JOHN E. BINGAMAN.  This representative business man and popular citizen of Ironton, the judicial center of Lawrence County, has been a resident of this city for the past twenty-five years and has by ability and well directed endeavor gained precedence and success as a business man, the while his sterling character and genial personality have been the prime factors in insuring him secure vantage ground in popular confidence and good will.  Mr. Bingaman is engaged in the undertaking business, as senior member of the firm of Bingaman & Jones, and the finely appointed headquarters of the enterprise are in the building owned by the firm, on Center Street, near the corner of Fourth Street.  Consideration and scrupulous service have brought this firm of funeral directors merited success in business, and its members are known as loyal and progressive citizens.
     Mr. Bingaman is a scion of the third generation of old and honored families of Brown county, Ohio, where both his paternal and maternal grandparents settled in the pioneer days.  He was born in the Village of New Hope, that county, on the 14th of April, 1869, and is a son of Andrew J. and Elizabeth (Ellsbury) Bingaman, both likewise natives of Brown County, where the former was born in the year 1829 and the latter in 1839, both having continued their residence in Brown County until their death.  The father, who was a prosperous farmer, as well as a buyer and shipper of tobacco, died on the 15th of November, 1912, at the venerable age of eighty-three years, his cherished and devoted wife having been summoned to eternal rest on the 19th of April, 1903.  Of the seven children all are living except William, who died in infancy, and in respective order of birth, are here given the names of the surviving children:  Benjamin F., Theodore E., Maude S., Edward L., John E. and Dr. Robert C.
     John E. Bingaman attended the public schools of his native county until he had attained to the age of eighteen years, and for the ensuing three years he was employed in the tobacco warehouse conducted by his father.  He then, in 1889, came to Ironton, Lawrence County, where for the ensuing six years he was a salesman in the store of his brother, who here built up a prosperous enterprise in the handling of men's hats and furnishing goods.  At the expiration of the period noted the brother sold his stock and business to a Mr. Robinson, and for the latter Mr. Bingaman continued as clerk for five years.  He then, in 1900, entered the employ of Charles L. Pixley, who was here engaged in the undertaking business and who was one of the pioneer settlers on the old French land grant in Lawrence County.  Mr. Bingaman familiarized himself with all details of the business and became an expert embalmer.  After the death of his honored employer, Mr. Pixley, who was one of the influential citizens of Ironton, purchased the business, and on the 1st of March, 1907, he admitted to partnership in the same his present able and valued coadjutor, Charles E. Jones, with whom he has since continued to be associated under the firm title of Benjamin & Jones.  Mr. Bingaman owns a half interest in the substantial building in which the undertaking business is conducted, and has also an attractive residence property, upon which he has made many improvements.  He is a republican in his political allegiance and both he and his wife are zealous members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Ironton, on the official board of which he has served most efficiently for the past fifteen years.  In his home city he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the Golden Eagle, and the Modern Woodmen of America.
     On the 4th of November, 1897, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bingaman to Miss Nellie C. Pixley, daughter of his former employer, the late Charles L. Pixley, and no children have been born of this union.  Mrs. Bingaman is a leader in the social activities of her native city, and here her circle of friends is coincident with that of her acquaintances.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 1339

EDWARD JAMES BIRD, SR.  One of the most noted ironmasters not only of the Hanging Rock Region but in the industry in its worldwide extension, was Edward James Bird, Sr., for many years a resident of Ironton.  He was extensively identified with the business in three-quarters of the globe, and to such an extent as to entitle him to be called one of the leading ironmasters of the world.  Probably no man in America was for so long a time actively engaged in that department of industry.  He started in the business when only eight years of age, and passed his fiftieth year without losing a single week's salary.  He was a man of remarkable activity, energy and industry, had engaging social qualities, and was highly respected as a citizen.
     He was born in Staffordshire, England, Apr. 30, 1828, the oldest of a family of seven children born to John and Sarah (Greene) Bird.  His early book education was very meager, and was received for the most part in evening schools up to the age of fifteen.  At the age of eight he was apprenticed to the iron manufacturing industry, beginning as a helper in refining pig iron, at which he was kept four years.  For the net three years he was in the rolling mill at merchant iron-rolls, and then for three years at general furnace work.  At the age of eighteen he was put in charge as keeper of the cold blast coke furnace at Woodside Iron Works Staffordshire.  After a few years there he was employed as a puddler in the Oak Farm Iron Works, and then became keeper of a blast furnace at Oldbury Iron Works, Worcestershire, and remained there several years as second assistant manager.  He subsequently became founder at the Ormsby Iron Works at Middlesboro on the Tees in Yorkshire.
