Mrs. Mary E. (Gunckel) Ampt, whose benevolence and philanthropy have made her well known, was born in Germantown, Montgomery County, Ohio. January 22, 1840, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Elstner) Gunckel. Her ancestry in the paternal line can be traced back to her great-grandfather, Judge Phillip Gunckel, a native of Germany, who settled in Germantown, Ohio in 1801, building the first sawmill on Twin Creek. It stood for one hundred years, long remaining a landmark in that section of the state. His son, Colonel Michael Gunckel, grandfather of Mrs. Ampt, was a veteran of the war of 1812 and a very prominent citizen of Germantown. Her father was a prominent banker of Dayton and was a native of Germantown, born about 1802. His last days were passed in Dayton, where his death occurred about 1875. He became well known in newspaper circles as editor, publisher and writer and at one time was editor of a newspaper published in Germantown called the Germantown Gazette. His wife, who bore that maiden, named Elizabeth Elstner, was a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, born in 1800, and her death occurred in 1846. She was descended from an old family from Amsterdam, Holland.
        Mrs. Ampt was reared in Germantown and after attending the public schools there continued her education in Glendale Seminary at Glendale, Ohio. She afterward became a pupil in the Germantown Collegiate Institute in Germantown, continuing her education until she had reached the age of nineteen years. She also traveled extensively and gained that broad knowledge, experience and culture which only travel can bring. She afterward took up the profession of teaching in the public schools of her native town and in that field was very successful. Her home training developed in her habits of industry and thrift. Her father always insisted that every child should be provided with a good education and also such home training as would qualify them for any duties and responsibilities that might come later on. In early womanhood she entered upon a happy
home life, being married on the 3rd of November 1871, to William M. Ampt. Theirs was a very close and congenial companionship, rendering their home life largely an ideal one until it was broken by the death of Mr. Ampt in 1909. They traveled abroad, visiting many points of modern and historic interest in the Old World, Mrs. Ampt having crossed the Atlantic to Europe seventeen times. They became the parents of a little daughter Mr. and Mrs. Ampt bought the beautiful home at No. 1737 East McMillan Street, Cincinnati, which they named Vila Rosa. The villa is situated on the high bluff at the bend of the Ohio River, commanding an incomparable view. Since her husband’s death Mrs. Ampt has devoted her time largely to benevolent and philanthropic work. She is ever ready to extend a helping hand and, moreover, her charity has been of a practical nature - not that undiscriminating giving which fosters vagrancy or idleness but the intelligently directed aid, which does not kill self-respect and independence. She has given many lectures for the benefit of charities and churches and they have also been of great interest to her audiences. Her work in all this
connection has been gratuitous. She possesses an observing eye and retentive memory and in her travels has gathered a broad fund of interesting information and material, presenting many points that have come to her through personal observation and her vivid descriptions bring her hearers into close connection with that which she is discussing.
        Mrs. Ampt has always been a member of the Methodist church- born and cradled in it. Her association is now with the Walnut Hills Methodist Episcopal Church and in its work she takes a most active and helpful part. She became one of the charter members of the Home Missionary Society and has been identified with that body for twenty-nine years, serving for many years on its board of trustees, or until 1909, when upon the death of Mr. Ampt she resigned being then made honorable vice president. Her work in this connection has been of a national character and too high a tribute cannot be paid to her noble efforts, for the work of the organization is now far-reaching in its effect. Through the Home Missionary Society beautiful schools and mission buildings have been erected in all parts of the United States, indicating the real value of the organization. Since her husband’s death Mrs. Ampt has provided in her will that their beautiful home at No. 1910 Baymiller Street shall be given to the city for a kindergarten school and her present residence, Villa Rosa, at No. 1737 East McMillan Street, shall be used as a home for convalescent children. Thus she is giving tangible expression of her benevolent spirit in addition to the ready response which she daily gives to the many calls made upon her for charity. All her benevolent work is guided by a discriminating judgement. Mr. and Mrs. Ampt made up a part of the liberal endowment for the Carnegie Library at Germantown and many other instances of the far-reaching interest in their fellowmen could be cited. Mrs. Ampt is also a member of the Press Club of Cincinnati and takes and active part in its work. It has been said of her: "She is one of the most dearly beloved women of the is city, honored and respected not only for her noble deeds but for her genuine unselfishness and her kindly ways. The qualities of her heart and mind are of pure gold." She is spending the evening of life in a beautiful home, uniformly loved and respected, constantly reaching out a helping hand or speaking an encouraging word, her life reminding one of the fact that it is not from the few conspicuous deeds of life that the blessings chiefly come which make the world better, sweeter, happier, but from the countless lowly ministries of the every days the little faithfulness that fill long years.