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DR. WILLIAM HENRY BROSMAN.
This is an age of progress and America is the exponent of the spirit of the age. In the beginning of the nineteenth century our country was in its infancy and history shows no parallel for its growth and achievements. No other country has made as great advancement in the lines of science and mechanical invention and the superiority of her inventions has been widely recognized throughout the civilized world. In this steady growth and development which has characterized the age, the. science of dentistry has kept pace with

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the general progress and in that profession Dr. William Henry Brosman stands as a man of eminent qualification.

Dr. Brosman is of Hoosier birth; his life record having had its inception on April 12, 1867, in Greene county, Indiana, the scene of his nativity being a log house on his father's farm. The parents of Dr. Brosman were Ezra and Margaret (Myers) Brosman. Ezra Brosman was born in the year 1835, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, of Pennsylvania-German stock, the son of Adam Brosman. The period of his life extended to 1897, and his summons to the Great Beyond occurred at his home in Greene county, Indiana, at the age of sixty-two. He had migrated to Ohio as a young man, but remained in the Buckeye state only a few months before going to Indiana which was to prove his permanent home. A considerable company of relatives and friends made the home-seeking journey westward, but when they came to the middle west they took different directions, some remaining in Greene county, Indiana, others locating in Clark county, Illinois, and others seeking Missouri. Among those who chose Clark county, Illinois, were Peter, Isaac and Henry Brosman, uncles of Dr. Brosman. Ezra Brosman reared five children, the doctor being the only son and the third in order of birth. Alice (Killinger) lives in Greene county, Indiana; Inez (Calvert) is a resident of Champaign, Illinois; Zelma Jane (Huffman) makes her home on a farm in the vicinity of Bloomfield; and Eva (Skomp), who died in 1911, lived near Worthington, Indiana. The mother of these children died in 1872, at about thirty-two years of age, and the father married again in 1873, Sarah Cuthrell, a native of North Carolina, becoming his wife.

Dr. Brosman received his preliminary education in the common schools of Greene county, and also in those of Mitchell county, Kansas. When eighteen years of age he bade adieu to the parental roof-tree and started out in the world in quest of whatever fortunes might await him. For some ten years he worked on farms in Kansas and Nebraska and in addition to making his living secured a great deal of valuable experience. It was at this time that he attended school in Mitchell county, In the fall of 1888 he left Kansas and located in Nebraska where for a short time he made his livelihood working on a farm, and, what is more important, began the study of dentistry in which he was to prove so gifted. These early studies were inaugurated in the office of a dentist in Auburn, Nebraska, where he entered upon the practice of his profession. He also studied in the Kansas City Dental College, from which institution he received his degree in the spring of 1895. It was in December, 1896, that Dr. Brosman first became identified with Albion and his career here has been of the most satisfactory character, his practice being large and his services generally recognized as of the highest character. He is also very skilled in taxidermy and has a remarkable collection in this line.

Dr. Brosman has from the first taken a great interest in public affairs and a helpful one. This fact made very appropriate his selection to the mayoralty of the place, and he gave an excellent administration of the duties of this office. He also served two years as a member of the board of education and in 1907 was president of the Home Coming celebration at the fair ground. He served two years as president of the Fair Association and assisted in the organization of the Albion National Bank, of which he is vice-president. He is indentified with other interests of broad scope and importance and assisted in the organization of the Vitrified Brick company, of which he is president. At the time of the erection of the plant in 1902, he was vice-president and he served in such capacity until 1907, when he was elected to the presidency. His

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influence has been of success-bringing order, for he is a wise and discriminating business man.

Mr. Brosman is a popular lodge man, being identified with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, and the Modern Woodmen of America. His faith is that of the Presbyterian church, of which his wife is also a valued member.

Dr. Brosman was happily married in 1901, Rachael Eliza Leavitt, of Greene county, Indiana, becoming his wife. Mrs. l3rosman is the daughter of George B. Leavitt. They share their charming household with five children, as follows: Paul, Monica, Harriet, Julia, and Robley May. Dr. Brosman may well be designated as a man who does things and he exerts much influence in the county, both as a man of value to his profession and a capitalist who has achieved much in the industrial and municipal uphuilding of Albion. In addition to the fraternal affiliations noted, he is prominently identified with the several dental associations.

The Albion Vitrified Brick Company, organized in 1902 with a capital of forty thousand dollars, has experienced steady growth, the capital being subsequently increased to sixty thousand dollars. The plant covers thirty-five acres, all owned by local capitalists, some eight citizens sharing the ownership. The plant manufactures twenty-five thousand paving blocks per day, each block weighing ten and two-fifths pounds, and is manufactured from shale. The product is sent to St. Louis, East St. Louis, Louisville, Memphis, Terre Haute and points in Arkansas, The company employs on an average sixty men, For the past five years the success of the company has been phenomenal, and its influence on the prosperity of Albion is marked. It is equipped with the most modern machinery procurable. The officers are as follows: President, Dr. William H. Brosman; vice-president, W. A. Schock; secretary, S. A. Ziegler; treasurer, L. W. Wilson; directors, Ben L. Mayne, Albert Epler, R. T. Barber, and the four officers.