     In 1858 the British government sent him to the East Indies to instruct the natives in the manufacture of iron.  He remained there nearly three years, and at the end received from the government $500 in gold and a silver medal as a reward for having made the first castings ever produced in that part of the country.  This casting was a hammer for forging iron, and is now in the East India House in London, and bears his initials.  In three days after returning from the East Indies he was engaged to go to the Bremagwynine Iron Works in Glamorganshire, South Wales.  A little more than a year later he went to the North of England and for about five years was assistant manager for the Norton Iron Works, and was also contractor, moulder and instructor with that concern.
     Following this came another important distinction in his career.  At Marinha-Grandem, a village of Estremadura, he erected the first charcoal blast furnace ever built in the Kingdom of Portugal.  Somewhat later he again visited Portugal for the purpose of instructing the people in the manufacture of pig iron and castings.  About that time he became connected as manager of the Glaisedale Iron Works near Whitby, Yorkshire, and while thus engaged demonstrated the practical ability of working the Titanic ore into pig iron, and from that into chilled shot.  He deserved credit as being the originator of this reducing afterwards was employed at the Norton Iron Works.
     Mr. Bird came to America in 1868 to superintend the building of the Player hot blast stoves and blast furnaces.  His first engagement was for the Cumberland Coal and Iron Company of Maryland for the building and putting into operating their furnaces near Frostburg.  He next built and started a blast furnace for Mendenhall & Gaylord at Covington, Kentucky, and afterwards a furnace at Washington, Pennsylvania.  In the fall of 1869 he removed to Chicago to erect the blast furnaces for the North Chicago Rolling Mill Company, remaining there about two years in superintending this plant.  In the meantime he built two furnaces at Milwaukee.  About three weeks before the furnaces were blown in, John Player, who was director of the work, died, and Mr. Bird took charge of affairs and brought to a successful culmination the Player interests.  Mr. Player's daughter, one of his administrators, subsequently wrote to Mr. Bird as follows: "I am truly thankful to you for your kind care and attention in carrying out Mr. Player's wishes and intentions so well.  My dear father always had the very highest opinion of your knowledge and judicious management, as well as your kind heart; and all I wish and strive to do is to act in his spirit and to deal generously with those who have been true and faithful to him."
     In 1871 Mr. Bird took up his residence at Milwaukee, living there about five years, superintending the furnaces he had erected, and in the meantime building another, known as the Kinnikinnick Blast Furnace, and having charge of the entire group of furnaces.  Mr. Bird removed to Ironton, Ohio, in 1877, and thereafter was engaged as superintendent of hte Etna Iron Works.
     The furnaces designed or built by Mr. Bird in this country may be briefly enumerated as follows:  Covington, Maryland, Johnstown, Chicago, Milwaukee, Kinnikinnick, Big Lucy, Soho, that for Moorhead & Company at Pittsburg, Belmont, the Top Mill in Wheeling, and the Ogden near Salt Lake City.  He also remodeled the Marquette Furnace on Lake Superior.
     During the course of his long career Mr. Bird worked, according to their analyses and on scientific principles, all the better known iron ores in the world.
     July 2, 1854, Mr. Bird married Mary Skelding.  To them were born thirteen children, six still living.  The oldest daughter, Jennie, is the wife of James Peters of Ironton.  The other daughters were Polly and Lillie.  The oldest son, Edward James, Jr., finished his education in Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College at Chicago, and in the University of Michigan, and became a practical and scientific furnace man, becoming manager of the Bellefont Blast Furnace at Ironton.  The other sons were Frank and Arthur.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 1131

JOHN A. BLANK.  The great modern industries require not only the services of executives and business managers, but also of a corps of expert and technically trained men, many of them among the most competent scientists in the country.  A number of such men are found in the industrial activities of the Hanging Rock Iron Region, and John A. Blank, the assistant superintendent and chief chemist at the Portland Cement Works in Superior is one of the valued representatives in this class.  Mr. Blank is a chemist by profession, and has given his services to a large number of cement plants located in different sections of the country during the past fifteen years.
