Frederick Henry Bastian
Among the men who have been active factors in the commercial life of Cincinnati and who have passed from the scene of earthly activities is numbered Frederick Henry Bastian, who for a long period was proprietor of a men’s furnishing goods store. He was born in France, in 1837 and his life record covered the intervening period to the year 1902. His father, Philip Bastian, was a landscape surveyor who, having brought his family to the new world, settled in Philadelphia where he resided until his death. The son Frederick H. Bastian, was a young lad when the family crossed the Atlantic, the voyage being made on a sailing vessel in 1849, when he was but 12 years of age. At length anchor was dropped in the harbor of New Orleans and the party proceeded northward to Cincinnati, where Frederick Bastian completed his education in the public schools. At the time of the Civil War he put aside all business and personal relations in order to enter the Union Army, joining the Sixth Ohio Regiment with which he served throughout the period of hostilities. He was wounded at the battle of Chickamauga and again at Stone River, and later because of his injuries acted as secretary for the regiment. When the war was over he returned to Cincinnati and was engaged in the men’s furnishing goods business, opening a store in the Arcade where he remained until his death. His trade gradually extended until it had reached large and profitable proportions. He drew trade from among the best citizens, always carrying a large and well selected line of goods that enabled him to enjoy their patronage. After his death the business was carried on for a time by his son and his head clerk but later was sold.
In Cincinnati in 1865 Mr. Bastian was united in marriage to Miss Fannie H. Koernein, a daughter of Charles Koernein, who was the oldest seal engraver on this side of the Alleghenies, doing jewelry and copper engraving. He married Susanna Hipp, a representative of an old family from Darmstadt, Germany. Their daughter Fannie became the wife of Mr. Bastian and this marriage was blessed with three children: Charles F., now with the American Valve and Motor Company; Ada; and Lily. The mother is active in many good works and is now serving as treasurer of the Hamilton County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The death of Mr. Bastian occurred in 1902. His cooperation in movements for the general good marked him as a public-spirited citizen and his stalwart support of the republican party at the polls gave evidence of his political belief. He was a subscriber of the Bodman Widows Home, maintained pleasant relationship with his comrades in arms through his membership in the Great Army of the Republic and was a consistent and faithful member of the Locust Street Church. There were, perhaps, no unusual chapters in his life record, and yet his cause, at all times showed forth those sterling traits of character which in every land and clime constitute the basis of respect and admiration.
From Cincinnati, The Queen City, Volume III, by Rev. Charles Frederic Goss, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1912