John W. Schnabel
John W. Schnabel, cabinet maker, who has been connected with the coach department of the C., H. & D. Railway Company, at Lima, since 1899, was born in this city in 1861, and is a son of John Schnabel.
The late John Schnabel was an old resident of Lima, coming to this city from Germany in 1854. He worked in a foundry for some time and then became an employee of King & Day, pork packers, with whom he remained for a long period. He married Magdalena Beck, who was also a native of Germany, and the two sons born to them were: Henry, who for 12 years was in charge of the shoe-making department in the Institute for the Feeble Minded at Fort Wayne, Indiana, and who died in December, 1905; and J. W., the subject of this sketch.
J. W. Schnabel was reared at Lima and attended school in the old West School Building. He first worked in a furniture factory, where he remained for 17 years. Then he accepted a lucrative position in the coach department of the C., H. & D. Railway shops assuming his duties in April, 1899, where, as a valued employee, he has remained for the past seven years. Mr. Schnabel owns his pleasant home at No. 314 West Wayne street, and is a substantial citizen.
In 1882 Mr. Schnabel was married to Maggie Walther, who is a daughter of George J. Walther, and they have three children, viz: Philip W., who is time-keeper at the Solar Refinery; Lena, a graduate of the Lima High School, who is in her second year as a teacher of the Spring Street School, Lima; and John Leonard, who is a member of the graduating class of 1906, at the Lima High School. The family belongs to the German Reformed Church, and Mr. Schnabel has been a member of the board of elders. He is one of the prominent Odd Fellows of this part of the State, and is past chief patriarch of the Encampment, and on several occasions has attended the Grand lodge of the United States. Mrs. Schnabel belongs to the auxiliary body, the Rebekahs.