     John A. Blank was born in Lehigh County at Allentown, Pennsylvania, July 17, 1879.  His parents were Richard B. and Louisa (Steckel) Blank.  On both sides the families were among the pioneers of Lehigh County, having come there in the colonial days, and while the Blanks settled on Gordon River the Steckels had their home on Egypt Creek.  In both communities are still standing the quaint old-fashioned stone houses, with their small leaded window panes, that represent the family homesteads through various generations, and are still owned by descendants and are the centers for the family reunions which bring together the widely separated clans periodically.  Richard B. Blank was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, in 1844, spent his active career as a farmer, still lives at Allentown.  The mother was born in Egypt in Lehigh County in 1846.  Their seven children were: Maggie, Hattie, Anna, Florence, Edgar, John A. and Peter.
     John A. Blank was educated in the public schools of LeHigh County, and spent four years at Muehlenberg College and specialized in chemistry for two years at Lehigh University.  At the age of twenty-one Mr. Blank was made chief chemist at the Phoenix Portland Cement Company in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, a year later was made chief chemist at the Bonneville Portland Cement Company in Siegfried, Pennsylvania, and two years later went to the Portland Cement Company at Penllyn, Pennsylvania.  Two years were spent there, when he became chief chemist and remained for two years in the LeHigh Portland Cement Company at Newcastle, Pennsylvania, and then came to the Hanging Rock Iron Region and spent four years as chief chemist with the Superior Portland Cement Company.  Mr. Blank left Lawrence County to became chief chemist of the Lehigh Portland Cement Company at Mason City, Iowa, for two yeas, but in 1912 returned To Superior and resumed his former duties as chief chemist.  Since the spring of 1914 he has also served as assistant superintendent, and is one of the stockholders in the company.
     Mr. Blank was married April 15, 1901, at Egypt, Pennsylvania, to Laura Peifly, daughter of George Peifly.  Their three children are Katherine M. M., Allen J., and Marjorie L.  Mr. Blank is a Mason, a democrat in politics, and his church is the Reform Church.  He finds his recreation in hunting and fishing and travel and also in automobiling.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 1123

SAMUEL W. BOOTH.  During the more than a quarter of a century in which Samuel W. Boothe has been identified with the business life of Ironton, he has experienced many of the vicissitudes which often mark the careers of active and energetic business men.  As a young man he established himself in business and seemed in a fair way to achieve success, only to see his holding swept away during a period of commercial and financial depression.  Nothing daunted, he started again at the bottom, and has since worked his way to a leading position among the substantial men of this flourishing city of the Hanging Rock Iron Region.
     Mr. Boothe was born in Union Township, Lawrence County, Ohio, Oct. 25, 1862, and is a son of Isaac and Martha B. (Whitehead) Boothe.  His father, born in the same township, devoted his active years to agricultural pursuits, in which he met with a good share of success because of his industry and perseverance, and was also a prominent man in the public life of his community, serving in the capacity of justice of the peace for thirty years.  He died in 1911, when he had reached the advanced age of eighty-three years.  Mrs. Boothe was also born in Union Township, and still survives, being a resident of Chesapeake, Lawrence County, Ohio, and seventy-nine years of age.  There were eleven children in the family, as follows:  Eva A., Nannie O., Sadie K., Samuel W., Oliver R., Isaac H., J. Edwin, William M., Emma R., Georgie A. and Robert C.
