Breidenbach Family Album (SC-309)

Carl Henry “Harry” Breidenbach was born November 3, 1867, at 45 Xenia Avenue in Dayton, Ohio, a younger son of German immigrants Daniel G. Breidenbach (1826-1903) and Anna Trieschmann (1827-1892). C. H. Breidenbach would later open his first medical office at the home in which he was born, 45 Xenia Avenue.

Breidenbach earned some of the first money towards his education by carrying press reports from the Western Union telegraph office to the Dayton Journal newspaper in the early 1880s. From 1881 to 1884, he studied pharmacy under druggist Dr. J. C. Reeve Jr., then proprietor of the Phillips House drug store. He then attended the prestigious Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, graduating with a degree in analytical chemistry in 1888. He served for some years with Dr. W. A. Burns of Philadelphia before completing his medical degree at Miami Medical College in 1898.

Dr. Breidenbach served for many years as a surgeon on the regular staff of Miami Valley Hospital. He was also the official surgeon to the Dayton Fire Department for several years.

In addition to his pursuits in the medical and pharmacy professions, Dr. Breidenbach was a Republican in politics, a Freemason, and member of the Elks lodge.

On April 3, 1893, in Dayton, C. H. Breidenbach married Anna Danner, a former teacher in Dayton public schools. Anna Danner was born December 29, 1868, in Dayton, to George Danner and Anna Osner. (Anna Danner Breidenbach is sometimes called “Mano” in the album.)

Dr. C. H. and Mrs. Breidenbach had two daughters: Marian Isabel (called Isabel), born May 14, 1895, in Dayton; and Anna Marie (often called “Babe” in the album), born March 19, 1899, in Dayton. Isabel married Leon T. Meuche (1889-1969) and had two sons, Charles Henry (b. 1922-1996) and Leon G. (b. ~1928); she died September 27, 1971. Anna first married Earle Lyman Brooks (1895-1975) and had a daughter Virginia (b. 1921), who seems to have made several notations in the album (often referring to “Aunt Isabel”). Anna second married John Merton in 1934, and her death date is unknown.

Dr. C. H. Breidenbach died March 5, 1926, in Dayton, Ohio. His wife Anna died January 29, 1943, in Dayton. They are both buried in Woodland Cemetery in Dayton.