Lewis B. Gunckel (October 15, 1826 – October 3, 1903) was an attorney, politician, advocate for Civil War disabled soldiers and their families, commissioner and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. Heritage and early life Lewis Gunckel was born in Germantown, Ohio, a village originally laid out and founded by his paternal grandfather in 1805. Lewis was the son of Michael and Barbara (Shuey) Gunckel. Michael Gunckel served in the War of 1812 in active service and rose to the rank of colonel. He afterward represented his county in the Ohio legislature. Lewis' paternal grandfather, Philip Gunckel, was elected in 1806 to represent Montgomery County in the Ohio General Assembly and elected again in 1808 to represent Montgomery and Preble counties at the Assembly. In 1816, the grandfather was appointed by the General Assembly to be associate judge of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, in which capacity he served for fifteen years. Lewis Gunckel's maternal great-grandfather, John Martin Shuey's father, was elected to represent the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Committee of Inspection to cooperate with the Continental Congress in the years preparatory to the American Revolution, although he died before the Declaration of Independence was signed. In 1860, Lewis B. Gunckel married Catharine Winters, a daughter of Valentine Winters, a prominent capitalist and banker of Dayton, Ohio. They had four children — Winters, Katharine, Lewis W., and Percy, the second and third of whom survived to adulthood. Education and early legal career Gunckel pursued preparatory studies in the local schools, attended Miami University and was graduated from Farmer's College at College Hill in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1848. He decided to prepare for the legal profession, and after graduation read law in Dayton, and subsequently entered the Cincinnati Law School where he was graduated in 1851. Gunckel was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1851 and commenced practice in Dayton. He was joined in the practice in 1853 by Hiram Strong who remained his partner until Strong was killed in the Civil War nine years later. Edward L. Rowe joined Gunckel in 1869 and the firm became Gunckel & Rowe. Over the years the name became Gunckel, Rowe & Gunckel, Gunckel, Rowe & Shuey. One of his associates was John A. McMahon with whom he sparred politically. The firm has continuously existed from 1853 down to the present under a variety of names as additional partners