     Samuel W. Boothe attended the district schools of Union and Fayette townships until reaching the age of twenty-one years, and in the meantime assisted his father in the work of the home farm.  Reared an agriculturist, when the bill for the opening of hte Oklahoma lands to homesteaders was first placed before Congress, he went to that state in order to be on the ground, but the bill failed of passage at that time and he subsequently went to Kansas, where he spent one year in farming and getting in touch with western ideas.  Returning to Lawrence County, Mr. Boothe worked on the farm for his father for one year, and then became a clerk in the store of J. R. Frampton, at Chesapeake, where he remained until the spring of 1887.  He then came to Ironton and embarked in the manufacture of wire and picket fence, continuing for two years under the style of Isaac and Boothe and for five yeas under the name of S. W. Boothe.  In 1895 he sold out to the Yellow Poplar Lumber Company and invested his capital in the Ironton Shoe Factory, of which he was foreman, but the business failed and Mr. Boothe found himself dispossessed of all his earnings and once more at the bottom of the ladder.  With commendable spirit and perseverance, he accepted a position as clerk in the general store of John Isaacs, and at the end of two years bought his employer's interests, leasing the property for three years and then buying it and erecting his present business establishment, which he still owns, at Third and Kemp Streets.  He now has a thoroughly up-to-date meat market, and grocery, with a complete line, the business being valued at $4,000.  In 1913 he took as partner, Albert Goldcamp, and the firm is now known as S. W. Boothe & Company, and attracts a large and representative trade from all over the city.  Mr. Boothe has interested himself in various other enterprises., being a stockholder in the Home Telephone Company and vice president of the Star Building and Loan Company of Ironton, of which he has a branch office at his store.  Here also he maintains sub-postal station No. 1.  He has displayed his faith in the future of Ironton by investing his capital in real estate, and in addition to his business house and lot, owns his residence at No. 155 South Fifth Street, and three other houses and lots.  He is a working member of the Chamber of Commerce, and treasurer of the committee of the Apple Show and Home Coming Week.  A republican in politics, he was councilman of Ironton when the old wards and form of government were in existence, and his hobby is the supporting of clean government in public offices.  For twenty-five years he has been a member of the Knights of the Golden Eagle, and he also belongs to the Knights of Pythias, being treasurer of the Uniform Rank.  An enthusiastic automobilist, he is treasurer of the Ironton Automobile Club, and finds his chief recreation in touring the country with Mrs. Boothe in his modern high-powered car.  Mr. and Mrs Boothe are consistent members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church.
     On Feb. 9, 1887 Mr. Boothe was married at the home of the bride at Ironton, to Miss Annah B. Wymer, daughter of W. and Rachael Wymer, formerly of near Rappsburg, Lawrence County.  Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Boothe, but all are now deceased.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 1356

SAMUEL A. BOWMAN.  That in considering the status of Mr. Bowman as a representative citizen and valued official of Lawrence County there can be no application of the scriptural aphorism that "a prophet is not without honor save in his own country," is evident when it is stated that he is a native of this county, a scion of one of its sterling pioneer families, and is at the present time serving in the office of county auditor.
     Mr. Bowman was born at Southpoint, on Little Solida Creek, Lawrence County, Ohio, on the 16th of November, 1876, and the same place figures as the native heath of his father, Thisle M. Bowman, who was there born on the 2d of April, 1842, his parents having been numbered among the early settlers of Lawrence County and his father having contributed worthily to the social and industrial development of this section of the Buckeye State.  Thisle M. Bowman became one of the substantial and representative agriculturists of his. native county, and he also follows the trade of cooper for some time.  He was a man of distinctive business ability and of sterling character, so that he ever commanded secure place in popular confidence and esteem, as shown by the
fact that he was called upon to serve as deputy county auditor and also as deputy sheriff. His death occurred in 1904, and his loved and devoted wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Pemberton, and who was born at Southpoint, Lawrence County, in 1845, was summoned to eternal rest in 1902.  The names of their nine children are here entered in respective order of birth: Ames N., Charles W., Dora C, Samuel A., Lucy F., Emma L., Roscoe H., Thisie M., Jr., and Shirley O.
     The present county auditor of Lawrence County attended the public schools of his native place until he had attained to the age of eighteen years, and he then put his scholastic acquirements to practical test and utilization by entering the pedagogic profession, of which he became an able and popular representative as a teacher in the schools of this section of the state.  He continued his effective services as a teacher until he had attained to the age of twenty-seven years, and thereafter, from 1904 to 1910, he had charge of the rural free mail delivery on Route No. 2, from Ironton.  He resigned this incumbency when he became a candidate for the office of county auditor, to which he was elected in 1910, by a majority that emphatically attested his hold upon the confidence and good will of the people of his native county.  He assumed his official duties Oct. 16, 1911, and his administration has been marked by scrupulous care and circumspection, so that he has fully justified the popular choice which placed him in office, the while he is one of the popular and progressive citizens of Ironton, the judicial center and metropolis of Lawrence County.
     In politics Mr. Bowman is a stalwart advocate of the principles and policies of the republican party; his religious faith is that of the Baptist church; and he is affiliated with the local organizations of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the Golden Eagle, and the Loyal Order of Moose.  Though he is a bachelor, Mr. Bowman is the owner of a residence property and two additional city lots in Ironton, and he is also a director of the South Side Building & Loan Association of this city.  He is a man of high ideals and utmost rectitude, and is justly proud of the fact that he has never touched intoxicating liquor' in any form.  He has greatly enjoyed his experience as a teacher and his success in the profession has been on a parity with his recognized zeal and enthusiasm.   Mr. Bowman greatly enjoys all outdoor sports, and through the medium of the same finds his chief recreation, the while he is distinctively popular in both business and social circles in his home city. 
