Adolph Caden
Adolph Caden was born in the Province of Saxe-Weimar, Germany, April 22, 1844. His father, Carl W. Caden, was a descendant of the family of Von Caden, and the last of that name, which is correctly spelled "Kaden." His father was extensively interested in the iron industry, operating a large mill or "Hammer-werk," but he disposed of a portion of his property and came to the United States in 1849, bringing with him six children. He settled first in Virginia, and afterwards came to Kentucky, where he farmed near the headwaters of Kinnikinnick. From there he moved to Buena Vista, Scioto County, Ohio, where he purchased an interest in the stone quarries lying in Adams and Scioto Counties. The subject of this sketch was sixteen years of age when his father moved to Buena Vista. He entered the business college in Cincinnati and assisted in the office of the stone quarry and in the stone mill until 1862, when he enlisted in the United States Navy and was assigned to duty on the gunboat, "Clara Dalton," which then lay at the mouth of the Ohio. During this service, he became disabled permanently.
In 1871, he was married to Miss Josephine Sturm, daughter of Julius Sturm, a prominent professor of music of Philadelphia, and later of Cincinnati. The stone company in which he was interested was quarrying stone in both Adams and Scioto Counties. When the present Buena Vista Freestone Company was organized, he became a stockholder in it and they leased the land of Wm. Flagg, which extended north of Buena Vista in Adams and Scioto Counties, but the principal part of which is in Adams. The quarrying of stone, selecting of sites for quarrying and operation of the same, were under the immediate superintendence of Adolph Caden, who possessed a thorough knowledge of such work.
He was much interested in geology and was a true lover of nature. During this time, he lived at Rockville in Adams County. Afterwards he removed to Buena Vista and later to Portsmouth, where he connected himself with the Otway and Carey's Run quarries. He died at Portsmouth, Ohio, on the seventh day of January, 1897, after a severe attack of pneumonia. He had been able to obtain but few educational advantages, but was a general reader and kept in touch with the events of his times. He was a great believer in education and an educational qualification for the right of the ballot. He was a member of the Republican party, but always studied every view of political questions. As an employer, he had the personal interest of his men at heart and did what he could for their comfort and happiness.
Mr. Caden, if noted for any one trait of character more than another, was noted for his human sympathy. He felt for all those about him who had any claim to his sympathy and he expressed it in a practical way which won the hearts of those who received such expressions. His soul was full of charity for all men, and he was always willing to take his acquaintances at their own estimate of themselves. In judging of his fellows, he always aimed to leave out all selfish views. When he saw a course, which, in his careful judgment, he deemed right, no adverse criticism prevented his following it. While a German by birth, he was an ardent and loyal American in his feelings. He was a valuable and useful citizen, and though his life was apparently uneventful, yet in its own course he managed to perform a great number of good deeds.
He was a Master Mason and a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Portsmouth, Ohio. His wife survives him and an only child and daughter, the wife of John H. Jenkins, of Portsmouth, Ohio.
From History of Adams County, Ohio from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers - West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900