Sebastian, May & Co. was founded in Cincinnati in 1882 by Benjamin Sebastian, Jr., and Jacob May. In 1890 they were enticed to move to Sidney. In 1892, Sebastian sold his share of the business and returned to Cincinnati where he established the Sebastian Lathe Co. Less than a year later Sebastian left that firm, May sold his shares in Sebastian, May & Co.,and joined Sebastian again. Meanwhile, the Sebastian, May & Co. continued to operate under the direction of Allen P. Wagner—the man who had bought out Messrs. Sebastian and May. Wagner got into a dispute with his superintendent involving patents; the superintendent won the legal battle and in 1898 Wagner relocated his company, by now known as A. P. Wagner Tool Works, to Detroit. In 1908 Sidney industrialist I. H. Thedieck called in a loan he had made to Wagner. Wagner was unable to pay and Thedieck seized the company assets and moved them back to Sidney where it became the basis of the Monarch Machine Co. Thedieck was at the center of a variety of machinery-related businesses in Sidney. The interconnections between the companies can be confusing: they shared executives, buildings, and owners, and their product lines often overlapped. See our entry for Sidney Tool Co. for more on these relationships.

In their early years, Sebastian-May Company made scrollsaws, tablesaws, bandsaws, etc., along with metalworking machinery. The Sebastian Lathe Company only made metalworking machinery. So far as we know, the Sebastian-May woodworking machinery line was defunct by the time the name changed to A. P. Wagner Tool Works.

Ad from Dec. 15, 1892 "Scientific Machinist"

Around 1953 the Sebastian Lathe Company became D. C. Morrison Co., who made metalworking machinery and provided parts and service for some defunct machinery manufacturers.

Information Sources

• Much of the information here is derived from postings to the Practical Machinist forums by John Legge. Where possible we have corroborated John's research by finding references as listed below.
• 1919 Memoirs of the Miami Valley, Volume 1, edited by John Calvin Hover and Joseph Daniel Barnes, has this to say about Sebastian, May Company:

  About 1894, at the site of Sidney Machine Tool company's buildings, which now front on three streets, West North, Carey and Highland avenue, the firm of Sebastian & May established a manufacturing business along the same lines, and built the first of the factory structures now in use there. The site was given by the city of Sidney, as were several factory sites about the same time, for the encouragement of new industries. The concern was not notably prosperous, and Mr. May and—later—Mr. Sebastian, were bought out by Allen P. Wagner. Mr Wagner became involved in dispute regarding patents and brought suit against his superintendent, who, however, was exonerated by the court, after which Mr. Wagner closed the plant and transferred the machinery to Detroit, Michigan, where the manufacture was continued, but under financial difficulties which finally closed it. In 1909 Mr. I. H. Thedieck purchased the plant and brought it back to Sidney, setting it up with enlarged and improved capacities in a new and very modern factory on Oak avenue.

  In the meantime, however, the factory of the defunct Sebastian-May firm invited the attention of prospective manufacturers, among them Mr. A. C. Getz, who was a sojourner in Signey for some time, without succeeding in getting serious attention. Mr. Getz then left Sidney for a time, and made a good start in Defiance, Ohio, returning in 1904 with a little capital of "success"; and with this running start The Sidney Machine Tool Company took over the old Sebastian-May site and began a business that has become one of the most important in Sidney...

• The 1920 book, American Biography: A New Cyclopedia has a biography of Mr. Sebastian that provided much of the material here.
• The December 1885 issue of Building Age had the following note:

  SEBASTIAN, MAY & CO., of 169 West Second street, Cincinnati, Ohio, sent us a copy of their illustrated catalogue and price list of foot and power lathes, drill presses, chucks, drills, amateur supplies and small steam engines. Their pamphlet is profusely illustrated with engravings of such tools as are frequently required in workshops in almost every line of trade, and which at the same time are often difficult to obtain from lack of information of where they are manufactured. One of the leading tools illustrated and described is a screw-cutting lathe, swinging 8 x 20 inches, which operates by foot-power, and which is sold at a very low price. It is specially adapted to the use of model-makers, inventors, amateurs and others. A back-geared screw-cutting lathe is also shown, likewise wood-turning lathes, bench drill presses and various patterns of chucks, together with a wide range of small tools. The engines referred to are 2 and 4 horse-power, and in appearance and design are novel. The boiler is set at an inclination, the engine being attached to the outside. The front of the boiler very much resembles an ordinary stove, the grate-bars being in sight, while at the same time it is mounted on a truck, thus adapting it for removal or transportation from place to place. It is supported by the two wheels of the truck and a braced framework at the back. The 4 horse power engine and boiler occupy a floor space of 30 x 54 inches and a height of 5 feet.

• The 1888 Railroad, Telegraph and Steamship Builders' Directory lists Sebastian, May & Co., 177 W. 2d st., Cincinnati, O, as a maker of band saws, circular saws, steam scroll saws, engine lathes, machine tools, drill presses, lathes, metal turning lathes,...
• The June 18, 1890 issue of Electrical Engineer carried the following note:

  THE SEBASTIAN-MAY CO.
  The works of this company in Cincinnati are not only of interest on account of their completeness and facility of turning out machinery, lathes, etc., promptly but also because here we find one of the largest, if not the largest, electric motors in Cincinnati. Mr. Sebastian recently told one of the staff of THE ELECTRICAL ENGINEER, who had the pleasure of visiting his works, that herewith power furnished through shafting from an adjacent building—a power which was not only inadequate but unreliable. The different electrical people, he said, finally convinced him that a motor was what he wanted and now a twenty horse Queen City electric motor (440 volts) is running the entire factory noiselessly, easily and satisfactorily.

• The December 3, 1890 issue of Electrical Engineer carried the following note:

  THE SEBASTIAN-MAY CO.
  On or after Dec. 1, the well known Sebastian May Co. of Cincinnati, O., will be installed comfortably at Sidney, O. They have issued the following notice: "It gives us pleasure to state that owning to the rapid and continued growth of our business, we have been compelled to obtain larger manufacturing facilities (the third time within a period of seven years), and have decided upon Sidney, O., on the lines of the Dayton and Michigan and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroads, where we have secured a large tract of land, upon which has just been completed the erection of commodious brick and stone structures, especially adapted for our business, and which we have supplied with the best and most modern machines, tools and appliances obtainable, for the rapid and economical production of our specialty lathes. This, together with the excellent shipping facilities at our command, will enable us to promptly supply any demands made upon us for our tools.

  "Thanking our many customers for past favors, and trusting for a continuance of the same, we extend a cordial invitation to all to visit our new works or write us when in need of lathes or other tools."

• The December 1890 Mechanics has an add for "Improved screw cutting foot and power lathes, drill presses, chucks, drill dogs, and machinists and amateurs' outfits. Lathes on trial. Catalogue mailed on application. The Sebastian-May Co., 175 Highland Ave., Sidney, O."
• The July 1894 issue of Engineering magazine lists the following catalog: "The Sebastian-May Company, Sidney, Ohio.—Foot Lathes and Engine Lathes. Emery Grinders, Planers, Shapers, Chucks, etc. 16p."