1885, he closed his eyes to eternal slumber. He left two sons and one daughter. Mr. Erkenbrecher’s name has been identified with a great many acts of benevolence and charity. Foremost of all he was the founder of the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens, that great institution which has given more pleasure, enjoyment, recreation and instruc¬ tion to untold thousands, than any other institution of the Queen City. Neither the great Audubon nor Gilbert White, of Selbourne, ever cherished a keener love for the beautiful in nature than did Mr. Erkenbrecher. It was this love for the beautiful that prompted him in times of distress to take steps toward the preserving the foliage in Cincinnati’s streets, and finally led to the founding of the Cincinnati “Zoo,” the most complete institution of its kind in the New World. In 1872, Cincinnati was visited by a plague of caterpillars. They came in such a multitude and with such a hunger that before their march nearly every green thing of the city was destroyed. The trees were left as naked as in the midst of winter. A remedy was sought, and at Mr. Erkenbrecher’s sugges¬ tion a plan was developed and executed for acclimatizing insect eating birds from Europe. In accordance with this plan, birds to the number of nearly one thousand were secured and brought to this country late in the fall of 1872 and housed in an old colonial- roofed residence in , the garret of which was transformed into a bird cage. There the birds were cared for until the spring of 1873, when they were released. Soon Burnet Woods was resonant with a symphony of sound never heard before. The satis¬ faction and keen delight resulting from this effort of the Acclimatization Society prompted Mr. Erkenbrecher to pursue the sub¬ ject still further, and the founding of that gigantic enterprise, the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens, was the result.

Samuel A. Esswein,

One of the substantial business men of Columbus, Ohio, was born on the 9th of August, 1868, at Columbus, Ohio, the son of Mr. Peter Esswein, a native of Germany, who had left the Fatherland in 1824 and come to the United States, settling in Columbus. Mr. Esswein’s mother was of Pennsylvania ancestry. Mr. S. A. Esswein was educated in the Columbus public schools. Upon leaving school he became apprenticed to the plumbing trade, and for a number of years was associated with the leading plumbing houses in Columbus. He now is President of the Esswein Heating & Plumbing Company, Colum¬ bus, Ohio, the leading firm of its kind in Central Ohio. Among the important contracts The Esswein Heating & Plumbing Company has filled are the following: Columbus Savings Bank & Trust Company; Capital Trust Company; the Harrison Building; the Carnegie Library, Columbus, Ohio; the Ingalls Building, Cincinnati; Union Station, Lexington, Ky.; Massillon Hospital; Mt. Vernon Sanitarium; Athens State Hospital; Athens University; Gallipolis State Hospital; Boys’ Industrial School, Lancaster; Girls’ Industrial School, Delaware, Ohio; Ill¬ inois Hotel, Bloomington, Ills.; Union Trust Co. Building, Anderson, Inch; Ironton Court House; Peru, Ind. Court House, and many other important mod¬ ern buildings all over the world. Mr. Esswein is a self-made man in the fullest

sense of the word; an ideal citizen, a splendid business man who always has the best interests of his fellow men and his native city at heart. He is a prominent 32nd degree Mason, a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, an Elk; K. of P. and a member of the Woodmen. He resides at 601 City Park Avenue, Columbus, Ohio. His offices are located at 24 West Broad Street, that city.

N. H. Fairbanks,

Ranks among the foremost business men of Springfield, Ohio. He is a native of the Buckeye State, born in Union County, Ohio. Being the son of a farmer, his early edu¬ cation was obtained on the farm and in the country district school. He received a Col¬ legiate education at the Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio, from which he was graduated in 1884, after which he attended the Cincinnati Law School. Upon his grad¬ uation from that institution and his admission to the bar, Mr. Fairbanks took up the practice of his profession. He retired from the active practice of his profession at Chicago, in 1901, where he had gained as a lawyer, the good will and the confidence of both bench N. H. FAIRBANKS. and bar.