Joseph Charles McElroy (April 23, 1831 - August 21, 1907) was an American businessman and American Civil War veteran. Born in Oak Grove, Ohio, McElroy left for California in 1849 to seek his fortune in the California goldfields. In the 1850 census, he lists himself as a miner in Louisville, California. In 1861, he raised a militia company at Racine, Ohio, and enlisted in Company K of the 18th Ohio Volunteer Infantry of the Union Army as a 1st Lieutenant. He was promoted to Captain on January 4, 1863 and mustered out of the army on November 9, 1864. After the war, McElroy served as Sheriff of Meigs County, as a member of the racine Village Council, and as a member of the Ohio General Assembly. He acted as the Secretary Treasurer of the Ohio Commission for the Chickamauga Battlefield National Park and served as the Postmaster of the U.S. House of Representatives for fourteen years. More by this mapmaker...

Adolph K. Krebs (1831 – September 15, 1884) was a Cincinnati, Ohio, lithographer active in the second half of the 19th Century. Born in Germany, Krebs came to Cincinnati with his family in 1847. After arriving in Cincinnati, Krebs worked as an apprentice at Sherer and Rowse in the late 1840s. He then moved to Klauprech and Menzel and worked there until 1852. That year he moved to Pittsburgh to start a lithographic firm with his younger brother Otto. Krebs fought in the American Civil War, was captured, and imprisoned at the infamous Andersonville prison. After the Civil War, Krebs returned to Cincinnati. Krebs joined Ehrgott and Forbriger (after Peter E. Ehrgott and Adolphus F. Forbriger) in 1869 following the death of Adolph Forbriger. The firm operated under the name Ehrgott and Krebs from 1870 until 1873. Krebs became sole owner of the firm in 1874 after Peter Ehrgott retired. That year he renamed the firm Krebs Lithographic Company, and built a large new facility. Krebs took on partners William D. Henderson (1842 - 1920), and F. Veigel but maintained overall ownership and management of the company. Under Krebs the firm reached new heights, producing both lithographic and chromolithographic items, including bonds, checks, diplomas, drafts, maps, and views. The Cincinnati firm was based in the Carlisle Building, where, at their largest, they occupied two full floors. Henderson left the firm in 1885 to form his own company with Fred Achert (1847 - 1928), the Henderson-Achert Company. In 1890, a fire destroyed the Henderson-Achert Company. Henderson chose to buy the Krebs Lithographing Company instead of rebuilding his own firm. He renamed the firm Henderson-Achert-Krebs and installed Achert as vice president. Achert left the firm in 1896 to found his own firm, the Achert Lithographic Art Company. After Achert left, the firm was renamed the Henderson Lithographic Company. Strobridge purchased the company in 1925 but the Henderson name remained until the late 1930s. Learn More...

William D. Henderson (December 31, 1845 - May 5, 1920) wasa Scottish-American lithographer. Born in Scotland, Henderson came to the United States in his youth and joined the lithographic firm Ehrgott and Forbriger as an errand boy. He had risen to the position of secretary when Adolph K. Krebs (1831 - September 15, 1884) assumed control to the company in 1874. Henderson left Krebs Lithographing Company in 1885 to form his own firm with Fred Achert (1847 - 1928) call the Henderson-Achert Company. The Henderson-Achert Company operated until 1890, when a fire destroyed it. Instead of rebuilding the firm from scratch, Henderson elected to purchase the Krebs Lithographing Company, and renamed it Henderson-Achert-Krebs. Achert left in 1896 to form his own company, the Achert Lithographic Art Company. With Achet's departure, Henderson changed the firm's name to the Henderson Lithographing Company, which operated until it Strobridge bought it in 1925. Strobridge elected to keep the Henderson name until the 1930s. Henderson died of pneumonia while visiting his daughter in Chicago. Learn More...

Frederick Achert (August 25, 1847 - April 2, 1928) was a German-American lithographer. Born in Baden-Baden, Germany, he arrived in the United States in 1862 and became a naturalized citizen in 1868. Achert operated his own lithographic firm from 1878 until 1885 and then he joined Willaim D. Henderson (December 31, 1845 - May 5, 1920) to form the Henderson-Achert Company in 1885. A fire destroyed the Henderson-Achert Company in 1890, and Henderson decided to buy the Krebs Lithographing Company instead of rebuilding the old firm. After the acquisition, Achert was made vice president of the new firm, which was called Henderson-Achert-Krebs. Achert left Henderson-Achert-Krebs in 1896 to firm his own firm, the Achert Lithographic Art Company, which was apparently also known as Achert and Henckel, and this firm operated until 1908 when the Monarch Lithographic Company purchased it. After the purchase, Achert used his reputation as 'one of the best lithographic sketch artists the country ever had' and opened the Achert Bureau of Design, a lithographic design service, which operated for a few years. Learn More...