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Author: vivianmoon
Surnames: carnahan, Mills
Classification: queries
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Memoirs of the Miami Valley
Robert Brown Carnahan Jr.
Middletown, Butler County, Ohio
The announcement of the sudden and untimely death of Robert Brown Carnahan, jr., On June
23, 1918, came as a shock to everyone who knew him, and this shock was accentuated by
appreciation of the sterling qualities of the man, not less than by that of his splendid
talents and the great worth of his practical achievement. He had been for eighteen years
actively associated with the American Rolling Mill company, of Middletown, Ohio. On
account of Mr. Carnahan's unbounded generosity, his warmth of manner and disposition,
and his democratic ways, he had endeared himself to a host of loyal friends and
co-workers, who sorrowfully deplore the unseasonable termination of his noble career as
one of the world's productive workers. Mr. Carnahan, who stood
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denitely as one of the representative men of Middletown at the time of his demise, was
born in the city of Pittsburg, Pa., March 17, 1870, and was a son of Robert Brown
Carnahan, sr., and Kate Ann (Ducknall) Carnahan, the latter of whom was reared and
educated at Batavia, Ohio. Robert B. Carnahan, sr., became a prominent and distinguished
member of the bar of Pennsylvania and was influential in public affairs in the old
Keystone state. He was a personal friend of President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton, and
under the administration of this martyred president he served as district attorney of the
district of western Pennsylvania. He was a man of the highest professional attainments and
achieved specially notable reputation as a corporation lawyer. The family name is one that
has stood as an exponent of the loftiest patriotism in connection with the annals of
American history, and it should be specially recorded in this connection that David
Carnahan, great-grandfather of the !
subject of this memoir, served in the War of the Revolution, as a member of what was
known as the American Flying Artillery, with which he took part in many of the important
engagements marking the progress of the great conflict which brought the boon of national
independence. Robert B. Carnahan, jr., acquired his preliminary education in the public
schools of Pittsburg and then entered the University of Pittsburg, in which he was
graduated as a member of the class of 1891. He received from this institution the degrees
of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science, and later the honorary degree of Doctor of
Science was conferred upon him by his alma mater, in recognition of his valuable
inventions in connection with the steel industry. After his graduation in the University
of Pittsburg, Mr. Carnahan became associated with the owners of the W. Dewees-Woods plant
at McKeesport, Pennsylvania, and at the request of Mr. Wood, sr., he was sent south in
connection with gold mining !
prospects. From 1883 to 1899 he was engaged in the open-hearth departm
ent of the McKeesport plant of the same company, and later for a short period he was
associated with the Homestead works of the Carnegie Steel company, with which he did
special work in connection with the manufacture of open-hearth steel. Mr. Carnahan was the
first member of the present working organization of the American Rolling Mill company, by
which he was employed early in the year 1900, shortly after the organization of this
corporation. The plant which the company then proposed to build was to consist of a
thirty-ton open-hearth furnace, a twenty-inch bar mill, four sheet mills, and a
galvanizing plant and factory for fabricating sheet-metal products. This was the first
time all of these operations had been brought together in one plant where the process was
to be continuous from the open-hearth department through to the factory, and it marked a
new era in steel-works development. Mr. Carnahan designed and constructed the
company's first open-hearth furnace. At that !
time the open-hearth process of making steel was a comparatively new development, as it
had not previously been generally employed in making steel for the production of sheet
metal. Consequently there was much to be worked out along both scientific and productive
lines, and Mr. Carnahan gave his undivided attention
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to the development of this important feature of the business. For several years he lived
and slept in the company's main office, in close proximity to the works, and during
much of this period he applied himself both day and night. His first position with the
American Rolling Mill company was that of superintendent of the open-hearth department, an
office which he assumed in August, 1900. In August, 1903, he was advanced to the office of
general superintendent, as successor of James B. Strawbridge, who was the first man to
hold that position. In October, 1911, Mr. Carnahan was elected vice-president, with full
charge of the research division, as well as the company's large patent interests, and
he retained this important incumbency until the time of his death. Mr. Carnahan was one of
the early believers and advocates of the pure-iron theory, which had been suggested by the
Agricultural Department of the United States Government at Washington, and through his
many successful !
