Miami University

Daniel E. Meyers

Dan's Home on the W3

Skip to content

Section 02 – Horace A. Irvin

Irvin Hall’s Centennial: 1925-2025
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio

Home
Previous Section
Horace A. Irvin
HORACE A. IRVIN Birth:17 Feb 1855, Morrow, Warren County, Ohio, USA Life: Student at Miami University from 1870-1872; Graduated Miami University in 1874; President of Irvin, Jewell and Vinson Co.; Fiftieth Grand Master of Masons in Ohio - 1906-1907.; Trustee of Miami University 1895-1925 Death: 13 May 1925 (aged 70), Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio, USA Burial: Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio, USA, Plot Section 121, lot 177
RECENSIO Trustees Horace A. Irvin, John M. Withrow, W. T. Eltzroth , David R. Moore, Frank M. Coppock
HORACE A. IRVIN (1855-1925) Irvin Hall was designed as the perfect recitation building with faculty offices on the inside corridor and classrooms on the outside. The north and central sections were built in 1925 and the south wing was completed in 1928. The building was named for Horace A. Irvin who was chairman of the building committee of the Board of Trustees at the time of his death in 1925. He had been a valued member of the board since 1896 and had had a large responsibility for every building on the campus in 1925 with the exception of part of what was then called Old Main and the two old dormitories. Mr. Irvin was born February 17, 1855 and attended Miami University for two years, 1871 and 1872. He is officially listed as ex '74 as the University closed its doors in 1873. In 1900 the University awarded him the A. M. degree. After serving as secretary for several years of Lowe Brothers Co., paint manufacturers, in Dayton he founded and became president of the Irvin, Jewell and Vinson Co., makers of Anchor paints and colors. In addition to business activities he was a trustee of the Westminster Presbyterian Church, a director of the Merchants National Bank, a thirty-third degree Mason, and a member of Alpha Delta Phi. He gave much time and interest to philanthropic and civic enterprises. Mr. Irvin died on May 13, 1925.
ALUMNI NOTES November 1906 “At the session of the Grand Lodge of Ohio Masons, held at Columbus, on October 11th, Horace A. Irvin, of Dayton was elected to the highest office in the gift of the order in this state, that of Grand Master. Mr. Irvin has long been one of the influential members of the order, being identified with all the Masonic bodies and last year he served efficiently as Deputy Grand Master of Ohio. His advancement to be the executive head of an organization comprising a membership of more than 65,000 in the state is a signal honor and one that is hailed with pride by his many friends on the Board of Trustees and among the Alumni of Miami University. Mr. Irvin was a student at Miami from 1870 to 1872 and is a worthy member of the Board of Trustees.“
Honorable Horace A. Irvin, Grand Master of Grand Lodge F. and A. M. of Ohio, making the cornerstone laying declaration of the Auditorium Building in June 1907 (renamed Benton Hall in 1926 and Hall Auditorium in 1969).
OBITUARY OF HORACE A. IRVIN Horace A. Irvin, 70, president of the Irvin, Jewell and Vinson Co., and prominent in Masonic activities in the city, died suddenly Wednesday noon at his home at 545 Superior Ave. Heart disease was the cause of death.Irvin had been given unusual honors by Masons, the greatest of which was the naming of a lodge for him. This is Horace Irvin Lodge No. 647, which was established a few years ago. He was the only living Mason in whose honor a lodge had been named. Mr. Irvin also was an active 33rd degree Mason, having received this honor about 20 years ago from the Supreme Council, with which he has been actively connected since that time. He served as grand master of the Grand Lodge of Ohio Masons in 1907, and, at the time of his death, was serving as grand treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Ohio. He was a member of Mystic Lodge of Masons and his affiliations with the order dates back for nearly half-a-century. His most recent activity was in connection with the successful campaign to establish a new Masonic Temple in Dayton. His team was one of the leaders in the financial campaign. He was prominent also in business circles, the paint firm of which he was head having become highly regarded in its field of activity. He was a founder of the concern. For the past two weeks he was confined to his home suffering with a heart ailment, but members of the family believed this to be not serious. The end came suddenly, without warning, at noon Wednesday.
OBITUARY OF HORACE A. IRVIN - Continued He was a trustee of the Miami University and while he led an active business life, he never lost interest in civic, educational or fraternal affairs. The heavy drain upon his time, together with his advancing years, are believed to have caused the breakdown which terminated in his sudden death. Members of the family said that, although the recognized the illness which kept him at home for the past two weeks was dangerous because of his age, they believed him to be on the road to convalescence. Mr. Irvin is survived by his wife, two daughters, Mrs. W. D. Brown, of Dayton and Mrs. Herbert Coward, of Washington, D. C.; one sister, Mrs. William T. Wuichet, two brothers, O. W. and James M. Irvin. (Copied from the Dayton Daily News, Thursday, May 14, 1925) HORACE IRVIN RITES MARKED BY SIMPLICITYScores of Telegrams Received by Family from Prominent Masons.Though Horace A. Irvin was one of the Masonic leaders of the country, a member and official of most of the local lodges, a past grand master of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Ohio, and one of the five active members of the Supreme Council in Scottish Rite Masonry, he was buried with the utmost simplicity Friday afternoon. Only the Scottish Rite ring ceremony was held at the home, 505 Superior Ave., at 3 o'clock, the ring presented to his widow. This service followed the religious rites conducted by Rev. Hugh I. Evans, pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church.