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 749

SAMUEL BREWSTER.  In choosing the men who are to act as his advisers and members of the municipal cabinet, the chief executive of any live and progressive community is wise who brings about him only strong, reliable and practical men, possessed of industry, faithfulness, honesty and experience.  Mayor Hannan, of Ironton, made no mistake when, in 1914, he appointed Sam Brewster to the position of service director of the city, a place for which he was eminently fitted owing to his long and varied business experience, his organizing ability and his executive power.  He has been in office only for a comparatively short period, yet has already vindicated the faith placed in him and is rendering his fellow-citizens excellent services.
     Mr. Brewster was born in Lawrence county, Ohio, March 31, 1869, and is a son of James and Rebecca (Millard) Brewster.  His father, a West Virginian, was born in 1819, married in his native state, and came to Lawrence County, Ohio, about 1865, here continuing to be engaged in agricultural pursuits up to the time of his death, in 1877.  His widow,
also born in West Virginia, in 1842, never remarried, but remained single until her death in 1908.  They were the parents of seven children, as follows: Margaret, James J., Samuel, William, John W., Charles H. and Rebecca, of whom William died in infancy.  Sam Brewster was reared on his father's farm in Lawrence until he was eight years of age and then came to Ironton and entered the public schools, which he attended until reaching the age of fifteen years.  At that time he commenced to learn the trade of carpenter, which he followed for fifteen years as a journeyman, and in 1902 became a member of the Ironton police force, with which he was connected until 1906.  At that time he took up contracting and building on his own account, and continued to be so engaged very successfully until 1913, building up a large and representative business in Ironton and the surrounding vicinity.  In 1913 Mr. Brewster was made safety director, under Mayor T. J. Kennedy and continued to hold that once for five months, being then appointed service director under Mayor A. J. Hannan, January 6, 1914.  His enterprise, tempered with conservatism, and his absolute integrity in civic affairs, have gained him an excellent record in public life, and as a business man he has also achieved an enviable reputation.  He was one of the organizers of the Home Building and Loan Association, of Ironton, and is still a stockholder and director thereof.  About twenty years ago Mr. Brewster assisted in the organization of the Ironton local of the Carpenters' Union, and he still continues as a member thereof. Fraternally, he is connected with the Junior Order United American Mechanics and the Modern Woodmen of America.  He is particularly fond of all out-door sports and is an enthusiastic baseball fan. Politically, Mr. Brewster is affiliated with the republican party.
     On December 17, 1902, Mr. Brewster was married to Miss Jennie Grindshaw, of Ironton. daughter of John E. Grindshaw.  They have no children.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 751

JOHN R. C. BROWN.  Few of the public officials of the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio have had a longer or more honorable service than the city engineer of Ironton, John R. C. Brown.  A resident of this place since 1870, he has held his present office since that year, with the exception of three years, and his conscientious devotion to duty, his ability in his chosen calling and his commendable achievements have given him the right to be numbered among the men who have contributed to the upbuilding and development of this prosperous section of the Buckeye state.
     John R. C. Brown was born in Clermont County, Ohio. August 14, 1835, and is a son of Isaac H. and Katherine (Rogers) Brown.  His father, born in Clermont County, Ohio, in 1809, was in early life a carpenter, but later became a farmer and so continued to be engaged until his death, in 1887.  A stanch supporter of the Union, he early became an abolitionist, and was outspoken in his views upon the question of slavery.  Mrs. Brown was born in Kentucky, in 1806. and died in 1889, having been the mother of eight children, namely: Elizabeth C, John R. C, Sue E., Dr. Isaac N.. William T., Dr. Quincy A., Permelia and Fannie, of whom John R. C., Permelia and Fannie survive.
     The country schools of Clermont County and a local institution of Brown County, Ohio, furnished John R. C. Brown with his educational training, although since leaving school, in his eighteenth year, he has been a student upon various subjects and has gained a wide range of knowledge.  He first adopted teaching as a profession, but in 1863 was elected county surveyor of Brown County, a position which he held for three years, during which time he had charge of the building and upkeep of fifty miles of highway out of Georgetown.  Mr. Brown came to
Ironton in 1870, and here his abilities so impressed the people that he was made assistant city engineer under Thomas Gore.  One year later he succeeded Mr. Gore as city engineer. From 1874 until 1887 he was both county surveyor and city engineer, and in 1899 Mr. Fred G. Leete was elected to that office and held it three years.  In 1902 Mr. Brown was again sent to the office, and has continued to act therein to the present time.  His accomplishments have included the building of all the streets and sewers in Ironton, and the manner in which he has conducted the affairs of his office has met with the entire approval of the people, who have expressed their appreciation of his services on numerous occasions.
