While not himself an industrial founder, much of the industrial community would have been less successful had it not been for Lafayette Merrick Studevant. Born the son of a Whitley County, Indiana cabinetmaker in 1858, he attended local schools and later a commercial college. By the age of 21, Studevant had found his way to Sidney. His first job was as a printer for Trego and Binkley at the Sidney Journal. Leaving Sidney later, he worked as editor of the local newspaper in Columbus Grove, Ohio, Studevant returned to Sidney after two years. He returned to school, and this time concentrated on accounting.
Although in 1881, L.M. worked briefly as an assistant cashier at the Allen County Bank in Lima and then in Ridgeville, Ohio, as a bookkeeper for a local bank, within a year, Studevant was back in Sidney.
At that time Philip Smith was Sidney’s leading industrialist and a master businessman, and Lafayette was an eager pupil. He had found a lifelong mentor and friend. Using the business understanding he had learned under the guidance of Philip Smith, L. M. became a major force in the financial and business worlds. With the foresight and determination it took to succeed, he became accomplished in the skills of leadership and innovation.
In the fall of 1886, L.M. conceived the idea of forming a savings and loan institution. With his business partners, including John Loughlin, he organized the Peoples Savings and Loan Association. The men opened for business on October 23, 1886. His substantial contributions at Peoples would have satisfied most men. Studevant, however, was in step with the business community at every turn. Along with other Sidney businessmen, he founded the First National Exchange Bank in September of 1899. After serving as cashier, and then vice president for 29 years, he moved on to the office of president in 1928. He would later serve as chairman of the board from 1935 until his death in 1938.
L. M. Studevant was also passionately interested in the betterment of community life through the development of local industry. Throughout his career, he played a major role in the operation and subsequent expansion of virtually all the significant local businesses. To assist his old mentor, Philip Smith, he became president of the Philip Smith Manufacturing Company. He also was the vice president of the Monarch Machine Tool Company.
Studevant played a major role in leading the boards of The Whipp Machine Tool Company, the Sidney Manufacturing Company, the Tucker Wood Work Company, the Bimel Buggy Company and the Eclipse Machine Company over a period of several decades. Studevant also played an instrumental position in the operation of the Sidney Telephone Company, Sidney’s trial run with telephones. He invested money in Bimel Buggy Company and R. Given Sons Tannery as well. Lafayette was a charter member of the Commercial Club to encourage the business growth and financial health of Sidney.
L. M. almost single-handedly shaped Sidney’s financial community into one of the most respected and progressive in the state. Along the way, his influence was felt statewide and nationally, as well. In March of 1896, the Comptroller of the Currency for Grover Cleveland appointed Studevant as a national bank examiner. Studevant had the reputation of being one of the best. In May of 1897, the Sidney Journal reported President Cleveland rewarded Studevant by expanding his territory. Studevant also represented Ohio on the United States Building and Loan League, serving on the executive committee for 15 years. In 1914, he attended the International Congress of Building and Loan Associations in Europe as the representative of the United States.