OBITUARY OF HORACE A. IRVIN - Continued It was the wish of his family that his funeral should be as simple as possible and that it should be held in the house instead of at the Masonic Temple. Scores of telegrams from prominent Masons have been sent to the bereaved family. Other telegrams were sent to the Masonic Temple, deploring the loss which the local organization has suffered in the death of its brother. A number of prominent Masons from different cities in the state came to Dayton for the funeral. Burial was in Woodlawn Cemetery. Pallbearers, consisting of friends of the deceased, brother Masons and business associates were as follows: Congressman Roy Fitzgerald, Dr. F. R. Henry, William Poeppelmeier, Carl Plocher, Joseph McAdams, Russell Gerkins, Emil Metzger and Charles D. Heald.(Copied from the Dayton Daily News, Friday, May 15, 1925)
TESTAMONY OF THE LIFE OF HORACE A. IRVINBy the Grand Lodge of Ohio of the Free and Accepted Masons1907 – Horace A. Irvin M. W. Brother Horace A. Irvin was born in the city of Morrow, Warren County, Ohio, February 17, 1855. When one year old, his parents, James B. and Ellen S. Irvin, brought him to Dayton, where he has since resided. He attended the public schools in Dayton and completed his education at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, in the Class of 1874. He was a member of the Alpha-Delta-Theta and Theta-Beta-Kappa Fraternities. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of Miami University since 1895. He was engaged in the manufacturing of paint, and was President of the Irvin, Jewell and Vinson Co., one of the leading paint companies of Ohio. He was also a Director of the Merchants National Bank and the First Savings & Banking Company. For more than twenty years he was a trustee of the Westminster Presbyterian Church, and by faithful and self-sacrificing service was an all-important factor in its marvelous development and growth. It would be difficult to enumerate the many fields of endeavor, which enlisted his enthusiastic devotion to the social and civic enterprises of the city. His personal charm, rugged honesty, and earnest optimism brought abundant success in all his undertakings, and won for him the plaudits of its many people. Brother Irvin was initiated an Entered Apprentice, June 14, 1878; passed to the degree of Fellow Craft, June 29, 1878; and made a Master Mason, July 20, 1878, in Mystic Lodge, No. 405, at Dayton, Ohio. He was Worshipful Master of Mystic Lodge in 1902. He was President of the Ohio Masonic Veterans’ Association in .1912-13. He received the York Rite Degrees in Unity Chapter, No. 16, October 17, 1878, and Reese Council No.9, November 1, 1878, in Dayton, Ohio. He was created a Knight Templar in Reed Commandery, No.6, January 7, 1879. He received the Scottish Rite Degrees in the Bodies of the Valley of Cincinnati in the Reunion Class of February 1879.
TESTAMONY - Continued In 1880 he became a charter member of Gabriel Lodge of Perfection, Miami Council Princes of Jerusalem, Dayton Chapter Rose Croix, and Dayton Consistory of the Valley of Dayton. He served five years as Potent Master Gabriel Lodge of Perfection and two years as Most Wise Master Dayton Chapter Rose Croix. He has been a Trustee of the Scottish Rite Bodies of the Valley of Dayton since June 5,1907, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Masonic Temple Company since April 11, 1911. He received the Honorary 33-Degree in the Supreme Council A. & A. S. R., Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in 1896, at Pittsburgh, Pa. He was crowned an active member of the Supreme Council Northern Masonic Jurisdiction at Boston, Mass., in September 1906. He served three years as Marshal of the Camp and was appointed Grand Prior in October 1912. In the Grand Lodge of Ohio he served as Grand Orator in 1903, Junior Warden in 1904, Senior Warden in 1905, Deputy Grand Master in 1906, Most Worshipful Grand Master in 1907. He has been Grand Treasurer since 1919. M. W. Brother Irvin departed this life on Wednesday, May 13, 1925 at his home in Dayton, Ohio. Internment was May 15, 1925 in Woodlawn Cemetery, Section 121, Lot 177, Dayton, Ohio.

Next Section

About Me

  • Home
  • Lebenslauf
  • Personal Arms
  • Word Clouds

Academic

  • Technology in Language Learning
  • Determinants of Gender in German
  • German Two-Way Prepositions
  • The Collective Noun Catalog
  • Using English Apostrophes Correctly
  • Spelling (or “Phonetic”) Alphabets
  • Crayola Color Names
  • RAL Color Names

Miami Univ

  • Irvin Hall’s Centennial: 1925-2025
  • Lyrics for the Alma Mater
  • Campus Cuisine

Music

  • The Star Spangled Banner
  • O Canada
  • Pfft! You were gone!
  • Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me!

Miscellania

  • Popular Baby Names
  • The Little List of Phobias
  • Treegonometry
  • UK Confusion
Proudly powered by WordPress