Ceralvo Giddings McMillen (1846-1922)

From The Hotel World, May 13, 1922.

  One of the more exotically named mayors of a major Ohio city, Ceralvo Giddings McMillen served two terms as mayor of Dayton and gained additional repute in business, being the owner and operator of hotels in Dayton, Columbus, and Pennsylvania. The son of Asa and Sarah (Brown) McMillen, Ceralvo Giddings "C.G." McMillen was born in Dayton on December 10, 1846. McMillen's curious name was highlighted in the Dayton Herald shortly after his election as mayor, which notes:

"Mayor McMillen has a historical given name--Ceralvo Giddings, called for Colonel [Luther] Giddings, who was a hero of the battle of Ceralvo, Mexico, early in the war with that country, when the army under General Zachary Taylor was on the victorious march to the City of Mexico, and which he shortly afterward captured, to close the war. Colonel Giddings was a prominent Dayton lawyer when the war broke out, and he promptly enlisted a company, and joined the Third Ohio Regiment, Colonel Chas. H. Brough. He was soon promoted to be Colonel, and he covered himself and command all over with glory at Ceralvo. Mayor McMillen, was, we believe, born on the day of the battle, and was named for the hero and his victorious battlefield."

  Born "on the site of the old workhouse, Sixth and Main streets", McMillen resided in that area for a number of years afterward and during the Civil War was a drummer boy, serving in the Union Army. McMillen's long connection to the Ohio hotel industry began in the 1860s, with his time as chief clerk of the Phillips House in Dayton. Recognized for his "courteous and gentlemanly deportment", McMillen later left that employ to take charge of the Neil House hotel in Columbus, where he remained for an indeterminate period. In the mid-1870s he married Ella Gebhart (1851-1927),  with who he had one daughter, Roxie (1878-1958).

  In the early 1880s, McMillen relocated to Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, where he was the owner of the Broeckerhoff House. After a period of remodeling and renovation, the hotel was reopened in January 1882. His connection to the Broeckerhoff extended until at least 1887, and during his residency in Bellefonte was acknowledged as an "experienced hotellist" and a gentleman "of refinement and culture besides." McMillen's time in Pennsylvania also saw him as the founder of the McMillen Troubadours, an instrumental and vocal group that disbanded in Chambersburg in late 1886.

  On March 31, 1887, C.G. McMillen became the owner of the Hotel Lancaster in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He continued work in Bellefonte and Lancaster until early 1888, when he took charge of the Hotel Albemarle, located in Pittsburg. His lengthy connection to the hotel business saw McMillen hold memberships in several hospitality-related fraternal groups, including the Ohio State Hotel Men's Association, the Greeter's of America, the United Commercial Travelers, and was a founder of the Hotel Clerks' Association. He also attained high rank in the Knights of Pythias, the Royal Arcanum, and the Knights Templar.

  By October 1888 McMillen had removed back to Dayton, and became manager of the Dickey House hotel. He was subsequently elected as a member of the Dayton school board, and in 1891 he and a number of other citizens organized the Dayton Metropolitan Musical Company, a "musical stock company" that would comprise thirty musicians and a military band. McMillen was elected as its president and manager, and in the spring of 1892 was elected as mayor of Dayton "by a plurality of two votes." 

From the Dayton Daily News, July 29, 1899.

  Early in his term McMillen served a brief period on the Dayton Board of Police Commissioners, and in 1894 was elected to a second term. He "effected many improvements in the sanitary conditions of the city" during the 1894-96 term, and after leaving office returned to work as manager of the Hotel Dickey. He continued to be active in the Knights of Pythias, attaining the rank of Major of the first battalion, Fourth Regiment. In the March 1898 Democratic primary he was a candidate for city police judge, but was defeated.

  Following the 1907 death of his sister Imogene (remarked as an eccentric by several papers), McMillen and other relatives began a search of her property, where she was supposed to have buried money and valuables. The party would locate over $14,000 in gold secreted in two buried jars in the cellar, and were remarked as having "attracted countrywide attention" for their search. On the site of the old McMillen home C.G. McMillen constructed the new Giddings Hotel, which opened in November 1910. The "strictly modern and fire-proof" hotel originally consisted of forty rooms complete with running water and showers, and in the spring of 1913 had two more stories added to the original structure.

   McMillen continued ownership of the Giddings Hotel until his death, which occurred at his Dayton home on April 27, 1922. He had been ill for four months prior to his death, and was survived by his wife and daughter. Following her death in 1927, Ellaa Gebhart McMillen was interred alongside her husband at the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum in Dayton.

From the Hotel World, 1922.