OTTO E. VOLLENWEIDER.     One of the most promising of the. men who are governing Ohio's affairs, if the achievements of the past may be taken as a criterion for the future, is Hon. Otto E. Vollenweider, member of the Ohio State Senate, representing the Eighth District.  As a lawyer of force and learning he brought himself prominently into the public eye, and he was soon recognized as being possessed of the qualifications necessary for public service.  In the State Senate he has made a well established reputation as a hard, conscientious and successful worker.
     Mr. Vollenweider was born at Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio, Aug. 26, 1867, and is a son of John and Tina (Vollenweider) Vollenweider.  His parents, natives of Weinfelden, in the Canton of Thurgau, Switzer land, came of a fine old Swiss family, well educated and of a mechanical turn.  John Vollenweider was granted good educational advantages, early displayed the possession of the family's inclination for mechanics, and was given every chance to develop this faculty.  He thus became a skilled mechanic and scientific machinist, and followed his vocation in his native land until his marriage, shortly after which event he came to the United States and took up his residence at Chillicothe, Ohio.  There he followed his trade until 1872, in which year, with his family, he moved to Hamden, Vinton County, there purchasing the Hamden Foundry and its combined machine shops.  Later he associated himself with the well-known iron founder, H. S. Bundy, and they continued to conduct the iron works until Mr. Vollenweider's death, in 1898.  Mr. Vollenweider was a prominent man in the work of the Reformed Church, as is also his widow, who still survives at the age of seventy-five years.  Mr. Vollenweider was a stalwart republican but took little more than a good citizen's interest in public affairs, although he was always a force in promoting movements for the welfare of his community.  There were three children in the family: Otto E., of this notice; Lillie, who is the wife of Dr. A. G. Ray of Jackson, and has two sons; and Lena, who is the wife of Dr. W. J. Ogier of Wellston.
     The early education of Otto E. Vollenweider was secured in the public schools of Hamden.  He showed a predilection for the law when still a youth, and expressed the ambition to succeed in that profession, an aim which has since been so fully and generously realized.  His legal studies were prosecuted in the law department of the University of Lexington, Kentucky, where he was graduated in 1889, and in Cincinnati Law School in 1891, and in that same year he was admitted to the bar and established himself in practice at McArthur.  In 1892 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Vinton, and from that time to the present has been constantly in office.  In 1896 he received the re-election for prosecuting attorney, and following his second term he was made city attorney, an office which he held as long as he cared to, finally resigning.  In the election of 1914 Mr. Vollenweider he came the candidate of the republican party for senator from the Eighth Senatorial District of Ohio, and, in recognition of his past valuable services, the people gave him a handsome majority at the polls.  The Eighth District includes Gallia, Lawrence, Meigs and Vinton counties, and since he took his seat, in January, 1915, the voters of these communities have had no reason to complain of lack of representation.  He is chairman on the committee on judiciary, an honor seldom conferred on a new member, and belongs also to the committees on public utilities, courts, taxation, colleges, medical societies, municipal commissions, prison and prison reforms, and state buildings.  A hard worker in the interests of his constituents, he has won their confidence and gratitude, and it is not improbable that he could gain at their hands any office which he desired.  Mr. Vollenweider has held other offices, among which was that of member of the building commission, of seven members, appointed by Governor Willis.
     At Lexington, Kentucky, Senator Vollenweider was united in marriage with a lady of the Blue Grass State, Miss Ethel Heacox, a member of an old and distinguished family, a graduate of Hamilton University, and a lady of many graces and accomplishments.  Her parents, who are both deceased, were Lester and Mary Heacox, natives of Lexington, Kentucky.  Senator and Mrs. Vollenweider have no children.  They are leading members of the Christian Church, in which the senator is Sunday school superintendent, and both are Sunday school teachers.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 1073