The firm of Barnett, Herrman & Co. was in business in Dayton by 1870 and was manufacturing the Thomas Leffel turbine water-wheel, not to be confused with the James Leffel turbine water-wheels made by James Leffel & Co. Thomas Leffel's water wheel was patented in 1871, and the following year John W. Hill patented an improvement to it. Both patents were assigned to Barnett, Herrman & Co.

By the beginning of 1873 the firm of Herrman & Herchelrode Manufacturing Co. had succeeded Barnett, Herrman & Co., and they had added steam engines to their product line, which were sold under "The Trade Engine" name. Based on patent assignments, it appears that Herrman did not remain with this business for long, and the partners in the business were Christian Herchelrode and John W. Hill; the company name remained unchanged. In 1878 the Dayton firm of F. M. Riegel & Co. became successors to Herrman & Herchelrode Manufacturing Co., and manufactured The Trade Engine line. Riegel only lasted a year or so before being succeeded by Dayton Machine Co., which in 1880 became Marshall, Graves & Co.

Information Sources

• Report of the 1870 Cincinnati Industrial Exposition, pages 151-152.

  Barnett, Herrman & Co., of Springfield, Ohio, exhibit "Thos. Leffel's improved turbine wheel". The one on exhibition we suppose to be a working model, as it is very highly finished, all of brass. The principal novel features of this wheel consist of a somewhat peculiar form of buckets on the wheel, and a combination of stationary and swiveled chutes for delivering the water to the wheel. Of the efficiency of this wheel we can not well judge in the absence of practical tests by ourselves, or by others who have used them in practical operation.

• 1873 Annual Report of the Secretary of State to the Governor of the State of Ohio, page 54, in a listing of new incorporations: "[date of filing certificate} Jan. 14, 1873 / Herman & Herchelrode Manufacturing Company / Dayton / Manufacturer of improved Thomas Leffel turbine water-wheel, and general founder and machinist / [Amount of capital stock $] 200,000 / [Number of shares] 400".".
• 1873-07-05 Scientific American, page 77, has an illustrated classified ad: "Improved Thomas Leffel. Unexcelled in Power for size and cost. Economical at part gate. Built in Superior style. Unequalled in Duplication of parts at small outlay. / HERRMAN & HERCHELRODE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, Dayton, Ohio / Send for Circular and Price List." The ad appeared at least until the 1873-11-08 issue.
• August 1874 American Artisan, page 222, in a listing of "Trade-Marks Registered [Each Trade-Mark bearing date June 2, 1874]": "1,832.—Steam-engines.—Herchelrode & Hill, Dayton, Ohio."
• December 1874 Manufacturer and Builder, pages 268-9, has an illustrated article on "The Trade Engine" and boiler from the Herman & Herchelrode Manufacturing Co., of Dayton, Ohio.
• 1874 Report of the Commissioners [of the] Fifth Cincinnati Exposition (published 1875), page 28, lists Herman & Herchelrode M'fg Co., Dayton, O., exhibiting "Vertical Boiler, with Engine Combined".
• 1874-07-30 The Cultivator & Country Gentleman, page 488, in the "Pamphlets, &c., Received" column: "Herman & Herchelrode Manufacturing Company, Dayton, O., Circular of the Trade upright semi-portable steam engine."
• Numerous 1877 issues of The Ohio Farmer carried the following classified ad.

  Homestead For Sale. A Beautiful and Healthy Home for a retiring business man, within 45 minutes' drive of Montgomery county Court-house. Address for particulars. A. M., care Herrman & Herchelrode M'f'g Co., Dayton, Ohio.

  The ads are found in the 1877-01-13 through 1877-06-02 issues.
• 1878 Williams' Ohio State Directory (available in Google Books' "Snippet Mode" only), lists, in the category of "Water Wheels", "Herman & Herchelrode Manuf. Co. / Dayton".
• May 1879 American Machinist, page 7, has an article on the "'Trade Engine,' manufactured by F. M. Riegel & Co., successors to Herman Herchelrode Manufacturing Co., of Dayton, Ohio..."
• 1879 book, Der Deutsche Pionier, page 305.

  Dass die Deutichen des County wie die der Stadt Dayton in Industriellen und gemerblichen Bestrebungen mit in Erster Reihe ?eben, wird felbst von den Unglo-Ameritanern nicht wehr geläugnet. So gehören die „Bromwell und Rielmeier Manufacturing Company,“ etablirt 1872, von welcher C. H. Rielmeier der Brädent ist, und die „Herrmann und Herchelrode Manufacturing Company,“ etablirt 1873, mit Christian Herchelrode als Präsident, zu den bedeutendsten Eisenwerken und Maschinen-Etablissementen von Dayton und dem füdwestlichen Ohio...

  Translated:

  That the natives of the county, like those of the city of Dayton, are at the forefront of industrial and commerical endeavors is not denied even by the Anglo-Americans. Thus, the "Bromwell and Rielmeier Manufacturing Company," established in 1872, of which C. H. Rielmeier is the leader, and the "Herrmann and Herchelrode Manufacturing Company," established in 1873, with Christian Herchelrode as President, are among the most important iron works and machine establishments of Dayton and southwestern Ohio

• 1893 Digest of Trade Marks for Machines, Metals, Jewelry, and the Hardware and Allied Trades, by Wallace A. Bartlett, page 103, in a listing of machinery-related trademarks: "Trade Engine.—1837. June 16, 1874. Steam Engines. Herchelrode & Hill, Dayton, Ohio."
• 1922 book Biography of Dayton, by Joseph W. Sharts.

  Marshall, Graves & Company; works established between 1866 and 1869 by H. Hershelrode, who resigned in 1878; F. M. Riegel bought and continued to 1879, when Albert C. Marshall purchased and operated it as the Dayton Machine Company until 1880; it then became the present firm; manufacture had rakes and trade engines, shipped to all parts of the Union; steadily employ nearly 100 men at a salary of “$2 a day; propelling power is an 80-horsepower engine.

• American Steam Engine Builders: 1800-1900 by Kenneth L. Cope, 2006 page 116