John and Bertha Schneider
From the Biographical Cyclopedia of the Commonwealth of
Kentucky, published by the John M Gresman Company, Chicago-Philadelphia 1896,
pages 148-149
JOHN W SCHNEIDER, a well known and successful promoter and
business man of Newport, Kentucky, was born in that city December 31, 1851, and
is a son of Adam and Catharine (Goller) Schneider.
Adam Schneider was a native of Gahans, Saxony, Germany and emigrated from his native land to the United States in 1847, locating in Newport at the same year. He followed the occupation of a stonemason in early life, but later was engaged in distilling and milling, and was a prominent and useful citizen, being for a time a member of the City Council. He was a member of the German Lutheran Church, and a faithful attendant until his death in 1885.
Catherine Goller Schneider was born in Bayreuth, Bavaria in 1826 and is living in Newport at the present time.
John W Schneider after leaving the public school entered Nelson's Commercial College at Cincinnati at the age of thirteen years. He kept his father's books in the whiskey and flour business until he was seventeen years of age, and was next employed in the carpenter trade, at which he worked for one year; but he did not like that trade and gave it up to become a laborer for the Little Miami Railroad. This was a little too difficult for him and he went to St Louis in the early part of 1870, where he was employed as bookkeeper in a hotel and grocery establishment. He remained there for four years, returning to Newport in 1875, where he accepted a position as car sealer for the Little Miami Railroad Company at Cincinnati.
He was next employed as a solicitor for Clay Fire & Marine Company. He was subsequently elected secretary of the Newport Stock Provision Mart; and July 1, 1875, accepted the position of bookkeeper in the First National Bank at Newport, which was opened for business that day. While Mr. Schneider was still engaged in the bank he was elected treasurer of the Campbell County Building & Loan Association of Newport, and secretary of the Licking Valley Building Association; and February 1, 1878, was elected secretary of the German Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Covington; January 1, 1879, was elected member of the School Board; September 1, 1879, he was elected secretary of the Newport & Lick Turnpike Company; June 10, 1880, was elected secretary of the Newport Mutual Fire Insurance Company; Jan 1, 1881, was elected treasurer of the Board of Education and served until January 1885; August 1, 1881, was elected treasurer of the Citizen's Building Association and served until 1886, when the National was organized with Mr. Schneider as treasurer; August 10, 1882, was elected secretary of the Red Men's Hall Association; September 1, 1882, was elected of the old State Road Company; in 1883, he received the charter for the Protestant Children's Home and acted as secretary pro term, in its organization, having been the organizer, but refused to act as permanent secretary or accept any position in the home.
He also organized the syndicate known as the Bellevue Improvement Company, with G R Harms as president and himself as secretary; the Orlando Land Company, with T A Widrig president; the Clifton Suburban Home & Building Company, with J E McCracken president; the South Covington Land Company with M T Shine as president; organized the East Bellevue Lot Association in 1886 with B H Kroger president and C W Nagel, secretary; organized the Glen Park Land Company in 1888, of which he was a director and resigned January 1, 1891; organized the South Bellevue Land & Development Company in 1892; organized the Ft Thomas Land Company in 1893, with eight hundred and twenty-seven acres in the Highlands. In this latter enterprise George B Kerper of Cincinnati acted as president.
It is needless to add that as a promoter and organizer Mr. Schneider stands without a rival and no man could have accomplished what he has done if he had not enjoyed the confidence of the business community in the highest degree.
John W Schneider and Bertha Hanke Utz were married August 26, 1875.