activities and achievements he became a metallurgist of national repute. He was an
indefatigable worker, and the actual production of commercially pure iron, now generally
known as "Armco" iron, and its successful working into sheet metal, was due to
his metallurgical knowledge, his indomitable determination to accomplish any task assigned
to him, his untiring energy, and his great devotion to his work in the company's
interests. It was in recognition of his invention of the Armco iron that he received the
honorary collegiate degree of Doctor of Science, as previously noted in this context. He
furnished all the data involved in the obtaining of the various patents issued to the
American Rolling Mill company, and personally supervised the introduction of his patents
in England and France, all his patents being duly recorded in the archives of the United
States Patent Office, at Washington. In 1915 Mr. Carnahan received from the Panama-Pacific
International exposition the fir!
st-class gold medal for his Armco patents. Although he was deeply abso
rbed in his business affairs, with his exacting executive duties, Mr. Carnahan found time
and opportunity to participate in civic activities, as a loyal and public-spirited
citizen. His efforts in the days following the 1913 flood, in which he raised a large fund
for relief work, will long be remembered by Middletown people. He took also a prominent
part in the campaign by which were raised funds to complete the Middletown hospital, and
as treasurer and chairman of directors of that institution, he aided greatly in placing it
upon a firm foundation. He was active also in church affairs, and he held for several
years the office of treasurer of the First Presbyterian church of Middletown, a post which
he eventually felt constrained to resign, owing to the manifold other demands upon his
time and attention. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party and he
affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. The year 1903, after he had located permanently at
Middletown, reco!
rded the marriage of Mr. Carnahan to Miss Frances P. Mills, of Hastings-on-the-Hudson,
New York, the hymeneal ceremony having been performed in the city of Pittsburg, Pa., and
the home of the young couple having been forthwith established at Middletown, where Mrs.
Carnahan continues to reside since the
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death of her husband. The one child of their union died within a few days after birth,
Ideal relations marked the companionship of Mr. and Mrs. Carnahan, and he was never
happier than when he was within the portals of his own home, the hospitality of which was
most graciously extended by its popular chatelaine. Mrs. Carnahan is a daughter of the
late Edmund S. Mills, of the state of New York, and the maiden name of her mother was
Euphemia Morton Paton. In connection with his professional and industrial activities Mr.
Carnahan held membership in the American Iron & Steel institute, the American
Institute of Mining Engineers, the American Society for Testing Materials, and the British
Iron & Steel institute, besides which he was a member of the Business Men's club
of Cincinnati, and the Queen City and University clubs of Cincinnati and Chamber of
Commerce of Middletown, Ohio. Mr. Carnahan will always be remembered for his generous
impulses and for the single-minded and enthusi!
astic manner in which he met every problem, as well as for the kindly and affectionate
way in which he greeted everyone. Untiring in his good works, he ever manifested toward
all mankind the spirit that was shown by the little boy who, when asked if the child he
was carrying were not too heavy for him, replied: "He's not heavy; you see,
he's my brother." The indomitable, but generous, kindly, optimistic spirit of
Robert B. Carnahan will live forever in the minds and hearts of the Armco men. In
conclusion of this memoir it is pleasing to reproduce the following estimate, which bears
its own lesson and significance: "Mr. Carnahan was rarely gifted with a capacity for
personal relationships, and he never failed to make these a means of happiness and
helpfulness to his fellows in business affairs, as well as in his more intimate
friendships. The broad charity that 'thinketh no ill,' the passion for service
that never failed, the generous spirit that loved fair play, as well as !
his intuitive knowledge of all classes of men, drew to him many a man
who needed a helper, and caused him to be much sought as personal counselor and advisor.
In this gracious service he never betrayed the confidence of those who trusted him, but
always brought new inspiration and hope for the work of life."
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