Thadeus Joseph Backus
Thadeus Joseph Backus, superintendent of streets of Dayton, was born April 3, 1852, in this city, where he has always resided. He is a son of Washington and Lucy (Stuckmier) Backus, both of German extraction.
Washington Backus was a native of Connecticut and possessed a large measure of Yankee thrift and energy, which he devoted to commerce, spending his life in mercantile pursuits. He was a large dealer in notions, doing a wholesale and retail business which made his name widely known. He died when his son Thadeus Joseph was but four years old, leaving a widow, this son and two daughters, who are now Mrs. Susanna Lachelle, residing in Denver, Colo., and Mrs. Emma Houser, of this city. The widow afterward married William E. Martin, now of Springfield, Ohio, who brought into the household his son by a former marriage, William A., who is the superintendent of the Farm and Fireside, a literary and household journal published at Springfield. To the union of Mr. Martin and Mrs. Backus were born three children: George, who is now a druggist at Miami City; Levi, who is superintendent of the Barb Wire Fence Manufacturing company, at Lawrence, Kan., and Jennie, who resides at Dayton. The mother died at her home in Dayton in 1873.
Mr. Backus early learned the business of making galvanized iron cornice and slate roofing, which he successfully followed for about twenty years. His methods attracted the attention and commanded the respect and confidence of the people, and in 1893 he was appointed, by the board of city affairs, to his present position of responsibility and trust, the duties of which office he is performing in an eminently satisfactory manner. The varied and important character of these duties renders his position far other than a sinecure, and, with the construction of sewers, the cleaning of streets and destruction of garbage, Mr. Backus is kept a very busy man.
On the 7th of June, 1877, Mr. Backus was united in marriage to Miss Katie C. Barnes, a native of Dayton, and daughter of Lawrence and Margaret Barnes, the former now deceased. Of a family of five children Mrs. Backus is the eldest. The other children are: Robert, the proprietor of a box factory in Dayton; Mary, wife of Joseph Ferneding, one of Dayton's shoe merchants; Maggie, who resides with her mother in this city; and Julia, the wife of Joseph L. Sacksteder, of Dayton.
Mr. and Mrs. Backus have a family of seven children, all of whom live with their parents. They are: May, Lulu, William, George, Julia, Charles and Christopher. Miss May is a stenographer and typewriter, employed in the pension department at the National Military Home, Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. The other children are still in school.
Politically, Mr. Backus is a democrat and stands high among the local counselors of his party. He was reared in the Presbyterian Church, and is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias and of the B. P. O. Elks. Mrs. Backus is an adherent of the Roman Catholic faith, and is a member of the Church of the Sacred Heart.
From Centennial Portrait and Biographical Record of the City of Dayton and of Montgomery County, Ohio, A. W. Bowen & Co., 1897