William Andrew Snyder. Of the men who have long lent dignity and progressiveness to business interests of Piqua, none are held in higher esteem and confidence than William Andrew Snyder, chairman of the executive board of the Pioneer Pole & Shaft Company. Mr. Snyder was born at Albany, N. Y., December 5, 1858, a son of A. G. and Elizabeth (Carroll) Snyder. He was educated in the public schools of Ashtabula, Ohio, to which place his father, a wood bender by trade, had taken his family, and there the lad, upon the completion of his studies, engaged in business with his father in the same line of work. When the family came to Piqua, in 1881, there was founded the firm of Snyder & Son, for the manufacture of poles and shafts for buggies, wagons, etc., and this continued in existence until 1900, when the firm of Snyder's Sons Company was incorporated. This concern later sold out to the Pioneer Pole & Shaft Company, one of Piqua's largest industries, a complete history of which will be found in the industrial section of this work. In the capacity of chairman of the executive board of this firm Mr. Snyder has continued to exert the same wholesome and beneficial influence which assisted through the years in building up the business to large proportions and which helped to make him one of the leading business figures of his community. His other interests are numerous and important, in business, financial and civic circles, and few men have had a more important part in promulgating, fostering and bringing to a successful conclusion movements which have contributed to the welfare and betterment of the city in various ways. He took an active and leading part in the various activities which assisted in the successful maintenance of our armies in the field during the great war and was a member of the several war loan committees. He is a valued member of several fraternal societies and his name has been linked with enterprises which have made for the advancement of education and better citizenship. Mr. Snyder married Fannie E., daughter of Dr. P. E. Hall, a dental practitioner of Ashtabula, and to this union there have been born two children: Mrs. Grace O. Rundle and A. G. Snyder, both of Piqua.