     Mr. Brown was married September 20, 1856. at the home of the bride in Brown County, to Miss Elizabeth A. Carpenter, who was born January 16, 1836, a daughter of Simon and Mary Carpenter, farming people of Brown County.  Mrs. Brown died May 26, 1911, having been the mother of four children: Christopher N., who died in 1902, as dean of the Ohio State University and professor of civil engineering:  Mary C., who died in infancy; Sarah; C., who died in the 16th year of her age; and John Q., mechanical engineer and electrician and superintendent of the Consolidated Street Railway Company, at Oakland, California, married Helen Gager, and has two children, Ann and John Q., Jr.  Mr. Brown is a consistent member of the First Congregational church.  A republican in political matters, his present office has been his only public position.  He has interested himself in various business ventures at different times, and is now a stockholder in the Home Building & Loan Association and the Crescent Building & Loan Association.  His home on Fourth Street is a modern one, and there he also owns five acres of land.  A steady, dependable official and public spirited citizen, he continues to be, as in the past, one of Ironton's most helpful men.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 788

FRANKLIN C. BROWNSTEAD.   One of the most important industries in the Hanging Rock Iron Region is the Ironton Portland Cement Company.  It is not only an industry of which Ironton is proud but is also one of great importance to the city in that it employs many men and gives the impetus to commercial prosperity which any large industrial concern always does.  The general superintendent of this plant is Franklin C. Brownstead, who in the field of mechanics, general and electrical engineering, and almost every phase of machinery and industrial plant building, equipment and management, is regarded as an expert, and especial interest attaches to his career from the fact that he was born in one of the old iron centers of the Hanging Rock Region and has been identified with various mechanical and industrial plants practically all his career.
     Franklin C. Brownstead was born in Lawrence County, Ohio, Aug. 11, 1873.  His father, Ernest Brownstead, born in Hanover, Germany, in 1821, came to America at the age of eleven, followed a career as an engineer and foundryman, and died in 1898.  His wife was Catherine Mook, who was born in Germany in 1833 and died in 1880.
     Franklin C. Brownstead spent two years of his early life at the Mount Savage Furnace in Kentucky, where his father was one of the operators.  The family then returned to Ironton, where Mr. Brownstead attended the public schools until thirteen, and then began a practical vocational training as helper to his father in the engine room.  He was employed as fireman and in other capacities until about 1892, and then entered the employ of the LaClede Electric Company at St. Louis, in their construction and electric engineering department.  After a year Mr. Brownstead returned to Ironton, was for four years engineer with the Ironton Fire Brick Company, then chief engineer, foreman of car barns, and electrician at Ironton for the Ohio Valley Electric Railway Company for three years, and in 1901 became engineer and electrician with the Ironton Portland Cement Company.  His connection with the industry has not been continuous since that time, since in 1907 the Penn Portland Cement Company at Bath, Pennsylvania, secured his services as general foreman, and after three months promoted him to superintendent of the plant, an office he held for two years.  Since 1909 Mr. Brownstead has been superintendent of the Ironton Portland Cement Company, and it is due to his genius in mechanics and as an industrial manager that the chief success of the business on its manufacturing side is due.
     On Mar. 5, 1895, Mr. Brownstead married Nora M. Hart, daughter of Henry Harrison and Georgiana Hart of Ironton.  Her father was a police officer and also engaged in the grocery business.  To their marriage have been born the following children: Edna Irene, Charlotte Louise, Ernest F. and Icele Nora.  The family are members of the Congregational Church, and Mr. Brownstead is a republican in politics.  He owns his residence at Ironton, and is also a stockholder in the Ironton Portland Cement Company.  Mr. Brownstead was a member of the Seventh Regiment Band from 1896 until the beginning of the Spanish-American war, when he resigned owing to the bar upon active service of married men.  Mr. Brownstead is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and finds his chief pleasure in outdoor life, an occasional hunting or fishing trip, and in riding about the country with his family in automobile.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 1222